Chapter 191 - Magical Percentile (1/2)

Chapter 191: Magical Percentile

Opening my eyes, I slowly released my grip of Uto’s horn. I took another moment to introspect, examining both the state of my mana core and my body.

I was close. The road to white core stage that had once seemed so long was nearly palpable.

I’m glad I didn’t accept Virion’s artifact after becoming a lance, I thought.

Getting out of bed, I touched Sylvie’s mind, making sure nothing was wrong. Satisfied with her calm silence, I began stretching, my body brimming with energy.

Letting out a sharp breath, I performed a series of strikes I had learned from Kordri while training under him in Epheotus. It wasn’t some stringent combination of moves per se but more of a utilization of the body’s every movement while maintaining speed and precision—connecting each punch, kick, elbow, knee while remaining flexible for whatever the outcome. A true master of this fighting style, like the four-eyed asura, could take down a whole unit and the only thing the soldiers would see is a simple monk strolling amongst them.

Synchronizing the timing of my mana flow, which had improved substantially during my training with Kathyln and the elders, with my strikes created shockwaves in the air. I wanted to move faster and with more agility, but I wasn’t a pantheon like Kordri much less an asura. Incorporating mana into muscle fibers and ligaments to utilize maximum power and speed with the least amount of physical movement—similar to what the Thyestes Clan did—would just lead to the same results as that of Burst Step to my legs.

Maybe reaching the realm above white core will strengthen my body, I thought hopefully amidst a combination of kicks.

Right as I pivoted my body to end the sequence with a palm strike, Boo’s gigantic head was poking into my room from the doorway, right in the path of my attack.

Boo was hit with a shockwave of wind from my palm strike, causing all the saggy skin around his muzzle and ears to flap wildly.

My sister’s bond and I stared silently for a moment before he let out a grunt and shook his furry head.

“Pfft!” I buckled forward and broke into a fit of laughter.

Ellie’s head poked into my room. “What’s so funny? Boo was supposed to scare you.”

Unable to form words while I tried unsuccessfully to stifle my laughter, I motioned for my sister to come to me.

Confused, she squeezed past her bond’s burly form and came into my room.

“Watch,” I chuckled, this time conjuring a gust of wind at Boo’s face. The bear’s ferocious face rippled like liquid, the flaps of skin above his upper jaw flapping up to reveal a set of teeth beneath a pink layer of gum.

My sister chortled before breaking down as well; her bond wasn’t nearly so amused. It took the both of us nearly the entire walk down to the training room to recompose ourselves.

It was probably childish to laugh so hard at something so trivial, especially considering my mental age, but who cares. I hadn’t laughed that hard in ages and it helped loosen some tension and stress.

“You two seem chirpy for such an early morning,” Emily said, yawning, her hands robotically setting up the panel as if they had a mind of their own. “Or is it still nighttime…”

“Did you pull another all-nighter, Emily?” my sister asked, concerned.

“It’s been a back-to-back all-nighter actually. It’s your brother’s last training session so Miss Emeria and I wanted to have all of the data from these two months compiled by today,” she chuckled, her eyes half-closed.

“Remind me to properly thank the both of you for your efforts,” I said, my eyes scanning for any sight of the curt elf. “Where is Alanis now?

“Ah shucks, I learned a lot from this as well so no thanks necessary. As for Miss Emeria, I practically had to force her to get some sleep,” Emily answered, letting out another yawn. “She should be here soo—ah, here comes everyone now!”

Coming through the thick metal doors first was Buhnd and Camus. Buhnd was stretching his arms, smiling as he said something to Camus. Behind them were Hester and Kathyln. The elder of the Flamesworth family was straightening out a crease in Kathyln’s tight-fitting training robe. The princess spotted me and turned a shade brighter as she tried to pry herself away from her guardian.

Alanis, who usually had the mask of a professional businesswoman, looked soulless today. Her normally deliberate steps were sluggish as she trailed behind the rest.

It took several minutes for everyone to get their protective gear on, but I was soon positioned in the training grounds with Kathyln, Camus, Hester, and Buhnd surrounding me. Their expressions were serious, as was mine. I’ve come a long way in these past two months—enough to have beaten them a few times. They knew that if they weren’t completely focused, they could lose again and they couldn’t let themselves be defeated on the last day of training.

“What was the bet again?” Buhnd shouted from behind.

“Virion is going to throw us a feast in celebration of the end of my ‘vacation’,” I smirked, looking back over my shoulder. “Of course, having him pay for the cost of everything is no fun so I suggested that the loser of this last battle will pay for the entire party.”

Hester rolled her eyes. “Consider it paid for by the gracious Flamesworth house. How much can a dinner possibly cost?”

Alanis, overhearing our conversation, spoke using a sound enhancing artifact. “Accounting for the cost of the seventy-year-old casks of alcohol fermented from rare grains found only in the outlands of the Beast Glades, as well as the approximate costs of the abundance of fine meats—all of which the prices have escalated since the start of the war—I have already calculated for Commander Virion the cost of the celebratory feast as amounting to somewhere around nearly twenty thousand gold.”

