'My left shoulder is fucked and my sword can only take so much more abuse.' Adonis dismissed the shroud of flames and steeled his resolve, mentally preparing himself for the encounter.
Feeling their intense gaze, he pointed his worn gladius at the nine other magic knights who couldn't wait to rip him to shreds.
"Sorry for the subpar performance... I'll be taking you seriously from now on." The Earthly Aura cloak that constantly emanated from his body intensified, causing the grass to dance gently.
DUMMM
"Just shut up and fight!" Leading the attack against the seventh Rising Star, Tarzy transformed his right arm into a monster-like appendage.
Transformation magic: Partial transfiguration
"As you wish." Meeting the first Rising Star halfway, Adonis dashed forward.
Moving at superhuman speeds, Tarzy shot a menacing left hook at the side of Adonis's skull.
"Looks like you've gotten faster." Unfazed, Adonis weaved his head beneath the attack and stepped to the side.
"Didn't I tell you to shut up?!" Following the young magic knight, Tarzy bent his elbow and descended it toward Adonis's head.
"You just seem a little tense, so I thought I'd cheer you up." Adonis leapt into the air and extended his leg at Tarzy's head.
"If you're trying to rile me up, it isn't working!" Red in the face, Tarzy moved his head out of the way and sent a devastating haymaker using his transformed arm at the midair Rising Star.
"I mean, that isn't my intention. But if it was, I'd say I'm doing pretty well." Straightening his face, Adonis brought both arms to his chest and blocked the attack.
BAM
Although he successfully shielded his vitals from the attack, Adonis was pushed backwards by Tarzy's massive fist.
THUD
"You sure do pack a punch, I'll give you that." Adonis briefly stared at his shaking left hand and smiled.
Tightening the grip around his gladius, Adonis dashed forward with a determined stride.
"I don't need your compliments." Cautious of his approaching opponent, Tarzy fired his dominant fist toward Adonis's nose.
Slightly offended, Adonis crouched out of the attack's trajectory and raised his enhanced sword suddenly, creating a deep wound on the transformed forearm.
DUMM
SPLURT
Picking up his speed slightly, Adonis tilted his blade and then slashed downwards till he exited the giant's flesh once more.
SPLURT
Unrelenting in his beautiful swordplay, Adonis adjusted his blade's position, drew a graceful arc of flying blood and delivered a shallow slash in Tarzy's chest.
SPLURT
"S-so fast..." Struggling to process his pain and much less Adonis's attacks, Tarzy widened his eyes in shock.
Now behind his opponent, Adonis reversed the grip of his blade and drove it towards Tarzy's upper back.
SHING
Lava Magic: volcanic bombs
Saving Tarzy from any further punishment were dozens of small magma balls that fell from the sky.
"You're lucky." Adonis said flatly before he took multiple leaps from left to right, evading each dangerous rock.
CRASH, BOOM
CRASH, BOOM
CRASH, BOOM
CRASH, BOOM
'I knew you'd ruin this beautiful landscape.' Adonis shook his head disappointedly.
Joining Adonis in his temporary retreat was Lutz inviting him to an elegant sword dance.
"Seems you have a habit of interrupting." Adonis frowned.
"Could say the same for you." Lutz jabbed his rapier at Adonis's forehead.
"When have I ever interrupted you?" Feigning ignorance, Adonis rotated his head side to evade the attack.
Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.
"Lutz move!" Cutting the reunion short, Luna cleaved her gladius at Adonis's abdomen.
"We were busy." Redirecting his attention to the newest addition, Adonis parried Luna's blade while he simultaneously twisted his torso out of the way.
"I can share." Lutz extended his blade once more, although this time he aimed at Adonis's leg.
WHOOSH
Splitting his attention once more was a large steel arrow gliding towards Adonis's sword arm.
"Have any of you ever heard of one at a time?" The silver-eyed youth raised his arm and split the arrow in half.
In the same breath, Adonis spun rapidly out of Lutz's attack path.
"Yeah, and it's my turn!" Feeling ignored, Toni heaved his onyx mace at Adonis's neck.
"I've always been more into sharing is caring." Smiling determinedly, Maxwell thrust his hammer at Adonis's back.
Accelerating his movements, Adonis ducked Toni's mace and extended his hand to touch Maxwell's hammer.
'He's going to burn it?!' Realizing Adonis's intentions, Maxwell retracted his hammer and transitioned it into a horizontal slam.
"Earth Magic: Spire." Utilizing a brown magic circle, Luna summoned a large pointy rock from beneath the ground to pierce Adonis's body.
