Chapter 162 - Time to Work IV.
We commonly referred to Sid as the Hedgehog during training because each time danger reached a certain threshold, he turned into a real pain in the ass to deal with. His mobility plummets to almost nothing, while in exchange, barriers of earth make sure the mage huddled up within remains intact.
To be fair, walking away is the best way to counter him. Even now, my hands aren't forced to face off against him. Just a few probing strikes, then I can walk away without blatantly breaking any rules…
Although unlike during training, right now, the necklace is the only restriction placed upon me. No special rules about plasma or war crime demonstrations, no friendly agreements or Melana lying in wait to bite my head off…
"Fight as if your life depends on it." I warn my fellow student and narrow my eyes. "Because it might."
As if agreeing with my word, the sound of a bell echoes three times, following which the forest beyond the boundary and all the land beneath it begin to crumble. Because, of course, it's not a simple 'You're out, sit on the bench' thing, oh no, the ground just has to eat you.
Despite all my effort and scheming, I still lack another set of pins to move on to the next area. But this isn't as bad as it sounds at first. After all, everyone who made it this far must have at least three of those pretties on them.
Sid included.
His fighting spirit is commendable, as expected from a long line of military noblemen. He doesn't waver under my gaze, not for one bit, and begins reshaping the landscape to turn this battlefield into his own. The earth splits, walls and pillars rise, and in mere moments, a barren hellscape surrounds me.
Mostly because I allowed it to happen.
My main Class is still that of a dancer, waiting to bloom after this is all over. A dancer should be able to put on a splendid performance, no matter the stage. Or at least I hope this'll make up for all the time I spent cooped up in a corner.
Since the stage itself isn't mine, I have no choice but to dodge right off the bat. As claws of stone the size of a house tear through the surface to eliminate me, I quickly realize that he's been holding back all along. And not just now, but throughout the entire year.
[Mage lvl 126]
He's been working hard, honing his skills and pushing his magic to the limits… The weight on his shoulder must be tremendous.
Like waves in the furious storm, stone and dirt clash overhead and move to bury me alive faster than my tiny mage legs can carry me.
Indeed, flames can burn brighter as they grow and their powers reach new heights. Campfires turn into infernos, and an innocent zap awakens into an entire storm. But in the case of those wielding common matter, qualitative changes are rare. Instead, they rely on quantity.
"He's trying to actually crush me…" I grin, and the energy audibly pulses around me.
In a small circle, just below the cliff of stone rising above like a tsunami, I begin to dance to my rhythm. The beat of falling debris and erratic rumble matters little for my sharp steps and elevated mood. With each of my steps, the air buzzes, and every revolution invites another pulse like a roar of destruction.
As the shadows begin to creep over me, turning into a magnificent coffin, my circles come to life in sparks and flames. My magic hums along with me, tuning onto my frequency and singing the ode of chaos…
"Ah, I can't deny it… This is fun." I giggle.
And just when the world is about to completely enclose me, I bring my palms together, and the fusion blooms. Unlike my usual halo of incandescent, seething plasma, this time a lotus unfurls its petals around me.
My light banishes the suffocating dark and fills it with something much, much more sinister. With a simple step and a wave of my hand, a petal comes to life, elongating and lashing out against the stone with devastating effect. The subsequent shock almost hurls even my off my feet but fails to free me right away.
"Sturdy… I like it!"
Repeating the motion of stepping up my performance, the lotus blooms in earnest, and roars of explosion fill the air. Rarely do I engage in a duel of pure magical prowess, mainly because it's inefficient, but when I do…
Stone melts and shatters, licked by tongues of fire and ensnared by a web of electricity. Only void magic comes close to the destructiveness of plasma. That much is evident, since no matter how much the Sid's tomb of stone tries to push back, I just keep tearing the world apart without slowing down.
The violent shocks traveling through the air wipe away each droplet of sweat rolling down my face. I'm surrounded by lava and flames, but I'm burning hotter than any of that byproduct. At one point, Sid probably realizes that this battle is a losing one and stops resisting.
