The Wizard Has A Biochip

Werk Treuz slowly walked forward and approached me.

He was a thin young man, dressed in a completely black robe. In his right hand, he held a white wooden wand whose tip emitted a faint and unsettling glow.

When he raised his face toward me, he smiled.

It was a horrible smile.

His lips parted, revealing a row of abnormally sharp teeth.

My gaze remained on him for a few seconds.

[STATUS]

[Name: Werk Treuz]

[Level: Acolyte III]

[Gender: Male]

[BODY STATUS]

[Strength: 3]

[Agility: 3]

[Vigor: 3]

[Mana: 11]

The spiritual pressure of that guy was still not as impressive as that of a Pseudo-Mage, but there was something different about him.

The threat was direct.

Cold.

Almost as if a blade were pressed against my neck, this guy was a Dark Acolyte.

I was almost certain.

I just didn’t know exactly which path he followed.

Corpses, Curses, or Shadows?

Perhaps some combination of the three.

And there was another question that kept hammering inside my head.

Could he also have come from one of the towers involved in that war?

Werk Treuz tilted his head.

— Hehehe... Don’t you think it’s a little unfair to put a Level 3 Acolyte against a mere Level 2 Acolyte?

I crossed my arms.

— Actually, I do.

He seemed surprised by my answer.

I continued.

— Since everyone wants to see my true ability, I think it’s only fair that I receive something in return as well.

Some people in the crowd began to laugh.

— Is he trying to negotiate now?

— This kid isn’t afraid of death!

I ignored the comments.

— Before we begin, I want to know what I’ll gain if I win.

Werk Treuz’s smile became even more sinister.

— Light-element Mages really are arrogant.

He raised the white wand.

— Initially, Master Nople only wanted to find out how long you could survive against my attacks.

The tip of the wand glowed.

— And you still think you have any chance of winning?

He began to laugh.

— Hahaha!

I looked directly at him.

— And if I win?

The laughter disappeared.

— You dare to bet against me?

Werk Treuz’s eyes narrowed.

— Why not?

He showed his teeth.

— At least I must acknowledge your courage.

—I’ll give you odds of ten to one.

—No matter how many crystals you bet, I’ll pay ten times more if you manage to defeat me.

The atmosphere changed.

I smiled.

— Ten to one?

— Exactly.

— Then we have a deal.

Werk Treuz didn’t know it.

But he had just given me exactly what I wanted.

I turned toward the crowd.

— Who else wants to bet?

My shout echoed across the field.

— Come on! Show me your courage!

Then I began taking my things out.

First, I placed on the ground the items that had previously been in my tent.

The recovery piercing.

The water boots.

The blue branch for Water-element staffs.

The summoning statue.

The other goods I was carrying.

Then, I took out the magic crystals.

There were quite a few.

Approximately thirty thousand magic crystals, stored mainly in a few higher-quality crystals.

I placed everything in front of the crowd.

Silence.

For a few seconds, no one said anything.

Then...

— WHAT?!

The crowd exploded.

— He’s betting all of that?!

— Has this guy gone insane?!

— A Level 2 Acolyte challenging a Level 3 Acolyte?!

I could feel the atmosphere growing hotter and hotter.

One after another, the Acolytes began accepting the bet.

— I bet 900!

— 1500!

— 2000!

— I’m in too!

Some shouted.

Others laughed.

And several began provoking Werk Treuz.

— Werk! Don’t lose to a Level 2 Acolyte!

— Teach that kid a lesson!

— Make him cry!

Werk Treuz simply smiled.

The amount of the bets grew rapidly.

Until some Acolytes began leading us toward the center of the battlefield.

It was then that I noticed Nople pulling Rustil to one side.

— Kid.

Nople spoke in a low voice.

— You brought this strange Acolyte here. You’d better not cause me any trouble.

Rustil looked uncomfortable.

— What’s wrong?

— Do you think he can win?

Rustil remained silent for a few seconds.

Then he sighed.

