The winter solstice, which means the arrival of winter, is one of the most important festivals in Odelik. Every year on the winter solstice, a grand celebration takes place in Slom, where thousands of families of Odelik take to the streets to participate in the festive parade that celebrates the whole country.

At the Bell Tower Square at the end of the King's Avenue, people will join His Majesty the King and other nobles to watch the magic of the court magicians. Winter is a symbol of tranquility, dormancy and well-being in Odelik culture, and it is a time when people wash away the tiredness of the year and gather strength to welcome the new year.

In addition to the celebration, there is also a special event on the winter solstice, and that is the [promotion assessment] of the Kingdom Bachelor's Mansion. Apprentices who have prepared five spells will unleash five spells under the inspection of the Magus to earn the Knowledge and Order Badge and become a proud mage.

Tonight, the entire royal capital is immersed in the festive atmosphere and sleepless all night!

As night approached, scattered snow seeds fell from the sky of Slom, and as the north wind howled, the snow soon became heavier.

The Kingdom Scholar's Mansion, in the lounge by the Demon Fighting Field.

"The contestants of this competition, the president chose Alva instead of you, do you mind, Leon?"

Raymond said as he straightened his robes. For tonight, he put on an old leather belt that was somewhat worn out, which was a favorite of his father when he was in the northwest, and on which was engraved the inscription of the Marquis of Perley [Two-Headed Serpent], a symbol of the loyalty and honor of the soldiers.

"How so? Raymond, I barely passed the exam, and you know ......" The maestro named Leon was a short, stocky boy with a simple look in his eyes and a shy smile, "I have too little magic...... Let Alva defend the honor of the guild! I believe in the president's choice. ”

"Very good, I was a little worried about your mood, so I called you over." Raymond tightened his belt, and he smiled and said to Leon: "I knew that you were a big-hearted person, since you can't play, just support us!" ”

He paused, and suddenly said suspiciously, "What about the rings and necklaces for fighting demons?" Have you seen it? The guild should have been put in the break room in advance......"

"I'll take ......a look," Leon searched around, the room was not large, he quickly rummaged through every corner, "I didn't find it, Raymond, what should I do?" ”

Raymond said with some concern, "If you don't bring them, they should be in the guild's warehouse." ”

Leon thought for a moment and said, "You still have to prepare to fight demons, I'll go and get it for you." ”

Raymond said, "That's great, thank you." ”

Leon immediately left the room, and after a while returned to the lounge with the three mahogany boxes, he handed the boxes to Raymond, and said breathlessly, "Three necklaces and three rings, as well as a potion to replenish mana before the game...... All are reserves that have been vetted by the Magister. ”

Raymond opened the box, confirmed, and closed it.

"Good work, Leon." He laughs.

The Demon Fighting Match was approaching, and Leon did not delay Raymond to recuperate, and quickly left the lounge.

Gently opening the case containing the necklace, Raymond picked one up and examined it carefully.

It was a crystal clear glass necklace with a pendant that was finely polished and refracted beautifully in the candlelight of the lounge.

In the Demon Fighting Contest at the Academy, in order to protect the safety of both participants, each contestant wears a glass necklace engraved with the counter-magic [Mirror Escape], and if the wearer is fatally injured, the magic will be triggered and they will be teleported out of the arena.

In other words, it is death in the sense of the game, an escape from personal safety.

In addition, since the magic strength of both sides is often not too high, in order to enhance the playroom of the match, each player can also wear a ring engraved with the defensive magic [Ripple Shield].

Because at this stage, the young players often haven't learned defensive magic yet.

With the necklace in hand, Raymond took out a metal spike the size of a quill from his pocket and slowly tied it to the necklace pendant.

At this point, the pendant in his hand no longer had a magical effect, and was reduced to a brilliant mortal object.

When everything was done, Raymond divided the necklace, ring, and potion into three parts and left the lounge.

The Demon Fighting Tournament was in full swing, and there were still ten minutes before the Violet Guild's match began.

"Is everything going well, Alva?" Levi stood outside the Demon Fighting Hall, not entering the arena to watch, but waiting.

Alva walked over with her blonde hair combing, a pained expression on her face that had just left the tiger's den and entered the wolf's den.

"The first four spells went well...... But when it was the fledgling's turn, the examiner's face became very strange...... "He seemed to be still immersed in the nervousness of the assessment," he asked me why the spell was a little special, and I followed what you said, not to answer directly but to praise his eyes, right? Guess what he said next? ”

Levi smiled and said, "Okay, I see, let's go to the lounge and restore the magic." ”

Alva was eager to repeat what the Magiser had said, and he was eager to pull out the badge in his pocket and show it off to Levi as he spoke...... But Levi seemed to know everything.

