Arthur felt like he was face to face with a monster dressed up in human skin. The glare in Theo's eyes was terrifying as if they were staring deep into his soul. As they exchanged glares, the world felt like it was moving slower while an intense bloodlust filled the air.
"That's enough, Theo!"
Lance barked at him, and the intensity vanished within a heartbeat.
"Huh?" Arthur hadn't realized the situation; only him, Lance, and the Professor were unaffected by the bloodlust.
"You're not supposed to release your bloodlust in public!"
Professor Glory roared at the yellow-haired boy. Obviously, what he had just pulled right now was against the rules—but his pride kept his face unchanged.
"I'm sorry, I was testing the new guy," he said.
"Tsk…this kid. You should mind that not everyone here is as strong as you, Theo. We can't risk losing any more students because the board will start thinking this class is unnecessary, and they'll cancel it!"
The Professor raised her voice to a point where it was loud enough to go through Theo's thick skull and pride:
"Unlike you and Lance, who are already powerful, the rest of these students still need this class."
Theo frowned at the sound of her words. Then slightly bowed his head.
"I'm sorry Professor Glory," he apologized once again—this time, he actually meant it.
Arthur couldn't put it together, but something about Professor Glory's aura cooled down the pride Theo had come with.
The Professor sighed, then continued the class:
"Since your team is complete, you'll be the first to participate. You'll be playing a friendly game of crystal dash against team X-the rules are simple: No use of very lethal magic, no skills, and whichever team gets their crystal destroyed first gets a beautiful punishment from me."
"Where is team X?" Arthur asked.
"If I let you know, then it wouldn't be fair. Isn't that right, Linda?" she pointed her brown eyes at the shy girl in the crowd.
She had been silent the entire time. Even a fool could tell her mind was somewhere, seeing how she jumped when the professor mentioned her name.
"Y—Yes…um…professor G—Glory."
"You see, she gets it. The whole point of this game is to see how fast you can use your magic. Whether mage or dark knight, it all comes down to how fast you can cast a spell," she explained. "We use mana veins to absorb mana from the air, then incantations to give that mana a purpose. That purpose could be defense, combat, or something completely different that fits in line with someone's attribute."
Everyone was listening carefully as she explained all of this.
"For as long as we've known, Incantations are said to be the gods' language because they help focus the mana in our bodies. Mana is divine, so it's obvious to believe that incantations are connected to the gods. Spells, however, are born from the mind, and the more spells you've mastered, the stronger you are. I would have gone deeper into that, but I would be deviating into another class…so I will not.
All you need to know is that this class is designed to help shorten that time gap between the incantation and the spell you're to cast. It helps make you less predictable to some degree, and that's why in this game you won't have time to think because of the fifteen-minute timer—"
"Wait, Fifteen minutes…! That's not enough time to cover this game!" Lance argued.
"I know, but today we have someone special participating in this game."
She pointed at Arthur.
"This brat here doesn't need incantations to give mana a purpose. A talent like that hasn't existed since the first order five hundred years ago. So, I suggest you don't take him for granted. Arthur may be weak, but he's also your wild card as team Y—so I hope you use him wisely in this game."
'I don't need incantations to give mana purpose. But I need to have memorized the spell to cast it. The only difference is that I don't need to say it.'
"Now that the explanation is done. Let both teams get into position as I set up a barrier to reduce any possible damage. Remember, no one should use their skills, or you'll be disqualified."
After her announcement, their group of four moved to the further end of the field.
Then, The Professor stabbed her greatsword into the earth and an orange dome of energy—marking where the game would take place. Only students participating were allowed in the barrier.
'Incredible, a basic spell like a barrier has been enhanced by the natural mana.'
The longer he stayed here, the stronger he felt; it was similar to how he felt when his sword fed him with the unified mana from Elizabeth and Bairon during the dungeon selection exam—although the mana here was more in sync with his body and was painless.
It was weak, but he could feel his connection with nature—another thing he couldn't do in his previous life.
Theo walked up to him and stood on his right side.
