Chapter 129 - Nathan Evenhart's bat Test

  Phill:

  I called my oppo while watg the other areas of the arena, the students fighting. I was still a bit shocked by what I had seen earlier.

  That girl was an ice summoner... that's rare. I've hardly ever seen summoners who bine elements. Other than the Inquisitors, it's difficult to find that among ordinary mages.

  I possess the fire element, and I wonder if she could mao face a fire user who weakens her element while she has tthen and maintain her i.

  It’s a shame we 't go all out here. Although, with some prodigy mages, we do raise the difficulty a bit to demonstrate their standing.

  The elf judge appeared and approached him.

  "This is a special area desigo evaluate yical prowess. Each fighting arena is surrounded by a magical barrier, and that will be your test. The barrier is simir to gss, figured to not absorb the evaluator's mana, only the challenger's. Ohe barrier is active, it will respond to yical power — the more force you exert, the more damage it will take," the elf expined calmly.

  The boy listetentively.

  "The more cracks appear on the barrier, the more it reflects yical talent. The damage will determine your performance. If you mao cause signifit damage, you'll pass the test," the elf tinued. "However, since you're a high 's almost guaranteed you'll pass as long as you meet the minimum requirements. Do you uand?"

  The boy seemed to ponder for a moment.

  "If the barrier breaks, do I still get the points to pass?" he asked.

  "Haha, don't worry. The barrier is powered by aremely powerful magical devid won't break. Only a handful of mages have the strength to destroy it," the elf replied with a fident smile.

  The boy tio reflect.

  "So, I just o use my element, and the barrier will assess the damage on its own? I think I uand the exam," he said, looking calm.

  The elf nodded.

  "Exactly. Additionally, you'll also be evaluated by a bat instructor. So, iy, you're doing two tests at ohe barrier will measure yical performance, while the fight with the instructor will assess your bat skills. You don’t o defeat the instructor, only reach the minimum score," the elf expined.

  The boy nodded again, then headed to his part of the arena, preparing for the assessment.

  "You know the rules? You surre any time, and it won’t disqualify you from the admission exam. This is a magical test simuting bat, so don't worry about losing. The focus is on how you manipute and utilize yic, as well as your bat skills," I repeated the words meically — after all, I'd been overseeing these exams for years.

  The boy nodded, clearly uanding.

  The judge approached and added, "You’re allowed to use your official on or, if you don't have one, you may choose from the ons provided."

  The boy thought for a moment, weighing his options.

  Wait a sed... isn't this the kid from the party?

  I stared at him, trying to pce the face of the annoying brat who had dared to challehe royal guard.

  That little brat! I’m in luck! I knew he was a high noble and that I’d eventually see him again, but after all these years, I had pletely fotten about him... And now, here he is, fag me on my watch. It’s fate! Finally, I get to knock this kid doeg! Because of him and that weird event that day, I was demoted from sergeant to soldier.

  "Are you sure I use my official on?" the boy asked the judge, gng at the bracelet on his wrist.

  "Yes, you may. If you feel fortable with it, it’s allowed," the judge replied calmly.

  Still lost in my own thoughts, I realized I should’ve asked earlier.

  “What’s your element, kid? Or do you prefer to keep it a secret?” I asked, trying to anticipate what was ing.

  Without a word, he simply looked at his bracelet, and in the blink of an eye, a sword materialized in his hand. It was an unusual bde, something I’d never seen before—definitely not a standard on.

  "Never mind, don’t tell me your element," I said with a grin. "I’m looking forward to figuring it out myself."

  I never check the students' elements or abilities listed on their files to keep things fair, but I kind of wish I had peeked this time, just to pn my attacks better and maybe eveend he's doing well while I get closer to nd a strong hit on him. If the elf judge notices, he'll just think we were fighting seriously, and that the kid was close to winning. That judge won't interfere much as long as I don’t do anything that draws attention.

  "Feel free to use your stro attae," I said, smiling fidently.

  The boy started moving his sword, making fluid, calcuted motions.

  "Unfortunately, I have to avoid drawing too much attention. If I did that... there wouldn’t be anythi of you," he replied, dead serious.

  "Hahaha, it’s good to joke around," I ughed, finding it amusing.

  He tio swing his sword, focused.

  "Are we starting or not?" I asked, growing impatient with the dey.

  "I’m eager," he replied calmly. "I’ll hold back with the sword, because I enjoy a good exge of blows. But I’ll o use my element. I’m of the thunder element."

  Suddenly, a lightning bolt shot from his hand, exploding into the sky and illuminating the arena.

  My eyes widened for a moment, but I tried to maintain my posure.

  Lightning element? Damn... that’s pure offense. Lucky for me, my fire is offeoo.

  The boy held the sword in one hand, while sparks crackled along his free arm, radiating an almost tangible energy.

  "Look! The thunder element!" someone shouted from the crowd, drawing the attention of several other students who started gathering, staying within the protected areas of the arena.

  "He has a rare element!" another voice called out from the group, filled with admiration and awe.

  Damn, with all these people watg, I ’t go too hard on him.

  More spectatathered, drawn by the rare sight of the Thunder element in a. The boy’s free arm tio crackle with electricity as his eyes met mine, calm and uling. The judge g me, and I gave a nod, signaling my readiness for the fight.

