Chapter 1358: 116. Caution

"This isn't magic, but it's very scientific, isn't it?"

Muen casually swung the magic staff in his hand. With the absurd weight added by the enormous magic stone and Cassis wood, every swing carried a deep whistling sound, as though it were not only going to tear through the air, but even space itself instinctively wanted to rip apart.

As everyone knew, from a scientific point of view, an object's kinetic energy was directly proportional to its mass.

Simply put, the bigger the stick, the more it hurt when it hit someone.

Perhaps in the eyes of other mages, this magic staff really was an inferior product, something no mage with even a slightly normal brain would choose.

But for Muen, as long as it was durable and felt good in his hands, that was enough.

The former naturally needed no further explanation, but as for the latter, something that could still feel extremely comfortable for his Crowned-level... no, his body enhanced by Enhancement Magic to the level of a Crowned One to swing was already extremely rare among magic staffs.

Thinking back to that time, what the hell had that clerk who claimed to understand magic staffs better than anyone else in the entire City of Magic recommended to him? They broke the moment he touched them, were flashy and gaudy, and were completely fucking useless.

They couldn't resonate with his musc... his magic at all.

"All right, we'll leave the matter of the magic staff here for now. I believe Sir Jerome has already fully understood just how outstanding our Enhancement Magic is."

Countless gazes were filled with horror and shock."

Muen had long since grown accustomed to being stared at with all sorts of strange looks. At this moment, he still calmly walked forward along that several-meter-deep trench.

Eventually, he arrived before the cloud of spreading dust.^

Just now, Jerome had flown backward across the entire square before crashing heavily into a higher section of terrain at the far end. There was naturally no need to further describe how miserable he had looked.

And as a mage with a frail body, under normal circumstances, such a direct frontal attack would already have been enough to turn him into meat paste many times over.,

But Muen remained cautious at this moment and did not lower his guard.

After all, everyone knew very well about this weakness of mages. As an experienced magic master, how could Jerome possibly not have prepared a backup plan in advance?*

Muen was not that stupid. His past experiences had already shaped an extremely keen perception in battle, and he could clearly sense that, at the instant his magic staff smashed into that final defensive barrier, an entirely different burst of magical light had simultaneously erupted around Jerome's body.'

That was probably Jerome's ultimate life-saving magic.

Therefore, the vast majority of the force from that strike should have been dispersed by magic. Otherwise, it would not have caused such severe destruction here. If Jerome had simply taken it with his physical body, then in that instant he really would have turned into fragments flying everywhere.

In other words... it was not over yet./

"I had a slight advantage in the first round, so next, shouldn't we save some time and start the second round as soon as possible?"

Muen stood outside the crater Jerome had smashed open, staring at the rising and churning dust while rambling on and, at the same time, rapidly sweeping his perception through the crater./

The crater Jerome had created was not large, only a little over ten meters deep. It was simply that too much magic had been forcibly smashed through by Muen in that instant, causing the magical power to become chaotic, so the detailed situation inside the crater could not be clearly perceived at all.

As for his field of vision, it was even more completely obstructed by the spreading dust. Under circumstances where he could not display martial techniques, the disadvantage of Muen not being skilled in magic once again became apparent..

Perhaps Jerome had also noticed this through his rich experience, which was why he had continued hiding himself inside the crater, searching for an opportunity.

It fit the style of many old scheming bastard mages. Although, on the path of being a scheming bastard, they were still far, far inferior to certain deities, they were troublesome enough.

"No answer?"

After quite a while had passed and he still received no response, Muen raised an eyebrow and immediately revealed a cold smile.

Although taking the scheming bastard route was correct, now that it had already been mercilessly seen through by him, did Jerome still intend to deliberately remain in this stalemate?

Did he think Muen would fall for it?

Ridiculous. Did he really think Muen did not even know the rule of "where there's smoke, there's no damage"?

He had encountered this kind of basic, ridiculously basic trick more times than he could count. How could he possibly fall into the same pit again?

"Sir Jerome, why aren't you answering my question? Were you really such a slow and hesitant person just now?"

Muen pointed with his magic staff. He did not take another step forward and even retreated some distance, his gaze continuously sweeping across every direction around the crater...

Which direction would he counterattack from next?

The left? The right?

Or straight ahead?

...It couldn't possibly be from beneath his feet!

Muen's heart jolted, and he hurriedly focused his attention on the ground beneath his feet.

Fortunately... there was no movement whatsoever, nor was there any premonition of danger approaching.

"Looks like he isn't clever enough to think of that?"

With things having reached this point, Muen muttered to himself, gradually becoming somewhat unable to understand.

If he were Jerome, he should already [N O V E L I G H T] have made his move just now. After all, the chaotic magical currents and the cover of the dust could not last very long. If Jerome simply exposed himself before him like this, wouldn't that mean directly giving up his own advantage?

That did not make sense.

A magic master who had lived for more than a hundred years and possessed rich combat experience should not make such a low-level mistake either.

"Could it be..."

Just as Muen was considering every possible explanation, an entirely ordinary breeze slowly blew over.

The spreading dust immediately began dispersing faster, and very soon, the scene at the bottom of the crater was completely revealed before Muen.

Muen lowered his head and looked. Then... his pupils contracted!

Uncontrollable shock began flowing through his heart. His mind was greatly shaken, and even the hand holding the magic staff began to tremble slightly beyond his control.

Because he saw...

Jerome was actually lying quietly in the very center of the crater like a dead dog!

At this moment, his entire body was covered in blood and he looked utterly miserable. He had clearly fallen completely unconscious!

"Hiss——"

Muen stared at this scene. After being stunned for a moment, he immediately sucked in a sharp breath.

This guy... what an incredibly convincing act!

He truly looked exactly as though Muen had knocked him unconscious with a single blow!

The blood flowing all over the ground, the lingering terror on his face, and that breathing that looked weak to the absolute extreme—every single thing emphasized just how miserable and pitiful Jerome was at this moment.

Damn it.

Had he already become dissatisfied with merely hiding inside the dust and waiting for an opportunity to counterattack, to the point that he was even using such a despicable trick as playing dead?

As expected of Master Jerome. What an utterly unscrupulous way of doing things!

If it were someone else, they probably would already have rushed forward at the first possible moment, completely unprepared, to help check his injuries.

...But Muen did not.

After only a brief moment of surprise, he quickly returned to calm.

"You think this will work, Master Jerome?"

Muen flicked his magic staff. While raising his vigilance, the corner of his mouth curled into a cold smile that had seen through everything:

"Your head hasn't even been crushed, your heart hasn't even stopped beating, and you don't even have a bowl-sized scar on your neck. You've only suffered these few superficial injuries, and you want to fool me? You think I'm far too inexperienced!"