Chapter 11
Having all returned to where the matches were taking place, the trio observed and tried to spot the other contestants strengths and weaknesses.
All the other matches proceeded smoothly with very few upsets. A few students were ingenious in their use of spells and were able to eke out a win despite being the underdog.
Wilfred spotted Hovard and his friends on the other side and watched them closely whenever the announcer would name the participants.
The current fight was over, a small girl having bested an older boy by catching him with a quick lightning spell while he was in the middle of recasting his barrier. The announcer declared the fight in her favor and announced the next.
"So let's go with second round fights. Lucius vs Mekan. "
Having kept eyes on them, Wilfred noticed Hovard and his friend Mekan already celebrating and and grinning while talking to each other when the teacher had barely finished announcing Lucius's name. Something was definitely sketchy.
The two stepped forward and faced off, waiting for the signal. The fight, if it can even be called that, was a brief thing. It did not take long for Lucius, even though he trained with Wilfred and Lucy, to become overwhelmed in the face of a superior opponent. The teacher quickly interfered and put a stop to it, declaring Mekan the winner.
Lucius already had the points he needed to graduate to second year and so it did not bother him too much. He was a proud person though and he fought to win.
A few fights later, Wilfred's name was called as well as another student called Arthur. He looked to be around 15, a first year like Wilfred but also not part of Hovard's gang. He must have kept to himself Wilfred thought, he didn't recall his face. He had likely missed his fight some time ago when he was busy talking with Lucy or Lucius.
They both readied themselves and as soon as the signal was given, both casted their barriers and analyzed the other. However, Arthur's Barrier was [Barrier Lv1]
Thomen Lanart [Lv. 8]
HP: 80/80
Mana: 247/312
Str: 14
Con: 13
Agi: 8
Dex: 9
Int: 14
Wil: 16
Wis: 12
Lck: 10
Skills & Spells: [Analyze], [Holy Ray], [Barrier Lv1], [Light Recovery]
It seems he's specialized in the Light attribute Wilfred noted. Just like the nine pedestal stones, there were nine major magical spectrums : Red for fire , Green for wind , Blue for water , Yellow for lightning, Brown for earth, White for holy, Black for darkness, Purple for mental and Orange for alteration.
Each have distinct spells available to them and most tend to follow a particular pattern. Lightning for example, until the higher tiers of magic are attained are more of a very close ranged type attack. Holy on the other hand, deals less damage but has very long range.
This meant that Wilfred's [Wind Blade] which boasted only a moderate reach would lose out in terms of range to the [Holy Ray]. Since the fights were until damage is taken meant that Wilfred had to get in close.
Wilfred cast his [Wind Aura], enhancing his agility and dexterity, needing to get close to Arthur. Knowing this from his own [Analyze], Arthur quickly retreated back and fired a [Holy Ray] at Wilfred. Thankfully, his barrier was able to hold out but Wilfred sensed that at most it would absorb two hits. Arthur proceeded again with another Holy Ray but Wilfred rolled into it this time and casted a [Wind Blade] as he got up.
The green distortion, approximately a foot in high and three inches wide that was the Wind Blade, headed towards Arthur at blazing speeds but due to range, only managed to scratch his Barrier, especial since it was also an advanced one. When [Barrier] was advanced to Lv1, the cost dropped by 10 and its efficiency went up by 20%. At least, that was what Wilfred had managed to find out about it from both books and seeing Lucy's in action.
Arthur grinned, seeing how harmless Wilfred's spell was but was not prepared for the second and third ones that Wilfred kept casting, advancing slowly but surely on him. The fourth [Wind Blade] managed to destroy the Barrier but Arthur cast another one immediately.
This did not deter Wilfred, as he kept advancing and casting them as fast as he could.
Even at 92 Mana per spell, Wilfred could have unleashed 50 of them before he spent his Mana. Seeing how his Mana pool was that much larger than anyone else, Wilfred decided he would just overwhelm his opponents by sheer volume. For other students, Mana has to be preserved and used sparingly as well as efficiently since defensive magic cost much less.
Under bombardment from Wilfred, all Arthur could do was cast Barrier after Barrier, each breaking down after two direct hits from the wind blades, now that Wilfred was within 6 feet of him.
Seeing the current state of the battle, the teacher intervened when Arthur's Mana depleted below what he needed to keep casting barriers.
Satisfied with his win, Wilfred smugly walked back to where his friends were waiting and cheering. It seemed a few in the crowd were not happy. After his first loss to Lucius, a few had placed bets against him and lost some money. Thankfully for Wilfred, his next fight was not immediately afterwards, giving him time to regenerate the Mana he expanded.
It then came again to Lucius some time later. This time, he was up against a girl, a bit older than he and also more of a theoretical student like himself. The battle was close but ultimately, the girl called Sera was able to win through a combination of attacks that drove Lucius into a position that he was unable to break out of.
Still, Lucius had enough point to graduate but there still remained a match for Wilfred and Lucy hadn't started hers yet. The first year student's matches were almost done and Wilfred waited patiently, knowing what was coming. As he watched the matches, he kept track of who still had a fight to do and naturally it seemed like Hovard also had a match left.
Typical, Wilfred thought. He wants to try and give me a beating in front of everyone so he rigged the matches to try and get me to fail? Pathetic.
