Nick wasn't exactly sure whether Sergeant Dave McKoy's question was rhetorical or not and in the end, he decided not to answer directly and simply responded by placing the last empty bottle of a basic healing potion that he had drank on the nearby table with five others.
Sergeant McKoy observed Nick's actions for a few moments, then spoke with a stern tone:
"Young man, you caused a ruckus at this inn that disturbed the other students and staff here and so it is well within my authority to drag you away for questioning, especially after what I just witnessed. It is in your best interest to answer my next question honestly or else..."
Nick placed his attention on McKoy fully as he faced him in order to look him in the eyes in response to the young looking soldier's threat.
(I don't like being threatened but I'm pretty sure that this man could kill me with a slap on the cheek so I should play along as best I can.)
Nick replied reluctantly:
"Ask away sergeant."
McKoy liked to see that Nick was willing to cooperate and his expression eased a bit in response. He then asked:
"Who was that figure cloaked in darkness whose presence filled this room a moment ago?"
Nick's eyelids slightly raised in surprise when he heard the question.
(Figure cloaked in darkness? Did he somehow also have an encounter with the wicked being?)
Nick decided to refer to the mysterious figure as 'the wicked being' because that was how the description of his Cursed Vessel talent referred to him.
(How should I answer this?...)
McKoy seemed composed as he asked his question but he was inwardly eager for the response since he was sure that the entity that had stopped his movements was definitely stronger than rank 3:
(No wonder this kid is so troublesome. He must have an exceptionally strong master that is training him. I don't mind spending some effort to find out the man's identity if I can; that presence was just too dark and...evil. If that person is a threat, the ministry should know about him before trying to recruit Nick.)
After a silence spanning over ten seconds, Nick finally answered the sergeant's question with some uncertainty in his tone while rubbing the back of his head with his right hand:
"I guess my teacher left a method on my body that suddenly activated and you were unintentionally caught up in the mix. My bad."
McKoy replied with unconcealed suspicion:
"Teacher? You're saying that it was your teacher's method that cut you up so badly that even your clothes are now ruined? Who is your teacher?"
Nick listened to McKoy's words and then looked at his body. His jeans pants and shirt were indeed ruined with tears all over the fabrics and this made Nick internally sigh.
(Magic really is unpredictable at times. It would have been fairly awkward if what happened had tore off all my clothes before the sergeant arrived...)
Nick quickly put away his irrelevant thoughts and replied to the sergeant's question:
"I cannot tell you that, sir. You know as much as I do that powerful Magicians don't like their names being casually thrown around."
Nick made up an excuse in order to try and get McKoy to back off.
(I don't know the wicked being's name anyway and even if I did, my statement still holds true. I read that in the past, entire societies were destroyed because someone stupidly tried to use a certain Magician's name to cover their own ass. I wonder how McKoy will react to my statement.)
McKoy thought for a bit before responding:
(What Nick said is reasonable since that dark figure could be someone dangerous; his aura alone was enough to stop me in my tracks. Although I am suspicious and curious, I still have my career and my younger siblings to think about so I should leave things as they are since no one was actually hurt by the aura. In any case, I'll just make a report to Commander Wallace about this later.)
McKoy internally sighed; although he was a rank 3 sergeant, compared to the many powerful and strange Magicians out there, his position was shallow and feeble at best and he did not want to invite destruction upon himself by prying into something that really had nothing to do with him. He responded to Nick's words with an apparent loss of interest:
"Well...I will let you off this time but if you cause anymore public disturbances, I will be the first to administer your punishment. Do you understand?"
Nick slowly nodded his head to indicate his understanding while saying:
"I understand perfectly, Sergeant McKoy."
McKoy nodded his head once and quickly morphed into a writhing mass of purple, viscous liquid before seeping through the room floor, vanishing. Nick deeply breathed in and then breathed out, trying to come to terms with the events of the past hour.
(I shouldn't do anything magical just in case the sergeant is monitoring me in secret.)
Nick went to take a shower which lasted almost one hour and after he was done, he dressed himself in new clothing, consisting of a pair of dark-blue, fitted jeans and a red polo shirt with a white collar. Nick then left his room with Pressure Piece sheathed at his left side and went to the lobby where he saw and heard students gossiping about the strange event that happened earlier:
"Man, what was that aura that we all felt earlier?"
"Since we haven't seen a magic beast being captured or making a ruckus, it should have been a student practising their magic."
