Above the mage

Chapter 452 Crushing

The divide between academics and practitioners exists in any world and in any field.

The only difference is that, depending on the field, the practitioners may have various names, such as the practical practitioners in the field of magic, the folk practitioners in the field of music, and so on.

However, the term "academic" remains unchanged, regardless of time or place, it carries with it a rigorous and systematic set of value standards.

The biggest characteristic of the academic school is that it is based on systematic theory and "high-end" or "standardized" education, attaches importance to academic inheritance and the orthodoxy of schools of thought, and tends to innovate based on the experience of predecessors.

This makes academics often have good professionalism and authority in various fields. The downside is that they are prone to being overly bound by tradition, unable to adapt, and becoming mere armchair theorists.

The practical approach, on the other hand, focuses more on real-world needs and emphasizes flexibility and adaptability.

Their skills come from blood and sweat; though lacking rigorous theoretical support, they always manage to unleash astonishing creativity.

The ideological differences between the two are natural, so it is perfectly normal for them to dislike each other.

The pragmatists believe that the academics are all "showy but useless," while the academics believe that the pragmatists are all "unorthodox."

Gaode Maps is able to objectively view the strengths and weaknesses of both sides without bias.

However, a large part of the reason is that although he is now a Sea Sentinel Mage, he is seen by everyone as a practical fighter.

However, he had previously studied at the Cyrus Academy of Magic and was an academic for a period of time.

More importantly, in his previous life, he followed the academic path entirely, and his foundation was already set.

Therefore, Gao De does not have the prejudice that practical practitioners often have towards academic monks.

He wasn't prejudiced, but unfortunately Theodore was.

That's normal, though. Young people are often hot-blooded, and they naturally feel resentful when others say they are inferior to them.

If you're not convinced, then have a contest. If you're convinced after the contest, then it's all aboveboard and nothing serious.

As for the magic arena, for high-level mages, it is actually considered a standard feature second only to the training room.

Given Lieutenant Colonel Grayling's status and the size of his mansion, it's only natural that he would have a fighting arena.

Seeing that God had accepted the challenge, Lieutenant Colonel Grayling led him and Theodore toward the fighting arena in the mansion.

Mrs. Emily and Captain Merrick also got up and followed.

They are definitely interested in this excitement.

Mrs. Emily, needless to say, that's her son.

Merrick, however, was more interested in Gaode.

Gao De has made many outstanding contributions in less than a year since joining the Sea Sentinel.

From his military merit records, it is not difficult to see that Gao De is extremely powerful and is a typical strong combat mage, but few people know exactly how powerful he is.

Now that he can witness "the tip of the iceberg," he is naturally quite interested.

The fighting arena was located in the basement of the mansion, and the air became somewhat heavy as one descended the spiral staircase.

The magic crystal lamps illuminating the two walls prevented the underground level from appearing dark and frightening.

At the bottom of the stairs, push open an iron gate, and a circular area suddenly appears before your eyes.

Although the fighting arena is not like the training room, it is not a common need for mages.

However, since different mages have similar requirements for the design conditions of the magic arena, many chambers of commerce undertake the construction of magic arena projects and provide complete and mature solutions.

Lieutenant Colonel Grayling's fighting arena was built by a special chamber of commerce and consists of three floors.

The scene, including the floor, the surrounding wall panels, and the ceiling, is composed of a three-layer structure. The outermost layer is a protective layer, all made of extraordinary magic-guiding materials.

The real protective element is the rune array drawn on this protective layer, which is also the main part of the construction cost of the entire fighting arena.

The middle layer is a stress-relief buffer layer, and the innermost layer is a support layer made of ordinary materials.

In the center of the magic arena, there are also several classic magic-testing puppets.

Of course, its rank is far superior to those of the trial puppets in Seres Academy; it is a high-rank puppet that Lieutenant Colonel Greylin can use to test the strength of spells.

Each of these experimental puppets is quite expensive to make.

Lieutenant Colonel Grell quietly cast the [Switch] spell, activating the switch next to the fighting arena.

A rectangular groove suddenly appeared on the floor where the trial puppet was located, taking the trial puppet inside, and then returned to normal.

This also demonstrates the meticulous design of the entire fighting arena.

This can be seen as demand determining the market.

As we all know, once a mage reaches the fourth level of the basic level, they can begin to build their own mage tower.

However, building a mage tower is a huge project, and the resources and money required are generally beyond the reach of even fourth-ring mages. Therefore, most fourth-ring mages do not have their own mage tower, and even at the level of fifth-ring mages, it is impossible for each person to have a mage tower.

