Right after Zane blinked, when he opened his eyes, he found himself, his colleagues, Cylus, Midwar, and Percy standing within a luxurious theatre. The theatre had four columns of seats that each included over twenty rows. The seats were entirely padded using dark-red materials supported on a black metal frame.
Each column was separated by a dark-red, carpeted walkway that had the form of descending steps. The rest of the floor appeared to be grooved, and consisted of a slightly rough, light-green, concrete-like material. The theatre had the shape of a cylinder that had the height of about twenty meters, and for lighting, there was a large chandelier attached to the center of the ceiling that emitted light magic. The ceiling happened to be made of the same material as the floor.
The theatre was currently filled by more than half with people wearing many varieties of magician's robes, and a few wearing pants suits. Zane quickly noticed that most of these people had blonde hair, and dark eyes. He, and the others that he came to the theatre with were currently standing on a flat area that was situated one the same level as the highest rows of seats, which had a distance from the polished lumber walls of about ten meters.
Along this level, attached to the wall, there was a private theatre box of sorts that was built along the length of the wall for about fourteen meters. The private theatre box was made of a dark metal, and on its front-most face, a tinted, wide bay window took the place of the dark metal.
At the very center of the theatre, an almost entirely spherical mass of what seemed to be water, or some other kind of liquid floated from near the floor to have a height that exceeded the level of the highest seats by a few meters. The surface of the water ball would writhe every now, and then, but must of the surface was uniform throughout.
The surface of the water ball revealed video recordings of an arid, rocky land, and often shifted its perspective to show Nick standing firmly as well as the recording of another man, who sat cross-legged on the rocky ground while sporting a carefree expression.
Zane asked aloud without thinking:
"What is that? A magic tool?"
Cylus shifted his gaze to the magic tool, realizing that Zane was asking about the water ball at the center of the theatre. Although Cylus knew that Zane, and the others were only rank 2 Magicians, since they were guests that he brought here personally, he was resolved to treat them courteously. He answered Zane's question:
"That magic tool is called an observation sphere. It is a water path, and light path magic tool. You can easily spectate events in high definition by simply focusing your magic sense on it. You will even be able to feel the fluctuations in magic energy related to whatever it is viewing. It is the perfect tool to use to observe large scale events."
Zane, and the other eight rank 2 Magicians seemed so fascinated by the observation sphere that they could not take their eyes off it. Zane, however, soon had a realization, and spoke aloud:
"Oh, so because Nick will be battling the other Magician within an artificial realm, the observation sphere will be used to record every detail."
Cylus nodded his head once, before saying:
"A battle between rank 3 late stage Magicians can often have devastating outcomes, so it is best to give them a large enough area to use their magic properly. Otherwise, we would be depriving ourselves of a real spectacle. Nick's opponent, Adam Nefari, is an especially powerful rank 3 late stage Magician. He specializes in the ice path."
Zane listened intently to Cylus, and when the latter was finished speaking, Zane placed his focus on the observation sphere using his magic sense to observe Nick, wondering if this battle would be a good, or bad thing:
(The Nefaris are one of the wealthiest legacy families in Britain. Can Nick really defeat one of their strongest rank 3 Magicians?)
The eight other rank 2 Magicians also used their magic sense to focus on the observation sphere, but were so unnerved by the fact that they were on a Nefari estate that they remained silent. Midwar soon spoke:
"Cylus, you, and Nick Capitol's companions will sit in the private theatre box with the rest of us. Let us take our place before the fighting begins."
When the rank 2 Magicians heard that they were being made to sit in a private theatre box with an Elder, they were inwardly shocked, then ecstatic, feeling that Midwar was generous. Cylus, however knew that it was not generosity:
(We cannot have unqualified outsiders mixing with our family's youth so openly. Elder Midwar wants to prevent a scandal, or an uproar by concealing the presence of these men for the duration of the contest…)
As Midwar, and Percy walked towards the private theatre box, Cylus led the nine rank 2 Magician to do the same. Soon, they all walked through the private theatre box's doorway, after its door had been opened by a grey-robed Magician, who appeared to be guarding it.
What Zane saw when he stepped inside the private theatre box was two rows of seats that each had fifteen seats, and that were identical to the ones he had seen before. The rows were well spaced from each other with each seat having a walking space on both sides of it. There were already four people sitting in the private theatre box at this time before they arrived.
