Chapter 154: Choice Trap

Chapter 154: The Choice Trap

Li Wei looked down at Nick and said, "Surrender."

It wasn't a question—it was a command.

If he refused, Li Wei would personally send him out of the arena.

After long hesitation, Nick accepted defeat with resignation.

He handed over his score card.

Li Wei seized his points. His total surged to 150.

Nick stared deeply at Li Wei. "I'll remember you."

Though Li Wei had concealed his true identity, his traits were unmistakable—

that extraordinary fireball spell, the rare dual cultivation of fire and spirit elements.

Anyone who encountered him would recognize him instantly.

Nick lifted his head toward the sky and called out, "Exit the secret realm."

A beam of white light descended.

Following its glow, Nick vanished from the secret realm.

Nine competitors remained.

Li Wei turned his gaze aside. Following his line of sight into the distance, two figures walked side by side—

Meryl and Lilith.

The only two women among the ten mages.

Unnoticed, they had drawn together.

Li Wei turned and disappeared from where he stood.

He drank a mana recovery potion. Mana slowly replenished within him.

Having cast the charged fireball twice, his reserves were severely taxed.

His remaining mana was low—he needed to restore it quickly.

"Shadow Servant, stand guard."

Li Wei settled in a secure spot and began meditating to recover his strength.

In meditation, he clearly sensed that fire elements in the surrounding world were far denser than others—

making absorption swifter, recovery notably faster.

Even so, he still consumed a mana potion—just in case his meditation was interrupted, or disaster struck.

Boom!

An explosion erupted from the volcano crater, jolting Li Wei from meditation.

Feeling his mana nearly restored, he rose and rushed toward the crater to see what had happened.

Arriving invisible, he found three already gathered at the site—

Russell, Savis, and Bear Two.

Rarely united, they now fought as one against a common foe:

a third-rank Lava Giant.

Russell’s summoned fire elemental darted forward, absorbing the giant’s blows.

This second-rank fire elemental, carefully prepared, ignored the searing heat around the lava beast, immune to most of its flame attacks.

It also possessed the trait of ignoring physical damage—giving it immense advantage in defense.

But offense was another matter. Its attacks barely scratched the third-rank Lava Giant.

Enraged, the giant crushed the elemental flat.

Yet the elemental shattered, then reformed behind, continuing to harass.

The Lava Giant roared inwardly—why did this fire spirit attack him?

Weren’t they kin?

Savis unleashed ice spells without pause, weakening the giant.

Second-tier magic!

"Freeze Ray!"

From his hand shot a cobalt-blue beam, lancing into the giant.

The molten streams on its body began to solidify, blackening.

Its movements slowed.

Bear Two grinned, stepped forward.

Behind him shimmered the phantom of a frost-covered great bear.

He threw a punch.

The spectral bear’s paw slammed down upon the giant.

Boom!

Slowed, the giant failed to dodge. Struck full force, it staggered back two steps.

Bear Two lunged for another strike.

But the giant had reached his limit.

"Raaagh!"

A furious roar burst forth. Flames erupted across its body.

Fire met freeze ray—explosive steam billowed in an instant.

Then, in a blink, the mist was vaporized by intense heat.

The giant raised both arms. Molten lava streamed from his hands, shaping into flaming meteorites hurtling toward the trio.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Lava Meteor Shower!

The giant’s ultimate technique.

A ring of fire swiftly spread outward,

pushing aside the falling meteorites of molten lava.

Those deflected crashed to the ground, carving out craters,

or plunged into pools of magma, sending showers of sparks skyward.

Too many lava meteors rained down—Russell couldn’t block them all.

Savice had no choice but to cease his freezing beam.

“Ice wall!”

A semicircular barrier of ice rose, enclosing the three.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

One by one, molten meteors slammed into the ice, gouging deep pits.

The searing heat melted the wall from without.

Drip… drip…

Water droplets struck the scorched earth, vanishing instantly into vapor.

When at last the storm of fire ceased, the ice wall had dissolved into a puddle-strewn floor.

The dust settled.

Revealing within the towering form of a colossal ice bear.

Only through combined effort had they withstood the lava giant’s single blow.

Russell, Savice, and Xiong Er exchanged grim thoughts.

This lava giant was beyond imagination in strength.

Their direct assault strategy now seemed futile.

Perhaps the lava giant itself was a trap.

Defeating it would grant one thousand points—

nearly enough to secure victory.

Yet if it truly were a snare, then choosing to fight meant forfeiting the championship outright.

Russell’s face darkened. “This lava giant has reached the peak of third-tier advanced.”

“We stand no chance against it now.”

“Even if all ten of us fought together, success would be uncertain.”

“As it stands…”

Without Russell’s second-tier fire elemental holding the giant at bay,

a single charge might have already claimed all three lives.

The lava giant’s power was simply too overwhelming.

In the spectator stands outside the arena,

Gu Ze sighed. “What a pity. The lava giant was indeed a trap.”

“The moment I saw a third-tier lava giant in the match, I knew something was amiss.”

“Most contestants are first-tier mages; second-tiers are rare.”

“How could they possibly contend with a third-tier foe?”

“And especially here—in volcanic terrain?”

“The lava giant possesses the supernatural ability to absorb molten rock and regenerate. Unless struck with instant death or crippling force, it cannot be slain.”

“Within this volcano, it is nearly invincible!”

No audience member believed anyone could kill the lava giant.

It far exceeded the limits of first- and even second-tier mages.

Had it been merely third-tier basic, perhaps there’d be hope.

But this was third-tier advanced—utterly unreachable.

First-tier mages didn’t even qualify to fight.

They couldn’t breach its defenses.

The lava giant was an absolute trap.

And Russell, Savice, and Bear Two had unluckily stepped right into it—

revealing the truth for the watchers beyond the field.

Yet apart from these three, no one else knew.

No—there was one more who knew of the “trap.”

Li Wei’s illusionary double quietly gathered information from outside the arena, transmitting it back to the original.

“A trap?”

Li Wei lowered his gaze, watching the three locked in battle below.

(End of Chapter)