Oliver laughed in derision. “If you win maybe I will feel more compelled to answer you.” He slashed with his sword at his front and from it came a sea of fire chasing Roland.

“Is that so?” Information about Victoria made Roland lose any kind of scruple to fight a child of twelve years without trying the diplomatic route first.

The Soul Spirit was ejected from Lucy’s mouth and went to him, Roland got good enough in controlling Vital Energy because of his study in Equipment Formation that he didn’t even need to make the Soul Spirit absorb Essence around him to protect him in a cocoon.

Roland touched the Soul Spirit and enveloped himself with azure Vital Energy like when he makes equipment, being able to protect himself from the flames and its after-effects.

Roland dashed towards Oliver while the young boy thought. “A water Soul Spirit? So this is why she gave me them but it seems he is still only in the first tier, I have the advantage here in element and control.”

Oliver took out a purple cube made of electricity from a ring similar to what Elizabeth had and was able to store items. The cube crackled with intense power and intensity, making Roland widen his eyes when Oliver ate the cube.

Oliver’s body grew up making him look like a proper teenager with his clothes shining with runes of adaptability and his body was filled with purple electricity that gushed out of him. “True Way of the Sword: Nandaka Avatar.” The electricity flowed through him and entered his sword, making it surge with the mixed power of the golden fire and purple electricity in a perfect balance.

Roland reached Oliver and punched at him with his body encrusted with Qi and Vital Energy.

To set up his power took a long time so all that Oliver could do was use the sword to protect himself.

The fist and sword connected, occurring an explosion between them with Roland and Oliver being thrown back by the power of their techniques.

Oliver had the upper hand and wasn’t too much damaged so he advanced at Roland.

Roland saw Oliver coming and without any fear he began to fight bare-handed against Oliver.

The Vital Energy and Qi gradually were being worn out and destroyed by the sword attacks. With Roland attacking like a madman not caring about his injuries of the sword, he even got a gash on his left hand when he held the lightning-fire sword in his hands to deliver a powerful kick at Oliver that used his Essence to protect himself to only vomit some black blood from his intern injuries.

Roland's ferocity and tenacity were the reason he was until now being able to fight in an equal stand to a genius at the tenth layer while he is only at the seventh layer.

The Soul Spirit didn’t stop of throwing small balls of water at Oliver to distract him and also making large water spears that tried to pierce its master’s enemy to no avail.

Oliver seemed to know the attack patterns of a first tier Soul Spirit and was able to evade all of them, showing his mastery over his own body and fighting instincts.

Roland got more daring and powerful as time passed with the percentage of his Timeless Emperor Refinement increasing at each moment with the adrenaline of the fight and anger against Victoria.

95%...

Oliver shouted as lightning and fire went after Roland, burning and electrocuting the adult man that eventually lost the protection of the Vital Energy and leftover Qi.

98%...

Roland roared as he ignored the pain in his body and continued towards Oliver to deliver the blow to end the stalemate they were.

99%...

Oliver was wide-eyed seeing such crazy person able to ignore the lightning of Vajra and fire of Agni despite them being the much weaker versions of the real ones, and received a headbutt of Roland.

Oliver staggered and was open to any attack.

100%.

Roland’s body was completely reformed and achieved a new quality, he reneged on his mortality and became something else. His eyes went blank and his body began to fall over without any life within him.

But suddenly life back to him with all his members and organs adapted to his new existence, even his brain adapted.

He stomped the ground, creating a crater as power came to his right arm that punched Oliver on his face and made the younger man fly several meters on the hair.

Now both Oliver and Roland’s silver streak of light were trembling in the verge of snapping, the next attack will probably decide the match and both of them knew it.

The people watching the battle finally had time to properly breathe when Oliver was trying to stand up and Roland was resting. This battle had gone beyond their wild fantasies and were excited about it, however, no one was more excited about it than Carmen that had her green eyes shining while staying exactly behind Roland to see him better.

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“Am I going to lose here? To a lower being from the Lower Existence? No… I refuse this! It’s time to prove I am the real genius and to show the results of having been in contact with sister’s animals. I am going to win!” Oliver thought and after standing up, he lifted up his lightning-fire sword to the skies, saying. “It’s true you are strong, Roland. But there will be always someone above you and that one is me!”

Oliver’s Essence and Energy from his technique surged and concentrated behind him, making a mini-whirlpool be created with the Polus inside of his body throbbing while providing all the Essence kept on all its layers.

“Don’t tell me… is he trying to reach Magic Foundation, Magus Rank 1, in the middle of the fight?” People exclaimed and almost everyone got away from Roland knowing that if Oliver succeeds he will send his ultimate attack at Roland.

But Carmen seeing Oliver’s display of power, got paralyzed on fear and fell on the ground shaking, no even the snake that Roland saved her from gave her this much of fear. It was because her sensibility to Essence was higher than anyone and she was also capable of seeing the flow of the World’s Fate, and how it gathered around Oliver, making another layer of fear be felt by her.

