Volume 2: Magic Tower Chapter 62: Duel

  When I arrived at the village square, I saw a large number of elves gathered there from afar, as if all the villagers had come. My heart was filled with doubts, could it be that the elves of Aqin continent, known for their gentleness and elegance, would also be so gossipy? Isn't this just like us humans, fighting over a girl, is it really necessary to make such a big fuss?

  As I walked towards the crowd, it immediately caused a stir and very orderly made way for me. As I passed through the road surrounded by these elves, the villagers on both sides looked at me with an excited gaze while whispering to each other in hushed tones, although their voices were loud enough for me to hear. They were saying things like "it's been decades since we've seen someone solve it this way", "this human is actually daring to duel with the noble elves, he's looking for death", and so on.

  I felt uneasy under the gaze of these gossiping spirits and could only quickly pass through this passage.

  After walking for a few steps, the front suddenly opened up, and I saw that Trane had been waiting there on an empty land in front of me. He stood there very calmly, with no impatience in his eyes.

  I walked over, exchanging a sheepish greeting with him: "Hey, Trin. Did you have to resort to this method to solve the problem? Who Freya likes is her business. Even if you defeat me, she won't like you just because of that. You still won't get her heart. What's the point?"

  Trillin said expressionlessly: "This is the custom of our Elf tribe, the winner will get his beloved girl, as long as Freya becomes my wife, she will fall in love with me."

  I couldn't help but curse out loud, what a unreasonable spirit, in order to get the girl he wants, he can even use her as a bet and solve problems with force, this is completely different from the pride and self-respect of the spirits I know. How could the spirit tribe have such a strange custom? Is it about the strong being the king? I'm afraid we humans wouldn't even stoop to doing something like that. If it were the beastmen on the grasslands who had this custom, I could understand, after all they're a race that worships strength.

  "Trill, I really don't want to duel with you, after all, there's no grudge between us."

  Telin hadn't even responded yet, but the villagers on the side were already impatient. Someone in the crowd shouted: "Hey, are you two going to fight or not? You're chatting like a couple of women! We didn't come here to witness your conversation, if you're going to fight, hurry up and do it!"

  Teling no longer replied to me, but instead drew two daggers from his waist and retreated a few steps into a fighting stance.

  Seeing things have come to this, I no longer beat around the bush. I recited the incantation of the elemental spirits: "Elemental spirits, please protect your friends and let any harm that comes my way be dissolved by your power." At the same time, my left hand quietly made a guiding gesture for a human magic shield in the wide sleeve of my clothes. A layer of cyan light enveloped me, and the magic shield was much better than before. According to my previous tests, this magic shield is almost comparable to the one Teacher Anka can cast.

  Trillin hesitated for a moment, his body transformed into a green residual shadow that revolved around me, and in an instant, the entire arena was filled with his shadows.

  Someone in the crowd let out a cry of surprise, and an elf shouted: "Wow, it's actually someone from the Assassin Family! The Shadow Technique is so effective!"

  I let out a sigh, oh dear, it turns out Trill is an assassin, this is going to be tough, using magic to hit an agile profession is really not easy!

  To delay Trillin's advance, I summoned a mid-tier spell "Phantom Mire". The entire ground suddenly became soft and yielding, as if it was not subject to gravity. Anyone who stepped on it would immediately be trapped in the soft and muddy terrain, unable to extricate themselves.

  But Trillen seemed completely unaffected, he continued to move quickly, then suddenly attacked me from an unexpected angle with a knife, and then quickly retreated, continuing to run around me.

  I saw that "Phantom Mire" had no effect on Trillin, so I hastily withdrew the spell and cast another earth-based spell "Sandstorm Dance". This should actually be considered a hybrid magic composed of wind and earth elements. The earth element gathers countless tiny sand particles, and then the wind element lifts them up, hiding myself in the vast yellow sand.

  This move was indeed effective, Trillin seemed unable to find his target and stopped attacking me. My senses told me that Trillin had halted his movement, shielding himself from the wind and sand while cautiously guarding against my attack.

  That's just the way it is! However, although my threat has been temporarily lifted, how am I supposed to attack him? Wind blades and fireballs were originally the best solution, but that would kill Trill, and I don't want to casually kill a spirit. That would lead to the spirits' hostility towards me. Although killing one's opponent in a duel makes others speechless, the problem is that I'm a human. If I killed Trill, many spirits might still harbor resentment towards me because of their relationship with Trill as one of their own kind. After all, it's best not to kill people on someone else's turf.

  As I was hesitating and couldn't make up my mind, Trin finally found my location in the midst of the swirling sandstorm. A cold light flashed, and a dagger viciously stabbed towards me. The magic shield's glow flashed, barely blocking this fatal blow.

  I desperately leapt to the side and disappeared into the wind and sand again, not daring to hesitate. An "Ice Ring" centered on me spread outwards, freezing Trill in place. I dispersed the wind and sand while casting an "Extreme Frostbite" on Trill, whose legs were exposed and frozen in place. Starting from his feet, Trill rapidly turned into ice, and finally, a transparent ice crystal encased him completely. From afar, Trill looked like a giant ice sculpture, with the Trill inside still maintaining the posture of resisting the wind and sand to search for my tracks.

  This string of magic has exceeded my limit, I walked to the front of the huge ice block with a pale face, patted the ice block and said: "Trill, you lost, don't bother Freya again, he doesn't love you."

  Then, the village chief, a middle-aged elf, announced: "This human has won, the duel is over." Upon hearing this, I used up my last bit of strength to dispel Trill's magic, for time frozen for too long can also be fatal. After doing so, I sat weakly on the ground, and Freya rushed over to support me, her face flushed red as she whispered in my ear: "Arik, thank you."

  The villagers burst into cheers, and Freya was even more flustered. Alas, in their eyes, Freya had just kissed me on the ear, so they cheered with playful teasing, these gossipy villagers!

  Just as I was maliciously speculating about the villagers' sinister intentions, Trin, who had just recovered, suddenly picked up a dagger and threw it at me! The cold light of the dagger drew a silver trajectory in the sunlight, and I, having lost all strength, could only stare blankly as the dagger flew towards me...