50: Chapter 50 What is this thing?
He shifted his body to the side, moving several meters horizontally and narrowly avoiding the attack.
The Water Blade slammed heavily onto the ground, letting out a dull thud.
Seeing his opponent dodge his Water Blade, the fourth-year Water-element Mage immediately began condensing the next Star Pattern, but his opponent had also long since started connecting Star Points.
This time, the Fire Mage was the first to complete the Star Pattern and launched his spell without hesitation.
"Starfire Spell!"
Five clusters of fire, as faint as candlelight, materialized around him. They then sliced through the air at a speed far exceeding the previous Water Blade, closing in on the Water-element Mage in an instant.
Seeing the five clusters of flame about to hit his opponent, the Fire Mage suddenly let out a fierce roar.
"Burst!"
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Five explosions rang out one after another around the Water-element Mage, and thick smoke once again enveloped a corner of the arena.
The hard concrete arena was undamaged, leaving behind only a few charred marks.
Everyone's gaze was focused on the area shrouded in smoke.
The situation inside was unclear, making it impossible to judge if this round of attacks had been effective.
Just then, a figure suddenly leaped out from the thick smoke.
It was indeed that fourth-year Water-element Mage!
He was condensing a water shield in his hands, as tall as himself and as thin as a water mirror.
Despite his face being blackened and his uniform covered in scorch marks, he had ultimately withstood this round of attacks!
As it turned out, while the Fire Mage was launching his spell, the Water-element Mage had not stopped condensing his Star Pattern either.
At the moment the flames exploded...
...he had timely cast a water shield for defense.
It was just that this series of actions had been masked by the roar of the explosions and the thick smoke.
"Wow...!"
"Go for it! Let him know that the Fire element is no match for the Water element!"
"Knock him down! The Fire element is the strongest element!"
The students' cheers grew louder and louder.
Watching the fierce battle on the arena, they were so excited their faces were flushed red.
The teachers, on the other hand, smiled without saying a word, their eyes full of gratification and pride.
In their view...
...though these students were still young, every one of them had unlimited potential and a promising future.
However...
...just as everyone was watching with boiling blood, there was one person in the crowd with an expressionless face and a dull gaze.
This person was, naturally, Lin Fan.
This was his first time watching a duel between low-tier mages.
Because the original owner of his body could not cast spells, he had never set foot in the academy's training grounds, and naturally, he had never seen other mages exchange blows.
He watched as the Water-element Mage flung out two Water Blades.
And the Fire Mage on the opposite side, with a speed that seemed swift to others, clumsily fled to the other side of the arena.
After all...
...a mage's physical fitness was already far beyond that of ordinary people.
Even for a First-Order Mage, their speed was definitely not something an ordinary person could compare to!
But in Lin Fan's eyes, their movements were as slow as falling leaves!
Lin Fan: "..."
What kind of thing was he even watching!?
What kind of ghostly mess was this fight?
Was this really the way normal mages fought?
How could it be completely different from what he had imagined?
It took several seconds just to condense a single Star Pattern. If they went up against a magic beast, they would probably be chewed up until not even bones were left!
The scene before him truly left Lin Fan dazed.
He even began to doubt whether it was worth participating in this competition... Rather than wasting time here, it would be more satisfying to go and take on three magic beasts at once!
However, Lin Fan forgot a crucial point:
First-Order Mages inherently lacked the ability to hunt magic beasts alone. Moreover, not everyone was like him, able to rely on the system's support to condense Star Patterns or even outline Star Charts almost instantaneously.
Left with no choice, Lin Fan could only brace himself and continue watching.
At the very least, this would allow him to understand the combat patterns of the other students.
This match dragged on for several minutes, and in the end, it was the fourth-year Water-element Mage who had the last laugh.
His opponent's mana was exhausted after releasing several spells in succession, leaving him completely spent.
Facing an incoming Water Blade, a Referee Teacher stepped in just in time to block it and announced the end of the match, judging the Water-element Mage as the winner.
"Contestant Number 46 wins!"
The students supporting the Water-element Mage immediately erupted into earth-shattering cheers.
The victorious Water-element Mage walked off the arena with a smug smile on his face.
However, his uniform and hair were already in a mess, looking extremely disheveled.
Immediately after...
...the contestants for the next match were called to the stage.
"Contestant Number 15 and Contestant Number 276, please come up to the stage!"
Two students rose from the audience and walked slowly onto the arena.
One wore a red cloak and was a boy;
The other wore a brown cloak and was a girl... They were a Fire Mage and an Earth-element Mage respectively!
Judging by the shade of their cloaks, both were third-year students.
The girl had a beautiful appearance and a small, delicate nose.
As soon as she stepped onto the arena, she immediately drew cheers and shouts from many boys.
Although there were also people cheering for her opponent, the momentum was far inferior.
The two glanced at each other and exchanged a few words, clearly knowing each other.
After all, they were classmates from the same grade!
However...
...judging from their interaction, their relationship did not seem harmonious; it could even be described as tense.
"Start the match!"
The Referee Teacher gave the order.
The two released their pressure simultaneously.
Summoning elemental Star Points, they condensed large and brilliant Star Patterns.
The stands were bustling with noise and excitement.
Lin Fan looked at the familiar scene before him with a face full of speechlessness.
He felt it was completely dull and was so bored he was about to doze off.
The boy released Fireball Techniques and Starfire Spells one after another to launch a fierce attack.
The girl, however, pressed her hands against the ground and had only used one spell from beginning to end.
Earth Manipulation Spell!
A large brownish Star Pattern hovered behind her like a shadow.
She bent over, her hands pressed tightly against the ground, her eyes flashing with an earthy yellow light.
She was constantly manipulating the concrete on the arena, either changing her own positioning or building earth walls to block her opponent's attacks.
Although she could only control the ground within a five-meter radius of herself...
...it was more than enough to handle the current situation.
The cheers from the stands grew louder and louder.
Some people began to heckle and mock the Fire Mage, making him fly into a rage, yet he was helpless.
No matter what kind of attack he launched, the girl could always manipulate the ground to easily neutralize it.
After several rounds of this, he was already panting for breath, his mana consumption immense.
And while the girl, as an Earth-element Mage, appeared to be handling things with ease on the surface, her actual situation was not optimistic either...
She was simply unable to attack her opponent.
After all, the attack range of the Earth Manipulation Spell was limited; she had to wait for her opponent to enter her control area for it to be effective.
The Earth Manipulation Spell was a type of spell that could continuously manipulate the terrain of a certain area around oneself, provided there was mana to support it.
Moreover, it was only considered a basic spell!
This meant that as soon as she released control, she could immediately cast other spells.
Of course, there was a prerequisite for casting this spell...