Chapter 196: Desperate Battle

Seeing the azure gem embedded in the Arcane Tower light up, Aurelius would have been delighted under normal circumstances.

Unfortunately, these were far from normal circumstances.

After all, this Arcane Tower didn’t belong to him, but to his opponent.

Sensing the erupting aura coming from the tower and seeing the Divine Phantom emerging behind his enemy, Aurelius knew he could no longer hold back.

Immediately, two Epic Relics appeared.

The Sea God’s Trident fell into his left hand, bursting with lightning that spread across his arm, making him look like the God of Thunder.

At the same time, the Mystery Cloak emerged, wrapping his figure and shrouding him in a dark halo.

Yet these two Relics were only the beginning.

More and more Relics appeared around his body.

Some were treasures he had collected during his journey as an Awakener, while others were Relics he had just forged.

Within a mere moment, Aurelius was armed to the teeth.

Seeing him equipped with dozens of Relics, the weakest of which were Elite rank, even Rank 5 Awakeners would have been jealous and wanted to rob him.

Yet despite the sheer number of treasures protecting him, Aurelius felt no sense of security.

He understood the power of his own skills better than anyone.

Thus, he gave his opponent no time to complete the activation of Ocean’s Wrath.

Ignoring the trembling Arcane Tower in the distance, Aurelius wove a pair of fiery wings behind his back and rushed forward.

Wielding the trident like a spear, he thrust its three prongs toward his opponent’s abdomen.

At the same time, several skills erupted from his body, surging toward the cluster of azure light behind the other Aurelius.

Clearly, he was forcing his opponent to choose between two options.

He could dodge the Sea God’s Trident, avoiding the impact of an Epic Relic but allowing the Divine Phantom to be disrupted by the incoming barrage.

Alternatively, he could endure the damage and attempt to complete the activation of Ocean’s Wrath.

It was an open conspiracy.

Although the opponent was merely a phantom created by the Trial Tower, Aurelius knew it could see through his intentions.

However, there was nothing it could do about it.

...Or so Aurelius thought.

Moments later, he realized he had been wrong.

The phantom of Aurelius indeed stepped to the side, dodging the attack of the Sea God’s Trident.

Yet the Divine Phantom wasn’t dispersed by the barrage of incoming abilities. If anything, the opposite happened.

Aurelius saw several runes flash in his opponent’s eyes.

Then, all the skills he had just activated scattered.

The Fireballs, the Radiant Lances, even the Sacred Flames. Everything vanished.

They all reverted into peculiar symbols before transforming into pure Spirit and merging into the surrounding world.

Watching this happen, Aurelius’ eyes twitched.

He was very familiar with what had just occurred.

Arcane Deconstruction!

Precisely because he understood what this meant, Aurelius was shocked.

He had hundreds of curses he wanted to utter.

It was already terrifying that his opponent possessed the same strength and skills as he did.

Now, he realized that the phantom’s proficiency with his skills was even greater than his own. Otherwise, Arcane Deconstruction wouldn’t have been able to deconstruct his skills.

Aurelius silently cursed the Trial Tower’s entire family.

In reality, however, he reacted quickly despite his anger.

Realizing that relying on skills was impossible, he immediately stepped forward, appearing beside the Divine Phantom and launching another attack.

One hand thrust the Sea God’s Trident forward. The other clenched into a fist and punched.

Lightning flashed. Four Netherworld Seals emerged, breathing out green fire.

A moment later...

Bang!

The Divine Phantom scattered!

Yet Aurelius was far from happy to see this.

The phantom of Aurelius had already retreated into the distance and was activating Ocean’s Wrath once again.

At the same time, the Arcane Tower had finally completed its preparations.

With a whoosh, several skills fired in Aurelius’ direction.

Aurelius gritted his teeth.

Raising the Sea God’s Trident, he swept it through the air in front of him, creating a shield made of lightning.

When the incoming skills struck, they were instantly devoured by the crackling thunder.

Although the lightning shield was consumed in the process, growing weaker, it had at least managed to withstand the impact.

But the danger was far from over.

Another barrage of skills was already gathering within the Arcane Tower.

Likewise, the Divine Phantom behind the other Aurelius was rapidly taking shape once more.