"Whoever it was must have been using an advanced grade spell to generate that kind of effect. I almost shit myself."
"Ha. I heard that a military officer came and dealt with the situation so everything should be fine but I would really like to punch the culprit in the mouth. He should have known better than to do what he did inside the inn."
...
Nick quickly and silently walked past the students and staff who were busy paying attention to their conversations; he also saw a few staff members fixing broken windows in the lobby with magic, quickly putting back the shattered pieces that were on the ground within the boundaries of the windows' frames perfectly in place, resulting in the windows looking as good as new.
Nick left the inn and made his way to a nearby restaurant called 'Fat Wizard' as indicated by the large, rectangular sign positioned at the top of its barrel shaped building. The interior of the restaurant was spacious with many tables and chairs in its dining area; Nick ordered a meal of roast chicken smothered in gravy and two bowls of mashed potatoes at the cashier. Afterwards, he took a seat at the back of the dining area, waiting for the meal; no other customers were currently in the restaurant.
As he waited, Nick thought about his latest encounter with the wicked being and a shiver went down his spine.
(I'm in trouble. Am I actually a vessel for whatever that thing is? Is it human or a magic beast? I can't even ascertain that much from our last interaction. Whatever the wicked being is, he's powerful and his power lingers on my body, hidden. That's not a good feeling.)
Slade chimed in at this time:
[The procedure that I had you perform previously to halt the progression of the bloodline curse worked, but barely. As you grow stronger, the curse seems to be growing stronger in proportion as well, preparing you to become a more suitable vessel for the being that cursed you. He, he, he, you better get a whole lot better, kid, or you're toast.]
Nick impatiently replied:
(How can you be laughing about this? Remember that if I die, you do not get your revenge on the people that killed you.)
Slade replied with amusement in his tone:
[Relax, kid. The situation is not as dire as it seems. Considering your potential and talents, as long as you continue to become more knowledgeable about magic and increase your overall strength, you should find a way out of this mess. If not, then so be it. If you can't even overcome one bastard trying to make you into his puppet with all the advantages that you've gained, how do you expect to help me deal with World Class Magicians?]
Although Slade said those words flippantly, Nick could sense the callousness buried within them. He clenched his right fist that was in his lap, thinking:
(I'm being used like a tool and I can do nothing about it since I am too weak and I need to borrow the strength of others to advance. One day, I will definitely break away from this cycle of helplessness but I have to endure it for now.)
Slade immediately responded to Nick's thoughts:
[For your sake, your words better not be just useless talk and declarations.]
Nick unclenched his right fist and looked at his right palm where a black mark that looked like a ring being encircled by a closed chain was situated. This was the mark that appeared when he received the bloodline curse. He usually ignored it but today, he felt especially bothered by it being there.
A male waiter dressed in a black and white uniform soon brought out Nick's order and Nick pushed his thoughts aside for the moment to enjoy the meal. When he finished the meal about thirty minutes later, he wondered:
(How comes this restaurant doesn't serve magic beast meat?)
Nick got up from his chair and went up to the counter to ask the female cashier who seemed to be in her early thirties:
"Excuse me, miss, why doesn't this restaurant serve Magic beast meat?"
The woman replied plainly:
"That's because magic beast meat has to be prepared by Magicians but our chefs are only ordinary people. If you want magic beast meat to eat, the only place to get it in Shelter Town other than by cooking it yourself is the military cafeteria where the food is partly prepared by soldiers."
Nick accepted the explanation since it made sense but was doubtful of whether the soldiers would just let him eat at their cafeteria. While he was thinking about the possibility, a hand suddenly reached out from behind him to grab his shoulder but Nick somehow sensed it and turned around quickly with his mind on high alert.
In the process, his negative emotions regarding being touched emerged and radiated as a stifling aura that rapidly spread throughout the dining area.
"Don't touch me!"
The expression of the young man who had tried to touch Nick froze as Nick's aura washed over him, momentarily paralyzing him. Sweat started falling from the man's face in many droplets as the feeling of fear and dread partly clouded his mind.
The only other person in the dining area was the cashier, who at this moment was also feeling the effects of Nick's strange aura and froze completely, unable to even speak.
When Nick realized what was happening, he quickly adjusted his mindset and the aura that he was releasing dissipated as if it was never there. The man in front of him and the cashier regained their ability to move and both breathed roughly afterwards.
Nick squinted his eyes as he looked at the man in front of him and said with a little bit of surprise:
"It's you."
