When A Mage Revolts

Benjamin never thought that somebody would actually appear after what he said.

He thought that Spencer had escaped, and what he said was just a force of habit. Never did it cross his mind that Spencer did not escape and had instead gone into hiding nearby for some reason.

As he watched the silhouette not too far away appear before him, Benjamin found himself in cold sweat.

How did he pull it off?

Not only did he manage to dodge the attacks of the ice thorns, he also managed to enter some sort of invisible state to lurk nearby. If Benjamin had not said those words by chance, he would have been in a very dangerous situation!

Thankfully, Benjamin was not the only person that was caught off guard.

"That’s impossible, how did you manage to see me?"

With a doubtful expression on his face, Spencer emerged, eyes never leaving Benjamin. His gaze was as if he had seen a rare animal for the first time.

Benjamin huffed coldly.

In that moment, Benjamin realized that things may not be as bleak as he expected.

Although this foreigner had skills that Benjamin had never seen before, but he has also similarly never seen the endless schemes pulled by the people of the mainland. It was obvious that Spencer did not know he had been fooled as he still thought that Benjamin really did see him.

Benjamin, therefore, does not owe Spencer an explanation.

"What a show of Spiritual Energy. Your abilities are really quite interesting. However, they are still not enough," said Benjamin haughtily, smile pulling at his lips.

Since he has managed to bluff Spencer, he would be a fool to let this chance go.

He has no idea what tricks Spencer has up his sleeve but according to the System’s analysis, it would seem that Spencer is relying on his Spiritual Energy the most. He should just expose this secret as well, so as to further mislead Spencer down the wrong path.

Spencer’s response differed from his expectations, however.

"It is no surprise that you are the greatest mage of the mainland, your power is shocking." Spencer continued, "However... have you really figured it out?"

Benjamin roared with laughter and said, "Of course I have. I advise you to show your true from, it would be better than using some trick to fool me."

Upon hearing this, Spencer’s face morphed into one of befuddlement. He disappeared once again from where he stood, and instead appeared behind Benjamin.

His expression was glum.

Benjamin, on the other hand, was no longer shocked at the situation.

To be honest, he has not figured out anything yet, but his instincts told him that nobody would be so easy as to fall for a trick once. It was no doubt that Spencer was still suspicious, so repeating a trick twice was the best choice for Benjamin to fool Spencer.

That was the exact reason why Benjamin said what he said. Spencer definitely still had something up his sleeve. So it was no surprise to Benjamin when he saw Spencer disappear for the second time only to finally reappear properly.

"How is it? He’s already disappeared and reappeared a few times, have you figured out what ability is using?" asked Benjamin in his head, with a proud smile on his face not giving away his thoughts.

"No..." answered the System, "however, I think that it has to do with his Spiritual Energy. His Spiritual Energy has a unique structure, I’ll have to do a bit more research."

"Alright."

Benjamin returned to reality once again, turning to face Spencer.

From what Benjamin can tell, this worshipper from across the seas had abilities that were related to Spiritual Energy. He would not be leaving so willingly, what with Gealorre finally under his control, which is why he’s still here confronting Benjamin.

However, it has come to Benjamin’s realization that he has not made any direct attacks, which leaves Benjamin wondering whether or not he even possessed any powerful and direct attacking abilities?

"Come on, why don’t you show me just how tough are you worshippers from across the seas?" Benjamin continued to taunt, "Or do you only have these insignificant tricks?"

"Oh? Why don’t you try it out Sir Benjamin?" retorted Spencer, the fire finally lit in him.

Right when he finished, wave after wave of Spiritual Energy oscillations flowed out of his body.

Without waiting for Spencer’s attack, Benjamin launched a counterattack of his own. In an instant, a strong gust of wind-shaped from water vapor was summoned. It started out spinning around Benjamin before steadily expanding outwards.

He still could not pinpoint Spencer’s true whereabouts, so an attack that covered a wide area and had no blind spots would be the most practical choice.

In the blink of an eye, the fierce gale had already reached Spencer, blowing roughly through his hair and clothes. However, the wave-like Spiritual Energy was still flowing out of Spencer, forming some sort of barrier around him. With the gale outside the barrier, Spencer’s hair no longer flew around wildly.

Benjamin’s eyebrows furrowed in disdain.

A Magic Barrier...?

No, this was entirely different from an elemental shield. As Benjamin was controlling the water vapor, he had felt a sort of energy invade the water vapor from within as the gale neared Spencer, which ultimately caused its magical structure to collapse.

Was it Spiritual Energy?

From the surface, it would seem like Spencer was just simply blocking the wind, but in fact, he had used Spiritual Energy to invade into Benjamin’s magic, and then used some special technique to break it from within!

This was a skill never before seen. Mages have spent years researching Spiritual Energy, but nobody has ever thought of using it like this. And it seemed that this kind of ability possessed some natural restraint over magic itself.

"What’s wrong? Sir Benjamin, what are you waiting for? Are you telling me that the most powerful mage only has this level of attacking ability?" taunted Spencer, Spiritual Energy spiraling around him like an airtight net that could dissolve all magical substances that touched it.

Benjamin could not help but think of Miles’ magic-immune physique.

This Spiritual Energy Barrier...could it also be a man-made magic immunity state?

However, unlike a natural source, this barrier would certainly deplete soon. Benjamin is sure that there is no possible way for Spencer to maintain something which requires such a high precision of control of Spiritual Energy for a long time.

Benjamin immediately summoned a stronger gale. All the water vapor within his water elemental domain condensed together before flying towards Spencer, forming a giant sphere of wind. The water vapor within the sphere of wind was like hot knives swirling non-stop in mid-air.

"Why are you in such a rush? I always do detailed research every time I discover a new magical beast. I record all the results from my experiments before finally killing it," sneered Benjamin while attacking.

This time, Spencer was at a loss of words. The sphere of wind was a lot of pressure, so Spencer had no choice but to focus fully on dissolving Benjamin’s attack.

Seeing the situation in front of him, Benjamin shook his head. It would seem that Spencer was no longer at ease like before.

Benjamin’s guesses were correct. Although this worshipper from across the seas possessed unique techniques of using Spiritual Energy which were capable of influencing the mind of someone and even repelling magic, but he was extremely limited when it came down to attack power and the ability of destruction.

And in this moment, where he was trapped in a sphere of wind, Spencer seemingly was not able to use his little trick of disappearance anymore.

Was this his limit?

As long as Benjamin continued to consume his energy, his opponent would not last long. He was not sure how long a Spiritual Energy Barrier of this kind would last, but his water elemental domain would last at least a few days. He would definitely be able to outlast this guy to his death.

Benjamin felt a slight sense of disappointment.

And here Benjamin thought he had finally met his match. Who would have thought that his opponent only knew a few tricks? Once they had run out and he was faced with an actual battle, it was just as Spencer said, he was no match for Benjamin.

Should he end it early?

Benjamin put his right hand into his pocket and grabbed his pistol. A Spiritual Energy Barrier would be able to stop magic, but a bullet was something not made of magic, there would be no way for Spiritual Energy to dissolve it.

A single shot would be all it takes to stop the worshipper right here, right now.

Just then, the System let out a cry to stop Benjamin in his actions.

"...Wait! There’s still something weird going on with this guy."