He had to extract maximum efficiency from minimal mana. In a situation where the battle's duration and his total mana were unknown variables, it was the best choice.
Unless absolutely necessary, Sihyun wanted to avoid making a barrier for his entire body, he was only strong enough to cover one person at a time, and the barrier wouldn't be very thick either.
So, he deliberated for the most efficient mana usage. The conclusion wasn't a barrier encompassing his entire body but thin, momentary shields, even if they were smaller and less potent, to counter instantaneous attacks.
Sihyun swallowed nervously, not sure if this method was going to work. He was ready to use a skill for immediate healing, but thankfully Seowoo wasn't in a situation where he needed it.
'It's definitely less than before'
The energy seeping from his body had significantly decreased compared to earlier. This technique had been a split-second decision, but the right one. Sihyun tightened his grip on the staff, focusing intently.
While effective, this method was challenging to execute without adequate concentration. It required precise timing to manifest the right-sized shield—neither too large nor too small, neither too strong nor too weak.
Breathing deeply, Sihyun gathered his scattered thoughts, having succeeded in this meticulous maneuver. The Irregulars began to move in response.
Bang! Bang!
"Kiiyik!"
As they attempted an attack, transparent barriers intercepted each assault. An irritable Wamren, realizing who nullified their attacks with barriers, turned toward Sihyun.
Shifting his attention from Seowoo, Sihyun pushed back against the Irregular. His thick barrier, created earlier, was still in place. Typically, it could withstand two, sometimes three strikes, directly facing the charging Irregular like an enraged bull.
Or at least trying to charge. However...
*Swoosh!*
Disregarding Sihyun, the Irregular aiming for him found Seowoo's blade thrust into their body.
"I don't like being ignored much."
Contrary to the smiling facade, Seowoo's actions were chilling. Folding his arm once and then forcefully extending it, his sword pierced through the Wamren's throat, a far more gruesome sight than a mere blade piercing flesh.
Pulling out the sword, blood spurted upward.
As the blood showered the barrier, blackened blood obscured Sihyun's vision. A nauseating sensation enveloped him. Shuddering, Sihyun released the barrier, then fixed his gaze back on Seowoo.
"Can't you kill it a bit more neatly."
"I thought I'd at least cover your eyes."
Sihyun couldn't exactly tell him to stop killing, and Seowoo just smiled, showing no intent to comply with his request.
Only one remained. What were four Irregulars had dwindled to one.
He wasn't as swift as Haru or Hamin, but Seowoo was adept at dispatching Irregulars. Sihyun's eyes followed him, knowing he needed to be prepared to provide support. But his speed was frighteningly fast.
"Kiiik...."
The lone remaining Irregular, unable to attack or be attacked while floating in the air, seemed agitated. Seowoo, cleaning his blade tainted with blood from the immobilized Irregular, locked eyes with it.
*Rustle-rustle,* the red lips of the airborne Irregular, only guarding and not attacking, curled discontentedly.
"Not coming down?"
"Kiiik!"
Despite communication being futile, it cried out as though responding. Seowoo, interpreting that cry as a refusal to obey, swirled the sword in his hand.
"If you won't come, I'll have to go."
What?
Without Haeun's flying buff Seonwoo had no means to go anywhere. Staring at Seowoo incredulously, Sihyun wondered if this was what a young man's hubris looks like. Suddenly Seowoo's gaze turned back towards Sihyun.
It seemed utterly foolish to even consider going after an Irregular floating in mid-air.
Even though Sihyun was furrowing his brows thinking that Seonwoo was going to get himself killed, Seowoo turned to him with a smile and opened his mouth.
"Sihyun-ah, do you think that you could make a foothold with your skill?"
"With barriers?"
"Yeah, like stairs."
He added,
"There wouldn't need to be a lot. Three steps would probably be enough."
Sihyun let out a small exclamation att Seowoo's last addition. Seeing how relaxed he was about his request, Sihyun was starting to understand where he got that confidence from.
Barriers specialized in blocking physical attacks, and Sihyun knew how to adjust their size and position. Thus, creating a staircase-like shield path leading to the airborne Irregular should be possible.
Observing Seowoo with newfound respect for his ingenuity, Sihyun briefly reflected on how he had misjudged him.
"It's doable."
"Then I'll ask for your support."
Blue eyes looked back and forth at Seowoo and the Wamren, measuring the distance between them. At first glance, three shields seemed like it would be a bit uneasy, so Sihyun conjured five shields in a staggered formation. Seowoo, eyeing the steps Sihyun created, chuckled briefly.
"You worry too much."
Sihyun's eyebrows twitched at his teasing tone. Since he added two more steps to make five, the stability had increased like crazy.
