Alec immediately started thinking about how to run away. Nikolai wasn’t just two stages above him. He was on the other side of the first great divide.

‘That explains why I feel so strong, at least.’ [Reacher] was putting in work, increasing all of his stats as long as he faced Nikolai. But Alec didn’t think it would be enough to bridge the gap between his second circle and Nikolai’s fourth star.

Unfortunately, he did not have much of a choice in the matter.

With Accelerate, he might be able to escape as long as he didn’t lose control and crash into the first brick wall he saw.

But what about Millie?

So, instead of thinking about escaping, he focused both parts of his mind on defeating Nikolai.

The first thing he did was push out several more Bursts into the air between them. These ones, he let hover in the air like mines. He also used a version of the spell that compressed them further, which made them more volatile and powerful.

He would have loved to cover the courtyard in Bursts and trap Nikolai with them. Unfortunately, Nikolai wasn’t going to just sit still and do nothing, not now that he had realized the threat Alec posed.

Regardless of his youth and however many circles he had, he was a dangerous opponent. If Nikolai lowered his guard, he would lose his life.

In a way, Alec’s odds of success sank now that Nikolai started taking the fight seriously.

Nikolai kept slinging blades of mana at the bubbles of mana he sensed in the air. But then he realized that some of them weren’t moving.

Projected mana was still expensive for a recent fourth-star warrior. If he wasted it against someone who looked like they could churn out a mountain of Bursts, he would end up losing. He had to be a little more resourceful.

He also had to be fast. Alec was creating a field of airborne landmines around him. Before long, it would be quite difficult to approach him.

However, these Bursts were balls of compressed air that unleashed shockwaves upon explosion. It wasn’t pure magic. Alec wouldn’t be safe from the shockwaves of his own magic.

If he surrounded himself with Bursts, he wasn’t going to escape.

It didn’t matter that the brothel’s guards and servants and the bodyguards of visitors had come out to see what the fuss was. Their encirclement didn’t impact Alec, not when the first bandit-looking swordsman to join the fray was blown to bits by running in a straight line.

No one saw what had happened. The Warrior just died.

Very few had senses keen enough to sense the minefield of compressed balls of air. But even those that didn’t, realized that this wasn’t a fight they could just throw themselves into.

However, there were other ways they could contribute.

They could pick up a bow and arrow, throw stones, or toss whatever they found nearby at Alec.

All they needed to do was create an opening for Nikolai to finish off the mage.

Alec’s barriers helped against most of the things thrown at him. But daggers and arrows clad in the warriors’ mana scared him.

His mind felt like it was collapsing under the burden of casting spells in multiple directions, both Barriers and Bursts, while also keeping track of Nikolai and everyone surrounding him.

‘Wait a moment…’

Naturally, that was when his brain squeezed out ideas and insights that could distract him. But they could also help him.

Alec almost got angry he hadn’t thought of it before. But he was using the Bursts like mines to stop people from approaching him. Then, why wasn’t he making them like actual landmines?

Right now, he was also at risk if the bursts still close to him exploded due to the objects thrown at him like he was a bad comic.

‘They’re still my magic.’

It would be the first time Alec tried manipulating already cast magic. It was no longer about redrawing runes but about exerting dominion over mana already under strict orders.

Alec had beyond-average mana control from how he used mana and magic almost at all times of the day. The only exception was when he was waiting for it to recover. But his System-enhanced stats and skills stretched it even further.

Finally, he had sharpened his mind and willpower with the Poem of Neverlasting Wisdom and by resisting his Sins for quite a while.

The mana was his to command.

Gradually, he spun and concentrated the condensed air of the Bursts away from him. Then, he took a quick pause from casting more. Instead, he cast two other spells at the same time.

Multiple Pebbleshot and Flamethrower.

Nikolai felt a chill run down his spine as flames poured out from Alec.

He had slowly been trying to find a way through the minefield while strategically exploding Bursts and tanking the shockwave by reinforcing his body with mana. He was confident that he just needed to take a couple more steps before he could dart in with a burst of mana into his legs and slice Alec to pieces.

But then, Alec’s spells completed at the same time, confirming Nikolai’s guess that Alec didn’t just cast spells at an insane speed. He was somehow multi-casting.

However, that wasn’t important.

What was important was the stone shards flying through the air toward everyone with even a handful of mana, as well as the avalanche of fire pouring out from Alec as he sprayed it in all directions like a hose.

However, the fire wasn’t very powerful. Nikolai didn’t even think it would reach anyone.

Maybe a way to prevent people from getting closer? But why would he need that right now…?

Nikolai got his answer a moment later.

Most of the Pebbles flew straight through the minefield toward their targets. A few hit the Bursts in the air, setting them off. But instead of getting blown back toward Alec, they were drawn in and propelled forward, hitching a ride on the ensuing shockwave to fly even faster.

A moment later, the heat from Alec’s Flamethrower started rising and spreading, destabilizing the already volatile Bursts.

The Bursts that had been altered to explode away from Alec all started going off, sending shockwaves in wide cones.

The heat and multiple sharp explosions set off a chain reaction.

One by one, the Bursts exploded in quick succession, pulling in and propelling raging flames and piercing Pebbles forward.

It was obliteration. Deafening, fiery ruin engulfed the courtyard.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep