The Challenger's Return: Rebirth of the Rainbow Mage

5 minutes? 10 minutes?

Even though the tube didn't look like it was pointed towards him, Mikelo's sixth sense was telling him that this was the most imminent threat.

He contemplated, before gritting his teeth.

One more try to climb up the walls.

If that failed, he would use his last resort!

…

Mikelo lay on the ground, panting once more.

One leg was broken, while the other was completely mangled.

He could also no longer use one of his arms. The pain was devastating, but compared to getting eaten alive, Mikelo preferred these types of broken bones.

However, now that his body couldn't move, the sand was approaching again.

As it filled towards the ground, Mikelo finally noticed that it was approaching him with not a hint of imprecision.

At this point, it was only a dozen seconds away from him.

He hesitated for a second.

His eyes hardened.

No.

It was time for his last resort.

Mikelo gritted his teeth.

He reached his one remaining good hand towards his own beating heart.

Otto watched on, astonished as Mikelo literally pulled his own heart out of his chest.

Purple blood splattered all over the ground.

Mikelo's heart was also a bright purplish-pink.

Otto could make out a small green gem that seemed to grow and shrink in tandem with his heartbeat.

Mikelo knew he only had moments to live, regardless of the method.

He reached for the gem and dug it outside of his heart.

Suddenly, a thought struck Otto like a lightning bolt to the brain.

Otto's expression darkened.

He whooshed into action.

His wings flapped as Otto accelerated along with gravity, moving his body downward as fast as was physically possible.

He needed to catch Mikelo NOW!

Otto even activated the spell on his boots:

[Winged Run]

Wind Element

Boots grow aerodynamic wings allowing the caster to fly in the air with extreme mobility.

Uses: 5

Duration: 60 seconds per use.

Cooldown: 24 hours

His body shot into the hole with blazing speed, so fast that Otto could feel a hint of heat generated from the friction.

But despite Otto's speed, Mikelo's hand was already on the small green gem.

He crushed it.

For a second, nothing happened. Small transparent pieces of what appeared to be glass littered the bottom of the hole.

But suddenly, a brilliant green light spread upward towards the surface, illuminating the sand pit more brightly than the desert sun in the sky.

A mana wave spread out from the gem, causing a green pillar to form above the sand.

At the same time, Mikelo's body was literally ground into paste as the pressure from the condensed sand fell entirely on him.

It even went so far as to dig another 500 meters into the ground below.

Otto watched the green pillar with dark eyes.

Vaguely, a small cry of anguish could be heard,

"NoooooOOOOOOOO!!!"

The cry rose in volume until the very air itself seemed to shake with pain and anger.

Otto wasted no time in blinking up to the surface, where the extensive blanket of spider monsters still roamed among the sand.

At the moment, they were rather docile; their bodies had been modified such that many of their base instincts were gone.

And as time had passed and both Mikelo and Greer were long gone, the smells had dissipated with them.

Otto promptly hid among the crowd of spiders.

There was no longer a point in trying to prevent the occurrance.

Now, he needed to immediately hide, then find out what exactly Mikelo had called over to this planet.

Whatever Mikelo had called, Otto knew without a doubt that this person was a) an enemy, and b) very strong.

The mana wave alone was cause for alarm…

But the worst part was not this.

He checked his status screen.

The crease in his brows deepened.

Even though Mikelo had died, Otto's mission hadn't been officially 'completed.'

In other words, not only was he not yet able to return to the [Tower] world, but he was still unable to attack directly.

A direct fight where Otto couldn't attack…no matter how clever he was, this was not a fight that Otto could win.

He sighed.

What could he even do, at this point?

Otto wondered whether the game masters had to 'announce' the results to him, or if it merely had to 'accept' the results on their own in order for him to pass the round and clear it according to the [Tower's] requirements.

He checked his spells.

Namely, his most important defensive spell.

[Force Field]

Space Element

Level 10

Separates the target's space from the rest of the world. Nothing may enter or exit the separate space.

Mana Cost: 885

Duration: 90 seconds

Cast Time: Instant

Cooldown: 110 seconds

Back on the first floor, the spell's cooldown had been 120 seconds.

However, after clearing the first floor, [Rainbow Caster] had increased 'all' magical attributes by 5.

Including his hidden attributes.

Meaning that his talent, represented by his [Fluidity] had slightly increased.

Otto was broken from his thoughts by an enraged roar that echoed throughout the planet.

He thought for a second before spreading out mana tendrils, searching.

A second later, he found what he needed, and promptly blinked over.

He stood alone, under the waning light of the afternoon sun.

His figure was heroic, almost melancholic.

Otto knew that if he could read the audiences' comments from his game screen, they would certainly be going crazy.

Since he now stood right in front of one of the game's magic eye.

The faster the news got out that Otto was the only contestant remaining, the faster he could return to the [Tower].

Finally, a figure flew into view.

Literally flew.

Otto squinted to make out its appearance.

It was a young Throskart girl who appeared to be around 5 or 6 in age.

Her figure was clad in a white robe.

The first white robe Otto had ever seen.

But she couldn't quite be described as cute at the moment.

Her features were twisted in a half-smile, half-grimace that spoke of intense emotions.

It made for an eerie visage, evoking shudders in the eyes of all viewers, the kind which could truly only be pulled off by such young children.

Even Otto felt his heart jump before he calmed.

The girl raised her hand to attack.

Otto instinctively cast [Force Field], and was immediately thankful he did.

A transparent projectile appeared before the spiders and smashed into the air.

It didn't explode or anything.

But Otto's face darkened further.

From that single attack, a full quarter of the spider horde was vanquished.

His figure was immediately revealed.

Otto cast [Analyze] on her.

[???????]

??? of the Throskarts

Health: ??????/?????? (????/minute)

Stamina: ???????/??????? (????/second)

Mana: ?????????/????????? (??????/minute)

It was entirely composed of question marks.

But she was not disguised in the least.

She was just so much more powerful than Otto that he couldn't read her information at all.

He nodded slightly.

'So they were hiding this kind of power?'

Otto's lips thinned as he pondered.

The young girl also turned her face towards Otto, and immediately sneered.

Her voice was clear and pleasant to the ear.

"It was you who killed Micky?"

Then, she started muttering,

"I specifically told him not to do it. It was YOU who made him go. I even gave him that token to protect himself, but he died anyway?"

She looked at Otto and stated calmly towards the sky,

"Don't worry, Micky. Your killer will join you in a moment."

But before she could release a second projectile, yet another figure appeared in between the two of them.

The girl instinctively hesitated.

Otto could immediately recognize the figure.

It was Ivocraes.

"Honoured one, are you sure you wish to do this?"

His fingers gestured to the now thousands of magic eyes that practically filled the sky.

Most were pointed at this girl, but a few were also pointed at Otto.

They must have appeared after the others were vaporized by the girl's attack.

She hesitated.

"If you kill him here and now, there is no going back."

"How will others see us Throskarts if we kill the winner of a fair competition?"

Her expression darkened.

Then, Ivocraes whispered something into her ear.

The girl merely shot him a side-eye.

Then, without looking at Otto, she stepped off the desert once again and flew away.

Her figure disappeared after an instant.

Ivocraes also shot Otto a cold glance before he disappeared.

And, finally, the notification appeared.

[Would you like to turn in your mission?]

Otto's tension bled from his body.

Then, in front of millions of eyes, Otto disappeared from the desert.