Zane cast multiple tier zero Magic barrier spells to protect himself from his opponent’s attacks. Although his opponent was currently willing to do nothing, Zane had a feeling his opponent would become much more active once he started preparing his next spell. Immediately after Zane finished casting multiple Magic barrier spells, he began preparing a Lightning arrow spell.

Focusing on the magic book in his hand Zane began fusing his lightning arrow spell into it. The words and the symbol for the spell started appearing on a blank page of the magic book. As Zane focused on the second spell, he maintained his connection to the first spell, and he kept a part of his attention focused on what was going on around him.

Three seconds after Zane began fusing the lightning bolt spell into the magic book, he felt a surge of mana coming from his opponent. One second later the first tier zero magic barrier was destroyed. Over the next four seconds Zane felt the four other barriers being destroyed.

During this time Zane continued fusing the tier one spell into the magic book. Zane’s lack of familiarity with spell increased the time he needed to fuse the spell into the magic book. Plus, tier one spells were generally more complex than tier zero spells.

After Zane’s opponent destroyed the tier zero magic barriers he didn’t stop. Two seconds later two spells crashed into Zane’s tier one magic barrier and caused it to shatter. Once Zane last magic barrier was destroyed, he immediately started to make more.

Magic barrier. Magic barrier. Magic barrier. Every second Zane created a magic barrier and every second it was destroyed by his opponent. Since Zane maintained a connection to the tier zero mana barrier spell, he was able to cast the tier zero spell while he continued fusing the tier zero one spell into the magic book.

Casting the tier zero mana barrier required Zane to split part of his attention. The split of his attention decreased the speed at which he was able to cast the mana barrier spell. Also, it increased the time it would take for him to fuse the tier one spell into the magic book.

For two seconds there was a pause in Zane’s opponents attacks and Zane stopped creating magic barriers after two were formed. Two seconds later Zane felt the two mana barriers he created being destroyed and a cold energy slammed into his body. Zane endured the attack and was able to complete the fusion of the tier one spell.

Now, it was time to counterattack. Zane used the magic book to cast the Lightning arrow spell twice. Zane’s opponent easily caught the first arrow spell and the second one that came behind it. However, he struggled to stop Zane’s third arrow spell and completely failed to stop his fourth.

Zane’s fourth arrow spell severely damaged his opponent’s mana barrier. The barrier was filled with cracks and was on the verge of failure. Although Zane managed to severely damage his opponents’ defenses, he didn’t do so with ease.

Using the magic book to cast four tier one spells brought pain to Zane’s mind. Combined with the spells he used before; Zane used a large amount of his mana. Although the magic book decreased the cost of Zane’s tier zero skill by half, it wasn’t able to do the same for his tier one skills.

Enduring the pain, Zane continued to cast the Lightning arrow spell. Five more arrows were sent flying toward Zane’s opponent at different angles. Zane’s opponent sent two arrow spells empowered by source energy toward two of Zane’s arrow spells. Both of Zane’s opponents arrow spells destroyed his and continued flying to Zane. Zane was powerless to stop them.

Casting five more spell significantly reduced the total amount of mana Zane had left. He was drained, confused, and left with a mind throbbing in pain. Zane watched as two arrows approached him and his three arrows approach his opponent. Mentally, he prepared himself to endure the two spells.

Zane’s opponent managed to take control over one of Zane’s three surviving arrows. The other two arrows shattered his opponent’s magic barrier and landed on his chest. The two spells knocked Zane’s opponent back and left him lying on the ground stunned. As a result, he lost control over the two arrow spells.

Unlike his opponent Zane wasn’t stunned when he was hit by two arrow spells. Instead, the shock from the two spells helped to clear his mind. However, he was knocked onto the ground like his opponent.

Gripping his magic book, Zane struggled to sit up. The moment he did he sent his mana into his magic book, created another Lightning arrow and sent it flying toward his opponent. Once Zane released the spell he collapsed onto his back and continued to endure his mental anguish. He left the rest up to fate.

A moment later Zane felt his energy being restored and the pain in his mind was relieved. Immediately, Zane sat up and entered meditation. The battle had brought many revelations about using the magic book and Zane wanted to internalize them as soon as possible.

For example, how Zane subconsciously maintained his connection to his spells despite being under an intense amount of pain. Of all the weapons in Zane’s arsenal the magic book was the one he was least skilled with. But he was very eager to change that. Thirty minutes passed and Zane continued his meditation, focused on how to better use the magic book. He would have continued meditating if the system didn’t wake him.