The long awaited moment finally came and the teacher came down, announcing the next combatants. It was almost evening now, the sun starting to set.
"Wilfred and Hovard, step up. You're the last to go and we'll resume tomorrow for the second years. "
Like they were used to now, both stepped up and waited for the signal.
'Bang!'
Wilfred cast his [Barrier] and [Analyze]. Hovard did the same but used [Barrier Lv1] and did not bother with analyze.
Hovard Lang [Lv. 9]
Health: 85/85
Mana: 338/338
Str: 14
Con: 15
Agi: 12
Dex: 14
Int: 18
Wil: 16
Wis: 12
Lck: 21
Skills & Spells: [Analyze], [Barrier Lv1], [Deflect], [Kinetic Push], [Earth Lance Lv1]
Damn, Wilfred thought. It was the first time he saw someone with a leveled offensive spell. That practice every day on the fields probably helped a ton. Hovard opened aggressively, sending an [Earth Lance] down Wilfred's path. Compared to [Earth Spike], it was faster but it was thrown, the lance was also much longer and likely did more damage, especially since it was leveled. Wilfred was not confident enough to test his barrier against it and opted to cast [Wind Aura] to become more nimble, dodging to the side. The lance continued it's trajectory towards the crowd, scaring the first years who were watching the fight but it dissolved when it reached the periphery of the magic dampening field.
Having no choice, Wilfred tried to close the distance between them, hoping to overwhelm him like his other opponent. Hovard may well be quite a strong fighter for a first year but there was no way his mana pool could keep up with the barrage Wilfred could unleash.
As Wilfred got closer and within range, Hovard seemingly deciding to simply hold his ground, perhaps he was saving his mana and casted a [Wind Blade] whilst running. Hovard casted [Deflect] and Wilfred's wind blade missed its target by a good margin.
"[Kinetic Push]!"
Wilfred felt like he hit a wall whilst running, sending him tumbling backwards. Luckily, his barrier held and he suffered no damage except to his ego. He had severely underestimated Hovard. Now further away from him, Hovard once again sent an [Earth Lance] flying his way.
Wilfred bit his lip and sprinted out of the way. This wouldn't do. He didn't have the range needed to hit Hovard and he couldn't get close enough without being pushed back. Hovard was also using his mana conservatively, making it impossible to win simply by attrition.
Wilfred resolved that he would have to use his trump card. Ideally, he'd have liked to win fair and square but his opponent also wasn't playing fair. The matches were rigged, that much was evident. The timing needed to be just right, or else Hovard's lance would end the match.
Wilfred rushed towards Hovard with as much speed as he could. As expected, Hovard pulled back and readied himself to deflect the spell. However, Wilfred stopped short and cast a spell.
"[Construct Artifact]!"
The black metal object began taking form in his hand and he pointed it at Hovard before he had a chance to retaliate with an [Earth Lance] from Wilfred's deception. Wilfred put his hands together on the hilt and squeezed the trigger, sending the pure mana projectile straight towards Hovard's chest. The kickback from the shot reverberating throughout Wilfred's small arms dislocated his shoulder. He had to be sure it would work and so had constructed the strongest handgun he could, a .44 Magnum Colt Anaconda.
Reacting purely on instinct, Hovard managed to cast a [Deflect] before the projectile hit him, sending it deviating slightly towards his left arm. The shock threw him back with enough force to smash him against the walls of the city to the south, a solid 80 feet away. Spinning, he hit the wall with a sickening crunch and fell on the ground limp. Wilfred watched as Hovard body hit the ground.
Hovard Lang [Lv. 9]
Health: 12/85
Mana: 164/338
Str: 14
Con: 15
Agi: 12
Dex: 14
Int: 18
Wil: 16
Wis: 12
Lck: 21
Skills & Spells: [Analyze], [Barrier Lv1], [Deflect], [Kinetic Push], [Earth Lance Lv1]
The teacher watching the fights sprung in action, flying down to where Hovard crashed and performing first aid using [Moderate Recovery]. Primus also stopped holding his dampening field and came to look at Wilfred.
"Hmmm, looks like a minor injury only. [Partial Recovery]."
Wilfred's shoulder snapped back into place harmlessly and he stood up. After making sure Hovard was alright, he was now sitting and only seemed mildly discomforted, the teacher approached Wilfred with apparent anger.
"You! You were told it was illegal to bring that to the fight! I'll have you disqualified for this."
But Primus interjected.
"Oh? But I believe we only said that he could not bring it, not that he couldn't create it on the spot. I am curious about this though. [Inspect]."
[Artifact Weapon]
Colt Anaconda, Lv35
ATK: 322
DEF: 4
DUR: 24
Effect: Fires a pure magical bullet, non-elemental. Can fire 6 shots before you must recharge with mana.
"Hooooo, interesting. You could have a very lucrative career in enchanting if you so chose. But enough of this for now. Everything is done for the day, let's send everyone home and make sure they all rest and recover."
The teacher squeezed his fists and walked off, arguing with the Headmaster would be pointless. Using [Amplify Voice] he let it known that the fights for the first years were over and that tomorrow the second years would be up. Everyone dispersed but not without gossiping about what had just transpired.