Chapter 245: The Practical Assessment [2]

The second stage of Holy Trinity’s practical assessment attracted a much larger crowd than the first.

Unlike yesterday’s individual exercises, students would now compete against one another under the supervision of the Magic Department’s instructors. Several arenas had been prepared across the western training grounds, with protective barriers surrounding each one.

Naturally, most students were more interested in discovering their opponents than listening to the rules.

Ilya couldn’t blame them. A practical examination was one thing, but being told that your performance would be evaluated against another student made the entire affair much more interesting.

"Students will be assigned opponents according to their preliminary results," Professor Eklund announced. "Each engagement will last five minutes. Victory may be achieved through surrender, incapacitation, or activation of an opponent’s protective seal. If neither participant secures a victory, the supervising instructor will determine the result."

The announcement also confirmed that spells above the Second Circle would be prohibited.

That restriction earned a few complaints, particularly from students who had already advanced beyond it.

Tristan Bellacourt, however, appeared unconcerned.

Ilya wasn’t surprised. The southern nobleman was an exceptional wizard even without access to his strongest spells, and his talent for redirecting magical attacks had little to do with overwhelming an opponent through raw power.

Besides, it wasn’t as though Ilya possessed an advantage in conventional spellcasting.

He was still working with First Circle magic.

The instructors began announcing the first pairings, and Ilya soon discovered that his opponent would be a Second Circle student named Cedric Armand.

The name was unfamiliar, although Ma?lle recognized him.

"He’s from the western lecture group," she explained. "He’s good at defensive formations. I heard he received one of the highest marks during their last practical examination."

"Anything else?"

"He doesn’t attack much. Most of his opponents end up exhausting themselves trying to break through."

That was useful information.

A defensive specialist could be troublesome, especially when the examination imposed limits on mana expenditure. If Cedric could force Ilya into a prolonged exchange, his greater experience with conventional magic might become an advantage.

Fortunately, knowing an opponent’s preferred approach made preparing for it much easier.

Ilya thanked Ma?lle and joined the students waiting near the third arena.

When his name was called, he entered the formation and found Cedric already standing at the opposite end.

The young wizard was tall and neatly dressed, with the composed manner of someone accustomed to competing before an audience. He greeted Ilya politely, showing little of the hostility that sometimes accompanied matches between noble students.

"I’ve heard about your performance during the Hunting Grounds examination," Cedric said.

"Hopefully nothing too embarrassing."

"Mostly that you’re difficult to fight."

Ilya smiled.

"I’ll take that as a compliment."

The supervising instructor completed the necessary checks before activating the arena’s protective barrier.

Both participants returned to their starting positions.

"Begin!"

Cedric immediately raised his hand.

Three stone pillars erupted from the ground around him, forming a triangular arrangement. A thin layer of mana connected their surfaces, creating a defensive enclosure that covered him from several directions.

Ilya recognized the general structure.

It was a Second Circle defensive formation designed to distribute the force of incoming attacks across several supporting points. Destroying one pillar would accomplish little while the others remained intact.

An effective technique.

Cedric followed by reinforcing the ground beneath his feet, making it more difficult for an opponent to interfere with the formation from below.

Apparently, he had done his homework.

Ilya formed several ice javelins and launched them toward the nearest pillar.

The projectiles shattered against the barrier, leaving shallow marks across its surface. Cedric made no attempt to retaliate, maintaining his defenses while waiting for Ilya to commit more mana.

A sensible response.

Ilya circled toward the opposite side and released another pair of javelins. The formation adjusted automatically, shifting its reinforcement toward the incoming attacks.

The response was quick enough that a frontal assault would accomplish little.

More importantly, Cedric had no reason to abandon his position.

With five minutes available, he could afford to wait until Ilya became impatient.

Unfortunately for him, Ilya was perfectly willing to spend some time observing.

He released a small current of freezing air along the ground, allowing it to spread around the outer pillars. Cedric responded by reinforcing their bases, preventing the cold from affecting the formation’s stability.

Ilya continued circling.

The spectators watching from outside gradually became restless.

"Is he just going to keep throwing ice at it?" Garen wondered.

Ma?lle was following Cedric’s movements rather than Ilya’s attacks.

"Armand hasn’t used much mana. He can keep defending for a while."

Solveig watched Ilya move around the pillars.

"Then he’d better find another way through."

Inside the arena, Ilya had already identified something interesting.