Cylus quickly stepped forward with the intention of greeting a grey-haired man that had two sideburns, and a full beard. The man wore a black magician's robe that was decorated using gold ornaments. Cylus did a slight bow before speaking:
"Greetings, Elder Uranus. I see that we have two guests with us for the viewing of the contest."
Uranus nodded his head once in greeting before saying:
"Kirst here heard about the battle from Parvone, and made a request to accompany us to this estate."
Cylus glanced at Kirst Eltshire who was sitting behind Uranus while sporting a carefree expression as he focused on the observation sphere by peering through the bay window. Kirst wore a light-red magician's robe that had meaningless, black designs visible along its two long sleeves. Cylus then also glanced at the woman sitting at Kirst's left side, feeling some confusion because he did not recognize her.
The woman looked to be in her mid-twenties, had pale-white skin, long, dirty-blonde hair, and blue eyes. She wore a dark-blue magician's robe that had cryptic symbols drawn on it using gold pigment, a pair of flat leather shoes, and a pair of dark-rimmed glasses. She returned Cylus' gaze with a polite smile. She emitted the magic energy belonging to rank 3 late stage Magician.
Knowing that Cylus was likely unfamiliar with the woman, Uranus leisurely introduced her:
"Cylus, this is Lilith Eltshire. She is Kirst's aunt as well as a very rare wisdom path Magician."
Cylus was a little caught off guard by the fact that he was meeting a Wisdom Magician from the royal family in such circumstances, but kept his expression neutral. He thought:
(Why would this woman be here? Hmph! Whenever Wisdom Magicians are sent out from their usual stations, trouble abounds later. They are are all schemers, and troublemakers.)
Midwar, who also listened to Uranus' introduction furrowed his brows. He was not made aware of this woman's identity until now, and so grew suspicious:
(The royal family has sent a wisdom path Magician to watch a battle between rank 3s? The chance that she is here because she is bored is unlikely. Old Uranus actually let this woman accompany him? He must have his aims. I will ask him later…)
Midwar went ahead, and greeted Lilith, still maintaining his authoritative tone:
"It is quite nice to be in the company of such a beautiful Wisdom Magician. I am Elder Midwar Nefari."
Lilith stood to her feet as she returned the greeting:
"This one here is pleased to make your acquaintance, Elder Midwar. I did not announce my visit because I simply came here to accompany my nephew. He, and your son are quite close."
Upon hearing that, Midwar shifted his eyes slightly to observe Parvone, who sat at Uranus' right side. Parvone wore a simple, white magician's robe while also sporting his Hovering Grace, and Heating Element magic tools. Parvone's gaze was fixed on the observation sphere, and his expression revealed his current bitterness, and irritation. Midwar internally lamented:
(That boy…since he was injured by Nick Capitol, his nature has taken a turn for the worst. One setback has made him saturated with grievance, and bitterness. He wanted to have a rematch with Nick, but how could I allow that now that the latter has higher cultivation than him? Hopefully, seeing Adam defeat Nick will ease his vengeful emotions so he can cultivate in earnest once more…)
Midwar quickly shifted his gaze back to Lilith, and replied:
"You are welcomed on my estate, any time. The Nefaris, and the Eltshires have always been brethren. Let us watch the battle together like such."
Lilith slightly bowed in politeness before retaking her seat, and placing her attention on the observation sphere. Kirst slightly shifted his gaze to observe Lilith for a moment before returning it to the observation sphere.
Midwar then took his seat at Uranus' left, following which, Percy, and Cylus took their seats beside Midwar in that order. Cylus used hand signals to indicate that Nick's employees were to sit to the left of himself in the back row, and front row. Zane acted first by sitting at Cylus' left side while the rest of the rank 2 Magicians sat where they could.
While the people in the private theatre box were getting settled, the Nefaris sitting outside of it were having discussions about the upcoming battle:
"Adam is actually battling a nobody?"
"I was told to come here to view a real rank 3 late stage battle. I did not think that our family member would be fighting with an outsider."
"Didn't you here? Elder Midwar's son lost badly to the white-haired man, and so they want to make an example out of him."
"I know Adam a little. He is a bit disinterested, but he is strong."
"Yeah. I think he even has two magic tools that we know of."
"What about the nobody? Do we know anything about him?"
"The nobody kind of seems familiar. Wait…I think he was one of the participants in the last major inter-academy competition years ago."
"Really? Now that you mention it, I do remember him. How can he be rank 3 late stage already?"
