Chapter 035:

Lindsy Almer’s Point of View:

‘Something’s weird,’ Lindsy thought after stabilizing her position midair. ‘The spell should have been deactivated by now,’

She once more looked toward the mysterious man whose body was now nothing more than a pile of loosely connected flesh under the continuous assault of her father’s spell.

‘No way he’s still alive right?’ She wondered as she flew closer toward the maze. Some trepidation could still be seen on her face. ‘I really don’t want to touch that thing again,’ By now, her legs had regained their normal color but still she was reluctant to experience that sensation again.

“Gilbert!” It was then that she heard Minerva’s voice cutting through all sounds. She turned to look toward the old woman who had launched herself into the air once again.

‘What’s she planning?’ Luckily for her, she did not have to think for long as soon, winds started to gather around the old woman, supporting her momentarily before relaunching her toward the maze; or more specifically, toward the mysterious man.

Lindsy winced at the sound of flesh exploding as fist met mangled flesh.

‘That should have ended it for sure,’ She couldn’t help but think hopefully.

Sadly, Lindsy’s hopes were bound to be shattered once more as the shield that kept them out of the maze remained firm.

Baffled, she turned to look toward Minerva but was startled when she noticed the expression on the old woman’s face.

‘Is she afraid?’ The young Almer thought with equal parts schadenfreude and concern.

Overhead, her grandfather’s winds had changed targets from the mysterious man to the shield itself causing tremors to spread with every collision.

Soon however she would come to regret approaching as she was treated with an utterly horrifying sight; the mysterious man’s flesh, which was spread about, was slowly crawling back.

As in it seemed like each and every piece of muscle had a mind of its own as it made its way toward its host.

Minerva’s expression shifted from fear to disgust as she witnessed how the man’s face was actually growing back; bone first then muscle, and lastly skin.

The last straw was when a fresh set of teeth descended from the man’s gums and Minerva understood that the man was smiling brightly with wide eyes.

“W-what are you!” She asked, aghast.

“I think you already know, young lady. Ahahahahahah,” He laughed loudly into her ears.

“No. No. No. NOOOOOOO” Minerva screamed as the bronze hue surrounding her body grew so dark it was more black than brown. “Regenerate from this, bastard’s son!” Her once feminine and elderly voice turned deep and demonic as she clenched her blackened fists. Lindsy was mesmerized as her eyes captured the sight of Minerva sitting atop the man with her wild hair freely billowing into the frenzying winds.

Boom! The first punch shattered the man’s new skull and fissures formed on the once seemingly indestructible shield.

Lindsy shivered at the strength being displayed before her as hope reignited within her.

Boom! The second punch completely wiped the man’s head from existence and left a sizable dent in the shield.

“Yeah!” Lindsy cheered with both fists held above her head.

“Lindsy, focus!” A booming voice admonished her actions, causing her to flinch guiltily.

“What, why?” But her question soon proved pointless as she noticed the rumbling surrounding them grow louder and louder.

‘This…’ She thought in a daze as she watched rocks float upward from the ground and gather in various locations.

“Everyone, protect Minerva!” Gilbert Almer’s voice commanded before being drowned out by the sound of a dozen dragons roaring.

The teachers were quick to respond as each immediately faced off against a dragon of their own. Most of those from Graveclaws used earthen spells while Ike and the other teacher from Iron-wall used weapons.

Lindsy wanted to help Ike as she knew that he was the weakest of them in combat, but she had no room to do so as she was tied up facing off two dragons at once.

“{Wind Blade}” She chanted as she swiped her hand toward one of the dragons. A gust of wind so sharp it could shave hair off slammed against one of the dragons, pushing it away but dealing little damage.

‘These things have a lot of defense!’ She marveled while dodging out of the second dragon’s attack.

“Then let’s try this!” Lindsy smirked as she held both hands before her. A magical circle more complex than that of {Wind Blade} materialized quickly.

“{Sonic Boom}!” She chanted at the two dragons charging at her at once.

