Luo Ya held her breath, concentrating every last bit of Magic Power left in her body, preparing a spell in advance, ready to unleash it.
The knight slowly approached Luo Ya, but she dared not strike first.
The threat of death sent chills down her spine.
At this moment, even the slightest opening would mean instant death.
Without warning, the knight moved.
From Luo Ya’s perspective, it was as if a frame had been skipped.
One moment, he was walking toward her slowly, the next, he had closed the distance almost nose-to-nose.
His right hand extended the greatsword, which whistled through the air at a speed that left only afterimages, cutting diagonally upward from below to the right.
Luo Ya immediately released the spell she had prepared in advance: Rise Black Flame.
Black flames with magic-disrupting properties surrounded her body.
When the greatsword, wrapped in blood-red energy, met the black smoke, its power diminished as if evaporating.
Seizing the opportunity, Luo Ya unleashed the second spell she had prepared: Force Shock.
Luo Ya herself was blasted backward, creating distance.
She spun in the air several times, her vision spinning dizzily.
The violent shockwave ignited a chain reaction within the black flames, causing a fierce Magic Power conflagration.
The knight must have taken the full force of the impact.
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a faint flash of crimson in her vision.
Wrong!
Still in the air, Luo Ya couldn’t adjust her stance in time.
The knight’s greatsword sliced off one of her arms as easily as cutting through butter.
Her left hand flew away, blood staining most of her body.
Luo Ya crashed heavily to the ground and immediately began emergency hemostasis.
The knight paced toward her again, but this time he didn’t rush in to finish her off.
Instead, he deliberately slowed his steps, waiting for Luo Ya to finish healing.
‘He doesn’t want to kill me?’ Luo Ya’s thoughts grew clearer amidst the intense pain.
“Child, in this life, I gave almost everything for my country.”
“I was entrusted by the Old King to take care of the Young King who had just ascended.”
“But the newly crowned king was young and arrogant, believing that defeating a neighboring country made him invincible. He dared to challenge Deep Blue.”
“I was leading my army at the border at the time and failed to fulfill my duty to guide His Majesty. I am guilty.”
“The greedy mages swarmed in like bloodhounds smelling blood, and the kingdom was destroyed in an instant.”
“By the time I rushed back to the capital, it was already too late. The Deep Blue mages’ war legion had already reached the city walls.”
“I fought with all my strength until I was completely spent, finally dying at the hands of a War Mage.”
“Now I am nothing but a lonely spirit, wandering here.”
The knight raised his greatsword again.
Luo Ya stood up unsteadily, raising her staff with her remaining arm.
The knight’s attacks were not flashy—just simple, direct moves: thrusts, horizontal cuts, vertical slashes.
But dodging them was incredibly difficult.
His monstrous speed and power made any attempt to counter with magic look like a joke.
A fragile mage like Luo Ya was like paper.
If she brushed against him, she’d be done for.
Luo Ya closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
‘Screw it! I’ll go all out!’
The knight moved again.
Once more, it was like a skipped frame.
The greatsword thrust forward, instantly right in front of her eyes.
Luo Ya didn’t dodge or evade, letting the greatsword tear through her body.
With her right hand, she aimed the spell she had been charging—Frost Torrent—directly at the knight’s face!
At the same time, runes of a magic circle appeared on the ground.
It was the mass explosive spell Wraith Burst that Luo Ya had secretly set up while the knight was rambling.
Boom!
Even though she had prepared a magic barrier in advance, Luo Ya was still blasted into the air.
Both of her lower legs were blown to bloody shreds.
Her body as tattered as a rag, Luo Ya pointed her staff at the knight, who was struggling to get up on the ground.
Storm Spear!
A massive hurricane spear over ten meters long formed at the tip of Luo Ya’s staff.
With the last shred of her strength, Luo Ya hurled the hurricane spear.
A thunderous explosion echoed, sand and dust swirling and flying everywhere.
The last thing Luo Ya saw was a series of cracks spreading across the sky.
Everything began to disintegrate.
‘Did I… succeed?’
Luo Ya’s vision went black.
Overwhelmed by severe injuries, Mana depletion, and mental exhaustion, she completely lost consciousness.