The young man with grey, crystal rimmed glasses awkwardly smiled and replied:
"Yeah...so you remember me, right? Tanner White of Raylam Priest Academy. It's good to see you again, Nick Capitol."
Nick focused on the white young man who was about one head taller than himself but looked to be the same age and replied:
"Of course I remember you, especially how you disappeared during my cultivation in the undergrounds."
Tanner laughed lightly and replied:
"You were taking so long that I grew impatient and left through the narrow passage. It's not like you needed me there anyhow."
Nick lightly smiled a Tanner's response, different from his usual indifferent expression. Something about the man just seemed pleasantly familiar to Nick. Tanner continued speaking:
"Oh, by the way, I heard about all the excitement involving you a few months ago. You really know how to party; I myself was too busy honing my magic skills to get involved. The undergrounds was a really good place to get inspiration for my path. It looks like I'm not the only one who has improved though. What the hell was that aura just now?"
Nick pondered for a few moments, thinking about what Tanner was referring to:
(Hmmm...even I sensed the aura this time and I suppose that's a good thing. Since my encounter with the wicked being, it looks like something has changed and I can at least sense the 'dreadful aura'. I'm still not sure how exactly I evoked it, however. I remember being uneasy that someone was about to touch me and then those emotions just flared for some reason and the dreadful aura was released in response. Now that I think about it, how did I even sense Tanner before he touched me, I didn't even know that someone else besides the cashier was in the dining area?)
Nick felt like the more that he progressed, the more questions he had instead of answers. He put on a slightly bitter expression and shrugged his shoulders, replying:
"It was a bit of magic that I'm uncertain about."
Tanner's expression became a little more serious as he nodded his head in understanding, not about Nick's magic but about his feelings of uncertainty.
(Magic is unpredictable, even more so when you have to figure things out by yourself. I've been stumped by my powers before too. Anyway, Nick's been pretty active in past months and rumors are that he is one of the strongest second years. I've spent most of the exam exploring and cultivating. Maybe I should use our meeting to see how I measure up...)
Tanner's childish grin returned and he asked Nick excitedly:
"If you've got nothing else going on, why don't you and I go have a spar to see how far we've come since this exam started? The exam should end in a couple of days so our meeting again like this is a great opportunity to compare notes."
Nick was a little taken aback by the sudden invitation and was about to refuse but he closed his mouth after opening it and after he spent a few more moments looking at Tanner's childish grin, he felt refreshed:
(So that's why I feel so at ease talking with this guy. He's probably a magic fanatic like myself. No schemes, no bullshit, just grind and improvement. I could be wrong but that's how I feel at the moment.)
Nick's own light smile suddenly widened into a friendly grin and then he replied:
"Don't lose before I finish warming up."
****************************************************************************
Within an office on the 63rd floor of the Main Tower...
A middle aged man wearing a dark grey robe sat at his desk looking through paper documents when another middle aged man similarly dressed in a white robe with red, flame like patterns sewn into it came barging through the office door, saying:
"Victor, can you believe that we spent ten years in this dump? Who would have thought that trying to nurture another generation of Magicians would be so boring."
The boisterous white haired man sat on the sofa in front of Victor Durant's desk and summoned a bottle of clear rum from his space band and proceeded to drink all of its contents in a series of uninterrupted gulps. When the almost one liter glass bottle became empty, the man took it from his mouth and dropped it beside himself on the sofa.
Victor saw this and grumbled:
"Flint, don't litter in my office. Does Richter Order Academy train its staff to invade other people's space and make a mess?"
Flint Lockwood laughed heartily in response to Victor's question and then replied:
"You know what, the academy kind of does. That's why we value Magicians with combat potential so much."
Victor rolled his eyes in response to Flint's words and replied:
"The exam will end in a few days. Are you satisfied with your students' performance?"
Flint snorted and then complained:
"Those students are a bunch of farts. Only very few of them have used the opportunity we gave them wisely. Most locked themselves in their rooms and didn't bother leaving Shelter Town until a few months ago. How are we supposed to develop strong hearted Magicians if they won't use their magic powers to explore on their own and this is a place where they were unlikely to really die from their mistakes."
Victor openly sighed and replied:
"I understand your frustrations but many of these students had sheltered upbringings and have no desire to put themselves through unnecessary suffering. I feel that if we can just nurture a few good seeds during the exam, our efforts would have been worth it."
