"He's alive? What kind of dog shit luck does he have?"
A rank 3 middle stage Magician stood up at this time, not wanting to believe it, but seeing it first hand. The other rank 3 Magicians watching the battle were just as surprised:
"It seems that he used a blade path method to escape the ice."
"That was some method. He amputated Adam's right arm before Adam even realized it."
"How does this guy cultivate space path, soul path, and blade path together? Even his spells have multiple natures. Isn't he afraid of biting off more than he can chew?"
"That isn't the important part. Look! Nick Capitol is barely alive. How will he continue competing?"
"He has a healing spell, remember. You did not ask the relevant question. How did he survive in the ice for that long? His defensive spell had clearly collapsed at some point."
All the rank 3 Magicians went silent when that point was spoken. They all mentally put themselves in Nick's shoes, and had no idea how they would have escaped the predicament that Nick was in with their life. The rank 2 Magicians saw the rank 3 Magicians become silent, and then began their own discussions:
"Who do you think will win?"
"Adam no doubt. Like senior said, Nick Capitol is barely alive. What can he do?"
"We shouldn't count Nick Capitol out. He is like the dead among the living. He has already done the impossible."
"Ha, ha! Let's see how he saves his dog life!"
…
Within the private theatre box, Cylus rubbed the back of his head awkwardly using his right hand, asking:
"Where did that blade path spell come from? Why didn't Nick use it before?"
No one spoke to answer Cylus, but soon, Uranus spoke a few words:
"The last blade path spell seems very familiar to the one that manifests the black barrier. There is a chance that they are related."
Lilith thought for a while before commenting:
"Not only are they related, but the last spell was probably derived from the spell that manifests the black barrier."
Midwar spoke in response to Lilith's words:
"Your conclusion is reasonable. However, even if he escaped the ice, Nick Capitol is still in trouble. Adam will certainly press his advantage soon."
Nick quickly cast Dragon Recovery to heal the damage to his body caused by the ice, and cold while he kept an eye on Adam using Spatial Awareness. Adam did not immediately move against Nick due to his own severe injury. Even if Adam was a rank 3 late stage Magician, an amputated arm was not a light wound. He bitterly thought:
(Now I understand why Parvone was so embittered by his loss. This Nick Capitol is so hateful…)
Adam immediately cast Indomitable Freeze to freeze his right shoulder wound, and conjure an arm completely made from clear ice in the place of his right arm.
(I have a healing spell, but it is mediocre at best, and cannot heal an amputated limb in a short period of time. This replacement will have to work for now…)
Within less than a minute, Nick's complexion returned to normal although his internal injuries were still severe. Those injuries soon became manageable, at which point, he looked below his feet, and realized that they were covered by three inches of snow. Nick furrowed his brows before looking up at the dark clouds from which the white snow fell, thinking:
(Those clouds are slowly becoming a problem. No wonder I was so suppressed by Adam's magic previously. The snow that is falling is actually making the environment rich in ice path, and snow path laws, and boosting his magic power. Those two paths are closely related, so that is no surprise. Adam's ice magic will be more troublesome from here on out…)
Nick began to suspect that the dark clouds had been conjured by a magic tool:
(...That has to be the case. They have been too persistent throughout, and I doubt that they were manifested by a talent, but the question is which magic tool manifested these dark clouds? Those five silver rings that Adam wore on his right fingers have already been separated from him. Is the relevant magic tool the bracelet on his left wrist?)
Nick could not tell, and there was no point in making decisions based on assumptions because there existed all kinds of magic tools. For all he knew, the five silver rings could have conjured the dark clouds, but its power was not deactivated after he cut Adam's right arm off.
Nick tightened his right grip on Hard Marvel when he was able to, and canceled Dragon Recovery thereafter when his internal injuries had been healed sufficiently. He did not want to give Adam any more time to organize himself after losing his right arm.
