Battle Of Gamblers, Genius-VS-Genius

Time passed fast. 

Under Marcus's intensive research and his own hard work in magic cultivation, the Golem Technique had finally reached level-4.

[Golem Technique: Level-4 (Progress: 1%)]

"Phew, I've finally succeeded..." Marcus finally heaved a sigh of relief when he received the system's notification in the morning.

He hadn't had a good night's sleep because he had been practicing and studying the Golem Technique.

Today was the day that Marcus and Ken had agreed to compete.

They had agreed beforehand that they would not create golems in advance.

Therefore, Marcus went to the agreed location with Ken early to see if the materials were ready.

Although Marcus thought that Ken was a genius, wasn't he one too?

Moreover, his magic was self-disciplined, and he took the initiative to practice.

This time, Marcus was full of confidence and would definitely win this bet.

Ken must lose!

Be it Ken's medicinal skills or the Leicester family's profits, Marcus would not give up on them because he needed money and skills to become stronger.

The gust of wind blew through the rows of trees, and the leaves slowly fell and floated to Marcus' feet.

Marcus looked up and saw Ken standing in the distance.

"Today is the day. He's finally here," muttered Ken. "Marcus seems very confident. It seems like he came prepared."

'However, Marcus, you are absolutely not my match. I'm also a genius. I'm more experienced than you, and I've experimented more than you.

'In terms of assembling golems, I might not be better than you, but in terms of my potion-making skills' speed and quality, you will never be better than me...'

"Let's begin," Ken said to Marcus after the servants arranged the pieces of wood.

Marcus nodded.

Then, the two began to use magic to assemble the golems.

The earth began to shake, while the wood began to turn into a human shape.

Ken and Marcus used the same time to create their golems, at most a few seconds.

Ken was inwardly happy because Marcus' biggest advantage lay in his speed of creating the golem. Since he and Marcus were almost equally fast, Ken would dominate the potion-making round. It was his domain, after all.

Therefore, in this competition, Marcus had already lost!

'You had this round's advantage, yet you didn't beat me. You still wish to beat me in my element? What a joke, impossible!'

The two of them began to concoct their potions.

However, when Ken saw Marcus' golem refining the potion at breakneck speed, he felt doubtful. 

'Refining potion at such a fast speed? Are you already throwing in the towel?'

He had seen countless types of pharmacists refine potion since he was young. There was usually only one outcome when refining potions at such a speed—the bottle would explode, and the experiment would fail!

Ken stopped thinking about it. Instead, he decided to respect Marcus and this competition.

Ken was not careless and chose to treat this competition seriously. Hence, he still cautiously controlled the golem to start refining the potion.

The fire rose, the fire was extinguished, and the potion aroma drifted in the air.

The fire was like a black dragon entering the sea, once again stirring up waves in the bottle.

'It can actually keep up with my speed?' Ken glanced at Marcus' golem and could not help but praise in his heart, 'Not bad, but compared to me, you are still a little lacking.'

"As long as I keep controlling the fire, then my potion will be considered a success." Ken smiled and said, "Marcus, you have already—"

Just as he was about to say that, a fire dragon suddenly shot out of the bottle, bringing with it a violent storm.

The potion bottle was intact.

[The host has experienced a new potion-making method. The Golem Technique is amazing. The practice speed has increased by 100%. The current progress is 98%!]

Marcus looked at the flabbergasted Ken. "Mr. Ken, you have lost..."

Ken did not continue using the golem to finish his potion. Instead, he stood there foolishly and looked at Marcus. He kept muttering, "How is it possible, how is it possible?"

"Mr. Ken, do you want to know?"

"Yes."

"That's because I don't follow the usual path." Marcus smiled and explained, "In terms of refining potions, I can't compare to you. However, I did not follow the potion-making textbook method. Instead, I invented one myself."

"Hehe, I lost. I completely lost." Ken also smiled at Marcus in response.

"It doesn't matter. We sparred in order to improve." Marcus then added, "Don't forget our agreement."

"Definitely. Not only that, but I must also make 10 golems this week and use them to make 100 bottles of potion!"

...

In the following days, Ken taught Marcus the potion-making methods he had learned, while Marcus imparted his knowledge and insights of the Golem Technique to Ken.

Ken was very grateful and decided to make a large number of golems to refine potions so that he could properly repay Marcus.

During these few days, Marcus continued to practice.

[The Golem Technique practiced on its own, current progress 100%!]

"System!"

[Host: Marcus

Realm: Level-5 Archmage

Skills:

Explosive Fireball: Extremely Skilled (Unable to Level Up)

Wind Blade: Level-10 (Progress: 91%)

Shadow Flash: Level-10 (Progress: 85%)

Earth Shield: Extremely Skilled (Unable to Level Up)

Lightning Strike: Level-8 (Progress: 50%)

Golem Technique: Level-5 (max.)

Heart of Nightmare (Passive): Absorption Completed (Unable to Level Up)

Nightmare Eye: Absorption Completed (Unable to Level Up)

God of War Physique: Level-1 (Progress: 30%)]

'The Golem Technique finally maxed out!'

Moreover, he had also become a level-5 advanced mage, or an archmage by the system's standards.

Marcus was extremely excited. His efforts over the past few days had not been in vain.

However, Ken's guidance was instrumental in helping him master the Golem Technique so quickly!

"It's just that..."

Marcus saw that the God of War Physique was actually level-one.

Usually, the system would not mention the cultivation speed and progress of the God of War Physique.

Could it be that this was similar to the Nightmare skillset? Not only did it have no emotions, but it was also passive rather than active?

Marcus did not think too much about it. He took a bag of money, went to buy some herbs, and then began to make potions.

Marcus spent half of his day practicing magic and the other half refining and drinking potions.

Marcus felt that he would definitely become a great mage in less than three years!

The more he thought about it, the more excited he became. He was about to fulfill his parents' last wish.

In this world, where the strong preyed on the weak, Marcus was finally going to join the ranks of the strong!