Chapter 72

Amara was starting to grow bored. Kaden had entertained her for a while, but it was becoming tiresome. Kaden waved his hands in the air, and more icicles launched themselves at Amara. Unfazed, she stood still, allowing her fire shield to effortlessly melt the icicles just four feet away from her.

"Can you do nothing other than ice magic?" Amara asked in a bored tone. Kaden stopped, glaring at her as she continued, "I know I'm being a hypocrite, but if ice is your only affinity, are you really all that strong?" Kaden sighed, visibly annoyed, and massaged his temples.

"You think I'm weak with one affinity? Fine, consider yourself honored. Not many get to witness what I'm about to use on you," Kaden declared. Amara grinned, responding, "Really? Well, let's see what this other affinity is since you think I should be honored for seeing it." She stood still, arms crossed, ready to discover what Kaden had in store.

Suddenly, Amara observed objects floating around Kaden: pieces of the grand fountain, rocks from the road, shards of broken glass, and general debris slowly lifted into the air, seemingly on their own accord. *Is that wind magic?* Amara pondered as she witnessed the phenomenon. *No, it couldn't be. If it were wind magic, he would be one of the best magic users to ever live with that degree of control with it, and I can't sense any shift in the wind either.* Her thoughts continued. *Just what could it...!*

Amara's contemplation was abruptly cut short as all the floating objects launched themselves at her. On instinct, she released a burst of flame from her hand to block the objects, attempting to melt them. However, her flames unexpectedly shot up into the air without her command, allowing the launched objects to pass through untouched. This threw Amara off, and to protect herself, she poured more mana into her fire shield. It reached a point where it ionized the air around her, and as the objects collided with this intensified fire shield, they melted. The marbled pieces of the grand fountain, the glass shards, and even the rocks melted upon contact with the high-powered fire shield.

"What's wrong? Why do you look concerned? I thought I was weak," Kaden said, standing still with a hand on his hip, while more objects began to float around him. Amara huffed, ceasing the excessive mana flow into her fire shield. The ionized air was making it difficult to breathe.

"What magic is that? What affinity do you have?" Amara asked, exasperated. Kaden calmly responded, "Figured you wouldn't be able to tell; no one ever does, other than our glorious Mayor Victoria, of course." As Amara grew more annoyed, she readied a fireball in each hand. "Answer the question!" she demanded, needing to know how he managed to alter the trajectory of her flames.

"Don't interrupt me when I talk about our mayor, you criminal scum!" Kaden retorted, then cleared his throat. "But they say to grant the wish of the dying, so I'll tell you," he continued, sparking anger in Amara by insinuating her impending demise. "My ice affinity is my stronger affinity, but no matter how you put it, even the tiniest affinity for gravity magic can outshine the rest," Kaden revealed, leaving Amara wide-eyed at his words.

"Gravity magic? How in the goddess's name do you have an affinity for gravity magic?" Amara asked, utterly shocked. Gravity magic was not only rare but also considered one of the most potent affinities. In this world where magic was categorized into two primary types—Enhancing and Casting—an affinity for gravity was exceptionally uncommon.

Every individual with mana in their body possessed an affinity, either for Enhancing or Casting. Enhancers used mana to enhance their physical attributes, it is by far the simplest form of magic. Meanwhile, Casters had more complex abilities tied to specific elements. Fire, earth, and wind were the more prevalent affinities, with many individuals displaying proficiency in these areas, including Amara herself, who had a strong fire affinity.

Then there were the less common affinities, such as ice, water, lightning, and thunder. While still rare, encounters with individuals possessing these affinities were more likely to happen in a lifetime. Ercale, for instance, wielded both lightning and water affinities.

Finally, the rarest affinities included gravity, time, light, and shadow. Light and shadow, although uncommon, were slightly less rare than gravity, with 1 in 10,000,000 people having an affinity for them. Gravity, even scarcer, saw an affinity rate of 1 in 100,000,000 people. As for time, its rarity remained unknown, shrouded in mystery.

Meaning Amara's encounter with someone capable of gravity magic was an extraordinary stroke of luck—or misfortune, considering she now had to face him in battle. "I was simply born lucky, like most magic users, though I guess I was luckier than most," Kaden said casually before getting serious and declaring, "Now, time to end your life."

Launching various objects around him with gravity magic at high speeds, Kaden sent them hurtling towards Amara. In response, she swiftly hurled two fireballs toward Kaden while reinforcing her fire shield with additional mana to protect herself. The objects disintegrated upon contact with her shield, and the fireballs approached Kaden.

Waving his right hand, Kaden propelled a large icicle at one of the fireballs, creating mist as the two clashed. Simultaneously, with his left hand, he seized the other fireball mid-air using gravity magic and threw it back towards Amara. As she depowered her fire shield, sweating, the fireball hit her and exploded. Though the fire wouldn't affect her, as she was near immune to it, Kaden did it to showcase his capabilities. Amara, now covered in sweat, thought to herself, *I used too much mana too quickly; I need to end this as soon as possible.* Meanwhile, Kaden considered, *I shouldn't mess around with her too long; she may have more mana than me.*

Amara conjured a fireball in her hand, intending to make it bigger and more condensed for a decisive strike. Recognizing her intent, Kaden prepared to counterattack, but before he could act, Amara released the fireball prematurely to catch him off guard. In response, Kaden shifted from attacking to defending, using a combination of ice and gravity magic to encase the fireball in a thick layer of ice. Applying gravity, he pressed the elements together, resulting in a thunderous explosion that shook the ground beneath them, initiating its collapse.

In the midst of the impending collapse of the ground beneath them, both Kaden and Amara abruptly remembered their companions. As the mist dissipated, they simultaneously turned around to check on their respective allies, only to realize that both had disappeared. "Where the hell did he...!" Kaden began, while Amara exclaimed, "Where the fuck did he...!" Their voices blended in frustration as the ground crumbled beneath them, taking them both down with it.