Mere moments later, the petals of my plasma lotus reach above the ledge and tear down the rest of the obstacles. I'm free once more, and the environment around me looks more devastated than any artistic picture of the depths of hell I've ever come across.
"Now, what else do you have?" I mutter and leave my circle of pristine patch of grass in the middle of all of this.
Sadly, I have to let go of my magical flower since it's literally devouring my mana. Instead, my attention turns to rolling the ground in front of my feet like a red carpet through the land of fire. Steep ledges and deep gashes line my path to my fellow gem of the Academy, however, the silhouette I notice through the haze and smoke isn't that of a scrawny spellslinger boy.
The frame is much larger, body robust and muscular, not to mention and mane of hair framing her piercing blue eyes.
"You really do have a talent for playing the role of a villain, you know? Every time you appear like some demon, not to mention this new nickname…" Valka rolls her shoulder and drops an unconscious Sid on the ground like a sack of potatoes. "Now that you have had your dramatic entrance… I hope you still have some mana left."
About twenty percent… Enough? Maybe if she rolls on her back and lets me land a few hits as a handicap. This also explains why my struggle against all that earth magic came to an abrupt halt.
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She's already bloody, which I find hard to comprehend, considering we're literally shielded. Burn marks, dirt, and slashes adorn her combat unfirm, while eight pins glimmer on her chest already.
She's clearly been hunting without much restraint.
"This is so uncool. Where's the honor and the thrill of the fight in this?" I try to reason with her pride as a warrior. "Does stealing my reward not feel hollow?"
"Nah. If it's you, I'd do it any day." She digs her fingers into a larger chunk of stone and rips it out of the ground. "Besides, I can't let those crazy buzzing flames of yours go wild until the end. It's fucking scary…"
I don't wait for her to keep talking or get any closer. Turning on my heels, I dash back towards the grounds seething with heat even now, and looking like a cooled field of lava. With sharp flicks of my wrist, I use the remnants of my magic battle to petler Valka relentlessly. Fire still works on her, even if blades and fangs barely leave a scratch.
She is inadvertently forced to back away and conserve her strength. Mana, stamina, patience… This place is like a magical swamp that drains her dry. It is, in fact, I who has a slight advantage, but now is not the time to try pushing it. If she found me, then others can't be far.
On foot, I dash through what remains of the once-marvelous, albeit fake, ground of ancient civilization. Soon, the blanket of sand of walls of white replaces the hellscape of my own making, leaving Valka behind and running headless into the unknown.
Premonition picks up on the gleam of an arrowhead at the last second, allowing me few options to evade. In the end, I miss my step on purpose and fall forward, rolling with my momentum and catching myself not a moment too late.
From around the corner, an axe sails through the air with a vicious whistle, in a second act of cowardly ambush. The foul thing aiming for my head wears colors all too similar to mine, albeit in a more militaristic, soldierly style.
A boy from the Imperial Army Institute, a sister school of ours, and not in the merry, sisterly way. Bitter rivals would be the term the describe the relation because we always come out on top.
With that said, the amount of killing intent behind those eyes guiding the swing is a little excessive. My tattoos can do little to aid me, so I can only rely on the greatness of a battlemage. A bit of magic and a bit of physical prowess, the fruit of all those endless workouts back in Fort Karon.
I swear I'll revive my exercise schedule if I make this, I really do.
To save my neck, I have the ground drag my feet backwards while twisting and punching for the approaching elbow. By themselves, neither of these desperate attempts would suffice… In combination, the blade only clips my hair.
I catch myself on the paved ground and pivot on my palm, spewing flames from my soles. The axe bites after me, but with my mana already in the air, I'm no longer unarmed. Flames gather into an explosion, hurling me back just a few steps and whipping up dust to cover my retreat.
Another arrow misses my thigh by a hair's breadth, aiming for me still, and if it wasn't for my body already aching from all this action, I wouldn't believe my eyes catch sparks flying just across the streets. Signs of a mage preparing an ungodly smite.
"Why me!?" I yell in frustration and run as fast as my legs can carry me.
Because there's no mistaking it… They are all aiming for my head without any consideration for the other participants. I alone am the target, even though I didn't do anything… Except if they saw my clash with Sid. Yeah, that might've garnered some attention.
