When he saw me approaching, he almost instinctively backed away, this did not prevent him from sending wave after wave of attacks to prevent me from approaching furthermore, no matter how hard he tried, I was gradually coming at him.
He maybe was afraid that I would do like the old Darthos and create a giant sphere of mana to trap him and slowly suffocate it, but it was not my intention and I was too far for that anyway.
Lucian: "You wanted a sphere earlier well you will be served"
Lapeil : "So you are really gonna do a sphere, don't you have any shame"
Lucian : "Oh you will see"
In my hand, a small sphere of mana is formed, about 5cm in diameter, nothing to normally tetanize a 3-star, well, that's not counting the astronomical amount of mana put into this attack.
When I was doing it he was just waiting for something big but came back pretty unsatisfied, he was even starting to laugh with some other nobles to the small thing I had in my hand.
Lapeil : "What that's it"
Lucian : "Yeah that's it"
Random noble : "Pfff...those commoners they don't even have any shame"
Other nobles : " What did I tell you, of course he always cheated"
Examiner : "Shh"
The problem that I have noticed in my fight as well as in all the other occasion is that people prefer to use little mana but a lot of attacks.
Probably in order to have the best possible chance of hitting the opponent, but why bother with that if he can counter your attack anyway or if it's not gonna hit at all.
Noble : "Hey Lapeil, you're still not going to tell me that you're scared of getting this nerd"
Lucian : "Yeah dont be scarred of such a small sphere"
Lapeil : "You are gonna pay for your mockery"
It's not like he can see the mana, for him that's just a normal small attack, the only ones who could know it are people who can feel the density of mana, which is a hard thing to see.
Pov of the examiner
They don't understand, from a distance we might think that this sphere has no use, but it's not so simple, the mana inside is as strong as in the defense of an average city (defense against monsters I specify).
In addition, his opponent is clearly a fan of offensive magic, there is no chance that he knows a defense spell capable of parrying that, if it continues like this I will have to intervene.
Lapeil: "A weakling like you can do nothing, I will have no trouble winning, eat mor3 this"
Lucian : "Oh that again"
Nobles : "Yeah go for it Lapeil"
With the years and the change of generation, the students started to only lunch a bunch of attacks in the air without any control, in a disorderly way and see who defend and attack the best, it would really be a death sentence on a battlefield.
The few who manage to control mana are really rare, they very often end up leaving the academy very early to perfect themselves in magic either directly at the mage tower or by following mages on missions or even becoming sorcerer.
Darthos is one of those cases, he have the level of a magic researcher, he would have no difficulty in being recognized and making a place for himself, this is clearly not what he wants, since the first day I met him he has been trying at all costs to beat the hero, why, I don't know.
Darthos: "Now that my beautiful sphere is formed, observe well"
Lapeil : "Their is nothing to observe"
Lapeil didnt attack in a close combat range which allowed Darthos to put even more mana into his attack and really form it well.
What is even funier is that I saw him absorb some of his ennemy's attack into is own sphere and without too much trouble which is not at all an easy thing to do.
Examiner : "Of course their is"
Student : "What ?"
Examiner : "Just look their will be a good show"
Darthos launched his beautiful sphere leaving even his opponent surprised, hadn't he formed this sphere to attack him with it, no his plan is much more deceitful than that, it seems that even I can't see what he has planned but one thing is for sure, he is playing with him.
Lapeil: "Well then, are you waiting for it to fall back or what, I won't let you do it"
Darthos : "Fall back is quite the good term yeah"
Lapeil : "You are gonna fall before it"
Lapeil rushed hand-to-hand, abandoning the ranged attacks, understanding very well that between those who would not even reach their target and the others who were blocked very easily, it was really a waste of time.
All observers already know that Darthos was not very strong in hand-to-hand combat and that when he found himself in those type of situation, he was most likely goingto use his famous sphere, but here he had taken advantage of his opponent's attack to find himself close, very close.
Lapeil: "It's over with you, meteor fist"
(so before someone accuses me of an anachronism the word meteor has existed since at least the first century BC and for English it's just for style)
Darthos: "Too slow"
Nobles : "How is he so quick"
Darthos just completely got away from his attack, he avoided his fists with disconcerting ease, how, simple he read the mana of the air, he analyzed his opponent, he mixed martial art and magic, something that only a great knight and a few rare people are able to do.
Out of nowhere, his oponent was cut in the face, not by a weapon, forbidden in this kind of fight, or by any attack launched by Lucian but by a drop of water.
Student : "Look it's raining"
??? (Darthos' friend): "It's not rain it's mana"
Examiner : "He is making mana rain, I didn't think I would see that in a student match"
Lapeil: "How do you do that, you dirty coward, face me directly"
Darthos: "Let's see who can avoid the attacks the most, you or me, so try not to get killed, since you named your attack I'll name mine"
Lapeil : "That's not those little drops who are gonna afraid me"
Lucian : "What's a good name, huh, rain of water sounds great"
The next few seconds passed quickly, Darthos avoided all the attacks without being hit once, but his oponent was not so lucky, drops of mana hit him again and again without him being able to do anything to stop them, cutting him on all sides, he's really going to have a lot of small scars.
Nobles : "That's not gonna do anything"
But it's not enough to make him give up or that I have to take him out of the arena for safety, I am quite a little disappointed if this is the only plan of Darthos.
Lapeil: "That's all you have, only scratches, you won't be able to avoid my fist infinitely"
Darthos: "If you think I'm avoiding it, you're wrong, I was just waiting to be in a better position"
Lapeil : "For what ?"
