Kan'na doubled the rate at which the small magic circles formed. Yet each and every time they were completed they were shattered by Nine. Kan'na then halted to a stop, the last magic circle shattering behind her.
This wasn't some brute force method. Each and every magic circle did something different. It was a show meant to test the depth of Nine's knowledge, and the result was far from disappointing. Kan'na lowered her hands slightly, "Alright, not bad!"
Nine laughed nervously, "That speed was really troublesome. Failing could mean catastrophic results you know this right?"
"Did I fail?"
". . ."
"Didn't think so!"
Kan'na stretched her hands out and a massive magic circle began to grow in size. Nine crossed his arms, "Going for complexity now?"
Finishing the magic circle Kan'na watched as the golden ripple flowed across it and made it shatter. She nodded to herself, "If you couldn't handle that much it would be disappointing!"
Spreading apart her hands she smiled, "So what about two?"
Nine felt his brow twitch. Was his opponent crazy?! While those who specialize in making magic circles are far and few between, in his studies it was constantly warned to approach such magic with extreme caution. A slight error could lead to disastrous results! Yet this psychopath was rapid firing off magic circles?!
He felt a bit of sweat form at his neck. The South's plan couldn't be mutual destruction right? That was scary! Failed spells are terrifying! You can't predict what they're going to do! He had to make sure he paid close attention to what was happening. The moment something went wrong he needed to stop it!
He frowned, when was the last time he needed to pay so much attention to what was happening? With a blink he disabled the two large magic circles Kan'na created, "If the process remains the same you won't be able to do anything."
Kan'na nodded in agreement, "Yeah that was my final test. With this I think I fully grasped what you're capable of."
"That didn't take long."
"Neither did this!"
Kan'na tapped the ground with her foot and a massive Formation began to glow. Nine was stunned at its sudden arrival. While he could tell the mana was flowing oddly, he wasn't able to tell what exactly it was for. There wasn't enough sharp movement to guide him in the proper direction.
A thought struck him, 'She created this while simultaneously forming all of those magic circles?! She really is insane!'
Formations, native to a completely different continent. The Gated Arena, while it could span across the entire world, actually never managed to gain an expert in Formations. It seemed like those who mastered it were not interested in the benefits of The Gated Arena. Instead The Gated Arena only managed to gain a bit of insight on how they operated.
Nine naturally studied this so while he was aware of how a Formation was created and performed, he was still lacking in proficiency. One thing he was aware of was that unlike Magic Circles, Formations were not so easily mass produced. Instead of relying on quantity, it was infinitely better for the creator to use a single high leveled Formation to assist them. Additionally Formations lacked in the offensive power of that of Magic Circles. Not to say they were incapable, it was just better to use them for support.
This meant Nine didn't need to analyze the Formation just yet. He could prioritize whatever Kan'na had planned next.
Several large magic circles were being created simultaneously. This momentarily dumbfounded Nine, their complexity was incredible! Yet this person was creating them so casually?
They finished forming and a golden ripple spread across them, Kan'na clicked her tongue, "The speed at which you read these is amazing."
"I can say the same for your creation speed!"
Kan'na repeated this action, a circle made of Magic Circles spiraled behind her. Each one was rapidly disabled, not a single one firing off. If she kept up this pace she would run out of MP long before she was actually able to beat Nine.
Nine suddenly turned around, ropes of mana rapidly extending towards him. Retreating several steps back he scanned the area. Not seeing anything he focused to the movement of mana, but didn't notice anything amiss!
He suddenly looked down, "That's what the formation is for!"
Kan'na had used the formation to hide the movement of mana! With it she was able to secretly create spells without Nine noticing! While such a tactic wasn't unheard of, pulling it off in battle was a different matter!
The ropes reached towards Nine and he held out a hand. A rune appeared at his palm and he slapped one of the ropes with it, "Rejection!"
A red ripple of energy passed through the ropes and they exploded into harmless mana. Sliding to a stop he noticed a glow beneath his feet, "I just walked into your tempo eh?"
Kan'na suddenly frowned. The magic circle she created as a trap was almost instantly deciphered and canceled. She was positive Nine hadn't seen her create it, meaning he was able to deduce it from a glance. . . ?
It then hit her, of course he was able to! She was using textbook equivalent forms of efficiency! Those with a decent amount of knowledge in runes would be able to recognize part of her magic circle at a glance. With such pattern recognition it would only take a second to figure out what the outcome of the magic was supposed to be!
She needed something a bit more creative, something that would require more time to fully understand! Since that was the case. . .
Nine raised both his hands, runes forming at his palms. Slapping the ground with them he then began to retreat. His eyes glanced over a few forming magic circles and he quickly disabled them. Wiping away some sweat he mumbled, "I'm really not a fighter. . . to think my small mana pool would be a pain so soon."
Kan'na raised her hands to the sky, a massive magic circle covered the entire Arena from above. Nine felt his shoulders slump as he looked up, "Oh come on!"
A rune formed at his palm and he placed it against his cheek. Thin lines of mana suddenly rose across the surface of his face and connected with his eye. Scanning the runes he began to frown, "This Magic Circle. . . what is it?"
His reading speed tripled as he decoded it, but as he began to understand it more and more he couldn't help but feel nervous. The spell wasn't terrifying, if anything it should be far from it! If anything it looked like it was. . . supposed to put on a show?
Kan'na smiled triumphantly, "Can't cancel this one can you?"
"I don't know about all of that!"
A golden ripple spread across the massive magic circle, it stopped for a second before shattering. Kan'na stopped smiling, ". . ."
"You really had me there, what even was that spell supposed to be-?!"
Nine's voice rose and octave as he looked back up. Behind the shattered spell lay another direct copy. This time though, it activated! Nine couldn't believe his eyes, not only had Kan'na created two of the same spell, but she did it at the same time?! At this size?!
Suddenly across the Arena small projections of Kan'na appeared. She was in various poses, whether it was pointing a finger or her casual stance. What proved most troublesome was that it hindered Nine's sight. He squinted and canceled the magic spell, since it was the same one he could just use the same method.
A shiver went down his back, several more magic circles appeared around him. Each one different, and they were hidden by the previous spell during their creation. A split second passed and they all primed ready to fire!
"I keep getting more impressed at your speed!"
The lines of mana spread to his other eye, as the magic circles fired off he read them each at a terrifying speed. Just as the projectiles they fired reached half the distance a golden ripple spread across each one and canceled them forcefully. Additionally he stomped the ground and another golden ripple formed across the Formation.
Kan'na was more than just impressed, "What was that? You had maybe half a second to act?"
"Your speed at writing is probably among the top even in The Gated Arena. If you claimed second I doubt anyone would claim first! Your knowledge has impressed me, your future looks bright!"
Nine looked towards the ground, "Much like before there was a second Formation underneath the first. Normally I would have been shocked, but I now decoded your habits. Something like this is as clear as glass."
Another ripple formed and a second Formation shattered. Now with Nine's mana sense returning to normal Kan'na lost the advantage!