“Congratulations on defeating your eighth opponent.”

Zane was shocked awake. Looking up Zane was surprised to see the magic weapon expert version of himself. It hadn’t physically appeared when Zane won his other battles. However, Zane wasn’t too surprised by the appearance. After all, he had just defeated his final opponent. Zane stood up and spoke to the magic weapon expert version of himself.

“I guess the trial is over. What’s my score?”

“Not quite. The basic part of the trial has been passed. If you choose to do so you can participate in the advanced trial.”

“Advance trial?” Zane asked. face two opponents with divine quality

“Yes, in the advance trial you will face two opponents with divine quality source fields.”

“What?!” Zane had always thought that a perfect quality source field was the pinnacle.

“By choosing to participate in the advance trial you will forfeit the rewards you were supposed to be given for passing the basic trial. Are you willing to take the advance trial?”

“What is a divine quality source field? How is it formed?”

“Are you willing to take the advance trial?”

Zane frowned when his question wasn’t answered. “Will you tell me about the divine source field if I do?”

“Yes.”

Zane was a bit surprised when he received an actual answer. He quickly recovered and told the magic expert version of himself he would take the trial. Zane didn’t bother asking about the rewards he was giving up on. He was far more interested in learning about the divine source field. Plus, Zane was sure he would be able to further improve his skill with magic weapons by fighting an opponent with a divine source field.

“The battle will begin after your first attack.”

The magic weapon expert version of Zane left after saying those final words. More than sixty meters away from Zane, a woman in a blue dress appeared. Although Zane was far away, he could still make out her appearance. Brown eyes, dark hair, and dark skin. She wore a calm smile and didn’t have anything that looked like a magic weapon on her.

In addition to her appearance, Zane took note of the presence she exuded. He was able to clearly sense the strength and invincibility she radiated. Zane knew he would need to take full advantage of the preparation time he was given if he wanted to win.

Zane took his time to think over what weapon he should use. He narrowed his options down to the magic staff and the magic book. The magic staff would help him unleash one powerful attack at the beginning of the fight. The magic book would let Zane prepare multiple normal attacks before the fight began. Zane decided to go with the magic book.

Summoning the magic book Zane began fusing the tier one Magic Barrier spell into a blank page. The process took Zane less than thirteen seconds. Once completed Zane casted five Magic barriers. Each one a meter from the other. After a short rest Zane casted five more.

Next, Zane sat down and meditated until his mana was completely full. Zane considered adding more barriers, but he thought ten was enough. Zane began fusing the Lightning arrow spell into the magic book. The process took less then eleven seconds.

Five lightning arrows appeared outside of the ten mana barriers as Zane carefully spoke the words for the Lightning arrow spell. Zane did this for each of the five arrows to make sure they dealt as much damage as possible. Zane mind was only able to hold five of the arrow spells without releasing them. He wanted to prepare more spells, so he stopped focusing on the mana barrier spell. After Zane stopped focusing on the spell, the spell vanished from the pages of the mana book. Also, Zane was able to cast and hold four more Lightning arrow spells.

Holding the nine spells drained mana, but it was more than manageable with a magic book. Zane closed his eyes as he endured the pain from using a large amount of mana. While he waited for his mana to recover Zane thought about what else he could do to prepare.

Once Zane’s mana was fully recovered, he began pulling mana from his surroundings. His goal was to strengthen the nine spells he recently casted. Zane wanted to strengthen the spells with his magic staff, but he would lose his control over the nine spells if he did so. Therefore, Zane was only capable of improving the strength of the nine spells slightly.

Zane’s preparations were complete. After waiting for his mana to recover and taking a deep breath, Zane sent his nine spells toward his opponent. The nine yellow arrows flew toward Zane’s opponent at different angles aiming at different parts of her body. Zane focused on his opponent as he spoke the words for casting more Lightning arrow spells.

BOOM!

Lighting illuminated the grass field. The sound of thunder rang in Zane’s ear. Zane paused his casting as he admired the effects of his spell. A ball of lightning appeared where his opponent recently stood, and dirt rained from the sky in the immediate surroundings. Zane was confident his opponent would be severely damaged from his attack, but he didn’t let his confidence stop him from casting more spells. After all, Zane did see his opponent’s body start to glow right before his arrows hit.

