The Final Trial
by Afuhfuihgs
Having heard the answer he wanted, Roel immediately left the clubroom. I finished the rest of the cooling tea in my cup and cleared the empty teacup.
From now on, Roel will be wary and keep an eye on me, afraid that I might do something dangerous. As Ross of Galmang said, I can’t win against Roel in a fight. That’s how Ross’s character was set up.
Of course, the promise I made to Roel was a lie to avoid the situation. While showing Roel the ordinary and enjoyable academy life he wants from me, I plan to create my own force to save the world behind the scenes.
Roel’s warning actually gave me a pleasant sense of tension. Originally, I was going to finish dinner and take a good rest for the day, but I corrected that lazy thought.
For the rest of the day, I decided to challenge the second trial that I had been putting off due to my busy schedule.
***
Obtaining the Shadow Spear was an excellent choice. Without using the Breath of the Formless, I was able to easily break through the second trial by using space magic at the right timing, taking advantage of the characteristics of the Shadow Spear.
As I expected, the Shadow Spear, which can change its form in various ways against multiple opponents, was a more suitable weapon for the second trial, which had the characteristic of enemies rushing in from all directions, rather than the Spear of Destruction, which focuses its destructive power on a single blow.
When the second trial was over, the wall collapsed and a new door appeared. It had been half a year since I broke through the first trial, so I was delighted. It must be the door to challenge the final trial.
Lakar, who had reached the final trial before me, only smiled happily when I asked him what the trial was about, telling me to experience it myself. Judging from Lakar’s reaction, I thought that a cliché-like enemy might appear.
Strength and skill. An inner, dark me with the same thoughts and fighting style that I can’t win against! The same common cliché. With such expectations, I opened the door.
As I stepped through the door, the familiar Transcendence Academy training ground unfolded before my eyes.
As I entered the training ground, I noticed a young man with a staff in his hand getting up from his seat on the opposite side, as if he had been waiting.
My guess was wrong. He’s a completely different person, starting with his hair color. He even looked like a wizard with a staff in his hand.
But for some reason, his face, which I was seeing for the first time, didn’t feel unfamiliar. I should say his features were familiar. He didn’t have a common appearance either. Rather, he had an impressive appearance that was on the handsome side.
,Hello, you’ve worked hard to get here.’
The greeting in that bright voice somehow overlapped with the voice of Nelson, the headmaster of Transcendence Academy.
,Could it be the young Nelson…?’
,Hehe.’
In response to my muttering, the other person swung his staff without hesitation, with a playful smile.
Sensing a slight tremor under my feet, I immediately pulled my body back. Then, sharp stones soared from the floor of the training ground where I had been standing.
,Correct! Then let’s start the lesson. Student.’
Starting with those words, the young Nelson began to indiscriminately fire magic to pressure me, as if he didn’t want to give me a break. I had been implementing the Shadow Spear in advance, just in case, so I desperately blocked the incoming magic.
It was magic close to indiscriminate firing, but the types of magic Nelson used were very diverse. When I created a dimension passage to reflect the destructive magic Nelson fired, Nelson skillfully deflected the reflected magic with defensive magic and immediately erased his surrounding space coordinates by waving his staff.
,Good, excellent skill!’
I was greatly embarrassed when the space coordinates disappeared and the dimension passage collapsed. It was partly because of his quick response, but it was the first time I had encountered an enemy who blocked space magic, except when dealing with the clergy.
In the gap where I was momentarily embarrassed, Nelson literally ran towards me and fired magic at the end of his staff as if to check me.
A wizard narrowing the distance towards a spearman is close to suicide. Taking advantage of magic from a distance is the basic combat method of a wizard.
But that common sense didn’t seem to apply to Nelson in front of me. Because he was firing magic in seconds while narrowing the distance, I had no choice but to focus on defense.
I had been watching for an opportunity to strike Nelson, who had finally entered the spear’s attack range, and I quickly launched a blow, but Nelson created an opaque gauntlet with magic power on the hand that wasn’t holding the staff, and deflected the trajectory of the spear by pushing the bottom of the spear blade with the back of his hand, and leaned his upper body inward.
―Peo-uk!
I used the Breath of the Formless to pull my body back in an instant, but my body was knocked back after being hit in the chest by Nelson’s fist. Fortunately, I was attacked while pulling my body back, so there was no major damage and I was able to quickly recover my collapsed posture.
But it was unexpected that Nelson, a wizard, had caught up with my speed using the Breath of the Formless. Nelson, who had just been a mysterious headmaster image who diligently managed his beard, was fighting so aggressively.
It seemed to be the combat method Nelson used when he was in his prime. I corrected my spear grip and analyzed Nelson’s combat method that I had seen until just now in my head.
As if not giving me time to think, Nelson fired magic and ran towards me again to narrow the distance.
Having finished organizing my thoughts, I took out a seed pouch from the space warehouse and scattered the seeds around. The bean seeds reacted to the rapid growth magic and grew rapidly.
