With that out of the way, Xzavier could now focus on the fight at hand. He reassessed the new situation and adjusted appropriately. This was a fight that had the potential to turn into an honest battle. Since he had been training for quite a while now, he had been itching for a way to test out the limits of his new gear. All those weeks of practicing had him fawning for the perfect chance to try out his training.

At first, it had seemed like this was going to be another boring beat down. He assumed that it would be one of those cases where he would thrash the enemies and they wouldn't be able to do anything. But as it stood, his enemy was proving to be a worthy opponent. Xzavier could already feel a qualitative change in the strategy and form of the battle due to the presence of magic. This element now added a new flavor to the mix.

One of the new unfathomable surprises was the nature of the flames. Xzavier tried his best to wrap his head around it, but he couldn't understand why the mage could morph into a flame in one place, but then emerged out of the fireball. It looked like he was creating illusions. If Xzavier hadn't been close enough to the searing heat, he would have thought the mage was simply conjuring up images.

With all these uncertainties swinging in place, Xzavier decided to kick it up a notch. Playing defense and relying on his new improved speed wasn't enough. If he wanted to gain the advantage of staying on top of things, he had to play offense. Right now, his regular pistol wasn't going to cut it, the battle had reached the stage where a real weapon could be deployed. So, Xzavier took out his gatling.

On a normal day, Xzavier wouldn't just whip out a weapon like the gatling just like that. He would usually take some time to prep it for the battle ahead so it could be in perfect shape to be used for the situation at hand. Xzavier couldn't resist the powerful recoil of the gatling. But the 'custom black fitting suit' changed everything. Now, because of the technical brilliance of this new tech, he didn't need to go through all of that tedious process just to use the gatling. He could now use it at any given time.

Also, it was now evident that this mage was an enemy that wasn't going to be easy to kill. From the beginning, and right up till the present moment, he had proven himself twice over to be a formidable opponent. He could definitely take the gatling. At least that was what Xzavier wanted to believe. Outwardly, as always, he was maintaining a cool front. But inside, he was getting excited about this battle.As Xzavier held on to the gatling, a thought crossed his mind right as he was about to begin to shoot. So he looked across the field and spoke to his opponent;

"You'd better tighten up your defenses! I promise you, this beautiful piece of weaponry is a lot more destructive than the previous one!"

It wasn't Xzavier's intention to giveaway his surprise. He knew that the mage was more than capable of withstanding the attack. But, he just didn't want to take any chances. If the mage made the mistake of assuming that the gatling packed the same destructive power with his pistol, then it would be all over much sooner than he would have liked. That was something he wasn't willing to risk. He hadn't taken his fill of the battle yet. It couldn't be over just yet. Hence, the warning.

The mage was no fool. He wasn't familiar with modern weaponry, but his common sense told him that if Xzavier's previous weapon had been trouble, this one was definitely going to be much bigger trouble. So, when Xzavier called out to him and told him to strengthen his defenses, he knew that this was no bluff. The sheer size of the gatling, coupled with the fact that it was a mean looking weapon, told the mage all he needed to know. So, he prepared for the destruction that was to come.

Judging from the effectiveness of his shield against Xzavier's first attack, he knew that he had made the right call at the time. So, it made more sense to stay on the defense. The only thing was he needed to make sure that his defensive shield was much stronger. So, after eyeballing Xzavier's gatling, the level five mage began to harness as much mana as he could in a bid to strengthen the defensive strength of his barrier. Anxious about what was to come, he planted his feet firmly on the ground and waited.

The second level of the showdown was about to begin. Both men knew this. The first part had been pretty eventful, but it was more like an introduction. It had been kind of like an appetizer, and it seemed like the main dish was about to be served.

Xzavier still wasn't sure that the mage had taken his threats seriously. So, just in case it ended up going south, he decided to target a non-lethal part of the mage, and test his defense. Xzavier was serious about not killing this mage. It was the most fun he had had in a while. Also, since he had never battled a mage of this level before, he wasn't in a hurry to exterminate him. He wanted to savor the knowledge that would translate to added experience. Just in case he was to battle another mage of this level in future.

As Xzavier let loose the first round of bullets, a crack appeared on the mask of the mage's tough facial expression. It turned out that Xzavier hadn't been joking after all. This was a significantly more destructive weapon. The first didn't even come close to the kickback he was getting from this new weapon. In actuality, the first bullet hit the shield and bounced back. The mage's shield remained sturdy and unbreakable.

But because the mage's shield was also lined with a sensory membrane on the outer layer, the mage was able to feel the full effect of the bullet. From the transmitted information, the mage was able to successfully deduce the degree of damage it could have done to an ordinary mage or man who had no shield or barrier whatsoever. It was incontestable, the damage would have been irreparable. Death would have been sure.

But of course, that was just the first bullet. With each bullet that slammed into his shield, the mage was able to feel the incredible amount of pressure coming from Xzavier. He was more amazed than ever. Here was a man who couldn't practice magic, and yet, he had been able to unlock such an awesome destructive power. it was so efficient that he was able to go toe to toe with a level five mage.

Much to his surprise, the kickback from the effect of Xzavier's mysterious weapon began to push him back, despite his shield blocking it. The attacks became more vicious and more relentless. The bombardment continued, forcing him to keep moving back. His retreat was involuntary. It was purely as a result of the pressure from his enemy's invisible and yet present attack.

Even if he wanted to do something, in that very moment, crouched behind his own shield like a coward hiding from a bully, the level five mage couldn't do anything but wait out the storm.

The mage wasn't the only one that was surprised. Xzavier was completely captivated by the extent magic could be used. Now the gatling was a very powerful weapon. Even with a bulletproof Kevlar vest, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that stopping a single bullet from a gatling was almost impossible. Even if it did, the blowback on the wearer would be significant.

In this case, the use of magic to stop his stream of bullets was nothing short of amazing. Not only had it been able to take one single bullet, as Xzavier intentionally let out rounds on the mage, he saw firsthand how seemingly unbothered the shield had been, in response to the heavy bombardment.

While Xzavier amused himself with the way magic was being used creatively, he also came to the conclusion that this particular mage was quite different. He already suspected this right from the start, but this experiment with his gatling further showed that he was indeed a genius. Before he allowed himself to be carried away, Xzavier looked closer to see if he could find any dents on the seemingly impenetrable shield. He smiled to himself when his eyes went to the mage's feet.

The mage was doing his best to hide it, but as Xzavier kept applying pressure on him and his shield, he saw that he was slowly backing up, most likely as a result of the intense pressure of the gatling. It was possible that this was the mage's limit. A dark thought crossed Xzavier's mind in that moment. He shook it off violently;

"No! An RPG would waste him completely! He would be obliterated where he stands! No RPG!"

If this was some other situation. He would have rolled out an RPG already. But Xzavier was really worried that he might end up killing him by mistake. It was a risk he was simply not willing to take.

But unfortunately, like the mythical Icarus who flew too close to the sun, and got his wings melted off, Xzavier's overconfidence made him forget the first flaw about modern weapons- they always run out of bullets. He was about to be served a big bowl of this reminder.