Limiting Adonis's movement even further, Lutz drove his rapier at Adonis's head.
Now completely cornered, Adonis parried Lutz's rapier and coated his own sword in Earthly Aura.
DUMM
Without wasting any more time, Adonis blocked Maxwell's hammer.
CLANG
On the note of Luna's earth spike, he created a small magic circle that blasted out a small ivory flame.
Inferno magic: Hell streak (Matter variation)
In the time that the four were duking it out, Toni had created a large magic circle above every single one of them.
"I'm tired of being ignored! Lava magic: Maximum output, Magma cannon!"
BOOM
Erupting from the magic was a huge wave of lava the size of a large house.
In just a few moments, everything within twenty-five meters showered by the fiery liquid.
"Hahaha!" Acknowledging Toni's spell, Luna gathered mana within her body and exhaled a large gust of wind.
Wind magic: Exhale
Aided by the gust of wind, Luna was propelled out of the lava's range before she suffered any burns.
"What the hell is wrong with you." Irritated by the commoner's recklessness, Lutz used a tamed tempest to escape.
Gale magic: Mercury's manuevar
Scared of being burnt to death, Maxwell ejected himself into the air using a metal pillar.
Metal magic: Pillar
DWSHHHHH
The wave of magma destroyed everything it touched, melting it all into a thick black liquid.
"Hahahaha...It's finally my turn." As the large wave continued to shower down on its targetted spot, Toni's smile gradually lessened into a frown.
SIZZLE
"Wait." Realizing he never actually saw his target escape Toni frowned and halted his spell.
'Is he eliminated? No, the voice didn't announce anything... But he couldn't have survived, that was my strongest spell.' Toni peered into the mist and waited for the ash to subside.
"Did the safety protocol fail and he died?" Amber who stood 150m away from the action scowled.
"No, he couldn't have died... Right?" Panicked by the possibility that he was turned to sludge, Flora frowned.
"He must've survived." Although she sounded confident in his survival, Marie couldn't help but pray.
"I should've been the one to kill him." Jerald's blank expression gradually turned to a frown.
"T-there's no way." Maxwell choked.
"Is he really dead?" Lutz arched his brows.
"The fun's really over?" Luna sulked.
"..." Tarzy stared blankly.
***
In a large tent on the forest's outskirts.
"Well that's to be expected, I don't know what he was thinking trying to fight all of them."
"Yeah, that cocky brat!"
"He lasted longer than I expected to be honest."
"He was too confident, he should've used that 'Hell's artillery' spell from the beginning."
"Yeah, he's already proved he can use it on multiple opponents."
"..." With his arms folded and a blank expression plastered on his face, Elder Mars slowly shook his head while he listened to the professors' and assistants' opinions.
***
The forest's centre
"Why'd you have to use such a powerful spell!? You ended the fun too early." Luna swung her blade at Toni's countenance.
"You killed Donny over a stupid test!" Fighting back tears, Maxwell heaved his massive hammer toward Toni's body.
"That was really unnecessary." Lutz sighed.
"Does that mean it's back to every man for himself?" Jerald snuck a glare at Amber.
"Wait!" Noticing the thick cloud of smoke clearing up, Marie sharpened her eyes.
cough cough "Wow... Your magic output is impressive, but you need to be more careful who you go all out on." Striking fear into the bones of most of the Rising Stars was a deep raspy voice coming from the extensive volcanic smog.
"He can't be..." Flora staggered backwards.
"How'd he?" Marie tilted her head.
"Donny!"
"You need to be careful because you never know what you'll be up against... What if all your effort was for nothing? Your mana wasted..." With a quick wave of his gladius, Adonis eliminated the vog that distorted his vision and assaulted his nose.
WHOOSH
The sight the students found themselves looking at provoked various emotions from within them.
Adonis stood on an elevated platform of healthy grass encircled by a 10-meter-deep hole of cooling magma.
Despite the surrounding destruction, the grass beneath Adonis's feet remained unscathed, as if the lava hadn't dared to approach him.
"H-he wasn't even damaged? How?" Toni paused his scuffle with Luna and Maxwell.
"Did he use a barrier-type spell?" Amber tilted her head.
"You all seem confused. Would you like me to explain?" Adonis smiled.
"..."
"Hehe... Seeing that I lack any evasive martial arts techniques and my magic is incapable of granting me any boosts in speed or barrier spells I only had one option." Seeing that he was only met with deep frowns and blank expressions, Adonis continued.
"And what was that?" Maxwell asked.
"Burn the lava, obviously..." Adonis chuckled.