Chapter 4183: Magic Word (Part 2)

The Horseman answered with her signature tier five Light Mastery spell, Daybreak. It was a mix of light, fire, and darkness magic that generated a wave of dark energy around Dawn while a volley of fiery constructs shaped as snakes emerged from her body.

The darkness would weaken the target and their spells, also sealing off their senses, be they physical or mystical. At the same time, the hard-light constructs spread across the room in an attempt to trap Protector.

The constructs would paralyze him, the heat they carried would burn him, and the darkness that followed would destroy any form of protection he might conjure.

To make matters worse, as soon as two constructs made contact with each other, they would fuse, and a new one would be generated until they would become a small sun sealing both the darkness and the Skoll at its heart.

Dawn also channeled the light element inside her crystal shield, using it as a framework to form a thick barrier that enveloped her. The countless facets of the prism focused and amplified the light she emitted, enhancing all the constructs’ toughness by several folds.

"That’s what she meant." Nalrond stared at the shield in envy, even though he knew it was no artifact and bore no power core. "That’s how you overcome the delay between conjuring and solidifying a construct."

As for Quylla, her jaw had hit the floor at Daybreak and started to dig its way down.

’That’s pure genius!’ She thought, taking pages upon pages of notes. ’Now I see why she’s the only opponent who managed to defeat Manohar in a fair fight. He even admitted Dawn was a better Light Master than him.

’If only Dad knew the first thing about Light Mastery and crafted Professor Manohar a crystal-like blade, maybe he would have defeated Meln!’

Mana Storm was a hexaelemental spell and one tier of magic above the trielemental Daybreak, yet it failed to break through. The emerald bullets shattered Dawn’s constructs like glass, but new ones formed so fast that Mana Storm achieved nothing.

Thanks to the wave of darkness weakening Protector’s spell, Dawn’s shield construct blocked the few bullets that managed to get past Daybreak without ever cracking.

Moreover, Daybreak already covered half of the room and expanded by the second. Soon, Protector would be forced to use Mana Storm to destroy the constructs that chased him or be trapped by them.

The choice was taken off his hands when hard-light pillars burst out of the ground, blocking his path. Protector missed their approach due to the blinding light of Daybreak and the focus he needed to keep Mana Storm active.

He could only activate the Spirit Barrier of his armor and seal his fate. The moment he stopped moving, Dawn converted the light shield into a heat ray the size of a train. To dodge it, Protector needed to lower his barrier, but that would have meant losing to Daybreak.

He put everything he had into Mana Storm and the barrier, throwing the emerald bullets at the heat pillar and reinforcing the protection with his mana. Protector resisted the blast and lost the battle the moment the tendrils of light crushed his Spirit Barrier.

He was now enveloped in Daybreak to the point that he couldn’t even see Dawn anymore.

"Ten seconds. Congratulations on lasting twice as long as before." The Horseman interrupted her attack when she smelled the stench of burned fur. "Do you have the strength for another round, or do you need to rest? We have four minutes and thirty seconds left."

"Before that, can you please explain what I’m doing wrong?" Protector could barely stand.

Even if Daybreak hadn’t captured him, his mana core was empty, and it would take him several breaths of Invigoration to recover. Dawn, instead, had yet to break a sweat.

"You said the magic word!" She sounded honestly happy. "Do you guys in the peanut gallery have any objection to stopping the clock?"

"No." Nalrond took the words out of everyone’s mind. "By all means."

"Based on your fighting style, I assume that you are used to fighting enemies of your level or weaker. Also, your to-go strategy is to overwhelm your opponents with your speed and deal a few but powerful attacks that kill them on the spot.

"In simpler terms, you strike so fast and hard that the enemy’s strategy doesn’t matter because they die before they can put it into practice. How am I going?" Dawn asked.

"Your analysis is spot on." Protector nodded. "I often fight multiple opponents at the same time, so attack is the best defense. I take down the weak links first to disrupt the enemy’s teamwork and whittle their numbers until I can afford to focus on a single, powerful Awakened."

"It’s a good strategy, but it ingrained in you a lot of bad habits." Dawn replied. "You know yourself and your strong points very well. You use your skills masterfully, can plan in ahead, and you know how to set the field to your advantage.

"On the other hand, however, by always taking the initiative and attacking quickly, you disregard your opponent’s strong points and strategy. Your technique is based on hitting before your enemy does.

"If you succeed, you win. If you don’t, you are in deep trouble. That’s a very risky approach for someone who, unlike me, can’t heal from deadly wounds. In your shoes, I would wait at least until I understand my enemy’s endgame before attacking.

"This way, you have the opportunity to understand who and what you are against, and can prepare a few contingency spells in case your attack plan fails. Of course, this only if the enemy has already noticed your presence.

"If you’re going for an ambush or an assassination, waiting would be idiotic."

"I see." Protector scratched his chin. "I knew you were a Light Master, and I assumed you would fight like Nalrond, but you are nothing like him. I didn’t prepare anything against you because I never bothered studying your spells until it was too late.

"I have only one question. What about Lith? He also always goes straight for the kill, yet he held his ground against you for more than ten seconds."

"That’s because back then I was much weaker than I am now, and because he had Solus with him. He could afford to focus on the attack while she focused on me and prepared their defense." She replied.

"What if you fought now?" Protector asked.

"I’d win, but it wouldn’t be easy." Dawn turned towards the spectators and waved her hand. "Lith has become stronger and has gained a lot of experience since then.

"He has gotten used to strategizing while he attacks and changing his approach when his first plan fails. Something that you lack."

"I see." He sighed. "Do you have more pieces of advice to offer me?"

"Just one. Know your opponent." She replied. "I’m a living legacy just like Jorl’s goons, so answer me this. What do you know about me? What do you think are my enchantments?

"If you can’t answer these questions, you’ll never stand a chance against the weakest of the living legacies, let alone me."

Protector pondered for a while, and so did the spectators.

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