-Asher Frostblade's point of view
Deaf sound!
"..."
Seeing the incoming mana, I noticed that a spell had been cast in a second. The cadet seemed quite confident. However, a question arose: why is she looking for trouble out of nowhere?
Instinctively I knew that the academy was not always a quiet place. Maybe now it was, but not before. This was due to the new director. Since his arrival, several rules had ceased to be obeyed, and the cadets began to get annoyed, especially the freshmen.
However, this cadet was a second year and was in the third circle, which meant that she was someone with talent, having reached that level rather quickly. She had experience and great power, but....
"Useless."
I shook my head, reached out my hand towards the spell mana, followed the line of mana and cut it. The spell disappeared. If you cut the mana line, the spell dissolves and disappears the instant that line is interrupted.
"..."
The cadet's eyes widened in surprise. Despite that, she bit her lips and continued attacking. However, I kept cutting the lines of her spells.
"Damn it..."
He shouted, as he watched her wearily. She had used so much mana in so few spells that it was obvious her control was abysmal. He was fighting without thinking about his movements or his enemy's patterns.
Watching what happened, I could only say:
"You have talent, but you don't know how to use it."
It was obvious from what he had demonstrated. Although he was experienced, it wasn't enough, and he was also quite reckless. However...
"He's only 14 years old."
I decided not to pay much attention to him. But...
"..."
"Wait..."
I turned and frowned.
"What?"
"Actually, I wasn't planning on looking for trouble."
"Y..."
"Yeah, I have to admit I give up, but... I'd like to have a fight."
"We already did that a minute ago, didn't we?"
"What...?"
"You used spells, you gave everything you had, but you lost the moment I removed your spell. And now you're exhausted, out of mana."
"..."
The cadet glared at me and muttered, "Crazy."
It was true. Removing a spell is complicated for many, and in most cases it takes a few seconds, but....
"I can do it right when the spell is cast."
That is, in as little as 0.10 seconds I can cut the mana line and remove the spell. I can see the mana line as clearly as if it were a common thread, which makes removing them easy.
"I'll consider it later."
"That's okay, and I'm sorry about earlier. I had a pretty heavy day and took it out on you."
I paid no attention to her; I had already ignored her. This cadet was of no interest, and really, I didn't care. But it was true that recognizing someone could be useful in the future. My only interest now was Gloriana.
"Let's go again."
"Yes."
Gloriana, who had been watching everything, replied without much interest. For her it didn't matter what happened either. Even though that cadet was in the third circle, I had a secret about my strength and why I am stronger than a third circle.
"Okay, now we begin."
Crack.
The floor creaked as we both moved quickly. I disappeared from my position, and Gloriana tried to locate me, but I was invisible to her eyes. However...
"When...?"
I appeared just below her, almost grazing her face with my fist, but I stopped two centimeters away.
"..."
"Huh?"
I stopped and spoke.
"I won't hurt you."
"But we're training physically."
"I'm not. I'm assessing you."
"Ah."
So that was it. I wasn't just stopping because I was assessing her, but because I didn't want to even scratch her. Something inside me kept me from hurting her, even though I didn't really care. Still, that wasn't the goal.
"Let's keep going. Don't let me out of your sight, and make sure you cover your holes. Your weak spot was the bottom."
"I understand."
Gloriana shifted her stance, and I noticed something interesting.
"You understand with just an explanation."
I didn't need to show her anything else, unless it was something really hard to understand.
I shifted again, and the ground creaked again under my feet from the force exerted.
The air twisted slightly as I slowed to my standard speed.
Gloriana focused her vision on a full radius around her as she calmed her mind.
"Where are you...?"
It was then that she felt a small touch on her back. She turned quickly and threw a kick from the bottom up, but all she hit was air.
"What...?"
He wondered, and that was his biggest mistake, as he let his guard down for a few seconds, which allowed Asher to suddenly appear.
His fist was again directed towards her face and, out of instinct, she closed her eyes. However, nothing happened.
"Don't close your eyes, and also don't think too much about a fight against a high-speed enemy."
"Right."
Nodding, Asher moved again, this time even more imperceptibly.
Gloriana focused her attention on Asher again, when suddenly his figure distorted and began to move rapidly in a zigzag pattern.
"Haaa..."
She took a deep breath, concentrated as hard as she could, and turned to the side. His fist went to the height of his head, to the right side, feeling the need to do so.
It was then that...
Clank.
He hit something and realized it was Asher's palm, which had held his fist just as the air moved quickly, and everything stopped.
"Well done."
Gloriana smiled, and for now the fight was over.
"What do I need to improve...?"
She thought for a moment, then smirked.
"Master."
"..."
I looked puzzled at Gloriana, as my eyes lost color and my face paled.
That word left me frozen, saying nothing. It was unexpected.
"Hehe, just kidding."
"Ahem... never mind."
Soon, we both turned our gaze to Julian and Luna, who were facing each other.
They were both moving quickly.
If Julian used his affinity, he would be incredibly fast. However, at this moment he was not allowed to use magic, as the training was physical, not magical.
Despite this, his movements were still fast, only using his physical strength, just like Luna.
Luna's family is known for their magical prowess and gifted physique, comparable to that of knights. The Hazard, originally mages, have a body as strong as a knight's.
Because of that, Luna was incredibly talented in hand-to-hand combat.
Julian was also talented, but not as talented as Luna.
I watched without blinking, evaluating his every move.
"You're evaluating them?"
"Yes."
Gloriana approached me and stood next to me, also watching the combat between Julian and Luna.
Then she spoke.
"How do you go about watching their moves?"
"I can just see them."
"You don't use mana."
"No."
"..."
Gloriana glanced at me briefly before turning her attention back to the combat.
She figured there must be a way to track Asher's speed. Her earlier impulse had allowed her to track Asher's whereabouts, but it was pure luck.
If they were really fighting for real, he wouldn't be able to track his quick movements.
His biggest problem was perception.
Seeing through speed was something Gloriana understood only recently.
It was harder than she thought, but maybe Asher had a way to do it.
Using mana on her eyes increased her perception, but not enough to see Asher's movements.
She was still too slow.
"The answer must be in mana concentration or mana control, one of those two is the key."
Asher wasn't entirely sure either.
He had high-level mana control and completely mastered his flow.
Therefore, he wasn't sure what was the cause of being able to see through the abnormal speed of other mages who were also quite fast, like Oriana.
"You're saying I should find the best way to adapt my mana?"
"Yes, something like that, but it's complicated to give a concrete answer."
Gloriana understood and nodded to herself.
It was difficult to adapt her own mana efficiently.
Dull sound!
When I watched the fight again, I noticed several mistakes in their movements.
Even so, I kept a serious expression as they continued to fight.
It all came down to one thing.
"They're evenly matched."