Flint rubbed his lightly bearded chin absentmindedly and spoke with a hint of pride:
"I heard from one of my third year disciples who practises light magic that he was forced to slaughter a mob of second years a few months ago but two managed to escape the effects of one of his advanced grade legacy spells. I suppose that the exam has nurtured a few good seeds."
Victor's stern expression eased as he made a guess:
"Third year disciple that practises light magic? Oh, you mean William Rollins. The Rollins family light path legacy is indeed powerful, even at rank 2 and if two second year students were able to escape its onslaught, they must have a fair amount of skill. Do you know who they are?"
Flint flippantly shrugged his shoulders and responded:
"A Regular Magician like myself will not casually ask about the identities of two unknowns. I was just intrigued by the fact that they escaped the Glorious Jewel at their level. I remember experiencing that spell when William's father used the rank 5 version on a horde of bloody behemoths. That was a breath taking sight; made me feel bad that I banged one of his girlfriends once."
Victor rubbed his temples in response to hearing that last part and replied:
"I remember that you also had a fling with one of my girlfriends once too. Aren't you afraid of someone taking revenge on you for all your talk and bullshit?"
Flint summoned another bottle of clear rum from his space band and heartily replied:
"If they come, all I have to do is slaughter them and their nine generations, it's nothing that I haven't done before. Ha, ha, ha..."
Victor's expression became stern again and his thoughts spun as he eyed his self-satisfied and smug guest:
(One day, I will definitely kill this old buzzard. Hmph! Richter Order Academy only recently hired him as a chief administrator because of his reputation as a powerhouse and his ties to the English royal family but he has no business guiding students. Speaking of students, the two that he mentioned that were able to escape the Glorious Jewel must be quite talented. I will find out their identities later.)
*********************************************************************
Nick and Tanner stood ten meters away, opposite each other on a concrete floor out in the open. The concrete floor was square and had dimensions of about twenty by twenty meters squared, being raised about six inches from the dirt ground.
This was one of three battle stages situated in a large field that had no buildings. The purpose of these stages were so that students could spar without being a nuisance to others but they were, in fact, rarely used and most people that came to this field did so only to test area of effect spells or hang out with friends. Nick pondered:
(It looks like sparring outside of combat classes isn't very popular among the second years. Most of them treat cultivating magic as an academic exercise when in fact magic is mostly about application and utility.)
Nick soon shook his head, burying those thoughts and focused on his opponent in front of him. Tanner wore a simple light-blue jeans shorts, a pair of white sneakers and a fitted grey t-shirt; he rubbed his short, curly, black hair with both hands before eagerly asking Nick:
"Are you ready?"
Nick unsheathed Pressure Piece in response from his left side with his right hand and then stood straight with the sword at his side, replying:
"I'm always ready."
As soon as Nick finished speaking, both he and Tanner's body radiated magic energy as they both began preparing their spells. The disturbance in the flow of magic energy that resulted was noticeable enough to attract the attention of the students that were on the field at this time just loitering.
"Huh? Two people are about to battle."
"For real? The exam will end in a few days, why aren't they taking it easy? After all, we've been stuck in this realm for ten years."
"Not everyone is a waste of space like you. If there were any good opponents around, I would want to compare notes as well."
"Who are you trying to fool? You don't have anyone to spar with because no one likes you."
"I'm going to watch those two battle it out, it's been a while since I've seen a good fight since I came back to Shelter Town. Besides, it's always a good thing to see how other people use their magic."
...
A crowd began to form around Nick and Tanner's battle stage, most hoping that they would get to see something interesting or at least catch a glimpse of someone else's progress.
Nick and Tanner ignored the forming crowd and when they were both ready to move, almost simultaneously, they each kicked things off with a spell:
(Blink.)
(Nasty Parrot Transformation)
Nick suddenly disappeared from his position and reappeared less that one meter away from Tanner who at this time had already been enveloped in a white light that hid his features. The next moment, however, the white light noticeably shrunk to the size of a basket ball and dissipated, revealing a bird that looked like a parrot but was covered in black feathers at its two wings and back while its belly was covered in silver feathers and its thick, curved beak was colored dull silver.
Nick's mind went on high alert the moment he witnessed the transformation.
(Right, this guy is a transformation path Magician. I don't know this magic beast though, but that doesn't change what I have to do.)
Pressure Piece was then struck out with great speed towards the transformed Tanner, its movement shocking him by a fair amount.
(Prolonged Courage.)
