The Wave Fish that Blair was riding on built up speed, whipping its body and jumping through the air to avoid a cascade of water caused by the ravines Jalud had created in the sea floor. Though he managed to avoid falling into one of those ravines, they were pulling all the water into their depths, leaving the Wave Fish with nowhere to land but wet sand.
The moment it touched the ground, Blair dispersed the spectral manifestation of the Wave Fish, causing it to collapse into the darkness under him. Using the momentum, he rolled onto his feet and turned around, watching as Jalud seemed to manifest out of thin air in a flash of light, gently touching down on the soft sand.
"So, do you have any more ideas? Or are you going to try running again?" Jalud taunted, his voice dripping with sarcasm. It was clear he knew he had driven his prey into a corner. He could see the gears in Blair's head turning as his eyes darted around, desperately searching for a way out. This was exactly the reaction Jalud wanted to provoke, both in Blair and everyone watching.
That's right, think. Try your best to come up with a way out of this, and when you finally have an idea, I'll crush it, just like everything else you've thrown at me. Only when you've given up mentally will I finally end this match; that'll create the effect I want from you and everyone watching.
Seeing Jalud standing there, his gaze reflecting sheer superiority, Blair gritted his teeth as mana exploded from his mana core. Suddenly, the amount of mana he was pushing out far exceeded the amount he was pulling in from the environment. It was clear to all that Blair had decided to push his limits as the dark domain under his feet nearly doubled in size.
"Spectral Manifestation: Cloudstalkers!"
"Spectral Manifestation: Frost Wyrm!"
"Spectral Manifestation: Verdant Colossus!"
The same air-treading wolves that Blair had summoned against Fardeir took form first, all four of them flying in different directions. Following them, something massive began to rise from under Blair's feet. Without hearing its name, it would be hard to imagine what such a colossal creature looked like. Its body appeared to be made of countless jagged rocks, all roughly carved into a humanoid shape.
The rocks pointed inward toward its chest, and although it lacked most facial features, two roughly made slits formed its eyes Truly, it was a 35-foot-tall behemoth; there was no other way to describe it. Just seconds after it rose to its full size, something else burst from around its feet. It was fast and long, quickly slithering around the golem's body until it coiled itself around its upper torso like a scarf. It was nearly a hundred feet in length, and even in its spectral state, it looked like a snake formed of ice that had partially melted before freezing solid again.
Icicles hung from every part of its body, and sharp spikes lined its back, making the only smooth part of its body its underbelly.
Seeing Blair manifest so many mana beasts at once, Magnus couldn't help but whistle internally. He had to admit that if Blair's lineage magic was put in the hands of an Adept-level or, better yet, a Master-level mage, they would essentially be a one-man army. Being able to summon so many mana beasts at once could even make a knight think twice about engaging in close quarters.
When he first saw it in the match against Fardeir, he really wanted to try replicating it. If he could, then there would be a chance he could summon his own creatures without having to go through the enslavement part of things. However, the process was simply too complex and hard to archive. The domain of darkness that Blair used as a conduit to summon and desummon his manifestations acted like a fluid, making it too difficult to simulate properly in his mind.
It was a shame since he always loved the summoner and necromancy class in games. There was just something so satisfying about conjuring powerful creatures to fight for you and completely overwhelm your opponent.
Though... I don't get the feeling that numbers alone are enough to deal with someone like Jalud. His magic seems endlessly versatile, and it doesn't seem to take much out of him either. It makes me wonder how a match between just the two of us would go.
As Magnus's mind played around with such a scenario, Blair found himself living in it. Even after all his manifestations, Jalud's expression didn't change a bit, and he posed a simple question.
"Are you done?" Jalud inquired, his voice calm.
Blair, unfazed, grinned and retorted, "You know, I used to think Luden had the most punchable face I'd ever seen. But I changed my mind; yours is even worse!"
The moment he stopped speaking, the Frost Wyrm wrapped around the Verdant Colossus suddenly opened its mouth, releasing a massive cloud of blue mist that completely engulfed the direction Blair was facing. The instant anything touched the cloud, it seemed to become crystallized.
Unlike the move Jalud had used earlier, which only encased one in solid ice and froze the surface of the body, this was a level of chill that could penetrate past that and even freeze the blood flowing through a person's heart. As the frost continued to spread, the Cloudstalkers began to move through the air, circling the mist and directing it.
