Chapter 736: Chapter 375: Rules and Resistance
The two of them flew swiftly close to the ground under the cover of nightfall, gradually approaching the location from which the magical fluctuations emanated.
In the distance, they saw a blaze of fire reaching the sky at that location, the impact of various magic energies making half of the sky appear as bright as day.
Some sheep-headed monsters ran and bellowed under the light, but all their sounds were drowned out by the noise of the spells.
In the bright sky, two groups of Wizards in magic robes were dueling, the dominant fighters being three Level 5 wizards. One of them was slightly stronger, being suppressed by the combined force of the other two, with their robes indicating they belonged to different factions.
Ronan stopped at a position quite far from the battle, watching the fight with Heather from a distance.
This was the first time they encountered other Trial Wizards after entering the Quivada Oasis.
It could only be said that the Quivada Oasis was vast, and few people could enter the second stage of the trial.
"How did those guys... end up fighting?"
Heather muttered beside him, looking eager to join in, as if she was tired of fighting demons every day and needed a change of pace.
Ronan was also curious. The battle between the two groups of wizards made the demons below mere backdrop, with only very few among the wizards casting their powers on them, focusing more on the battle between each other.
However, looking at their actions and conduct during the fight, it seemed as if there was no real grievance between them.
It was like a battle fought solely for the sake of fighting.
"Perhaps there are rules in the second stage of the trial that we are not aware of..."
Ronan slowly expressed this thought.
At the corner of his eyes, a cluster of light gathered, forming text, and the "Ghost" wandering between the teams seemed to want to respond to Ronan’s words.
However, at that moment, the Elemental Life forms surrounding them suddenly signaled a warning.
"Boom——"
Ronan’s [Star Force Field] instantly emanated through his body.
The majestic force field with several revolving stars expanded rapidly, countless starlight glimmers appeared in Ronan’s eyes, and wherever his gaze landed, blinding energy beams converged, raining down like spears of light yet seemed to be blocked by something, emitting a series of crisp "ding-ding-dang" sounds.
A muffled sound vaguely came from the void, and then a small piece of transparent distortion moved within the Star Force Field interwoven with countless energy beams, like an invisible big fish, frantically trying to escape from the force field.
"Damn it!"
Heather reacted at this time as well, waving the Magic Wand in her hand, a complex pattern of light flashed through her eyes, forming a marvelous connection with the Fifth-rank Water Element and several Fourth-tier Water Elements around her.
With the wave of her wand, a surge of magical ripples rapidly spread out, and a massive deep blue water wall rose abruptly on the desolate plain, menacingly rushing towards the invisible "big fish".
However, Heather’s magical water wall was penetrated straight through in front of the invisible "big fish".
Heather clicked her tongue in surprise, not expecting her spell to be so easily breached.
By the time she regained her senses to cast another spell, it was already too late, the invisible "big fish" had darted a long distance away, almost disappearing into the darkness.
At this moment, Ronan’s eyes glimmered slightly.
He watched the direction where the invisible "big fish" fled, and with a gentle flick of his long fingers, some glistening ice crystals fell from his nails, quickly condensing into a piece of twelve-faceted, exquisitely beautiful snowflake.
This snowflake embodied a breathtaking allure, suspended in mid-air, yet exuding no chill.
Ronan mimed a blowing action, and the snowflake was whisked forward by the airflow, drifting swiftly ahead.
In the next instant, it silently disappeared into a flowing silver mirror that appeared out of thin air.
Almost simultaneously as the snowflake vanished into the silver mirror, a boundless deep blue chill suddenly erupted in the distant darkness before them, an explosive surge of magical waves unfurled, initiating a snowstorm over the dark wilderness for no apparent reason.
Beneath the cascading, pervasive snow was an extraordinarily splendid frozen ice flower.
"So beautiful..."
Heather halted the waving of her Magic Wand, momentarily entranced by the massive ice flower.
A girlish shyness unexpectedly crossed her face, as she looked at Ronan and whispered, "So, the master is also skilled in Ice Magic... it’s my first time knowing..."
