Accelerating.

Moving at an extreme speed.

The wind whipping past his skin.

Desir was blazing forward at incredible speed. He rocketed through the course, deftly avoiding all the obstacles in his way. As the various environments of the Shadow World flashed in and out of view, Desir approached the finish line at breakneck speed. Azest, who’d looked as

small as a dot before, slowly came into view.

Even with her tremendous lead, Azest had kept her wits about her. With her sharp instincts, she had already sensed Desir’s location, estimated his speed, and quickly evaluated the situation.

The fact that the First-Circle mage came this far means that he must have already defeated the Second-Circle mage. It should have been impossible for him to win with magic power, so that leaves two possibilities: either the Second-Circle mage is worthless, or the First-Circle mage is more powerful than average for his circle.

The latter seemed much more likely; no one could generate that amount of momentum with mere First-Circle magic. This level of acceleration required Third-Circle magic at the very least.

This situation completely defied common sense.

While looking back at Desir—the source of Azest’s vexation—her chest started burning with curiosity and a competitive fire. In an instant, she calculated and compared Desir’s speed against her own. At this rate, he’ll surpass me in less than a minute.

She weighed two potential solutions: First, use acceleration magic on myself as well.

But she immediately discarded that idea. Even though acceleration magic was a Second-Circle physical-type magic, she would need too much time to reach Desir’s velocity. After all, the gap between their current speeds was insurmountable; even with the help of magic, Desir would definitely overtake her before she could accelerate enough.

That means I have to eliminate him right here.

That was the better plan, and Azest didn’t hesitate for even a moment before executing it. Magic power emanated from the spellsword, and several magic formulas arranged themselves in front of her in the blink of an eye—and she hadn’t even held her hands out.

If a First-Circle defeated a Second-Circle in skill, he most likely did it through analysis.

Normally, a mage’s ability to analyze an opponent’s spells rose with his or her circle, so that scenario wouldn’t normally happen. But the only possible way for a lower-circle mage to defeat an enemy of a higher circle was through analysis.

Of course, though she didn’t know it, her conclusion was spot-on. If that’s the case...

[I release a cry of sorrow toward my enemies.]

[I am the spirit of water. The strongest shield, and the strongest sword.]

Hundreds of magic formulas appeared; her magic was on an entirely different level from Romantica’s. A beautiful melody rang out in the vast flow of magic power, and six hundred magic circles took shape in the air.

[This body is an ocean. Unshaking before countless trespassers. A shower of raindrops.]

[I am a wall of flame. The greatest wave, rains of falling flame.]

It only took Azest Kingscrown eight seconds to cast her array of magic. If your analysis ability is great, then I’ll make my spells even greater.

[Prey of Magic Arrow.]

Magic Arrow. It was a spell almost anyone could use—after all, it was only First-Circle-level magic. But the magic that Azest wielded was another story: she had manifested at least 600 arrows, and they filled the sky above the spellsword.

I took about 15 seconds. But this should be enough. This attack would end it: that was Azest’s conclusion.

Desir gaped at the number of Magic Arrows poised to strike him down.

Amazing. As expected of you, Azest. Casting so many spells in this short period, you truly possess an incredible talent. That was his honest opinion; no one could question Azest’s skill. Her sheer number of arrows could match the power of a Fourth-Circle mage.

It’s impossible to hijack so many spells in this short time. But Desir knew that there was no need to hijack them all. A playful smirk danced on his mouth. “You’re still looking down on me, Azest.”

[Commence analysis.]

Desir closed his eyes and felt the flow of the mana surrounding him. His thoughts accelerated dozens of times over as he categorized and analyzed Azest’s magic formulas.

“Albatross’ Embrace, analyzing 180 linked lower magic runes. Complete. Translating Dnerva’s power dampening formula, interconnected with the Flidneria system. Hijacking 180 linked lower magic runes. Complete.”

A significant amount of the Magic Arrows floating in the air changed color.

With the time he had, the maximum number of Magic Arrows Desir could

hijack from Azest was around 200—but even though that was only a third of the sum total, that number was more than enough.

