At this point, Lord Jarin's mouth was wide open. Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine Barda putting up such a performance. Come to think of it, he had never seen anyone do what Barda was doing.
Not only him, but the entire hall was silent. No one had ever put up such a performance. At first, the college had felt sorry for Barda for being matched with the best student conjurer on campus.
Many had agreed with the professor's decision, thinking that if you are going to win, you might as well win with style. They could hear and see the participants, but the participants could not see or hear the audience. All this time Barda did not know he had an audience. Not even the most optimistic person had hoped for Barda's victory.
However, the tables were turned. Barda was ruling over the battlefield. Lady Tian was under immense pressure, and many felt they had they been in her position, they would have fallen by now.
By now, the Queen was beyond joyous. Barda had managed to overturn the trap they had set for him, and instead was using it as a stepping stone to dazzle even further. The Queen could not tear her eyes away as tentacle after tentacle fell, only to be replenished.
It was clear for all to see that Barda was taking advantage of having been in a real war to fight against his opponent. Moreover, his knowledge and skills gave him a definite advantage over his opponent.
Every conjurer had his thing, like a signature move. Lady Tian's signature move was to deploy the tentacles, which had made her invincible against all her peers. However, it seemed her dominant run had come to an end.
Barda's signature move then became the deployment of siege weapons on the battlefield. That and the coordination with the vanguard forces allowed him to approach his enemy while still bombarding them with attacks. In essence, Barda became both a ranged and melee battler.
The battle seemed to be at a standstill. Lady Tian was doing her best to keep the Fire Elementals from approaching. By now she was already feeling the pressure, and sweat was pouring from her brows.
That was the biggest consideration right now. Tiredness was beginning to set in, and with magic, one needed a high level of concentration. For the type of coordination and high-level combat, she needed her absolute concentration. This was straining to maintain over time.
However, despite facing the enormous pressure, Lady Tian was not complaining. Matter of fact, she had a smile on her face. This was the most pressure she had faced for a long time, and she would be a fool to waste it.
Life was lonely at the top, and Lady Tian knew that very well. Having come up as an undisputed star, none dared to challenge her easily. Her current opponent was fierce indeed, and she didn't think she could get out of this. However, she would do her best nonetheless.
Just as she was planning her next attack, she felt a burning sensation at her heel. Looking down, she saw one of the ballistae bolts had transformed into a snake and lunged at her. Being too distracted, she had not seen this attack.
People could not believe it. The genius was defeated. She had been responsible for so many miracles and wonders, yet she had been defeated just like that.
On the Tristan side, everyone was in an uproar. Many among those who had tagged along were in the field executing their duties and did not know about the competition. Hence, the people in the hall on Barda's side were considerably small, but their cheers were loud enough.
Once Barda won, he found himself back in the cubicle. Coming out, claps could be heard as those present were congratulating him for his performance. However, there was ice in their looks.
The people cheering him were considerably smaller, but they were prouder. He walked to the Queen with a wide smile, half-expecting her to meet him with a hug.
"Lord Barda, I have to admit, your performance was very impressive," Professor Althalos said as he walked towards Barda, arms widespread.
"Yes, it was indeed," A crisp female voice came from behind him, "Very much deserving of a reward, wouldn't you agree, Professor Al..., Professor?"
"Your Majesty, it is professor Althalos," He almost flipped as he heard the Queen murder his name, "yes, I agree with you fully." It was clear that the Queen was out for blood, so he couldn't be stingy.
"This is a rare essence we obtained through extraneous connection. It is the essence of a phoenix," Professor Althalos was in charge of the fire department, and currently there were only 2 essences of magical beasts under his possession. The first was the phoenix, and the other was the wyvern. He had it on good authority that the wyvern came from Barda.
"Thanks, but I already have several essences, what else do you have?" As Barda was speaking, he still reached out and took the essence before the good professor could put it back.
Essences may seem easy to come by for Barda, but this was a herculean task that rarely bore fruits. A creature was not guaranteed to drop an essence upon death. Some beasts that had been bred for essence would die without giving up the essence, which would lead to severe losses on the side of the farmer.
Yet, here was Barda talking about essences as though they were tomatoes that could be picked up at a farmer's market. What aggravated the professor was that now he had to produce something of equal or higher value than a phoenix's essence, that was a tall order indeed.
"My Lord, please accept this Conjurer's rod as a humble token from the Fire Department in recognition for your outstanding performance," He even bowed dramatically before the 2 whom he now saw as the devil's incarnate.
Many around him gasped when they heard what he was offering, but they understood. He had disrespected the Queen's Rod, and now he gets to pay in kind. Tit for tat, or is it an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth and rod for a rod?
"Thank you, I shall treasure it," Barda did not know what it was, but judging from the reaction of the people around him, it was a precious commodity indeed.
"My Lord, I extend an invitation to you. If you are willing, there is a position for you in the Fire Department," Lord Althalos added.
"I will think it over, Lord Althalos," Barda politely declined the offer. No thanks, who wants to hang out with these firebugs and arsonists.
***
"I heard you had to give out your priced Conjuration Rod. A treasure gifted by Lord Unias the Grandmaster enchanter," Lord Abu laughed at his subject who was wearing a grim face.
"We have a very willful Queen, I am not sure she is the best fit for a ruler. If she keeps it up, we could have a big problem in our hands."
"The only problem here is that you allowed a girl to bully you," Lord Abu laughed. "What did you think of Barda."
"His performance was exceptional. If I didn't know any better, and I don't, I would say he has played the game before and is very good at it."
"You said you think he is a druid if I remember correctly,"
"Druid would be the best. However, I suspect he is more than that."
"Are you saying he could be a paragon?" Lord Abu asked incredulously.
"That would be my guess."
Lord Althalos watched as his senior sank into deep thought, a frown appearing. Lord Abu considered all that he knew of Barda, and it made sense. If an advanced being came into their world, their tests would rule them as paragons immediately.
All this added up to what he knew about Barda, and he was becoming more and more convinced each day. However, he also grew fearful, these were not encouraging news to receive, especially for someone like him who sort immortality.
This gave rise to new thoughts. There was a reason he had invited the Queen over, even gone to the lengths of using a harmless charming spell on her when it looked like she was going to refuse.
Now that he had Barda under his roof, and his suspicions were all but confirmed, there was one thing he needed to do. This was a task passed over from the former head of the Magician's Association.
"Tomorrow, have Lord Barda come see me, there is an important matter I need to discuss with him," Lord Abu said dismissively, hinting at Lord Althalos to take a hike.