Chapter 55 - This Is Going To Hurt (1/2)
Chapter 55: This Is Going To Hurt
On Professor Glory’s signal, the three of us dashed forward. Curtis, who was mounted on top of Grawder, was to my left as Claire was on my right side, both a bit ahead of me.
Tessia, Clive and Lucas all split up as soon as we charged. Tess circled around the left side as she prepared to take on Curtis, while Clive dashed around the right side to confront Claire before she reached him.
Straight ahead, I see Lucas calmly waiting for me, his face twisted into a haughty sneer that seemed to say ‘I don’t need to get ready for you’. Whether it was at the Dire Tombs or even now, Lucas’ arrogance had no limit. I still remember when he betrayed us by using us as live bait so he could escape. Even then, he had the same sneer that he had now.
Tessia was probably going to beat Curtis and I wasn’t sure who was stronger between Claire and Clive but I’ll worry about that later. Wind and Earth bent to my will as I infuse more mana, activating mana rotation as well. Lucas wasn’t weak. His mana pool was bigger than mine, but that didn’t mean he’s stronger than me.
“Will you be all right by yourself against Lucas?” I hear Curtis shout as he dashes towards Tess.
Claire looks back at me in slight worry as well until I give them a silent nod. She nods back and focuses on the Student Vice President.
Lucas senses a bit of the killing intent I purposely let out to shock him out of his pedestal as he begins quietly chanting a spell while dashing backwards to get more distance between us.
Soaring up ahead, I feel Professor Glory’s keen eyes studying me as I close the gap between Lucas and I. I take a deep breath and block out everything else. As far as I was concerned, this was a fight between only Lucas and I. Narrowing my eyes in utmost concentration, each powerful step that I take creates small craters in the ground while the wind whistles around me.
Lucas lets out a chortle before he releases his spell. “Inferno’s Cage!”
The spell reminded me of the Ember Wisps spell that both Lucas and Ex-Professor Geist used but it was a lot bigger. The orbs scattered and floated in place around the both of us, creating a dome made of fire.
Don’t tell me…
With a confident smirk, he snaps his finger and utters, “activate”.
The orbs glowed in response before spewing out bullets of fire. If it was a spell on the level of Ember Wisp, I would be able to close the gap while dodging the fireb.a.l.l.s, but this was insane. Dozens of fire blasts were locked in on my position and fired at a constant rate coming from all different directions. If I didn’t train my body and fighting techniques during my time as an Adventurer, I doubt that, no matter how fast I was, I would be able to dodge everything. Without even giving me a chance to take a step closer to my target, I was forced to dodge and block every incoming missile constantly bombarding me.
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Inferno’s Cage…whoever came up with this spell deserves a sword up the a.s.s to feel what a pain this is to deal with. Not to mention the constant fireb.a.l.l.s and streams of flames that were locked in on me, the heat inside this dome was wearing me down. Without my fire attribute mana or my water attribute mana, there was no direct way to counter the heat inside. Using fire attribute mana to make my body more immune to fire or even using water attribute mana to directly cool my body were both out of the question.
“Keep running around, monkey. Do you think it’s even possible for the peasants of the mages to actually have a chance against someone like me? I can’t wait to step on you to crush whatever speck of confidence you had just because you became a DC member and a Professor. I thought this cla.s.s would be a waste of time but I know why I was brought here. It was to crush you.” His little pretty boy face was wrenched into an ugly face as he sneered.
‘Are you okay, Papa?’ Sylvie’s concerned voice echoed into my head after feeling how frustrated I was at the moment.
‘Yeah, I’m fine Sylv. Don’t worry about me. How’s everyone else doing?’ I send back.
‘Mama is winning against Curtis and Claire is winning against that serious looking guy.’ She responds.
‘Okay, just tell me if something unusual happens.’ I turn my focus back to the fight. Dodging the flame bullets and the occasional streams of fire was easy but I couldn’t get closer to Lucas. I would release a wind blade and some spikes of earth at Lucas but either the orbs that made up the dome destroyed it or Lucas just blocked the spell with one of his.
What was with this kid’s mana pool? Did he not have a limit to how long he could keep this spell up? No, calm down, Arthur. You don’t want to be impatient. Think. How can I use wind? Wind? What is wind? It’s the movement of air, right? What’s air? Oxygen? Nitrogen? So am I able to control oxygen and nitrogen as well? If so, how?
I was growing frustrated at my lack of comprehension in my wind and earth elements. Now was a good as time as any to try and comprehend. It wasn’t just enough to shoot wind bullets or wind blades because Lucas had already prepared several levels of fire shields around himself.