Hester’s eyes widened after hearing the exorbitant cost. She let out a cough as she attempted to feign composure. “W-Well, I believe it’ll ruin the gratifying experience of winning if I were to simply pay for the meal outright. Perhaps it is best to determine who pays for the feast with this match; that way, it’ll be much more memorable to everyone.”

I couldn’t help but smile, watching the usually composed elder being so flustered.

“I won’t go easy on you just because you’re young, General,” Camus said, smiling. “This old man’s pride won’t allow it.”

“I agree with Elder Camus,” Kathlyn added. “Perhaps besting you now will give my father and mother enough of a reason to let me help in the war.”

“How cold, Princess. Using me as a stepping stone,” I responded, lowering my stance.

“Since this is the final mock battle, General Arthur will not have any elements restricted,” Alanis’ voice sounded again. “Please begin!”

“For the alcohol!” Buhnd’s gruff voice roared, charging from behind.

Seeing that I was surrounded, there were a limited amount of options I had. With my senses heightened from mana and the rush of adrenaline, I focused on the biggest threat.

Although Buhnd was charging in while forming a giant stone mace and Camus was backing away while gusts of wind gathered around his arms, it was actually Kathyln’s mana levels that posed the biggest threat right now.

An old but effective trick, I loosened the stone ground around me and lifted the debris to form a cloud of dust around me and at Kathyln.

Manipulate the earth under my feet to spring me forward just as I push off, and expel the wind resistance as I dash, I recited to myself.

It wasn’t as instantaneous or subtle as Burst Step, but doing these two steps—namely, utilizing earth and wind—allowed me to enhance my initial acceleration without burdening my body.

I felt my body charge forth, the air slipping by me harmlessly until Kathyln was just a few feet away.

The princess inhaled sharply in surprise and attempted to cast her spell but I didn’t allow it. Utilizing wind once more, I created a vacuum in my palm, pulling her straight into my grip.

Grabbing Kathyln’s wrist, I twisted and threw her over my shoulder directly at Buhnd.

Feeling a sting on the hand that had touched her, I glanced down to see a layer of frost around my fingers.

She reacted quickly. I cast a wave of heat to thaw myself while taking note of Kathyln’s position by the pond.

Just then, the room lit up as dozens of crackling orbs dotted above.

Memories of Lucas’ Ember Wisps spell back when I was about to be an adventurer came to mind. Except, these ‘wisps’ weren’t of fire, but concentrated globes of electricity. Again I took note.

Camus took the opportunity to launch his spell as well, hurling two giant spears of wind that swirled fiercely like a drill.

I quickly moved, dodging one of the wind spear that drilled a hole into the ground before dispersing. The other one, however, was able to change direction, following me as it carved a trail into the ground where it passed.

I’m really beginning to wonder if that old elf is actually blind.

I continued sprinting, but it wasn’t aimless. I charged toward Buhnd with the wind spear close behind me. I did my best to seem as though I wanted a head-on confrontation, and it seemed to have worked. The bearded dwarf clad himself in armor and anchored himself to the ground while he held his mace high like a professional baseball player of my old world.

I charged at him condensing the blue fire in my palms. I feigned long enough for Buhnd to begin his swing. That’s when I released my fire spell at the ground below me as I jumped up. The force of my flame launched me into sky like a rocket, causing Buhnd’s giant mace to collide with Camus’ wind drill.

My moment of content lasted all but a brief second because immediately, a barrage of ice shot up from pond below the same moment that Hester decided to fire off the globes of lightning.

Why can’t they just fire their spells one by one, I grumbled to myself, my brain whirring for the best way to handle this.

I smile crept up as a glimmer of an idea flickered through my mind. I had to act fast though.

Without any restraint for mana expenditure, I released a shockwave of fire toward the splinters of ice approaching rapidly.

The ice bombarded the wall of fire, producing steam and a high-pitched whistle.

My peripheral view caught sight of the increase in brightness from the lightning orbs about to fire, but I couldn’t worry about that right now.

Wasting no time, I manipulated the moisture caused by the collision of Kathyln’s and my opposing elemental attacks while slowing down my descent with an updraft.

I shaped the water that I had gathered into a large barrier of water around me, just as Hester’s spell cast a barrage of lightning my way.

The water manipulated from Kathyln’s spell that had utilized the mineral-filled water from the pond was a perfect conductor.

The water bubble surrounding me began bubbling as the blast of electricity hit. A deep buzz filled the training room while the lightning tendrils flickered on the surface of the water around me.

I need to get rid of this thing before I hit the ground.

Manipulating the electrically charged water, I shaped it and fired it off in a stream directly at Buhnd, the one that would be the weakest to this combination of elements.

Buhnd didn’t have a chance. His life-line artifact activated, forming a pink protective barrier, just moments after the compressed stream of water hit him and electrocuted him.

Needless to say, after Buhnd was out for the count, the tides of the battle had changed. While it still took a while, after negating Kathyln’s ice lance through a combination Camus’ air cushioning technique and Buhnd’s kinetic redirection, I was able to knock Kathyln out of the battle.