Master Artificer Parntheos of Profound Architect Sanctuary and The Grand Iudex of the Stosleria Empire were on paper both mages of the same rank- Level 7.

Thus common sense dictated that when they fought they should be roughly equal.

As for the possibility of being able to jump ranks, well since the roots of Erminsul had been diverted to seal away the dragons, such cases were relegated to being available to only low level mages.

For high level mages, it was found to be almost impossible to bridge the chasm like gap that existed between each level without using very self destructive or expensive methods.

Something that the Iudex had clearly not used.

So the fact that Master Parntheos had been flung so easily like a rag doll, by a mere summoned creature from the Spirit Realm at that, made Master Parntheos incredulously comment to himself, ‘I know Watchers are called Spell Turrets for the speed with which they can cast spells. But this is on another level.’

To give a modern equivalent of how different this Watcher was from the rest, well imagine if a regular Watcher was equivalent to a heavy machine gun capable of shooting the dreaded 50 cal. then this Watcher could shoot out rocket grenades!

A phenomenon that if were to happen would break the scientific community’s combined mind.

And it was a similar feeling that Master Parntheos was struggling with as he tried to get his body under control while crashing and bulldozing through all different types of obstacles.

Until finally, releasing the mighty mana reserves held in his sea of consciousness, Master Parntheos summoned a staff to this hand that glowed with power and quickly cast three high level spells to forcefully destroy the chaos was that unfolding inside him.

These spells were:

“Infectious Insanity of the Damned!”

“Revelers' Heart of Carnage!” and

“Order of Law and Victory!”

Master Parntheos cried out these short burst incantations almost simultaneously as the very ornate staff he held seemed to glow with a mysterious light, enabling his holder to cast these difficult spells so quickly and furthermore safely onto the intended target.

Which was Master Parntheos himself.

And though that might not sound like a big deal, it was.

For the first two of the three spells were normally used as offensive spells against the enemy, not on one’s own self.

Infectious Insanity of the Damned as the name suggested made one go temporarily insane or at least hinder one’s ability to think.

While Revelers' Heart of Carnage made one go berserk with bloodlust.

Both were extremely detrimental to the psyche of the cold, calculating, logical nature demanded of a magus.

But though typically these statues would be detrimental to anyone, given Master Parntheos’s current condition it was actually a boon.

For remember, his sea of consciousness was currently being sealed and turned to stone, so by making it go insane and chaotic, the effects of the spell could be neutralized.

And that was exactly what happened, as upon the impact of this spell, the sluggish deep pools of mana in Master Parntheos’s sea of consciousness that had become almost stagnant suddenly roared back to life with a vengeance, with numerous huge whirlpools forming in the very depths of the ocean, ones that stirred up the entire place into the frenzy.

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The intense swirling caused the entire seas to bubble and seethe, causing the petrification to be dispelled, while the Grand Iudex’s golden seal that hovered above was quickly attacked by gigantic sprouts of whirling mana that shot up from the sea, taking the shape of sea serpents to madly biting into the first thing they saw and tearing it to shreds.

Thus the petrification and the golden seal inadvertently canceled the insanity that should have occurred in Master Parntheos’s sea of consciousness, enabling him to finally gain control of this vital component.

At the same time, the Revelers' Heart caused his mind which had been so tormented by pain to go mad and lose all senses, devolving into something so primal that one was unable to even feel pain.

But an instant later, the spell- Order of Law and Victory took effect.

This spell had the effect of making one’s heart rise with zeal and courage, fortifying it and filling it with positive thoughts such as courage and steadfastness.

Thus an instant later, Master Parntheos’s chaotic mind was overridden with these orderly thoughts and he was able to regain full functions of his mind.

This third spell worked to also calm the raging chaotic mana waves that were wreaking havoc inside mana channels, bringing order to the chaos.

Thus, in a kind of expert showmanship of how to fight fire with fire, Master Parntheos was able to use the negative effects of the spells to perfectly neutralize the spells cast on him, clearly showing truly how skilled of a fighter he was.

It naturally went without saying using these spells like that was no easy task, especially when you were flying through the air and still had six different potent enemies trying to rip your body to shreds.

But those were the least harmful of the three attacks.

Thus done dealing with the two most damaging fronts Master Parntheos then turned his attention to these.

“Verdant Vicissitudes of the Vestal” He cried as a green glow suddenly enveloped him, while at the same time, he planted his staff into the ground, using it as a sort of anchor to stop himself.

And this great resistance helped significantly cut down on his flight distance, as spools of earth and dust were sent whirling up by the end of the staff, but ultimately the man came to a halt, now looking as healthy as ever, with nary an injury on him, while he floated on air with an ethereal green glow, holding the splendid staff in a supremely regal pose.

As you all have guessed, yes this staff was the so talked about Level 7 magical artifact, one whose intense radiation of magical energy left no one in doubt of its identity.

Tall, around one and a half meters, the artifact was bronze colored and almost conical in shape, with a large top from which many twisted multicolored wooden carvings ran along its length.

The bulbous handle was really an old man’s skull or perhaps four, for four such faces carved onto each of the four sides, with hollowed eyes glowing with many intricate runes and an open gaping mouth embedded with a gem in it.

One green emerald, one red ruby, one blue sapphire, and one yellow topaz respectively were placed into the mouths of these skulls, all simmering with an intense, raw magical glow, though the green sapphire was significantly dimmer.

This was Master Parntheos’s - Three Rabbits in a Hat.

Ignoring the weird name, this so hyped artifact really had only two abilities.

First of all, it allowed his owner to cast three spells up to Level 7 loudly even faster than silent incantation like Master Parntheos did just now, meaning all the hassle free nature of loud casting without any of the drawbacks like slow speed.

And it was because of this the artifact got its name.

Because the spell casting was so fast, to an outsider it many times seemed like it was one spell that had morphed into three, like how a magician would put one rabbit into an empty hat but could then bring out three.

And though being able to instantly cast three spells did not sound like a big deal, it truly was.

For context, it would be like if in a gunslinging duel, one party had a gun that could shoot three bullets at once instead of just one, and you would even choose which type of bullet to use.

It was that mystical.

The staff was especially formidable given the artifact allowed three Level 7 to be cast all at once with so drawback… truly mind boggling.

Even if it was only Level 6 spells, it would still be a formidable enough weapon for which literal nations would go to war.

And to make the pie sweeter, this was even not its only ability.

For the Staff also had a second ability, one of great convenience, as one could use the special gems embedded into it to grant its user a corresponding effect.

For instance, when Master Parntheos cast Verdant Vicissitudes of the Vestal- a Level 7 Life spell, he had used the spell stored in the green emerald, one which instantly fully healed his body and fixed any and all damage.

Which was also why that gem had lost some of its luster.

In this way, by using various gems carved with magical runes, one could instantly cast high level spells one did not know how to cast themselves, like how Master Parntheos was not proficient enough in high level Life magecraft to cast that Level 7 spell on his own.

This artifact really could do it all.