Seeing this, Aurelius finally understood how his opponents had felt in the past.

He had never been suppressed so easily.

His enemy possessed the same skills and Relics as he did, and its proficiency in using them was many times greater.

As he swung the trident once more, Aurelius’ mind worked at full capacity.

He desperately searched for a way to break this deadlock.

His first thought was to use the Player Panel to upgrade his skills or simply Level Up, allowing him to turn the tables and suppress his opponent instead.

Unfortunately, the Player Panel had disappeared the moment he entered the arena. No matter how much he called, it wouldn’t appear.

As a result, the choices available to him were actually quite limited.

’The enemy possesses Arcane Deconstruction, meaning it can invalidate all my skills.’

’The Spirit consumed to invalidate a skill is far less than the amount required to cast it. This means I can’t wear it down through attrition.’

’It possesses all the Relics I have, so I can’t suppress it with my treasures, either.’

’In a sense, it overwhelms me on every front...’

Aurelius grumbled inwardly, realizing just how unlucky he was.

Had his Class been anything other than Arcanist, the suppression wouldn’t have been nearly as overwhelming.

But when Arcane Deconstruction was combined with an identical arsenal of Skills, the result was absolute suppression.

’If I have to name one area where it can’t suppress me, it’s physical strength. At most, we are the same.’

Thinking of this, Aurelius’ eyes narrowed.

He swung the Sea God’s Trident, piercing through an incoming Fireball before creating a shield to withstand the impact of the Radiant Lance.

Although the shield protected him, Aurelius felt a powerful force pushing him backward.

Under normal circumstances, he would have resisted that force and stood his ground.

This time, however, he did the exact opposite.

Using the force of the Radiant Lance remaining in his body, he propelled himself across the arena, appearing directly in front of the enemy.

With a thought, the Sea God’s Trident was thrust forward, tearing through the air like a lightning dragon.

His right hand clenched into a fist and punched toward the phantom’s temple.

The enemy reacted quickly.

It mirrored his movements, meeting the trident with a trident and the fist with a fist.

As the two sets of attacks collided, a powerful shockwave spread throughout the arena.

The condensing Divine Phantom flickered, and it was quickly extinguished.

Seeing this, Aurelius’ eyes lit up.

He knew his plan could work.

Realizing this, he didn’t hesitate.

He attacked again, completely ignoring the Arcane Tower trembling behind him.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Deafening explosions soon echoed throughout the arena.

Some came from the collision between the two Aurelius figures.

The rest came from skills striking Aurelius’ back, landing on the Mystery Cloak.

Although the skills couldn’t penetrate the Epic Relic’s defenses, the remaining impact still transmitted into his body, nearly making him spit out blood.

Despite this, his expression remained unchanged.

He continued attacking the phantom, giving it no opportunity to activate any more skills.

Only the Arcane Tower remained active, firing skill after skill at him.

Under these circumstances, the advantage the phantom possessed in skill proficiency was completely invalidated.

Their difference in mastery had become meaningless. Only physical strength mattered.

Even so, Aurelius didn’t gain the upper hand. If anything, he was almost suppressed again.

Their physical strength was indeed the same. However, with the Arcane Tower continuously supporting the phantom, it was only a matter of time before Aurelius lost.

He knew this very well. Yet he didn’t panic.

Because this brief window of opportunity was precisely what he was fighting for.

Unbeknownst to his opponent, Spirit was quietly gathering inside Aurelius’ hands, slowly taking the shape of Seals.

Netherworld Seal!

Thanks to his previous experience, Aurelius could now activate this skill even in the middle of combat.

Although the process was far slower, he still made no mistakes.

It didn’t take long.

Minutes later, two skeleton heads flashed into existence, one on each of Aurelius’ hands.

Two Netherworld Seals were formed at the same exact time.

His physical strength increased significantly, quickly allowing him to overwhelm the phantom.

It seemed that he had finally found an opportunity to turn the tables.

However, before he could capitalize on his advantage, darkness suddenly engulfed his vision.

His soul was pulled out of his body and dragged into the Underworld!

Instantly, the familiar pitch-black land appeared before his eyes.

At the same time, the invisible influence of the Underworld began to affect him, its impact growing at an astonishing speed.