"Well, you get it, you know everything." Alva complained, but he couldn't help but pull out his badge and show Levi, "Haha, I'm already a magician!" ”

Levi glanced at the silver badge that was branded with an unfolded book with a chain beneath it, symbolizing knowledge and order.

"Remarkable." Levi complimented Alva, "There's even more great things to do." ”

Before he could rejoice, Alva immediately bared his teeth and said, "I think...... At this moment, I am surrounded by a sense of accomplishment, and I have no desire to fight demons at all. ”

Levi touched his nose and said, "Then let the person with desire beat the woman you love, and then let the person with desire capture her heart." ”

"Damn it, damn Levi!" Alva angrily left Levi and walked towards the Demon Arena, "You wait to see how I defeat the court magicians!" ”

"Wait a minute, Alva." Levi called out to Alva.

Alva stopped and looked back. Looking at Levi's serious expression, he also calmed down and asked, "What's the matter, are you worried about me?" ”

"If you die, I'll collect your body." Levi was almost disgusted by Alva's affectionate gaze.

Before Alva was about to curse, Levi scrambled to say, "Whatever your tactics are, you have to remember...... My countermeasures take precedence over tactics. ”

"Got it." Alva smiled, waved his hand, and walked into the arena without looking back.

Arriving in the break room, Alva finds Carmen with "dark eyes" already waiting in the break room, while Raymond seems to have just come in and is talking to Carmen, with his back to Alva.

"You're here." Sensing Alva coming in, Raymond turned, "The necklace and ring are on the table, don't forget to replenish the magic." ”

Alva saw a detachment necklace and a defense ring on his seat, as well as a small blue glass bottle.

Carmen, who had also just passed the exam, was sitting on the table, she was holding a magic little blue bottle and shaking it at Alva: "It tastes good." ”

Carmen's "makeup" was beyond Alva's aesthetic for a woman, and he smiled reluctantly, sat down in his seat and began to pour the potion.

Feeling the nourishment of the demon palace in his body, and the continuous rise and recovery of mana, Alva said to Raymond: "Let's talk about tactics again?" ”

Raymond nodded solemnly and said to Alva, "Most of the coordination plans remain the same, as for the opening plan that has not been finalized before...... I think it's up to me to feint, Carmen to assist, and you to open the defense. ”

"If it's defense, I can only use the Ripple Shield." Alva was a little puzzled, because all three of them could open the Ripple Shield while casting spells, so there was no need to defend himself.

"You also have the Wind Spell, which blows away flames and some less penetrating magic." Raymond said, "Instead of attacking at the beginning of the game, the opponent will play to the advantage of the Fire Brier, allowing her to chant powerful magic that takes a long cast time...... I speculate that the offensive back then was mostly harassment, so you'll need to defend with all your might using the Wind Trick and the Ripple Shield. ”

"Understood, you want to make the enemy mistakenly think that you two are attackers......" Alva nodded, "Then when did I start fighting back?" ”

"After the feint, of course." Raymond said, turning to look at Carmen, "It's up to you, Carmen." Once your opponent sees through my feint, you'll need to use your best power to make them ignore Alva, who has been defending. ”

"It's easy to understand." Carmen shook her legs and looked relaxed, "To put it simply, you and I made two feints for Alva." ”

Raymond nodded with an old-fashioned expression, he glanced at the wall clock in the lounge, and said, "It's time, let's play." ”

The three of them left the lounge and walked towards the Demon Fighting Arena.

The Arena of the Bachelor's Mansion does not look much different from a normal arena, the competition is a circular area with a diameter of 30 meters, the ground is paved with white stone slabs, and the edge of the arena is a shallow canal and four large torches, which illuminate the inside of the arena.

The spectator seats outside the arena were in the shape of a staircase, with a total of ten floors, and there were all black-robed and red-robed bachelors, all of whom were looking forward to the demon-fighting match between the Violet Guild and the Court Magician Guild, so that the previous few small guild duels were a little uninteresting.

The supreme authority of the Kingdom Bachelor's Mansion, a member of the nine-member council [Winter Holy Maiden], also came to the Demon Fighting Arena and sat quietly in the highest seat, looking down at the field from afar.

The youngest councillor had brilliant blonde hair and delicate features, her blue eyes shone with a deep radiance, a faint smile always on her lips, her skin was healthy and fair, and her gorgeous sky-blue dress seemed to exude wisps of cold snow-white cold.

"Councilor Winter is so beautiful."

President Miranda sat beside Levi, her eyes shining at the Winter Saintess sitting on a high place.