"Transfer." As the all-encompassing attack closed in, Jalud opted to dodge instead of facing it head-on, appearing high in the air. The moment the Cloudstalkers sensed the shift in the air indicating his new position, they moved as well. Controlling the airflow around them, they turned sharply, and the frost mist followed, forming a violent cyclone of frost aimed straight at Jalud in the sky.
"So you can use them in combination with one another. Clever," Jalud remarked, redirecting his focus toward the approaching cyclone. He invoked his magic again.
"Ignite." As if the frost mist had become flammable gas, it burst into flames. Fire and ice clashed, generating chaotic winds from the temperature difference and steam that billowed out, obscuring everything. The sky and artificial sun above were shrouded, and both Blair and Jalud were engulfed. Floating in the air, Jalud's expression changed significantly for the first time as he frowned.
At that moment, he heard a loud, booming sound from just behind and below. Jalud reacted swiftly, turning to see a massive shadow burst through the steam. It was Blair, riding the Verdant Colossus, which had its fist raised, already mid-swing with Jalud as its target.
Everyone underestimates the Verdant Colossus's speed because of its size, but even Apprentice-level knights can't beat this thing in a head-to-head fight. Go ahead and use that transfer move of yours to dodge! The moment you do, my Cloudstalkers will take the chance to shred you apart!
But something unexpected happened—something neither Blair nor anyone else had anticipated. Instead of dodging, Jalud quickly formed a mana formation in his mind and executed it without an incantation. Just before the Verdant Colossus's arm slammed into him, a three-layered mana barrier formed around Jalud.
What the hell? Is he trying to block the Verdant Colossus's strike directly? It's a golem that weighs over a thousand tons; is he insane!?
But, no matter what Blair thought, it was too late to do anything. The moment the Verdant Colossus's arm slammed into the mana barrier, the first layer shattered like fragile glass, and the second layer partially broke a moment later. Like a cannonball, Jalud was sent hurtling downward as the shockwave from the strike and barrier's resistance blew away and dissipated the remaining steam.
The Verdant Colossus, with Blair and the Frost Wyrm riding it, landed on the wet sand, creating large indents and a violent tremor that sent small waves through the surrounding waters. Blair's eyes were locked on the small crater created when Jalud struck the ground. All three layers of Jalud's barrier had been destroyed, and for the first time, his clothes were covered in sand.
Still, Jalud was conscious and slowly stood up, letting the sand fall from his body. Despite his confusion about why Jalud had taken the Verdant Colossus's strike head-on, Blair wouldn't waste the opening. He mentally commanded the Cloudstalkers, which had been hiding in wait for Jalud to use his strange teleportation-like ability, and the Frost Wyrm wrapped around the Verdant Colossus to attack simultaneously.
Immediately, all four of the wolves that could tread on air darted down at Jalud, while the Frost Wyrm slithered from around the Verdant Colossus' torso in an instant, heading straight for its grounded prey.
As this was happening, Zedem, sitting alongside the other foundational members of Takerth Academy, spoke in a low voice, "It seems that Reinholt accidentally capitalized on the weakness of the Cresteya Family's lineage magic when he attacked, though he doesn't seem to realize it."
"Though it was also due to Jalud's overconfidence in his abilities. It is a shame, however, that they never managed to fix that weakness in their magic. If not for that, the Cresteya Family's magic would likely be one of the strongest forms of magic within the entire Batis Kingdom. Though even with it, they're still a force to be reckoned with," Vlaslor observed, prompting Eveline to laugh to herself.
"It's hilarious if you think about it. Because his opponent exploited something they had no knowledge of, that Cresteya boy won't let his guard down like that again, and his opponent will be the one to suffer for it. Still, what a stupidly cumbersome ability," Eveline's last few words carried genuine contempt as well as amusement as she narrowed her gaze and continued to watch the fight unfold.
Having stood fully to his feet, Jalud felt a liquid dripping from the corner of his mouth. Raising his hand and wiping it away, he saw it was blood. At that moment, as he stared down at the blood on his hand, both the Cloudstalkers and Frost Wyrm were mere feet away from reaching him. Yet, despite how fast they were moving, both the mana from his mana core and his words erupted even faster.
"Reject!" Deafening—that was the only word to describe the noise that followed. An invisible sphere seemed to surround Jalud, expanding with unstoppable force. Sand, water, and rock were all sheared away, broken down, and rejected from the area around Jalud's body. The Cloudstalkers and Frost Wyrm didn't stand a chance as their bodies were shredded upon contact, pulled in a million different directions.