Ronan ignored her, directly flying swiftly toward where his "Snow Country Flower" had bloomed.
The abrupt outbreak of his spell had caught the attention of the two groups of wizards at a distance, even calming down their original combat to some extent, as waves of spiritual power rolled over to probe.
As Ronan approached the location of the ice flower, through the crystal-clear deep blue ice and snow, he could see at the heart of the ice flower, the "pistil" position, a person in a chestnut-colored robe, frozen solidly.
In his hand, he held something resembling a crystal spindle, with some cracks on it, motionless, his face full of unparalleled terror.
A Level 4 late-stage Trial Wizard, approaching Level 5.
He just attempted to use a magic tool to ambush Ronan and Heather.
Ronan looked into those eyes swirling with horror and shock, ready to inquire about the other’s intentions.
At this moment, he suddenly felt some mysterious power emanating from the other, quickly merging into his own body.
Soon after, he felt a scorching sensation on his wrist. As he raised his hand to look, he found that the Ring Mark, which was originally missing some parts, was now just a sliver away from being complete.
——[Surprised? You can seize the achievements of others.]
On the dark blue ice, some frost flowers quickly formed, congealing into small words.
Ronan suddenly understood why the wizard in front wanted to attack him and Heather, and why the two groups of Trial Wizards far away were battling.
It turned out that defeating competitors was also one of the encouraged behaviors in the second phase of the trial, and this method was much faster than honestly clearing demons to fill the ring.
Ronan shook his head, gently tapping the ice flowers in front of him with his finger.
The giant dark blue ice flowers instantly collapsed into an avalanche, transforming into countless ice dust dispersing in the night as Heather let out a regretful sigh.
As for the wizard frozen within, at the moment the spell dissipated, he immediately activated the crystal spindle in his hand and escaped without a trace.
Ronan glanced at the battle group far away which seemed to be slowly moving in this direction, and the faint tugging sensation from the Ring Mark in his hand, whispered "Go," and quickly left with Heather.
The sky at the Quivada Oasis broke at dawn, as the rotten-wound-like sky brightened with color again.
Ronan sat among a cluster of low, twisted, decayed plants, staring at the Ring Mark on his hand, silently contemplating.
The ring was ordinary, nearly filled with a bright red in the middle.
He had tirelessly cleared the monsters in the oasis during this time, coupled with his mastery of space magic to repair several spatial rifts, the supplement speed of the Ring Mark was quite fast.
Previously, Ronan thought that the faster the trial’s second phase was completed, the better.
The sooner it was completed, the faster he could enter the third phase and start building an advantage early.
But now, Ronan’s thoughts suddenly changed.
Even though he was only a sliver of energy away from filling the Ring Mark, he didn’t really want to continue the trial.
——because of that omniscient "sense of surveillance"!
It was like being controlled by someone else, every move was within the other’s watch, an omniscient sense of being manipulated...
"I hate this feeling."
Ronan calmly spoke.
He looked around him, and the insidious prompt words like a lingering disease did not appear at this moment.
But Ronan knew that the person hiding behind those prompt words should be able to hear him.
"Awakening Snake..."
"Stone of Destiny... destiny..."
Ronan’s eyes flickered, and suddenly, he waved to Heather.
The latter obediently came forward.
Ronan quickly grabbed Heather’s hand, and under Heather’s unprepared expression, the Ring Mark on Ronan’s wrist heated up, the mysterious power within starting to infuse into Heather’s Ring Mark bit by bit.
"Crackling——"
The sand on the ground jumped slightly, as if trying to form some words, but they were erased time and again.
Ronan watched those restless sands with a calm expression, as if staring into a pair of eyes in the void.
He watched the bright red in his Ring Mark gradually fade, while the ring in Heather’s hand became full.
Suddenly, the restless sand on the ground completely calmed down.
Ronan’s eyes flickered as he considered whether to continue; at that moment, a sharp piercing sound suddenly came from above, rapidly approaching from afar.