By the time the lightning dissipated Zane had casted two spells and was working on his third. Zane saw his opponent standing with her arms cross in front of her chest as the lightning quickly dissipated. Her arms and legs were covered in blood. There were holes and cuts in her dress. Her hair was burned, and a few burn marks were on her body. However, the feeling of strength and invincibility did not disappear.

Zane watched as she immediately began pulling in the surrounding mana. He knew she was most likely preparing powerful magic attack, but he didn’t let that thought affect him and calmly completed his third spell. Once Zane finished his spell, his opponent finished drawing in mana.

Next, she began to run. Zane’s opponent transformed into blur and was thirty meters away from Zane in a second. By the time Zane recovered from his shock over her burst in speed, she was already in front of his magic barriers.

She threw a punch with her right fist. One of Zane’s magic barriers shattered. She threw a punch with her left fist. Another one of Zane’s magic barriers shattered. Zane didn’t have time to be shocked over the strength his opponent showed. He did his best to silently cast more Lightning arrow spells and resist the mental anguish that came with using a large amount of mana.

Three seconds. It took three seconds for Zane’s opponent to break through nine of Zane’s mana barrier. Despite suffering mental pain, Zane’s mind was extremely alert. Therefore, he was able to clearly see how his opponent defeated him.

When Zane’s opponent broke through his final barrier, Zane sent the eight Lightning arrows he prepared toward her. He watched as she used her palms to direct the arrows away from herself.

Before Zane could begin to wonder why the arrows didn’t explode when she touched them, his opponent appeared in front of him. A punch to his gut sent Zane flying up into the air. All of the air in Zane’s lungs and more than a mouth full of blood was ejected from Zane’s mouth.

Physically and mentally stunned, Zane watched as his opponent leapt into the air after him. She pulled back her arm and sent her fist flying toward Zane’s face. Pain followed by darkness marked the end of the battle.

When Zane’s vision returned, he found himself in the unique space with the magic weapon expert version of himself in front of him. The pain had faded, and Zane’s energy was restored. However, it still took Zane a few minutes to come to terms with his lost. Everything had happened so fast, and his mind was full of questions. Fortunately, there was an easy way to get the answers he sought.

“Why was she so strong?” Zane asked.

“She formed a divine source field.”

“Yeah, I get that. But what exactly is a divine source field? How is it created? Isn’t the perfect source field the highest quality source field? Also-”

“A divine source field is a source field that has broken past the normal limits of a tier. The requirements for its creation are the same as a perfect source field, plus a tier one physique. Someone who has achieved one thousand points in all eight of the basic stats can form a tier one physique.”

Zane was stunned. He struggled to imagine a person that was able to achieve a thousand points in each stat before reaching the first tier. Even if Zane doubled the current bonus that his titles gave, he wouldn’t be close to reaching the requirements.

“Oh right. The stat points have to be achieved without the use of titles.”

“Impossible!” Zane shouted.

“Difficult but not impossible. There are already a few people who have successfully achieved the requirements. There would be a lot more if the system encouraged the information to spread.”

“How come the system doesn’t?”

“A divine source field isn’t for everyone. A tailor doesn’t need one thousand points in vitality. A mage doesn’t need a thousand points in strength. Their path would be better without knowing about the divine source field.”

“That’s not true,” Zane frowned. “I could think of a way to apply each stat to my path.”

“You, can think of a way to apply each stat to your path. The same isn’t true for everyone else. For example, would Jason receive the same class he did if he obtained a thousand points in each of his physical stats. Unless someone meets the requirements, the system won’t bother mentioning the divine source field to them.”

“Is that why I’m being told about it? What requirements did I meet?”

“You are walking a path that can make use of the divine source field. Also, you have the ability to achieve it.”

“By withholding information, the system is restricting people’s growth.” Zane’s expression became grim when he considered what the system was doing. “People have a right to make decisions for themselves.”

“Sharing the knowledge about divine source fields could be beneficial and harmful to people. Withholding information about divine source fields can be beneficial and harmful to people. When there is no clear right answer the system does what it thinks is best.”

Zane nodded in acceptance. The system’s decision made sense and he realized he shouldn’t let himself be bothered by the system hiding knowledge. After all, the system doesn’t share every single detail about the world with everyone.

Zane asked the magic weapon expert version of himself a few more questions. Once he was done, he began training his skills. He still had time left in the unique space and he wanted to improve his understanding of magic weapons.