Just as he contemplated erasing them altogether, Seowoo kicked off the ground and soared into the air.
Thud. Landing smoothly on the first step, he leapt to the second. He wasn't lying when he said that three were enough. His speed increased, propelling him from the second to the fifth step in an instant.
His flawless, clean movements resembled a form of artistry. Sihyun had unintentionally gotten first row seats to Yu Seowoo's acrobatic performance. As he reached the fifth platform, Seowoo checked the Wamren's position and leapt off the final step.
CRACK
The strength of the kick was enough for the fifth step to crack. Sihyun's eyes grew bigger as he looked up at Seowoo in the air.
"If you jump off there-!"
"Kiaaak!"
Seowoo, who had leapt into the air swung his sword in a big arc from top to bottom and with a scream, the Wamren was cut in half at the waist.
Peok!
The Wamren writhed in agony as a sword was deeply embedded in its eye. Both the Wamren and Seowoo started to fall downwards and although Seowoo was the one falling from a height as high as the third floor, Sihyun was the one who was freaking out.
Shocked, Sihyun made a big protective barrier at the halfway point as quickly as possible.
Teok!
As if he had already anticipated that Sihyun would make one, Seowoo dropped the Wamren together with the blade, and landed cleanly on top of the barrier. He wasn't even out of breath.
That crazy bastard.
Sihyun, who had made a barrier strong enough to hold a person dropping down from high up, made three more steps in order to let Seowoo down while cursing.
Seowoo looked at Sihyun, this time using all three steps going down. Unlike Shiyun, who had a grim expression, he looked surprisingly calm and collected.
"You're getting good at this."
"Stop being so reckless."
Defeating a few Irregulars didn't make one a hero. Although Seowoo seemed capable of surviving the fall from that height, Sihyun couldn't predict everything.
As he examined Seowoo a little closer, he noticed a shallow cut beneath his eye. Despite his superhuman abilities, he was still human, it seemed.
Looking at the cut, Sihyun could see that it wasn't very deep, but if the location had been just a little bit higher it could have been dangerous. Sihyun grimaced at the thought, the wound could have blinded him.
Even though he didn't approve of his actions, they had fought together so it wasn't like he could refuse him treatment. After an internal struggle Sihyun went over to Seowoo and stretched out his hand.
"…?"
Seowoo was wary when Sihyun, who usually had the temperament of a feral street cat, suddenly came and held out his hand. Curious but careful, he let him approach to lay his hand over Seowoo's eye, Sihyun then applied a simple healing touch to his injury.
A faint glow emanated from his fingertips, healing Seowoo's wound. Blinking, he touched the now-smooth skin beneath his eye, a lazy smile forming.
"Feels better now. All healed."
"You're one who asked for it."
As Sihyun gave a fierce look to match his retort, trying to emulate Haeun's bravado, he felt his hands tremble slightly. Hastily retracting them, he hid them behind his back.
He'd sensed it vaguely before, but this healing reaffirmed it: expending a significant amount of mana felt akin to draining vitality, it seemed like mana resembled a body's energy.
As Sihyun was flexing his trembling hands behind his back, a nearby Wamren seemed to spontaneously combust.
Hwaruruk.
Shocked, Shihyun backed away from the burning corpse. After taking in the view for a second, he realized that these flames could only belong to one person.
Woosh!
Looking around he saw Jihye going around incinerating all of the Wamren corpses. Sihyun didn't know if it was just because he hoped that the kids wouldn't be too traumatized, but he thought that she looked like she was handling herself just fine.
Was it over?
Since they had started cleaning up, Sihyun hoped that they were finished. Looking around he saw that there was still two or three Wamren left fighting with the students, but they seemed to have it under control, so Sihyun turned around to look for Haru in the crowd.
It wasn't difficult to find him among the 96 students currently on the field, you just had to look at the place with the highest flames.
He saw Haru and Hamin standing amongst what looked like the corpses of at least ten Wamren. He approached Haru as soon as the fire had subsided, walking past Haeun complaining about how all his mana had been sucked out like a mosquito, to which Hamin responded with a firm forehead flick.
He didn't know when he had found them, but Haru was wearing his now slightly cracked glasses again, leaning on his sword while covered in black blood. Not wanting to seem awkward, Sihyun checked his trembling fingers before looking over at Haru.
His mana level still seemed manageable, so he discreetly used a cleaning skill originally meant to disinfect wounds. The skill seemed to work on his clothes as well, so as if turning back time, Haru became completely blood-free. It was a healing skill, but what was up with this over the top effect?
As Sihyun pondered over how convenient healing skills could be Haru marveled at his clean clothes.
Phew—!
At that moment, a resounding horn echoed across the field, signaling the end of the prolonged placement test.