(Mystic Blade.)
Nick's body began to subtly radiate a dull red aura as he swung Pressure Piece, Prolonged Courage took effect without any problem just as Nick had envisioned.
Nick's slash came in quick but despite Tanner's inability to perceive the sword's trajectory with his eyes, he knew that he could still manage to dodge the attack; many of his transformations gave him a sort of beastly instinct that could sense danger regardless of sight or sound and the nasty parrot was one such transformation.
Tanner quickly spoke with his now shrill, echoing voice:
"Unease"
Nick heard Tanner speak and suddenly his mind was bombarded with thoughts of sensations and experiences that made him uneasy in the past. He became momentarily distracted during his maneuver and that was enough of a prompt for Tanner to tilt his floating body to he left, narrowly dodging Pressure Piece's blade before it cut him.
With not one feather harmed, Tanner flew upward by seven meters into the air and spoke aloud:
"Angry"
Nick realized that he had missed with his strike and became furious to the point of not being able to focus so that he could immediately cast another spell. Many thoughts that made him increasingly angry whirled around in his mind and he found himself momentarily unable to do anything productive.
(What the hell is going on? When Tanner speaks, I lose control of my emotions. That must be an ability of his transformation. I never fought against someone of the transformation path before so I didn't know what to expect but now I think that this fight is going to be a bit unpredictable all the way through.)
Nick began breathing in and out deeply in an effort to calm his surging emotions but while he was doing that, Tanner decided to act by folding his wings and diving towards Nick at rapid speed, aiming his beak at Nick's head.
Nick's raging thoughts were then suddenly replaced with an brief image of the space above him where Tanner was falling from.
(Huh, again? This feels similar to what happened in the restaurant - I somehow imagined the scene of Tanner's hand coming towards me without even knowing that he was there. Now, an image of what's happening above me has appeared in my mind without me even looking up at Tanner yet.)
Nick didn't have time to wonder too much about this new development since Tanner was coming in hot with his diving attack. Nick cast Space and spread his special space out by ten meters all around him in an instant. Without looking up, he then reached out his left hand upwards and clenched it, casting:
(King's Domination.)
About three meters above Nick, Tanner who had been falling with rapid speed suddenly stopped in midair as he felt the space around him stiffen which now made it impossible for him to move, as if he was wrapped in a straight jacket. He thought:
(The nasty parrot is a rank 2 wisdom path and sound path magic beast that can forcefully stir emotions with its words. It is not adept at handling most physical resistance even though it has an incredibly hard beak that can tear through steel. Nick is casting a space path spell to keep me in place but if he thinks that this is going to stop me, he has...)
Before Tanner could finish his thought, Nick swung his clenched left hand down towards the ground, following which Tanner was also slammed towards the ground amidst the space manipulated using King's Domination. Tanner's transformed eyes widened as he guessed Nick's intention and he immediately begun preparing a counter.
Within moments, Tanner's body smashed into the concrete floor, creating many cracks as the nasty parrot sunk a few inches into the concrete. The spectators watched in excitement and commented about Nick's method:
"That white top must be using a space path spell or even more than one."
"A space path Magician? They are rare but that doesn't mean much in terms of battle capabilities. In my opinion, the transformation path Magician still has the edge since magic beasts have naturally strong bodies that should be able to withstand being slammed into the concrete like that."
"White hair, space magic? Is that Nick Capitol that everyone's been talking about since a few months ago? Word is that he disappeared after someone gave him a schooling on the grassy plain. I guess he's back. Does anyone know who the other guy is?"
...
Nick heard many of the comments clearly. Students by now had learnt enough to be aware of what a 'path' was so referring to magical paths was now commonly done among the second years.
Tanner had landed on the concrete floor only about six meters away from Nick's position so Nick cancelled King's Domination and cast Blink in order to appear beside Tanner's body that was partly pressed into the concrete with cracks spread all around it; Tanner remained as still as a stone at this time. Nick wasn't planning on showing mercy here and so was about to swing Pressure Piece in order to cast Big Cleave but before he could, Tanner's body finally showed signs of movement.
Tanner's body was quickly enveloped with white light, following which the light quickly dissipated less than a second later. Before Nick could even properly view the result of Tanner's actions, however, he suddenly felt something harshly collide with his chest and he was then immediately thrown over eight meters away from his original position, having coughed out three mouthfuls of blood while in midair.