Because in addition to resources and money, building a mage tower also requires extremely advanced knowledge and technology.

For example, in the North, because they lacked the knowledge and technology to build mage towers, even though Sunafa was the war mother of her race,

The fourth ring is incredibly powerful and has no shortage of resources, yet it still fails to own its own mage tower.

A complete mage tower incorporates numerous functions and craftsmanship.

The core and advanced technologies must be mastered by the mages themselves, and they must use these technologies to design their own mage towers.

However, many monks would not specifically study and master those peripheral crafts and technologies, but would choose to "outsource" them, that is, entrust the relevant chambers of commerce to help with the construction.

The French fighting arena is one of them.

High-ranking mages often have very high budgets for building mage towers.

Therefore, this kind of business is quite profitable, which gradually led to the emergence of many merchant guilds that specialize in building related crafts for mages. According to Gao De's understanding, they are somewhat similar to "decoration companies" in the previous life.

Without the trial puppets, the magic arena became empty.

"My arena was designed as a Tier 3 arena, and under normal circumstances, it can withstand the impact of five third-level spells in a short period of time without being destroyed."

"So in the upcoming French fighting match, Warrant Officer Godé can go all out without worrying about the venue." This was Theodore's home, and he was certainly very familiar with the conditions of his own French fighting arena, so Lieutenant Colonel Grayling gave Godé a special introduction.

Gao De nodded slightly, indicating that he understood.

"Father, we can begin!" Theodore couldn't wait any longer.

His father was a Sea Sentinel Lieutenant Colonel and a mage, but he chose to pursue further studies at the Vandroren Academy of Magic, although Lieutenant Colonel Greylin was very open-minded and didn't say anything.

However, when they are together, he would occasionally express that it would be better if he could follow the path of the Sea Sentinel Mage.

As a sea sentinel mage, Lieutenant Colonel Greylin also looked down on academic mages to some extent.

This is determined by one's position.

Theodore never directly contradicted his father, but the resentment in his heart had been building up all along.

Now is his chance to prove himself. He wants to defeat Gao De and show his father that the mages from the academy are no less powerful than the Sea Sentinel Mages!

Students still in the ivory tower are full of passion and confidence.

"Alright, let's begin then. Let's make it clear beforehand that we'll stop short of a fight," Lieutenant Colonel Grayling nodded in agreement.

The two quickly took their positions on the designated fighting ring in the arena.

They are 100 feet apart.

This is the standard distance for magic duels below the third ring.

Of course, in actual combat, things won't be so rigid; battles can occur from any distance.

From this perspective, Theodore still holds a certain advantage.

As academic mages, their usual combat training is conducted according to this standard.

Therefore, he is very familiar with this kind of "standard" fighting style and has a set of strategies specifically for fighting in this situation.

As for Gao De, as a practical mage, he can react the fastest and come up with his own ideas in battles that start from any distance, but compared to Theodore, who has done countless "mock exams", he is definitely still somewhat inferior.

This is a theoretical distinction between superior and inferior.

However, these theories are only based on the premise that the strength difference is not significant.

As soon as Theodore took his position, he immediately cast Shield.

A flash of magical energy disappeared in an instant, and the [Shield Spell] was activated, casting a faint, transparent shield around him.

A typical academic mage would start by casting defensive spells, a choice that's never wrong when the opponent's specific tactics and strength are unknown.

Although there are some formulas, they are formulas that are flawless.

Gao De's actions, however, were completely different from Theodore's.

As he charged forward like an arrow, he simultaneously flicked his right hand, sending four phosphorescent darts flying from his fingertips, precisely targeting Theodore's body.

The most classic first-circle evocation spell, [Magic Missile].

The original [Magic Missiles] only had three missiles, but after a second-circle mage ascends to ring casting, the number of missiles increases to four.

The spell 【Magic Missile】 is something every battle mage should have.

As an outstanding student of the Vandrolen Academy of Magic, Theodore naturally mastered the spell and had a thorough understanding of the effects and power of the magic missile.

Under normal circumstances, defensive spells of the same level are inherently more powerful than offensive spells.

That is, a defensive spell usually requires two or more attack spells of the same level to break it.

This is why the "formula" in the academy's practical courses says that starting with defensive spells is always a safe bet.

If God casts an attack spell that Theodore is unfamiliar with and has never seen before, Theodore will feel somewhat uncertain, wondering if his [Shield] spell can withstand it.

