The Melee Mage’s Challenge

Never before had I encountered a mage player as unique as this one, apart from myself.

A golden-haired boy-like player, radiating youthful energy, sprang onto Qing Bai’s arena stage.

“Big sister, shall we play?”

He offered Qing Bai a small smile, one brimming with nothing but childlike innocence and an eagerness to play.

“Hey, what about you even remotely resembles a mage?”

Qing Bai gazed helplessly at the boy, who was clenching his gauntlets towards her.

“From any angle, you look like a pugilist, don’t you?”

She quipped, a hint of exasperation in her voice.

“Just a friendly heads-up, big sister: I’m a melee mage.”

The golden-haired boy’s smile grew even brighter.

“If you hope to win, whatever you do, don’t let me get close.”

“Fighter’s Charge Punch!”

With a single, instantaneous punch, his body blurred into an afterimage, and in the blink of an eye, he was before Qing Bai.

‘This isn’t good!’

As her opponent’s fist rapidly approached, Qing Bai’s pupils dilated, and she reacted with swiftness.

“Backflip!”

She hastily activated her Backflip skill, creating a twenty-yard distance between herself and her opponent.

Regardless of whether the boy before her spoke the truth, given his gauntlets as a weapon, Qing Bai, as a mage, could not afford to let him engage her in close quarters.

“Flame Acceleration!”

Flames ignited beneath Qing Bai’s feet, boosting her movement speed to 150% of its normal rate; she aimed to reposition quickly and widen the gap even further.

The mage class possessed very few displacement skills, and most of them came with a noticeable wind-up.

In a one-on-one battle of this nature, mages had only one universally available skill, [Backflip], that offered flexible movement; they largely relied on the speed bonus from [Flame Acceleration].

Just as Qing Bai believed her increased movement speed would allow her to create a safer distance for sustained damage, the golden-haired boy made his next move.

“Flame Acceleration!”

Employing the very same method, he activated [Flame Acceleration], a skill exclusive to mages, and relentlessly clung to Qing Bai.

‘What!?’

Qing Bai, unable to contain her astonishment, retreated while simultaneously dodging the golden-haired boy’s flurry of punches.

‘This guy, he’s actually a melee mage!?’

‘It must be related to his companion-tier skill; perhaps it’s one that allows him to learn all skills from both the pugilist and magic disciplines.’

‘If that’s truly the case, then this is disastrous. Pugilists, aside from a select few assassin classes, possess the most displacement skills; a mere handful would allow him to close in on Qing Bai instantly.’

“Tch, how annoying!”

Qing Bai clicked her tongue, having encountered an unexpectedly formidable opponent.

“Wood Spirit Suppress Earth.”

Leveraging her exceptionally high casting speed, she swiftly conjured an area at the golden-haired boy’s feet where displacement skills were rendered unusable.

Immediately, under rapid incantation, multiple Wind Blades, Ice Spears, and Flame Bullets continuously manifested as Qing Bai maneuvered, suppressing the golden-haired boy’s movements.

“Wow, big sister, you’re amazing! You found a way to counter me so quickly.”

The golden-haired boy praised her with a smile, activating both the mage’s [Elemental Shield] and the pugilist’s [Golden Bell Shield] to block Qing Bai’s magical attacks as much as possible, all while using his movement speed to rush out of the [Wood Spirit Suppress Earth] area.

Once he broke free from this displacement-nullifying zone, he could unleash his movement skills, and as soon as he closed the distance, the melee mage’s true potential would shine.

Seeing the golden-haired boy on the verge of escaping the [Wood Spirit Suppress Earth] range, Qing Bai dared not be careless, promptly casting another [Backflip] skill to further increase the distance between them.

By this point, with Qing Bai’s strategic movement, they had opened a sixty-yard gap. She wished to widen the distance even more, but the arena itself was only eighty yards in diameter; any further retreat would take her off the stage.

“Blazing Sun Fist!”

Just then, the golden-haired boy, having exited the [Wood Spirit Suppress Earth] zone, immediately unleashed [Blazing Sun Fist], displacing himself fifteen yards towards Qing Bai.

While it was true that pugilists had many displacement skills, they also had their drawbacks.

All of them were non-target displacement skills with relatively short ranges.

On a forty-yard arena, a pugilist would have countless ways to stick to their opponent and execute skill combos.

The golden-haired boy had clearly chosen an eighty-yard arena because he was eager to engage Qing Bai in a direct confrontation; at a sixty-yard distance, a pugilist would need to unleash every single one of their displacement skills just to close in on her.

Having cast [Blazing Sun Fist], the golden-haired boy did not halt; he consecutively unleashed the now-off-cooldown [Fighter’s Charge Punch], [Star Stream Fist], and [Storm Fist], covering another forty yards.

While he was displacing, Qing Bai was not idle either.

With an incredibly fast casting speed, she landed three consecutive Multi-Wind Blades on him, reducing his health bar to just one-third.

The golden-haired boy did not activate [Elemental Shield] or [Golden Bell Shield] to block during his displacement, seemingly committing to an all-out assault, intent on closing in on Qing Bai for a one-shot combo.

At this moment, with only five yards separating them, a smile bloomed on the golden-haired boy’s face.

“My apologies, big sister, but you’ve lost.”

