Liam POV

  He had been waiting months for a rematch. He didn’t expect it to come during the final stage of the Tier 3 Luminous Tournament, but he wasn’t going to complain. He didn’t even care about his result all that much. He had already gained more than enough when he explored the secret realm.

  He even got a set of powerful robes for himself. They were so strong that he wasn’t allowed to wear them during the tournament. The empire officials had deemed them an unfair advantage.

  He also earned many lovely treasures on top of these robes. He had even gotten a Seed of Primordial Ice and consumed it within his soul. It wouldn't fully blossom until he was in Tier 4, but he was already seeing some nice benefits from consuming it.

  The seed was slowly changing his ice magic. He wouldn’t know the exact type of ice he would gain; it would depend on how he used it and how his soul influenced its development.

  It was similar to the process people underwent when gaining a special or advanced version of flames. He knew his father had a special kind of ice that specialized in freezing his opponent’s mana and stamina. But it wasn’t like it was guaranteed that this would be the same for him.

  Some people might have thought it was a gamble to consume something like Seed of Primordial Ice or similar treasures so early in his path, but he was already quite confident that he knew what direction he wanted to take. So he wasn’t too worried.

  His most pressing worry at the moment was the endless salvo of spikes soaring at his face.

  He was also beating himself up a little bit. He should have expected that Julius had some kind of spatial or movement skill. He knew that Julius had a version of [Quick Step] but had expected it would take him longer to evolve it into a spatial skill. Or at least longer for him to get proficient with it.

  Considering the distance and speed at which he had teleported, Liam suspected that it was already at quite a high level.

  In the first place, it usually took someone a lot of time or a powerful treasure to gain such a skill. Some people were naturally inclined to spatial magic, which could speed up acquisition.

  In Liam’s case, he had trained under two people who specialized in spatial movement, constantly being teleported around to gain the option during his skill evolution. He knew that Julius didn’t have that type of access.

  Perhaps Lily or Derek had helped him out on that part. Or rather, their families did.

  Still, people with teleportation skills posed a different problem entirely. Liam needed to readjust and come up with another plan. However, it was hard to do since Julius was bombarding him.

  Spikes after spikes attempted to pierce his chest. He was flying through the air, doing his best to dodge all the attacks. It felt more like he was being assaulted by a team of mages rather than just one. Honestly, he might have preferred that option.

  However, he also knew that Julius wasn't just limited to long-range attacks. With the introduction of a teleportation skill, he would have to look out for any sneak attacks.

  Whatever spikes he wasn’t able to dodge, he tried to use some barriers to deflect them.

  Unfortunately, it was easier said than done. He grimaced when another spike shattered his barrier and was forced to use [Frostmist Form] once again. He cursed under his breath as he controlled his creation to fly further away. These spikes were nothing like the ones he remembered.

  It wasn’t like the old ones had been weak either. They had already been strong enough to punch holes through his shields. However, these were on another level. Even with his improvements, he felt the disparity in firepower was more evident than ever.

  Not only that, but when the spikes shot through his incorporeal form, he could feel the destructive aura doing its best to tear apart his skill. It wasn’t powerful enough to actually do that, but it was a frustrating thing to deal with. It also felt uncomfortable as hell.

  Furthermore, it was annoying that Julius remembered that his skill used up a lot of mana. He assumed that was the reason Julius was being so aggressive in his attacks. He was pressuring Liam so much that he was forced to use his intangibility skill a few times already on both himself and his eagle.

  [Frostveil Creation] was a fantastic skill. It was new, which meant he was quite restricted in the kinds of forms his creations could take. However, they synergized so well with his other skills. His creations used them as if they were extensions of himself.

  With that being said, it was still a new skill and wasn’t as adaptable as he would have liked. That meant he was forced to make some concessions.

  He wasn’t able to keep up with Julius’s onslaught and missed one spike that had snuck through his defenses. He didn’t have time to activate [Frostmist Form], but thankfully, his eagle took the strike for him.

  However, the hardened ice that made up the creature fractured upon taking such a powerful attack head-on. With the new opening, another half a dozen spikes slammed into the eagle, shattering it into pieces. Liam used some mana to keep himself desperately trying to repair the damage, but he suddenly threw up the largest barrier he had ever created in his life.

  He couldn’t explain why he did it if someone asked him. It was just pure instinct.

  Nevertheless, he was glad that he did because he was barely in time. Julius had teleported to his position and attempted to strike him in the head. Despite it being the strongest barrier he had created in such a short time, it still cracked from the force.

  He caught a glimpse of Julius’s crimson red eyes and shining blue crown on his head before he vanished once again. Liam looked everywhere, trying to see where his opponent had gone off to, but just like the spatial warping before, he wasn’t able to sense any ripples of spatial magic.

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  Liam felt his veins flood with ice.

  Julius didn’t just have a teleportation skill like [Blink] or [Instantaneous Step]. No, if he had a skill like that, Liam would have been able to sense it. His trainers had hammered into him how essential it was to rely on his mana senses to detect slight variations of spatial movements. It wasn’t anything near [Spatial Sense], but it was good enough that he wouldn’t be caught off guard if someone teleported behind him.

  This was an advanced version of [Blink] or [Instantaneous Step]. That was a terrifying realization.

  His mind was racing a mile a minute, and ultimately came to a decision. He wasn’t happy about it, but he knew it was his best chance at victory.

  He let himself fall from the sky, with no eagle to keep him aloft; he was just an easy target for someone like Julius. He crashed into the ground and immediately flooded the area with his mana.