"Well, it's beautiful." Levi replied absentmindedly, with one hand on his cheek and a calm look in his eyes, as if he was thinking about something.

This was the fifth winter solstice day he had experienced in the Kingdom Academy, and there had been sporadic solo demon fighting competitions before, but it had never been as lively as it was today, and there had never been a member of the council present to watch.

Behind anything out of the ordinary, there's something truth pushing behind it.

"King of Audrick, Welsh XX has arrived!"

Before the players on both sides appeared, there was a sudden sound at the entrance of the Demon Arena, and the audience in the entire Demon Arena stood up, as if they had been lit flames, and the atmosphere in the venue became extremely warm.

A group of soldiers in white armor and gold cloaks rushed in, standing at the edge of the entrance, looking dignified.

There is only one type of soldier who can wear a golden cloak in Slom - [King's Banner Guard].

The handsome young Cavendish Welsh stepped on the freshly laid red carpet into the venue, his smile was bright, his blue eyes scanned around, he waved to all the scholars, and then followed by the Guards to the top of the viewing platform.

The scholars along the way all stroked their chests with their left hands and bowed excitedly and solemnly, and only a few noticed that the king was followed by a tall, thin young man.

Seeing His Majesty coming in this direction, the scholars sitting near the Winter Saintess gave way one after another.

King Cavendish came to his seat, and the Winter Maiden stood up and nodded slightly to the king—according to the Odrik Code, the Magus was not required to make a formal salute to the king.

After greeting the Winter Maiden, the king sat down and looked into the middle of the field with a smile on his face, waiting for the demon battle to begin, while the tall and thin young man sat on the side. As he waited, the king occasionally chatted with the Winter Maiden and the young man, and seemed very leisurely.

"How did Your Majesty come here...... He should go to the Bell Tower Square. President Miranda sat down, her lilac eyes shining with confusion, "Who is the person sitting next to him?" ”

Levi also sat down and said, "He's the prince of Gore, Curran Munso." ”

Miranda covered her mouth in some surprise and said, "He's the prince who came to the [Glory Event]......"

As if sensing something in the dark, Prince Curran, who had feminine facial features, looked in the direction where Levi was, was slightly stunned, and then smiled at Levi.

Levi smiled and nodded politely.

"Hey, Levi, did the prince smile at me?" Miranda poked Levi with her elbow, "He doesn't look like a Goller...... This face is so beautiful, more beautiful than a woman. ”

Levi continued to hold his chin and wait for the opening, and said, "President, you are a very attractive woman, or the eldest daughter of the earl, have you ever considered becoming the imperial concubine of the Gole Empire?" ”

Miranda was silent for a while, showed a cheerful smile, and said, "I still don't want it, I prefer Slom's leisurely life." ”

Levi didn't tease Miranda again, but narrowed his eyes slightly.

The Prince of Curran, who most likely wanted to kill himself, was really terrifying, smiling as kindly as an old friend who had not seen him for many years.

King Cavendish couldn't have come to the Demon Arena for no reason, and it seemed to be getting more and more interesting.

"Our tactic is to attack as soon as we get on the pitch."

The leader of the Court Mage's Guild, Ahyan Ward, is emphasizing tactics to his teammates.

"I've heard you say it many times...... But it was really an unexpected start. Jill Cook, who has classical makeup and a cool look, said.

"Remember, gather the fire first." Yaheng didn't say anything more, and walked towards the arena, "Let's go." ”

The "Duchess" Archer Blaze with long fiery red hair walked calmly at the back, like her father, her eyes were very resolute, her soft body hid a rock-solid heart, and her heart hid an unsheathed sword.

The three of them walked through the dark passage to the brightly lit Demon Fighting Arena, and deafening cheers rang out from all directions at the same time, and these sounds surrounded them, making even the most cold-blooded people feel the battle spirit boiling-

"Fire Brier!"

"Fire Brier!"

"Fire Brier!"

……

When Archer saw Welsh XX, sitting tall next to the Winter Saintess, her eyes froze, her breathing became slightly rapid, and her fists clenched slightly.

Stronger than the impact of those cheers, Archer closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she looked at the opponent opposite her, and felt the blazing spirit in her body begin to burn.

Alva, Raymond, and Carmen are already standing.

Yaheng, Archer, and Ji'er are also ready.

High up, the Winter Saintess slowly stood up, she stretched out her slender white hand, and sprinkled a beautiful ice flower in the air—

"The demon fight begins!"

As her clear and soft voice sounded, the four red-robed Magus on the side of the Demon Fighting Arena stretched out their right hands at the same time and began to chant.