Cedric’s formation responded to attacks according to their direction and intensity. Whenever one pillar received pressure, the other two supplied additional mana to reinforce it.

The arrangement was excellent against repeated attacks.

However, its greatest advantage also imposed a limitation.

The pillars needed to maintain their relative positions for the formation to function properly.

Ilya glanced toward the ground beneath Cedric’s feet.

An idea occurred to him.

He accelerated.

A rush of freezing wind carried him toward the nearest pillar, and he struck its outer barrier with a concentrated burst of cold mana.

Cedric immediately reinforced the affected section.

Before his opponent could retaliate, Ilya withdrew and approached from another angle.

The second attack struck a different pillar.

Again, Cedric adjusted his defense.

After several exchanges, the young wizard began recognizing the pattern.

"You’re wasting your mana, Belozersky."

Ilya didn’t answer.

Instead, he accelerated again.

This time, however, he changed direction before reaching the pillar, allowing the blizzard to carry him upward.

Cedric reacted immediately, raising one of his stone supports to intercept the approaching attack.

That was the opening Ilya wanted.

The moment the pillar shifted, the triangular formation lost part of its stability.

Ilya redirected his movement and descended toward the opposite side, where the connecting barrier had briefly weakened.

Cedric noticed the danger and attempted to restore his original arrangement.

Too late.

Ilya slipped through the opening before the pillar could return to its position.

For the first time since the engagement began, Cedric was forced to fight without the full protection of his defensive formation.

He reacted quickly.

A wall of stone erupted between them, followed by several sharp projections intended to prevent Ilya from approaching.

Ilya used the blizzard to move sideways, avoiding the projections before closing the distance.

Cedric immediately constructed another barrier.

Unfortunately, Ilya had already anticipated that response.

Rather than attacking the wall directly, he used a short burst of acceleration to approach from its exposed side.

Cedric turned to face him.

His next spell never finished.

Ilya stopped within arm’s reach, a short blade of ice resting against the protective seal on his opponent’s chest.

The supervising instructor raised his hand.

"Victory, Ilya Belozersky!"

The arena’s barrier dimmed, and the surrounding students began discussing the result.

Cedric lowered his arms with an exhausted sigh.

"I thought I had you."

"You almost did."

"If I’d kept the pillars in place, you wouldn’t have gotten through."

"Probably," Ilya admitted.

Cedric seemed to appreciate the answer.

His defense had been strong enough to withstand Ilya’s ordinary attacks, and the only reason the engagement ended early was that he had reacted too aggressively to the sudden aerial approach.

Ilya had exploited that mistake, but it wasn’t something he could expect every opponent to repeat.

As they left the arena, the supervising instructor recorded their results and offered Cedric a few observations regarding the stability of his defensive formation.

Ilya listened as well.

Although he had won, he had consumed more mana than expected while testing the pillars. Against an opponent with greater experience, those initial exchanges might have become a serious disadvantage.

There was still room for improvement.

Outside the arena, Garen greeted him with an enthusiastic slap on the shoulder.

"That was good! I thought you’d be stuck outside those pillars until the time ran out."

"So did I, for a while."

"Really?"

"Armand’s defense was better than I expected."

Ma?lle nodded.

"He’s one of the strongest defensive specialists in our year. Getting through that formation without using higher-Circle magic is impressive."

Ilya appreciated the compliment, although he was more interested in the remaining engagements.

Several students from their group were still waiting for their turns, including Garen and Solveig. Elise had been assigned to another arena, while Tristan was scheduled to participate later in the afternoon.

The instructors had arranged the engagements in several groups, allowing them to evaluate students without rushing through the entire assessment.

For now, Ilya had completed his first match.

He found a place near the waiting area and watched the next participants enter the arena.

One of them specialized in fire magic, while the other appeared to favor wind spells.

Their engagement promised to be quite different from his own.

The fire mage immediately began constructing an offensive formation, only for his opponent to interrupt the casting with a sudden gust that scattered the surrounding mana.

Ilya watched with interest.

That was a useful approach.

Unlike Cedric, the wind mage had chosen to interfere with his opponent before allowing him to establish a stable position.

The difference between their fighting styles was already becoming clear.

As the exchange continued, Ilya began considering how he might respond to similar tactics.

The practical assessment was proving more educational than he had expected, and there were still plenty of capable students waiting for their turns.