A deafening sound followed suit as both dragons were assaulted by vibrations that tore apart their bodies.

“And this, {Consecutive Wind Blades}!” She chanted as multiple gusts of wind further tore into the dragons’ bodies, shredding them to pieces.

Finally done with the threat, she turned her sight toward the other teachers and was happy to see that most of them had also defeated their foes.

Hearing the sound of constant clashing above her she turned to look upward.

The other five dragons were targeting her grandfather, but Lindsy was relaxed.

‘You poor bastards,’ She thought as she watched the pitiful dragons be torn apart by vicious gusts of winds in a matter of seconds.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

‘Ok, looks like we’ll be able to access the maze soon, hopefully, nothing happens in the meantime,”

………………………………………………..

“There he is!” Alexander shouted with murder in his eyes.

“Timmy! Slow down, we’re gonna hit a wall!” Clive screamed.

“...” Rus was still passed out.

“Tsk,” Alec clucked in annoyance before blasting off with great speed. Mid-air, he turned back and outstretched his hand, materializing a magical circle.

“Cheap bastard!” Alexander taunted as he slowed down slightly.

“{Fire Bomb}!”

“Clive, Hang on!”

“What are you going to do?”

“Practice!” Alexander replied before violently twisting his body back and tossing Rus high into the air.

“Don’t throw me!” Clive pleaded.

“Hang on!” Alexander reminded as he shifted his hold over Clive into something like a princess carry before lowering his body to the ground and skidding forward below the {Fire Bomb}.

“You crazy bastard!” Clive screamed while covering his eyes from the intense heat above.

“My fucking knees!” Alexander shrieked but he was still relieved he managed to dodge below the attack. Once cleared, he resumed his running posture while smoothly catching the falling Rus.

“Impressive,” Alec remarked with a smile.

“Bastard!” Alexander grew enraged as he pushed forward even faster.

To respond, Alec was about to fire off another spell before noticing something odd. The maze no longer had any turns, rather it was now a long straight line.

‘We’re close to the exit!’ Alexander realized as he noticed the growing abundance of Wind particles.

Soon enough, both youths were proven right as the end of the maze was in sight.

“It was a good try but unfortunately, you lose,” Alec said with a laugh before blasting off for the final time.

“Damnit!” Clive complained.

‘Ok, it’s go time!’ Alexander, on the other hand, gave a vicious smile. Though he did not read the massive wall of text written by the All-Bright system thoroughly, he did notice those thirty juicy Bonus points.

‘Status!’

{- Innate skills: None.

- System skills: Communication (Common-Below average), Charismatic Leadership (Uncommon-Below Average)

- Skill List: Evasion (Common-Advanced), Hand to Hand Combat (Common-Intermediate), Eyes of Discernment (Uncommon-Advanced), Spear-Play (Common-Master), Swordsmanship (Common-Novice), Knife-Arts (Common-Intermediate)}

{User Status-Main Attributes:-Vitality: 15; -Strength: 23; -Durability: 12; -Agility: 28; -Stamina: 15;

Bonus Stat Points: 30}

{User Status-Sub Attributes: -Fire resistance: Unquantifiable, -Wind affinity: Unquantifiable }

{Synchronisation Rate: 5%}

‘Ok, that should be enough!’ Alexander thought.

{Bonus Stat Point usage registered: User Status-Main Attribute: -Agility: 28 + 5 = 33}

{Bonus Stat Point usage registered: User Status-Main Attribute: -Strength: 23 + 5 = 28}

{Remaining Bonus Stat points: 20}

‘Alright!’ Feeling newfound strength surging through him, Alexander grit his teeth and focused on the Wind particles gathering around Clive’s Wisker.

“H-how?” Clive asked after he noticed Alexander running faster.

“Shut up!” Alexander replied, trying his best to concentrate the particles around his right arm, where he now held Rus.

“We’re not gonna make it!” Clive shot back after seeing how close Alec was to the finish line. It was a shame, they were just a stone throw’s distance away as well.

