As the sphere vibrated, the runes that had encased it shimmered. The runes were like a sea of snakes that had strangled the sphere.
Will's figure continued to crush the space in between his open palms as he channeled his spell.
'This is not going to be easy. I knew divine energy was volatile and hard to control but this is insane.'
Will was struggling in a way few in the crowd could see. He was not worried about his foe, but rather the spell. Will's current attack was a combination of delicate control and intense parallel processing. He could not afford distractions otherwise the entire array would collapse. Without a guide, all the concentrated energies would mix randomly. Divine energy of the force attribute was particularly frightening due to its overbearing nature and overtly destructive capabilities.
As Will struggled to control his ambitious attempt at using an array to perform a divine spell, Gianluigi also panicked as he was stupefied by the events.
At first, he had felt a tsunami of force approach him from above. It felt like an omnipotent push that could crush a mountain and only became worse as time went on. It was a frightening feeling.
'This is the force attribute! And it's using divinity as a source. This bastard is using an array to boost a spiritual divine spell! And he set this up mid-battle!'
It wasn't just the Crown Prince who was astounded. Many of the observers were the same. Michael's arrogant sister could not help but rise. Her expression had a rare show of wonder. This was not the first time she was seeing a mage display such skills. One could even say she saw such skill quite often. But this was from powerhouses above level 125.
A doctor performing surgery is common, but a child doing the same was unheard of. This was along the same vein. Although Isabel had seen many such 'surgeries', an instance like this was a first for her.
'I knew it was possible but this. Not to mention what is this odd feeling I have? It's as if I can't take my attention from Peerless. There should be nothing about him that could cause this. Not even this impressive display should warrant such attention from me.'
Isabel gave her brother a sideways glance, expecting him to feel the same way. She was more talented than him in the mystic arts and matters of the soul but Michael had a stronger mind and greater sensitivity to Intent. His body was also extremely well-trained. His wealth of battle experience and unique mix of talent and adaptability allowed him to stay ahead of his prodigious sister.
Michael had long since stood. He could not take his eyes off the screen. Be it the Omnidirectional True Strike or Mjolnir's Lockdown, neither was anything he wanted to miss. Sonny and the others exchanged looks. The message was clear.
'No one talk.'
Michael had come across a potential rival and was now absorbed in the battle. Not only could they not disturb him, but they also had to pay attention as he would no doubt grill them. Especially Melissa as divine magic and summoning were within her realm of expertise. She understood mage arts as well as Hope and had an intellect that could match Sonny's. Thus she would be the focal of the next discussion.
Sonny would pay attention naturally as intelligence was his field, hence Michael would not worry much there.
'Hercules said Solitary is from a developing world.'
Developing world was a term used to describe weak Middle Worlds and below. Michael, like the vast majority of the crowd, believed Will to be from a young promising Middle World that had only just been promoted.
One that had the potential to evolve. It was not unusual for the system to chance upon a world of incredible potential. This was its purpose. To find and groom talent. If it happened to find such a planet and gave it the resources needed, then the chosen planet would experience growth...assuming it survived.
But Michael's sharp mind had an odd hunch. One he did not want to imagine.
'What if by some chance he meant a Lower World? He didn't even mock the mage for calling himself Peerless. If he was able to achieve such mastery with a background that stemmed from a Lower World..then it could warrant such respect!'
Michael was a political schemer and had an incredible insight. His mind was the main reason he could still qualify to call himself a challenger to Ulysses Rijkaard. One of the most talented beings in their age group. It took more than brute strength to survive in the system.
'On the off chance this hunch is correct, then it would not be a bad thing to invest in this man.'
Michael schemed even as he focused his attention, his nature taking over his actions. He would have continued that line of thought as well, alas the universe had other plans.
From nowhere, a blinding light assailed his vision, and the vision of many.
...
A few moments earlier.
Loki watched the battle with curious eyes. He was interested in someone his brother was willing to invest in. Thor was an even more difficult deity to please. He believed in extremities, possessing a strict requirement from his summoners.
'They have to be extreme to the point that they often put their lives at risk. That means this boy has madness within him.'
Knowing that Will had an element of Madness only served to make the deity's mood worse. And Thor did not make things easier.
Loki was displeased by his brother's actions. He didn't like to be played for a fool. Odin had made observers believe that Will was a member of his school of the mystic arts or attached to him in some way. Instead, it was Thor who the boy actually paired with.
Loki did not like being compared to his brother in any way. It made him feel uncomfortable knowing that Odin had played with his mind.
'Father loves pranks too much. They call me the trickster but the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. I learned from him after all. No matter, I can play tricks of my own.'
Loki didn't even bother to look behind him and said out loud, "Brother, aren't you making things a little too easy for Father?"
"You are mistaken."
Loki heard an odd tone in his brother's voice. Thor never bothered to mask his thoughts. His mind was as clear as the surface of a heavenly lake. His mental strength, stemming from the purity of his mind, was the most frightening aspect of him.
"What do you mean mistaken?"
"I've actually been making things hard from the get go."
Thor's words stunned Loki. It had only taken him moments to understand most of what Will was. From his level to most of his capabilities. He was attracted to this battle even more after learning that he couldn't access certain information on Will. Many users were restricted, which is what happened when they had a certain backing. But how many of them were backed by his father? Now such a user was controlling tampered force divinity from his brother? How could he not gasp?
"The boy seems like he can take some more. Let me see his limits. By my estimates, he will only last 20 more seconds. Let's see how much shorter it will get. After all, my name was used. You do have a point. I have a bad taste in my mouth that can't be removed by mead alone."
Loki immediately felt pity for Will. Gaining the attention of the thunder deity was not necessarily a good thing. Odin had sired many children, but only one was commonly acknowledged as The Odinson!
....
AN: We ran the first popularity poll in our Discord Server!
The contestants were the MCs from our main stories: Will(SSS), Bastian (TT), Taku (COT), and Cheng Hao (IAT).
Adelda(SSS) was added last minute as requested from our beloved TIER IV(4) patron, Bald Daoist!
The winning character would have illustrations made for all to see.
And the result, well...
Surprise surprise, Adelda (SSS) clears every single main character in terms of popularity!
In the Discord server are the illustrations for Adelda, winner of the poll. Our Patrons get to see the illustrations for the other characters too.
Thanks everyone for taking part, and for those who didn't, make sure to join our Discord Server to partecipate in the next polls!
And thanks again to Bald Taoist and thatkidnarwhal for their pledge!