If he actually managed to break through all twenty-seven layers of shields, then in the end Rei would have to rely on the two-million-gold magic artifacts he had purchased today to survive.
Among those artifacts was a ring capable of unleashing the full defensive power of a Level 5 Defender for one minute.
There were also enchantments such as Blessing of Dulling, Blessing of Force Dissipation, Blessing of Hardening…
"What?"
Atlondo froze.
The shields he had just broken through weren't this thick before!
There were more layers now!
"Why—?!"
His instincts screamed a high-level warning.
Retreat!
But there was no time to dodge.
A beam of light shot through the air and pierced straight through his shoulder, blasting open a bloody hole.
So although his attack power and vitality were high, his body itself was still fragile. Even something with relatively low power like [Flash Bind Light] could punch straight through him.
Shing!
Yet his speed was astonishing.
The moment he was hit, he had already shifted to Rei's side.
[Combat Skill: Focus][State: Heart-Sword Unity]
The thrust shot forward!
But as he unleashed the attack, he suddenly realized—
The layers of defenses he had just broken through had already completely restored themselves.
[Piercing Strike: Gale Flurry Thrust]
Duu—
The thrust struck the Resilient Water Ring Shield…
And showed no sign of piercing through.
Thrust! Thrust thrust thrust thrust thrust thrust!
Sword light erupted like a violent storm of strikes.
Yet each thrust only created small ripples across the surface of the water shield.
There was no sign of breaking it.
How was that possible?
Just moments ago, he had been able to cut through Rei's defenses!
Why couldn't he even break through the outermost water shield now?
[Sacrifice — 1000 Souls. Increase the toughness of Resilient Water Ring Shield.]
"Break!"
"Break for me!"
Break!
Gurgle—
The sword drove deep into the water shield.
At the same time, a powerful elastic force pushed back against his hand.
It wouldn't break!
Duu—der~
The blade sank to its deepest point—
Then suddenly rebounded violently, launching the sword away.
Atlondo withdrew with the motion, catching the deflected blade as he pulled back to create distance.
A warrior could only open his own path after comprehending Ultimate Intent.
A warrior who had grasped Ultimate Intent was fundamentally different from an ordinary warrior.
It was like the difference between a mage who had understood Origin Magic and one who hadn't.
The gap was far greater than a single tier.
But now—
Why was it that even after finally grasping Ultimate Intent, he still couldn't break Rei's defenses?
Was the gap between them really that enormous?
Rei slowly raised his staff.
"It seems… it's my turn now."
Since the other side hadn't interrupted his thoughts earlier, Rei didn't mind returning the favor and allowing him to reach his own combat insight.
Precisely because Atlondo had not interrupted his thinking—
Rei had been able to arrive at his own answer regarding Origin.
The other man had shown honor in battle.
Rei didn't mind showing a little honor as well.
It seemed the 300-win Origin Spring reward could now be saved.
The moment Rei raised his staff—
Atlondo felt the aura around Rei change abruptly.
He instinctively stepped back several paces.
Only to discover that the thorns and sea of flames behind him had vanished.
The mist-covered battlefield had become open and empty once again.
And yet—
The pressure had grown even stronger.
The source of that pressure stood directly before him.
Rei.
"You will witness… my answer."
Rei raised one hand.
Forty-two ice lances appeared around him.
Within those ice lances were embedded strange objects—a slime corpse, poisoned daggers, mysterious magic scrolls…
Crash—
A faintly multicolored wave of flame surged forward.
It swept toward Atlondo like a tidal wall.
Atlondo drew his sword and slashed to split it in half—
But the wave of fire instantly transformed into a wave of water.
The slash passed straight through the massive surge without splitting it.
Splash—
And just as the wave was about to crash into Atlondo—
It suddenly vanished.
Meanwhile, the forty-two ice lances containing various items hovered in the air around Atlondo from every direction.
"Origin… is the vessel of all things."
"It carries all things."
"It bears everything… evolves into countless spells… endlessly transforming…"
"And thus—"
"Limitless variation."
To instantly convert a fully formed fire spell into a water spell…
That was a paradox within magic.
A rule that should not exist.
Yet Rei had performed it effortlessly.
Origin Magic was magic that technically should not exist.
Magic that no one but him could use.
"I've already seen your Ultimate Intent…"
"So let me show you my own line of thinking."
Bang!
The ice lances returned to orbit around Rei.
The various items embedded inside them had already vanished, recalled by Rei.
"Tier Two—Origin Magic."
"Origin Transmutation: All Spells."
A faint multicolored sphere of light appeared at Rei's fingertip.
Soon it split into three small spheres, circling around his index finger.
Unlike Izparut's [Elemental Void], which erupted with overwhelming grandeur—
This spell carried a subtle sense of fluid elegance.