Nick cast Dragon Hold to raise himself into the air, both to rise to Adam's level, and to get away from the thickening layers of snow, and ice on the ground. Adam noticed Nick's movements and couldn't help but internally lament:
(Nick is taking the initiative. If it wasn't for me having to get use to my prosthetic arm, the initiative would have remained mine. Sigh, I will have to invest in a good healing spell later.)
At this point, both Nick, and Adam had ample magic energy reserves, and so the battle begun anew. Nick cast Dragon Form before activating Cursed Vessel, and vanishing. Almost instantly, Nick reappeared one meter away from Adam's immediate front while exuding enough of his magic energy to envelop Adam, resulting in Adam's discomfort, and an increased feeling of heaviness.
That feeling of heaviness in addition to Sheer Hold's influence made Adam too slow in countering Nick's next move, where he raised Hard Marvel to the level of his face, and cast:
(Dragon Specter)
Due to Adam being intensely suspicious of Nick, he did not even attempt to blink while Nick was so close to him, so there was no delay in him seeing Hard Marvel strangely bend out of shape before being corrected moments later. Adam gritted his teeth in frustration because Midwar had informed him of this method as well.
(Parvone told Midwar that Nick had a method that distorted his reality during their battle, resulting in much damage to his soul. I was told that the spell likely begins after the sword in Nick's hand bends, but I am helpless against such a method. I know next to nothing about soul path, and I have only cultivated my soul slightly since becoming a rank 3 Magician. I will just have to defeat Nick before his spell becomes a problem.)
Adam raised his left palm to his front in response to Nick's spell casting, but surprisingly, Nick's soul path spell acted on him faster than he imagined. Adam suddenly sensed the appearance of a magical entity behind himself which caused him to turn his head to observe the possible threat.
What he saw was the translucent form of a mastiff-sized, winged beast lying on his ice bridge. The winged beast quickly raised its head to look at Adam before disappearing. Adam's expression then suddenly became blank, and his stare vacant.
For Adam, his perspective changed to that of a black void where he could still see his surroundings. Without suspense, the form of the translucent, winged beast suddenly appeared in front of him, and sunk its claws into his chest. Adam's perspective then became dark.
As soon as Nick realized that Adam was experiencing a false reality, he flew forward to slash at him using Hard Marvel, and his Cross Stream Sword Technique. Adam's icy defense was still active at this time, so Nick faced some hard resistance, but after dozens of slashes connected with Adam's body, much of the latter's robe, and flesh was cut away, but the ice, and frost on Adam's head, and neck was so hard that he could not breach them in time.
Adam recovered from the false reality in time to witness Nick swinging Hard Marvel Tyrannically while he himself became covered with blood, and assaulted by severe pain. Adam acted immediately by casting his spell:
(Indomitable Rising)
Beginning with the ice, and snow directly below them, a glacier almost instantly rose up from the ground until it enveloped Nick, and froze him solid, being about forty meters high, and three hundred meters across. Adam had no doubt that the ice path laws within the glacier would keep Nick from causing trouble for a while.
(Indomitable Freeze)
In the meantime, Adam froze his own flesh to stop his bleeding, and stabilize his injuries, which were almost life threatening. He then began using his mediocre healing spell. Within moments, however, and before Adam could act further against Nick, the former sensed a great surge in blade magic power.
(Malevolent Altar.)
Instantly, the massive glacier was split into hundreds of thousands of small pieces that crumbled to the ground without warning. Nick immediately struck out at Adam using a horizontal slash once he was free of the ice. Adam cast Indomitable Cocoon to attempt to prevent Nick's sword from slashing into him directly, but to his surprise, even though a thick layer of ice quickly formed around him, Nick's sword cut across its width to slash his abdomen open.
Nick mused at this time:
(Malevolent Altar is pretty much an incomplete blade path spell, but it is the equivalent of rank 3, advanced grade. It seems that the spell can only be successfully cast when I am completely stationary. Hmmm…Hard Marvel has benefited from the previous slashes that I inflicted on Adam. Its increased hardness in addition to Dragon Form's power now allows me to more easily cut through the clear ice.)
