"Thank you," Lu Cang whispered.

Spirit Burst exploded inside Atelindo’s body!

BOOM!

soul may not be much, but a "Spirit Burst" that detonates directly inside the body leaves no chance to resist.

Moreover, it was directly transformed by "Source of All Laws."

The Casting speed was far faster than casting it directly.

The slow Casting speed of "Spirit Burst" could be compensated for this way.

"Source of All Laws" wasn’t like "Elemental Void," which possessed domineering and terrifying Power.

But its strength lay in its myriad transformations, making it useful for more than just simple slaughter.

It could also be used for defense, or even... in other, unexpected ways.

The Sacrifice left no trace, so his opponent would never know he had used the ability of a Death Priest.

’Because Root Magic is so unbelievable, he probably thinks that Spirit Burst is just another evolution of it.’

’In truth, even if I had used Spirit Burst directly, he probably wouldn’t have recognized it as a Death Priest Skill.’

’After all, Spirit Burst is too different from the original "Corpse Explosion Technique." Not many people in this world recognize Beyond Magic yet.’

...

[Winner: Lu Cang]

A victory without any suspense.

Even without using Root Magic, Atelindo, who had comprehended Extreme Intent, was still no match for him.

’It seems I really am a somewhat invincible genius among those of the Same Tier.’

Not that he would dare to call himself completely invincible.

At least, knowing Iz, Lu Cang still held a sense of reverence for this world.

Who knew if there were other monstrous geniuses like Izparut out there?

However, with ninety million soul and having comprehended Root Magic, Lu Cang believed he should no longer be inferior to a Level 2 Iz.

He should be considered to have surpassed him.

But if he didn’t count Sacrifice and only compared Pure Magic...

Thinking back to their spars...

He felt that even after comprehending Root Magic, he still lacked some confidence.

[You have obtained the title: Root Mage]

"A title?"

[Root Mage: Used Root Magic in the Battle Arena. This title displays the supreme glory of comprehending the Root Source.]

’Oh, it can only be used in the Battle Arena.’

’Does equipping this title have any effects?’

’It doesn’t say...’

’Whatever, I’ll equip it and see. It’s not like I’m trying to show off; I just want to see if it has any Special Effects.’

[Matchmaking...] 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

[Searching for a worthy opponent...]

...

’Matchmaking is taking a while.’

’Did Atelindo stop queueing?’

’Then again, if I had just comprehended Root Magic only to get completely crushed, I’d probably need some time to cool down too...’

[Match Found]

[Your opponent: Wang Gou]

His opponent appeared before him. Wang Gou was wearing a gray Mage Robe that looked to be worth about 50 Silver Coins.

The Magic Staff in his hand had a bit of a sheen, but it probably wasn’t worth more than 2 gold coins.

Wang Gou looked up at the opponent before him.

His gaze fell upon the name.

[Root Mage: Lu Cang]

Then, his eyes fell on Lu Cang’s attire.

A Mage Robe with more than ten layers, large over small; a Magic Staff adorned with Mithril, topped with a massive, crystal-clear Demon-Guiding Stone, with Liquid Magic Gold flowing along its shaft...

Taking another look, all ten of his fingers were covered in dazzling, gem-studded Rings, and the Pendants on his neck were so ridiculously ornate it looked like he was wearing them by the pound.

’Wait a minute...’

’Worthy opponent?’

’Worthy in what way?’

...

’Am I evenly matched with this [Root Mage], or am I evenly matched with his ridiculously expensive-looking gear?’

’Does he even need to cast Magic to beat me?’

’He could probably just walk over and beat me to death with that Magic Staff, right?’

[Countdown—2]

"I surrender!"

Before the battle could even begin...

His opponent chose to surrender directly!

’Huh?’

’Was that necessary?’

’Young man, your fighting spirit is a little weak.’

Lu Cang had been planning to use him to test out the applications of "Source of All Laws" some more.

But he never expected the guy to just give up?

[Winner: Lu Cang]

[Current Win Streak: 300]

A 300-win streak was secured, and he’d even ended Atelindo’s streak along the way.

The empty victory led to the settlement screen.

A ray of light descended from the sky.

White leaves formed a bowl, and a spring of iridescent, ink-black water appeared before him.

[Spring of Origin]

Legend had it that it could bring inspiration and help a Mage comprehend Root Magic.

However, as of a moment ago, he no longer needed it.

He had comprehended it on his own, without any external help.

’Of course, having it is better than not.’

On the leaderboard, he was likely still a lot of points away from first place.

After all, Atelindo had also been on a long win streak. Before meeting him, Atelindo had no rivals, so his point farming rate was actually similar to Lu Cang’s.

Lu Cang checked his points...

’Oh?’

’The point multiplier has become 10x?’

’Is it because I defeated Atelindo? Or because I comprehended Root Magic?’

Whatever the case, it had certainly given his points a huge boost.

Lu Cang had thought that since others had played more matches, even if he defeated the number one player, he wouldn’t be able to take their spot right away.

’It seems... this multiplier exists to adjust for situations like this.’

He was still 200 wins away from the mysterious grand prize.

But he was honestly getting tired of fighting.

It was mainly just too boring. Every match was the same one-sided slaughter. Only the fight against Atelindo had been somewhat interesting.

It was like playing a game where every round was a complete steamroll.

It would start to feel tedious.

’I’ll just stop at 300 wins for today.’

’I’ll swing by the Life Church on the way. Now that I’ve comprehended Root Magic, I can be promoted to a Level 3 Mage.’

The win streak would carry over even after he upgraded and changed brackets.

It was the one he’d earned as a Level 2 Mage.