Ainen and Tumalik appeared back on the island.

"You are my servant now," Ainen spoke, commanding Tumalik while looking at Elber.

'Don't command him to save those three yet. The prison doesn't look like it will open easily. There are four more enemies, so they can duel those three to stop them even if they are released.'

'True.'

"Not bad." Elber floated off the boulder with lightning flickering around him. "I would've been disappointed if you had lost."

[You have been challenged to a duel.]

Ainen was challenged as he expected.

Both of them soon vanished and arrived in a large battle-ring amidst a barren land with a dark, cloudy sky above.

[ Duel — Ainen vs Elber ]

Ainen wanted complete domination, so he activated his Magic Core's ability right away.

Dark Berserk: Reduce your vitality by 1% per second and increase all other stats by 0.5% per second. This ability won't reduce vitality once it reaches 50%, and will maintain the stat boost unless vitality is recovered.

"I know you won't listen right away," Elber said as a Tier-3 Legendary sword appeared in his hand. "So let's do this. If I lose, you can command me to do anything, but the labyrinth's rules won't work on me. Still, I'll listen to you. But if you lose, you will sign the contract and join Cradle."

Ainen blinked. "If I lose and surrender, can't you just command me?"

"I can't. The contract must be signed willingly, or it won't work."

"And why would the labyrinth's rules not apply to you?" Ainen asked as his vitality was reducing every second. His blood was reducing, but his stats, except for Vitality, were increasing.

"Because of a protective artifact that I have," Elber replied without any hesitation. "It prevents mental interference, and this Labyrinth is Tier-3, so its rules can't break the Tier-5 artifact's protective effect."

"Any more questions?" Elber asked as his hand stretched forward, his sword positioned diagonally in front of him.

"No." Ainen's right arm glimmered as Tyrant Mage's Arm manifested, transforming into a sword made of Fire and Wind.

Fire coils along its edges like molten veins, while ribbons of wind spiral around the sword in thin streams.

The magical material of Tyrant Mage's Arm that manifested was unique, as it was of a Mystic attribute, and could transform into Fire, Water, Earth, and Wind with Knuckle Circuit, which Ainen had long modified and improved to form other weapons instead of just gauntlets.

[Tyrant Mage's Arms]

Rank: A+

Proficiency: 100%

Attributes: Mystic, Fire, Water, Earth, Wind.

Effect:

—>At the cost of 1% of Mana per second, the strength of your arms increases by 30% and forms Knuckle Circuit in your hands. <Knuckle Circuit: When infused with elemental energy at the cost of additional Mana, it can take the shape of a weapon according to the added designs. Designs: Gloves, Gauntlets, Blade, Spear, Bow>

"Sword, huh?" Elber raised his eyebrows.

"Seeing that you use a sword, I wanted to see how I fare against you with a sword myself. I might be able to learn new stuff."

"Sure. Don't worry, I won't aim at your vitals since we need you alive," Elber said and vanished from his spot with a thunderclap.

Ainen's eyes flickered as his arm blurred and he swung.

Elber was already in front of him as both of their swords clashed intensely.

However, Elber's eyes suddenly widened.

In the next moment, he felt an irresistible force from Ainen as their seemingly even clash broke, and Elber was shot back, stopping only after over a hundred meter.

'I lost in terms of pure physical power. How much Strength stat does he have?' Elber's eyes narrowed. 'His stats…so he has Legendary quality Magic Core, but he doesn't have gears for more stat boost. Hmm, must be buffs from potions or pills.'

"Weapons really aren't reliable, eh?" Ainen chuckled as he looked at Elber's sword.

"What do you mean?" Elber frowned and traced Ainen's gaze before looking at his sword.

It was cracking at the part where it clashed against Ainen's sword, and a small part of it was melted, as it was clear that the edge of Ainen's sword pushed itself into Elber's sword.

"I wasn't expecting this," Elber calmly said as his sword glimmered and lightning started dancing over it. "Looks like you have some kind of talent or effect in Magic Core or an accessory that increases your Fire element's power significantly. Otherwise, it couldn't have damaged this Legendary Tier-3 sword."

"You're right. I get extra penetration in my Fire-attributed attacks thanks to my Magic Core. You also have a Legendary-quality Magic Core, right? What effects does it have?" Ainen curiously asked.

"That's not something you should ask of your immediate enemy. Why would I expose my crucial effects when we are duelling?" Elber indifferently said.

Ainen could see in Elber's status that even though Elber also had Legendary quality magic core, like that guy said, he wasn't getting a 100% all-stat boost. Rather, it was 86%.

'Not all Legendary-quality Magic Core gives 100% boost, Ainen.' Lord Black informed. 'Generally, the boost is between 62% to 100%. Epic core gives a boost between 42% to 60%. Your catalyst was just perfect, and good enough to acquire perfect Legendary quality.'

'I see.'

"Ainen, you'd better defend properly since I can't win while holding back, but I also don't want to kill you." Elber stretched his hand backward, the sword in his hand pointing at Ainen as he adopted Ox Stance.

Yellow lightning surged around him in a terrifying manner.

Ainen's eyes glinted. 'Whoa, he used at least 2000 Mana at once for that lightning energy. This will be strong.'

In the next instance, Elber swung his sword as the entirety of lightning transformed into a wrathful long-dragon that shot at Ainen at the speed of Mach 7.

One moment, he swung the sword. In the same second, Ainen was hit. After all, there wasn't much distance between them for Ainen to dodge a Mach 8 speed attack.

But Ainen never planned to dodge.

He didn't need to.

He simply swung his sword at full physical exertion, the same second he saw Elber's hand moving.

And what Ainen did was unleash a compressed and condensed flame slash from Tyrant Mage's Sword, worth 2000 Mana.

Both attacks met midway.

The result?

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