As the range of the attack grew rapidly, in his shock, all Blair could do was order the Verdant Colossus to run. With surprising speed and agility for its size, it sprinted in the opposite direction of Jalud at top speed. It leaped over the ravines Jalud had created earlier, each step causing the water around it to splash violently. It was like a juggernaut, yet when Blair glanced back, he saw the ever-expanding range of Jalud's attack just a few meters behind them.
Nothing could stop it, and it had already grown to a diameter of over a thousand feet.
"Holy, how far does he plan on going!?" Blair shouted. But then, a new noise reached his ears, somehow louder than the force ripping through everything behind him. Turning to look ahead, Blair was shocked to see darkness coating the sky—storm clouds. They flashed with lightning, and now the sound of incessant thunder was growing louder.
So I didn't imagine that thunder from before? But what is that under the clouds?
Narrowing his gaze, Blair focused and saw jagged peaks just below the storm clouds in the distance.
Are those... mountains?
With this realization, Blair's eyes lit up. If those were mountains, then maybe he had a chance. Since he and Jalud had started in a wide open plain of water, there was no way to use the environment to their advantage, aside from Blair using a water-based mana beast. However, mountains offered him more options; he could hide and use them to ambush Jalud. At that moment, the rejection field Jalud had created finally began to slow until it stopped entirely and disappeared. All that remained was a crater just over half a kilometer in diameter. Anything that could be blown away was gone, and everything else was crushed and compressed into solid matter.
At the center of it all, Jalud stood, his clothes spotless, and the blood on his face and hands vanished.
Glancing in the direction Blair had fled, he muttered, "Transfer."
Just like before, his body began to break apart, disappearing in a flash of light. In an instant, he caught up to Blair. But Blair wasn't looking back at him, nor was he running. He was staring straight ahead, and as Jalud followed his gaze, his eyes widened slightly.
"What... are those? Mountains?"
The jagged shapes Blair had seen earlier were much closer now. They were heading towards them at a speed not even an Adept-level knight could outrun, and so was the storm rumbling above them. As lightning continuously flashed, it illuminated the jagged peaks. That's when Jalud noticed they were moving, shifting in size and shape slowly but surely. The realization hit him hard.
Waves—what they were looking at, what loomed over them casting shadows and blocking out the sky, were waves. Waves so abnormally large they could be mistaken for mountains, with waters so dark that even the largest ships would be lost in them instantly, torn apart by violent torrents.
"I see, so that's the gimmick behind this environment..." Blair muttered to himself, his voice completely devoid of urgency. Slowly, both he and the Verdant Colossus he was riding turned to face Jalud. Seeing this, Jalud's face returned to neutrality.
"You're not going to run anymore?" Jalud inquired.
Blair shook his head. "No. If I had to guess, these waves... that storm, surround this entire section of the Alternate Space and are closing in on the center, around where you and I first appeared. No matter where I run, I would eventually be cut off, and none of the creatures I have can survive in waters like that. They're not natural at all; I can't even begin to guess how the academy made them." There was no point in Blair trying to run anymore.
From the start, the way this environment was set up meant if you couldn't defeat your opponent head-on, then you would drown in the restless sea.
"Man..." Blair sighed, realizing he had no chance, even from the very beginning.
"Well, there's no point in fighting a battle you can't win, and I'm not a fan of pain," Blair declared, raising his hands as the Verdant Colossus slowly sank into the darkness at its feet until it disappeared completely. Surrender was a bit anticlimactic compared to the endings of many other matches, but everyone watching could understand it. Jalud's guard was up after he landed that one strike, and there was no chance for Blair to escape or hide.
Any tactics Blair came up with would rely on his remaining mana, which wasn't much after summoning so many mana beasts at once, only to have them destroyed.
He had simply hit a wall. Still, Magnus couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed when Blair surrendered.
Dammit! I was hoping the match would go on a bit longer; I wanted to see Jalud use a few more moves I could copy. Oh well, I guess, it's not like I won't get to see him fight personally. At this point, aside from me, I doubt there's anyone who could beat him.
And he wasn't the only one who thought this way. As the students murmured amongst one another now that the match was over, one simple fact became clear.
Jalud and Cain—one of these two would be the winner of the Live Examination.