Wow, I knew these pillars were big when I saw them from afar, but they look even more imposing when I'm up close to them like this.

Magnus scanned the area, the harsh light of the artificial sun filtering through the labyrinth of sandstone pillars. It felt almost like navigating through the streets of a sand city, weathered and ancient. One could only imagine what kind of colossal geographic structure they were a part of in the past before being worn down by weathering.

The academy staff may have created this Alternate Space, but I wonder how they made this desert? Was it a real place somewhere in the world that they pulled into the Alternate Space, or did they make it themselves?

Manipulating the earth through elementrix magic was tricky; eventually, the mana-based earth would revert to its original state under the suppression effect of the spirits. But, with enough mastery, a Master-level mage or higher could potentially create such a landscape over time with pure elemental magic. Lost in the thought, a sudden gust of wind swept grains of sand into Magnus's eyes, causing him to shield his face.

[Master, stop. Something isn't right.]

Almost immediately after hearing Basker's voice, Magnus stopped walking, letting the breeze pass before lowering his arm. He was standing practically in the center of the rocky pillar area now, and there was an eerie silence now that the wind had subsided.

What is it, Basker?

Looking around, Magnus didn't notice anything strange. But, as Basker replied to him, he realized that was because the attack just now had been invisible.

[Something had just attempted to influence your mind.]

Upon hearing that, Magnus immediately frowned, going completely on guard.

Really? But I hadn't detected anything.

[That's likely because of the Command Console.]

Magnus suddenly realized what Basker meant. Except for when he slept, Magnus kept the Command Console running almost non-stop in his mind. That meant his thoughts were constantly influenced by it.

Just as nothing in the physical world, whether it be material, or through force could stop Magnus's Rokshaata once it set its trajectory, there was no mental manipulation that could affect Magnus's mind while the Command Console was active, outside of his and Basker's own thoughts. It gave him a sort of mental immunity against attempts to alter his mind, which meant many mental magic spells were essentially useless against him. However, spells that merely probed his thoughts or intentions were still a bit of an issue, as they didn't alter anything—they only browsed around.

That was why Eveline's spatial doors still worked for him and why they could take him to places like the Mage's Apprentice Compendium as long as he concentrated properly. But despite that advantage, Magnus was now faced with a critical problem: he had been mentally attacked without knowing how or by whom. His opponent remained concealed, leaving him with no information to act upon. Underneath his mask, Magnus clicked his tongue in frustration, his mind racing.

This is a bad situation to be in all things considered. I thought coming here would reveal my opponent's hiding place, but instead, they've found me first, and they're definitely skilled at hiding

As great as the Command Console was, one thing Magnus had yet to figure out was a way to create an extrasensory ability through it. While his perception surpassed human limits, it fell short of the supernatural instincts of a knight or the sensory magic of a mage. All in all, in his current position, Magnus knew his best move was to get out of his enemy's range. So without hesitation, he used [Self Body Puppetry] to take control of his movements and bolted away from the pillars surrounding him.

Once I'm back out in the open desert, I can come up with a plan to flush them out.

Magnus raced at a speed comparable to an Apprentice-level knight, covering hundreds of meters in mere seconds. Suddenly, however, he heard whistling from his left as three projectiles arced through the air, aimed directly at him. Coming to an abrupt halt, Magnus swiftly executed something in the Command Console. Mana born from nothingness quickly formed together to form a mana construct to block them—a semi-transparent wall.

Mere moments later, the three projectiles that seemed akin to blurs slammed into the wall, Magus could see exactly what they were. They resembled crossbow bolts; however, they were nearly as long as one's forearm and almost entirely made of metal. As they fell to the ground, not able to penetrate the mana construct Magnus created, they made a loud clanging noise and buried themselves deep into the sand, even indenting the underlying sandstone.

Those bolts were traveling fast, but they are so heavy. To be able to fire them at that speed and so accurately... either I'm dealing with a mage with amazing telekinetic control or an extremely unique knight who uses projectiles like Mia.

As Magnus was thinking about his opponent, his opponent was doing the same. Hidden behind one of the many pillars surrounding Magnus, hundreds of meters away, a cloaked figure could be seen in hiding: Magnus's opponent, Reimun Verdez. They were holding a massive bow that seemed to have been custom-made in their hands.

Concealed behind one of the many pillars hundreds of meters away, Magnus's opponent in this match, Reimun Verdez could be seen, hidden by their cloak. They gripped a massive, custom-made bow crafted from smooth blue wood adorned with silver and gold carvings. There was no way a normal person could have ever drawn such a bow; only knights, who could exert tons upon tons of force through their arms alone, could wield it.

