My System Just Exploded, And You Ask Me to Become a God?-Chapter 65 --Standing Above the Rest

But if it wasn’t his good-for-nothing father supporting him from the shadows... then who was it?

Joad thought and thought, and in the end, he could only come up with Lena and the one backing her—Duke Blazefury.

That theory wasn’t very convincing, but it was already enough.

Because even aside from those uncertain factors, he still had Senior Leit!

As long as this Trial of the Luminous Pearl went smoothly, then Leit’s entry into the Pyrothian Kingdom would be all but guaranteed.

And if Leit could one day establish ties with high-ranking figures like Duke Blazefury—or even the Crimsonflame Marquis—then that would mean Joad himself would also gain powerful connections in the Pyrothian Kingdom.

By then, would anyone in the Luminous Pearl Kingdom still dare provoke him? Could they even afford to?

The more he thought about it, the more confident Joad felt.

Meanwhile, on the mountain peak ahead of him, the multicolored light radiating from the seven-layered magic arrays gradually dimmed.

All the reckless fools who had rushed into the magic arrays were quickly extracted by the observers.

At the center of the array, Leit finally turned around to face the crowd.

And the moment his gaze swept over everyone, a wave of inexplicable dread washed over them—everyone except for Joad.

Even without making any visible move, Leit’s very presence seemed to merge with the surrounding mana—he was the mana.

There was no doubt about it—he had grown stronger once again.

But Leit himself didn’t seem particularly excited.

Instead, he shot Joad a strange, slightly suspicious glance.

After all, every breakthrough in mana affinity level for an array mage came with extreme danger.

That much was obvious from the wounds on Count Greypine’s son... and from the other injured prodigies of the Luminous Pearl Kingdom who had gotten caught up in the backlash.

Were they simply too weak? Or did they not use their magical items properly?

No. In terms of power, each of them could be considered outstanding talents within the Luminous Pearl Kingdom.

Not to mention, Crown Prince Belzebuth had used an elite-tier magical item specifically reserved for members of the royal family.

And yet... even with such items, and with the combined efforts of so many skilled individuals, they had still been crushed by the backlash of residual mana.

Leit couldn’t help but wonder—what if he had faced all of that alone?

Injury would’ve been inevitable.

He might have even severely damaged his core mana, and been unable to return to his current state for a long time.

But in the end, all of those consequences... were shouldered by the youth of the Luminous Pearl Kingdom.

At first, Leit had thought Joad’s actions—bringing others along—were just in line with his usual carefree personality back at the academy.

But now, when he reconsidered everything in detail... what if none of it was accidental?

What if Joad had planned it all from the very beginning?

That possibility was terrifying.

Leit continued staring at Joad, his gaze unwavering.

As if he wanted to pierce through him—to see straight to the bottom of his soul.

He wasn’t the only one staring.

Crown Prince Belzebuth stood there, veins bulging on his forehead, his lips bleeding from biting them too hard.

"Joad! You’ll pay with your life for what you’ve done to them!"

His roar echoed like a beast’s cry.

Belzebuth had always liked gathering young talents around him. And those who died inside the magic array just now... were almost all his supporters.

How could he not be furious?

Just then, some of the observers—those secretly bribed by the crown prince beforehand—began to stir.

One by one, they subtly moved toward Joad, clearly intending to kill him before anyone could stop them.

Third Prince Baphomet, standing nearby, instantly sensed what was happening.

He raised a hand, signaling the knights hidden in the shadows—his personal guards—to move in and protect Joad.

At this moment, Baphomet wasn’t just thinking of himself.

He was thinking of the entire Luminous Pearl Kingdom.

Protecting Joad would not only preserve peace between the Luminous Pearl and Ilan kingdoms, but also pin the blame squarely on the crown prince.

More than that, he might even get a chance to befriend the legendary Leit and gain the trust of Ilan Royal Academy.

Three birds with one stone.

But just as both sides were about to make their move—

A black magic array, of strange and intricate design, suddenly spread outward from Joad’s position.

It expanded rapidly, radiating with a menacing and eerie mana.

Those observers who had attempted to strike Joad were instantly repelled by the magic array and blasted away.

A few extremists who tried to resist and stay inside the array were quickly overwhelmed—devoured by the array’s power.

Within moments, they were absorbed and vanished without a trace—not even a scrap of mana remained.

The ones who had been knocked back tried to charge in again.

But the black magic array was far too powerful.

Combined with the injuries they’d already sustained from the earlier array, they found themselves completely unable to breach the barrier.

Instead, the array’s automatic defense system tore them to pieces, leaving them covered in wounds.

Then, a calm but thunderous voice rang out from within the black array:

"This is just a warning. If anyone else tries to harm Joad, I won’t hesitate to switch the array to a kill mode."

At the center of the black array, Leit’s figure slowly emerged.

But this time, his entire presence had changed.

He no longer looked like a mage relying on external mana to condense a magic array.

Now, he was like a being completely fused with the surrounding energy—a vessel of mana itself.

And this unique phenomenon... could only be achieved by an elite-rank mage!

"Elite rank?!"

"No way... Leit has already reached elite rank?!"

No one present was blind.

The black magic array he had formed just now was enough to resist several elite-rank observers.

That alone proved Leit’s strength had stepped into the elite threshold.

Belzebuth stood there, stunned, staring at Leit with disbelief and hesitation in his eyes.

As for Clark, the fellow array mage, he was in a terrible mood.

The black magic array was too overpowering.

The instant it appeared, he saw with his own eyes as his carefully reconstructed tri-layered magic array shattered like glass.

This meant that almost all the surrounding mana suitable for array condensation had been absorbed by the black array—submitting entirely to Leit’s control.

And that... was a miracle only achievable by an array mage who had reached mana affinity level 7!

"Level 7..."

Clark stood in a daze, muttering like he was sleep-talking.

"Level 7... How could it be level 7?! He’s even younger than me! How could he already reach level 7?!"

And honestly, his shock was justified.

Compared to raising one’s base mana to elite rank, increasing an array mage’s mana affinity level was far more arduous and demanding.

Using mana and earning its willing submission were two entirely different concepts.

Throughout history, countless array mages had spent their entire lives studying mana affinity.

Yet only a rare few ever made a real breakthrough.

But Leit, so young, had already raised his mana affinity level to 7.

He’d even caused the surrounding mana to submit instinctively to his presence.

At this very moment, Leit’s power was undeniable.

He stood at the absolute peak of the Luminous Pearl Kingdom.

One could even say—without exaggeration—that he stood above all others.