Blood briefly sprayed out from Adam's cut abdomen before the wound was frozen over by the power of Indomitable Self-Ice. Adam quickly cast Clear Ice Star to encase himself in ice, from which dozens of ice spikes ruthlessly pressed forward. Nick was forced to activate Curse Vessel because he remembered the persistent, penetrative power of those ice spikes, and didn't want to waste his time on slicing them away.
Nick teleported two hundred meters away from his previous position before raising his left index and middle fingers while clenching the rest of his left fingers together. In response, a pitch-black void immediately appeared to envelop Nick's, and Adam's surroundings. Hundreds of incomplete dragon skeletons littered the ground below while a fifteen-meter-high, tattered temple formed in midair, behind Nick.
(Malevolent Shrine.)
Sensing the familiar power of Malevolent Shrine, Adam did not hesitate to cast his own spells:
(Indomitable Ice Age)
(Clear Flash Freeze)
Casting the latter two spells while keeping Clear Ice Star active resulted in Adam becoming lightheaded, and him bleeding from both his nostrils. Unfortunately for Adam, the multitasking also resulted in Malevolent Shrine's power resolving before his latter spells.
All the clear ice surrounding Adam was instantly cut into thousands of small pieces, and Adam himself simultaneously received shallow cuts all over his body before everything within the pitch-black void, and the surfaces within a few hundred meters beyond it were frozen solid in all directions. Even the pitch black void itself briefly froze before it shattered like glass, forcefully dispelling Nick's blade magic before it could cut into Adam further.
Nick quickly radiated his magic energy outwards while casting Seeker Instinct to avoid being frozen solid while also maintaining his current altitude. Adam, on the other hand, fell towards the ground along with his falling ice. Instead of casting another spell, Adam focused on freezing his injuries. By the time he fell onto the ground, he mostly fell on snow.
The ground throughout the artificial realm, as far as Nick could see, was now blanketed by a thick layer of white snow. Nick mused at this time:
(Adam's spells were able to do so much damage to Malevolent Shrine's pitch-black void because of all the ice path laws now in the environment. The ice and cold is getting out of hand…)
Nick observed his own body, and realized that his skin was slowly becoming a shade of blue again due to the cold despite being saturated with his magic power.
Adam quickly lifted his head to observe the environment, and felt pleased. He thought:
(My Snowmen Bands might have been separated from me along with my right arm, but its active ability, Snow Fall, still persists until the magic energy stored within them runs dry. It won't be long now before Nick freezes without me having to do anything…)
While Adam was contemplating the situation, he sensed a familiar entity appear at his right side, and turning his head slightly, saw the same translucent, winged beast as before lying beside him. The translucent, winged beast quickly vanished, however, following which, Adam's head fell backwards, his stare vacant.
"Shit! Not again."
Adam shifted his body to look around the black void for a way to relieve himself of the method that was afflicting him, but before he could make any progress, the translucent, winged beast appeared, and struck him with its long tail, slicing him in half at the midsection. Adam thought:
(Now that I think about it, the winged beast has a shape similar to a dragon, doesn't it?)
With that thought, Adam's vision became dark.
Nick spent a few seconds processing magic energy outside his body, and drawing it into his mindscape before focusing on Adam again. He knew that Adam was suffering from a false reality, so he planned to use this time to act. He quickly summoned Stoic Grave into his left grip.
Nick then pointed Stoic Grave's tip towards Adam's upper torso before a revolving sphere of grey magic power enveloped his left hand, and Stoic Grave's hilt. Nick breathed out deeply as the power of the grey sphere propelled Stoic Grave forward at the speed of a bullet, following which, the grey sphere dissipated.