In the canal at the edge of the Demon Arena, the water stopped flowing, and was lifted out of the ditch by magic like a curtain, forming a transparent water curtain to protect the safety of the spectator seats, but it did not affect the sight of the viewer at all.

On the side of the Violet Guild, Alva came to the front as fast as he could, put his left hand in front of him, opened his palm, and a splash of water splashed from his palm, blooming in all directions, forming a circular water shield one person high.

[Ripple Shield]!

Behind Alva, Raymond and Carmen began chanting at the same time.

The court magicians' guild unexpectedly did not start a defense, but the three of them raised their hands at the same time, their lips moved slightly, and each chanted a low-level spell that was quickly cast-

[Fire Bomb], [Water Arrow], and the slightly slower [Whirling Knife].

Alva's eyes only saw three spells coming at him, and he had barely begun to defend himself.

It's not what you think!

He hurriedly recited the incantation, and his right hand reached forward, and a fierce wind erupted from his palm, surging and surging back.

The arrow-sized spikes of water scattered in the wind, splashing and quickly weakening to the size of a hairpin.

The fire bomb technique was also blown by the wind, dissipating from the size of a human head to the size of a fist, and it looked crumbling.

Only the wind-based low-level magic Whistling Knife was the least restrained, and the prismatic vertebrae still looked lethal.

Alva subconsciously lowered his head, and heard three muffled sounds on the Ripple Shield, and there were ripples on the Water Shield, and he received a lot of impact.

"Raymond!" Seeing that the opponent's second round of attack was about to be completed, Alva shouted anxiously.

However, while chanting, Raymond was unable to respond to Alva's call, and he continued to hide behind the Ripple Shield and persist in casting spells.

"Something is wrong." In the stands, Levi held his chin and looked deep.

Miranda nervously asked, "What's wrong?" ”

Levi didn't speak.

The Palace Magicians Guild did not highlight Archer's strength, but the three of them gathered Alva at the same time, which is a good starting tactic, and it is estimated that a more powerful batch level attack will be launched next.

The Violet Guild's tactics were for Raymond to cast a long chant spell, and Carmen seemed to be chanting a medium spell as well, with only Alva in front of him, using the Ripple Shield with the Wind Technique, and he had no time to cast magic other than the Wind Spell.

If Alva then switches from an attacker, the tactics themselves are fine, but it is completely unnecessary to let him defend himself against all attacks...... What does this make Alva use to resist the attack in the later battles? As a real attacker, Alva took too much risk.

While thinking about it, the second round of attack of the Court Mage Guild arrived.

This time, Archer did not participate, but was only attacked by the tall Yaheng and the iceberg beauty Ji'er.

Ahhen was chanting the pinnacle of a lower magic spell [Serpentine Lightning], which was also a magic that Alva had in mind but had not learned.

Silver lightning flew through the air, condensing into a long, curved electric snake that swooped down.

This was followed by Ji'er's magic [Ice Spike Rain], which was similar in power to snake lightning and was the best of the lower magics.

A small flicker of cold light flew into the stab.

"Very smart." Levi said, "In order to suppress the Wind Spirit, a strong piercing magic was used. ”

As if to confirm his words, Alva's wind set off, but it barely blew away the ice chips or weakened the electric snake.

Snake lightning slammed into Alva's water shield, and the shield rippled wildly, which was no longer a ripple, but a splash!

Immediately after that, the rain of broken ice nails also sprinkled on Alva's water wave shield, and a dense roar erupted, and the ripple shield seemed to be crumbling, almost unable to cover the whole body.

"I can't hold it anymore." Levi said, "Ji'er is also going to withdraw the next wave of attacks." ”

"What do you mean?" Miranda didn't react, and she saw Ji'er start chanting a third spell, this time not casting it quickly.

"They want to have a hammer on it." Levi said.

In the Demon Fighting Arena, Raymond finally ended the chanting of medium magic, the only medium magic he learned [Great Fire Bullet Technique] condensed in the palm of his hand, compared to the fire bomb technique the size of a human head, the Great Fire Bullet Technique was the size of a wheel, and the flames condensed into spheres, containing terrifying energy.

The fireball flew at breakneck speed towards the rear of the enemy formation, Archer the Fire Briar, who had been chanting for a long time, and Raymond tried to interfere with her spell casting, if not breaking her Ripple Shield, at least to attract her attention and delay the spell from taking shape.

However, his intentions were too obvious, and Yaheng stood in front of Archer, and the shield of ripples opened, protecting the two of them, and at the same time cast a wind spell to blow towards the large fireball.

