Realm of Myths and Legends

...

Several days earlier in RML...

ROOOOOAR!

A winged tiger made of spiritual force sprang into the air before crashing down with its mighty paws towards Valentine!

But, just as the winged tiger reached within two meters of Valentine's position, a thin string of mana appeared.

The beast seemed to realize that something was amiss and tried to change its path by flapping its wings and adjusting its position. However, at the last moment, the string of mana wrapped around the winged tiger's front paw, causing its entire body to jerk.

The next moment, the string rapidly encompassed the winged tiger and encased it within a cocoon as its body fell to the ground with its movements restrained. This was the effect of Valentine's Encompassing Mana String.

Bang! Swoosh!

When the tiger's body slammed into the earth, at the same time, five humanoid creatures with bladed limbs rushed forward and slashed out viciously at Valentine from every direction!

"Tempo Sequence: Retrace."

As the blades of the humanoid creatures were about to pierce through Valentine, they returned to their previous positions just moments before they launched their assault.

"Again? That makes the third time in under a minute... What is that magic?" Fan Guang internalized as she narrowed her eyes and observed Valentine from the air.

Fan Guang would have prepared if things ended in one strike so that she could move onto the next target; however, that strange magic being used by her target made it difficult to maintain an upper edge.

Every time she wanted to deal the finishing blow, the creatures Fan Guang conjured using her spiritual force would abruptly return to their previous spots.

"Originally, I planned on ending this quickly while conserving as much energy as possible, but if things continue this way, I will only end up wasting more in the long run. Besides..." Fan Guang thought to herself.

The winged tiger was finally released from its restraints as it stared down Valentine with its lifeless eyes. Simultaneously, the humanoid creatures darted in Valentine's direction, repeating the motions of their last failed attack. However, Fan Guang's voice suddenly sounded from above as the creatures came to an abrupt halt.

"That's enough." Fan Guang declared as she snapped her fingers and the creatures, along with the winged tiger, dissipated into thin air.

The spiritual force was drawn into the golden orb in the middle of Fan Guang's chest.

Fan Guang understood that she would get nowhere with her present strategy. But, more importantly—what was with that person's expression right now?!

"Eh? Why did you recall them?! Bring them back! I wasn't finished yet! That energy, it's just like mana but it seems to derive from a different branch on the same tree... The origins and characteristics are similar, but it has enough distinct qualities to be considered its own mana type. Not to mention..." Valentine rambled on to himself with a large grin on his face as he began to drool.

For some reason, seeing that expression on Valentine's face while hearing their strange self-ramblings annoyed Fan Guang. Now, they even had the nerve to ask her to bring back the creatures she conjured?! This person... They were obviously looking down on her!

Fan Guang's cold and distant gaze became filled with killing intent.

"You will regret taking me so lightly..!" Fan Guang scowled as the spiritual flames from her orb encompassed her whole body.

"Must we fight? To be honest, I would prefer to have another look at your mana type and discuss the finer details." Valentine frowned.

"You want another look? Fine, I don't mind showing you. But, when it comes to discussing the finer details—it will have to wait until after you die!"

The spiritual flames around Fan Guang erupted as the air above the battlefield became saturated in her spiritual force.

"I guess it can't be helped," Valentine muttered as he released a small helpless sigh.

He then continued, "Then, if I win, would you be willing to have a proper discussion?"

"Hmph, if you're capable enough, then by all means—you're welcome to try!" Fan Guang's distorted voice sounded as the spiritual force in the air converged to a single point.

The energy swirled downward in a vortex as it started taking the form of a large serpent.

The serpent's body spanned over fifty meters in length; however, the serpent's size seemed more reserved as the creature coiled its body mid-air with its head sticking out from the center.

Four hours protruded from the serpent's head and pointed back at an angle. The creature's right eye was missing with a black void in its place, while its other eye was purple. And, unlike Fan Guang's previous creations, the gaze from its eye appeared lifelike. 

Furthermore, there was a sword stabbed through the creature's mouth that kept it sealed shut.

Valentine activated his Eyes of Magic to analyze the serpent. But, just like with Fan Guang and the rest of her creations, there was some trouble deciphering the mana type itself. Nevertheless, Valentine was still able to gather a decent amount of basic data about the serpent.

For one, while the creature itself was formed from Fan Guang's spiritual force, its left eye was like a completely separate entity that caused Valentine to experience a bit of uneasiness.

Without warning, the serpent set its eye on Valentine as a massive surge of energy started to build up!

Now that he had a somewhat better understanding of Fan Guang's mana type,  Valentine could sense the energy build-up with his Eyes of Magic. But, physically, there was nothing there. Though with his Soul Sense sounding the warning alarm in his mind, Valentine knew that something dangerous was approaching.

...Wooom!

Out of nowhere, the serpent's purple eye flashed blue as the sound of a light vibrating hum echoed in the surroundings.

"?!" Valentine felt a crushing pressure crash into his body as the last remaining bit of the mana shield from his Rebound of Thorns was destroyed!

At the same time, the ground beneath and around him shattered, leaving behind an unnaturally smooth and curved hole in the earth.

Then, just as fast as the pressure appeared, it vanished without a trace.

"What was that?" Valentine internalized as he inwardly furrowed his brows.

Less than one second after that hum sounded, Valentine was struck by a heavy pressure that he could not pinpoint. But, he did notice that within a fraction of the second before he was hit, the energy build-up by the serpent's eye had disappeared. Therefore, it did not take long for Valentine to make the connection between the two.

"It's been a while since I've run into something this interesting outside my master's estate. I was beginning to feel somewhat dejected about leaving." Valentine said to himself.

The reason Valentine left the Wiseman's estate to travel was so that he could start his own path of magic. However, such a thing was much easier said than done.

In this world, there was no lack of creative magic and from an outside perspective, it appeared that no stone was left unturned. What Valentine needed was not only a source of inspiration but also people to test his skills against.

Valentine had run a few dungeons and even completed some war objectives in hopes of finding skilled individuals who also wielded magic; however, he was always left somewhat disappointed by the results.

Perhaps it was because he spent so much time around the Wiseman, but Valentine could not help but feel that the magic used by others was lackluster.

Though Valentine did not blame them. For the vast majority of players in RML, it was easier to just follow the system's default blueprint when it came to magic.

However, Fan Guang's magic was unconventional. Valentine could tell that she cultivated it a point that escaped the confines of the system's default blueprint.

"I suppose if I want to defeat her, I'll have to get a little serious now." Valentine internalized.

Suddenly, a gorgeous magic staff materialized in Valentine's left hand. The magic staff emitted a terrifying amount of mana that washed over the battlefield.

Fan Guang was startled by the abrupt emergence of the terrifying mana she sensed coming from Valentine. It was as if the instant that magic staff appeared, their magic energy spiked severalfold!

"Now, shall we start round two?" Valentine said as he adjusted the wizard's cap on his head.

...

As Valentine was confronted by Fan Guang, the other members of Izroth's guild on the list were also under attack by the assassins from Siren.

Since Halls and Guan Yu were stationed together, they were able to watch each other's backs. They were surprise attacked by numerous players; however, most of them only had the rank of Shadow or lower in the Siren organization, so they were dealt with quite easily.

But, Mirage was not so lucky. Alone, she managed to fight over wave after wave of players in an endless assault. After eliminating more than seventy players without rest in between for what felt like an eternity, she was exhausted and many of her more powerful skills were on cooldown.

As a result, Mirage was done in by one of the Siren Grandmasters who waited for her to be weakened.