The Challenger's Return: Rebirth of the Rainbow Mage

Otto kept one eye on the progress of the chase as he continued to draw arrays.

A few hundred life signatures appeared in Otto's mental image.

Among them included almost a hundred lone life signatures littered throughout the trap circle Otto had imagined in his mind.

They didn't seem to be affiliated with any of the current factions.

Frankly, it didn't matter. Since these lone Throskarts had arrived, they could only be victims to Otto's schemes.

Other than that, there was one lone signature moving rapidly in a sharp zig-zag motion.

Six hundred additional signatures were spread out into a vague semi-circle behind the lone signature, chasing with all their might.

Somehow, they were still unable to catch up.

Otto breathed a small sigh of relief when he discovered that the thief in the lead was really too good at running around.

The mob hadn't even come close to approaching him yet.

Still, with six hundred people chasing, even Otto thought it was only a matter of time…

Otto continued drawing arrays with methodical, almost machine-like precision.

Through repetition, his speed began to increase, too.

Otto never spent more than five seconds drawing and modifying the arrays, and it never took him more than ten seconds to sprint to the following location.

Part of the reason he was so fast was because he was starting from previously prepared array formations, and only making minor modifications from there.

The other part was that he ran hellishly fast.

Fortunately, the fish he was catching weren't swimming in a straight line.

They didn't have a chance of escaping his net.

The array formation Otto chose was, as usual, a modification of a basic array.

It was called the [Barrier Array], and it did exactly as its name suggested.

It formed a large, wide barrier, blocking anything from getting inside or out.

The basic version ran 50 meters long and 2 meters high.

It formed an invisible wall separating two sides from each other.

This array had a tendency to be used as a last-ditch form of protection for a military line, or a cheap method to buy time to stave off an attack until reinforcements could arrive.

Of course, Otto's version was not merely the typical basic array.

Unlike the generic versions, which lasted an hour and could be used once, Otto's version lasted for only half an hour but could be used five times in total.

The reason their per-use duration was halved was because the power required was much higher.

Otto's arrays spanned 200 meters and were four meters high.

They were similarly invisible, but the clincher was actually an extra effect Otto had added: they reflected all the damage done to them.

This property wasn't much use if the barrier was shot from a far. With greater distance, it became less effective.

However, if one crashed into it up close, it wielded an astonishing might.

Not only would it feel like running into concrete at a high speed (moreover, the wall was completely invisible), but the damage from the crash would then be reflected again!

As if the concrete wouldn't let you go, so it turned around and smashed into you.

Otto's goal was to set up an invisible fence that spanned the entire perimeter of the area to make sure that every Throskart in the vicinity would remain here… forever.

Letting go of these points that basically delivered themselves to him on a platter was simply not Otto's style.

He continuously sprinted from location to location, slowly forming a tight barrier-wall-net with all of these Throskarts at the center.

After each array he set down, Otto also cast [Sense Life] to determine the location of the mob and the thief.

The distance between the two parties continued to widen.

At this instant, a change occurred!

Edward raised his right hand high into the air.

It seemed to be a signal to his subordinates.

All of a sudden, with a deafening VROOSH, a fire started with astonishing momentum in a broad semi-circle far in front of the three groups.

Trees burned wildly; the intensity of the flames continuing to heighten from the natural fuel the trees provided.

A half ring of fire surrounded the thief's presumed location.

Edward couldn't resist sending Lefwyne and Aluerad a smug glance, as if to say,

'While you were still running around like scrubs, look what I put together!'

Both men glanced over coldly and promptly ignored him.

As he glanced at the fire, a brief but unreadable emotion flickered through Aluerad's gaze, gone as quickly as it came.

But just when Lefwyne and Edward prepared to fight amongst themselves in a final showdown, all three men heard a series of loud footsteps, accompanied by loud, unrestrained laughter.

Only, it hadn't come from the direction of the fire at all!

Edward's face darkened, and he immediately understood the implication.

It was unknown how he had done it, but the thief had evaded his trap.

The chase would have to continue.

This time, neither Lefwyne nor Aluerad was in the mood to laugh at Edward.

The longer the chase went on, the more variables would appear.

