The Golem Mage

Albert created flaming weapons resembling pikes, stabbing them into the hands and legs of the human Puppet, despite the human Puppet only wearing low tier armor, he realized that the Puppet’s fleshy body was incredibly resilient, and he realised that it would take a while to kill him with punches alone, Albert decided to focus on the easier option—Beatrice.

He believed that by eliminating Beatrice, all his stress would end, he had witnessed the human Puppet’s persistent resurrections whenever Beatrice was in need, unable to fathom how the blasted figure kept getting back up.

However, he had a growing understanding now after observing how Beatrice manipulated the Puppet’s movements with her strings, he realized that as long as she had enough Mana, she could control his actions—although the movements would be rigid and less flexible compared to when the Puppet moved independently.

This realization prompted Albert to equip the ends of the pikes with dual blades to pin him down, so with the human Puppet securely restrained, Albert confidently advanced towards Beatrice, who coldly observed him.

He walked slowly, seemingly unaffected by the world around him, eventually reaching the shade of the tree where Beatrice stood.

Suddenly, the wooden spider, nearly forgotten by the spectators, emerged from behind the cover of the tree’s large leaves, jumping down from the branch above Albert, despite the surprising entrance, this did not interrupt Albert’s momentum, as he continued with short strides towards Beatrice.

Observing Albert’s approach, Beatrice swiftly moved her hand, directing the wooden Spider puppet to attack with one of its long spider legs.

The wooden leg transformed, revealing a blade at its tip. With a swoof, the bladed leg sliced through the air, accompanied by a slight friction of winds.

However, Albert calmly raised his left palm, effortlessly holding the attack in place, denying it any chance to move further.

Observing how easily Albert had suppressed her wooden spider puppet’s attack, Beatrice moved her fingers again, this time having another one of the puppet’s legs grow longer, attempting to pierce Albert from his blind spot.

However, Albert once again showed his unwavering awareness of his surroundings, swiftly moving his fiery right hand to grasp the second bladed spider leg that targeted him.

”Such tricks won’t work against me, you’ll need to surpass me completely in power before you can successfully sneak attack me,” Albert declared, tightening his grip around the spider puppet’s leg before forcefully retracting it.

With sheer strength, he tore the two legs of the wooden spider puppet apart, despite this, the puppet showed no signs of pain, it was wholly constructed of rare divine woods and lacked the ability to experience pain like the living puppets.

However, Albert noticed something peculiar—the flinch from Beatrice when he ripped out the puppet’s legs, seeing her reaction, he swiftly moved his right fiery hand behind him, gripping the large flaming halo floating behind his back.

Without hesitation, he hurled it toward the wooden spider puppet.

As the flaming halo departed from Albert’s hand, it harnessed the flame element particles in the air, undergoing a transformation, as jagged blades emerged along its edges, infusing it with a menacing appearance.

It cleaved through the wooden puppet with incredible speed, as if it had not merely destroyed a peak Tier 4 puppet.

After cutting the wooden spider puppet in half, the flaming halo continued its path toward Beatrice, but just before it could reach her, it abruptly stopped and rotated back

With a magnetic force, the halo found its way back into Albert’s hands, its serrated edges completely gone as he swung his hands backward, causing the halo to return to its original position.

----

”That boy is thoroughly enjoying himself, it’s as if he’s just bullying that girl now, he has the power to eliminate her if he wanted to,” Damien commented, his observations met with agreement from Vincent.

”His battle prowess has surpassed all expectations, bridging the necessary gap and elevating him to the low Tier 6 Mage realm due to that spirit equipment set, that’s how much augmentation he receives from it,” Vincent explained.

”We must acknowledge now why he’s said to be on par with Liam, without considering royalty and the additional royal abilities that Liam awakened, however, we cannot deny that the Blaze Clan has always excelled in crafting and assimilating with spirit equipment sets,” Thalia chimed in, her eyes fixed on the ongoing match.

”It’s not surprising, considering he seems to have awakened that talent as well, that spirit equipment set is at least at the peak of the Tier 6 Mage realm, he’s simply unable to fully unleash its powers yet, but he’s managed to push his battle capabilities from the High Tier 5 Mage realm to the low Tier 6 now that is something to be proud about,” Damien elucidated.

”But I suppose his lack of control over the consumption and range of his flames is what cost him the captain position to Liam, not to mention Liam’s royal status,” Damien concluded.

”Can you all see the constant wave of mental energy he’s emitting?” Vincent suddenly interjected, surprise lacing his words.

In response, everyone else activated their Mana eyes, and to their astonishment, they witnessed a small mental domain enveloping Albert.

”How is he even capable of using that?, i thought one had to be a Tier 6 before they could cast Mana scans,” Damien questioned, genuine surprise coloring his voice.

”Well, with the armor set he’s wearing, he’s managed to significantly enhance his powers to a high rank, although he hasn’t fully mastered its potential, the power he has assimilated allows him not only to wield Tier 6 battle strength but also to utilize a low tier 6 mage mental power within at least a 20-meter radius, that’s quite impressive, enough to make me envious at the moment!” Thalia, who appeared to have extensive knowledge in the realm of mental power, explained to the rest of the group.

The captains of the other groups remained silent, their lack of commentary on the unfolding events leaving others to ponder what thoughts occupied their minds.

–

With the wooden spider puppet out of the equation, nothing stood between Albert and Beatrice, she attempted to fight back and resist, but her combat skills were lackluster, and Albert quickly overpowered her.

His fiery right hand wrapped around her neck, lifting her off the ground, as she gasped for air, desperately tapping out in hopes he would relent, but Albert was resolute.

”You’ve caused me enough trouble, It’s time to eliminate you so I can proceed with my second mission,” Albert declared, yet he failed to elicit the reaction he desired from her.

Her demeanor remained indifferent, just as it had been since the beginning of their confrontation, which infuriated him.

As he was about to tighten his grip and snap her neck, his eyes widened in shock.

”Now, would you look at that, you’re not as invincible as you claim,” a voice said.

Albert turned his head at the sound, struggling to maintain his composure upon seeing Alec’s smiling face, but he couldn’t.

’Damn it! The elders tasked me with humiliating Alec Gordons in battle, yet here I am, caught off guard by his sneak attack, how has he bypassed my mental shield and mental scan without detection?’ Albert thought in dismay as he gritted his teeth.

Albert’s thoughts were interrupted as he glanced down at the Changdao protruding from his chest, the blade wreathed in black flames, made him Realize that Alec possessed a variant flame which only fueled his rage with jealousy.

His expression twisted with determination as he attempted to muster more strength in his fist, aiming to snap Beatrice’s neck before succumbing to his wounds.

Although Beatrice’s usefulness had diminished with the loss of three of her puppets, Albert still had no intention of leaving her alive to aid Alec.

He was relieved that her close combat skills were lacking; otherwise, he might not have been able to overpower her that fast, but he felt her strings trap, however, were still a significant threat to the team and that is why he wanted to get rid of her.

Alec, discerning Albert’s lethal intent, yanked the Bloody Changdao from his chest and seized Albert’s hair.

With a swift motion, he swung the blade from left to right, decapitating Albert and holding the severed head in his grasp.

A hush fell over the crowd as the first fatality of the battle unfolded before their eyes, and no one had anticipated that the victim would be the vice-captain of the Royal Mage Academy.