"Whatever! It is not like there aren't a few talented people among the commoners, but talent won't matter here."
"Right. Adam is going to freeze him to death by lunch."
…
Dozens of Nefaris of varying ages, and cultivation sat in the theatre. Although they were made to come here to witness the battle due to the influence of Midwar, many of them knew almost nothing about Nick, or why this battle was being taken so seriously.
As everyone focused on the observation orb using their magic sense, they witnessed Nick envelop Adam with his magic energy. Because of the abilities of the observation orb, they were also able to sense the power of Nick's magic energy. Most of the spectators were shocked at the quality of, and pressure induced by Nick's magic energy alone.
The people within the private theatre box were caught off guard. Cylus asked rhetorically:
"What happened to his magic energy? It completely changed form from a kind of mist to having no visible form at all. Instead, it is like the presence of space itself that holds reality firmly in its influence. It feels so stifling."
Midwar snorted before commenting:
"His magic energy is only slightly special. It has the qualities of an almost pure space. He must have quite the divergent mindscape, or a special talent."
Uranus also commented:
"It is indeed quite strange that his magic energy changed in quality so much since we last met him, but that change is probably why he is rank 3 late stage, right now. His potential is as good as I thought it would be."
Parvone silently gritted his teeth when he heard his teacher speak such words. Kirst continued to silently observe the situation while sporting an expression that revealed his fascination. He thought:
(Nick's powers are unfathomable. To increase the quality of his magic energy by this much over such a short period of time, even if he did travel to Greet Tree, he must have cultivated like a mad man…)
Kirst then thought of a matter before slightly shifting his gaze to observe Lilith's expression. Seeing that his aunt did not change her polite smile by even a degree, he returned his full focus to the observation orb.
Zane, and the other rank 2 Magicians were shocked by Nick's power. Because of the observation orb, they could experience extreme fluctuations in magic energy without being harmed by it, so they had the opportunity to witness the battle in full detail. They had their questions, and other things to say, but since they were sitting with rank 3 Magicians, they felt that it was best to be quiet, especially after remembering Nick's instructions before coming to the venue.
Soon, everyone finally heard the unseen adjudicator announce the start of the battle:
"Begin the match!"
The whole theatre then witnessed Adam make a significant move, seemingly freezing Nick solid in mere milliseconds by creating a large glacier that enveloped the latter. Parvone praised Adam's actions aloud:
"Hmph! Serves Nick Capitol right for being arrogant. Adam has already finished the match so quickly using his powerful ice magic. Nick…"
Midwar sternly interrupted Parvone's words before he could finish:
"Hold your tongue, Parvone! We have guests here. Do not make us look foolish because of your words."
Parvone immediately felt wronged after hearing his father's reproach, but realized that it was justified when moments later, he witnessed Nick walk through the glacier made of clear ice to stand unharmed in front of it, as if Adam's magic had no effect on him.
Parvone muttered aloud without heeding his father's words:
"No way."
At this time, Lilith's intense gaze finally betrayed her interest in the battle. Kirst did not fail to notice her peculiar focus.
*********************************************************
Nick stood in front of the glacier while maintaining his Seeker Instinct spell. His breathing, however, was slightly labored. He mused at this time:
(Seeker Instinct allowed me pass through the ice as well as avoid being frozen, but Adam's magic power was slightly able to penetrate the influence of my spell's space path laws, causing harm to my body. His power is no joke. Even this drop in temperature has me feeling great discomfort despite the influence of my space magic energy.)
Nick quickly realized that Adam was not an average Ice Magician. The latter's magic power took the form of clear ice, but was profound. Nick steeled his resolve before taking one step forward using his right foot:
(I can win! Cursed Vessel.)
The moment Nick's right foot touched the ground again, he disappeared. Sensing trouble ahead, Adam instinctively cast his defensive spell:
(Indomitable Self-Ice)
Within an instant, layers of clear ice, and frost appeared covering his robe, and visible skin. At the same time, Nick reappeared at his immediate right side while throwing out a punch using his left fist.
(Dragon Armor.)
Nick's left arm silently became covered in seemingly hard, deep-blue scales within milliseconds. The burst of soul path magic power induced Adam's expression to become serious as he moved to parry Nick's punch using his own right arm.
