My System Just Exploded, And You Ask Me to Become a God?-Chapter 63 --Oh No, We’re the Scapegoats!

"Break!"

Just as Belzebuth stepped into the seven-layered magic array, a translucent shell of radiant white light gently emerged around him.

It was a protective magic item—one reserved for members of the royal family.

Everyone nearby quickly squeezed toward Belzebuth, seeking shelter under the protection of the mana shield.

At the same time, countless phantoms of grotesque magical beasts began appearing in every direction.

Some slashed with claws, others bit with fangs—doing everything in their power to tear at the protective shell.

The more timid among the group had already started trembling in fear at the sight.

Even the braver ones looked pale. After all, magical beasts were things they had only seen in captivity before.

But the spectral, feral, and utterly irrational magical beasts appearing before their eyes now?

They had never even heard of such creatures.

Belzebuth narrowed his eyes. He didn’t bother to look at the magical beast phantoms attacking from outside.

Instead, he fixed his gaze on the mana shield conjured by the magic item.

According to the developers at the Royal Pearl Institute of Magical Artifacts, this Luminous Pearl Barrier should be able to withstand a full-force blow from a high-tier elite mage.

Yet Belzebuth had only taken a few steps into the seven-layered magic array... and he already noticed faint cracks forming on the surface of the barrier.

"How is this possible...? Leit hasn’t even made a move himself. Are these mana guardians alone powerful enough to shatter my Luminous Pearl Barrier?!"

The more he thought about it, the more something felt off.

After all, no matter how extraordinary Leit was, he was still of the same generation as them—young geniuses of the Luminous Pearl Kingdom.

Their levels weren’t supposed to differ that much.

More importantly, Leit hadn’t even turned to face them. He was sitting with his back to them, right in the center of the magic array!

In other words, he didn’t even have the desire to fight.

He merely set up a few magic arrays... and that alone had pushed them to the brink?!

While Belzebuth and his group struggled within the magic array, Joad suddenly turned around and led Ivy quickly back down the mountain trail. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Harvey, standing nearby, saw this and immediately followed.

Just then, the seven-layered magic array around Leit began to flicker rapidly.

The number of magical beast phantoms had tripled compared to earlier!

Even more bizarre, the beasts were gradually dissolving—fading away, shedding their forms—until they reverted to their most primal state: residual mana.

Everyone watching was bewildered.

"Wait a second... these aren’t Leit’s mana guardians?!"

"Damn it! That little bastard Joad already ran off!"

A sharp-eyed youth shouted, pointing at Joad as he continued to flee into the distance.

Clark froze.

He glanced at the multicolored layers of the seven-layered magic array around them.

Then looked at Leit, who sat at the center completely unbothered and relaxed.

In an instant, everything clicked.

"We’ve all been played by that Joad bastard!"

"Huh?!"

Everyone turned sharply, all eyes locking onto Clark.

Clark swallowed hard, furrowing his brow as he said,

"Yes, this magic array was condensed by Leit...

But! This is a breakthrough magic array used to increase one’s mana affinity level! I knew something felt off about it being seven-layered!"

Everyone stood stunned.

Though most of them weren’t array mages, they still understood the basics of magic arrays.

Once an array mage’s mana affinity level reaches level 5, advancing further requires condensing a breakthrough magic array.

During that process, certain forms of mana that are harder to absorb would be rejected and become residual mana.

Those mana remnants would then lash out at the array mage, turning hostile.

The higher the level, the more deadly the backlash.

Meanwhile, the third prince—Baphomet—overheard the crowd’s conversations as he walked alongside Joad.

He turned to Joad with a surprised expression, finally realizing something.

Everything Joad had done earlier at the banquet hall... wasn’t improvised at all.

The provocation at the banquet, the jabs at Clark and the crown prince, the invitation to "compete" on the mountain—

It had all been part of a carefully laid trap.

Joad’s true goal wasn’t to duel Leit—it was to get these proud geniuses of the Luminous Pearl Kingdom to help Leit shoulder the deadly backlash of his breakthrough array!

...

"No—don’t—stay away!"

"Aaaah! My hand!"

"Let me go, you monsters—you’re not even human!"

The crown prince’s Luminous Pearl Barrier was now on the verge of collapse.

Several of the weaker youths were already being dragged out from under the shield by the residual mana beasts.

Their tendons were torn, bones crushed, mana completely drained—their fates unimaginably brutal.

Agonized screams and tearful pleas echoed through the air, filling the space with the sounds of a living hell.

But mana remnants didn’t possess the most basic human empathy.

They acted solely on instinct—devouring mana, endlessly.

Array mages were rare for a reason.

The path was perilous. It was fraught with deadly trials.

But those who survived...

Their potential far exceeded that of any ordinary mage.

As this thought crossed Joad’s mind, he slowly turned back and glanced at the youths still struggling hopelessly in the center of the seven-layered magic array.

The backlash from level 7 mana affinity... wasn’t actually that lethal.

But for these up-and-coming stars—barely initiated on their paths as formal mages—it was absolutely a deadly trial.

Beside him, Ivy stood frozen in shock, her mouth agape, unable to form words.

Her older brother Harvey wore a grim expression.

He felt that Joad’s actions had disgraced House Whide’s honor.

And yet... Joad had done all of this for one purpose:

To help Leit improve his mana affinity level.

That contradiction gnawed at him—and couldn’t be easily reconciled.

The one most astonished, however, was undoubtedly the third prince.

In the Luminous Pearl Kingdom, he prided himself on being a master of strategy—someone who could maneuver between major noble houses without ever getting hurt.

Yet even he would never dare use the kingdom’s most brilliant youths as pawns in such a bold scheme.

But Joad had done it.

And not only had he done it, he’d manipulated their arrogance to aid his own allies.

The prince hadn’t seen it coming at all.

He couldn’t help but feel a bit of admiration for Joad’s brilliance.

A moment later, Joad let out a quiet sigh and turned his gaze toward the base of the mountain.

A few shadowy figures stood there, silently observing.

Joad knew who they were—supervisors from the Nova Banquet’s organizing committee.

They were there to monitor the performance of the candidates in secret.

And yet... even with the chaos unfolding before them, not a single one of them had made a move.

Joad felt a twinge of disappointment.

From what he could sense, these supervisors were exceptionally powerful.

One of them, he was almost certain, was an archmage.

Most likely...

A trusted confidant sent by the Crimsonflame Marquis to secretly protect Vanessa.