Peering towards Magnus, Reimun muttered to themselves, "Has the drug not taken effect yet? No... It should have by now. My calculations factored in every detail, and the wind's trajectory hadn't changed at all."

The moment Magnus had entered the sea of hoodoos, he had released a drug into the air itself, perfectly downwind, so that Magnus would inhale it while still unaware of his presence. It was a cognitive disruptor, a drug designed to impair judgment and decision-making subtly. In Reimun's mind, as long as Magnus had been affected by it, his next attack would have ended the match. Even if Magnus had seen it coming, the drug would have prevented him from being able to think up an appropriate reaction in response.

"Well, he's Luden Rilhawk's ace, so I guess it's not too surprising. If he could be dealt with by a mere drug, then the other factions wouldn't have considered him a threat in the first place." As Reimun said this, he reached out into the air with one of his hands, upon which was a small black-embellished ring. It looked sort of similar to the one Luden wore, though clearly of lower quality. Appearing and materializing in a flash of light, a metal bolt, just like the one he had fired at Magnus earlier, appeared in his hand, though this one seemed to be engraved with runes.

"I guess I'll have to be a bit more forceful in order to take care of him," Reimun murmured as he knocked the rune-engraved bolt, narrowing their reddish-brown gaze as they aimed at Magnus. On the other hand, Magnus's eyes were carefully scanning everything in front of him. He knew the general direction of where the projectiles had come from, but nothing specific. That's why he hadn't moved from where he had been attacked.

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One more... If they launch one more attack, I can pin down their position.

With that singular thought at the forefront of his mind, Magnus's focus sharpened to an extreme as he swiftly withdrew something from his pocket. Though they couldn't see each other, a tense standoff ensued between him and his unseen opponent. But that feeling shattered as Magnus caught a flash from just right to where he was looking. It was only for a moment, but it was the glint of the artificial sun's light bouncing off of something metallic.

Found you!

Without hesitation, Magnus separated Rokshaata from his grip with a flick of his thumb. In an instant, he activated [Bullseye], propelling the projectile section of Rokshaata towards the glint at supersonic speed. Simultaneously, a projectile streaked towards him, the two narrowly missing each other in mid-air. Magnus's attack was faster, and with the projectile section of Rokshaata piercing directly through the rock pillar, Reimun was hiding behind it without any resistance. But it didn't hit anything. Reimun had moved the instant he fired, knowing Magnus might retaliate. At the same time, Magus quickly jumped back as fast as he could to avoid the bolt Reimun had fired at him.

The bolt whistled through the air, striking exactly where Magnus had been standing, digging through the sand, and hitting the stone underneath. The instant it made contact, the runes engraved on the bolt's surface, which had seemed dull, sprang to life as mana coursed through them and finally erupted into the world. The explosion caused the entire area to shake as the sound echoed between the numerous stone pillars and a massive ball of smoke erupted, billowing into the sky.

After moving out of the explosion radius, the shockwave rolled over Magnus, causing his projected clothes to flutter violently from the turbulent aftermath. Still, his gaze didn't leave the direction in which he had fired Rokshaata's projectile section, even for a moment. And that's when he saw him, dashing from behind the pillar he launched his attack from to reposition. Magnus spotted Reimun's cloaked figure.

Oh, no, you don't!

Determined not to let Reimun escape, Magnus unleashed [Bullseye] once more, redirecting Rokshaata's projectile section with a swift turn. Like a serpent, it curved through the air, homing in on Reimun mid-jump.

"Huh?" Noticing the projectile, Reimun reacted quickly, trying to dodge, but it was no use.

That thing! It's too fast; I can't avoid it!

Realizing evasion was impossible, Reimun quickly mobilized his aura to protect his body, just as the projectile section of Rokshaata slammed into his side. At first, he felt nothing, just as he should have, considering his aura should have negated the damage entirely. But Rokshaata didn't lose its force as it should have, nor did Reimun's aura repel it as its nature dictated it should.

Shit! I nearly forgot! A bunch of students said they saw him completely bypass Gozif's protective aura, which means...

External aura defenses were almost entirely useless against attacks powered by the Command Console. Reimun felt his aura being forcefully squeezed out of the way as Rokshaata made contact with it, until finally, it struck his body directly, and he was sent hurdling down to the ground. Like a meteor, his body slammed into the sandy earth, kicking up a cloud of dust and sand.

"You're not the only one who can play fire, you know," Magnus's voice, chilling and deep through his mask, resonated as he held his hands poised before him.