Unlike the second trial, which had a low ceiling, the academy training ground existed outside and had no ceiling. That means the beanstalk can grow to cloud height.
The beanstalk, which was thicker than a person, acted as a cover to block magic. I hid behind it and tried to recognize the space coordinates, but Nelson had prepared in advance and there were no space coordinates that could be recognized around him.
With Plan A blocked, I immediately changed my plan to a javelin throw using the Shadow Spear. Nelson, who was running at a terrifying speed, waved his staff at the Shadow Spear flying towards him, turning it into formless smoke, and used magic on me in reverse.
The beanstalk that was hit by Nelson’s magic shook, and suddenly roots popped out from the floor and attacked me. I hid behind another beanstalk and asked, dumbfounded.
,How many kinds of magic can you use?’
,Haha! Of course, students can’t even reach my toes, and even the famous professors at the academy are not enough for me. I’m the famous Captain Nelson, after all.’
I had forgotten that Nelson had such a childish nickname. Nelson flicked his wrist and waved his staff.
Perhaps because he moved his wrist too much and misaimed, the magic implemented at the end of Nelson’s staff was on a trajectory that passed by me without me having to avoid it.
I was about to implement the Shadow Spear again and throw it… when suddenly the magic that was flying in a straight line curved towards me and pierced my thigh.
It was the first time I had experienced magic that changed its trajectory in mid-air. Nelson said to me in a playful voice, taken aback.
,Magic must be used flexibly. If you always shoot in a straight line, wouldn’t anyone be able to block it easily?’
With those words, Nelson’s magic began to draw parabolas or curve, aiming for me behind the beanstalk, as if now was the real thing.
He was the most difficult opponent I had ever faced among the wizards I had faced so far. I couldn’t even focus on defending against the magic. Among the magic Nelson used, there was often magic that was not attack magic, but magic that young students would use when playing pranks mixed in.
Fireworks magic that emitted a bright light like a flashbang before touching and disappearing, or flying in the form of an ax and suddenly turning into a water balloon and bursting, etc. Unpredictable attacks continued to distract me.
What was even more worrying was that the prank-like magic was not just teasing, but was effective in buying Nelson time to approach.
Nelson had no hesitation in approaching the spearman. I could feel confidence in his steps. But I wasn’t going to end up just defending like an idiot either.
First of all, I had to change the situation that Nelson was leading as he intended.
Nelson took advantage of the fact that my movements had slowed down due to the injury to my thigh and approached quickly while firing magic indiscriminately. At that sight, I rapidly grew the bean seeds, grabbed the terrifyingly growing beanstalk, and flew high into the sky.
If Nelson wanted close combat, I was thinking of using javelin throws from the inaccessible air to compete. Because I could do endless javelin throws by implementing the Shadow Spear again.
,High places are dangerous for students.’
As Nelson said that, he rotated his body and scraped the ground with his staff as if drawing a circle. A transparent membrane like a water droplet appeared around Nelson, and suddenly it grew in size and reached me, who was watching from above the beanstalk.
I was nervous about the magic I was seeing for the first time, but there was no change in my body. The transparent membrane like a water droplet just passed through my body. The membrane also passed through the tall beanstalk. If you look at this from the outside, it looks like you’re trapped in a water droplet… At that moment, my skin tingled.
A sense like some kind of instinct made goosebumps rise on my back. This wasn’t just a water droplet. This was familiar to me too-
,So, stay still. I’ll go to you.’
Nelson drew a circle with both arms and crossed his arms. Then, I felt as if the world had been turned upside down. It wasn’t that I had entered a water droplet, but that the entire training ground had entered Nelson’s specialty, the Snow Globe.
Just like the Snow Globe was turned upside down, gravity changed. Nelson, who had been looking up at me, was now falling towards me.
Just as I finished preparing to throw the spear at Nelson, who was approaching me at a rapid speed, Nelson crossed his arms and suddenly changed gravity again. As the gravity returned to normal, I, who was preparing to throw the spear, tilted my body and began to fall straight to the ground.
Nelson, who had created a foothold by inserting an ice spear into a nearby beanstalk while falling, looked up at me falling and created magic. Water swirled violently in the shape of a huge disc.
―Cheom-beong!
The power was reduced due to the water flow, but the trajectory of the spear did not change. I focused all my strength on the tip of the spear at the sight of Nelson coming out through the water barrier.
Nelson, who was aiming at me with his right hand holding the staff, suddenly dropped the staff. I, who had gained momentum, focused only on attacking. The Shadow Spear pierced Nelson’s right hand and came out through his shoulder.
Only then did I realize that Nelson was smiling. Nelson had deliberately allowed my attack. By inserting his pierced right arm even deeper, I was no longer able to act in the air.
Nelson, who had snatched the staff he had dropped with his empty left hand, put the staff to my chest with a playful smile.
,Then, that’s all for today’s lesson.’
With a feeling as if my heart was burning, my body was thrown out of the trial room.
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