Nick grasped Pressure Piece tightly as he used his special space to prevent him from falling to the floor and so he quickly brought himself back to his feet from a lying position in midair. Nick wiped the blood from his lips with his left hand and eyed Tanner's new transformation.
Where Nick had slammed the nasty parrot into the ground, a monkey that was about the size of a five year old child stood in a combat stance with both its palms facing Nick. The monkey had grey fur, dark eyes, sharp claws and a tail that was about half a meter in length. Its body was slim and it appeared light on its feet as it suddenly began to repeatedly make short jumps off the ground. Tanner thought seriously about his next actions:
(I struck Nick in the chest but that weird space around him clearly reduced the impact of my blow or his chest should at least have caved in slightly which would have caused him to be out of breath right now. This Thug Monkey Transformation gives me the strength path laws of a real thug monkey. Let's see if Nick can keep up with me now.)
Nick stood there, watching Tanner move his transformed body, puzzled:
(How did he change into a new magic beast so quickly? Based on what I know about transformation path from books, Magicians gain the laws of the magic beasts that they transform into but in order to make another transformation, those laws have to be broken down so that they do not interfere with the next transformation. That process should take far longer than what I just witnessed. How did he do it?)
Nick took a step forward with his right foot, muttering aloud:
"I guess I have to make this guy sweat in order to find out."
(Dominate The Space.)
During mid-jump, Tanner sensed a strange, grey colored magic power radiate from Nick and then the space around him warped after which he appeared less than a meter away from Nick, his bare feet just about to hit the ground. Nick did not waste any time.
(Blade Aura.)
(Mystic Blade.)
Pressure Piece suddenly radiated a thick, silver aura and struck out with incredible speed. Since Tanner's feet had still not touched the ground, he found himself in an awkward position of being unable to dodge in midair and so he used his beast instincts to guide his two palms in an attempt to catch Nick's sword with his bare hands but his efforts were in vain as Pressure Piece easily slid past both his palms and bit into his right shoulder.
Blood from the resulting wound splattered out, some of it ending up on Nick's face. The blade aura that Pressure Piece was now emitting destroyed the traces of blood that momentarily stained the sword.
Tanner gritted his teeth and as soon has his two feet hit the ground, he stooped down and struck out with both his palms at Nick's lower abdomen at blinding speed. Nick acted quickly this time to defend himself.
(Reinforced With Soul.)
A translucent miasma emerged from Nick's body, covering his abdomen within an instant and the moment Tanner's two palms collided with Nick's abdomen, Tanner felt like he had hit an iron wall but Nick was still pushed over three meters backwards by the force of the attack.
Nick was soon able to stop his backward movement and swung Pressure Piece downward towards Tanner.
(Big Cleave.)
An almost three meter tall wave of formless magic power rushed towards Tanner, reaching him in moments. Strands of the fur on Tanner's skin started falling off before the attack even reached him; he continued gritting his teeth, worriedly thinking:
(That's obviously blade magic. The thug monkey's bare body can't tank that. I need something with thicker skin. I can only use my Quick Form talent one more time today to quickly bring about my next transformation so if I'm going to win this spar, I have to do it with my next few moves.)
Tanner willed for laws to form within his mindscape, which resulted in his thug monkey form being enveloped in white light, after which Tanner's changing body grew over ten fold and when the light dissipated, a magic beast that looked like a fat ape with orange fur and dark skin that was the size of four grizzly bears combined appeared in the thug monkey's place.
It lied on its side, picking its nose while waiting on Nick's attack to hit it. Nick frowned in response to the change.
(Another transformation. This magic beast has a large size and doesn't seem likely to move. What is Tanner planning to do?)
The three meter wave of formless magic power washed over the large magic beast and although some of its fur and skin was cut off, the ape simply used its long right arm to cover its mouth and yawned. After a few moments, Big Cleave dissipated, revealing that Tanner had only sustained light cuts and injuries on his body while a pale yellow magic power radiated from it.
Nick who was shocked at the magic beast's defensive capabilities raised his right eyebrow in response to witnessing the scene and asked audibly:
"What magic beast is this?"
Tanner grinned mischievously and then answered:
"Oh, intrigued are you? This transformation is the rank 2 jungle lord and it is an earth path magic beast that can use the strength derived from the earth to enhance its body's defenses. Impressive, right?"
Nick lightly chuckled, then replied:
"Yeah, but now you're just a big target. I think that it's time to end our spar."
Nick sheathed Pressure Piece and then clasped both his hands, casting:
(Absolute Push.)
