Though I felt certain that I knew what the elf’s answer would be, I still asked, “What restrictions and win conditions do you propose? No kill shots? First blood?”

The elf’s disdain for me – for Time Mages, really – was so apparent that it was almost tangible. His hostility and contempt radiated in a way that I’d never quite encountered before.

I’d interacted with people who disliked me for personal reasons or because I was Earthborn; I’d even interacted with a few people who seemed to hold a grudge against Time Mages. But none gave me the same feeling that the Sovereignty Sect disciple did.

It wasn’t quite malice, but it was close.

His navy sect robes fluttered lightly around him as he made a dismissive motion with his hand. The white embroidery contrasted sharply with the dark robes, and I couldn’t help but think that the outfit would have suited Niall quite well.

“There are no restrictions. I’m not afraid of your magic,” the elf sneered. “I have defeated threats far greater than a mere human could pose. You will die today, Time Mage. No other outcome is acceptable.”

I sighed at his words.

I really didn’t like killing other sapients.

However, considering the warnings I’d received from Master Kairos about sects such as Sovereignty, I would not go easy on the Young Master. Even without such warnings, I was experienced enough not to show mercy to someone who would happily kill me if given the opportunity.

This would not be a fight to improve my capabilities. I was not training or testing myself.

This was about survival, and I was not going to hold back.

However, I didn’t want anyone to claim that I acted out of turn, so I eyed the arrogant disciple warily and said, “You can call the start.”

Most would have probably considered my small concession foolish. But I’d had a couple of years to train with Time Magic Mastery, and I felt like it would be safe enough to allow my opponent such a slight advantage, especially if it would prevent potential problems in the future.

One of the biggest changes that I experienced as a result of gaining the Time Magic Mastery skill was in how I thought about and used Haste.

Before obtaining the mastery skill, I’d used the spell to occasionally move faster, but that was about it. To be fair, Haste was often limited by affinity and mana – moreso than regular Time spells tended to be.

Part of that was because the effect – and the person it applied to – was constantly being bombarded by the outside influences of Time. Oddly, the more one moved with Haste in effect, the more pronounced the resistance became, and the more mana it took to fuel the effect.

Further, the cost of moving with the spell active increased almost exponentially based on how strong the effect was. If I were to remain still while using Haste, the mana expenditure would be negligible by comparison.

The interaction basically turned what should have been a huge advantage into a minor one that could only be used occasionally. My previous limit was only equivalent to about two-times Time dilation, and the mana drain meant it couldn’t be used consistently in combat.

But gaining Time Magic Mastery had completely changed all of that. It was a fact that Master Kairos had been quick to point that out once I obtained the skill.

Quite frankly, Time Magic Mastery was a cheat, just like Space Magic Mastery was for Space magic.

Regardless, after two years of practicing and testing my limits, I felt very confident in my ability to fight with the spell in effect. Moreso, the internal effect wouldn’t be impacted by any Null Fields or other Void effects the Sovereignty Sect disciple might attempt to use.

The color of his robes had made his affinity obvious, even without using Assess. Even so, I’d inspected the bloodthirsty disciple as soon as the challenge had been made.

[Javan’deSovereignty – level 67 – Scholar/Enchanter/Pathfinder – Void]

It really was a shame to be forced into a death match with a fellow Enchanter. I’d much rather discuss theories associated with our shared profession, though I doubted he felt the same way.

As my opponent called for the start of the duel, a Null Field manifested, and a trickle of Time mana began flowing from one of the rings the Void Mage was wearing.

It seemed a bit hypocritical for him to use Time magic while simultaneously claiming all Time Mages should die. He probably thought it would give him an advantage, especially since it should have allowed him to roughly match any buff I was able to give myself with Time magic.

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Unfortunately for him, I was not a normal Time Mage, and many of his assumptions didn’t apply.

The world slowed dramatically, evidenced by the Void Mage’s sudden deceleration.

Disciple Sovereignty had been rushing in my direction a moment earlier, confident that his superior melee skills could overpower whatever limited defenses I might have.

I truly doubt he expected to encounter a Time Mage with an Exceptional affinity and Time Magic Mastery.

I stepped forward almost casually as my opponent continued his attack in slow-motion. His expression showed no signs that he’d registered my action.

When I’d tested the ability with Zavira, she’d described my movement as being little more than a blur. With enough training, she was able to develop methods to somewhat counter the approach – if I gave her enough time to respond and didn’t immediately go on the offensive.

I didn’t plan on granting the Sovereignty disciple the same opportunity.

Since the Null Field would still limit my attacks and I was almost sure the man would have some sort of barrier in effect, I removed one of the weapons I’d crafted while challenging the Void path of the sixth floor’s Trial.

