Support me and be 30 chapters ahead of webnovel:
patreon.com/Draco_
For every 5 Patreon memberships I receive, I'll release 15 chapters all at once. Your support means a lot to me.
*****
On the field, a confident Mordo waited for Fini to equip Incursio, failing to notice the changes in the armor.
In truth, without careful observation, it was indeed difficult to spot the transformation. The original bright silver armor had dimmed slightly, but a faint, ice-crystal-like cyan had quietly emerged, occasionally rippling across the surface in a way that was hard to detect.
"Are you ready?"
Mordo, who had already envisioned exactly how Fini would lose, asked the question.
"Come at me!"
Feeling the power of the armor upon him, Fini responded.
As Mordo signaled the start, Fini's body suddenly became transparent, as if merging into the air, before vanishing entirely an instant later.
Mordo, who was just about to take the initiative and attack, froze for a moment. It wasn't that spells like invisibility didn't exist in the Kamar-Taj magical system, but they were rare, and thus there was no way to break it directly in the heat of the moment.
Fortunately, Mordo's rich combat experience allowed him to snap back to reality immediately. He shifted from offense to defense, listening intently to the sounds of his surroundings with sharp focus.
Seeing this, Fini had to admit that Mordo handled the situation perfectly.
He had only recently acquired the invisibility ability and was far from proficient; if one looked closely enough, traces could still be found. Furthermore, this ability consumed a great deal of stamina and could not be maintained for long.
"Seems like a one-shot kill really isn't in the cards."
Fini felt a twinge of disappointment at being unable to insta-kill Mordo, but he didn't dwell on it. He began to approach cautiously while cloaked in invisibility.
Meanwhile, Mordo was on high mental alert. He was a man who valued his dignity; having just talked big, if he were to be insta-killed—and if that were ever turned into a meme—he would be disgraced for a lifetime.
"Over there!"
Under serious focus, Mordo's wealth of combat experience manifested. He immediately sensed Fini's general position, and the magic in his hands transformed into an energy whip that swept across the area, vastly increasing his attack range.
Fini was left with no choice but to leap away. The moment he landed, his position was sensed again, and Mordo's attacks followed in rapid succession.
After a series of back-and-forth exchanges, Fini ultimately failed to defeat Mordo. Having consumed a massive amount of stamina through invisibility, he suffered a narrow defeat due to a slight opening.
Even so, this result made Fini very happy. If he hadn't miscalculated the stamina drain of the invisibility, the final outcome might have been different, proving that he had indeed made tremendous progress.
Most importantly, the experience bar was full—he could draw his fourth skill!
The result also allowed Mordo to let out a quiet sigh of relief; his dignity was safe for now. Immediately following that, he sensed Fini's improvement. While gratified, he felt a surge of tension.
One had to remember that Fini had only been practicing for a year and was already on the verge of defeating him in a duel. Although it wasn't due to the spells he studied, his combat strength was already starting to rival his own.
"I may not have the armor, but I absolutely cannot lose in the study of magic."
Unaware of the truth and feeling like he was not the "favored" one, Mordo silently made a vow to work harder. He was determined not to let Fini surpass him in magical cultivation.
"Here!"
As the match concluded, Fini deactivated Incursio and walked over to the pensive Mordo. He casually summoned two Sumire Karaage Rolls, handed one to Mordo, and asked offhandedly, "It seems like I haven't seen Master for the past few days?"
Accepting the chicken roll, Mordo snapped out of it. Hearing Fini's question, he replied, "Master Ancient One has likely gone to investigate the whereabouts of a certain magical artifact."
Speaking of magical artifacts, Fini was reminded of that cloak on the second floor of the New York Sanctum.
He clearly remembered the Ancient One saying that the cloak was quite fickle, but why did it ignore him completely? He was much more handsome than Doctor Strange.
The Ancient One's absence ultimately snuffed out Fini's thought of asking her for help—though it was also partly because he lacked a plausible excuse.
After treating Mordo to a filling "Fried Chicken Roll Combo," Fini opened a portal and returned home. Just as he had done last time, he bathed and purified himself. After washing his hands thoroughly, he sat on his bed and prayed:
"Please, let it be a good skill!"
When drawing his third skill, he had tried to use the power of Ars Magna to cheat and pull a high-tier skill—such as commanding what type of skill he would get next—but it hadn't worked.
After a year of cultivation and understanding the power of a sorcerer, Ars Magna had made significant progress, leading him to understand that this power likely could not directly influence the system's draws.
However, he could try to influence himself. For instance:
"For the next three seconds, my luck will be significantly increased."
Luck is an abstract concept, divided into good and bad. Such conceptual ideas are actually very, very, very difficult to realize because Fini must ensure it does not constitute specific content.
For example, if "luck increases," how does that manifest!?
If it results in finding money on the street, winning the lottery, or being approached by a beautiful woman, those are easy to realize. But if he wants "luck so good that I draw a powerful skill," it would fail because of the system's interference.
Therefore, the thought he wanted to realize had to be the pure, conceptual idea of "good luck," and it could not be expressed through specific events.
Fortunately, over the past year, his understanding of a sorcerer's power had deepened; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to pull it off. This was also the first time he relied on the power of a sorcerer to guide Ars Magna.
As he spoke the command, Fini guided the sorcerer's energy and injected it into Ars Magna.
Instantly, a wonderful, indescribable feeling descended upon his entire body. Without time for second thoughts, he entered the system the next second, hit the draw the second after that, and waited for the result in the final second.
Fatigue swept through his body, but Fini was ecstatic. Although the drain from this one command made him more tired than opening portals for an entire day, looking at the skill drawn from the system, he was willing to be even more exhausted.
The fourth skill came from an anime world he was quite familiar with.
"Sky Dance (Bukū-jutsu)"
"Source: Dragon Ball"
"Description: One of the martial arts of the Crane School."
Dragon Ball was an anime where characters started casually destroying the universe in the later stages. Although it was a pity he didn't pull a super skill like Ultra Instinct, Sky Dance was equally worth celebrating.
After all, the human pursuit of flight is beyond imagination, and Fini was no exception.
Moreover, while Sky Dance seemed to be just one of the Crane School's techniques, it was actually an essential ability for every powerhouse in Dragon Ball. Just like energy blasts, those who couldn't do it were almost all "trash with a combat power of 5."
Looking at the Sky Dance in the system, the corners of Fini's mouth curled into a happy smile. He had been worried about aerial combat, and now that shortboard was finally addressed.
Having finished the draw, Fini couldn't wait to test it. Sky Dance wasn't a dangerous skill, so even though his body was exhausted, he couldn't resist testing it immediately.
Without even planning to leave the house, Fini began using the skill in his room.
Inside the bedroom, as the skill was activated, Fini's body slowly drifted up. No matter what movement he made, it had almost no effect on his stability.
The unprecedented experience filled him with novelty. Furthermore, Sky Dance was even more powerful than he had imagined because it cost almost nothing to use.
In Dragon Ball, there is a special energy called Ki. The Crane School's Sky Dance relies on one's own application of Ki to break free from the constraints of gravity and move freely in the air.
Fini hadn't cultivated Ki, but his Sky Dance was a system skill. Perhaps due to the system, he was utilizing the free Ki—or rather, energy—in the surrounding space; hence, there was no consumption.
This also meant that as long as he wasn't in a place devoid of any energy, he could fly at will using Sky Dance.
The only pity was that he could only use this control of energy for Sky Dance specifically; he couldn't learn from Goku and fire a Kamehameha or anything like that.
(End of Chapter)