  "The rule is simple: no serious injuries. We don’t want acts, but if they happen, we’ve got plenty of healing potions provided by the royal family. Uood?" the judge said, his voice eg throughout the arena.

  We both silently nodded in agreement.

  "I’ll raise the barrier now," the judge announced, activating the device. His mana flowed with precision as an almost invisible barrier rose around us, eng the two of us in a rge magical regle, isoting us from the spectators. The tension in the air grew thick.

  "Begin!" shouted the judge.

  With a burst of energy, the boy charged forward. The sound of his sword slig through the air reached me first, and I barely had time to react. My bde rose to block the strike, and the etal echoed throughout the arena. The sparks of thunder running along his arm crackled upon tact, sending a small electric shock through my body, leaving a faint tingliion.

  He smiled, and I knew he was just getting started.

  Is he using the blunt side of his bde? Why? Is he afraid of hurtihis has to be a joke.

  I stepped back a few paces, irritated, and cast my fire spell.

  “Circle of Fire!” I shouted, as fmes surrouhe boy. The arena was turning into a furnace.

  “Good strategy, f a direct frontation,” he said, not seeming the least bit ed, advang toward me with an uling calm. I raised my sword, trying to block his attack, but he casually sidestepped, pushing my bde aside with a subtle and precise movement.

  I barely had time to react before his sword tapped my hand. Instinctively, I pulled back, feeling a sharp pain.

  “You cut my hand! Damn it!” I yelled, expeg to see blood dripping from my fingers.

  “I didn’t do anything,” he replied, his voinoyingly calm.

  I looked at my hand, fused. There was no cut, no mark, just intense pain.

  How did he do that?

  The disfort was real, but there was no wound. The pain radiated through my hand as if something invisible was stabbing it. I gred at the boy, who simply shrugged, as if it were trivial.

  Now this little bastard has pissed me off.

  “Red Inferno!” I shouted, ung several fireballs into the air, which hovered menagly above us, waiting for the right moment to strike.

  This spell allows me to trol when the fireballs fall. A good way to suffocate the oppo and leave them ered.

  He watched, raising an eyebrow. “I ’t draw too much attention…” he muttered.

  Before I could react, he charged, moving too fast, firing lightning bolts that tore through the air. I blocked them with my fireballs, but he kept ing, relentless.

  “Is that all you’ve got?” I asked, trying to sound fident.

  He sighed, as if bored. I spun, attempting a surprise kick, but he blocked it with his wrist as if it was nothing. I swung my sword at him, but he flipped backward, effortlessly dodging.

  Now he was ughing.

  “Is that all you’ve got?” he asked, mog me.

  Son of a bitch!

  I rushed at him, attag with my sword in every way I knew, but he kept dodging with annoying ease, sidestepping every strike. My arm began to feel heavy from the effort, and in a moment of carelessness, he dodged and, with a simple palm strike to my hand, disarmed me, almost sendio the ground. Before I could react, I lost my band fell from a low, ued blow.

  As I got up, he walked away calmly, pletely ign me.

  “That was the Tiger style of kung fu,” he said, turning his bae, as if the fight were already over.

  “You don’t turn your ba someone in a fight!” I shouted, angry.

  “Maybe that way, you’ll actually hit me,” he replied, chug.

  My patience had run out. Annoyed, I poi the fireballs h in the air and hurled them with all my strength toward him. But before they could eve close, he snapped his fingers. A deafening sound of thunder exploded in the air, creating a small shockwave that extinguished all my fireballs and unraveled the cires surrounding us.

  "It was just the thundero electricity. Just the impact of the air," he said casually, as he stored his sword bato his ste bracelet.

  "What are you doing?" asked the judge, clearly fused. I couldn’t believe what I was seeiher.

  "Are you giving up?" I asked, ughing, thinking he was bag out of the fight.

  He calmly looked at the judge. "I only o use my element to earn points, right? What I just did already got me the minimum score, didn’t it? I see some cracks in the barrier," he said, gng around with indifference.

  The judge analyzed the situation for a moment. "You used your element sparingly, but si’s a rare element, that already puts you ahead in terms of difficulty. You’ve reached the minimum score for the barrier test. However, if you don’t tinue fighting, I’ll have to mark you as having forfeited the bat test. This won’t affect your ranking due to your atus, but it will be noted in your record."

  He seemed to ponder for a few seds, weighing his options.

  "e on, kid. Afraid to fight?" I provoked, trying to pull him bato the match.

  He just gave a faint smile, looking at me with disi, as if he was already bored of the fight.

  "In that case, the battle is over, and I win. You mark that in the record," the boy said, turning his back as if it was nothing. Both the judge and I exged baffled looks.

  This kid... he’s crazy.

  "Mark that he forfeited," I suggested to the judge, trying to stay calm. But before the judge could jot anything down, the boy, still with his back turned, snapped his fingers.

  ‘KABOOM!’

  A deafening bst shook the ground, the air around us seemed to vibrate, and in an instant, everythi white. The roar that had filled my ears suddenly ceased, transf into something distorted, as if it were being sucked into another pce. I was forced to shield my eyes from the intense brighthat had appeared out of nowhere.

  When I finally dared to open my eyes, what I saw left me speechless. All the people around us, watg the fight, were frozen like statues. The air around me was pletely still—no sound, no movement, just an impossible stillness. It was then that the realization hit me like a blow: time around me had been frozen.