Nick's left fist, and Adam's right forearm that was covered with clear ice quickly collided, creating waves of magic power. Where Nick's left fist had hit Adam's forearm immediately began to freeze over as the ice magic attempted to freeze Nick's left hand. Even while successfully parrying the blow, Adam's body, however, felt like it had been mired in mud due to his soul being affected by Nick's physical contact, but he decided that he was not going to back away from Nick at this time.
Within moments, the deep-blue scales on Nick's left hand became covered in clear frost, and Nick observed that the white snow that fell onto him formed thin layers of ice that did not fall off or fade. He grew wary of the environment:
(This snow is likely the beginning of a set-up. I cannot lose my ground, or halt my momentum.)
Nick quickly raised his right index, and middle fingers while clenching his other right fingers together, making a distinctive hand sign. When Parvone saw the hand sign, his emotions became even more bitter while he thought:
(Here it comes…)
At this point, the scales on Nick's left forearm were beginning to develop a thick layer of clear frost, but Nick ignored that so that he could cast his spell as 40,000 magical units of his magic energy was instantly consumed in its activation:
(Malevolent Shrine.)
A seemingly solid, pitch-black void immediately enveloped a few hundred meters around Nick's, and Adam's positions. Hundreds of large, incomplete, pale-white skeletons were littered on the ground as a result, and a fifteen-meter-high, tattered temple appeared standing erect behind Nick.
Adam's eyebrows jumped in response to sensing the magic power that now saturated the surroundings. He thought:
(Although Midwar mentioned this spell, his description did not do it proper justice. I sense both blade path, and space path. Not to mention, this barrier that it manifests has a mysterious integrity. I probably cannot easily escape by attacking it from the inside…)
The observation orb was a magic tool ranked higher than rank 3, so it could easily peer through Malevolent Shrine's pitch-black barrier to see the events within it. Uranus squinted his eyes for a moment as he contemplated the appearance of the incomplete skeletons. Midwar made comments before Uranus did:
"Those are incomplete dragon skeletons. I was informed that the bones present during this spell's resolution were of varying magic beasts, and were not assembled at all. Those are clearly dragon bones. Is this a different spell, or did Nick Capitol's spell evolve somehow?"
Cylus observed the environment created by Malevolent Shrine, and couldn't help but wonder:
(This is the same blade path, and space path spell that Nick used in his battle with Parvone, isn't it? It has to be, but it is slightly different now. Is Nick's spell changing along with his increased cultivation?)
Uranus interjected at this time:
"It seems that Nick has some high quality goods. His spell is probably of the kind that advances along with its caster, and is incomplete until Nick's cultivation reaches a certain point. Until then, his progress will alter its manifestation until he fully matures."
Lilith decided to speak after Uranus:
"That spell has a malevolent aura. I heard from Kirst that Nick is a spell maker that uses his own creation. Someone of his age, and rank cannot manufacture a spell like this."
No one said a word in response to Lilith's remarks, but the rank 3 Magicians, and Elders knew their implications. Midwar internally commented:
(As expected of a Wisdom Magician. She silenced the room using only a few words. Her commentary implies that Nick, in fact, is not without sufficient background. Either that, or he has obtained a powerful inheritance. Either topics are not appropriate to discuss here, but our reaction to her words have allowed her to gauge our true knowledge of him…)
Midwar was really annoyed with having a wisdom path Magician that originated from another family in their midst because they had to constantly be wary of her likely scheming tongue.
(I should have brought one of our Wisdom Magicians here as well.)
The rank 2 Magicians all kept quiet, but they were internally scared after sensing Malevolent Shrine's power. To them, it felt evil, and unfathomable, and made them see Nick in a new light.
Within Malevolent Shrine's void, Nick was about to fully resolve the spell using Adam as the target, but at the same time, however, Adam, cast a spell of his own:
(Indomitable Cocoon)
Adam's body instantly erupted with icy mist that was saturated with intense ice magic power. Sensing trouble, Nick took a step back with his right foot, following which, he disappeared, and then reappeared about a hundred meters away from Adam's front, having activated Cursed Vessel to do so.
At that time Malevolent Shrine's power went to work, but at the same time, Adam's icy mist concentrated into a ice block that enveloped him before expanding outwards in all directions in the same time that it took to blink. Thick, clear ice quickly loomed over dozens of meters around Adam as light gusts of wind seemingly moved against it, and throughout the space.
