“This enchanted spear doesn’t belong to you. Where did you steal it from?” Bryan demanded, his gaze fixed on the ice crystal spear in Vinny’s hand.
Vinny, struggling to rise from his kneeling position under the weight pressing down on him, smirked despite his predicament.
“Tch, it’s just a fight. Why waste your breath?”
“Why? My possessions can only be stolen, but yours are rightfully owned? Tell me, how did you get your equipment? Wasn’t it handed down by your family? Or did you simply use your parents’ money? Don’t try to convince me you earned it yourself. You think I can’t recognize that water sword from the auction?”
“You just rely on your family’s backing, and yet you dare to stand on the moral high ground and point fingers at me?”
“The swordsmanship, Soul Armament, and magic in your body, which of these can be separated from your family? You’re just standing on the high platform your family built for you, mocking those of us who stand on the ground, in the dirt. Does that really give you a sense of superiority?” Vinny snorted coldly.
“What, did I hit a sore spot?” Bryan smirked.
“No, it’s not a sore spot. It’s just a bad feeling,” Vinny shot back.
“You can’t say anything about me in this regard. At least I’m on my own.”
Vinny knew that continuing to waste energy like this would only weaken him further. He stopped resisting and let the Water Slash strike down.
Bryan frowned slightly. He hadn’t expected Vinny to dare to provoke him and force his own Water Slash. Did he want to fight to the death?
That was impossible. If Vinny was struck by the Water Slash, he would be split in half.
The armor he wore wouldn’t protect him—it would shatter like tofu.
At the last moment, Vinny rolled to the side.
Though he moved as fast as he could, the Water Slash still slashed mercilessly across his left shoulder.
Vinny rolled several times, putting some distance between himself and Bryan, his eyes locked on his spear.
Tick, tick... Blood dripped from the deep gash in his left shoulder, the flesh torn and mangled.
The token could only protect against maiming and fatal injuries, but all other wounds suffered in the dungeon were real.
The Carillian Academy wasn’t for pampered flowers in a greenhouse. It was for those with the courage and talent to fight their way through blood and fire.
Bryan stared at Vinny, his brow furrowing unconsciously.
This was clearly a good opportunity to press his advantage, but seeing the calm, determined eyes behind Vinny’s helmet, even as he endured the pain of a serious injury, Bryan hesitated for a moment.
Something felt off.
This kind of composure and decisiveness in the heat of battle—was this really the same Vinny who usually complained and begged for mercy?
Bryan wondered if Vinny had taken some alchemical potion to numb the pain, but that seemed impossible. Such potions were rare and expensive, far beyond Vinny’s means.
Was Vinny not in pain right now? No, he was gasping, his body trembling. It hurt like hell, and part of him wanted to give up on the spot.
This was the first time he had endured such excruciating pain, and it sharpened his mind, reminding him that this was an assessment where he could lose everything but his life.
Yet, for some reason, he was unwilling to surrender—unwilling to yield.
An inexplicable, fierce determination surged in his heart, overwhelming the searing pain in his body. Trembling, he forced himself to stand, gripping his spear.
The gap between them was too vast. After just one exchange, he was already half-crippled.
After all, what he was facing was a genius who had been trained in swordsmanship since childhood, honed his physique, and was nurtured by vast family resources.
In contrast, he was just a wasted old man with necrotic blood, no talent, and a frail, sickly body.
The gap created by years of accumulated family resources and training couldn’t be bridged in just a year or two.
But Vinny wasn’t convinced.
He just wasn’t convinced.
The protagonist bullied him, and even a supporting character in the story could bully him. The original villain can’t accept that.
Vinny was a man who wanted to save face, too!
Bryan stared at him. He hadn’t taken Vinny seriously before. He hadn’t even considered him a worthy opponent, feeling it would be an insult to personally deal with him. But now, his perspective had shifted slightly.
At the very least, he saw determination and will in Vinny now. Regardless of whether Vinny’s strength was sufficient, his attitude showed he was taking the assessment seriously.
Because of this, Bryan’s attitude toward Vinny also shifted. He felt he should now treat Vinny as a true opponent and show him the respect he deserved.
“Strength aside, your current attitude is much more pleasing to the eye than before,” Bryan commented.
“It’s unfortunate that you have the determination but lack the power.” He cleaned the blade of his sword.
“Oh? Really?” Vinny stood up, gripping his spear with one hand. “You’re wrong.”
“I did this on purpose.”
“Even if I give you one hand, you still can’t win.” Vinny tilted his head and smirked.
“Your ability to talk big hasn’t changed at all,” Bryan said, brushing the water droplets off his sword. He stared at Vinny for a moment, then dashed forward, closing the distance between them in an instant.
