Shang hated the cheering more than anything right now.
Shang had been put before a choice.
Either kill the Adept and gain more rewards or leave with his current rewards.
Shang could kill his enemies.
He could kill people that wanted to hurt him.
Hell, he could even kill people that wanted to steal from him.
But the Adept had done nothing.
She had only run away from the very beginning.
In the end, Shang had decided that his power was more important than the life of someone innocent.
Yet, he still regretted it.
Why had the God put him before such a choice?
Was this all only for entertainment?
At that moment, the wheel returned.
"Level five: Average Early Adept."
Shang looked at the wheel as it began to spin.
'Of course it's only a game to him.'
'He already told me that this entire world only exists to entertain him.'
'The purpose of everyone's existence in this world is to entertain him.'
'That's it.'
'That's all there is to it.'
The wheel slowed down.
Shang clenched his fists.
Shang had been ambivalent towards the God until now. If he wanted to play with lives, that was his thing.
But now, Shang had felt how it was to be his toy.
At that moment, the night with the bandits shot through Shang's mind.
Shang remembered what he had thought back then.
"Not killing everyone made the death of the ones I killed meaningless."
This was what he had repeatedly said to himself.
What about the Adept?
What about all the other warriors and Mages that had appeared in this trial?
Were they here of their own volition?
Were they forced to be here?
Had they just been created by the God?
What about their deaths?
Did their deaths have any meaning?
'Just like back then, their deaths become meaningless if it doesn't affect the overall situation.'
Eventually, the wheel stopped at the Wind Affinity.
After a brief burst of light, Shang's opponent appeared.
It was a young man with long, green hair. He wore robes that one would find in an academy.
This time, there was no Focus. For just a bit, Shang had anticipated that the average Early Adept would already be using a Focus, but that wasn't the case.
Shang looked at his opponent with narrowed eyes.
'If I want their sacrifices to have meaning, I have to change the situation.'
'That means that I have to reach supreme power!'
'I only have the power to change things if I have supreme power!'
'I have to kill every being that stands in my path!'
'If I die to my enemies, all my past fights would have been for nothing!'
The jester slowly lifted his hammer and struck the bell.
At that moment, the Adept opened his eyes and noticed Shang with a serious expression.
BANG!
Shang exploded forward with all his speed.
'I can't lose!'
'I have to kill him!'
The Adept didn't waste any time and immediately activated his Mana Shield. After that, he began to cast a Spell.
Shang recognized the Spell, but his approach didn't change.
Just before Shang reached his enemy, the Adept changed his Spell.
Shang readied his sword.
Then, the Adept lowered his scepter and pointed at the bottom.
Shang jumped.
The Adept slashed upward with his scepter.
Mana Push!
Shang's legs were hit by Mana Push, but the force wasn't powerful enough to injure him.
However, Shang was thrown over ten meters into the sky.
At this moment, Shang stopped high in the sky, looking down.
Shang touched his sword with his left arm. The arm atrophied, but Shang immediately used his gathered Life Energy from the previous fight to recover it.
An instant later, the Adept finished his first Spell and pointed at Shang.
Shang's eyes narrowed.
BANG!
Shang kicked to his right, releasing an Ice Blast.
An instant later, the space beside Shang warped as the sound of a blade echoed inside his ears.
This had been the Adept's Spell, Wind Blade.
Just as the name suggested, the Wind Blade Spell generated a concentrated blade of wind, which would shoot into the distance.
Shang kicked backward with his other leg and released another Ice Blast, making him shoot toward his opponent.
'He didn't take me seriously!' Shang thought as his heart beat wildly.
'I have a chance!'
The Adept quickly casted a Mana Step, but he hadn't been prepared to cast one this quickly.
Because of that, Shang managed to hit the Mana Shield with his sword.
A black bolt of Darkness Mana went across the Mana Shield before it vanished.
The Adept seemingly teleported a hundred meters away as he had used the fastest Mana Step he could use.
'I have a chance!'
BANG!
Shang pointed his left arm backward and released an Ice Blast to accelerate to his top speed instantaneously.
As Shang charged at the Adept again, the Adept resumed his Spell casting.
Shang left behind a stream of steam as his legs, and left arm began to cool, thanks to the wind.
This time, the Adept was faster, and he finished his first Wind Blade when Shang had reached the halfway point.
Just when Shang reached the Adept, the second Spell was finished.
Their eyes met at this moment.
Shang was dangerously close to the Adept, but the Adept had two Spells prepared.
The Adept pointed at Shang with his scepter.
BANG!
Shang released a small Ice Blast with his right leg to shoot to the left. It wasn't very powerful, but it made his movements unpredictable.
The Adept's scepter followed Shang's movements as he very closely circled around the Mana Shield.
CRRRRRRK!
Shang let his sword grind on the Mana Shield as he ran around it, slowly chipping away at its Mana.
In a tense instant, the Mage suddenly targeted the place where Shang would soon be.
BANG!
Shang's feet exploded with just a little bit of fire. It wasn't very much, but it allowed him to jump over the Mana Shield while grinding his sword against it.
The Adept reacted very quickly and pointed at the location where Shang would land.
BANG!
A small Ice Blast later, and Shang landed on a completely different side than the Adept had anticipated.
BANG!
Another small Fire Blast, and Shang charged around the shield again with his sword grinding away.
The Adept gritted his teeth in frustration.
Then, he spoke the word for a Mana Step.
BANG!
Shang struck the Mana Shield as it shot past him.
BANG!
Shang released another Ice Blast from his feet and exploded forward.
By only releasing small explosions, Shang had been able to stabilize the temperature of his legs, allowing him to use another big explosion.
These small explosions weren't useful for increasing speed, but they weren't bad when it came to altering one's direction.
Of course, if Shang had to evade a Spell, these small explosions wouldn't be fast enough.
The Adept finished two more Wind Blades as Shang reached him.
BANG!
One Mana Step later, the Adept was in the distance again. He had retreated before Shang could even reach him.
However, at that moment, the Adept's Mana Shield vanished.
This meant that he had used up all his Mana.
The fight seemed short, but the Adept had used an insane amount of Mana in that short time.
Three very fast Mana Steps, one Mana Push, Five Wind Blades, several seconds of grinding with a sword, a strong hit with the sword, and a strong hit with the sword loaded with Darkness Mana.
All of these things had resulted in the Adept losing all his Mana.
If he hadn't underestimated Shang at the beginning, he would have received one hit less, and he wouldn't have already wasted a Wind Blade.
At that moment, the Adept pointed at Shang.
Shang's gaze focused.
'I have to survive four Spells!'
