Having stayed in the Greenville Academy for over two years now, Aron had seen his fair share of golems. Most of the golems will be conjured with magic, mostly elemental type, for very specific usage. They were mindless creations that can not think for themselves.
A golem will have a very specific direction it would follow and find its intelligence falter as soon as the dictation becomes complicated. His relative familiarity with the golems is what told him that the being he was facing right now didn't belong to the same category.
The being who stood in opposition to him at the moment had its entire body made up of water. With an upper body resembling a human and its lower body made up of a streaming waterfall, it represented a much more intelligent and dangerous being than a regular golem.
How did Aron come to that conclusion? Because he had overheard the conversation among students. Though his work mostly revolved around the Necromancy department, at times slaves like him will be shared among the other departments as well.
And one such department was the Element Magic. This single department trumped all others when it comes to the number of students under it. Offering courses in magic ranging from Fire, Ice, Wind, and Earth among many other, it naturally attracted most entries under its banner.
It was in the Element department when he first heard about the term elemental. Apparently, they were said to be extremely destructive forces of nature. Born at places with a high density of Elements magic, they come to life over a period of many years, without any human intervention.
It is said that over some time, humans learned to mimic natural conditions and create their artificial elementals. Certainly not as powerful and destructive as a true elemental, they were way better-using golems.
From what he heard, elemental magic was one of the most difficult magic to cast with only select teachers able to perform the feat. Among the features that differentiated elementals from golems, Aron knew a few.
His gaze locked onto the sharp eyes of the watery being, they were much more expressive than a golem's absolutely dull ones. Not to mention the purest form of mana being radiated from it was giving him chills.
A few minutes passed but no one flinched. The elemental was probably trying to gauge him while he did the same. Water was especially troublesome to deal with his physical strength. Added to that he doesn't have a lot of mana to spare.
*Splash* Finally, the elemental made the first move. With a swing of its arm, a wave of water was sent Aron's way. *Huu* Watching the wave grow in his vision, he took a deep breath.
*Boom* With a chop from his hand, he cut off the wave from the middle. His eyes narrowed, taking further steps towards the elemental, his pace growing. *Splash* Another wave was sent his way, this carrying way more momentum than the last one.
Aron was shoved back by several feet despite cutting the water jet off. The same sequence repeats itself, every time the boy will try to close the gap, a single swing of the elemental's arm will push him back to where he started.
Frustration kicked in and Aron can only gnash his teeth. Water was definitely not an element that can be overwhelmed with brute force. Added to that he can't recklessly use what little mana reserves he got.
*BAM* *BAM* *BAM* Standing at a height of more than 10 ft the elemental looked down at the boy with a smirk on its simmering face. It had possibly discovered the weak mana pulsating in his channels, making him take lightly of his opponent.
"This is not going to work.." Even a dumb person can realize the futility of the situation after so many failures. Drenched in water, he bent his knees and rested his fist on the ground.
"What to do?" Although he was sure to pass this trial with three stages in the bag, the thought of such a humiliating defeat would not let him accept it. He had not even managed to touch his opponent once since the inception of the stage. How degrading was that?
*Badum* *Badum* All of the distress in his mind culminated into a form of indignation. His heart responded by accelerating. *Badum* *Badum* Blood rushed to every part of his body, filling him with an unknown power.
"Hmm?" It was as if he instinctively knew how to channel this newfound strength. Like someone was holding his hand, directing him to transform all his rage and frustration into raw power.
At this point, his body was running on an impulse. All he wanted was to defeat the opponent, and nothing else. Unbeknownst to him, a bloody pattern emerged on his chest.
"What is happening to him? Has he finally given up?" Back in their secure room, Tracey had her head fixed on the screen. All she could see was a probably depressed boy kneeling on the ground in front of a superior enemy.
"It can be. False elementals are no joke. He can only blame his luck that he is facing one." Though Gloria said that, in her mind, she actually wished to see the boy stand up and fight. She must see his limit.
"Ahhh.. how annoying.. Who would have imagined a slave would put on such a performance.. haha.." Tracey chortled, but noticed Gloria squint her eyes at the same time? "Hn? What happened?"
Gloria pointed to the screen in befuddlement. "Look.. around him.." Tracey followed her gaze and found the boy has not moved an inch from his position. And yet, a red aura had developed all around him. Somehow, the girls had a feeling that it was not pure mana that was being discharged from the boy's body.
"Ohhh...??" Away from the Greenville Academy, a lady suddenly got up from her bed with a bewildered expression. "My.. my.. Is he finally doing it..??" Excitedly she jumped down from her bed and walked over to the balcony.
Lucy's smile was spreading from ear to ear as she wrapped her arms around her waist. "What an enthralling feeling..!! It's like.. like all my senses are being.. are being.. ahhh.. hmm.. hmm.." She fell to her knees.. her breathing growing rapid.