As the colored spheres formed at his fingertips, Rei felt an extraordinary clarity flow through his body.
It was as though every meridian and channel of mana had been completely cleared.
This… was his answer.
The moment Atlondo saw the three colored spheres appear—
He raised his sword.
"Good…"
"Show me your full power!"
BANG!
The ground beneath his feet cracked apart.
Atlondo burst forward again, closing the distance with explosive speed.
He refused to yield.
He would prove that even against a mage who had mastered Origin, he was not inferior.
Rei merely lifted a finger slightly.
[Origin: Repulsion Wind Burst]
BOOM!
This time—
The wind burst was no longer a single explosive attack.
It became an endless repulsion storm.
The overwhelming force blasted Atlondo backward, slamming him against the edge of the arena.
The hurricane-like wind pinned him against the wall.
[Origin Transmutation: All Spells]
Effect:Transforms into any same-tier spell the caster has mastered or can imitate from others currently casting, granting the spell unique enhancements along with properties of permanence, transformation, all-element composition, and independent casting.
In other words—
A spell that normally erupted for a single instant could now become permanent.
[Origin: Repulsion Wind Burst (LV:201)]
Permanent Wind Burst — All-Element Storm — Enhanced Repulsion
Inside the Origin Repulsion Wind Burst, Atlondo was pinned helplessly against the wall by the crushing winds.
He had no strength to resist.
Rei canceled the wind burst.
Atlondo dropped to the ground.
But immediately afterward—
The ground turned vividly multicolored.
Seeing this, Atlondo didn't even pause to breathe before running for his life.
BOOM!
The earth suddenly exploded upward in brilliant colors.
Multicolored earthfire erupted into the sky.
Endless magma composed of all elements surged upward continuously.
Earthfire Ascension, a spell that normally produced a single burst of magma—
Had now become permanent.
As long as Rei didn't cancel it—
It would erupt forever.
This…
Completely violated the fundamental rules of magic.
One of the basic rules in magic textbooks stated:
True permanent magic does not exist.
Just like the concept of a perpetual motion machine.
Yet Rei could clearly feel that once he spent mana to cast a spell transformed by Origin Transmutation, it would continue indefinitely.
No additional mana was required afterward.
Of course, this permanence wasn't completely indestructible.
If powerful external interference struck the spell, it could still be destroyed.
Still…
He had essentially discovered a perpetual engine.
Understanding Origin truly opened an entirely new world.
Atlondo, however, hadn't given up attacking.
He charged forward again.
But a transparent barrier instantly blocked his slash.
CLANG!
[Origin: Protective Barrier]
Aside from its permanent and all-element properties—
Every spell transformed through Origin Transmutation was also a strengthened version of the original.
Even the raw defensive durability far exceeded a normal Protective Barrier.
Earlier, his triple-combined barrier had been cut open easily.
But now—
Atlondo couldn't even break a single layer.
This barrier hadn't even been enhanced through sacrifice.
And then—
Shing!
The barrier twisted.
It wrapped around Atlondo, enclosing him inside.
A protective barrier that once could only shield the caster—
Now could be projected onto others.
CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG!
Atlondo drew his sword and slashed wildly in every direction.
Yet there was no sign of breaking the barrier.
The warrior who ranked first had suddenly become a test subject for Rei's Origin Magic.
If Atlondo knew Rei's thoughts right now…
He might feel quite discouraged.
Even though Rei had already used [Multi-Casting] to split Origin Transmutation into three instances—
He could sense that Origin Transmutation itself functioned like the source of spellcasting.
It could still trigger his talent and transform into three additional spells.
Meaning—
Origin Transmutation could produce nine spells in three groups.
Rei snapped his fingers.
Snap—
The barrier surrounding Atlondo instantly transformed into icy lake water.
[Origin: Eternal Frozen Deep Lake]
Origin Transmutation could also transform existing spells into new forms.
Transforming a spell and casting a new spell were completely different concepts.
Using this principle—
Rei could even transform an ice lance embedded inside an enemy's body into…
A Spirit Explosion.
Instant detonation.
No—
It didn't even have to be an ice lance.
Rei glanced at Atlondo.
Torturing him like this felt a bit too cruel.
A sparring match didn't need to become outright abuse.
Better to give him a clean end.
As for the other applications of Origin Magic—
He could experiment later with monsters or other opponents.
Rei raised his hand and pointed toward Atlondo.
[Flash Beam]
Shoo—
A razor-thin beam of light shot forward at incredible speed.
It pierced straight through Atlondo's body.
Before the beam had even finished passing through—
It transformed inside his body.
[Origin: Spirit Explosion — Sacrifice: 100 Souls]