At the same time, Adam's eyes became focused again, and as if by luck, or some other means, he suddenly shifted his body, resulting in Stoic Grave firmly piercing through his left shoulder instead of his heart. Adam was both shocked, and furious when he saw the sword piercing into his body. Those feelings, however, soon subsided as pain took over.
Adam wanted to rise to his feet immediately, but he had a hard time moving. He felt as if he had been mired in mud, and this feeling went far beyond what physical restriction would induce. Adam concluded:
(My soul is being afflicted, and suppressed.)
Adam quickly mustered his focus to cast two of his spells:
(Indomitable Freeze)
(Indomitable Precise Ice)
Immediately, a simple ice spike jutted out from near Adam's two feet at incredible speed towards Nick to cover dozens of meters of distance in milliseconds. Nick tried to fly away, but found that he could not as his body became covered with a thin layer of clear ice, and frost. The long ice spike quickly stabbed through the right side of his belly, freezing his surrounding organs, and a section of his lower spine. Seeker Instinct had evidently also failed to resolve before the ice spike struck him.
Adam used the reprieve granted by Nick's predicament to grab Stoic Grave's blade using his right, prosthetic ice arm while casting Indomitable Freeze again. Stoic Grave's blade was immediately frozen, covered in layers of clear ice, and frost until the unimaginable happened.
CRRK CRRK CRRK CRRK…
Stoic Grave soon developed cracks in many places until the rank 3, soul path sword shattered like glass. Sensing the burden on his soul lift by a few degrees as a result, and being able to move again, albeit stiffly, Adam raised himself from the his lying position. He was about to attack Nick further, but Nick outmaneuvered him by casting Malevolent Altar at this time.
The ice spike keeping Nick in place was immediately cut into thousands of small pieces, and Adam did not escape being afflicted by the blade magic. He was forced to step back by thirty steps as his icy defense was cut into again, and again, resulting in more injuries that quickly froze over. Nick maintained his altitude using Dragon Hold while casting Dragon Recovery to lesson the severity of his almost fatal injury.
Most of the spectators within the theatre began participating in an uproar of discussion at this time due to the intensity of the battle:
"What a battle! It has been back, and forth since the beginning, and both sides are pretty messed up by now."
"Did you see how Adam destroyed Nick's soul path sword? That magic weapon must have cost a pretty penny. Nick's losses are immeasurable."
"Nick's losses? Have you forgotten that Adam lost his right arm. What the hell is a sword in comparison?"
"Arms can be regrown using magic, but Nick has permanently lost his soul path sword."
"Forget the sword. I cannot believe that Adam did not finish Nick using his last attack."
"Hmph! Why don't you try aiming your magic while being pinned down by a magic sword."
"Nick is getting better at cutting up Adam's ice."
…
Zane's expression became distraught when he saw the state that Nick was in; the latter seemed practically half dead. Without thinking, Zane muttered a question:
"Why have things gone this far?"
Cylus turned slightly to observe Zane's expression before saying to him:
"If you are planning to become a stronger Magician, you are going to see many more scenes like this. Get used to it quickly. If you can't fight to this level someday, you may end up a corpse without realizing it."
Cylus did not want to scare Zane, but he felt like telling the weaker Magician the truth. Everyone else stayed quiet after hearing Cylus' words while Zane swallowed his own saliva. A shiver soon ran down the latter's spine from the thought of being stabbed in the gut by an ice spike.
Cylus internally sighed before returning his focus to the observation orb. Parvone furrowed his brows as he thought:
(I might actually have been lucky to have survived battling Nick. The man is evidently crazy, and Adam is no better. One lost a powerful magic sword while the other lost his right arm, and they are still continuing the fight. Is such conviction required to become rank 3 late stage?…)
As Parvone pondered that question, the battle between Nick, and Adam progressed. Nick healed himself sufficiently in that he was no longer at risk of dying immediately, but his spinal cord was damaged, and that was not something that Dragon Recovery could heal quickly. Due to such an injury, his breathing became laboured. Within a few seconds, he canceled Dragon Recovery, so that he could focus his efforts on dealing damage to Adam.