I wasn’t thinking outside of the box when I used wind. Even with mana rotation, I don’t have the necessary mana to form a tornado big enough to swallow the fire shooting at me, and even if I did, I don’t think I’d be able to last longer than Lucas. What was I missing?
“Keep squirming! I’m sure I can get away with it if a couple of fireb.a.l.l.s land on you even after your gear activates. You know, since I can’t cancel the blasts from the orbs once it’s been released.” He just shrugs nonchalantly as the shields around him block any spells I fire at him.
Think Arthur. Let’s focus on fire. What does fire need for it keep burning? It needs oxygen. Can I get rid of the oxygen around me so that the fire can’t reach me? Then what would happen to me? Would I be able to breathe?
PROFESSOR GLORY’S POV:
Hmmm… Lucas… he’s better than I what I’ve heard. Inferno’s Cage is a pretty tough spell to master, yet he was able to cast it while running backwards. Seriously, he’s barely 13 and he can already use a domain type spell. Haa… the world sure is coming to a change, with a half elf like him using fire attribute magic, the ice princess, Kathyln, and even Princess Tess were all monsters. I get shivers down my back imagining how strong they’ll become by the time they graduate from here.
But that brat, Arthur… What the h.e.l.l was he? Lucas Wykes, since he awakened a few years back thanks to his elf lineage, I can sort of understand the level of control he has with his spells. Tessia Eralith, her being a pure lineage elf from the royal family guarantees that her skills are a few levels above anyone anywhere near her age. Kathyln Glayder, her insane mana pool and her natural compatibility with Ice attribute is what makes her a prodigy but her control and battle sense is still lacking from the fact that she hasn’t awakened too long ago, but Arthur?
As soon as he flashed through the field to confront Lucas, I felt cold sweat. The way both the wind and earth around him naturally gravitated and danced around him. He wasn’t controlling the elements to his commands like typical mages do. No, he was in perfect harmony with the mana surrounding him, as if he was moving his limbs.
Seems like that brat Lucas is taking Arthur seriously. Good thing too or he probably would’ve lost instantly. Currently, the spell Inferno’s Cage encompa.s.sed both Arthur and Lucas in a large dome of fire. I can tell Lucas is a bit worn out after using it, but this was a continuous spell that he could leave activated until he runs out of mana, which I don’t feel will happen anytime soon. The dome made up of tiny orbs of fire was like a death trap used by Conjurers to gain the advantage against Augmenters or agile mana beasts.
The tiny orbs can shoot out beams and bullets of fire anywhere inside the dome, leaving the Augmenter occupied enough so the Conjurer can cast more spells.
I focus my gaze over to Curtis Glayder and Tessia Eralith. As expected, Curtis was having a hard time. I had the chance to observe the Elf Princess practice with our Director once, and I had to say, the way she battled was exquisite. She was a Conjurer but her staff was actually a sharp blade, made of a special wood that was lighter but harder than most metals. Casting buffs on herself and using spells in synch to her movement, she danced around the vines she conjures with a speed faster than even some trained Augmenters from the wind aiding each motion and action.
She fights in a mixed style of both conjuring spells and using close combat so she had no notable weakness. Compared to my masculine way of fighting, I can only admire how graceful and beautiful her style of combat is.
Claire Bladeheart, on the other hand, was gaining the advantage on our Student Vice President. Clive is a rare long range Augmenter that wields a short bow capable of firing arrows at an almost unbelievably fast pace. Usually, he would be at an advantage against most Augmenters but Claire was a bad match up for him. Miss Bladeheart’s style mimicked that stick, Kaspian. With her dual elements, she creates spears of wind and fire from her rapier. She has yet to reach his level but with constant training, I’m confident she can surpa.s.s her uncle.
I turn my attention back to the most intense battle, which was definitely Arthur’s and Lucas’. I notice that most of the students were watching their fight as well, all in awe from both of their abilities.
“Hmm?” I couldn’t help raise an eyebrow at what was happening. That’s strange. Arthur is getting hit the fireb.a.l.l.s now. At this rate, even with protection from mana, his gear is going to activate.
He was dodging it so effortlessly just a minute ago too. I focus more mana into my eyes to get a better look. The dome of fire surrounding them blocks a lot of the view but I can still sort of make out the fight. It seems like Arthur is trying to do something. Is he holding his breath? What was he trying to do in this situation?
“Torch! Fly down a bit lower!” My bond descends as he angles his ma.s.sive wings to keep himself level.
As we slowly circle around the huge fire dome that surrounded a third of the field, I began noticing some changes. Around him, for every three or four fire blast that sc.r.a.ped or hit him, one would completely extinguish before it reached him.