"Indeed," Leon replied.

"Though we've interacted with humans for a long time, I still can’t understand the depth of your abilities."

After silently observing Leon for a moment, Meisen suddenly smiled and offered, "How about a magic duel with me?"

"A magic duel?"

Leon had no idea what the enigmatic Elven King was planning.

Meisen’s eyes sparkled with interest. "I can hardly resist my curiosity. I want to see your skills firsthand."

Leon hesitated momentarily.

A duel with a transcendent mage would be a rare opportunity to test his abilities. However, his priority was obtaining the branch of the World Tree and leaving the forest.

‘Let’s just get this over with quickly.’

Swallowing his reluctance, Leon nodded, and Meisen, as if he’d been waiting, led the way. Ria and Zirka followed along with them.

They arrived at a spacious training ground surrounded by thick trees. The only sound was the gentle rustling of leaves in the wind.

Meisen positioned himself at the center of the space, while Leon stood at a slight distance.

"Let’s begin. Don’t worry—I’ll hold back."

With a casual wave of his hand, thick tree roots burst from the ground, each root as thick as a human body.

The roots split into five, encircling Leon. If they slammed down, it would be like an earthquake.

Meisen’s mere gesture had conjured this powerful magic.

Yet, he refrained from exerting further force. If he’d pressured Leon with mana as he had during their first meeting, Leon would’ve been immobilized.

Leon pondered his options. Meisen had promised to hold back, so he could probably use a spell like Primal Radiance to escape the situation. But did he need to reveal his full strength now?

Deciding against it, he observed the tree roots charging toward him.

He knew Thunderbolt of Glory wouldn’t be enough to stop them.

Even the magic sword couldn’t fully block this attack. Though the sword would remain unharmed, the force of the roots’ impact would be beyond his telekinetic capabilities.

Expecting to withstand a blow from a transcendent mage was unrealistic.

Leon raised both hands.

"I yield. I can’t compete against your control."

Meisen narrowed his eyes, considering Leon’s words.

"Hmm... Are you asking me to hold back even more?"

With another wave of his hand, Meisen halved the thickness of the roots.

His magic resembled Leon’s Ten Thousand Leaves spell in some ways.

However, Meisen’s summoned roots possessed destructive power, while Leon’s spell specialized in defense and healing.

Meisen continued with undisguised curiosity.

"Now, don’t be overly modest. Show me your true abilities."

"You’re overestimating me," Leon replied. "Though I carry the sword you mentioned, I’m merely a high-rank mage."

Meisen didn’t seem to take his words seriously.

"Yet, you show no sign of surprise."

"It’s due to my sword’s abilities. But doesn’t that defeat the purpose of a duel?"

Meisen tilted his head, a puzzled expression briefly crossing his face.

"Is that truly what you believe?"

He continued with keen interest.

"The Dark Lord’s sword alone doesn’t account for your talents."

After a pause, he chuckled.

"I see. Revealing your abilities so suddenly might be awkward, so I’ll give you an incentive."

"An incentive?"

Meisen smiled cryptically.

"If you can withstand my attacks, I’ll reveal how to use the branch of the World Tree to control your magic sword."

"I have to withstand them?"

"You could also dodge."

Leon hesitated before preparing to draw his magic sword. However, Meisen interrupted him in a low voice.

"Of course, without using the sword."

"Then I…"

Meisen cut him off.

"Let’s see if you truly can’t."

With that, the roots, which had been hidden underground, surged forward again, twisting like serpents toward Leon.

They moved as if ready to strike him down.

Leon quickly pulled out his golden wings from his dimensional pouch, equipping them and activating his acceleration.

One of the roots crashed down on the spot where he’d stood, shaking the ground.

Boom—

The sound echoed through the training ground, yet the floor remained remarkably intact.

The root rebounded and straightened, aiming for Leon once again.

And it wasn’t alone.

Four more roots charged toward him.

Leon activated acceleration again, lifting himself high into the air.

Meisen watched with intrigue.

"The rapid movement must be due to an artifact. Its uses are likely limited. I wonder how much longer you can keep this up."

Leon found his nonchalant demeanor irritating.

‘There’s no point in arguing with a transcendent mage…’

But Leon’s grumbling didn’t last long.

The roots continued rising, quickly reaching his altitude.

They loomed like predators, preparing to devour him.

Without delay, they surged toward Leon once more.

As he dodged the five roots, Leon exhausted all five uses of his acceleration. Their speed was such that dodging without it would’ve been nearly impossible.

He’d reached the limit Meisen had mentioned.

Realizing he couldn’t hold out much longer, Leon decided to unleash Primal Radiance.

As mana surged from his core to his forehead, a golden eye-shaped mark appeared there.

A vision of the near future flashed through Leon’s mind.

He saw the roots attempting to strike him down.

Infusing himself with mana, he increased his physical abilities and immediately moved out of the roots’ path.

The five roots attacked one after another, and Leon deftly avoided each strike, moving through the air with precision.

The attacks required more than just a simple step to evade; he had to predict and respond with larger movements.

Blocking was never an option.

‘Because I can’t.’

He had to dodge every blow.

Focusing all his senses, Leon continued dodging the five relentless attacks.

Being able to see one second into the future made it barely possible, but even a slight misstep would result in severe injuries.

Even with Meisen holding back, the force of a transcendent mage’s power would render Leon’s guardian robe ineffective.

Drenched in sweat, Leon concentrated on matching his movements with the visions in his mind.

As he pulled back in midair, one root darted straight for his forehead.

Having already seen it in his mind, Leon tilted his head sharply, narrowly avoiding it.

After that final strike, the roots retreated.

Meisen spoke slowly.

"...Rune magic, is it?"

He had instantly recognized Leon’s use of rune magic.

"How did you know?"

"Moving as though you can see the future. The only magic capable of bending causality like that is rune magic."

"..."

Tilting his head, Meisen murmured with a hint of wonder.

"Remarkable. To use rune magic at that level requires exceptional talent."

Still lost in thought, Meisen added, seeming somewhat puzzled.

"But where did you even learn such magic?"

"...That, I can’t disclose."

"Do you realize how hard it is to believe you’re not the reincarnation of the Dark Lord? Has no one in the human world realized your full capabilities? Or… could humans naturally reach this level?"

He began muttering to himself, entirely absorbed in his thoughts.

Leon, calming the mana he’d unleashed for Primal Radiance, glanced around.

At some point, a crowd of elves had gathered to watch.

He murmured in surprise, "When did they…?"

Meisen, snapping back to reality, replied, "It seems they were curious, as elves don’t usually engage in such intense duels."

His expression was surprisingly earnest, his gaze still deep in thought.

"Truly astounding, truly remarkable. Though it’s been years since we last interacted with humans, I didn’t expect to see such progress among them while we elves honed our magic here, isolated."

Just then, one of the elves stepped forward from the crowd.

It was Fez, whom Leon had met when he first entered the Elven Forest.

Fez knelt respectfully before Meisen, drawing the attention of every elf present.

"My lord, please do not be disappointed."

Meisen raised an eyebrow as Fez continued in a composed tone.

"While it’s impressive that he can anticipate magic flows, he only managed to evade. Allow us to take a turn."

With a dismissive gesture, Meisen silenced him.

"No need. This is beyond that level."

Turning back to Leon, Meisen spoke.

"I made a promise, so I’ll keep it. I’ll fulfill my end of the agreement."

Though he didn’t explicitly state it, his words confirmed that he would indeed teach Leon the method to control the magic sword.

However, Fez remained kneeling, unyielding.

"Since his abilities and mine are similar, I believe this would be an excellent opportunity for a match between us."