Adam had already stopped stepping backwards, but was continuously swaying due to the influence of the cumulative injuries that he had sustained. Most of the injuries had been frozen over, and some had even been healed using his mediocre healing method, but that did not prevent sections of his body from moving towards the path of organ failure.
(This is is because of the power of Nick's spells. My healing method is having a hard time getting rid of the blade path laws that plague my wounds…)
Since almost the beginning of the battle, Adam has had to defend himself from being cut to pieces. He was not able to spare himself from every cut, however, and ended up receiving grievous, and otherwise shallow cuts as a result of Nick's blade magic that created wounds that were hard to heal. Adam's current circumstance was why blade magic was considered one of the most lethal kinds of magic that exist, on par with sword magic.
Nick did not want to have any more close confrontations with Adam because of his severely hurt state. He therefore resolved to fight from a distance from now on. Adam thought in the same way at this time. Soon, the latter stabilized his body enough to stop swaying. Nick, who was floating in the air, and Adam who was standing on the ground looked at each other squarely with a few hundred meters of distance between them. During those moments, they both decided to end the battle as soon as possible.
To see through to that result, Nick quickly stored Hard Marvel into one of his space bands while canceling Dragon Form, and raised his right index, and middle fingers while his other right fingers were clenched together. At the same time, a massive cloud of formless magic energy was exuded from Adam as the latter prepared to cast his spells.
Nick then made his move, conjuring a pitch-black void that enveloped the area around himself, and Adam. The ground within the resulting space became littered with incomplete, dragon skeletons, and a fifteen-meter-high, tattered temple suddenly appeared behind Nick in midair. In response to these changes, Adam cast his spells with a focus that he had never achieved before, knowing that his death might be imminent:
(Clear Ice Age)
(Indomitable Rising)
(Indomitable Flash Freeze)
(Indomitable Precise Ice)
Almost instantly, Nick found himself, and everything within Malevolent Shrine's special space to be frozen solid, including most of the pitch-black void. The pitch-black void immediately shattered as a result before Nick could use its power to cut Adam even once.
Immediately after, a three-hundred-meter-wide glacier rapidly rose up from the ice, and snow on the ground. At this time, Nick's body developed another layer of clear ice, and frost. Within less than a second, the glacier reach dozens of meters in height, and enveloped Nick all around, seemingly encasing him in clear ice, but Nick was already prepared for this, and the instant before the cold penetrated his flesh, he cast one of his spells:
(Malevolent Altar.)
CRRK CRRK CRRK CRRK CRRK CRRK CRRK CRRK CRRK CRRK CRRK …
The glacier was then instant cut into hundreds of thousands of pieces as blade magic rampaged throughout its mass. In no time at all, the ice pieces crumbled to the ground like scattered stone. Adam, seeing his last-ditch effort fail to finish Nick off, smiled bitterly before his expression became blank, and his stare vacant. Nick, who was seriously suffering from the severe cold at this point was forced to activate Cursed Vessel to instantly place his body onto the snow-covered ground in a kneeling position because his mind was quickly becoming fuzzier by the second, and his consciousness weakening.
Adam's perspective once again changed to that of a black void. Without suspense, the translucent, winged beast appeared at his right side where it bit off his right leg, and threw the leg away, following which, it greedily bit off his left leg. Adam's perspective became completely dark after that.
Nick was finally made to kneel, and everyone in the theatre therefore felt that the fight was over. The discussion at this time was softer than at previous times:
"This is the end."
"Whoever wins, they deserved it."
"I still have my money on Adam. Nick is kneeling while Adam is standing on his feet like a real man."
"I…I have to place my bet on Nick. He is just too resilient."
"Everyone! Nick's blade magic power is surging again."
The rest of the discussing Magicians did not need to be reminded because they also sensed the change clearly. The Magicians in the private theatre box all kept silent, not wanting to spoil the conclusion of the battle for themselves.
