Silence fell over the hundredth floor of the tower after Ronan laid down his challenge to the newly arrived siege mage. He'd seen the man launch a rainbow bomb powerful enough to make the hundred-floor skyscraper tremble as though it were caught in a magnitude eight earthquake, so he doubted the sneering idiot would back down now.

However, the sight of so many dead allies would cause anyone to hesitate, even the most powerful of challengers. Still, Ronan felt that the man would be more scared of failing Lord Rockmore than fighting him.

"Of course I'm tougher than them. That's why I'm the second in command. Why do you think they were sent up here first? Dying to weaken you is their job," the man scoffed, staring around at the remains of his subordinates who had yet to die.

Most of them shrank from his gaze, fearful, but there were a rebellious few who seemed enraged at his words. Ronan didn't blame them. It was one thing to subconsciously know you were being used as cannon fodder, and another entirely for your boss to say it outright.

"That's pretty harsh. They fought with everything they had because they believed in their leader. Mostly. Who are you to disrespect their sacrifice?" While Ronan didn't exactly feel bad for the majority of Rockmore's goons, he wasn't going to let this prick badmouth them.

As he did so, he began to form a mana bolt in his left hand. The battle had already begun. It was only a matter of when it turned from verbal assaults to real attacks, and he would be ready.

"If everything they had was barely enough to leave a scratch on you, then they deserved to die. Lord Rockmore doesn't need pathetic weaklings serving him, and neither do I." He raised two hands when he finished speaking, the same gesture he'd used when preparing the bomb on the street below.

Ronan recognised it due to spying on their initial assault. Despite knowing what the man was about to do, he made no moves to interfere. He could have reached the man and struck him down before he ever got close to finishing the channel for his spell, but he was interested to see just how hard it hit, firsthand.

Even a dispel wouldn't be the same. With the sheer quantity of stats he'd obtained, Ronan wondered just how much firepower it would take to truly harm him. Ten seconds later, a whirling, chaotic mass of mana was held between the man's outstretched hands. It was time to find out.

"Let's see you stop this, Ronan Steele!"

The man tossed the bomb towards Ronan. The speed it flew at him took him by surprise. From his view up here, it had seemed to travel slowly as it rocketed into the tower. Up close however, that couldn't be further from the truth.

Compared to a mana bolt it was slow, yes, but mana bolts were agile little things. They screamed through the air, almost like lightning. Ronan wasn't worried, only caught a little off guard.

He considered his options. There was about half a second before it struck him. Magic money was on the table, but this close to the end of the iteration he felt it would be wasteful—especially as his fortune was the highest it had ever been. That juicy credit multiplier was calling his name.

The balls to the wall strategy of simply taking it with his body, activating no skills, and hoping for the best, was also on the table. He liked the sound of that. It would certainly leave an impression.

However, he suspected the rainbow bomb might pack more of a punch than it seemed, despite the level difference. If not for whatever system-shenanigans protected the pillar's tower from destruction going on, Ronan was sure that the skyscraper would have been leveled from the first blast.

Mere inches from his face, Ronan was able to admire the skill. He was disgusted. Admittedly he was no magic expert, but even his self-created mana bullet was a work of art. Beginner art, but art nonetheless.

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The rainbow bolt, for all its explosive power, was a skill created by the system. The mana flows were twisting and chaotic. It looked hideous. Power wasn't everything. Ronan realised the irony of him being the one saying that, but he felt that he could create a better siege blast.

He also realised that he lacked defensive skills. Magic money was practically all he had. Inspiration struck at the final moment.

Ronan used summon insect.

A tiny ant appeared in front of his face. The rainbow bomb exploded, incinerating the unfortunate insect milliseconds after it had been given the gift of life. Ronan said a silent prayer for his sacrificial pawn. He used gust, pushing back against the explosive wave of mana that rippled outwards.

The kaleidoscopic rainbow effect was beautiful, he had to admit. Clearly it was a spell that saved the best for last. Even causing it to blow early and diverting the force wasn't enough to stop it. He had to give the mage credit—his shitty attitude didn't detract from his magical talent.

Vital surge was next, empowering his body a little further so that it could withstand the blast. The wave of colourful force smashed into him like a speeding train. He was pushed a step back.

The blow wasn't nearly as powerful as he'd expected. Ronan smiled. His mana had just surged up by 13 points. It was the first time his trait manasynthetic saw real use. That gave him another idea.

Inhaling, the rainbow twisted as it was pulled from the air and into Ronan's body. His lungs tingled and he tasted iron in the back of his throat. The damage was minimal, however, a fact he confirmed by checking his health points and seeing that they'd barely dropped.

Not only that, but he gained a few more points of mana and felt that his understanding of the siege spell had somehow increased. The structure of the mana was odd, resonating with his light manipulation skill, but also partly with his heart, the source of his mana.

Following his instincts and the desire of the inhaled mana, Ronan guided the last unabsorbed portion of it towards his beating heart. The moment it flowed inside, his entire body froze up. The paralysis was temporary, his movement regained a moment later, but it was a scary moment. A scare that had been worth every millisecond.

More information about the spell seemed to be spilling into his mind. It was as though inhaling its mana had allowed Ronan to decode what it was made of and how it worked. The spell was actually completely different to a mana bolt, which explained the chaotic mana flows.

It was that twisting movement that allowed it to create such a devastating blast. The information flow stopped there. He would have to figure the rest out himself, but the leg up it had given him was well worth coughing up a little blood.

Wait, that was probably my sorcerer class skill at work. I remember it mentioning something about being able to understand spells that I see, Ronan realised. The small burst of information upon seeing it was likely the regular effect of the skill at play, while the larger digest was the added impact of directly absorbing a part of the skill into his heart.

When the moment of clarity ended, he found himself standing relatively unharmed. A trickle of blood ran down his chin, and he wiped it away while meeting the shocked gaze of his opponent.

The terror and confusion in the man's eyes was the real prize of his hardship. Understanding a dozen new skills couldn't match up to that. "Something the matter? You called the others weak, but I can't really tell the difference between their attacks and yours," Ronan jeered.

"Wha–" The man started spluttering gibberish and pointing at Ronan. Then he started laughing like a madman. "I've figured out your little trick. Ha! You really thought you could fool me. Let's see how you handle a second blast," he said, beginning to channel another spell.

At that moment Lord Rockmore walked through the doorframe, a disgruntled expression on his face as he saw that Ronan was still alive. "What's taking so long, Hayes? Can't you kill one bloody man?"

"Don't worry, Lord, he won't be here after my Vibrancy Bomb hits him. He used some kind of life-saving item the first time, but it won't work again," the man replied.

Ronan didn't refute the man's misunderstanding. It would be funnier seeing his expression when the second blast failed to kill him. Rockmore might even do the job and take out his underling, saving Ronan the effort.

As the second blast was fired, sailing through the room towards him, Ronan had another idea. If him surviving by the skin of his teeth the first time had shocked his opponent, what would his reaction be if the spell simply vanished into thin air? Now that was a face he'd pay to witness.

When the siege spell was just halfway through its arc, he raised a hand and stretched out a single finger. Sorcery allowed him to understand the spell's structure, which meant that what came next would be easy.

Ronan used dispel.

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