The Golem Mage

Many of the elders from the Royal Mage Academy present couldn’t help but look at Austin with eyes that seemed to say they had just discovered a rare gem.

Their astonishment stemmed from the last spell Austin had just casted—Time Jump, an advanced spell of the Time element.

Though it bore superficial similarities to the more common Blink spell, which is rooted in spatial manipulation, however Time Jump operated on an entirely different principle.

While Blink allowed a space elemental mage to teleport instantly to another point within their line of sight, Time Jump was far more elusive, it enabled a time-elemental mage to shift themselves a few moments forward into the future, effectively dodging an incoming attack before it ever landed, they didn’t require anything just the casting of the spell and they would disappear from existence for a few seconds.

There were ancient tales of a legendary Time Mage who used Time Jump to escape death countless times on the battlefield.

Yet, no one in the Northern Kingdom had ever witnessed the spell first-hand, and this was because Time-elemental mages were exceedingly rare, with most known practitioners originating from royal bloodlines.

As a result, Time Jump was often dismissed as nothing more than myth, an exaggerated tale crafted to heighten the mystique of the Royal families .

But now that Austin had used it before their very eyes, its existence could no longer be questioned.

It was real—and evidently powerful. Still, the toll it took on Austin was obvious; his drained expression and unsteady breathing showed just how taxing the spell was to perform.

It wasn’t just difficult to master, it was punishing to use considering it could save the life of a mage at a critical moment, which is no wonder so few royal mages had ever demonstrated it publicly.

“You’re good,” Austin finally said, his voice steady despite the fatigue.

“Well, you’re not so bad yourself,” Brandon replied, adjusting his stance as he prepared for another swing.

“Then let’s end this.”

With that, Austin sliced his palm with his blade, allowing a thin smear of blood to coat its edge, the moment his blood touched the blade, it began to tremble faintly with unstable energy.

Austin surged forward again, swinging with renewed force.

Brandon, undeterred, swung his great sword in response.

This time, as their weapons clashed, Austin wasn’t pushed back, he held his ground, digging in his heels as the force of their collision rippled through the arena.

Brandon exclaimed in surprise, but this act definitely wasn’t enough to make him wary, the two of them pushed against each other, using the momentum to create distance between them.

As Austin reset his stance, sword raised and ready to continue his offensive, something unexpected happened, Brandon drove his great sword into the ground.

“You know what I’ve noticed about people like you, those born with privilege and talent?, you think you’re better than everyone just because fate handed you an easy start.” Brandon said, his voice low but steady.

He paused, eyes narrowing.

“Well, guess what? That belief is only true if you actually work to become the best, but someone like you, blessed but lazy loses sight of what really matters.”

His tone hardened as he continued, a flicker of memory flashing in his eyes, as he reminisced on his father’s words about his mother’s disappearance echoing in his mind.

“That’s why you’ll never defeat me. While you’re busy squandering your gifts, people like me, those without powerful families or elite bloodlines, work twice as hard just to stand on the same stage.”

“Too much talking,” Austin interrupted coldly, slashing his sword toward Brandon and releasing a blazing arc of sword light.

What happened next stunned everyone.

Brandon charged straight toward the oncoming attack, moving at high speed, as though running into a death wish.

To the onlookers, it was pure madness.

But just as the sword light closed in, Brandon raised his left hand, the two rings of energy rotating around his hand guard pulsed brightly.

Bang!

The sword light struck—but nothing happened.

A bubble-like shield of energy shimmered around Brandon for a brief moment before vanishing along with the rings of energy on his left hand, absorbing the full force of the attack as he ran straight through it unharmed.

Austin’s eyes widened in disbelief, clearly unable to comprehend what he had just witnessed.

However it wasn’t like Brandon would offer him any explanation, he had already closed the distance.

Planting his left foot firmly forward, he followed through with two swift jabs using his left hand—fast and unexpected.

Caught off guard, Austin scrambled to block the strikes.

Each blow made Austin’s hand tremble as he struggled to maintain his defensive stance, but as he braced for a third strike from Brandon’s left, he realized too late that he’d made a critical mistake.

Brandon’s right fist was already swinging toward his stomach from the opposite angle.

Austin had been too focused on defending against the left-hand barrage, leaving his right side completely exposed, and Brandon had been counting on that opening.

The remaining three glowing rings orbiting Brandon’s right hand suddenly lit up and fused into his fist, which now shone with blinding intensity.

Peng! Boom!

The punch landed with no sound at first—then, a moment later, a deafening sonic explosion tore through the air.

The battle platform trembled as visible cracks spread across it, the very arena said to withstand attacks from low Tier 7 mages had been damaged by Brandon’s strike.

Austin’s academy robe was shredded, revealing a concealed spirit equipment armour beneath his elegant long sleeved uniform.

But even that wasn’t enough to stop the momentum, his body was hurled across the arena, crashing violently into a section of empty chairs.

Liam, watching from his seat, clenched his jaw in frustration, his lips twitched with suppressed anger, the War God Mage Academy hadn’t even fielded their full strength and now he was the last remaining representative of his academy, he was left to carry the burden alone.

Meanwhile, the War God Mage Academy still had two untouched fighters in reserve apart from Brandon that was on stage.

The disbelief burned in Liam’s chest, as he was thinking how an academy that had supposedly fallen in strength all these years, a now low-tier school barely respected in the capital of the Northern Kingdom, still able to produce mages this powerful? It defied all logic that Liam understood.

“This round goes to the War God Mage Academy. Royal Mage Academy, send up your next fighter,” the judge announced, turning toward Liam, who remained seated, simmering with rage.

Behind him, the reverse teammates rushed to retrieve Austin’s unconscious body, though the other defeated fighters of the Royal Mage Academy had regained consciousness, however none of them dared speak.

No one tried to inflate Liam’s ego or give him false hope, because deep down, they all knew: this match was far from being in his favour.

And just like that, he stood up with a steel resolve, feeling that no matter what, he was going to crush the remaining War God Mage fighters and claim victory for the Royal Academy, no matter the cost.

“Brandon, step down,” Alec’s voice rang out just as Liam began climbing the stage.