“Big talk? You’ll soon find out if it’s just talk.” Vinny’s eyes sharpened. He slammed the blunt end of Frostfang into the ground, and a web of ice cracks erupted from the point of impact, freezing the surrounding area—including the water droplets on Bryan and his sword.
However, just as the ice crystals were about to encase Bryan, a yellow shield suddenly materialized around him, blocking the frost.
Bryan quickly stepped back, avoiding being frozen solid.
This was likely a blessing he had received from the special creeps in the area—an Earth Elemental Shield that activated to protect him when attacked.
“What!?” Bryan’s pupils constricted in shock.
Ice elemental magic!?
Those with a high affinity for ice elements were rare. More importantly, ice elements directly countered the water element, which was Bryan’s specialty.
The water droplets he had condensed on his cage-hilted sword had all frozen into uncontrollable ice particles due to the icy aura Vinny had released.
For a brief moment, Bryan felt a surge of panic. The ice element was completely foreign to him, an area he had never explored.
His understanding of it was minimal, if not nonexistent, and to make matters worse, his affinity for it was quite low.
This situation was nearly the same as having one’s own magic altered by the enemy into an unfamiliar element.
Vinny had effectively neutralized his element.
This was something Bryan had never anticipated. Vinny actually had an elemental affinity of his own, and it was ice magic—the very element that countered Bryan’s strengths.
“I’ll admit, your water elemental magic is impressive. But if I do this, how will you handle it?” Vinny taunted, hefting his spear. Ice thorns sprouted beneath his feet, and a cold aura solidified around his body, forming a set of crystal-clear ice armor adorned with jagged spikes on the shoulders.
The ice armor froze Vinny’s wound, staunching the bleeding, while the chilling aura it emitted condensed the surrounding moisture.
Vinny noticed that the ice armor felt like an extension of his own body. It didn’t make him feel cold; instead, it radiated a freezing aura around him. It was a strange, almost surreal sensation.
Bryan instinctively took another step back, quickly realizing that this couldn’t be Vinny’s own skill—it had to be Frostfang’s doing.
But...
The power was astonishing. Even the cold air swirling around the ice armor exuded an intimidating aura.
Bryan’s intuition told him this wasn’t just due to the high grade of Vinny’s enchanted spear. It also had to do with Vinny’s own affinity for the ice element.
Had he been wrong all along? Did this so-called “useless” guy actually have a hidden talent?
As he watched the armored figure stride toward him, the frosty aura swirling around Vinny and the chilling spear in his hand, a sense of pressure weighed heavily on Bryan.
...Interesting.
Bryan gripped his sword’s hilt with a backhanded stance, and three water spikes coalesced around his blade, shooting toward Vinny.
However, before the spikes could reach their target, they froze solid, transforming into ice.
Bryan’s poor control over the ice element caused them to shatter upon hitting the ground, scattering into icy debris.
The power of Vinny’s ice element was overwhelming.
Bryan frowned.
It was impossible for ordinary ice elemental skill to freeze his spells so quickly. Now he was almost certain that Vinny had a natural talent for ice elemental affinity.
Otherwise, there was no way that ice armor could emit such an intense chill.
“Master Vinny, impressive. You’ve successfully proven that you’re not as useless as I thought,” Bryan said, clapping his hands slowly.
Vinny raised an eyebrow. Why did it feel like this guy’s attitude toward him had shifted?
“That’s right. As a descendant of the goddess, you shouldn’t be so incompetent.”
“But it’s a pity you’ve wasted too much time. Even with your element countering mine, I’ll still come out on top.”
As he spoke, Bryan didn’t retreat in the face of Vinny’s icy aura and armor.
Instead, he advanced, his sword flashing through the air like a ghost, its movements too fast for the eye to follow.
What a swift sword!
Was this Bryan’s true capability?
Vinny barely had time to react. Before he could even raise Frostfang, Bryan’s sword had already struck him.
By the time Vinny thought to counter, Bryan had already dodged back, retreating several meters away. Vinny, weighed down by his armor, couldn’t keep up.
Glancing down at the ice armor covering his body, Vinny noted that, with the dual protection of the ice armor and his Armor Fortress, Bryan’s strike hadn’t left so much as a scratch.
But Bryan’s sword was too fast. Vinny thrust his ice spear forward, only for Bryan to easily deflect it and counter with a swift stab.
In close combat, Vinny was completely outclassed. Despite wielding a long weapon, he couldn’t even graze Bryan’s clothes.
After more than a dozen exchanges, the only damage Vinny managed to inflict was the frostbite from the cold, which had frozen Bryan’s limbs and penetrated his skin.
