The Golem Mage

Brandon vs Bree

“Who’s next?”

Brandon’s gaze swept over the mages from the other clans.

Those who had mocked him earlier now avoided his eyes, silently praying he would look elsewhere and spare them further humiliation.

The fierce aura radiating from him had crushed any lingering thoughts most of them had of challenging him.

It was clear to all that Brandon’s strength rivalled the leaders of the younger generation, a fact that stung, considering he wasn’t even regarded as the top fighter in the Gordons clan.

Everyone present already knew Alec was the true leader of the Gordons clan; younger generations, this is why despite seeing Agnes occupying the leader seat, it didn’t shake their conviction.

They all assumed it was Alec’s ploy to lure enemies into clashing with his generals, forcing them to reveal their abilities while he concealed his own.

They only knew that he had a formidable golem, which a rumour of him promising not to use it in the banquet challenges to keep things fair had circulated.

Most believed Alec was weaker without it, assuming like many Golem Path mages he too lacked strong close-combat skills.

Few had heard whispers of his deadly spear techniques, which is why there has been a lot of challenge for him, convinced that defeating him would bring them instant fame, something many of the younger generation of the Estonia city desired greatly.

Clinging to this bias, they claimed Alec’s reputation was built solely on his golem-making talent, however a select few in the Lanzt family knew the truth, Alec was the undisputed powerhouse among the Gordons’ younger generation.

They had witnessed his battles and tried to spread the word, but their warnings went largely ignored.

“I asked, who’s next?”

Brandon’s voice rang out again as he crossed his arms, leaning casually on the massive great sword still planted in the ground.

The image alone reminded everyone that no one had been able to make him draw it.

They recalled how he’d once told Felix he wasn’t worthy of his sword, at the time, they’d scoffed, sure he would pay dearly for underestimating a Fridall Clan member.

Now, Brandon had shown them the stark reality of the gap between mid-tier 1 mages.

The younger generation of mages from various families and clans now looked towards their leaders ,realizing that only someone with access to top-tier resources could hope to stand against Brandon.

Yet, none of the leaders were willing to be a benchmark to test his power, their gazes shifted toward the younger generation leader of the Fridall Clan, After all he was the only one whose family had repeatedly suffered defeat at Brandon’s hands.

“Well, I suppose it’s my turn. There’s no point in further delay, especially since my family members have already been soundly beaten. All I can do now is try to salvage some dignity,” Bree Fridall said, rising from his seat and making his way to the stage with slow, deliberate steps that gave his movements an air of mystery.

As he stepped onto the platform, Bree shed his family robe, revealing a well-toned physique. Brandon couldn’t help but ask, “Are you a Battle Path mage?”

“No!” Bree declared with confidence.

“I am not just a Battle Path mage, but also a Magic Path mage.”

“Whoa, that’s quite impressive,” Brandon replied, his tone casual, showing not the slightest trace of fear.

The expressions in the crowd shifted, a mixture of intrigue and apprehension.

“You don’t seem surprised, are you not afraid of my talents? From what I can tell, you’re a pure Battle Mage,” Bree asked, puzzled by Brandon’s calmness.

“Oh, you might be in for a surprise,” Brandon said, a mischievous smile curling his lips.

For the first time since fighting alongside Alec against the zombie horde, Brandon felt a genuine thrill, he had been craving a worthy opponent and now one stood before him.

“Start,” came the command from the top platform.

Bree reached toward his waist, drawing forth a long, weathered staff from his belt, clearly it was a piece of space equipment.

“A Tier 1 magic staff!” someone in the crowd exclaimed.

Even Brandon’s expression hardened at the sight, the staff was clearly a treasure among Magic Path mages, which boosted mana reserves and also helped with accelerating recovery of mana.

As Brandon’s gaze swept over Bree, he noticed an array of dazzling accessories, each one a disguised magic item granting unique effects: enhanced mana regeneration, amplified spell damage, and expanded mana capacity.

“Well, it seems wealth runs in your veins, too,” Brandon remarked as he retrieved his longsword from the ground.

“Enough talk. Let’s get on with it,” Bree said, his patience wearing thin.

[]

Bree slammed his staff against the floor, summoning five hovering fireballs that quickly swelled in size, far surpassing the small, violent ones Felix Fridall had once shown.

With a sharp flick of his staff, the blazing orbs shot toward Brandon.

Reacting instantly, Brandon swung his sword five times, each s***h releasing a brownish wave of earth energy that met the fireballs head-on, detonating them mid-air in a shower of sparks.

“Whoa, that’s impressive! How did you manipulate your earth element like that?” Bree asked, genuine curiosity in his voice.

Brandon stayed silent, unwilling to reveal the techniques he had developed through Alec’s unconventional ideas.

“I may have crossed a line there, no matter, let’s focus on the fight.” Bree said with a smirk.

Even as he spoke, he secretly cast another fireball, sending it hurtling toward Brandon.

Without even turning, Brandon slashed upward, his earth-infused strike dispersing the flames on contact.

“This is growing tiresome. Use your full strength if you want any chance of surpassing me,” Brandon taunted.

“If you insist.”

Bree tightened his grip on his staff, finally deciding to unleash a high-consumption Tier 1 spell he had been saving.

[]

From the ground, a serpent of fire began to rise, its height matching that of a grown man. With each slam of his staff, Bree drew more flame from the air, shaping and fortifying the snake’s body—a feat of control rare for fire element users, whose power typically resisted solid form.

Brandon simply stood and watched, content to let his opponent finish.

When the conjuration was complete, the flaming serpent seemed alive, its molten fangs glinting as it hissed.

“Attack!” Bree commanded.

The fire snake lunged forward with a shriek, racing toward Brandon.

“Humph, petty tricks,” Brandon scoffed, driving his shining, earth-infused sword into the ground.

[]

A sharp, long spear shot up from the ground, soaring into the air before striking the flaming snake and halting its advance.

The serpent lashed its tail, smashing into the spear and shattering it instantly.

“You won’t get rid of my flaming snake that easily,” Bree retorted.

“Oh, I wasn’t planning on doing that.”

[]

Countless spears of earth erupted from the ground, hurtling skyward before raining down to pierce the flaming snake from every direction, forming a lethal cage of earth spears

The final spear struck the snake’s head, killing it instantly, the stored fire elements erupted in a violent explosion, forcing both Bree and Brandon to step back as the blast shook the area.

Bree’s expression darkened, he had revealed too much, yet still couldn’t measure Brandon’s true strength, let alone overcome it easily like he had wished.

“Who would’ve thought you would also walk the path of two mages? You truly are a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” Bree muttered, a sentiment echoed by the astonished crowd.

Nobody had expected Brandon to dominate so completely, he hadn’t even been mentioned among the top threats in the clan’s intelligence reports.

When they first left their clan, everyone saw Brandon as nothing more than Alec’s follower.

Now, their jaws hung open at his display of skill.

Bree stowed his staff into his belt’s storage device, drawing a sword and a small, round shield.

“If I can’t defeat you with magic, then I’ll just have to beat you until you fold,” he declared.

“Oh, bring it on,” Brandon replied with a low, eerie laugh.

He had longed for a worthy opponent, his training had been limited to duels with Alec’s golems, where he usually lost and sparred with Arthur, which mostly ended in a draw.

He had never savoured the thrill of overpowering a true challenger.

Now, at last, he had the chance to unleash everything he’d held back, and he intended to enjoy every second as he pulled his sword from the ground.

“Show me what you’ve got,” Brandon taunted, a confident smirk playing on his lips as he b

eckoned Bree forward.

His stance was open, hands spread wide, ready to face whatever challenge Bree dared to bring.