Swirling and pumping my legs, I weave between buildings and projectiles, running for my life without a smidgen of shame. The minute clashes between my hunters offer me no solace since I'm bleeding mana by the minute and still hold only three pins.
The prospects of mounting a successful resistance are slim. I've basically painted a major target on my back by proving I'm capable of annihilating a large chunk of our wild arena. I wouldn't want me around either…
But these fools probably don't even realize that we're all just wasting time here. There are likely fewer than ten minutes before this ring detaches, and then it's over for all of us.
My eyes snap from left to right, feeding information to Premonition while also looking for potential signs of mana. Attacks rain down relentlessly, often relying on devious tricks such as constricting space itself around me or turning the ground liquid.
"There!" The spell I locate in the end, however, is very different.
It is subtle, hidden almost, and without anyone actively weaving it. Not wasting any time, I dive towards what can only be an inscription set up in advance. It awaits at the entrance of a major building complex of towering pillars and arches of stone, as if inviting me in.
I hop over the pressure symbol and keep running… And it takes no genius to realize what comes next.
Okay, I expected the entire place to crumble and try to flatten us through the sheer weight of stone, but I guess that's too frivolous for the occasion. Instead, brilliant light erupts from the statue's eyes across the other end.
In the next seconds, the radiance clings onto the wall and forms a subtle film around the windows and gaping holes. No matter which avenue one took to flank or corner, there's no leaving now.
By the time I realize just how much I've underestimated the mysterious trapper, and by the time anyone else discovers our plight, it's already too late. Does this stop the eager ones present from going at each other's throats right away?
Yeah, I don't hold back either.
About nine of us are within the trap's premises. It's fair to say that each of us is outstandingly powerful for our age and quick to use force when under pressure. No words are exchanged, there are no allies here, and thus, steel and magic speak instead.
Spells and arrows fly indiscriminately, some scoring a solid hit while most of them miss their mark. I also raise barriers of arcane and launch icicle lances at anything that moves…
And only now that we're engulfed in a heat battle does the peculiarity of this trap reveal itself. No attack goes wasted, no damage occurs to the walls, and no one is safe, regardless of where they hide.
Each surface devours the mana and projectile rampages throughout the hall… And then spits it back at unexpected angles, reflecting and displacing the strike. The chaos doubles, then quadruples… and in mere moments, all is decimated.
"Fuck…" I groan on the ground, not spared the backlash from our marvelous prison. If anything, I was lucky. "Stop shooting you fucking idiots, or we all lose!" I yell at the top of my lungs before crawling to my feet.
I'm not the quickest, but at least my words are taken to heart. Now it's all a massive melee. Mages fall first, reducing our numbers to about seven, with two especially eager contestants deciding to aim for my throat.
Yeah, go for the poor defenseless mage…
I coat my fists with gauntlets or aracne spiced with the spark, add some lightning coursing through my body, and start bouncing on my feet. Lines crawl forth from my shadow and embrace my torso and feet, bolstering my speed and my muscles.
With my arms up, I spit the dust that got into my mouth right in the first arrival's face, before sending a right hook as a follow-up. The live mana in my hand has only one command…
Burst!
Well, he blocks, but I send him flying across the room. The impact is harsh, mimicking Valka's brutish strength, and the delivered shock prevents him from rejoining right away.
The second warrior swings to cleave me in half. I can't compete with her when it comes to physical prowess, no matter how much I cheat… So my next trick, I stay one step ahead. Widening my stance, I crouch low. So low in fact that my chest almost touches my ground, pushing my body to its limit like an overloaded spring.
The blade passes above me, screaming in the devastating winds it carries. Having learned from the previous assailant's fate, this one steps back right away. She fears my punch, and seems to have recognized her mistake… But giving a mage some space, really?
The ground springs up behind her, stopping her retreat and even batting her back towards me. It's basically a delivery, and my knuckles are ready to meet when pretty face for underestimating me.
"So, who's next?" I roll my shoulders. Today, they'll learn what a battlemage is capable of.