A triumphant smile spread across the golden-haired boy’s face.

“Is that so?”

Qing Bai’s face remained impassive, neither confirming nor denying the golden-haired boy’s assertion.

“Rising Dragon Fist!”

The golden-haired boy unleashed an uppercut, sending Qing Bai soaring high into the air.

“Multi-Wind Blade Fist!”

It was Multi-Wind Blade! However, in the golden-haired boy’s hands, the Multi-Wind Blade had transformed; his fists, imbued with fierce winds, struck Qing Bai repeatedly, instantly triggering three critical hits and depleting a quarter of her meager health.

“My companion skill, Fist Mastery (TL Note: A unique skill that allows the user to learn and use all pugilist and magic skills. Magic skill casting is unaffected by chant speed but is instead influenced by action speed and skill casting speed. The user’s Intelligence points are equal to their Agility points.): allows me to learn and use all pugilist and magic skills. Magic skill casting isn’t limited by chant speed but rather by action speed and skill casting speed, and my Intelligence points are equal to my Agility points.”

“And now, I’ve specialized in both magic critical hits and skill casting speed. You’re not the only one who can cast multiple incantation skills!”

The boy said with a smile; that he still had the presence of mind to explain his victory to Qing Bai, even amidst a combo, indicated he was a highly skilled player with impressive control.

“Ice Prison Fist.”

Before the Rising Dragon Fist’s knock-up effect concluded, he unleashed another mage control skill, [Ice Prison], his frost-laden fist landing on Qing Bai and freezing her in place, rendering her immobile.

“Multi-Flame Bullet Fist!”

Three fiery fists struck Qing Bai, inflicting a three-stack burn effect. This was the result of [Flame Bullet]’s multi-incantation, transforming its usual single burn stack into three, which would continuously deplete Qing Bai’s health over the next five seconds.

While Qing Bai had previously inflicted a burn on the golden-haired boy, it proved largely ineffective due to the damage reduction and blocking provided by his [Elemental Shield] and [Golden Bell Shield]. However, when applied to the now defenseless and squishy Qing Bai, the effect was starkly apparent; her health had already plummeted below half.

“I’m sorry, big sister, please don’t hold it against me. My name is Ivan, and I hope we can add each other as friends after the event.”

The boy said this, poised to unleash another combo to end Qing Bai’s life.

“Wood Spirit Fist…”

Green light shimmered around his fist. Qing Bai knew this was the pugilist state of [Wood Spirit Entanglement]; if struck by this punch, she would be bound by vines, then swiftly eliminated by Ivan’s subsequent multi-punch combo.

“Ice Aegis!”

Still under crowd control, Qing Bai’s lips curled into a faint smile, her crimson mouth parting slightly. Before the [Wood Spirit Fist] could land, a blue radiance enveloped her body, and then a sudden surge of ice froze her solid, transforming Qing Bai herself into a block of ice!

At that very moment, Ivan’s [Wood Spirit Fist] arrived as expected, striking the ice block. Inside, Qing Bai’s expression remained frozen in that serene, upturned smile; the punch failed to cause even a ripple.

[Ice Aegis] (TL Note: The mage’s sole life-saving and crowd control-breaking skill. It freezes the user in a block of ice, granting invincibility and making them untargetable. It can be used while under crowd control and lasts for five seconds.)

“An invulnerable state, then. But this is merely a futile struggle.”

Ivan, his attack missing its mark, puffed out his cheeks slightly, speaking with a hint of indignation.

“With both pugilist and magic skills combined, I possess a full eight crowd control abilities, allowing for countless combo variations. Even if I miss one, it makes no difference. I could chain-kill even a tank with exceptionally high health; this invulnerable state is useless…”

Indeed, Ivan’s combos, fueled by two skill sets, were utterly unreasonable; with eight crowd control skills, he could chain them from start to finish.

By the time all eight control skills were expended, the cooldown on the first one would already be refreshed, enabling him to truly achieve an infinite combo.

“Is that so?”

Qing Bai, still held within the ice coffin with that same serene smile, let out a teasing voice.

“This lady, however, begs to differ.”

In the very next instant, an afterimage shot out from the ice coffin, landing a considerable distance away.

“Wood Spirit – Substitute!”

Qing Bai instantly dispelled [Ice Aegis], her form vanishing from its original spot only to reappear where the afterimage had landed moments before, once again creating a sixty-yard distance from Ivan.

This was the mage’s sole ultra-long-range displacement skill, though its drawback was quite apparent: the afterimage clearly marked the landing spot. Any player with skill and displacement abilities could follow a mage’s movement instantly, much like Ivan before her.

“Wood Spirit – Substitute.”

The moment Qing Bai’s afterimage shot out, Ivan swiftly reacted by sending out his own, substituting himself to Qing Bai’s new position, landing five yards in front of her.

“You’ve lost!”

Ivan exclaimed, his [Rising Dragon Fist] now off cooldown and ready to strike.

“Backflip!”

Qing Bai used her now-available [Backflip] to create a twenty-yard distance, a teasing smile gracing her lips.

“Oh really? Take a look at your feet.”

Ivan, who was about to cast [Fighter’s Charge Punch] again to close the distance, heard her words, startled, and glanced down.

To his shock, it was the displacement-prohibiting zone of [Wood Spirit Suppress Earth]!