Nikolai felt Julian gather his mana behind him. He glanced back and saw him crouching, ready to bounce on Nikolai. Seeing this, Nikolai dashed forward and shot three bullets toward the three clansmen.
"I won't allow you!" Gou shouted and constructed his shield of wind. The wall rose high and deflected the bullets, but that was Nikolai's intention. He turned around and gave his back to the wall.
"Come on, little Julian." Nikolai gestured with his index finger, provoking Julian further until his eyes couldn't see anything but rage. Julian roared and jumped upward, throwing a powerful punch toward Nikolai.
Nikolai used mana and dodged to the side. Julian's punch landed on the wall of wind. It broke it apart before going directly toward Gou, striking him in the abdomen.
"Cough!" Gou coughed up blood as he slid several meters backward before being supported by Veron and Kara.
"Gou!" Veron shouted with worry as he hurried to help his friend. After seeing his blood, Gou's eyes turned white, and he fainted. Veron placed him on the ground before turning at Julian with fierce eyes.
'That's the second weakness teams have, subjectivity.' Nikolai sighed in his mind. Veron lost the ability to be objective the moment he teamed up with his clansmen.
"Take this!" Kara shouted and shot three whirlwinds toward Julian. Before Veron could stop her, the mighty wind was already tearing through Julian's clothes and body.
Nikolai retreated as the three continued with their fight. Enraged further, Julian started fighting the Wind Clansmen as things escalated.
Nikolai ran back into the forest before changing direction and going toward the other monolith the Wind Class had. The sounds of battle rang in his ears until they began to fade.
'Like removing a hair from a dough,' Nikolai sighed inwardly. 'At some point, I'll run out of tricks and I won't fool these kids anymore.'
Nikolai knew that the only method that can never fail is to be stronger than others. This way, he won't have to think about how to do stuff but do them.
He arrived at a hill that was a short distance away from the monolith. He surveyed the surrounding, and his eyes spotted someone on a different hill, also looking around.
Nikolai squinted as the other person met his eyes. The two looked at each other with confusion. After a short while, Nikolai realized who this person was.
'She's the archer of the Water Class,' Nikolai remembered, seeing her giant blue bow. 'She must be here to reclaim the monolith while the Wind Class is busy.'
They had nothing but half an hour left in their time limit. Assuming things remained the same or the Water Class reclaimed the monolith. In that case, the academy will extend the time by another hour.
'My Class is barely holding on.' Nikolai thought. 'If the time is extended by another hour, we'll be falling apart.' Thinking of this, Nikolai dashed toward the monolith.
At the same time, the archer sprinted down the hill as well. She was faster than Nikolai, but he navigated better through the forest. As a result, they were both advancing at an equal rate.
Nikolai heard the whistle of an arrow as the wind changed, making him roll forward. An arrow landed in his earlier position, proving his hunch was correct. He took out his gun and shot two bullets.
The archer pulled on her bow's string and released it, shooting an empty shot. However, the mana that she infused into the bow exploded to divert the directions of the bullets.
The two looked at each other, knowing that they were only wasting more time. At the same time, both Nikolai and the archer began running toward the monolith again.
"Two enemies are coming!" One of the remaining Wind Class's students shouted as they gathered. There were only five of them. The archer nocked her arrow as Nikolai aimed his gun. While running, the two took their aim.
The screams of the students came one after the other as the bullets and arrows knocked them out. In the end, Nikolai got three out of the five while the archer got only two.
'Pulling the trigger is always easier and quicker.' Nikolai smiled even though he knew that archers had it easier than shooters in the long run. After being infused with elemental mana, arrows will be far more powerful than bullets.
The archer glared at him, but neither of the two stopped running. They reached different sides of the monolith at the same time. Both began climbing using the rough texture of the stone monolith.
"Lost Art of Azure Wind,"
Nikolai heard the wind whispers in his ears as he glanced back. He saw Veron standing on top of a hill far away, commanding the wind into his bidding. The elemental mana surrounding him as he chanted, making the wind in the area listen to his words.