— According to the memories that Official Mage Pretel extracted from the soul of that Acolyte from the Underground World...

He looked at me.

— George possesses a rather powerful Earth-element Golem.

Nople raised an eyebrow.

— And?

— Perhaps... if he uses everything he has, he might be able to survive.

Rustil paused.

— But defeat Werk Treuz?

He shook his head.

— That’s impossible.

Nople smiled.

— Perfect.

Then he turned toward the crowd.

— EVERYONE OUT OF THE FIELD!

His voice made the ground seem to vibrate.

— I want you to leave the two of them alone! I don’t want to hear any excuses after the defeat!

Then he pointed at an Acolyte.

— Sun Ray! Come calculate the total amount of the bets!

Then he slapped his own chest.

— And include mine!

He smiled.

— I bet two thousand magic crystals on Werk Treuz!

The crowd exploded again.

— WERK!

— WERK!

— WERK!

The shouts echoed across the field.

I ignored everything.

I walked to my position.

Werk Treuz did the same.

We stood approximately one hundred meters apart.

He held the wand calmly.

Then he smiled.

— You know, I hate Light Mages, but unlike my Dark-element Acolyte companions, I really don’t care much about the faction itself, but... Since you’re an arrogant brat, I will torture you and make you writhe in agony.

His voice carried an obvious threat.

He tilted his head.

— But don’t worry. If you lie down and kiss the sole of my shoe and let me spit in your face and admit your defeat, perhaps I’ll spare your life.

I simply stared at him.

I didn’t answer.

There was no need.

I reached a hand toward my bag.

I took out two summoning spirit cores.

I placed them on the ground.

Tap.

Tap.

Werk Treuz seemed confused.

Then the cores began to glow.

The ground beneath my feet was magically hardened earth.

But it was still Earth.

A huge amount of Earth-element particles began to gather.

The wind changed.

The dust rose.

The cores vibrated.

Then a huge shadow appeared before the crowd.

— What...?

The structure began to take shape.

First came the shark’s teeth.

Then the enormous body.

The gigantic head.

The jaws.

The sturdy plates.

And finally...

The enormous Giant Shark King stood before everyone.

But that still wasn’t all.

On its back, the body of my Hunter Knight began to take shape.

The creature rose until it completely dominated the battlefield.

The noise of the crowd gradually died down.

The Golem finished materializing.

The condensed earth hardened over its body.

The enormous shark slammed its tail against the ground.

BOOM!

A small wave of dust spread out.

Someone in the crowd murmured.

— Is he a summoner?

Another replied.

— What kind of summoning is that?!

I smiled.

Then I took a few steps and calmly climbed onto the Golem’s back.

I sat down.

I crossed my legs.

— Much better.

Werk Treuz’s smile disappeared.

Damn...

I could practically see the thought on his face.

He immediately began preparing his own spells.

Since the battle had not yet started, both of us were allowed to prepare auxiliary spells and summons.

Werk Treuz took advantage of every second.

He raised his white wand.

Black runes began appearing on the ground.

Whoosh!

Then they transformed into two enormous black shields.

They floated beside Werk Treuz’s body.

I watched.

The shields were covered with countless dark runes.

And there was one characteristic that immediately caught my attention.

A black bull’s skull was engraved in the center.

My expression became serious.

A black bull...

I had seen that symbol before.

Black Bull Tower.

The same tower that had participated in the attack against Arcangrove Tower alongside Black Blood Tower.

So...

This guy really came from there.

Werk Treuz continued preparing his spells.

His lips moved rapidly.

The tip of his wand began emitting a black light.

A dark arrow began to form.

Its structure seemed unstable.

I couldn’t immediately determine its function.

Probably some kind of attack spell.

The crowd was silent now.

Everyone was waiting.

Then Nople’s voice echoed across the field.

— ARE YOU TWO READY?!

I looked at Werk Treuz.

He looked at me.

We both nodded.

Nople raised his arm.

— THEN...

The entire field seemed to hold its breath.

— I DECLARE THE BATTLE BEGUN!

...

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