Chapter 58: Comprehensive Strength

“The Sword of Judgment?”

The moment Ivan, whose heart was burning with anger, heard this name, he instantly regained his composure. Although he had never seen it with his own eyes, anyone who was part of this world had surely heard of it. A person’s reputation casts a long shadow, after all.

The “Sword of Judgment” was a banner for the Mage Guild. It was said that it belonged to an extraordinarily beautiful elven woman of peerless strength, whose class was known as the “Inquisitor.” She was the bane of all evil—someone Ivan had to avoid at all costs.

Yet, no matter how much he racked his brains, he never expected that his simple plan to settle a score with a level 5 junior mage would bring him face to face with her.

“What… what are you going to do?” Ivan’s voice trembled.

It wasn’t just the elf herself—even the sword she wielded carried the power of judgment. Even if that notorious liar Luo Yong were to wield it, Ivan knew he would never avenge himself.

“Luo Yong, if you have the guts, don’t hide behind a woman!” Ivan, seeing no way out, seemed to throw caution to the wind. He knew that if this elf decided to act, he would neither be able to fight nor to flee. Worse yet, he might be taken back for judgment—or, more terrifyingly, executed on the spot. If that happened, it would all be over.

The Sword of Judgment was also the Sword of Justice. It possessed a unique magic: only those who were righteous, pure, and selfless could wield it. Any evil soul who dared to touch it would be devoured by its backlash.

Just now, after only the briefest contact—his own iron sword knocked aside—Ivan realized the sword’s terrifying power. He quickly sobered up; if he lost control again, he would likely die on the spot.

“This is a dispute between you two,” the elven lady said, her tone cool, “I shouldn’t interfere too much. But, a level 11 against a level 5? That’s not fair to begin with.”

“So what do you propose?” Ivan asked, feeling a strange sense of relief at her official, businesslike tone. As long as she didn’t intervene directly, surely an 11th-level fighter could defeat a 5th-level one? Just look at their classes—a heavily armored Dragon Knight against a magic swordsman! If he lost, it would be an affront to the natural order.

“I want to make this match a little fairer,” the elven lady replied, gesturing for Luo Yong to open the scroll.

“Wow!” Luo Yong’s eyes sparkled with delight. He secretly thought, “This elven lady is truly my future wife—always on my side.” Without further ado, he reached out and activated the magic circle on the scroll, studying it on the spot.

“Let this be my gift to you…” the elven lady whispered softly to Luo Yong as the magical light flickered, a similar glow shining in her eyes.

“I know, thank you, my precious!” Luo Yong said shamelessly, a broad smile spreading across his face.

“You learned a spell? Is that supposed to make things fair?” Ivan eyed the two standing so close together they were nearly touching. Several thoughts flashed through his mind—perhaps he should reveal Luo Yong’s long list of romantic escapades, expose his adventures with several beautiful female teammates, and see how the elven Inquisitor would react. Maybe he wouldn’t even need to lift a finger; Luo Yong would be doomed.

But then, he reconsidered. Who knew what charms or tricks Luo Yong had up his sleeve to keep the elven Inquisitor happy? If she didn’t believe him, she might become angry and take it out on him instead. That would be disastrous.

So, to be safe, Ivan decided to wait and see.

“It’s fair enough now,” the elven lady declared. Seeing Luo Yong’s nod, she stepped aside to observe.

At this, Ivan finally relaxed. He wondered if he should use his own scroll—though it was precious and, rumor had it, carried side effects. Better to play it safe for now.

“If my darling wants me to settle things here, then so be it! Ivan, now’s your chance to say your last words!” Luo Yong said, chugging a recovery potion, his tone flat and emotionless.

“Hmph, who doesn’t have recovery potions… I have nothing to say. Let’s begin… Bah, you’re the one who should say his last words!” Ivan retorted, pulling out his own potion and downing it.

“Well, your last words are certainly concise.”

With that, Luo Yong drew a deep breath. His figure flickered as he charged forward.

“Hmph, the same trick won’t work on me!” Ivan shouted, launching his own attack.

“So naïve! Watch me blink!” With a swish, Luo Yong vanished from sight, his voice still echoing in the dungeon.

The next instant, there was the sound of wind and sword slicing through the air.

“Not good!” Ivan spun around with lightning speed, instinctively casting a magic shield.

Boom!

His body shook violently, his left arm numb. If not for his unique class and exceptional physique with high resistances, that one blow might have finished him—if not outright killing him, at least leaving him with severe internal injuries.

