In fact, Irvine is blissfully unaware of the changes happening to him. He's laser-focused on following Atniel's instructions, so much so that he doesn't realize he's surpassed the speed limit for normal humans.
His entire body is now drenched in mana, and not just any mana—this is the fancy stuff, straight from Atniel's divine energy, something Irvine himself can't even see or feel.
Fed up with Elea's relentless fireballs, he leaps toward the lake, and as he finds himself soaring through the air…
"Wooo shiiiit! How the hell did I jump this high?!"
Only then does he realize something might be amiss.
Meanwhile, Elea is staring in awe at his impressive jumping skills, but she's not about to let this opportunity slip away.
"Now that you're in the air, let's see how you'll dodge my attack!"
She conjures up an even bigger fireball, knowing full well it'll slow her throw down.
<< A big one is coming! >>
Irvine's face goes pale. "Oh, God! She's officially lost it!"
<< Calm down! You probably won't be able to dodge now. But… >>
"Just tell me what to do! Quick!"
"Lean your body and spin!"
Irvine follows the instructions, but he's not convinced this will save him.
"Atniel! It's going to hit me!"
<< It's okay! Now pull in both your arms and legs! >>
As he tucks in his limbs, he starts spinning like a top on a sugar rush. The unique mana surrounding him spreads out, creating enough air pressure to push both his body and the fireball apart. The fireball veers slightly to the upper left while Irvine plummets into the lake.
On the other hand, Elea can only facepalm in disbelief. "What kind of sorcery is that?!"
Right before Irvine gets unto the pier, she launches another fireball.
Blarrr!!!
The fireball obliterates the pier. Luckily, Irvine manages to jump back into the lake just in time. As he resurfaces, he cheekily flashes Elea the middle finger.
"That jerk!"
Fuming, Elea decides it's time to hunt him down. She zips toward the eastern overpass, but as she lands on the bridge railing, some water, writhing like a snake at a dance party, suddenly wraps around her left leg and freezes solid.
"Where do you think you're going?" Aezel scolds her, her tone colder than her trapping ice.
"I'm going to kill that jerk!" Elea's face is a masterpiece of rage.
"Didn't we agree to only use long-range attacks as obstacles in this test?" Aezel reprimands. "I don't know what your issue is with him, but you need to stick to the plan! If you don't, I won't hesitate to turn you into a popsicle!"
Furious, Elea kicks at the ice trap and hops off the bridge. She conjures a massive fireball in her right hand, approaching Aezel with murder in her eyes.
"To think you can kill me? You humans are truly delusional!"
"Your hatred for humans isn't doing you or your race any favors!"
"Stop lecturing me! You're too naive to understand the source of my hatred!"
"Yes, we're younger than you! But that doesn't mean you should take your anger out on us for the past!"
Somehow, Aezel's words start to sink in. The elf race is indeed known for their long lifespans, and although she looks young, Elea is actually over 30 years old. And of course, she shouldn't blame these kids for whatever happened to her in the past.
"Tch!"
In the end, the massive fireball fizzles out, disappearing into thin air. Elea trudges back to the basketball court, completely uninterested in providing any more obstacles for the test.
***
Since the third lap, Irvine has started to pull ahead of the other three. However, Atniel overlooked one tiny detail: that body barely got any sleep last night. And let's be honest, that little rest wasn't going to cut it.
By the fourth lap, our skinny hero starts to look like a deflated balloon, panting heavily. Just then…
"Irvine! Can you still go on?"
Maya catches up, worry etched on her face. But thanks to his grudge against her, Irvine forces himself to run faster, trying to escape her.
<< I never thought the morals in this world would become this bad after I left! >>
"After you left? You mean you're already dead?"
<< No! I was whisked away to the sky realm along with my physical body. Now I'm back with just a piece of my essence, like a ghost with commitment issues. That's why you can't see me. >>
"How old are you?"
<< I'm still in my late 30s. But time flows differently in the sky realm. Over two thousand years had passed before I returned to this world. And many things had changed too, to the worst. >>
<< In my day, a woman would be stoned to death for doing something scandalous with a man who wasn't her husband, let alone with four dudes at once. Can't you see how disappointing that is for me? >>
"But this is normal here! There are girls out there who brag about worse things, like their body counts. It's practically a competition!"
<< They brag about how many people they've killed? >>
"That too! But the other thing I'm talking about is even worse."
<< Worse than killing people? >>
"It's all about the number of different partners they've had sex with. I thought Maya was special, but I guess I was wrong."
<< Yeah! Now she pretends like what she did was just a casual Tuesday! >>
"Wait! Did you…"
Irvine stops mid-run and starts ranting like a madman in the middle of the road. Several other students pass by, staring at him like he's lost his marbles.
"You watched her doing lewd things through my memories?!"
<< Hey now! I know what happened, but it doesn't mean I saw the whole thing! >>
"Not the whole thing, but you did see something, right? Even a glimpse of her lewd…"
<< Woooo! You better not provoke me to remember that dirty scene. And hey, are you okay wasting your time here arguing with me like this? >>