Legacy of the Dark Sage

"Hamish, you'll do the mock battle," Kyran decided during the ten minutes break before the start of the second phase of the competition.

The three of them were told to wait where Noir and Vaness were staying and they were currently discussing their strategy for the mock battle.

"Hamish?" Noir repeated looking at Kyran in surprise.

Hamish, on the other hand, was not surprised and instead said, "I will do my best."

Noir opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it after realizing what he wanted to say was inappropriate.

He initially wanted to ask Kyran why he would let Hamish do the mock battle when having him go was the better choice. But Kyran was not really part of the Blacksmith Order or even the Conclave. Letting him always take the role of the vanguard in their lineup was not right.

It was as if they were running him down and were taking advantage of him.

Kyran looked at Noir with a slight smile. He could more or less guess what the older man was thinking. It was true he was not part of the Blacksmith Order or the Conclave. But as long as he used Tyr's identity, he would act the part of being Chairman Noir's disciple. It did not matter if Tyr was real or not, he had the means to support his identity so it was fine.

Besides, Kyran had personal reasons for using Tyr's identity, and it was not just so he could freely move around.

Owen looked at Hamish and said, "I don't doubt your capabilities, Hamish. I only want to follow through with our plans moving forward," then he looked at Kyran and asked, "Why Hamish?"

Kyran looked at him before looking at the armor that Hamish enchanted. He could see the Array calculation the latter used and understood its effect.

"The key to this battle is the armor," Kyran started. He looked over the Lumley Family's corner, before continuing, "Matias used an Urdium to enchant his weapon. I don't have to explain what the Urdium can do, right?"

He looked at Owen and Hamish again, who nodded in response. Having witnessed Matias's fire magic, with the addition of the Urdium's effect, his flames would become more devastating. There was no telling how long their uniform plus the enchanted armor could hold.

"Since Hamish is the one who enchanted the armor, he knows its limitation better. He can easily judge when to forfeit. I am not saying that you can't Owen, but as much as possible, I want to avoid casualties from our side."

He heaved a sigh before adding, "As for me, I can't do the mock battle simply because they set up a trap for me. I don't even know why they are confident that I will do the mock battle, but since they are that confident, it means they have something prepared against me.

"I am guessing they have a good countermeasure against my strategy. Yesterday, they witnessed how I can redirect the targets of their magic attacks by adjusting their magic arrays."

Kyran defeated the Lumley Family using the same strategy he used against Illias. It did not matter if they kept their distance or hide their magic arrays so he could not change it. Kyran found ways to touch their magic arrays and redirect their attacks back to them.

"But, I can only do that because my staff is composed of the materials required to change their magic arrays. And well, they are using pretty much the same fire runes so it is easy to change them. In any case, without my staff, I can only take Matias's attack head-on. I can probably endure for a few seconds, but..."

Kyran smiled wryly.

"As much as I hate to admit it, I have a very terrible temper. Not to mention, I am also very vengeful. If I get hit, I hit back. And they know that. If I am correct, they are waiting for the moment where I snap and hit back. They want me to use the same strategy I did yesterday. Redirect Matias's enhanced flames back to him, while using my 'strengthening magic' to further amplify it.

"When that happens... then I will end up severely wounded."

Owen and Hamish both looked amazed and confused by his words.

They were amazed at how Kyran came up with that by simply observing the other side, and confused because he did say he could only redirect magic attacks because of his staff. The Lumley Family also knew that, so then why would they still expect Kyran to use the same strategy without his staff? The competition rules did not allow them to use personal materials. Apart from this, why did Kyran say he would end up getting severely wounded?

However, Noir and Vaness were able to understand Kyran's train of thought.

Noir said, "Before the mock battle, the participants are given thirty minutes to prepare their own Arrays."

"Oh!" Both Owen and Hamish exclaimed in realization.

That was right.

Even without Kyran's staff, as long as he included the formula where he could redirect magic attacks in the array he would prepare before the start of the mock battle, it was still possible. They could still use the materials provided by the Courtenay Family. Even if the materials Kyran needed were not present, he was an Array Specialist and knew other alternatives.

"So they are betting that you know other calculations that can redirect magic attacks and include it on the defensive array you will create before the mock battle," Vaness chimed in, looking at Kyran.

Kyran nodded in response and also said, "Yeah. And they want me to do that, because..."

He paused to look at the Lumley's corner. His gaze stopped specifically on one of their members. But it was not Matias, rather it was the one who enchanted the armor.

"...that guy put a reflect enchantment on the armor."

All of them gaped at him in surprise.

Earlier, Noir and Vaness were not only paying close attention to their members but also to the Lumley members. Vaness focused on observing the materials they gathered, while Noir deciphered the enchantments they were planning.

The Lumley member who enchanted the armor did not take any materials in making a reflect enchantment.

Seeing the look of doubt on their faces, Kyran gave a wry smile and looked at Noir, "Master, I am sure you already know what I am talking about."

Noir fell silent because he failed to follow up on his words. But he more or less understood that Kyran said this as part of his current identity as 'Tyr.' After all, a disciple could not possibly be more knowledgeable than the master.

Noir smiled bitterly in response and did not say anything. Or more like, he could not say anything.

Kyran sensed the older man's hesitation to lie in front of his men and made a mental note to apologize to him later.

Looking at Owen and Hamish, he continued, "That guy possessed support-type magic. I guess you can say I know it because I also have support-type magic. In any case, remember that they are not Array Specialists, at most, they can only embed enchantments on a ready-made item. If I have to guess, he used the materials to form another layer on the armor and embed his own magic array on that layer."

Owen and Hamish took a sharp intake of breath. They kept on forgetting that their opponents were not Array Specialists and thus were not that knowledgeable in Array calculations.

"But that is not the only thing they prepared," Kyran went on. "If my guess is correct, the enchantment on the headgear is to enhance Matias's magic defence. After all, reflect magic will only work if the magic attack lands on the target. If Matias fails to withstand the magic attack, then it will not be reflected."

Owen's expression turned sour as he sighed, "So they used the headgear to enhance one's magic defence instead of the armor. Well, magic accessories are usually made to enhance a mage's ability so the idea is not exactly wrong."

"But they managed to trick us into thinking otherwise," Hamish remarked, feeling a little peeved.

"It doesn't really matter. Their trick will only work if I go out there," Kyran told them.

Initially, Owen and Hamish thought Kyran did not want to go because he getting harassed by the Lumley Family again. It turned out, that he guessed the other side's plot right from the start.

It made them wonder how Kyran even guessed it. Did the Lumley Family make a slip and he managed to pick up on the clues?

"Now then," Kyran looked at Hamish, "They may still do their original plan even if I don't do the mock battle."

Being reminded of this fact made Hamish's throat run dry.

"True, but I don't know how to redirect attacks so the 'reflect magic' part will be rendered useless," Hamish agreed.

"Right. But Matias's flames will still be painful especially with the Udrium amplifying it."

Kyran paused and smiled slightly, "That's why, instead of taking on his attack, you will go on the offensive."

Seeing Kyran's smile made Hamish shiver slightly.