It was a Void blade I’d imbued with enough Space mana to allow the two types of mana to be combined within. I’d then created a mana-enchantment (without reagents) that combined both mana types and allowed the weapon to be used in areas limited by Null Fields.

The temporary enchantment might have already given out if the weapon had been stored outside of [Stasis Storage], but since it had been perfectly preserved since I last used it, there was no degradation of the enchantment.

Injecting mana into the weapon, I struck the disciple.

My initial attack was rebuffed by the other challenger’s defenses, but he’d hardly registered the attack before I struck again.

This time, I pushed more mana into the blade and it shattered the barrier protecting the Void Mage. He was just starting to react when my third strike cut through his neck cleanly.

Since his head was still sitting atop his neck, I snatched the loose orb and quickly Crushed the gray matter inside, counting on the residual mana aura to counter the lingering Null Field.

I wanted to ensure there was no chance the enemy sect elite could recover from the attack. To that end, I added the Haste effect to the object in my hand to synchronize it to my subjective speed. After a few seconds, I was easily able to place the severed head into my storage.

I had no plans to keep it there, but I wanted to ensure no life-saving artifact was able to miraculously resurrect the guy.

I canceled the spell before my former opponent’s body hit the ground.

The two elven sycophants that had followed the sect elite started to rush forward but hesitated when they saw my expression.

“The spoils are Disciple Epíkairos’s by tradition and rights of victory,” Zavira commented as she stepped forward.

A second later, a huge pile of goods was ejected from a small tear in Space attached to the fallen elite.

There was a lot, though it was nothing compared to the volume my inventory could hold.

While the onlookers watched with eyes full of wariness and greed, I swiftly collected everything into my ring. Since I’d sold a ton of items before leaving the sixth floor, there was plenty of room for my new acquisitions.

The two elves looked conflicted as they watched the items disappear, but they eventually nodded and backed away.

The crowd broke into hushed whispers, and I noticed several sets of eyes regarding me with hostility.

It was easy to tell that many of them coveted the riches they’d seen. It was obvious that many of the items ejected from the elite’s inventory had originated outside the dungeon. It certainly begged the question of how they’d gotten inside.

Perhaps they were like my robes or Zavira’s mobile smithy, and they’d been enchanted at a much higher tier before being forcibly tiered-down to facilitate their use within the dungeon?

I was sure I’d learn more once I examined everything.

I shook my head and stored the elite’s body, carefully Teleporting the [Storage] ring and [Storage] bag I’d sensed into a pocket inside my robes to prevent any potential mishaps. I didn’t feel like looting the body with a crowd of onlookers, but I also wasn’t going to forgo any of my fairly-won rewards.

Once I stripped it of everything of value, I would dump the body in the labyrinth for the dungeon to dispose of. Nobody buried the dead in the dungeon since they would just be absorbed by the dungeon, and I didn’t respect the disciple enough to bother with burning it.

Besides, such efforts seemed wasted when the energy and materials could be put to better use by the dungeon.

[Zavira: Haste?]

I nodded at my approaching friend after reading the message. She stopped next to me and looked at the small pool of blood thoughtfully.

[Zavira: You seemed faster this time.]

[Me: We haven’t tested it since we reached Tier Seven.]

Zavira blinked a few times and tilted her head.

“Good point,” she said quietly before looking at me with anticipation. “Do you want to get settled in? I don’t mind helping you sort through everything before we challenge the labyrinth.”

Like me, Zavira loved going through loot. She was worse than some of the people I’d played Atlas Online with.

“Sure,” I said casually before heading back toward the town.

Some of the onlookers had already started going in that direction, but a few lingered nearby, watching us closely.

Watching me closely, I corrected myself.

I observed them through Spatial Sense as we made our way back to the Challenger Apartments. Nobody approached during our trip, and we made it into my apartment without issue.

When the door closed behind us, Zavira’s expression shifted into a huge smile.

“That was amazing. I was worried for a minute about you fighting a Void Mage, especially with how proficient they tend to be in melee. But you’re so much better with Haste than any other Time Mage I’ve seen use it. There’s no way he expected that.”

I shook my head ruefully. “Thanks,” I said with a tired smile. “Are you ready to look through all of this?” I asked before removing the loot from my storage.

Most of the living room floor was suddenly covered in a plethora of items ranging from materials to finished products. Everything was mixed haphazardly, and it looked like the small mountain might topple at any moment.

I made a separate pile on the nearby table out of the items the elite had on his body. I removed the ring and bag from my pocket and placed them next to the much smaller pile.

“That’s a lot of stuff.”

I nodded. “And there’s more in the ring and bag, too,” I said, motioning toward the items. “He was an Enchanter, so he was probably capable of making spatial items himself.”

After probing both storage items a little more carefully, I let out a whistle of appreciation and added, “Yeah, it’s going to take a while to go through all of this.”