Azest frowned, realizing she’d lost control over some of her magic. His analysis speed is abnormally high... at the level of a Sixth-Circle mage, at least. It’s highly probable that he’ll hijack the rest if given enough time.

Azest had no more time to spare. She raised her arms upward, then pointed forward—and at her signal, hundreds of Magic Arrows showered toward Desir.

The terrifying sound of hundreds of shrieking arrows echoed through the Shadow World. Azest’s magical formation created what looked like a tidal wave, threatening to drown its adversary. But Desir stood resolutely in the wave’s center, and yelled, “Trajectory adjustment!”

It was impossible to nullify every single arrow, so Desir decided to knock away only the most dangerous ones instead. Magic Arrow was still only a First-Circle spell, so one or two of them didn’t pose much of a threat. At the very least, I’ll deflect the most dangerous arrows.

Desir read the velocity of the arrows, the wind, and Azest’s intentions—and, taking all that data, he deduced where each hostile arrow would land. Then, he used the arrows he’d taken control over to knock away the lethal ones.

Their flight subtly diverted, a number of arrows simply flew past Desir. In this way, he created a path for himself through the gigantic storm of arrows.

*Kwak!* “Ugh...” But his plan wasn’t flawless.

Sharp pain pulsed through Desir’s arms, shoulders, and legs, as stray arrows managed to land hits on the mage. Even with his best effort, a few arrows still made it past his defense—and the pain slowed Desir down significantly.

Azest was dumbfounded; she had failed to eliminate this measly First-Circle mage. She had expected her attack to swiftly eliminate Desir, but... how was he still alive?

I can’t afford to panic. Azest calmed her breath and gathered her thoughts, returning herself to a state of cool-headedness. Once she had gotten rid of her panicked emotions, she calmly read the situation in front of her—and the whole process took her less than a second. He’s making a path by altering the trajectories of the most dangerous arrows.

Just like Desir had read her magic formulas, Azest read through his plan. The reason? The arrows were destroyed. The solution...?

Azest’s eyes shot back and forth. 21 Magic Arrows remained in the air. Desir had four, she had seventeen. And there were less than 200 meters left between them—he would overtake her within five seconds.

Azest manipulated her mana. Change calculation. Lower the number of arrows, prioritize power and accuracy.

The arrows resonated with her overwhelming magic power. Seven of her

remaining 17 arrows lost their form and fused with the rest. Now strengthened, a searing light beamed from the remaining ten arrows. Each arrow’s individual power was comparable to a Second-Circle spell.

Then, she adapted her pattern of attack: “Changing operation method.”

The arrows repositioned in the air as if waiting for their commander’s signal.

They lined up, head to tail, and arced toward Desir in single file—much like machine gun fire concentrating on a single point. This time, the arrows would hit with much more force than before.

With the new arrow formation, Desir knew that if he failed to knock even one of them away, it would be the end. Their power far exceeded the Magic Arrows Desir controlled. She’s using her head.

Desir shot all of his arrows forward to intercept Azest’s attack. Using four arrows, he was able to nullify two of hers. But Azest still had eight Magic Arrows left.

However, Desir still had no intention of losing. You used your head... but you came up with the wrong answer.

Desir gazed at the incoming arrows as he began running through more mental calculations. “Hijack. Acquire control of four Magic Arrows.”

Desir had had the capacity to hijack up to 200 arrows before—he’d intentionally left some leeway at the start, not using up all 200. This was his buffer room, so he could negate anything Azest threw at him.

Deciding to concentrate every arrow onto the same point was too reckless. You should have doubled down on your strategy and increased the number of arrows, even if the power took a hit.

If she had done so, Desir would have been skewered, judged dead, and disqualified. But thanks to Azest gathering all the arrows into one

spot, Desir could wipe them all out in one fell swoop.

If this was a few years later, you would have found the right answer. Judging from Azest’s tactic, Desir confirmed once more that he was the only one who had returned from the future.