The good news was that Bryan couldn’t harm Vinny either.
With the Armor Fortress protecting him, and now reinforced by the ice armor, it was nearly impossible for Bryan to land a meaningful blow.
But Vinny couldn’t afford to drag this out. He knew his ice armor would only last a few minutes. Once it disappeared, Bryan’s sealed magical abilities would return, and Vinny would be in serious trouble.
Bryan, however, was no fool. In fact, his combat experience far surpassed Vinny’s. When he noticed Vinny shifting from passive defense to active offense, he immediately guessed that the ice armor had a time limit. Otherwise, Vinny wouldn’t be so desperate to end the fight quickly.
“If you rush too much, you’ll reveal your state of mind and intentions,” Bryan said, shaking his head. “You’re still too inexperienced.”
Knowing this, Bryan simply kept his distance, avoiding Vinny’s attacks and refusing to engage directly. He didn’t even bother to strike back, content to wait.
As expected, Vinny’s ice armor began to fade over time, the icy energy dissipating along with it.
“Vinny, I really didn’t expect you to last this long against me.”
“There’s progress, but this level alone isn’t enough.” Bryan raised his blade, and countless streams of water swirled around it, converging at the tip of his sword.
A massive vortex of water formed at the sword’s tip, churning and surging like a raging tidal wave.
This is...
Vinny’s frown deepened. He recognized this skill.
Though still in its early stages, this was one of the most powerful water-elemental skills available to the Warlock level — [Countercurrent Vortex].
The surging water, wild and untamed, vividly displayed the fluid yet overwhelming power of the water element.
Of course, this technique was no ordinary feat — it was a high-level skill that demanded immense magical energy.
Bryan, at most an advanced Artisan, was pushing his limits by casting such a skill. The sheer amount of magic required would undoubtedly drain him completely.
Seeing Vinny’s ice armor dissipate, Bryan seized the opportunity to finish him off. He was confident Vinny couldn’t dodge this attack.
But Vinny had no intention of dodging.
This was a gamble.
Bryan was an advanced Artisan, while Vinny was merely a Beginner Apprentice. Even with the ice element’s natural advantage over water, Vinny couldn’t bridge the gap in their levels.
Now, all he could do was trust in Frostfang in his hand and his own affinity for the ice element.
Vinny tightened his grip on Frostfang. An ice dragon coiled around the spear’s blade, and the temperature plummeted instantly.
Bryan realized Vinny was preparing for a final, desperate strike. But he remained confident.
While ordinary water skills might be restrained by ice, low-level ice skills wouldn’t stand a chance against his high-level spell.
The swirling vortex of water at the tip of Bryan’s sword surged forward, crushing rocks and uneven terrain in its path.
Vinny, in that moment, fully understood the second enchantment of Frostfang.
The ice dragon wrapped around the spear seemed to come alive, its icy glow resembling the crystalline teeth of a true frost dragon.
A pair of icy wings materialized behind Vinny. With a powerful step, he launched himself forward, transforming into a frost dragon that tore through the air toward Bryan.
“What?!” Bryan’s eyes widened as the ice dragon roared into the sky, unleashing a violent whirlwind of frost.
Though its power was limited by Vinny’s low level, the sheer presence of the dragon was overwhelming.
Bryan stared in shock, as if a real ice dragon had appeared before him.
The dragon’s eyes were lifelike, filled with an ancient, icy fury.
The Ice Dragon, dormant within Frostfang, had awakened.
In an instant, it froze Bryan’s [Countercurrent Vortex], shattering it into icy fragments.
Bryan, caught off guard, tried to dodge with his agility, but the ice dragon spat out two chains of frost. Before he could react, the chains wrapped around his body and arms, locking him in place.
Vinny, his focus unwavering, activated the [Frost Lock].
Bryan was frozen within the icy chains, pulled toward the dragon. The intense cold nearly frostbit his skin, but an earthy yellow shield emerged, momentarily blocking the frost’s advance.
However, the shield couldn’t hold. The chains tightened further, binding Bryan completely.
The dragon’s descent froze his limbs, leaving him no room to escape.
What the hell is this...? Bryan thought, a hint of fear creeping into his mind.
The ice dragon showed no mercy. It swooped down, its crystalline jaws clamping onto Bryan’s body.
The moment ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) the dragon’s icy teeth touched Bryan, the earthy yellow shield flared up again, but it lasted less than a second before shattering.
The dragon lifted Bryan into the air, its icy claws tearing at him. Finally, it bit down and slammed him into the ground. The impact caused the dragon to burst apart, releasing a massive explosion of ice and snow that blanketed the area in frost.