But when Theodore saw that it was a magic missile, he almost burst out laughing.

Simply put, [Shield Spell] perfectly counters [Magic Missile].

"An invisible magical shield appears around you, protecting you, and this spell will completely shield you from damage caused by magical missiles."

This is the spell effect description for [Shield].

The most typical counter relationship in the first-circle spells was something he himself encountered.

Theodore was overjoyed.

Restraint is not a panacea. Just as water can extinguish fire, a fire that grows too large can eventually boil the water away.

But this problem certainly doesn't exist now. They're all second-ring mages, all casting spells at the rising ring level, so it's an absolute counter!

When something like this happens, it can only be said that Gaode was unlucky and that its so-called practical experience wasn't as outstanding as one might imagine.

Admittedly, during the magical duel, the two players usually cast their first spells simultaneously, with Gao De even slightly faster.

The spells each person will cast are like opening a blind box.

However, those with extensive combat experience will avoid using [Magic Missile] as their first spell.

The reason is simple: Shield is one of the most classic opening spells. If you choose to start with Magic Missile, and it happens to be blocked by Shield, wouldn't that be disastrous?

Such a basic mistake was something no mage in the Vandrolen Academy of Magic would ever make, yet it happened to this mage, recommended by his father and known as the youngest warrant officer in the history of the Sea Sentinels.

Is this just an empty reputation?

Or is it because they're used to fighting water beasts and didn't immediately realize how to fight a mage?

Various thoughts flashed through Theodore's mind, but his hands never stopped moving.

Because of the absolute restraint, he chose to stay still, ignoring the four [magic missiles], and directly cast the next spell.

In this way, he would be ahead of a spell slot.

In a magic-based game, the advantage lies in accumulating spell slots one by one until it eventually translates into victory.

With that thought in mind, Theodore was already rapidly mobilizing the magic power in the magic crystal to activate another spell model in the spell star sea.

He chose the first-circle Evocation spell, [Radiant Orb].

Because Theodore had only been promoted to a second-circle mage for three months, he had not yet mastered second-circle offensive spells.

Everyone does it this way.

He hadn't even mastered second-circle spells, so Gao De, who had only been promoted for a month, was certainly even less so. That's why Lieutenant Colonel Graylin said that the two were evenly matched in terms of mage level.

Abundant magic flashed across the spell model, transforming into powerful magical energy that surged from the sea of ​​spells and flowed into Theodore's palm.

ll!

At that moment, the four flash darts, or magic missiles, hit Theodore squarely.

Just as Theodore had predicted, the invisible, transparent shield completely absorbed the energy within the magic missile.

But something unexpected happened to Theodore.

Suddenly, a strange shockwave arose around his body, carrying astonishing kinetic energy, which violently propelled him backward.

Under this powerful thrust, Theodore staggered backward, his feet almost touching the ground, and he barely managed to regain his balance and avoid falling.

As a result, the [Colorful Ball] that was only half-cast naturally came to nothing.

In that brief moment, Gao De's next spell was already cast.

The sound of water could be heard in the air.

Waves appeared out of thin air around Theodore, instantly weaving into a pale blue net of water.

The fine water chains wrapped around Theodore's limbs and neck like living creatures, then suddenly pulled inward, binding Theodore tightly.

【Tidal Fishing Net】

[Shield] can block spell attacks, but [Tidal Net] is not an attack spell, but a control spell, so it does not provide any protection.

Theodore, whose body was tightly bound, was unable to move for a moment and began to struggle instinctively.

In Gao De's hand, a blue energy spear wrapped with shattered magic and electric arcs had appeared.

The [Witchcraft Arrow] deals lightning damage.

However, instead of shooting the sorcery arrow at Theodore, Goddard casually tossed it onto the floor of the fighting arena.

The blue lightning burst open instantly with a crackling sound, only to be instantly swallowed up by the rune array of the magic arena.

Gaode stopped his actions and ceased casting spells.

"Theodore, you've lost," came Mrs. Emily's calm voice.

Theodore, who was still struggling, stiffened upon hearing his mother's voice, and finally gave up, lowering his proud head helplessly.

He was just entangled in the water net; if the lightning-strike [Witchcraft Arrow] had been aimed at him, the water's conductivity would have...

Its power will reach its peak, beyond what the [Shield Spell] can withstand...

Both being second-ring mages, and even though he had advanced to the second ring two months earlier, Gao De only cast three spells in total before he was defeated.

From the start to the end of the French Bulldog fight, it didn't even last five seconds!