[Arcane Matrix]

With a violent eruption that shook the ground, flames manifested in front of Magnus, engulfing everything in their path like a relentless tidal wave of almost bluish-white fire. The ground scorched, turned red, and melted under the intense heat as the wall of flames surged toward where Reimun had landed. The flames were colossal and unremitting, towering over smaller to medium-sized stone pillars that where akin to trees and four-story buildings.

Outside the Alternate Space, students watching Magnus's match, along with others, gasped in amazement.

"Incredible... I never would have guessed Cain had such mastery over fire elementrix magic. To conjure so many flames at once, without even needing an incantation. And I've never seen flames of that color and intensity before; they're literally liquefying the ground around them."

"Indeed, it looks like even after our match, he had plenty of cards to play." The first voice to have spoken seemed surprised to hear someone listening in and reply to him. Turning their head, they looked to see who it was.

"You... You're Gozif, right? You went up against Cain in the first match."

"Hmhm, and you're Fardeir. Seems neither of us lucked out being pitted against Luden's Faction members." They shared a brief chuckle before returning their attention to the screens and ongoing matches.

"Are you sure you should be up? It's only been a day since your match with Cain," Fardeir said, noticing Gozif's bandaged body beneath his uniform, his Aura Intensity clearly not fully recovered.

"I'll be fine. We knights recover fast. Besides, I have to witness the matches of the one who defeated me, even if it worsens my injuries," Gozif replied, a serene yet determined look in his eyes.

"Yeah... I can't help but feel sorry for Reimun. Knight or mage, it seems no one can match that monster," Fardeir sighed, watching Magnus unleash explosive flames that seemed to consume everything.

"Hmm, maybe," Gozif mused with a hint of doubt in his voice, catching Fardeir's interest.

"Oh? Do you think he might lose? Even after facing him yourself?" Fardeir raised an eyebrow.

"It's exactly because I fought him that I managed to discover his one severe weakness. There are all sorts of knights out there. Outside the general types, like those that rely on strength, speed, or incredible defenses, some families create and hone knights and aura styles for very specific purposes." Hearing Gozif's explanation, Fardeir narrowed his eyes.

"And you're saying Reimun is one of those?" Fardeir asked, his gaze narrowing.

"Yes. I fought against Reimun myself once, and he was a fairly straight forward opponent. But... that was when we were on an open field. The Verdez Family isn't known for having the strongest knights, nor the fastest, or the toughest. But I can assure you, every single one of their knights was born and bred for infiltration and assassination."

At that moment, Fardeir heard gasps amongst the students around him as he turned his attention back up to the screen. The flames Magnus had conjured had dissipated, leaving a trail of red-hot glass and melted stone in their wake. But even more shocking than that was the fact that Reimun had completely vanished. The crater he had made when he fell and the ground around it had been scorched just like everything else, but the target of the attack itself wasn't there.

Did he get away? But how? Don't tell me... He used my own attack's size against me. It blocked my vision, meaning I wouldn't have seen how he got away or where he escaped to.

He had gone for such a large-scale attack because he thought it wouldn't cost him anything. But instead, it had caused him to lose track of his surroundings entirely. Realizing that, Magnus prepared to move, but this time he heard the whistling sound too late. The second he went to shift his legs, a metal bolt shot from his blind spot pierced straight through his thigh.

Blood splattered onto the still-heated ground, sizzling on contact. At the same time, fresh blood poured through the hole that had appeared in Magnus's leg, which caused him to fall on one knee. Still, even as pain shot through his body, Magus quickly erected a five-layered mana barrier around his entire body.

Fuck, that hurts! He relocated fast. He had already gotten into my blind spot by the time I realized he was gone, and he got me the second I tried to relocate, just like I did to him.

Still, the wound was superficial to Magnus, as he was now. Before his knee had even touched the ground, the damaged muscle had already been repaired, and now the hole itself was visibly closing, with new skin covering the wound. But Reimun pressed his advantage. Just as the wound closed and Magnus stood, four more bolts shot from his blind spot. Magnus considered reinforcing his mana barrier and adding layers, but then he realized the bolts were not aimed at him.

Instead, each of the bolts hit four nearby stone pillars, exploding on impact, causing the pillars, which may have been standing for countless years, to crack and crumble before slowly tilting to fall.

He even took my speed into account. No matter which direction I break, the other three pillars will cut me off and crush me

Understanding the situation, Magnus stood still the magic barrier surrounding him slowly vanishing as the pillars fell. A smile spread beneath his mask and chuckled as adrenaline coursed through his veins.

Hehe, and here I thought there would be no reason for me to give it my all during the rest of the Live Examination. Alright then! It's not like we're fighting in the Academy Arena anymore, so even if I end up destroying this place, it should be fine, right!?