A violent explosion sounded, and the flames left over from the Great Fire Bomb Technique rolled up and spread out one by one, and Yaheng's Ripple Shield was not broken, but the water waves were dim, and it could still maintain the size of half a human height.

While carrying this medium magic, Yaheng once again unleashed a simple and swift whistling knife, still targeting Alva.

"Stand it!" Alva chanted the Wind Technique and raised the remaining Ripple Shield aloft, but before he could rejoice, he saw Ji'er raise her slender hand, and the ice and snow condensed on her fingertips, faintly emitting powerful fluctuations.

The magic she's been chanting for a long time is about to take shape!

Alva looked anxiously at the two of them, Carmen had been chanting a medium magic all the time, close to completion, so she must not waste her efforts; Raymond had just finished casting the Great Fire Bomb Technique, and at this time, he was actually preparing for the next Great Fire Bomb Technique!

"Don't panic, the battlefield is ever-changing." Raymond left Alva with one last word before chanting.

"Damn it!" Alva gritted his teeth as he watched as Gile Cook closed and opened his eyes with a chill overflowing from his eyes.

Frost medium magic introductory spell [Queen's Snort].

A cold current wound around Ji'er's fingertips, came out of his hand, circled in mid-air and then gathered into a stream-like scale, and the cold wave rapids cried and rolled towards Alva, and in the blink of an eye, it came to him.

"Even if I leave, I can't be ashamed!" Alva roared angrily.

He did his best to hold the water curtain to the maximum to cover Raymond and Carmen, and saw the whistling knife pierce an inconspicuous crack in the water shield, and a white cold air followed.

This is the Ice Queen's snort, it's cold.

Alva thought.

The tide of frost fell on the shield of ripples, and it took a breath to end.

The ring on Alva's left hand made a crunch, split in half on his finger, and fell to the ground.

His entire left arm was covered in hoarfrost, and he looked miserable.

And in front of him, a new ripple shield opened, blocking most of the cold current.

Carmen Lee chanted the final incantation while guarding Alva's side, and it was she who covered Alva at the crucial moment and prevented him from being turned into an ice sculpture by the Queen's snort.

Nosy woman.

Raymond glanced at Carmen and continued to chant the Great Fire Bomb.

"Thank you."

Alva said slowly, he lowered his left hand, and a wisp of cold breath came out of his lips and teeth, as if he had suffered a lot of frostbite.

Carmen, who was in the final stage of the chanting, had no way to answer Alva, but stepped to the front and slapped one palm on the ground!

The stone slab was like human skin, and a thick vessel-shaped root burst up, and this root buried under the stone slab quickly swept into the opponent's formation!

[Ugly vines].

Three stout turquoise vines burst out of the ground, their roots covered with strange scars that looked disgusting, whipping at their enemies like the tentacles of an octopus.

Yaheng, Ji'er and Archer had to open the ripple shield at the same time, under the fierce attack of this medium magic, Archer and Ji'er's shields suddenly dimmed by more than half, and Yaheng, who had already consumed a lot, directly lost his water shield, and the ring cracked and fell to the ground.

"Beautiful!" Alva yelled.

Carmen seemed to have consumed a lot of mana, she turned her head to look at Alva, and said a little tiredly, "I didn't expect you to work so hard for the honor of the guild...... I was a little biased against you before, sorry. ”

Alva was stunned, and when he came back to his senses, he couldn't help but feel a little ashamed. By "disgrace" he meant his own face, which he didn't expect to be misunderstood by Carmen.

The demon fight is not over, but it has reached the point of white heat.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Raymond finished chanting the Great Fire Bomb Technique, and the fireball brought a scorching heat wave and flew towards Archer, who had only half of the shield left!

Under the power of medium magic, half a ripple shield is no longer enough to resist, and the duchess will be killed directly!

On the seat, the Winter Saintess looked at Alva's frozen left arm, a hint of doubt appeared on her gentle and quiet countenance, and her beautiful eyebrows furrowed slightly.

"Has the threshold for specular exit triggering been adjusted? This is a dangerous approach...... Is it the decision of other parliamentarians? ”

She muttered to herself.

Levi, on the other hand, sat up straight.

"The mirror escape was not triggered? I thought he was going to be eliminated......" he whispered, "Alva, idiot, completely forgot what I said?" ”

("The skill that a fragile mage relies on to survive on the battlefield is all sorts of weird counter-magic, compared to a sturdy warrior.") Through elemental powers such as shattered mirrors and flowing springs, mages are able to make themselves immortal - of course, counter-magic is a category of higher magic, which is not to be underestimated, and can only be stacked three times. Even so, its importance to magicians is undeniable. —Magic Illustrated Introduction)