“Impossible!” Blood trickled from the corner of Ivan’s mouth. He glared wide-eyed, swinging his great iron sword with all his might.

Yet this time, he didn’t even catch Luo Yong’s afterimage—because the blinking skill left none behind. Ivan could no longer keep pace.

“A Dragon Knight without a dragon, and you have the nerve to boast? Let’s see how impossible it really is!” With the new Blink ability, Luo Yong’s confidence soared. He decided not to use his tactical scroll for a quick win.

First, he wanted to perform well in front of the elven lady—not to disappoint her. Second, he wanted to hone his skills against Ivan.

After all, fighting monsters was just grinding for experience—there was no real combat challenge for Luo Yong.

Boom!

Another slash. Luo Yong reappeared in the distance. Ivan staggered but remained standing, though more blood now stained his lips.

“Bah! That’s nothing; you can’t even break through my defenses. If you keep this up, you’ll die of exhaustion before you kill me. But as long as I hold out, when you’re spent, just one gentle swing…” Ivan, seeing Luo Yong constantly draining recovery potions, couldn’t resist taunting him.

Indeed, if it had been anyone else, Ivan’s prediction would have come true. His class was special—thick-skinned and resilient. Most fighters at the same level, or even one or two levels higher, couldn’t handle him.

But Luo Yong was no ordinary mage. He wasn’t even an ordinary battle mage.

He was a pay-to-win battle mage. Those two extra words made all the difference.

What began as a relatively fair fight, with the scales tipped toward Ivan, now began to shift in Luo Yong’s favor.

“If my path is paved with money and I can’t grind you down, then I don’t deserve to be here.”

With that, Luo Yong tossed aside an empty vial, pulled out a chicken drumstick, devoured it in a few bites, then uncorked another recovery potion.

Drumsticks were just too greasy.

“Ahead with you, Ivan!”

“Don’t kill him,” the elven lady suddenly interjected as Luo Yong prepared his finishing move. “I need him alive to bring back to the Mage Guild for justice.”

Her words left Luo Yong speechless.

“All right… Just don’t let me see you again, Ivan!”

With that, he vanished again.

Blink!

Sword slash!

Wind magic enhancement!

Twentyfold Gravity!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

One blow, two, three…

Luo Yong’s figure flickered throughout the dungeon, like the “Moonlight” technique the elven lady had used when he first met her.

The difference was, her skill was a single combat technique; Luo Yong’s was a combination of Blink, Gravity, and wind magic.

The effect was nearly the same.

These days, it all came down to overall strength.

Boom!

At last, after several strikes, there was a thunderous crash—the magic shield shattered into a rain of light, dispersing into magical energy throughout the dungeon.

“Ah! Gah—” Ivan screamed, flung backward, spitting blood as he tumbled across the floor, finally coming to rest against a wall. His great iron sword flew from his grasp.

“Whew!” Luo Yong exhaled, ending his assault, his face pale with exhaustion.

“Are you all right?” the elven lady came over, checking on him and handing him a green fruit.

“What’s this?” Luo Yong asked.

“Eat it and see!” the elven lady huffed, a touch of pride in her voice. She walked to Ivan, opened a portal of light, grabbed him by the collar, and vanished through the portal.

“Rest well. I’ll come find you in a while…”

Her voice still lingered in the air, but she was gone.

“Damn it…” Luo Yong muttered. He’d barely exchanged a few words with her before she left again.

Ivan, that scoundrel, had to show up now of all times and ruin his plans!

Even though Ivan was now badly beaten, Luo Yong still felt a lingering resentment.

After resting and draining several more recovery potions, Luo Yong finally regained his strength.

He eyed the fruit she had given him, decided to save it for later, and prepared to return to camp.

“Next up, I need to collect more cards… er, find the entrance to the next level of the dungeon, activate those cards, and lift the level cap…”

Wait.

Just as Luo Yong pulled out his teleport scroll to leave, he noticed a scroll lying quietly where Ivan had tumbled.

This scroll was unlike any he had seen before.

He hesitated.

Damn it, he already had so many types of cards, yet not a single set was complete! If this was another new category…

But, perhaps it was a hidden variant from a known series.

He picked it up and unrolled it.

A familiar yet unfamiliar magic circle glimmered on the scroll.

Familiar, because all scrolls had these. According to the rules, this was how you learned new skills.

But each type of scroll had a different magic circle.

“Wow…”

As the light faded, a new skill appeared in Luo Yong’s repertoire—

Unrivaled Blade Dance!