CRRK CRRK CRRK CRRK CRRK CRRK CRRK CRRK CRRK CRRK CRRK…
Sounds of ice being sliced apart immediately resounded. Layer after layer of ice was rapidly sliced into thousands of pieces that fell to the floor, including that of the glacier that Adam initially created. Within two seconds, Adam's massive ice cocoon become only as large as a telephone booth. For Adam, this was a slightly troublesome outcome, but the delay caused by his clear ice gave him enough time to prepare, and cast one of his advanced grade spells:
(Clear Ice Age)
After Adam cast his spell, everything within Malevolent Shrine's pitch-black void, including the interior of the void itself instantly froze, being covered with thick layers of clear ice, and frost. Unfortunately for Nick, he was not immuned to the power of Adam's spell, and was instantly frozen from head to toe.
Nick remained conscious after the freezing, but he was shocked by the spell's effectiveness:
(Adam's spell overpowered Hollow Shade's magic power, making the added distance between myself, and him that it provides me useless.)
Although Seeker Instinct was still active, Adam's magic power gave Nick a serious chill, slowing his movements. The extreme cold even resisted Malevolent Shrine's magic power long enough for the spell to fully resolve without even cutting Adam once; the spell fully resolved so soon because Nick's concentration had been interrupted.
As soon as Nick stepped through the ice statue of himself that had formed because of Adam's spell, Malevolent Shrine's manifestations vanished. Adam did not plan to ease up the pressure on Nick, though, because the latter seemed more dangerous than he had initially thought.
Adam cast Indomitable Ice again, causing a thick layer of ice to rapidly shoot out from beneath his feet to seemingly envelop, and freeze Nick, creating another large glacier, but Nick did not stop moving until he stepped out of the glacier, and away from it. At that point, he mused while summoning Hard Marvel into his right grip:
(Adam's spell casting is just as fast, or even faster than Parvone's was. It is really annoying…)
Ice magic usually had characteristics that made it especially effective at restricting, and harming fleshy opponents, and fluids. In terms of the quickness at which ice path spells were usually cast, they were average at best, but Adam defied this logic. The latter projected ice to far distances within milliseconds.
Despite Seeker Instinct being active, Nick began to see his own breath, and this made him slightly concerned. Adam noticed this little change, and became pleased with himself:
(My magic tool, Chill Lace, allows my ice magic to slightly penetrate otherwise impenetrable objects, and spaces. Nick's space magic can only delay me for a time before I freeze him.)
A few meters away from the glacier, Nick activated Cursed Vessel, and suddenly vanished, before instantly reappearing about nine meters above Adam, after which, he canceled Seeker Instinct. He then quickly covered his entire body using Dragon Armor's deep-blue scales.
(Dragon Hold.)
Nick conjured a special space that enveloped himself and Adam, but could not be visibly seen. The special space, however, slightly vibrated. Sensing Nick's space magic power wash over him, Adam became alert.
Immediately following the casting of his spell, Nick rapidly raised Hard Marvel before slashing it down towards Adam. A wide, crescent-shaped arc of obsidian-black blade light was then emitted from its blade, moving towards Adam at cannon-ball-speed. Adam may have been a fast spell caster, but that did not necessarily mean that he could react to offending spells quickly.
The obsidian-black blade light quickly enveloped him, following which, the ice layers created by his Indomitable Self-Ice spell spread to cover his entire body. Any cut that was made as a result of the blade light breaching the icy defense was instantly frozen over, bolstering the defense again.
Nick did not stop there. As an immediate follow up, he activated Cursed Vessel to teleport to a position two meters away from Adam's rear, where he swung Hard Marvel horizontally, emitting another wide, crescent-shaped arc of obsidian-black blade light towards his foe that moved at canon-ball-speed.
Adam sighed when he sensed the incoming blade light, but was still to slow to react because of factors that he was helpless about:
(My ice magic is intense, but that intensity creates the problem that it briefly slows my body's movements, and metabolism every now, and then. My talent, Fast Freeze, allows me to cast ice path spells at incredible speed, but it does not enhance my own movement speed, or protect my ability to think at a consistent pace. If I had the Ice Flesh talent, things might be different…)
About the same time that Adam finished that thought, more black blade light enveloped him. To the spectators, Adam now seemed to be replaced by a twinkling, black star that made the hairs on the back of their necks stand up. The spectators soon began to discuss:
"So this is a battle between rank 3 late stage Magicians. It is so thrilling."
"Do you sense those intense fluctuations in magic power. I have never felt anything like it before."