Nick poured almost all his remaining magic energy into casting his spell one more time since he could no longer move his body, anyway. It took him almost one second to do it because of his fuzzy mind:
(Malevolent Altar.)
Nick waited to see Adam cut into pieces from a distance, but surprisingly, his spell did not resolve.
BLLLLLUUUURRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!
Nick soon vomited blood as his spell completely failed to resolve. He was evidently suffering from the backlash of spell casting failure. Nick was alarmed:
(What the hell? I formed Malevolent Altar's laws perfectly. It should have resolved. The spell can cut anything saturated with magic energy to pieces at the cost of my movement. I did not move, so how did the spell fail? Wait…is Adam completely drained of magic energy?)
As if responding to his internal question, Nick sensed that Adam had recovered from the false reality. Adam's gaze became focused again, but instead of moving to finish Nick, he fell backwards onto the ground, closing his eyes, and remaining motionless thereafter. Adam had evidently fallen unconscious.
Nick stared at the motionless Adam for a seemingly long time while he himself cast Dragon Recovery to remedy his injuries. Soon, the voice of the unseen adjudicator resounded, and everyone listened to his words with rapt attention:
"Nick Capitol has won the battle due to the incapacitation of his opponent, Adam Nefari."
The moment the result was announced, an uproar developed in the theatre:
"I knew that the old boy would win this one!"
"What the fuck are you talking about? You bet against Boss Nick from the beginning, you bastard."
"You are both bastards! I have the placed bets for the pool right here on my phone. You two picked Adam, not Nick."
"I can't believe it. Our rank 3 late stage Nefari lost to a commoner."
"What is there not to believe? Adam suffered a worthy loss. Nick was brought to his knees, and even failed to cast his last spell. Adam did not humiliate us."
"Is this the uprising of the common people?"
…
While the other spectators argued, blamed, and formed conspiracy theories, all the Magicians sitting in the private theatre box seemed somewhat satisfied with the outcome, including Midwar, who now felt that his son had not been defeated unjustly by Nick. Zane quickly stood up on both feet as soon as the result was announced, and did a fist pump towards the ceiling using his right arm.
Cylus did not reprimand him because he could understand Zane's emotions at this time. The other rank 2 Magicians slumped down in their seats because they were exhausted. The highs, and lows of the battle had sent their emotions into a tailspin, and they just wanted to rest their minds after being told that Nick won.
Lilith Eltshire spoke first:
"You Nefaris sure know how to host a battle. I wouldn't say that your side really lost. Look at how many of your youths' morale have been stoked."
Uranus, and Midwar smiled politely to Lilith's superficial praise, but both of them were aware that her words had hidden sentiment. Uranus thought:
(She is suggesting that our indoctrination, and thus the loyalty of our young, rank 2 Magicians have waned. She may be right, but that is a matter to be dealt with at another time…)
Widwar thought:
(This woman was probably sent here to help determine the state of our leadership. If she thinks that a little contest like this proves anything, she is delusional. The Nefari family has existed for thousands of years. One lost battle cannot shake our foundation…)
Kirst realized that both Uranus, and Midwar remained quiet for a long time after Lilith spoke, and was internally impressed by his aunt:
(Even two rank 6 titans like Uranus, and Midwar are forced to over think just because of the presence of Aunt Lilith. In actuality, I asked her to come here because I wanted to get her opinion about recruiting Nick. I had such intentions during the inter-academy competition years ago, but my own ideals got the better of me. I knew that a wisdom path Magician, however, was not likely to make a mistake in judgement…)
Midwar soon spoke to Cylus at this time:
"Cylus, you can go back to the travel company with Nick's fellows. I will hand over the rank 4 blade path dragon soul to him personally."
Uranus contemplated for a bit before he also spoke:
"I will accompany you, since I have a few words to say to Nick."
