Chapter 7: The Battle of the Absolutes (1)
Malcom spent the next day working on his cards. He divided them to see which combinations could be most useful to him.
He kept on thinking of strategies that warranted using specific cards and matching them for premeditated situations.
Through all his previous battles, he had learned to read the flow of mage and thus strategized to defeat them.
However, he knew that Skyler was different.
The more he thought about it, the more he felt frustrated. A part of him really wanted to just give up. After all, no one would be surprised if he lost to her.
But his pride couldn't just accept that he had already taken defeat before he even gave his everything.
'Violet was probably right. I think I'm so used to pain, and I'm not afraid of it anymore,' Malcom thought to himself bitterly.
He was never the masochist type, but there was just no choice but to grit his teeth and endure it.
Thankfully, the fights were in the Bio-Dimension. He just needed to endure the mental pain whenever he lost.
After releasing a heavy sigh, his thoughts went back to Skyler.
He had seen her fights: twenty rounds, all wins. Malcom did not want to accept it, but all her fights had been incredible.
Skyler executed flawless technique without fail. Her attacks were all perfect. She had been winning in the same way all the time.
Being a losing horse, Malcom had to use every resource to his advantage to win.
With that in mind, he studied each of his mage opponents. He had divided them into his own ranking that had nothing to do with what the committee members shared.
But the only thing that both rankings had in common was that the same three mages were on the top.
Skyler, Aston, and Rodrigan.
Those three names were among the most powerful of his generation.
Rodrigan ranked third. He was a sorcerer. He was known as the original mage. His sense of tradition was such that he used tunics and a cane when fighting.
More than being a sense of the show, it was a style that made him rise to his current position.
Rodrigan could summon powerful monsters and cast gigantic spells that vaporized his enemies.
'Right, that's his weakness,' Malcom thought to himself.
His traditional sense made his defenses weak against new tactics, and there were Malcom's darts pointing.
Malcom could only hope that Rodrigan would not fix this weakness anytime soon.
But there goes his simple strategy for Rodrigan.
Against Aston, however, it was another story.
Aston was second at the top.
'He is smart,' Malcom contemplated. Smart was an adjective that Malcom did not use lightly.
For him, Aston was perhaps as powerful as Skyler. There were not many flaws in his magic.
But Aston's weakness was that immense pride. His father and mother were members of the councils of the mage, and his life had always been adorned by the great people of the nation.
Of course, because of this, he had developed a high superiority complex that greatly ticks off anyone who encountered Aston.
Malcom thought that if he could endure Aston's arrogance, he could use this to his advantage to defeat him.
He has seen a lot of fighters who were arrogant, and it was always an opportunity Malcom liked seeing.
'What about Skyler?' He still felt that Skyler was different.
She was the undisputed number one, not only because of her record of being the only undefeated contender in the entire tournament.
Many mages had a winning streak, and all of these came to an end when the goddess of fire entered her path.
Aston was an extremely powerful materializer, and the two times he had faced Skyler, he had been defeated in one fell swoop.
Everyone thought it was because Skyler respected him and wanted to finish the battles fast, and that was why she attacked with such great power only at the beginning, but Malcom knew there was another reason.
She was brilliant, better than all combatants, including himself.
Skyler was powerful enough to defeat the most powerful in an even duel and smart enough to discover a weakness in the most deceptive of opponents.
She had used that way to fight against Aston because she knew his pride problem and taking advantage of it. Skyler had defeated him using his magical superiority.
She was the perfect warrior, and Skyler knew it.
Malcom knew perfectly well that she was more powerful than himself.
He even suspected that even without his mark that limited him, he would be no match for her when it came to power.
He had prepared every possible combination to defeat her, and all in his mind ended with an image of him roasted to the bone.
Malcom needed something new if he wanted to have any chance. He had to win the duel of wits first, and he knew that it was still his strong side up to a certain point.
But… he might still be eliminated in the end.
That thought made him a little depressed.
He got up and took a couple of blank cards and his hat and started to leave, walking across the room preparing to open the door when it rang.
Malcom turned the doorknob, and when he opened it on the other side was Benjamin.
Both young men looked at each other for a second.
Malcom frowned as he felt something was wrong but could not point it out.
He looked completely puzzled, while Ben wryly laughed as if he knew something that Malcom could not guess.
"Ice magic!" Ben said, pointing to himself, before he asked, "Don't you need it for your fight with a fire elemental?"
At that moment, Malcom perfectly realized what he was referring to.
"Are you willing to help me?" Malcom asked with a smile planted on his face.
Ben was dumbfounded, "Are you really asking me that question?"
Malcom laughed. "Thanks dude. You fit like a glove. Come on, let's go!"
"Where to?" Ben asked, confused.
"South watchtower," Malcom said like that answer clarified everything
"The aerial walls? Why are we going to the Aerial walls?" Ben asked, now it was his turn to be puzzled.
"Close your mouth and walk!" Cut him, Malcom got going.
Benjamin, without having the slightest idea what Malcom was thinking, shrugged his shoulders and followed him.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
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Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone