Chapter 247: The Practical Assessment [4]

Ma?lle Vauquelin had chosen a rather unfortunate opponent.

Across the arena stood a Second Circle wizard whose lightning magic had already earned him a reputation for fast casting. He had performed well during the first stage of the assessment, and several students expected him to win without much difficulty.

Ma?lle, meanwhile, was better known for her spell construction.

Under ordinary circumstances, that was an advantage. Her understanding of magical formations allowed her to produce reliable spells with fewer mistakes than most students at her level. Unfortunately, constructing anything complicated required time, and a lightning mage was unlikely to provide much of it.

Ilya watched from beside Garen and Solveig as the supervising instructor signaled the beginning.

Lightning immediately flashed across the arena.

Ma?lle raised a defensive barrier just before the attack reached her, but the impact forced her backward. Her opponent followed with another spell, keeping her occupied while he advanced toward the center.

It was an aggressive opening, though perfectly reasonable against someone who preferred preparing her spells in advance.

Ma?lle retreated behind one of the arena’s stone obstacles.

The lightning mage pursued her, confident that he had already forced her into a disadvantageous position.

Ilya frowned.

That seemed a little careless.

Ma?lle had spent enough time working on spell construction to understand how important preparation was. She wouldn’t have entered the arena without considering how to compensate for that weakness.

Sure enough, when her opponent rounded the obstacle, a magic circle appeared beneath his feet.

Several narrow stone pillars erupted around him.

The young wizard reacted quickly, blasting two apart with lightning before they could close around him. However, the brief interruption gave Ma?lle enough time to finish constructing another spell.

A second formation activated behind him.

This time, the pillars emerged at an angle, forcing him toward the arena’s boundary.

"Ah, she’s using the obstacles to hide her formations," Garen realized.

Solveig nodded. "He was so busy chasing her that he never checked the ground."

The lightning mage evidently recognized his mistake. Rather than continuing his pursuit, he retreated toward the center and began attacking the surrounding formations from a distance.

That was a much better decision.

Ma?lle had prepared several traps, but maintaining them required mana. If her opponent could destroy them without entering their effective range, she would eventually exhaust herself.

The engagement continued for another minute, with both students gradually adapting to each other’s methods.

Ma?lle attempted to restrict his movements, while the lightning mage concentrated on destroying her formations before they could activate.

Neither managed to secure a decisive advantage.

Then Ma?lle changed her approach.

Instead of constructing another trap, she deliberately abandoned the two formations closest to her opponent.

The lightning mage immediately advanced, believing she had finally exhausted her preparations.

A reasonable conclusion, considering the amount of mana she had already spent.

Unfortunately, he failed to notice the small magic circle Ma?lle had placed beneath one of the stone obstacles earlier.

The moment he passed it, the formation activated.

A wall of stone rose behind him, cutting off his retreat.

Ma?lle released the spell she had been preparing.

Several stone projectiles struck from different directions, leaving the young wizard with no clear route of escape.

He managed to destroy two, but the third struck his protective barrier.

The seal activated.

"Victory, Ma?lle Vauquelin!"

The spectators applauded as the arena’s protective formation dimmed.

Garen immediately began cheering, earning an irritated glance from one of the nearby instructors.

Ilya smiled.

Ma?lle had won by exploiting her opponent’s expectations. She couldn’t match his casting speed, so she had made him believe that his aggression was working while gradually preparing the conditions for her final attack.

More importantly, she had remained patient even after her initial traps failed.

When Ma?lle returned, Garen congratulated her enthusiastically.

"I thought you were finished when he destroyed those pillars!"

"So did he," she replied, sounding rather pleased with herself.

Wolfram, who had joined them while the match was underway, seemed more interested in the technical details.

"How did you conceal the last formation? I didn’t notice you constructing it."

"I prepared the foundation while he was attacking the first barrier. The obstacle blocked his view, and I only needed to complete the final section afterward."

Wolfram considered the explanation before nodding.

"That was well done."

"Thank you. See? You can compliment people without making it sound painful."

"I wasn’t aware I had that problem."

"You do."

Ilya left them to their discussion.

With Ma?lle’s engagement completed, several members of their group had already finished their first matches. Garen had lost, while Solveig and Ma?lle had secured victories.

Wolfram and Lisbet were still waiting for their assignments.

There was no reason for everyone to remain gathered around the same arena, especially when the instructors were preparing several engagements simultaneously.

Ilya therefore headed toward the eastern training grounds, where Elise was scheduled to participate.

He arrived just as the previous match ended.

Several students had gathered around the arena, and judging from the conversations he overheard, Elise’s opponent was another high-ranking participant from the first stage.

That made sense.

Elise had always been among the strongest students in their year, and her performance during the Hunting Grounds examination had only reinforced that reputation.

When she noticed Ilya among the spectators, her expression brightened.

He raised a hand in greeting.

Elise smiled before turning her attention back toward the arena.

Her opponent was a young woman specializing in water magic, a difficult matchup for someone whose preferred offensive spells involved lightning.

At least, that was how the spectators seemed to view it.

Ilya wasn’t convinced.

Water could conduct electricity, certainly, but treating that as an automatic advantage ignored the fact that a competent water mage would understand the properties of her own spells.

And Elise was hardly someone who relied on a single method of attack.

The instructor announced the beginning.

Her opponent immediately summoned several streams of water, forming a rotating barrier around herself. The water moved continuously, making it difficult to identify a stable opening.

Elise responded by launching a bolt of lightning toward the barrier.

The water mage redirected the current toward the ground before it could reach her.

Several spectators murmured approvingly.

Elise continued attacking.

Rather than increasing the strength of her spells, she began changing their trajectories, forcing her opponent to adjust the rotating streams repeatedly.

The water mage defended well, even managing to launch several counterattacks that Elise avoided through careful positioning.

For nearly a minute, the two exchanged spells without either securing a clear advantage.

Then Ilya noticed something.

Elise had gradually moved toward the opposite side of the arena, drawing her opponent’s defenses in the same direction.

The water mage appeared to recognize the danger and attempted to reposition herself.

Elise immediately accelerated her casting.

Two lightning bolts struck the rotating barrier in quick succession, forcing her opponent to reinforce it.

A third followed.

The water mage successfully redirected all three attacks.

Unfortunately, her attention had been drawn toward the upper section of her defense.

Elise activated another spell.

"Fulmen."

Lightning spread across the ground beneath the rotating water barrier.

The current followed the moisture left by the earlier exchanges, reaching the water mage’s position before she could redirect it.

Her protective seal flashed.

"Victory, Elise Margaux de Beaumont!"

The result drew enthusiastic applause from the spectators.

Ilya found himself smiling.

That had been a good fight.

Elise had understood that attacking the water barrier directly would accomplish little. Instead, she used repeated spells to control her opponent’s attention while gradually preparing a route for her final attack.

It was a simple strategy, but executing it required excellent timing.

More importantly, she had made it look easy.

When Elise emerged from the arena, several classmates approached to congratulate her. She accepted their praise with her usual grace before making her way toward Ilya.

"You came."

"Your match was starting. I thought I’d watch."

"Well? What did you think?"

"That last attack was clever. You used the water she’d left behind instead of trying to break through her defense."

Elise smiled, evidently pleased that he had noticed.

"I was hoping she’d keep concentrating on the barrier. Once she started moving, I had to finish before she realized what I was doing."

"You timed it well."

"Thank you."

For a while, they watched the instructors prepare the next engagement.

Elise seemed to be in a particularly good mood, and Ilya could understand why. She had defeated a capable opponent without suffering any injuries, and her performance would undoubtedly earn her high marks.

After everything that had happened during the previous examination, it was pleasant to see her enjoying an ordinary academic competition.

"I heard you won your match against Armand," Elise mentioned.

"Yesterday, yes."

"Good. I was worried you’d end up fighting someone like Tristan again."

"That would be troublesome."

"Especially after what happened during your practice match."

Ilya laughed.

Apparently, his defeat was going to follow him around the academy for a while.

Elise, however, didn’t appear particularly interested in teasing him about it.

Instead, she asked whether he intended to watch the remaining engagements.

Ilya agreed, and they headed toward the central training grounds together.

The afternoon assessments were still underway, with several students waiting for their turns. Among them were Wolfram and Lisbet, whose names had finally appeared on the assignment board.

Their group was gradually gathering again as the instructors prepared the next matches.

Ilya found a place beside the others and settled in to watch.

There were still plenty of students he knew little about, and the day’s engagements had already demonstrated how dangerous unfamiliar techniques could become in the hands of someone who understood them.

Besides, watching his friends compete was proving far more entertaining than he had expected.