Midwar felt irked when he heard Uranus' words, but did not let his displeasure show:
(He is trying to make sure that I do not somehow recruit Nick into my faction since he failed to do so himself. This old man is as scheming as ever…)
Not long after Uranus' words, Cylus got up from his seat, and left the theatre box with Nick's employees along with the hooded Magician called Percy, who had not spoken, and had stayed out of the way all this time. About one minute after Cylus left, Lilith, and Kirst also moved to leave. They both performed a slight bow to Uranus, and Midwar before walking through the doorway.
Parvone also soon silently left the room. Midwar noticed that the bitter expression on his son's face had eased by half, and so he felt satisfied with how things had ended up. Only, he felt dissatisfied that he would now have to compensate Adam for his lost right arm as well as have him healed of his grievous injuries.
Midwar spoke to Uranus at this time:
"Old friend, the young trees are truly rising to replace us old ones. It is a shame that this Nick Capitol is so unruly, defying my will up to the end."
Uranus laughed aloud before he responded:
"If he did not defy your will, would he be alive, now? Do not be so petty, old friend. We have seen an exciting battle between juniors after a long time. That is enough."
Midwar developed a slight smile before saying:
"Let's go talk to Nick before giving him his reward."
***********************************************************
Ten minutes after the battle ended, Nick stood up onto his feet, and looked up at the sky. The dark clouds had already vanished, so the snowy weather had ceased. Adam's body was also gone because it vanished less than one minute after the result of the battle was announced.
Nick had already canceled all his other spells, and deactivated Sheer Hold to make easier use of Dragon Recovery's power. Nick tried to stretch his body, but he was in too much pain to do so to a very great extent. He thought:
(That was my most difficult fight to date. It seems that as cultivation rises, the ability of Magicians to resist complex spells effectively increase. Malevolent Shrine used to dominate my opponents at the lower stages, and ranks, but now it is only able to grant me some opportunities...)
Once Nick thought about Malevolent Shrine, his thoughts also focused on Malevolent Altar:
(...The latter spell is incomplete, and unstable at best. If Dragon Specter's power had not dealt the final blow to Adam, I would have been finished. At the very least, the battle gave me valuable information on how to improve Malevolent Altar later. Also, this battle has shown me how I need to revise, and alter my combat system. It is a shame that I lost Stoic Grave, though…)
While Nick was thinking, the hooded Magician called Percy appeared a few feet in front of him. Percy then spoke:
"Come, Nick Capitol. You are going to meet with Elder Uranus, and Elder Midwar before you leave this estate."
Nick nodded his head once in understanding. After that, Percy clapped his hands together, following which, Nick's perspective immediately changed to the inside of a small room that included both Uranus, and Midwar sitting on throne-like chairs in front of him.
The room had an active fireplace that housed orange-red flames, and that was positioned a few meters behind the two Elders. The floor consisted of cobbled, moss-green stone that had four red, and gold colored carpets placed at evenly spaced distances along its width. The ceiling was made of dark, polished wood, and had a chandelier at its center that emitted magic light.
Nick himself currently sat on a polished, padded, wooden chair two meters in front of Midwar, and Uranus, aligned with the center point between them. Nick still continued to heal his injuries using Dragon Recovery's power. Midwar was the first to speak:
"Greetings again, Nick. You exceeded my expectations this time around. Defeating Adam was not a simple feat. In fact, if you were a member of our family, you would be close to being one of the strongest rank 3 late stage Magicians."
The implications behind Midwar's words were clear. He implied that the Nefari family had rank 3 late stage Magicians stronger than Adam, and Nick believed him. Midwar continued:
"You asked for the soul of a rank 4 blade path dragon, so here it is."
Midwar waved his right hand, following which, a clear, grapefruit-sized, crystal orb appeared at Nick's immediate front that had a bright, white light at its center. Nick quickly took the clear orb into his embrace while observing it. Midwar explained:
"That soul containing crystal houses the soul of a rank 4 brutal-blade dragon. It has been in my treasury for a while because I did not have a use for it until now. You seem to have some skill in soul path, so that may not be the case for you. Treasure it, for the brutal-blade dragon is a close relative of the blade dragon, and is far more temperamental. It almost killed the rank 4 late stage Magician that eventually subjugated it with the help of some magic tools."