"What was the other guy's name, again?"
"Nick Capitol, I think. He is not bad at all. The spell that he cast to summon that black barrier was especially cool."
"Yeah, but let's not overlook Adam's powers. His ice path abilities are evidently among the very best in his rank."
…
Many of the rank 3 spectators discussed among themselves:
"This battle is not simple. There are many abilities that are not so obvious at work."
"Right. Both Adam, and Nick Capitol are in possession of magic tools that enhance their combat ability."
"Adam having powerful magic tools is expected since he is a part of our family, but where did Nick Capitol get his? Is it that he is affluent?"
"Maybe…in any case, this battle will likely be a hard fought one."
…
Adam finally reacted by casting Indomitable Cocoon again. As the thick layers of ice expanded outwards with him as the center, the black blade light was dispelled as a result. Before the clear ice could reach him, however, Nick pointed his left index finger towards Adam.
Following that, a rotating sphere of red space magic power that had a radius of nearly half a meter intercepted the ice in front of Nick, seemingly consuming it by quickly dragging the ice towards its core where the ice was crushed into dust.
At this time, Nick cast Dragon Recovery to heal some internal damage caused by the lingering cold of Adam's ice magic. He then also conjured a rotating sphere of grey magic energy that was the same size as the red sphere. He quickly moved the grey sphere to merge with the red sphere, to produce a cream-colored sphere that expanded outwards to envelop the entire ice structure.
Nick then clenched his left hand, following which, the cream sphere shrunk by half, basically compressing the ice that was contained within, and also Adam. Adam, who was at the center of the compressed ice quickly dispelled much of the surrounding ice fast enough to prevent himself from being crushed to death. He mused at this time:
(My spells originate from the indomitably clear inheritance, and so they allow me to quickly dispel the ice that they generate if I will it, at the cost of some battle momentum, but I am not complaining.)
Nick squinted his eyes as he felt an intense resistance to his space magic after he had compressed the ice by half. He could not compress the ice further thereafter. He thought:
(This must be because of the increased magical resistance of the ice magic as it was concentrated by my compression. Adam is no doubt also helping to maintain the resistance by continuing to pour his magic energy into the ice without increasing its mass…)
Before Nick could think of an appropriate counter, however, Adam acted to relieve himself of his predicament by casting another one of his advanced grade spells:
(Clear Ice Star)
Starting at the surface of the compressed ice, dozens of sharp ice spike jutted out in all directions at incredible speed. Nick's cream sphere was stabbed through in many places as a result, not being able to resist Adam's ice at all. Seeing that Adam's spell was peculiar, Nick dispelled the cream sphere to redirect his focus.
The ice spikes quickly stabbed deep into the already frozen ground, following which, the ground developed even more ice layers than before. The ice spikes also went after Nick, but he quickly countered by casting Dragon Form, and using his sword technique:
(Cross Stream Sword Technique.)
Nick's right arm moved at an incredibly fast speed that made it seem like a blue-black blur as he cut away the ice spikes that moved directly towards him. Hard Marvel moved like a meandering river as it delivered dozens of cuts to the clear ice spikes within less than one second. As time went on, clear ice spikes passed Nick, stabbing into the ground or remaining in mid air, and the ones that threatened Nick directly did not cease moving towards him no mater how much he cut them apart.
As the clear ice rubble around him grew in amount, Nick furrowed his brows due to the constantly decreasing temperature. Eventually, Nick conjured another large, rotating, red sphere of space magic in front of himself, and forced it to move forward to consume the persistent ice spikes, but only a relatively small amount of ice was consumed before the ice spikes stabbed through the red sphere, quickly destroying it.
Nick however gained enough time to activate Cursed Vessel, following which, he instantly teleported to a position one kilometer meter away from the ice spikes. After that, Nick canceled Dragon Recovery, and Dragon Hold, processed 40,000 magical units of magic energy outside of his body, drew that magic energy into his mindscape, and forced the deep-blue scales on his body to recede completely, making them imperceptible.
Nick then quickly activated Sheer Soul's ability, Sheer Hold, and cast Soul Haze, spreading the resulting black haze towards the center of the ice spikes, which each had stopped moving forward after reaching about six hundred meters. The black haze spread quickly, and in seconds, it reached Adam's position. Adam, who was still encased in ice, sensed the soul magic power that made up the black haze, and furrowed his brows.
