Assimilate All Talents

At Madeline's command, Bob immediately sprang into action. From the window on the side of the carriage, a ring embedded with a glowing red ruby shot out, floating in the air and pointing directly at Thorwyn.

Thorwyn's ears twitched as he locked eyes on the ring, sensing the magical energy rapidly building within it. Just as the ruby began to pulse ominously, a massive pillar of flame erupted from its core, roaring toward him with devastating intensity.

Reacting in an instant, Thorwyn blurred to the side, narrowly avoiding the searing heat as the flames scorched the ground where he had just stood. But before he could fully regain his footing, he noticed something alarming—more items were flying out from the carriage.

Necklaces, earrings, gloves, and other enchanted accessories hovered in the air around Bob, each one brimming with power. One by one, they activated, unleashing a storm of elemental attacks in rapid succession.

Thorwyn barely had time to let out a startled yelp before he took off in a bolt of lightning, weaving through the sky as fireballs, ice lances, wind blades, and beams of raw energy rained down upon him.

The once pristine mansion grounds quickly turned into a wasteland of scorched earth, shattered stone, and deep craters. Trees were blown apart, and the air crackled with residual magic.

Watching the sheer destruction unfold, Sol couldn't help but glance at Madeline.

"Hey, won't this be a mess to clean up afterward?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Madeline, completely unfazed, sipped her tea and shook her head. "I have people who can repair all of this in a day. Don't worry about it. If anything, you should be more worried about him."

Sol rolled his eyes. "This isn't enough to beat him."

As if on cue, amidst the smoke and chaos, a sudden bolt of white lightning shot into the sky. It streaked upward with incredible speed before halting high above the battlefield, revealing Thorwyn's figure, completely unharmed.

Despite the relentless barrage, he had successfully evaded the attacks.

A triumphant howl echoed through the air.

"Awooooo! (Is that all you've got?!)"

His confidence rekindled, he lunged forward once more, lightning crackling wildly around his body.

He reappeared in a flash, claw raised high, aiming straight for Bob's center only for another shimmering barrier to materialize in an instant, blocking the strike completely.

Undeterred, Thorwyn twisted his body midair and unleashed another rapid barrage of attacks, his claws striking like lightning fast daggers.

Every single strike was intercepted by a new defense—shields of light, walls of stone, energy barriers, and enchanted armor pieces that hovered protectively around the carriage.

No matter what angle he attacked from, Bob's defenses remained impenetrable.

From the sidelines, Madeline let out a small chuckle.

"This outcome is already clear," she said, glancing at Sol. "Thorwyn may be powerful, but there's simply no overcoming the difference in their combat values."

If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Sol finally turned to look at her, his expression still calm. "Oh?"

Madeline sipped her tea before continuing. "With my [Golden Eyes], I can see the numerical combat value of both of them. Thorwyn's sits at 15,000, while Bob's is at 25,000. That's not something that can simply be bridged with willpower alone."

She set down her teacup and gave Sol a meaningful look.

"You should forfeit before Thorwyn gets hurt."

Sol didn't respond.

His gaze remained fixed on the battlefield, unwavering in his confidence.

Meanwhile, Thorwyn had taken a few hits. As much as he did his best to avoid the various blasts of energy, elemental strikes, and other attacks it was impossible to dodge them all. But despite that, he refused to back down.

At first he thought this would be easy, but he wasn't just fighting against a simple carriage.

He was fighting against a walking arsenal of endless items that left him unable to even leave a dent.

Even with this realization, his eyes burned with fierce determination.

He wasn't going to give up so easily.

With a low growl, he dug his claws into the dirt and glared at Bob.

"Grrr… (Fine. Let's see if you can stop this!)"

White lightning crackled around his mouth, coalescing into a rapidly growing sphere of pure white lightning. Then, with a sharp snap of his jaws, he unleashed a powerful ball of concentrated lightning hurtling toward Bob.

Sol's eyes narrowed slightly as he observed the technique.

'That attack…'

When Sol first fought Thorwyn, he was only able to cover his body in lightning to enhance his speed and power, but now he was using it to create projectiles. It reminded him of the ranged lightning attacks Thorwyn had been forced to use when he was fused with the Varek. He knew the fusion wasn't a pleasant experience for Thorwyn, who had been forced into it, but it was clear he had still learned something from it.

The crackling orb of white lightning descended upon Bob with devastating force.

In response, two shimmering magic shields appeared in front of the carriage, each activating their barrier and defense skills. The moment the lightning sphere collided—

BOOM!

A blinding flash of energy engulfed the battlefield as the impact sent shockwaves rippling through the air. The explosion sent dust and debris flying in all directions. For a brief moment, nothing could be seen beyond the thick cloud of smoke. The ground beneath the impact site was scorched black, faint traces of white lightning still crackling along the surface.

As the air cleared, two shields were still standing, but unlike before, they bore two large, noticeable cracks across their surfaces. Underneath the shields, Bob remained unharmed.

Thorwyn's ears perked up as he took in the sight. Even if his attack hadn't completely broken through, it had done significant damage.

He howled in triumph and had no intention to stop there.

Crackling with renewed vigor, Thorwyn immediately started forming more lightning blasts, hurling them at Bob while simultaneously dodging the incoming magical attacks from the floating artifacts. Fireballs, flying daggers, and elemental projectiles shot toward him, but this time, he weaved between them with near perfect precision, leaving behind afterimages of white lightning in his wake.

The battle had begun to shift.

From previously being unable to land a decent single hit while taking damage every so often, Thorwyn had now started trading blows. Every attack Bob landed, Thorwyn responded with one in kind. Just as cuts and small wounds appeared on his body, items began to crack and break under his retaliation.

From the sidelines, Madeline's expression had shifted from calm amusement to a deep frown.

She stared at Thorwyn as he moved, her golden eyes gleaming with appraisal. Then, almost unconsciously, she muttered to herself.

"That's not possible…"

Sol, who had been watching with an amused smirk, turned to her. "What's wrong?"

Madeline's gaze remained locked on Thorwyn as she spoke, her voice tinged with astonishment.

"His combat value… It just spiked to 19,000."

Sol raised an eyebrow at that. "19,000, huh?" He chuckled lightly. "That's quite the jump."

Madeline finally turned to face him, clearly intrigued. "I've seen combat values fluctuate before, but never this drastically in such a short time. For someone's power to spike that high all at once… it doesn't make sense."

Sol maintained his knowing smile and shrugged. "Well, that's to be expected."
Stay connected via My Virtual Library Empire

Madeline gave him a sharp look. "Why?"

Sol turned his gaze back to Thorwyn, who was still exchanging blows with Bob, his movements improving with every second.

"Because he has a lot of room for growth." Sol said simply.