"Hear my call and let the wind guide me, First Move!"
Veron shouted and slashed downward. The wind gathered on his sword, and he unleashed it in the monolith's direction. With every meter the wind blade traveled, it gathered more wind and momentum.
When it reached the monolith, it was a vortex of a windstorm. The wind was powerful enough to make scratches on the monolith, and they began ripping away Nikolai's clothes.
'Dammit, this guy is too powerful for a mere 17-years old.' Nikolai gritted his teeth as his veins bulged. He used the technique taught to him by the Elves, limit-break.
Using his strength after straining his body, Nikolai jumped away from the vortex and started climbing forward. As if they knew, the wind blades chased after him and the archer.
"Agh!" The archer grunted as a wind blade tore through her shoulder, but she didn't stop climbing. Nikolai admired her strong will and relentless pursuit, but he wouldn't back down either.
As the wind chased after them, the two climbed further. Nikolai was the first to reach the edge and pulled himself up. The key glowed bright blue in the light of day.
The archer managed to reach the edge right after him. Nikolai didn't bother obstructing her and ran toward the key. He knew that a more dangerous foe was after him.
"I shan't allow it!" A shout came as Veron descended on the monolith after being carried by the wind. He sprinted toward Nikolai with his sword in hand, aimed at Nikolai.
'That's cheating!' Nikolai wanted to cry out after seeing how easy this guy climbed the monolith,
With a powerful stomp on the ground, Veron sprinted in his direction. In front of Nikolai was the key and on his left was Veron's sword.
If he wanted to grab the key, he would risk Veron's sword stabbing him. If he dodged and went after the key, the archer would be the one to have it. The moment she grabbed it, the monolith would buff her, and she would be able to hold them back until her teammates arrive.
'If I can't have it, then no one else can.' Nikolai grabbed his gun and used the last of his meager mana and the last of his bullet.
Seeing his actions, the archer and Veron grew wary. The one that Nikolai would shoot at will be the one losing the advantage. However, their eyes showed disbelief when Nikolai shot at none of them.
His bullets zoomed through the air and struck the key, sending it flying away. Nikolai threw bent his knees forward and slid on them, making the sword only scratch his left cheek.
After crossing the two, Nikolai jumped after the key. The key fell off the monolith and to the ground. Nikolai reached to it midair and grabbed hold of it, allowing the announcement to shake the hearts of everyone.
[The Earth Class has conquered three monoliths!]
The monolith turned yellow, granting strength to Nikolai's body. The buff would help him survive the impact of falling, but Nikolai knew he couldn't avoid a few fractures.
"Skyward Falcon, is that enough?!" Nikolai shouted to the sky as the Falcon's winds arrived to help him. The wind carried him safely to the ground before disappearing and making him roll in the dirt.
"Brat," The Falcon's voice arrived. "I never thought you would be so determined. This favor isn't a part of our contract, but out of respect. The next time that you visit me, I hope you would be stronger."
The Falcon's voice traveled from a distance as Nikolai spit out the dirt in his mouth. He looked up with a smile as the giant monster disappeared into the clouds.
There were less than ten minutes before the end, and he needed to survive the pursuit of the Wind and Water classes. He saw Veron and the archer prepare to jump down as someone arrived behind him.
"You knew I was here, but didn't trust me to protect you." Marcus said as he walked over. "You could've ended this earlier if you didn't shoot the key."
Nikolai gave him a knowing smile but didn't answer his question. He felt the presence of Marcus and spotted him earlier but didn't want to rely on him for this.
"Well, I did my part." Nikolai stood up. "Now, it's time for you to step up." He gestured toward Veron and the Leader of the Water Class. With a sigh, Marcus crossed his arms. A yellow shield appeared in front of them, protecting them.
Veron's and the archer's attacks arrived but did little to break the shield Marcus has constructed. After a while, Sira also came and pushed them back.
Nikolai sat down, playing with the key as the countdown reached zero. When the announcement arrived, he stood up and threw the Key to Marcus.
[The Earth Class wins the Class Battle!]