The layers of ice that were enveloping him could evidently not defend him from the deleterious effects of the black haze once it saturated the atmosphere. Not only that, but the moment that he was affected by the black haze, he felt that it became harder to move, as if his body had been submerged in a pool.
After successfully casting his spell, Nick waited before he began processing more magic energy outside his body, and then recovering it by drawing it into his mindscape. Over two minutes, Nick did this three times before Adam felt that something was amiss. He could not visually see Nick recovering his magic energy, but his magic sense informed him that the amount of magic energy that Nick involuntarily exuded was quickly rising instead of falling.
This phenomenon was happening faster with Nick than with Adam himself, who was now attempting to passively recover his magic energy. This caused Adam to come to a conclusion:
(He is recovering his magic energy faster than I am. I can't stay here?)
Adam knew that allowing Nick to recover too much magic energy was dangerous, so he quickly dispelled the ice closest to him, and the ice spikes, turning it all into vapour before casting Indomitable Freeze. This time, ice was conjured continuously as Adam was raised over ten meters into the air, and carried forward at speeds exceeding one hundred kilometers per hour.
Within seconds, he reached within four hundred meters of Nick, and cast another one of his spells:
(Indomitable Rising)
Immediately following, a ten-meter-high, three-hundred-meter-wide glacier immediately rose from the ground, and moved forward at speeds exceeding one hundred kilometers per hour. Adam then manipulated the ice directly below his feet to rise to over forty meters above ground before he exuded a massive cloud of magic energy while casting other spells:
(Indomitable Flash Freeze)
(Indomitable Precise Ice)
The moving glacier's surface area almost instantly doubled in size due to one of Adam's spells. Seeing the fast, incoming, huge mass of ice, Nick was about to activate Cursed Vessel, but before he could, his body immediately froze over with a thin layer of clear ice, and frost. Nick still tried to activate Cursed Vessel, but his talent failed to resolve its effect; he could not move from his position either. Nick was shocked to say the least:
(What is going on? What kind of spell has the power to keep me in place like this? Sigh…sure enough, legacy Magicians have the edge…)
Nick observed the massive glacier while it fast approached to crash into him, and as soon as he blinked, it had already arrived at his immediate front. Nick willed for Dragon Armour's deep-blue scales to immediately cover his entire body, and as that was completed, ice, and frost crashed into him without mercy.
Within moments, Nick was buried under many tonnes of ice, at which point, Adam flew over the glacier by riding on his moving ice bridge; the black haze within the atmosphere quickly began to vanish. The formless cloud of magic energy that Adam exuded moments ago also vanished; hardly any magic energy could be sensed leaving Adam's body at this time. Adam was soon forced to halt his movement, and then observed the glacier below using his magic sense, thinking:
(My inheritance does not have a rank 3 scouting method, but that is only a minor weakness for now. My Indomitable Flash Freeze spell doubled the surface area of my glacier, and my advanced grade Indomitable Precise Ice spell granted my Indomitable Rising spell a sure hit quality by preventing the target within its area of effect from moving out of its path.
Although this combination of spell casting almost completely drained my magic energy reserves, it was worth it. It is a good thing that I have the Energy Saver talent that decreases the magic energy required to cast my spells, or performing this combination would have been too difficult with my magic energy holding capacity.)
The spectators sitting outside the private theatre box remained quiet for a seemingly long time before anyone said something. The first person to speak, however, was a rank 3 initial stage Magician who soon spoke for everyone to hear:
"That's it! Nick Capitol is dead. There is no way that someone could survive being buried under all that ice. I saw his situation clearly before the glacier hit. His body was already frozen stiff. Even if he had a defensive spell active, what kind of defense could resist all that ice magic for so long?"
The other rank 3 Magicians mumbled to themselves:
"He's probably right."
"Nick Capitol put up a good fight, but Adam was the better Magician this time."
"It's a shame that one battle cost the outsider his life, but it is not our fault. He was simply too arrogant, believing that he could beat a Nefari."
"Adam's abilities have improved immensely. The last combination he pulled off had to involve at last three different spells by my calculation. He must be drained of magic energy, though."
The rank 2 Magicians heard the discussions, and adopted the same opinions because of the rank 3 Magicians' greater status. Some felt that it was a shame that Nick had to die in that manner, but most were apathetic because he was an outsider, and was not even from a legacy family.