  Frosty mist bloomed outward, surrounding him in a sphere about ten feet wide. He let his concepts and emblem infuse this mana, creating his pseudo-domain. It still wasn’t anything like a true domain, but he had improved it over the past several months. He was anticipating another volley of spikes, but to his concern, none came.

  Liam suddenly saw Julius appear out of thin air, looking at him with an amused grin.

  “This seems… familiar,” the other boy noted, no doubt examining Liam’s pseudo domain with his perception ability.

  Liam couldn’t help but clench his teeth. Julius was right; this was almost the exact scenario they had found themselves in during their last match. And he remembered what the result had been at the time.

  Still, he had grown, and hopefully the outcome would be different this time around.

  He let his mana fuel his skills; his mind was struggling to keep up with all of the various techniques and abilities he had active.

  Julius's gaze was centered on his technique. Liam already knew that Julius was dissecting every inch of it. Liam knew better than most how perceptive Julius was; his mana senses were incredible.

  So before Julius could spend more time examining his skills, Liam committed to his new strategy and teleported next to Julius, blinking through space in an instant.

  Unsurprisingly, Julius reacted in time. An arm full of destructive aura slashed through Liam's body, but he was ready, and [Frostmist Form] was already activated. He didn’t bother to punch Julius now that he was close. Instead, he utilized his pseudo domain and crushed the boy with the concentrated ice mana.

  He emphasized its weakening properties. He would typically target one’s mana pool as well, but he knew better than to try something like that against Julius. Their last clash of wills had left a lasting mark, one he wouldn’t be forgetting anytime soon. The fewer opportunities he gave Julius to wrestle with wills, the better.

  As his ice mana attempted to crush Julius, Liam felt a sudden burning sensation bloom from the other boy.

  He looked up at the crown and saw that it was pulsing powerfully as large waves of flame blasted out from Julius’s body. The flames were so scorching hot and so potent that they were able to keep his ice at bay.

  He clicked his tongue. Shit. He's learned a lot of other tricks.

  Usually, he would be happy that his opponent was using so much mana fighting him, but that wasn’t the case against Julius. He had already tried the battle of attrition before. He had lost that battle quite emphatically.

  His pseudo domain was pressured by these flames more than he expected. They were infused with some kind of crazy concept or something else. Hell, they might already be a special flame for all Liam knew.

  He didn’t give up, though. He kept on hammering Julius from all sides with ice mana. He wasn’t caring about mana conservation anymore. He needed to end this fast.

  As he suspected, Julius didn’t back away. Instead, he remained inside of Liam’s pseudo domain without any care in the world, swinging away with that blue stick in his hands as well as that happy smile on his face.

  Liam did his best to keep up with Julius. However, it was shocking to see the difference in how he moved now versus back then. He was faster, sharper, and stronger in every way. His ability with kinetic energy has definitely improved. That much was clear.

  Liam had been able to contend with him in close combat thanks to his intangibility skill, but now he felt completely outclassed. So he immediately decided that he needed to make another adjustment.

  Swords of ice surrounded the sphere that the two found themselves tangled in. Liam sharpened his gaze and, with a twist of his will, sent the swords lancing down on top of them. He quickly activated [Frostmist Form] to avoid his swords.

  His swords were extremely powerful. They weren’t as unique or flexible as the eagle. But they were made for one singular purpose.

  To deal as much damage as possible.

  He waited with bated breath in his incorporeal form, wondering what Julius had planned.

  To Liam’s puzzlement, Julius didn’t teleport away as he expected. No, instead, the young teen exploded with more mana and kinetic energy than Liam had ever sensed from him.

  There was no delicate weaving of mana or whatnot. A field of blazing hot flames flared, combined with supercharged kinetic force, and eviscerated the swords of ice like they were made of glass.

  That wasn’t what worried Liam, though.

  What concerned him was the sudden sense of danger. Despite being intangible, he decided to waste some mana and teleport away. However, he had hesitated for a moment too long, and the field of flames and destruction smashed into his incorporeal form.

  For the first time since he had gained this particular skill, Liam felt himself take damage. He roared as he felt the flames actually burn him. It wasn’t just physical pain either, but pain in his soul, which was even more concerning.

  The pain and aura from the flames made it hard to concentrate, but he managed to complete the complex technique of his spatial skill and teleported away.

  However, he felt another will, likely Julius's will, crash into him. It felt like he was being crushed at the bottom of the ocean. He did his best to free himself, but with so much going on, he failed to hold Julius back.

  And that was when he felt Julius attack his teleportation skill directly with his aura. He had no idea what Julius did to it, but an overwhelming sense of danger roared through him. Liam didn't hesitate and canceled the skill, trying to eject somewhere else instead.

  However, he immediately felt something was wrong. The spatial barrier around his body had a slight leak, and while it was small, it was enough to make Liam pay the price for his mistake.

  He was ejected from a space twenty feet away from his intended location with his entire left arm all mangled. He crawled back to his feet despite the agonizing pain.

  It wasn't just his arm that was messed up; his entire body was. He had minor hairline fractures running throughout his bones. His will felt like someone just beat it over the head with a club. And his mana channels were worn out from the stress he put them under.

  He knew in his heart that the fight was over.

  Now it was about whether he should forfeit or go out swinging.

  He picked up his head to see Julius slowly approaching him. He only needed to see the challenging look in Julius’s eyes for a single brief second before that decision was made.

  He let the rest of his mana explode out of him, and he encapsulated his injury in ice.

  He let out an expression that was a mix between a smirk and a grimace. He wanted to see how much longer he could last.

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