***
“Oh my god, I’ve seen it all now. That knight’s remnant soul actually regained its clarity at the very last moment. That guy died a hundred years ago, you know. I thought I was the one taking a shortcut, but it turns out you’re the real master of unorthodox speedruns, sis.”
Luo Ya regained consciousness in the real world again.
Instinctively, she touched her left shoulder.
Her entire body was perfectly intact.
She blinked, a little dazed.
“How was it, trading blows with a Peak knight who was going easy on you?” Zhi Zi’s voice came from beside her.
Luo Ya was still lost in that intense battle, unable to snap out of it for a long time.
“Huh?”
Luo Ya made a surprised sound.
“Why is my Magic Power so much higher now?”
If before, Luo Ya’s Magic Power was just a pitiful amount, now she had a full twenty-plus points—already at the entry level of an ordinary apprentice.
“Consider it a pleasant surprise. You defeated that remnant soul in the final round, and all the Magic Power it dispersed was absorbed by you,” Zhi Zi said.
“How do you feel now?”
“To be honest, not great,” Luo Ya pursed her lips.
Even though her Magic Power had undoubtedly taken a leap compared to before, it was still far weaker than the Deep Blue Battle Mage she had played as in the Historical Fragment.
With such pitiful Magic Power, she couldn’t cast any of those cool high-level spells.
Not to mention the more complex…
The more complex…
Huh?
“Can’t remember those high-level spells anymore, can you?”
Zhi Zi said from the side.
“Why is that?”
Luo Ya asked incredulously.
“Normal. Those things are a bit beyond your level. Just remember the feeling of ordinary Magic Power circulation,” Zhi Zi said calmly, patting Luo Ya, who looked like she was about to cry.
“Come on! I worked so hard! And I can’t get even one of those high-level spells?”
“Always dreaming of peaches, huh? As if it were that easy. If high-level spells were so easy to learn, what would Mage Towers be for?”
Luo Ya felt a bit off, going from a top-tier character back to a beginner.
“Are there any other Grimoires?”
Luo Ya asked.
“…Not easy to find at the moment,” Zhi Zi lied a little.
In truth, this Grimoire was a homemade one Zhi Zi had made using her teacher’s method after she escaped.
She had hidden it in the Forbidden Books Area in advance.
Because it was a half-finished product, it could only be used once.
Only one step remained.
If that step succeeded, she would have fully replicated all her teacher’s techniques.
Luo Ya noticed that the original Grimoire had become completely lusterless, as if it had lost all its Magic Power, looking like it would crumble at a touch.
A dense ball of light emerged from the Grimoire.
Zhi Zi guided it and brought it in front of Luo Ya.
“Listen carefully,” Zhi Zi’s tone turned serious.
“Once this ball of light is absorbed by you, you will briefly enter the Soul Knocking State.”
“Experiencing this is extremely precious for a mage apprentice. You must cherish it.”
“Very soon, you will genuinely feel the flow of Magic Power—that sensation of it gently brushing against your skin.”
“Don’t look with your eyes. Human spiritual vision can’t see anything. Feel it with your heart. Remember that feeling.”
“Are you ready?”
Luo Ya took a deep breath and nodded firmly.
Zhi Zi gently pressed the ball of light into the center of Luo Ya’s forehead.
Luo Ya furrowed her brow slightly, her eyelids twitching, as if a little uncomfortable.
“Remember, feel it with your heart,” Zhi Zi reminded again.
***
A moment later.
Luo Ya’s expression gradually turned strange.
Finally, Luo Ya opened her eyes directly.
“Hey! What are you doing! Close your eyes!”
Zhi Zi grew a bit anxious.
“Human spiritual perception can’t see anything! Don’t waste this precious Soul Knocking State!”
Then Zhi Zi saw Luo Ya standing there, dazed.
Luo Ya’s eyes stared at the empty darkness, as if there was something there.
Zhi Zi realized something was wrong.
“You… what do you see?”
“Zhi Zi…”
Luo Ya spoke softly.
“What does your Magic Power look like?”
Zhi Zi sensed something and swallowed.
“They’re small white lights, almost transparent.”
“You… could it be…?”
Luo Ya stared blankly at the dark space, filled with white lights crowding together and fluttering everywhere.
‘It’s like gazing at the bright stars in the pitch-black night sky.’