20 Reforged: Chapter 20: Overcoming by Force

But what was even more unbearable was yet to come.

It wasn't words, but pure system notifications.

"Detection of [Fluid Mechanics] and [Introduction to Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning]. Heat knowledge reading... The so-called air conditioning is the process of transferring heat from one space to another. Spell model optimization in progress... Optimization complete. When you cast [Frostbolt], you can create an ice channel suitable for freezing energy to pass through by preemptively extracting fire elements and instantly draining the heat between you and the target."

"You have gained the Super Magic Specialty [Path of Frost] for Frost Elemental spells. Your Frost projectile spells' power is increased by 33%, Frostbolt flight speed is increased by 45%. To obtain more specialties, please provide more reference data to the system."

"Based on the detected knowledge, you have changed the scattering pattern of [Blizzard]. Your [Blizzard] spell gains a special mode - attack radius increased by 40%, power reduced by 20%."

Duke almost went crazy from the fluorescent green text popping up on his retina, like an old-fashioned cellphone receiving a thousand text messages at once. His brain was forcibly filled with a lot of knowledge, whether it was the magical knowledge after crossing over, or the knowledge he had learned and forgotten in college before crossing over.

For Duke, college was just a place to play games.

Exams were just cramming sessions for him, where he would 'retake' a course in just three days before the exam, then forget everything afterward.

He never thought that the knowledge he should have forgotten would be perfectly called upon by the system at this very moment... It turns out that those seemingly forgotten things were still stored in his brain.

As Duke pondered, he was unaware that the sands in the hourglass had run out.

The scene before him changed.

Duke suddenly found himself standing on a chessboard, but the board had grown several times larger, and he was only standing on the edge of a white square. Three meters away, on the other side of the square, stood a young mage apprentice with an ordinary face.

Seeing the appearance of his opponent, Duke immediately realized that this guy was his rival.

As if taking care of Duke, the newcomer, the opponent began to cast a Frostbolt.

Please forgive Duke for using the word 'squeeze' to describe his opponent. That guy really looked like he was constipated and couldn't get it out.

Successfully casting a spell isn't that simple. A standard casting process requires not only the corresponding incantation, but also invoking the magical power within the body, communicating with the corresponding elemental realm, and drawing in the appropriate amount of energy. Then, shape this energy into a suitable form and release it.

Even though this process has been specifically simplified, as long as one has enough mental strength, communicates with the elemental realm, and draws in enough elemental energy, it will automatically stop absorbing and shape the energy.

But for an apprentice who knows almost nothing about magic, this is still a very difficult task.

So, it's understandable that the opponent intentionally gave Duke some time.

Duke didn't appreciate it.

With the help of the system, Duke already knew that if the opponent was a real mage apprentice, then this guy had failed to cast a spell for the third time in just two seconds. The first two times were failures to communicate with the elemental realm, and the third time was insufficient absorption of elemental energy.

That bit of frost energy wasn't even enough to make an ice pop.

Duke decided to end it quickly.

He stepped forward with a left hook, followed by a right hook, and it was over!

In the Magic Academy, a dozen powerful mages, who had been watching the battle on a huge 'painting' that displayed Duke's progress, were left dumbfounded.

Seeing Duke, who had triumphantly beaten his opponent into a pulp with his fists, the room fell into a deafening silence.

It took a while before someone spoke up.

"This... this is a desecration of this magical hall!" An elderly mage angrily waved his fist, "Norton! Is this the student you brought back, claiming to have the highest talent among this batch of mage apprentices?!"

Norton was about to say something when suddenly, a voice cut in.

"No! Duke Marcus made the right choice. You've been protected by melee fighters for so long that you may have forgotten one thing... It is extremely dangerous for a mage to use a spell with a long casting time against an enemy without maintaining distance."

The old mage fell silent.

In the second round, Duke's opponent was clearly several levels higher.

Under the control of the raven, the opponent was now able to fully cast a Frostbolt spell. Moreover, the distance between the two had increased from 3 meters to 10 meters. However, this still wasn't much of a challenge for Duke.

That was because the opponent's casting time was a whopping 8 seconds!

It was enough time for Duke to casually walk up to his opponent, easily dodge the attack, and make light of it. There was no other way; Duke could see the blatantly obvious casting motion and sidestepped it with ease. Then, once again, Duke taught his opponent a lesson with his fists.

In front of the 'painting,' the old mage glared at the mage who had defended Duke earlier, "How do you explain this?"

The other mage remained calm, "No matter how powerful a spell, it's useless if it can't hit the enemy."

"..." The old mage had no rebuttal for such a reasonable argument.

But as Duke continued to employ the same strategy to defeat his opponents in the third, fourth, and fifth rounds, not only the old mage but several others began to express their dissatisfaction.

"Hey! We're recruiting mage apprentices here, not conducting mage vs. rogue mock battles!"

Just as the mage defending Duke was about to run out of arguments, Duke made his move in the sixth round.

A level 1 Frostbolt!

Masterfully executed!

Outsiders might be impressed by the spectacle, but experts could see the true skill.

Despite being given an ordinary Frostbolt spell model, why was Duke's Frostbolt so terrifying?

To most of the experienced mages present, the fact that Duke could fully cast a flying ice projectile was already quite remarkable, at least worthy of the label 'outstanding.'

In a very rushed situation, mastering a simplified spell model and utilizing it was a challenge that only those who had tried could understand.

Among the seated mage elders, who hadn't practiced thousands of times to understand the power of the elements and throw out a small piece of ice residue?

But what was Duke's Frostbolt?

Fast! Accurate! Ruthless!

Its flight speed was comparable to that of an arrow shot from a powerful bow, and it hit the opponent's forehead with unerring precision. The ice arrow, lodged between the eyes and above the nose bridge, split into two pieces the moment it struck, viciously embedding itself into the opponent's eyeballs.

Perhaps Duke's Frostbolt wasn't powerful enough on its own; the freezing aura wouldn't be enough to kill an adult. However, Duke had combined elemental damage with physical damage... If the opponent were a real person, they would have been killed instantly by Duke.

"Hisss..." The dozen mages watching Duke's trial collectively gasped.

Only one word surfaced in their minds: Genius!