“Orrrrraaaaaaaah” Finally done with his preparations, Alexander heaved a mighty roar before doing the unthinkable; he threw Rus’s unconscious body with everything he had left, including all of Clive’s remaining Wind Particles.

The result was a human cannonball that bolted toward Alec’s back.

“Timothy!” Clive yelled in horror.

“Baek!” Alec shouted in exasperation before outstretching his hand in order to blast away the incoming Rus. But after a second of hesitation and upon seeing the youth’s defenseless state, Alec determined that any attack would cause major damage.

Not knowing what to do and under the pressure of an approaching Rus, Alec had no choice but to duck to the side, allowing Rus to pass him unharmed.

A horn blasted off the moment Rus's body crash-landed a distance away from the finish line with a sickening thud. The hero, though unconscious, had come first place!

“Hahahahahahha!” Alexander laughed petulantly after the horn blew off, but a few seconds later, his legs gave out and he tumbled to a fall, landing a few steps away from the finish line.

Clive, who had fallen with him, was also snickering despite himself. Noticing that Timothy no longer had any will to continue, he laboriously stood up and hobbled toward the finish line.

Alec, who stood a step before the finish line with a crumpled expression, turned toward Clive.

“You really shouldn’t be moving, the aftereffects of awakening your Wisker will be more severe the more you exert yourself,” He advised.

Clive waved him off as he continued his hobble, unfortunately, he would not get far as he was assaulted by a massive migraine which robbed him of what little control over his body he had left.

Watching Clive tumble into a heap right next to him, Alec heaved a heavy sigh before making his way toward the nearby Timothy who was still laughing.

“What are you doing here, Alec?” Alexander asked with mock concern. “You better hurry and grab Second Place before I throw Clive over. How embarrassing would that be, I wonder?” He laughed, “You already lost to a passed-out brat, how about a second? hehehahahaha”

“You truly are a petty bastard,” Alec said calmly before violently kicking Timothy’s chin, knocking the already exhausted youth out.

Now surrounded by the bodies of three unconscious youths, Alec couldn’t help but sigh once more, feeling inexplicably defeated.

“I’ll be seeing you in the second round,” He told the unconscious Timothy before casually crossing the finish line, under the confused gazes of the faculty.

Minutes later, Mark and Rebecca appeared after she had smashed the nearest wall.

Rebecca gasped worriedly at the sight of the unconscious Clive and Timothy. “Mark, we have to help them!”

“Finish liiiiiiineeeeee” Her brother, however, was too busy throwing himself across the finish line with everything he had left.

“Mark!” She admonished before sighing in exasperation. She hurriedly picked Clive up after un-summoning her hammer. “Sorry, Your Highness!” She apologized, flinging him over her shoulder with ease; she then moved toward Timothy.

But as soon as she got close, she noticed that he was snickering to himself despite still being unconscious.

Shivers raced down her spine. His face was a good-looking one, but the smile he had on was slimy nonetheless, this made her not want to even touch him.

She turned her back to him and sprinted for the finish line, but just as she was about to cross, she thought of something. Looking at the finish line before looking back at Clive, she bit her lip, clearly conflicted. But before long she seemed to have come to a decision, She tossed Clive aside before crossing, earning her fourth place.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, your Highness,” She said pitifully as she knelt to grab the unconscious Clive by the foot. She dragged him across the finish line as gently as she could.

A bit after the twins left, several students crossed the finish line as well, not even sparing a glance at Alexander.

Soon enough the group Ed and Grim were part of arrived and the pair now stood above Alexander with thoughtful expressions on their faces.

“What’s this idiot doing?” Ed asked.

“Judging by the bruise, it seems like someone knocked him out,”

“Him?” Ed asked incredulously, wondering who could knock the monstrous Timothy out.

“Indeed,” Grim said before nonchalantly walking through the finish line accompanied by Pricilla.

Ed had half the mind to leave him lying in the dirt as well, but after a few seconds of thought, he found enough compassion in his heart to roll his unconscious friend across the finish line with the tip of his foot.