Beast Taming? Nah, Dragon Herding is Way Better!

Standing in place as they continue watching the barrier of purely devouring flame approaching their location, the freshmen couldn't help but shiver a bit in terror as this is the first time that they witnessed magic of this scale.

"Did I make the wrong choice?"

As the question that previously rang in all of their minds once again reminds them of the dreadful spell threatening to inflict great injuries, if not certain death upon them, those freshmen who decided that it is worth remaining here trying to brace for the impact were shaken even more as they witness the flames seemingly increasing in intensity even more, now affecting the surroundings even without direct contact with the flames.

Whatever rock it is that composes the spires, previously torn apart by the emperor-like young man's spell that he sent towards the first person who attacked him, are now in a strange state, barely retaining its solid form as the nearby barrier of scorching flames gradually turns it into something more of a liquid than anything else, melting away and falling right at the very bottom of the arena the closer the barrier got to them.

Realizing just how much danger even coming into contact with this peculiar spell is, these remaining target of Diluc's attack starts to panic as the possibilities of death starts surfacing within their minds, all of them single-mindedly deciding that it would be way better to just accept their defeat and the reality that they won't be able to enter the Primaria Class rather than risking everything for an immaterial glory and reputation of standing up to this monster of a batchmate they have.

With bodies shaking in panic as they felt that their legs, despite their urging and clear desire to forfeit the competition, seemingly doesn't want to move a single centimeter, these freshmen can do nothing but try and scream their hearts out to make their desire to forfeit the competition known, a thing that made their opponent all the more formidable to anyone else's eyes as everyone here knows that each student competing for the Primaria Class are students of their own, undeniable genius, people who have their own pride whenever comparing to anyone else branded as geniuses like them.

And for such prideful people to not only decide to team up on their peers previously, but also shout and declare surrender while pleading mercy of help right now says so much about how terrified they are when facing such a peculiar spell, so much that they can't even help themselves from just standing there, frozen in apparent terror that not even themselves can deny.

Such plead of help in the last second are also the thing that prevented them from being incapacitated and unable to attend the first week, if not couple of weeks of classes due to the injuries that they might sustain receiving an attack like that.

Hearing their surrender, the academy staffs responsible for the safety of every single participating students here immediately moves from their current position, reaching the spires where the emperor-like young man's remaining opponents are located, taking their frozen bodies away from the possible range of the barrier of flames with swiftness befitting of someone working in such a prestigious place like this, where they need to, at the very least, be stronger than most, if not all of the students.

Successfully taking those surrendering freshmen out of the arena, even those academy staff couldn't help but release a sigh of relief as they lay witness upon the destruction created by the spell that Diluc made to appear so easy to cast.

If there's anything they learned after all their years of being in this academy though, they know clearly well just what sort of difficult move the emperor-like young man managed to pull, an effect that can only be achieved if the caster of such spell is someone prodigiously gifted in terms of their control over mana, along with their core being able to hold such massive amount of mana as well.

While they are aware of some people capable of just that, they never expected such qualifications to be something that a freshman far younger than them is capable of attaining, making them wonder just what sort of monster this guy is for casting a spell like that.

"Fuck… that kid, what a monster…"

One of the academy staffs who had gone to the arena to rescue the freshmen muttered under their breath, looking at the majestic display of might the spherical wall of flames is creating, the vigorous, fiery red glow that just seems to pull anyone's eyes into it, the ardent yellow that seems to destroy everything in its path, perfectly melding to create a flame so simple yet complex that made even them, mages and martial artist of levels higher than most of the students of the academy, completely mesmerized for a few seconds.

"Heh… you also noticed it as well, didn't you?"

Another one of the rescuers, this one sounding more feminine than the previous person speaking, said with a fascinated tone in their voice, their eyes, obscured by the tinted lenses covering them, were shining brightly as if they just found something that is of total interest to them, something that the remaining rescuers notices as well.

"Who wouldn't? the bastard even singed my back a bit, how could that spell go unnoticed?"

Answering the feminine voice's question, another person said as they also watch the scenes in the arena unfold, the barrier of pure flames seemingly calming down now that there appears to be no more mana from attack and all sorts of sources, the lack of sustenance, even from the caster himself, making it weaker and weaker as moments goes by.

Should anyone else who are not part of the academy's teaching and assisting staff were to hear the things these academy staffs are talking about and manages to make sense of it, they would definitely be scared out of their minds, especially if they hear that other voice stating that their body are singed by an attack from a freshman, no matter the intensity of this is.

After all, there is a distinct difference in strength between academy staffs and even the strongest of the senior students, and the fact that these very same academy staffs, no matter how weak they might be in comparison to others, are somehow damaged by the spell of a person similarly a freshman like those that they rescued, means that the caster of the spell is already so terrifying despite his younger age, a thing that will make anyone wonder just how much more terrifying he will be in the future should he grow even further than that.

The young man these academy staffs were talking about however, is completely oblivious of the fact that these elites are practically looking at him now like some sort of outlier who seems to be way too powerful for a freshman, paying no mind to most of his surrounding at all as he is completely absorbed in the observing the attack he just did, prompting him to make the most out of the short remaining time it has before it completely disperses and returns to ambient mana in the air once again.

Sooner than everyone expected, the chaotic mess of dust, smoke and steam from the attack clears out, revealing the figure of the emperor-like young man standing right in a middle of a desolate region shaped into a sphere, the only thing still standing along with him being the spire he previously landed on, and aside from him, carried by this spire is the young man who instigated everyone in the vicinity to attack him, the very same young man now collapsed on the ground, kneeling on both knees as he looks at Diluc's figure with utter terror painted on the entirety of his face, his skin, paled from the lack of blood flow on it, just makes the expression of despair on his face all the more obvious to everyone with sharp eyes to see.

"Did you enjoy playing these little tricks of yours?"

Not even bothering to look at the kneeling figure on the ground, Diluc asked with a cold tone in his voice while walking all around, playing with a little tinder he conjured with magic in one of his fingers, making the flame dance according to his will, controlling it all too proficiently that it made the fire all the more lifelike, a feat of mana control all too impressive yet the person doing it just dismisses as something all to normal.

"…"

Unable to mutter any word, or even any semblance of sound at all, the young man merely opens his mouth while avoiding Diluc's gaze as much as possible, not because of anything else but the terror that the monster engraved on him as he watches such terrifying spell just materializing itself almost out of nothing, similar to how entry level spell is, and yet the power this spell packs is anything but normal, making not only him, but also everyone else watching the fight wonder whether they really are cultivating the same mana and magic at all.