Nick's rank 2 employees sitting inside the private theatre box silently panicked. To them, there boss had just met an untimely demise. Zane shifted his gaze to the other people in the room, so that he could observe their expressions.
(I will decide what to do based on how they react. If they become even slightly hostile, I, and the others will have to run out of the private theatre box to make any harm inflicted on us a public matter.)
Zane was not oblivious to how cruel Magicians could be, and he would not be surprised if the Nefaris turned on them after Nick died. Sensing the unease of Nick's employees, Uranus spoke to allay their fears:
"Calm yourselves. Nick Capitol is not dead."
Midwar rubbed his chin in interest using his right hand, before also speaking:
"That man is quite resilient despite his arrogance."
Parvone slightly turned his head to look at his father, who seemed to be praising his enemy. Midwar noticed Parvone's gaze, and sighed in response. He gave his son a brief lecture without minding the outsiders present:
"Parvone, it seems that you have not learnt. We are Magicians. That is our livelihoods. Skill, and competence are to be admired, and praised if we are to survive the pressures around us, even if we are offended. If you despise competent people just for being competent, then you might as well throw yourself in a grave along with the rest of the cynics, miscreants, and clowns."
Lilith smiled in response to hearing Midwar's words. She complemented him:
"Your words are wise, Elder Midwar."
Midwar internally sighed for having to say such things in front of guests, but correcting his son was more important than anything else. Parvone silently fixed his gaze on the observation orb after his father spoke. Kirst silently eyed Parvone for a few seconds before also returning his focus to the observation orb.
Under the massive glacier, Nick's entire body was frozen in place, and could not be move, almost becoming indiscernible from the ice itself. He soon canceled Dragon Form, and Soul Haze to reduce the burden on his mind. He painfully mused at this time:
(If not for Dragon's Advantage increasing my endurance, would I have survived that last attack? Ha! I may have been promoted to rank 3 late stage, but my combat ability is still lacking. My space magic is being restricted because of all the concentrated ice path laws, and my body is slowly failing because of the cold. It is really not easy being a Magician.
In any case, I have to figure out how to escape this ice before I freeze to death. My space magic cannot teleport me out of, or allow me to pass through the ice, so I will have to forsake those methods. I need a lot of power to save me in time before Dragon Armor collapses.
I cannot rely on space magic, and my soul magic is not suited to deal with all this ice. I will have to use blade magic to resolve this predicament. Malevolent Shrine has the power I need, but its space path aspects make using it difficult in this situation. I will have to discard the unnecessary to make use of the necessary…)
Nick knew the laws for Malevolent Shrine like they had been engraved onto his eyelids, or carved into his soul. Since he was also a blade path master, he had the qualifications to make use of its laws as he saw fit, especially if he also made use of his Eyes of the Fated talent. Nick quickly got to work by designing a new spell within his mindscape based on the thousands of blade path laws that Malevolent Shrine consisted of, stripping away what he did not need.
One minute in reality felt like hours within Nick's mindscape, and so after one minute passed, Nick had a rough spell to work with. He tried to form its laws using his magic energy to cast the spell, but failed four times which caused him to suffer backlash. Nick bled from his eyes, ears, nostrils, and mouth, but the ice quickly froze the blood.
After over two minutes since being frozen stiff, Nick finally completed the formation of the laws for the new spell, and successfully cast it just as he was near death. At this time 80,000 magical units of his magic energy was instantly consumed:
(Malevolent Altar.)
CRRK CRRK CRRK CRRK CRRK CRRK CRRK CRRK CRRK CRRK CRRK CRRK…
Adam, who had already assumed, that the match had been decided suddenly sensed a large surge in blade magic power, and his spine immediately straightened from the shock. He was about to use his magic to reinforce his glacier further, but before he could do so, he felt a sharp pain near his right shoulder. Looking at it in response, he realized that his right arm had been cut off, and that the wound was now pouring out blood like a fountain.
At the same time, the entire glacier beneath him was sliced by formless blade magic power into hundreds of thousands of small pieces that crumbled without warning.
(Cursed Vessel.)
Nick suddenly reappeared standing a few hundred meters away from where the glacier crumbled apart. Dragon Armor's deep-blue scales had already dissipated, and the spell was canceled. Nick breathed roughly as he struggled to stand. His skin had already turned a shade of blue, and his hair had partly been turned into icicles due to the cold. He was also feeling an absurd amount of pain, but he smiled in Adam's direction, speaking with a magically amplified voice:
"I got you!"