The Golem Mage

" 'I'm not interested,"

Katie said firmly, her punches echoing through the courtyard as the wooden puppets continued to taunt her.

The sound of flesh meeting wood reverberated around her, but she remained undeterred.

" Come on, you must have realized by now that these outdated puppets can never match up to your power, They won't help you understand your strength any better,"

Pale pleaded, attempting to persuade her.

" Just listen to me first, My offer isn't as bad as you think, It could even help you improve your battling skills," he urged.

" You'll have to defeat me first before I even consider listening to you," Kate snapped, her anger evident.

With a swift jump, she pushed herself against the puppet's chest, propelling herself towards Pale.

Caught off guard, Pale hurriedly cast an ice shield to protect himself.

But his reflexes were slow, and Katie's qi-infused fist shattered the hastily created barrier before reaching his face, slamming him away.

Pale skidded on the ground, quickly forming a small frozen patch beneath him, halting his slide.

With a deft movement, he created a towering ice pillar behind him, steadying himself as he observed Kate.

She calmly walked over to her gauntlet, never once taking her eyes off Pale.

" Don't tell me you really want to do this? " Pale said, touching his bleeding nose.

It was clear that Katie hadn't held back during the punch.

" Of course I do, I've been training tirelessly and have finally reached the Mid Tier 3 Mage Realm, What better way to test the results of my training than against someone as strong as you?" Kate replied, getting into a battle stance.

" Don't mess with me now, Katie. You ruined my face just to see how much you've improved " Pale exclaimed, anger evident as he spread his hands wide.

And The Ice elements responded to his summoning, swirling around him. A slightly transparent ice armor formed, protecting him from the impending battle."

"Of course not, you know how obsessed you are with your looks and image, That was supposed to trigger your anger and make you attack me, but it seems like you've grown soft after joining your new group of friends who only know how to show off their realms without any real battle power,"

Katie retorted as she dashed towards Pale.

This time, he was fully prepared and drew out a small dagger that appeared to be an ancient Artifact.

"Believe me when I say this, Katie, you can't defeat me!" Pale confidently declared.

"How would I know that if I don't even try?" Katie replied, determined to seize the opportunity to strike him in the face.

[<Mid Tier Spells – Glacial Burst>]

With a swift motion, Pale cut his hand with the dagger, smearing his blood in the air as he cast a spell.

A larger icy blue rune enveloped his hands as he channelled his mana into the ground, transforming the surroundings into an icy terrain.

Giant ice shards formed effortlessly around Katie from various locations, and she had a sinking feeling as she saw them.

Desperate to close the distance between herself and Pale, Katie tried to move faster.

However, the closest ice shards exploded upwards, sending sharp blades of ice flying towards her.

Skilfully, she maneuvered herself, demonstrating a foot technique Pale had never seen before. Enjoy new chapters from My Virtual Library Empire

In response, Pale detonated another ice shard behind her, causing some ice to impale her back.

The area quickly froze, and Katie found herself overwhelmed by the relentless onslaught of the ice shards.

Since that first hit, as her movements became sluggish and much slower, till she was locked up.

"I told you that you couldn't defeat me. It's not blind boasting; it's a fact. See this knife?, It's an ancient Artifact that allows me to use spells one realm higher than mine, as long as they're not high Tier Spells and I know the runes, incantations, and casting process," Pale explained.

" What do you think has kept the ancient clan supreme all these years?, They still hold their secrets. So, are you ready to listen to me now?"

Pale asked, observing Katie, who was now completely encased in ice, with only her head visible.

Her teeth chattered from the intense cold, causing Katie to shiver uncontrollably.

"Fuck you!" Katie replied, her anger evident.

" I'll take that as a yes, but first, let's tend to our injuries," Pale said, recalling the ice spell and wrapping a bandage around his wounded hand.

He then approached Katie to assist in removing the multiple ice shards that had impaled her from behind.

--

Meanwhile, the enforcer assigned to Alec's case had just arrived to deliver new information about Alec's recent actions.

As he entered the room, the elder sitting at the far left immediately voiced his dissatisfaction.

"There better be a darn good reason why you've summoned all of us here again, enforcer. If not, you won't like what I do to you," the elder warned, glaring at the enforcer.

"I promise you, elder, this will make you reconsider your words," the enforcer replied, throwing a scroll directly at the elder seated in the middle.

The elder caught the scroll and began reading its contents. As he read, his eyes started to blaze with anger, igniting a fiery fury within him.

Those in the room could feel the intensity radiating from him, knowing that whatever was written on that scroll had infuriated the Grand Elder of the outer branch.

Once he finished reading, the elder passed the scroll to the others seated around the room, one by one.

As each elder read, their expressions changed, reflecting a mixture of shock, disbelief, and anger. Finally, the scroll found its way back into the hands of the enforcer.

"Tell me, have you located the Sixth Leader of the Fridall clan?" the grand elder of the outer branch asked, but the enforcer shook his head.

Contained in the scroll was also the account of the events between Aurora and the Sixth Elder, outlining his attempted assassination of her.

His purpose also clear for them to see as he wanted to divert the blaze attention into killing the Gordon clan in revenge and Alec would be killed too , as they would want to eliminate any potential loose ends, especially Alec who already harboured grudges against them.

"He should be diced and killed for attempting to assassinate our beloved Rora. How dare he lay a finger on a core member of our clan,"

The elder at the far left said as he was clearly seething with anger, his temper getting the best of him.

However, the leader quickly intervened, raising his hands to halt any further blame from being placed.

"No, we can't have him killed now. He must be aware that we already know what he did. We will send a message the old way and instruct him to find a way to eliminate Alec for us. If he succeeds, all will be forgiven," the leader said calmly.

"But are we going to simply let that bastard walk free? I understand that the core families have left matters like this to us because they don't want to be seen as petty."

" However, if we allow someone who attempted to assassinate the princess of our clan to escape unpunished..." another elder interjected, his frustration evident.

"Now, when did I say we are that generous?" the leader replied with a hint of sarcasm.

"Telling him to kill Alec may seem easy, but he will have to go through Terran, Alec's instructor, if he wants to do it himself. Alternatively, if he chooses to do it indirectly, he will have to deal with Mad Dog, who detests interference of other clans and factions in his beloved Dean's Institute."

"Regardless of which option he chooses, there is only one outcome: his own demise. We will solve two problems with one stone. Just make sure Aurora remains unaware of the plan."

" Enforcer, you will be responsible for carrying out this task. Ensure he is well-informed of our offer," the Grand Elder concluded, dismissing the enforcer from the meeting room.