Lair stepped out from behind Allen.
He was wearing a Mage Apprentice Robe.
To prove that he was indeed a Mage Apprentice, Lair walked over to the Magic Stele to be tested.
"Mana Strength: 63."
Aier glanced at the result and breathed a sigh of relief.
This was much weaker than his own student, Doug.
'The plan is to wear down Lair's Mana through a war of attrition, then send Doug in to defeat him in one fell swoop. That will be the end of it.'
But could it really be that simple?
Aier glanced uneasily at the smiling Allen.
Allen didn't seem anxious at all. In fact, he was in high spirits, looking around and reminiscing about the familiar places from his memories.
Aier manipulated the Array, activating the Magic Protection Barrier.
Lair glanced at his teacher, Allen, before stepping inside the Magic Protection Barrier.
Within the Barrier, any Magic detected that could potentially cause harm to life would trigger the Barrier's protective Power.
Triggering that protection meant failure.
Just as Doug was about to step forward, Aier said, "Vine, you go."
Hearing this, Vine hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Yes, Mage Aier."
He stepped inside the Magic Protection Barrier.
"Vine, Mage Apprentice of the Maple City Mage Tower."
"Lair, Ring Mage Apprentice of the Extreme Night City Mage Tower."
Aier's expression changed instantly at those words. He whipped his head around to face Allen and demanded, "You've thrown in your lot with the Ring Mages?"
Allen smiled and replied, "Brother, you should understand that Ring Mages are the future. Don't cling to those outdated doctrines."
Hearing this, some in the audience looked puzzled, not understanding what a Ring Mage was.
Others simply sat back, their faces showing they were ready to enjoy the show.
Hearing Aier's question, Li Wei also felt a flicker of doubt. 'What's a Ring Mage?'
None of the books in the Mage Tower mentioned the Ring Mages.
Judging by Aier's attitude, it seemed the Maple City Mage Tower wasn't very friendly toward them.
"Ah! Impossible!"
A cry of surprise came from nearby, and Li Wei turned to look.
Inside the Magic Protection Barrier, he saw that Lair had finished Casting first. A Small Fireball Technique struck Vine, who couldn't dodge in time.
A white light flashed around Vine's body, blocking the Fireball's explosion.
"How is his Casting speed so fast?"
"From the start of the battle to releasing the Small Fireball Technique, it took him less than six seconds at most!"
"Five seconds! From the moment he released his Mana to the Small Fireball Technique forming, it was only five seconds."
"Even an Apprentice Mage can't cast a Tier Zero Magic that fast! How did he do it?"
Vine stared at Lair, his eyes filled with utter shock.
When he came to his senses, he said, "I've lost."
Vine exited the combat area.
The smile on Allen's face remained, and to Aier, it was dripping with mockery.
Aier said, "Kas, you're up."
Seeing Aier resort to a war of attrition, Allen wasn't angry at all. Instead, he looked even more like he was enjoying the show.
Kas entered the field and announced his name.
He immediately started running, not giving his opponent a chance to lock on to him.
Kas began Casting while on the move. His Casting speed was much slower, but at least it gave him a chance to counterattack.
Li Wei was watching from the sidelines when he saw Gu Ze walk up to him. He quickly asked, "Teacher Gu Ze, what's a Ring Mage?"
Gu Ze heard him and explained, "Ring Mages are a new group of Mages that has emerged in the last few centuries. They believe in the Magic Goddess and use the Magic Net to cast their Magic."
"Compared to traditional Mages, Ring Mages can cast Magic more easily and quickly."
"A traditional Mage's Casting involves three steps: constructing the Magic Model, filling it with Magic Elements, and then launching the Magic."
"Once a Ring Mage is recognized by the Magic Net, they gain Spell Slots. These slots can store Magic Models. When casting, a Ring Mage can directly call upon a model from a Spell Slot. This allows them to skip the construction step, drastically reducing their Casting time."
"This also makes it easier for Ring Mages to learn new Magic. They don't have to go through the process of mastering a Magic Model from scratch. After constructing the model just once, they can immediately achieve their fastest Casting speed."
After hearing this, Li Wei said, "That sounds pretty good. It saves a lot of time that would be spent practicing Magic. Why does Mage Aier seem to dislike Ring Mages so much?"
Gu Ze explained, "Using the Magic Net's Spell Slots for Casting is both a Ring Mage's strength and their weakness."
"A Ring Mage's magical Power is constrained by the Magic Net; its intensity is fixed and unchangeable."
"This type of fixed-power Magic is called Ring Magic. It's divided into ten rings, from lowest to highest: Ring Zero Magic to Ring Nine Magic."
"But that's not their biggest weakness. The real reason traditional Mages oppose Ring Mages is that over-reliance on the Magic Net for Casting causes them to lose the ability to deconstruct and create Magic Models."
"The Magic Net is killing the creativity of Mages!"
"Ring Mages who use the Magic Net can only ever use Magic created by their predecessors; they can never create Magic of their own!"
"This is why many old, traditional Mages see the creator of the Magic Net, the Magic Goddess, as an enemy of all Mages."
Gu Ze paused for a moment, seeming a bit hesitant.
After some thought, he decided it didn't matter and continued, "A thousand years ago, before the Magic Goddess Mistral ascended to godhood, that was the golden age for Mages. Countless Legendary Mages, whose fame echoed through the ages, emerged one after another."
"In that era, even Divine Spirits did not dare descend upon the mortal world lightly. Powerful Mages who could rival gods were common, and some even created God Slaying Magic, just to prove that mortals could defy the heavens and slay deities!"
"However, after the Magic Goddess Mistral's ascension, the golden age of Mages came to an end."
"To this day, there are still many old, traditional Mages who believe Mistral betrayed the Mages as a whole, betraying the Mages' code of pursuing truth."
"Mistral's act of becoming a god shattered the pride that traditional Mages held dear. Ancient Mages believed themselves to be no weaker than Divine Spirits, yet Mages in the age of the Magic Net offer their faith to a deity in exchange for Power."
Gu Ze sighed with emotion. "This is all recorded in the history books. You don't need to take it too much to heart. Just think of it as a legendary tale."
"After all, the conflict between Ring Mages and traditional Mages has gone on for centuries. Over ninety percent of all Mages have sided with the Ring Mages. It's the inevitable trend, so there's no need to investigate who is right or wrong."
Li Wei hadn't expected the origins of Ring Mages to be so astonishing.
He also never imagined that the conflict between Ring Mages and traditional Mages had lasted for hundreds of years.
His expression shifted slightly as he fell deep in thought.
'One's perspective on Mistral and the Magic Net is completely different depending on their position.'
'For top-tier Mages who have already mastered powerful Magic, they naturally wouldn't want to be constrained by the Magic Net, nor would they want a Magic Goddess ruling over them. They are the ones who oppose the Magic Net and view the Magic Goddess with hostility.'
'But for beginners and Low Tier Mages, the Magic Net is a boon—an incredibly useful tool. It allows them to quickly gain combat strength and saves them a vast amount of time practicing Magic, which they can then use for Mana Cultivation.'
'As for the Magic Net killing a Mage's creativity, that's not something a low-level Mage even needs to consider.'
'The Magic recorded in the Magic Net alone would be enough for them to spend a lifetime learning.'