They had to quickly get hold of the coin!

All three glanced at each other and began to feel the gravity of the situation.

An order came down to their subordinates,

"Continue to chase!"

Otto also breathed a small sigh of relief at the failure of the Throskarts' plan.

He didn't want to intervene just yet!

Otto silently continued working, his speed continuously increasing as the minutes passed.

He also kept an eye on the situation further in.

However, after he was around three quarters of the way finished completing his arrays, he began to notice something odd about the whole situation.

It wasn't the mob of Throskarts that were suspicious.

No, it was the 'thief'.

He outpaced the entire mob with his speed while his stealth tool hid him from view.

By all rights, he should have long escaped.

But Otto realized that when he was too far ahead, the thief would instead slow down and move into a winding horizontal zig-zag pattern.

A horizontal zig-zag pattern that didn't suit his supposed purpose of rapid escape at all.

Moreover, there was something else that was alarming to Otto's senses.

The lone Throskarts in the area that Otto hadn't paid much attention to were slowly forming themselves into a group.

Individually, these Throskarts were all rather strong.

Otto had previously assumed that they had also heard the news of the high value coin and wanted to try their luck.

But now, they were coming together in teams. The process was smooth, as if it was previously planned.

They slowly gathered at a specific location.

It was set between two hills, forming a very shallow canyon type terrain in the middle of two haphazard lines of trees.

In this forest ring, a location like this was the perfect spot for an ambush.

Otto pondered for a minute.

'A thief that isn't escaping as fast as he could, and a group of supposed individuals gathering together at the location for a perfect ambush…'

Otto grew more and more surprised the more he thought about it.

All was not as it seemed in this forest.

There were two possibilities for the thief's behavior.

One was that the ambushers were working together against the thief and wanted to take the coin for themselves.

But how would they know the thief would head to that exact location?

Unless….

Otto's face froze for a second.

The ambush wasn't for the thief at all.

And the thief who had supposedly been 'escaping' was not actually escaping, but instead looked to be…buying time?

His chosen route would also directly lead the mob into the ambush that consisted of another almost one hundred 'lone' Throskarts.

An alarming thought flashed across his mind.

Otto abruptly jumped up from his position.

Were the thief and these ambushers…working together?

Yes, if there was a fourth group that had secretly entered the area, whose goal was also to steal the 100,000 point coin…

Otto's thoughts turned.

As his analyses came to an end, Otto laughed with vigor and a tinge of helplessness.

He was forced to admit.

The mastermind of this plan was much more intelligent than his usual enemies.

Perhaps he would also have done the same thing.

But…what is the thief buying time for?

The thief could have simply led the mob directly into the ambush, without taking all these detours and putting himself into danger.

When he came to that thought, Otto's eyes widened.

His expression was slightly stunned.

He then turned around and doubled his speed in setting up the arrays.

He no longer bothered doing mental calculations to make a barrier with absolutely no gap.

It was time to favor efficiency over perfection!

Because it was possible that the thief that everyone was chasing after…wasn't the real thief who was holding the coin.

He was only a decoy!

A decoy used to secure the escape of the real thief with the 100,000 point coin!

The beginnings of a scheme organized themselves in Otto's mind.

One person pretends to steal the coin and escapes into the forest.

This Throskart must not only be strong, but also cunning and fast.

This person lures the mob behind to follow him by occasionally 'accidentally' revealing his tracks.

After he reaches a suitable distance, he hands the real coin off to another person, who flees in a different direction.

Then, he continues to lead his pursuers by the nose while still under the effect of a powerful, consumable stealth, only revealing the tracks he intends to reveal.

In order to buy time for the real holder of the coin to escape.

It looked like the mastermind was similar to him; he intended to both harvest the 100,000 points from the high-value coin, and the points of every Throskart in the forest!

Otto's movements revealed a new sense of urgency.

Every second he delayed was an additional second for the real thief to escape!

Otto would be damned if he'd let some random nobody take something that he deemed as his own.

He would catch both the six hundred fish and the coin in one fell swoop.

His eyes blazed with fighting spirit.

Two could play at scheming.

Mastermind, bring it on!