After Nick observed the soul containing crystal for a few more seconds, he wordlessly stored it into one of his space bands. He then said:
"The battle was worth the cost."
Nick had almost been killed, and he lost a soul path magic sword that had cost him several vatas to purchase. Ordinary rank 3 Magicians would normally have to save for a long time to obtain a weapon like that, but Nick lost it in a battle meant to humiliate him. Comparisons were truly odious.
(The cost is still bearable because of the experience gained, and the possible talents that I might gain from the soul of a rank 4 dragon. I am also to receive 500 vatas, with which I could buy many more magic swords if I wanted.)
All in all, Nick gained much from taking part in the battle, although he almost lost his life. Becoming independently strong was often like this. Many victories had a great reward because sufficient risk had to be taken. On the other hand, if one failed, they were condemned without mercy, becoming less than dog shit.
Uranus spoke at this time:
"You really surprised this old man, Nick. I am still willing to take you in as my student if you ever have a change of heart. Do you know what you will be doing after this?"
Nick thought for a bit before replying:
"When I think too far ahead, my plans always become like a fleeting blur. These days, I just cultivate one day at a time."
Uranus chuckled a little bit before replying:
"You know, when I was much younger, one of my teachers asked me a question not expecting me to have the correct answer. It was, 'Do you know when you are on the right path?' I did not have the correct answer, but he did. The answer was, 'You are on the right path when the pathway ahead disappears.'. Ha, ha, ha…"
Uranus laughed for close to half a minute after remembering his more youthful days. Midwar sighed as he heard his old friend laugh, thinking:
(Old friend, are you trying to send this man on a road to destruction? When the path disappears, someone may find great strength, even discernment, and talent. Yes, that is true. But on that path, there are also great dangers where that person might just fall into one pit out of many, where they also knock their head on a hard stone, and die, so to speak.)
Nick squinted his eyes in response to Uranus' words before softly muttering:
"I am on the right path when the pathway disappears…"
Nick then thought about how the continuous road within his mindscape suddenly disappeared during a period of cultivation, and a sudden realization struck him:
(How can there be an outlined pathway when when the future is filled with limitless possibilities. I am not walking the path traveled by anyone else, but instead carving out my own. Of course the road disappeared…)
For some reason, Nick felt a mental pressure that he had never noticed before ease in that moment of realization. He now knew for sure that his cultivation put him on a path towards any destination that he wanted to arrive at, even if that pathway was uncertain.
After Uranus stopped laughing, Midwar spoke to Nick:
"Our business has concluded. You, and I have no grievance, and let it remain that way. Percy, send Nick to the Nefari Travel Company!"
After hearing Midwar shout that order, Nick's perspective changed once again to include him standing in the reception hall of the Nefari Travel Company, where Cylus, and his nine employees were waiting; Nick had appeared near to the glass double doors.
When his employees noticed his appearance, all nine of them approached him by sprinting excitedly, soon saying:
"Boss, your fight was awesome."
"How did you survive being surrounded by all that ice?"
"Even the Nefaris cannot look down on us."
"Our company is going to be legendary if you are in charge, boss."
…
After listening to his employees ask questions that he was not going to answer, and speak a little nonsense, Nick spoke to them plainly:
"We are going back to the office."
After giving Cylus a departing nod of the head, Nick led his employees outside the Nefari Travel Company before enveloping them in his formless magic energy, and activating Cursed Vessel. Within moments, Nick and the nine rank 2 Magicians vanished from the commercial district.
Cylus, who had observed the entire scene internally sighed, saying:
(I will be going into closed door cultivation after today. I cannot allow myself to be outpaced so much by a junior.)