(Thank you Creepy_CuddleBear and Monster_Senat for the power stones)
"Only three battles stand between you and Karta Academy."
The bulldog-looking teacher, Saul Felt, was enjoying the sound of his voice as he dictated how the final test would go.
"Of the applicants in this group, you will each fight amongst each other; a single loss means you are eliminated, and a total of three wins are required to pass."
'A simple test that relies on luck and ability combined, this is a good opportunity to see the combat of Immisso first hand.'
Two fighters took the stage, a brown-haired bespectacled boy and a plain-looking black-haired girl; taking combat stances, the two began approaching each other.
Unlike the martial arts from Regulus's world, which all created visual illusions due to their profoundness, that was not the case in Immisso. Divided into five stars indicating the difficulty and the amount of card energy utilised.
The first star martial arts used almost no card energy, making them look no different from the basics except for being slightly more powerful.
The second to fourth star caused the card energy to move around the blade, causing a slight visual change due to the card energy clinging around the blade increasing by each level.
The fifth star reaches the point where illusions and images related to the technique form due to the advanced manipulation of card energy and execution.
The final level considered the sixth level, wasn't officially recognised as only a few techniques fell under the category. The royal martial arts held by each ruling family, and the most profound of them, all the angels, lost technique, which Regulus recognised as Scorpio.
Charging towards the brown-haired boy, the girl appeared to be using a simple three-star martial art, judging the amount of card energy wrapping around her.
Yet, unlike the girl, the boy stood still as a torrent of card energy rushed at him, not even holding a weapon in hand. At that moment, a power which Regulus couldn't quite identify burst out of the ground as large earth spikes impaled the girl.
The audience stood in shock as they watched the battle's outcome; unlike the intense fight of card energy they were expecting, the girl had been skewered instantaneously.
'Most likely, the boy is a beast tamer.'
The more informed people in the room came to this conclusion, as did Regulus, who was slowly assimilating the Soul Doctor's knowledge into his.
'Beast tamers are a rare profession only able to be found among the wealthy due to the extremely high costs, yet the boy in front of me appears to be a commoner. He must be highly talented.'
When signing a contract with a beast, the owner would gain one ability at random from that beast. This power comes from an external card energy source, meaning there is no sign such power will be used by the owner until it's too late.
'It only really works once as a surprise attack, however, due to the one-directional nature of these techniques.'
Seconds passed since the girl had been impaled on the stone spike when, all of a sudden, she turned into golden particles and reappeared on the edge of the magic circle.
Looking down at her shaking hands, the girl could hardly believe she was alive. The simulation ability of the magic circles just felt that realistic to the person inside them.
Regulus watched as the first candidate to be eliminated, a talented person who could never reach Karta Academy due to a single mistake, was escorted out of the room.
'To think these magic circles are amazing, sparring with no limitations? The growth rate of the students must be insane.'
As Regulus slowly discovers why Karta Academy solely produces monsters, the fights continue under Regulus's hawk-like eyes.
Many different styles and powers were utilised as aura techniques, and fireballs of magic were flung from one side of the circle to another.
With the geniuses of the younger generation fighting before him, Regulus was able to come up with an understanding of Immisso's combat.
'The martial arts of these students are unhoned and flamboyant, focusing on image over function.'
In a world where the amount of card energy wrapping around your blade and the image formed displayed power, most applicants were trying to make their card energy look more magnificent forcefully.
Unsatisfied with the intangible and slow progress that came from training the basics, students instead focused on the images their card aura displayed to create the illusion of progress.
'The number of holes in each technique is ridiculous; a single move can counter most of these four-star martial arts.'
Regulus could understand techniques not being honed through blood on the battlefield, but skipping the basics to practice illusions was crossing the line.
'Instead of a side effect of profound techniques, the visual illusions have become the goal in this world with the basics being a mere path to reach them.'
The heavy flaws of Immisso's martial arts could be seen by the overwhelming strength of those talented in magic instead of aura.
'It's no wonder people who awaken diamond and heart 'Ace' cards are seen as more talented. The spade and clubs martial arts side of card energy is flawed.'
Regulus couldn't help but feel a rising sense of frustration that the martial arts which ruled the world in his past life were being conquered by the foreign magic of this world.
'Martial arts here are treated like mere toys, with them simply mimicking magic through the creation of effects instead of focusing on the blade itself.
He knew that celestial and card energy constructs from martial arts could be extremely devastating in a way comparable to magic, but Regulus still felt angered by the harsh reality.
"Ria Soleras, it's time for your first fight. Now, come to the centre of the magic circle."
The reality of martial arts in Immisso was tormenting Regulus when the sole figure he recognised in this room was called to the stage.
'Ria Soleras, the first princess of the most powerful kingdom in the world, let's see what you've got.'
(Would you guys prefer longer chapters with fewer releases or same-length chapters with quicker releases?)