The radiance of "Sigh of the Glacier" resurfaced, and a faint blue glow enveloped Angelica, giving her an ethereal and sacred aura, akin to the goddess of frost.
"Clang—"
"Clang—"
"Clang—"
Accompanied by crisp vibrations, magic elemental shards splintered, forming three palm-sized halos around her, gradually growing in size. Each halo was entwined with elaborate and intricate incantations, floating gently like snow sprites.
Three halos!
This represented the pinnacle of a Mage, one step away from becoming an Archmage.
The ranks of Mage, Archmage, and Grand Archmage were divided into three halos for each stage. Only when one reached nine halos would they achieve the pinnacle of being a Grand Archmage and have the potential to ascend to Sorcerer.
With Angelica's displayed talent, her future at the very least would start as a Grand Archmage, although she still had a long way to go before reaching that level.
Even so, the power she demonstrated in the previous battle was overwhelming. If it weren't for Char's sudden burst of power, there would hardly be anyone in the academy capable of withstanding such an attack.
After all, there were hardly a few students in the entire academy who had reached the level of Mage. Apprentices and Adepts could only use spells that could be considered "magic" at most, but there was a world of difference between the two.
As the three Mage halos materialized, another round of astonishment erupted from the audience stands.
Although they had known Angelica's true strength for a while, witnessing someone of the same age display it so vividly in the arena was still highly impactful for them.
"Eternal Frost, Tide of Ice Thorns!"
Angelica softly chanted, simultaneously transforming her body into ethereal ice shards, appearing at the other end of the arena.
Creating distance?
A wide-range magical attack?
Char instantly guessed the reason behind Angelica's actions and looked down.
In the next moment, a shimmering blue magic matrix appeared beneath his feet, engraved with intricate spells and ritual patterns, slowly rotating and rapidly expanding.
In just a breath's time, it encompassed an area of seven to eight meters around Char.
Then, it suddenly brightened!
"Boom!!!"
An explosive sound mixed with the shattering of ice crystals shook the entire arena. Countless ice shards and fragments scattered as a cloud of dust rose from Char's location. Immediately after, numerous massive azure ice spikes burst forth from under his feet, engulfing that area!
Like savage overgrown thorns, the cold and flickering spikes surged forward without any pattern, akin to a raging tide closing in on Char.
He drew a broadsword and leaped into the air, but those ice thorns seemed to possess a certain sentience. Under their master's control, they tracked the figure in the sky.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
Char gripped the half-meter-wide knight's broadsword with both hands and swiftly swung, cutting through several incoming ice thorns.
However, these ice spikes, like plants, possessed a kind of vitality. While absorbing magic power from Angelica's body, they burst forth with new ice thorns from the smooth surfaces formed by the slashes!
Like a group of sharks catching the scent of blood, these sharp ice thorns raced through the air, extending rapidly towards Char in mid-air.
Without exaggeration, if even one of them pierced him, the next second he would be instantly surrounded by countless ice thorns, turning every part of his body into a sieve!
Even a great knight, without a point of leverage in mid-air, couldn't defy basic laws of physics.
So, a few seconds later, his body inevitably plummeted downward.
At the same time, Angelica had already anticipated his movement.
"Eternal Frost, Bow of Extreme Cold!"
A flash of light, and Angelica's palm condensed a snow-white translucent longbow taller than herself. Like a perfectly sculpted gem, it shimmered brilliantly in the sunlight, emitting a faint misty white aura.
The bowstring consisted of an ethereal, shimmering blue thread. Angelica lightly pinched the string with her fingertips and pulled it backward.
Subsequently, a radiant blue beam of magical energy slowly converged at the center of the Bow of Extreme Cold, gradually solidifying into a several-meter-long crystalline ice arrow. Its surface was engraved with intricate patterns, faintly vibrating as if it contained powerful magic compressed within.
"Whoosh!"
The air exploded with a resounding boom as the ice arrow launched from the Bow of Extreme Cold, instantly assaulting Char, who had yet to touch the ground. In the blink of an eye, the chilling aura of the arrow threatened to pierce him!
Wherever the ice arrow passed, the temperature dropped sharply, leaving frozen traces on the ground and walls.
Without exaggeration, aside from evading, the vast majority of three-star knights couldn't withstand this move!
Char, still suspended in mid-air, had no means to gain leverage. The ice thorns were ever-present, and a blue silhouette instantly attacked from the side, leaving him with nowhere to retreat.
Was it over?
The students watching the battle felt a tightness in their hearts, completely forgetting that most of them had come to the arena to witness Char being beaten up.
For them, a new and remarkable student had emerged, elevating the excitement of this fight to a whole new level.
In their hearts, many of them even began to secretly anticipate whether there would be an evenly matched battle in the next round.
But now, it seemed like a deadlock.
In the next second, Char revealed the answer to everyone through his actions.
A shadow-like ripple surged as the Veil of Concealment lifted, and Char vanished into the air, just like a stealthy assassin. Following the vast shadows cast by the ice thorns, he repositioned himself to an absolutely safe location.
"Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump—"
Countless muffled sounds echoed as the spikes generated by the wild-growing ice thorns instantly pierced into the ground, raising a cloud of smoke and dust.
At the same time, the ice arrow shot from the Bow of Extreme Cold sliced through Char's previous position and struck the wall in the distance!
"Boom—"
Accompanied by the explosion, the ice mist, twinkling with specks of light under the sun's rays, scattered like a collapsing snow mountain!
"Crackle, crackle, crackle, crackle..."
Wherever the ice mist passed, whether it was the ground, walls, or the dust in the air, everything froze into mirror-smooth ice surfaces under the absolute coldness.
It wasn't the penetrating attack that everyone had imagined, but rather a wide-ranging freezing attack.
From a distance, about a quarter of the arena had condensed into a fan-shaped ice surface, clearly visible.
And the cause of this effect was just a single arrow!
One could easily imagine that if Char had taken such an attack with his body, he would have instantly frozen into a statue.
After a moment of silence, the entire audience erupted into unprecedented enthusiastic cheers!
What a thrilling battle!
And their opponents were just two students who hadn't even graduated yet. They had no doubt that they might never witness such a spectacular confrontation again in their lifetime.
In the distance, Sylvasta's expression relaxed, and she let out a slow breath.
On the other side, Tyrus had already clenched his fists, standing in the spectator stands with a flushed face, watching the scene before him.
He wished that he was the one battling on that stage!
It was so thrilling, so exciting!
Seeing the silver-haired boy's eccentric behavior, the members of the Blood Rose Society didn't look too pleased.
"An ancient artifact, perhaps?" Ephie Dominic sat with her arms crossed, his face darkening as he voiced his speculation.
At the same time, many gazes remained focused on the center of the arena, watching the spot where Char had disappeared.
Accompanied by a ripple, Char slowly emerged from the shadows cast by the massive ice thorns, casting a glance back at the effects caused by Angelica. His expression remained calm.
In truth, the Veil of Concealment had little use in the initial stages of the battle.
It was now noon, with intense sunlight making it difficult to see any shadows on the entire arena. This prevented Char's ancient artifact from being effective. It was only when Angelica launched her magical attack, causing the ice spikes to jut out everywhere, that faint shadows appeared on the ground.
And as long as there were shadows, Char could stealthily move with the Veil of Concealment!
With this in mind, Char looked towards Angelica in the distance and smiled, saying, "No matter how powerful the attack is, it's useless if it can't hit its target."
Angelica's complexion turned slightly pale, seemingly depleted of magical power after shooting that arrow.
However, a faint smile also bloomed on her face, carrying a hint of subtle mockery.
"Boom!."