Not letting up for a second, Lucas cast Static Web the second Wind Wall timed out. The Static Web hit Lagrand before he could even stand up, and electricity sizzled out in all directions, following the flow of water. Before Lucas could fire another spell, Lagrand cast a spell that sent a ripple through the ground. The shockwave tore up the floorboards as it sped forward, tossing furniture away from its four-foot-high crest.

Crap, that’s a super-high-level spell, the damn cheater, Lucas cursed. The electricity from his Static Web was completely nullified by the rising mound of magically generated dirt, and with nothing else to do, Lucas cast Earthen Wall right under his feet just before the wave hit. The wall sprung up from the floor, carrying him upward and away from the impending rush of earth. Just before he collided with the ceiling, Lucas jumped off and rolled away, taking 12 points of damage as he struck the ground. He immediately bolted to his feet and looked around for Liu, and he was shocked to see her both unscathed and with her weapon in hand. Most surprisingly, however, was the fact that she was holding a rapier, the classic weapon of the nobility.

Legrand's second Earthen Wave spread out around him, and Lucas summoned another Earthen Wall and used the exact same tactic to dodge this wave as he had the first. Liu effortless jumped over the four-foot-high wave, spinning in the air like an anime heroine as she landed gracefully on the other side of the ripple and started running forward.

Unfortunately for Liu, she didn’t make much progress. Lagrand threw out another cheat-level spell, Frozen Fortress. Three massive tower-shaped shields of Ice appeared in mid-air, blocking her advance. The spell forced her to dart back and wait for a gap to appear in the floating barricade. Just as the opportunity presented itself, however, a burning whip of flame snapped through from the other side. The whip was another upper-level spell, which one would normally never see on noob island. Liu dodged to the side, but she wasn’t able to fully evade the blow. The fiery cord lashed her side, cutting straight through her armor and leaving a deep mark on her flesh.

Liu jumped out of the way of the second and third whip cracks, but as soon as she was about to launch her counter-attack, one of the three floating shields interposed itself between her and Lagrand, effectively preventing both Liu and Lucas from doing anything while providing a moment of respite for Lagrand.