(Absolute Pull.)
Tanner suddenly felt his entire body being raised off the ground from his lying position and as he sensed the magic power that Nick was radiating, he realized what his opponent was trying to do.
(Shit! I told him about the jungle lord's defense being derived from the strength of the earth and now he's trying to move me away from the earth. If that wasn't bad enough, the jungle lord weighs over three tonnes so if he raises me high enough and drops me, I would end up in very unfortunate circumstances since I would need time to change into another form. Sigh...I need more combat training.)
When Nick raised Tanner about five meters off the ground, Tanner reluctantly spoke:
"You...win. I admit defeat."
Nick was momentarily surprised that Tanner gave up so quickly but then remembered that this was just a spar and unlike himself, Tanner was probably still in the early stages of walking down his path.
(The fact that he made me cough up blood is a good sign of his potential already.)
Nick used his spells to softly place Tanner back onto the ground, following which Tanner cancelled his transformation which resulted in him reverting back to his human form amidst a white light that soon dissipated.
The people watching the two spar from the sidelines made their comments:
"Wow, Nick Capitol is very strong, not only in terms of offense but defense as well since he was able to withstand the attack of the tall guy's second transformation so easily."
"Hmmm...it's too bad that this spar ended so quickly since I feel that both were holding back most of their strength but they both showed that they are greatly skilled in their own ways. I wonder...how does that man change his transformations so quickly?"
"I heard that Nick Capitol was a space path Magician, but he clearly dabbles in soul path and blade path too. The latter two are common paths but I don't think that I would be able to put up much of a fight against Nick's methods. His magic powers feel weird."
Nick cancelled Absolute Push and Absolute Pull but still kept Prolonged Courage active so he could continue familiarizing himself with its effects. He only attacked Tanner successfully a few times so the enhancement to the quality of his magic powers was slight but noticeable.
Nick brought his right index finger close to his face and cast King's Domination, forming a sphere of warping, light-red space at his finger tip and as he maintained his spell, the red aura that emanated from him subtly moved towards his finger tip, and the red space turned to a brighter red hue.
Tanner observed Nick's actions with curiosity as he walked over to him and was immediately shocked at Nick's fine control over his magic power.
(That kind of skill is not ordinary. How does Nick cultivate?)
Nick tried to maintain King's Domination but he soon felt his control over his magic power weaken as time went on until his spell just popped like a bubble and his sphere of red space dissipated. Nick sighed and cancelled Prolonged Courage, following which the red aura around his body dissipated.
Nick quickly summoned two basic healing potions and attempted to hand them over to Tanner, saying:
"That injury on your shoulder needs to be dealt with."
Tanner flexed his right shoulder, pretending as if the cut that Nick gave him did not hurt but Nick knew that it did.
(I made that injury use Blade Aura so blade path laws are still etched into the site of the injury, inhibiting the healing process. These healing potions should help ease the pain until he gets the injury professionally healed.)
Tanner grinned and gladly accepted the two healing potions. He drank them both immediately, one after the other and then applied pressure to his would that had stopped bleeding with his left hand. He then said to Nick:
"I have to go to the main tower to get this wound healed completely so this is where we part for now. It was a fun spar and it made me realize that I need more combat training so thanks, Nick."
Nick replied with a light smile on his face:
"No problem, I benefited from our spar as well."
As if remembering something, Tanner summoned his smartphone from his space band and said to Nick:
"Oh, let's exchange phone numbers so that we can compare notes again after the exam ends."
Nick hesitated for a few moments since he was not used to casually giving his phone number to others but his attitude eased when he remembered how much stronger he had become.
(I don't need to be so wary over something like this. Who knows, Tanner might have some interesting things to say about magic in the future.)
Just as Nick was about to summon his own smart phone from his space band in order to make the exchange, he, Tanner and everyone else present heard an emotionless, almost robotic voice echo in their ears:
"This is an announcement to all second years of Raylam Priest Academy and Richter Order Academy. The current mid-year exam will end two days from now at exactly 12 pm. You are all to gather in front of the Main Tower by that time so that the academys' staff can facilitate your departure from the Never Ending Battlefield. Those second years who are not present at the before mentioned location at that time will be forcefully teleported there..."
Nick breathed in and out deeply, momentarily ignoring Tanner who was lost in thought while listening to the announcement. Nick looked up at the sky and muttered with much emotion:
"This exam is finally going to end."