Chapter Forty-One: True Magic

Yet Antinoia remained completely unmoved, as if she hadn’t seen his raised arm at all.

Zhao Xu sensed something was amiss.

Antinoia hadn’t even made the most basic evasive movement.

Refusing to move didn’t mean her defense rating would drop to zero; there were always armor bonuses and deflection bonuses to consider.

But not moving meant Dexterity was treated as zero, turning the adjustment into minus five.

No one could ignore the impact those five points had on defense.

Still, Zhao Xu was like a gambler who had followed the game to the final hand—at this point, it was impossible to pull back his punch.

Just as he was about to make contact with Antinoia, as if the spell from before—the magic missile—was on the verge of triggering again, Zhao Xu’s eyes flashed with incredulity.

A pair of immense, translucent wings unfurled behind Antinoia. At that moment, she seemed half dragon, half human.

Zhao Xu could only press forward, regardless of everything; even if Antinoia transformed fully into a true dragon, he would throw that punch.

A warrior’s spirit always presses onward, never retreats.

Faced with Zhao Xu’s punch, thrown with every ounce of his strength, Antinoia’s translucent wings were not mere decoration. They folded forward, creating a barrier, a force field shaped like dragon wings.

Zhao Xu instantly realized his punch had vanished like a stone sinking into water, its power dissolving into nothing.

The azure glow representing the Touch of Fatigue in his palm disappeared as well.

His attack had been neutralized; his spell was gone.

“Second-level spell: Wings of Sanctuary. It grants immunity to a special attack, but I’ll forego it now—you may continue,” Antinoia said, watching as Zhao Xu steadied himself and spoke calmly.

It was too difficult; even with Zhao Xu’s resilience, he felt as if he were trapped in a dead end.

Walls on every side—break one, another remains, endless and unyielding.

This spell provided natural immunity to an attack, incredibly powerful for a mere second-level spell, and it tempted him greatly.

Yet Zhao Xu felt no anger in his heart.

His eyes blazed with fighting spirit as he looked at Antinoia, as if she were a whetstone sharpening him.

He knew casting only a single spell per round was too slow.

He wished he could cast two spells in one round.

That way, at least Antinoia would not handle things so easily.

But he had no solution; almost all spells required a “standard action” to cast.

Spells that could be cast instantly as a “swift action” were rare, and he did not possess any.

So Zhao Xu could only cast one spell per round, while Antinoia responded as if playing chess, countering with a spell each turn.

Now, he was down to his last cantrip.

Even wanting to cast two spells in succession was impossible—he lacked the resources.

“If you don’t move soon, you’ll lose,” Antinoia said to him, smiling.

Zhao Xu was never one to submit to humiliation, but he was patient with taunts in battle.

In fights of his previous life, he’d seen too many who, unable to contain themselves, charged forth, only to be struck down by monsters before even reaching them.

In the casino, those who lost everything were always the ones who, after losing big, lost their heads and kept increasing their bets.

If Zhao Xu lost his composure now and cast his last spell impulsively, only to fail, that would be true defeat—Antinoia’s taunt would ring hollow compared to that.

He continued to pace around Antinoia.

He didn’t like gambling.

But at this point, he had no other choice.

Antinoia had said she would not use spells she’d already activated again.

Mages studied spells, but surely they didn’t research the same one twice?

If that held true, perhaps Antinoia had no means left to immunize herself from ray attacks.

Zhao Xu’s gaze grew resolute as he began to chant his spell, eyes locked on Antinoia.

This time, his casting took even longer than before.

At last, his robe fluttered though no wind blew.

Ray of Frost!

A beam of cold and icy shards shot from Zhao Xu’s hand, straight toward Antinoia.

It was much like Acid Splash, but inflicted cold damage instead.

Yet the very instant Zhao Xu released the spell, Antinoia let out a soft, mocking laugh.

Hearing her laugh, Zhao Xu knew he had failed again.

His last spell was gone.

His mind entered a state of clarity.

Everything in the world seemed distant, nothing could interfere any longer.

The last thread of consciousness told him he had to move faster.

He needed to cast again immediately; without two spells striking together, there was no breaking through Antinoia’s barriers.

But he had nothing left.

He did not know any spells that could be cast as a swift action.

He had no spell slots left.

Unless he could compress a “standard action” into a “swift action.”

Unless he could restore spell slots he had already spent.

Zhao Xu’s eyes took on a pale, almost divine hue, as if a proud god was gazing down upon the world.

Just then, the cold beam from his Ray of Frost reached Antinoia.

Tragedy is ever the same.

Antinoia seemed to possess a powerful repulsive force—the cold beam had not even brushed her garment before it was deflected away.

Invisible power constantly shielded Antinoia.

“Fourth-level spell: Friendly Fire, it can—”

Before Antinoia finished speaking.

Ray of Frost struck again!

A second beam of cold and ice appeared, though neither knew when it had been cast, and it rushed toward Antinoia.

Zhao Xu had cast Ray of Frost twice in succession!

Moments before, Zhao Xu had felt something surge in his mind, but even he hadn’t noticed it.

On his character sheet, a line appeared:

[Potential Points: 5]

His Ray of Frost, which should never have been compressed into a swift action, was instantly cast.

Thus, the second Ray of Frost landed directly on Antinoia.

It dispersed, and droplets of water fell to the floor.

Antinoia’s defenses blocked the ray.

Yet she had been struck by Zhao Xu’s spell.

Zhao Xu had succeeded.

Everything was so contrary to common sense!

Not only did Zhao Xu have no spell slots left!

He also lacked the metamagic feat—Quicken Spell.

The second Ray of Frost arrived simultaneously because it had been cast instantly.

With Quicken Spell, any “standard action” spell could be transformed into a “swift action” spell.

From several seconds of chanting to instantaneous casting.

That was the strategic value of Quicken Spell.

So, even though Quicken Spell required a fourth-level spell slot, people sought it eagerly.

However, Zhao Xu’s Ray of Frost was a cantrip; to quicken it, it required a fourth-level slot.

Even if his spell slots were intact, he only had first-level slots—how could he possibly jump three levels and quicken the spell?

Not to mention, he hadn’t mastered Quicken Spell as a feat.

“How did he do that?”

From the shadowy corner of the arena, a black-robed mage stepped forward, gazing at Zhao Xu, but addressing Antinoia.

How could Zhao Xu so brazenly defy the rules?

Why him?