Those extra features and abilities she has will be this time her downfall.

“Magic Circle, form for me. I’m your master and creator.” Oliver shouted as the mini-whirlpool began to take form without Roland being to do anything, the Essence around Oliver was too strong and any attack from the Soul Spirit made was useless.

The first Magic Circle is how people right away recognize a Magus, the only people in the world that are capable of using Essence to attack someone in form of abilities, Spells, and directly absorb Essence without diluting with Energies on their bodies.

There were various types of Magic Circles that determined how well will someone train in the Magic Foundation realm and also the power of their Spells, normally is based on the element the person trained or their talents on one Art.

Oliver’s mini-whirlpool transformed into a floating golden circle in form of a ring behind him, but it wasn’t over. The golden ring began to mutate and now two colors, purple and red, appeared on it to divide the space occupied by the golden color while innumerable runes and pills were inscribed on the floating ring, giving it a majestic presence.

His Magic Circle was the rarest Heaven Golden Ring, it was the best Magic Circle someone could get and moreover, it was mutated by his elements.

“Roland, behold. This is the difference between me and you.” Oliver smugly said with power concentrating once again in his lightning-fire sword. “Take my ultimate Spell, Vishnu’s Nandaka Incarnation!”

The floating ring behind Oliver shone as it morphed into a terrifying representation of an avatar of a being with four arms, blue skin, and golden clothes. It raised its upper right arm in the same way Oliver is raising its lightning fire sword and dropped it down at the same time Oliver did the same.

The result from Oliver’s Spell was an enormously powerful beam of light made of purple lightning and golden fire going after Roland while it destroyed everything on its way, even the ground.

Roland wasn’t sure he would survive even with his body reformed at such powerful Spell from a Magus Rank 1 while being only at the seventh layer of Essence Reformation. Vaen also thought the same but was too far away to stop Oliver and wouldn’t be quick enough to save Roland.

Roland almost began to move to evade the attack when in a split of second his head turned, he was able to see a fallen crying green-haired girl, Carmen, directly behind him, she looked so scared and frail that would be impossible to her escape the attack or even put any defense to protect herself if Roland got away from the Spell.

What would Roland do? He can only do one thing, or he escapes the Spell and tries to still win to receive information about Victoria, or he uses his own body to protect Carmen. There wasn’t time to the perfect third option where he picks Carmen and escapes the attack.

What was more important to him? Information about the monster that betrayed him and killed his grandfather or the life of a weird girl that he self-claimed his friend and said he would protect her?

He had less than a second to decide and any hesitation will make him lost everything.

“Victoria! I hate you!” Roland shouted using his hatred to make the maximum quantity of Qi to appear around him.

The answer was clear and easy.

Of course, he will protect Carmen!

What kind of being will he become if he betrays like Victoria the ones he claimed to be his friend?

Unfortunately, the Soul Spirit won’t have time enough to gather Essence to protect him like it did with the ambushers days ago, so he sent it to this bag and braced himself for the impact. Completely covering Carmen with his body and pushing his Qi to the limits to reinforce his body.

Roland felt his body getting torn out and burnt when an explosion sounded and his silver streak of light disappearing to show his loss.

Smoke filled the entire location and Roland went unconscious in pain after feeling his body getting electrocuted, cut and burnt more than one thousand times.

Vaen cleared the space from the smoke and anxiously went after Roland to see he was still alive.

There he saw a mangled and burnt body covering a girl that had her eyes completely widened while crying and desperately shaking Roland’s body, she was mostly unharmed with only some minor wounds thanks to Roland’s decision to protect his friend.

“Roland! Roland, please don’t die. Wake up, please. Don’t do this, you can’t die because of someone like me. Please!” No matter what she did, Roland didn’t wake up. “I’m sorry for lying at you, please wake up and I will tell you the truth.”

Everyone besides Carmen was dead silent, still now no believing how this spar developed into this amazing battle and how the adult man knowing the risks of using his own body to protect the stupid weak girl that didn’t escape when Oliver began to advance to the next realm.

And the young boy was the most bitter about this situation, it was supposed to him win fair and square, showing his superiority to Roland and to his sister that is probably watching all this. But what happened? Roland forwent the chance of maybe winning against him to only save a talentless girl. “Damn, why don’t I feel satisfied? This isn’t the ending I envisioned.” He said, cursing at Roland and the girl that destroyed his plans while touching the slab to have all this finished already.

Vaen was going to see if Roland was still alive when a red streak of light went to Roland and entered his body marking his loyalty to the Society, and also demonstrating he was still alive to the relief of everyone.

The founder’s voice sounded. “Caste defined. You’re the Tenth Prince. This is your peak and you shouldn’t yearn for more.”

Another streak of light came and entered Oliver’s body. “Your caste is Crown Prince. Congratulations on becoming the second most talented person in the Society. Becoming the King isn’t impossible for you if you give up on your useless pride.”