Chapter 129 - Nathan Evenhart's Combat Test

Phill:

I called my next opponent while watching the other areas of the arena, observing 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 combine 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 manage to face a fire user who weakens her element while she has to strengthen and maintain her ice golem.

It’s a shame we can'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 designed to evaluate your magical prowess. Each fighting arena is surrounded by a magical barrier, and that will be your test. The barrier is similar to glass, configured to not absorb the evaluator's mana, only the challenger's. Once the barrier is active, it will respond to your magical power — the more force you exert, the more damage it will take," the elf explained calmly.

The boy listened attentively.

"The more cracks appear on the barrier, the more it reflects your magical talent. The damage will determine your performance. If you manage to cause significant damage, you'll pass the test," the elf continued. "However, since you're a high noble, it's almost guaranteed you'll pass as long as you meet the minimum requirements. Do you understand?"

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 an extremely powerful magical device and won't break. Only a handful of mages have the strength to destroy it," the elf replied with a confident smile.

The boy continued to reflect.

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

The elf nodded.

"Exactly. Additionally, you'll also be evaluated by a combat instructor. So, in reality, you're doing two tests at once. The barrier will measure your magical performance, while the fight with the instructor will assess your combat skills. You don’t need to defeat the instructor, only reach the minimum score," the elf explained.

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

"You know the rules? You can surrender at any time, and it won’t disqualify you from the admission exam. This is a magical test simulating combat, so don't worry about losing. The focus is on how you manipulate and utilize your magic, as well as your combat skills," I repeated the words mechanically — after all, I'd been overseeing these exams for years.

The boy nodded, clearly understanding.

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

The boy thought for a moment, weighing his options.

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

I stared at him, trying to place the face of the annoying brat who had dared to challenge the 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 completely forgotten about him... And now, here he is, facing me on my watch. It’s fate! Finally, I get to knock this kid down a peg! Because of him and that weird event that day, I was demoted from sergeant to soldier.

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

"Yes, you may. If you feel comfortable 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 coming.

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 blade, something I’d never seen before—definitely not a standard weapon.

"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 plan my attacks better and maybe even pretend he's doing well while I get closer to land 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.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Feel free to use your strongest attack on me," I said, smiling confidently.

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

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

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

He continued to swing his sword, focused.

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

"I’m eager," he replied calmly. "I’ll hold back with the sword, because I enjoy a good exchange of blows. But I’ll need to 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 composure.

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

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 watching, I can’t go too hard on him.

More spectators gathered, drawn by the rare sight of the Thunder element in action. The boy’s free arm continued to crackle with electricity as his eyes met mine, calm and unsettling. The judge glanced at me, and I gave a nod, signaling my readiness for the fight.

"The rule is simple: no serious injuries. We don’t want accidents, but if they happen, we’ve got plenty of healing potions provided by the royal family. Understood?" the judge said, his voice echoing 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, encasing the two of us in a large magical rectangle, isolating 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 slicing through the air reached me first, and I barely had time to react. My blade rose to block the strike, and the clash of metal echoed throughout the arena. The sparks of thunder running along his arm crackled upon contact, sending a small electric shock through my body, leaving a faint tingling sensation.

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

Is he using the blunt side of his blade? Why? Is he afraid of hurting me? This has to be a joke.

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

“Circle of Fire!” I shouted, as flames surrounded the boy. The arena was turning into a furnace.

“Good strategy, forcing a direct confrontation,” he said, not seeming the least bit concerned, advancing toward me with an unsettling calm. I raised my sword, trying to block his attack, but he casually sidestepped, pushing my blade 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, expecting to see blood dripping from my fingers.

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

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

How did he do that?

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

Now this little bastard has pissed me off.

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

This spell allows me to control when the fireballs fall. A good way to suffocate the opponent and leave them cornered.

He watched, raising an eyebrow. “I can’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 coming, relentless.

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

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 laughing.

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

Son of a bitch!

I rushed at him, attacking 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 sending me to the ground. Before I could react, I lost my balance and fell from a low, unexpected blow.

As I got up, he walked away calmly, completely ignoring me.

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

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

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

My patience had run out. Annoyed, I pointed at the fireballs hovering in the air and hurled them with all my strength toward him. But before they could even get 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 circle of flames surrounding us.

"It was just the thunderclap, no electricity. Just the impact of the air," he said casually, as he stored his sword back into his storage bracelet.

"What are you doing?" asked the judge, clearly confused. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing either.

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

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

The judge analyzed the situation for a moment. "You used your element sparingly, but since it’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 continue fighting, I’ll have to mark you as having forfeited the combat test. This won’t affect your ranking due to your noble status, but it will be noted in your record."

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

"Come on, kid. Afraid to fight?" I provoked, trying to pull him back into the match.

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

"In that case, the battle is over, and I win. You can mark that in the record," the boy said, turning his back as if it was nothing. Both the judge and I exchanged 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 blast shook the ground, the air around us seemed to vibrate, and in an instant, everything went white. The roar that had filled my ears suddenly ceased, transforming into something distorted, as if it were being sucked into another place. I was forced to shield my eyes from the intense brightness that had appeared out of nowhere.

When I finally dared to open my eyes, what I saw left me speechless. All the people around us, watching the fight, were frozen like statues. The air around me was completely 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.