Darthos : "For your loss"
Bit by bit, by backing up and moving in all four directions, without anyone noticing, not even me, he was right under the location of the sphere, he then just had to snap his fingers, it broke into full of droplets whose shape he changed into water pillard that immobilized his opponent everywhere without touching him.
If that wasn't enough, he had put his right index finger on his forehead, as if to threaten him that at any moment he could kill him with the same method and to show his dominance to the max.
Examiner: "The fight is over, Darthos is the winner"
Lapeil: "But I can still move"
Examiner: "Shut up, he could have killed you anyway he wanted since the start, you clearly didn't stand a chance"
Lapeil: "Shi... "
A commoner : "Woah how he did that it was really impressive"
Another commoner : "Shhh don't say that we're going to get a bad look"
??? (A four-star who observes); "He seems funny, finally an opponent who doesn't just swing attacks in the air, he could maybe make a good punching-bag"
I can't believe he also managed to make his sphere stay in the air by holding it with mana, he detached little by little bit on his opponent's position.
Instructor : "So it looked like this fight pleased you"
Examiner : "Yeah it was really good"
Instructor : "It was quite nice"
Not to mention his last shot, he changed the shape of his attack in mid-air and managed to be precise enough that it just stopped him from moving, really beautiful.
Me who wanted to do nothing until I retired well maybe I found myself a hobby, even if he wants to beat the hero, why wouldn't I help him, maybe with a little luck I'll even manage to change his mind.
--- Lucian's Pov
Well well it was funny, I was able to test a lot of stuff, I thought that mana control was going to be complicated, maybe it's due to my affinity with water, well I don't really know with which of the elements I am really the most effective with.
Darthos : "It was quite a good show"
Darthos' friend : "I didn't think you would win"
Noble : "Tch the cheated won again"
Examiner : "Are you saying that I am not doing my job"
Noble : "No sir it's not that..."
Examiner : "The I don't want to hear any of you"
In the books, mana users are described according to the four elements, certain factors, behavior or environment push a human to be more powerful with one of the elements.
I would have imagined that my element should have been the darkness as I am now a demon maybe I am okay with air and water as I saw before.
Darthos' friend : "How did you do that in the end?"
Darthos: "I don't know about that, I think I'm like water, as free as water"
Examiner: "Darthos, Eudeon, if I still hear you talking during a fight I'll make you go train all night too"
Noble : "Deserved"
Examiner : "You want to go for it too ?"
The fights continued like this for a while longer, nothing impressive in all this, at the same time what did I expect from the beginning 3 stars, it really is only the amount of mana that makes the difference it seems.
This fight taught me another thing, that mana control is only dependant on one thing, my will, and that the beginner absolutely doesn't care about that.
Darthos : "I was quite disappointed"
Eugeon : "What"
Darthos : "No nothing"
As long as I can conceive what I want, I can create it and make it happen, control it and change it, all I have to do is expand this limit so that it is so big that nobody can stop it.
I know that when time goes on that I will see 3 stars and even four stars that are really strong so what I see right now is not corresponding to the reality as for now I only saw beginners who got their powers just this year.
But if I continue to progress and find little tricks and thing that only I can do, if I find just one way to beat them, I would have a chance and that's all that matter.
--- Afternoon classes :
Theoretical Mana teacher (a mage): "As you can see, human beings all possess mana, by making a contract with a spirit, they can use it on an element"
A girl with pink hair: "Sir we can control the mana by itself can't we, why are we then using spirits"
Teacher : "Mana can take all forms, but having to think in the middle of battles can lead you to death, and the spirits is just an automatic attack"
The girl : "So we can control all the elements without spirits?"
Teacher : "It would take you about 10 years per element and around 50 years if you want to be expert with them all"
10 years that's not an impossible thing to do, as I have to understand and control primarily my dark element and be enough good with the others.
Teacher : "Anyway, as nobody got 50 years to do that you hve the spirits"
Pink hair : "Is their only the four elements ones ?"
Teacher : "Yeah, and you have different grade of them, 3 and 4 stars depending on your talent, if you are below that don't even try they are very dangerous"
Interesting, after that he talked about the great spirits, hidden in sacred temples, and which are said to be the most effective way to quickly control a precise type of mana.
It seems that it was not so useless to come to this course, I have now a nice new goal, to challenge all the great spirits again and again, observe them and to control all forms of mana, 10 years he said, hmm we'll see, in any case it might be fun.
Darthos : "Sir you are a mage aren't you ?"
Teacher : "Yes"
Darthos : "So you are able to control mana itself"
He made a cube of pure mana infront of him in a few seconds, I could see that it was not of any particular elements even though it had a clear form.
Teacher : "Impressed"
Darthos : "Woah, but you aren't 50 years old so how did you do"
Teacher : "When you have the talent mage it's a lot easier, 50 years is just for any talent that has a little mana depending on your talent in can take more or less or even be impossible"
So that's what matter, always talent, just for that this system is pretty annoying, I don't really what talent the real Darthos had, for mine I have some mana even though it's not my forte.
But with the thing I got with the demonic system I got even more mana and I am sure that it is not impossible, I will do everything for it to be possible.
Pink hair : "You seem interested in mana"
Darthos : "Yeah"
Pink hair : "Do you want to study it with me ?"
Darthos : "No I got other thing to do"
I didn't want to make friends, I didn't care, all now that I got informations, I had to go to work again, I had to progress and had to do it now.
And with what I saw I had a clear image in mind to what I wanted to do, controlling mana, 10 years, bet, I will beat them all, I will do better than them, I have no choice but to do so.