"You can feel it too, right? The mana in this place is very natural, hence, we are stronger here. I hope you don't hold back during this game."
Arthur grinned.
"Why would I hold back in the first place? I am already the weakest in this class. Rank D is nothing compared to the rest of you."
"True, but who said ranks determine your strength? Humans can be sneaky sometimes, so when I face my opponents, I always assume they are stronger than me—and when I defeat them, I come to conclude that I have simply surpassed my limits."
"What are you trying to say?"
"When I released by bloodlust earlier…you resisted it. Only strong people can remain sane during my release of bloodlust. You're hiding something. But I am not the type to pry into people's lives. My main reason for fighting alongside you is to find out what is your potential."
They both continued to stare at the dome as their conversation progressed. And the entire time, Theo kept an expressionless face. The calmness in his eyes made Arthur notice something:
He was a seventeen-year-old, but his mind was older than that.
"Then I won't hold back," concluded Arthur.
Suddenly, the crystal they were supposed to protect from the other team appeared behind them.
Without wasting a second, Linda cast a ball of water around it as its first form of protection. She was the leader of team Y since she was the one who assembled everyone.
"The match begins in two minutes!"
The professor announced from the sky--where she was to monitor everything from.
Arthur and his team huddled in to create a plan.
Linda was a bit nervous, but she wasn't going to let that slow her down.
"O—Okay…I…I've come up with a strategic plan," she began. "I'll stay behind with Lance and protect our crystal while Arthur and Theo go after team X's crystal. From the surprise attack earlier, I learned that Arthur is very quick when it comes to reaction and spell casting."
'She's sharp.'
"We're already using our ace, I see," Lance commented.
"Yes. It's the best course of action since we have fifteen minutes," she added.
Arthur was impressed. It was now clear to him that this was Linda's playground. It was best to assume that she had already created this team from the moment he came here and displayed some of his abilities.
The game was about to start.
The members of team X then revealed themselves; it consisted of two ginger-haired twin sisters, one large boy in a brown armor made from rock, and a thin-looking boy protecting the crystal with a barrier from his wand.
He looked fragile and small…and also wore a pair of round glasses.
Two minutes elapsed, and the game started.
Theo quickly gave him one last look and dashed forward.
Arthur then drew his sword and grinned. Today was going to be his second fight since the selection exam. It was time to taste the fruits of the hard training he had put his body through over the past three weeks.
"I think for today I'll sideline my fire abilities; I need to sharpen my wind control if I'm to ever use both elements properly."
His eyes flashed a bright green as he drew mana from around him, converting it into wind magic. Then, he shot himself forward using the wind as a push to help boost his speed. Being an attacker meant that he had to weaken the offense and defense of the other team before they could reach his team's defense. Hence, the whole team depended on how long they could fight.
He was just halfway to the target when he heard a scream falling from above.
"HEAVEN'S ROAR!!!!"
He glanced upwards and saw the armored boy falling from the sky. He was going to crush him.
With a yelp, Arthur managed to jump out of the way before the armored boy's landing forced the ground to explode outwards, destroying everything in the force's path.
If it wasn't for the air shield he had created just after jumping out of the way, Arthur could have been thrown away by the impact and probably died because his human body was fragile.
"Hehehehehehehehehehe…"
He heard laughter echoing through the armor as the boy straightened himself to face Arthur. His armor hadn't even cracked one bit from the impact after falling from the sky—one of the perks of having earth magic.
Obsidian had warned him that upper-class students were strong, especially Dark knights, because of the intense training they go through in the upper classes; this one specifically was about seven feet tall thanks to the tremendous size of the armor he had around his body. He looked like a golem.
"I really wanted Theo, but I guess you're good enough. Prepare to face the mighty Grey Hollard!"
He bellowed.
Arthur sneered after hearing that. Truly, his opponent was stronger.
"Dark sister, wake up."
He commanded the sword in his hands and got into the hanging stance position. The blade started to absorb mana from the air—its mitheral edges glistened with magic as he prepared to face off with the armored student.
"I will cut down that armor of yours, Mr. Grey."