"Khuuk! Aaack!"

Violently coughing up blood, Quinn fell on one knee.

Kruk—!

He pressed one of his hands against his chest and broke the glowing white arrow sticking out of him with another.

However, getting shot with two [Null Attribute Light Arrow] had already worn him down.

Like poison taking effect on his body, Quinn felt a burning pain shoot through his veins.

Light cut through the darkness.

The null attribute effect from my arrow was really hurting Quinn, who had the darkness affinity.

Even his dark magic spell – [Necromancy] – which was constantly casting, was now dispelled since he didn't have enough strength to keep supplying his shadow slaves with mana.

Shuuu—

The creatures made of darkness who were rushing at Amelia instantly disintegrated and vanished into shadows.

"Haaa! Haaaa!"

Meanwhile, right before me, Quinn was gasping for air and circulating mana throughout his body to regain some strength.

I could see the pain and rage in his eyes.

Haha!

He should've given me this look of agony and suffering before and maybe then I would have spared him some mercy.

However, this is not enough.

Did you know, in my family– I mean, in the Morningstar household, after a child awakens their mana core, they have to tame these canine mana beasts called Wind Wolves?

The process of taming, according to Lucas' memories, is simple.

You just make the difference in power between you and the beast you wish to tame clear from the start.

Establishing a clear power differential from the outset ensures that even if the beast becomes much stronger and more ferocious than you over the years, it will remain obedient and never disobey you.

So what do I need to do here to make Quinn submit to me?

I need to assert dominance over him and make the difference between our power clear.

I need to show him despair.

I need to tell him that he can't defeat me.

Although I'm much weaker than him currently, I have a hidden ace up my sleeve ready to play.

Leering pleasantly, I mumbled in a soft yet vicious tone, "Phoenix's Embrace."

Kwusssh—!!!

In a flash, a searing blaze consumed every inch of my being, painting me in a brilliant scarlet hue, and a pair of wings made entirely of flames appeared on my back.

The ruby embedded in my chest intensified in luminosity, casting a fiery glow that pierced through the merlot flames, engulfing my body and burning up the shirt I was wearing to ash.

Then, a stunning armor of gleaming gold and crimson materialized over my upper torso, and the flaming wings on my back extinguished.

===

[Phoenix's Embrace→

The Knight of the Starlight's Gift has been used in the making of nigh-indestructible armor, which is crafted by a skilled dwarven blacksmith.

When attacked with magic spells or physical objects, the armor can reduce the strength of the attack to one-tenth of its original power, ensuring the user's protection.

Once shed, the armor provides a significant boost in all stats and grants an extra life to the wearer. The armor can be summoned again, provided the user does not lose the additional life.]

===

Krtzz–!

Through the crackle of embers, I walked over to Quinn, who had managed to get up on his feet.

"Discard!" I yelled as I was just a few steps away from the necromancer.

Cling—!!

The armor on my body shattered and blew up into scarlet flames, leaving me without its nigh-invincible defense.

But instantly, a potent crimson aura erupted and engulfed my body, causing an electric surge of energy to ripple through me and setting every hair on my body on edge.

The sheer intensity of the experience was quite overwhelming.

I could feel the raw power coursing through my veins like a raging inferno, ready to be unleashed at a moment's notice.

[Attack→ 332 (+300)]

[Endurance→ 318 (+300)]

[Speed→ 339 (+300)]

[Stamina→ 334 (+300)]

[Mana Capacity→ 3000 (+2500)]

[Mana Core Rank→ Silver 2 (↑Iron 2)]

In the novel, Nero possessed the relic [Phoenix's Embrace]. However, he almost never used it for defensive purposes.

He had another similar relic for that which he got from Liz after the Mock War.

Then what did he use it for? He used it to boost his stats.

One of the main features of [Phoenix's Embrace] was to provide an extra life and a massive boost in the user's stats if they shed the armor.

It's called Embrace Discard.

Embrace Discard could grant the user an extra life and a massive boost in stats upon shedding the armor.

It acted as a limit breaker, allowing the user to surpass their natural limits and unlock a power beyond their natural potential.

For instance, if someone had reached their maximum potential at the ‹Platinum› rank, using Embrace Discard would boost their stats to the ‹Immortal› rank.

This feature is particularly useful when one reaches the higher mana core ranks where the difference between each rank is a significant 1000 stat points.

Currently, my physical stats were only boosted by 300 points while my mana capacity got an increment of 2000, and I had merely entered the second level of the ‹Silver› rank.

Nevertheless, I was momentarily stronger than Quinn, who was at ‹Bronze 3› right now.

With this, I can defeat him.

No, I will defeat him, especially when he is unable to use the Necromancy spell or any other dark magic spells after being hit by two null attribute light arrows.

Despite Quinn having years of battle experience over me, the odds are not in his favor.

Right now, I aim to make it clear to him that in the future, opposing me would be pointless.

Kwish—!!

As soon as I came near him, Quinn immediately threw a straight at me with his right hand and attacked first.

His fist was enveloped in a dark, ominous violet aura, and it sped toward me at breakneck speed.

I, however, effortlessly ducked under his speeding arm while sidestepping to my left.

Without giving him a chance to react, I threw a straight of my own and hit him dead in the chest.

Thwack—!!

I then stepped forward and willed mana into my right arm, enforcing it to an inhumane extent and hitting him with an uppercut under his chin.

Thwuck—!

"Khuck!!" disoriented from the impact, Quinn let out a groan as he stumbled back.

To catch him before he could regain his footing, I took a step forward again but…

Thack—!!

Quinn slammed his head against mine.

"..."

To his horror, it did nothing to me.