Her leather wings reacted to this unique sensation, emerging from her back and destroying her gown in the process. She knelt in the gallery naked, with a slew of emotions showing up on her face. Her throat was dry.. exceedingly dry. "Ahhh.. what.. amhhh..!!"
Bloody patterns emerged all over her body starting from her chest. Her breathing grew even more ragged, a strange sensation channeling through her body. "Is this.. how it feels..?? Ahhhh.. ahh.. haha.. ahh.. ahhhahaha.." Gradually her groans turned into a burst of mindless laughter.
Pureblooded vampires can't turn any human until they had permission from the Council of Elders. Being a relatively young pureblood, this was the first time Lucy had shared her powers with someone. Obviously, she did that when the demonic woman established contact with her.
At her recommendation, the two ladies came to a deal. Hopefully, the council could not fault her because the boy didn't turn into a vampire in the true sense. "Is this even possible.. he can use my powers without actually turning? Ahhhmm.. how fascinating.. hahah.. ahhh.."
Needless to say, despite being well-read, Lucy had never heard about such a case in her life. Slowly the spasming of her body faltered. Once everything calmed down, the noble vampire found herself in a puddle of her own piss. "How embarrassing..!!"
She got back to her feet, looking in the direction where she can still sense the boy very clearly. "Is this what feels like being a parent? Hehehe.." Her red pupils dilating, she seductively licked her lips. "I must come to see you again.. my boy.. hahahaha..."
***
Unaware that he had already invited a calamity to himself, Aron had his eyes staring straight at his opponent. His vision had turned red and all he can see right now is the smug face of the water elemental. His lips broke into a smile.
*BANG* His feet charged and launched his body in a beeline. A red hue covered him as he crashed through the waves of water that were lofted his way. Now he didn't even bother blocking the attacks, instead choosing to simply rush through them.
For the first time since the start of the battle, there was a change of expression on the elemental's face. "Insurgence!!" Its mouth uttered the word, raising both its arms.
A massive wall of water was called into action, flowing towards the boy who was on a mad dash. Once again he didn't bother to block it, choosing to rush into the 3-meter-high wave. As soon as the boy entered, the elemental closed its fists.
Immediately, Aron felt the water around him turn extremely viscous. It stuck to his feet, slowly bringing him to a halt. His whole body felt heavier. Nonetheless, the small hint of a smile never disappeared from his face. He could not think properly. All he knew at the moment was to defeat the opponent he was facing.
"Haaaaaahh.. Collapse!!" The red aura bubbled all around him, his mana leaking out as well. The sheer strength of his muscles tore his body away from the hardening water ball around him. The elemental was left astounded when the boy burst out of his magic spell, once again rushing at him.
Aron's vision clearly displayed to him the dense mana surrounding the elemental. Initially, he could only sense the man, but right now he can see it with his eyes. Instantly he tracked down a small piece of crystal embedded in the elemental's chest, that seemed to be the power source.
The grin on his face grew wider. His feet sank to the ground, throwing his body up in the air. *Badum* *Badum* The beatings of his heart were like a drum when he fell. *BOOM* His fist was countered by a punch from the elemental.
Though he was only a third, compared to the large frame of the elemental, both their punches seemed to be carrying equal momentum. "I shall submerge you in despair..!!" Blue mana condensed around the arm of the elemental, trying to enforce his strength.
"Hahaha.. so much fun.." Aron was literally in a crazed state. Once again the small dot-like pattern on his chest started to grow. Red tendrils emerged from the dot, tracing his skin like very minuscule veins. All this while, his gaze was fixated on the source crystal that was powering this water giant.
*Badum* *Badum* *Sizzle* *Sizzle* Even more red vapor was released from Aron's body, the heat from which was bubbling the water that made up the elemental's arm. Just then, the boy fell back to his feet and not wasting any time, threw another punch carrying unmatched momentum.
*BANG* *BANG* "Hahahah..!!" Fists crashed into each other, and with every thundering bang, more and more water inside the elemental began rising in temperature and eventually started bubbling up.
"Impossible... I will end you." The elemental bellowed in a booming voice. "Torrent of the River of Fort...!?" "Too late." Still in the middle of casting some insane spell, Aron's hands punctured his chest.
The elemental never saw the boy move. In a matter of a blink, the boy was already holding onto its source crystal. "Good-bye... I sure had a lot of fun." The innocent smile combined with his red eyes presented a stark contrast.
Without any delay, Aron tugged on the crystal, pulling it out of the elemental's body. With a grimaced expression, the entire body of the elemental collapsed in no time.
Covered in water from head to toe, Aron fell to the ground. Taking a look at the finger-long crystal in his hand, he popped it into his mouth. A burst of mana rushed into his body when his teeth crushed the crystal. Not long after that, the boy fell to his knees and then flat on his face.
< Kudos!!>>