Chapter 774 Combat Exam [Pt 2]
The rules were given.
"No fatal attacks. You are all potential resources that will be useful to the Emperor in one way or the other, so do not take the lives of any of your competitors. Other than that, anything goes."
The stage was set.
"Knock your opponents out, and keep fighting here until the time limit is reached. We are recording everything, so make sure you contribute as much as possible to the elimination of your competition. That will greatly affect your score."
Everyone was ready for what was to come.
"The Examiners are going to excuse you now. The moment we leave this place and shut the doors behind us… the Exam Begins."
Once the Chief Examiner finished his statement, he gestured to the rest of his colleagues, and they all began to depart from the stage.
The Examinees watched with bated breaths—waiting with wide open eyes.
One by one, the officials bled out of the hall, until only few were remaining. However, it was only a matter of time before they all went out of sight.
Beads of sweat, coupled with the racing of hearts, evident by the nervous shuffling of the gazes of Examinees from one to another, afflicted a majority of the people present.
They sought their first prey with careful eyes, gauging them based on many factors; particularly an arbitrary assumption of strength.
—Or weakness.
Finally, the last of the Examiners left the room, forcing the door behind him to close automatically.
Once that happened… all hell broke loose.
~BOOOOOOOOOOOMMMM!!!~
The determined Dragons rushed at one another in a frenzy, causing massive quakes and overwhelming explosions in the first few seconds of the battle's commencement.
Spells were chanted, and swift blurs of movement danced around the battlefield.
Foolish Examinees decided to focus on defense or evasion—an impossible task in such a pervasive landscape of battle.
Running away was futile.
Predators had already targeted prey—sometimes multiple at once—so rather than running or hiding, the best way to survive was to fight.
Fight as hard as possible!
The wiser Dragons ensured to properly defend themselves, while focusing most of their attention on offensive maneuvers. Magic and Skills were the central abilities of Dragons—the latter especially—so it only made sense that there were tons of chants bustling through the land battlefield.
More eruptions of power rushed through the air, and the echoes of groans, grunts, screams, and cries were drowned by the destructive reverbs.
Over and over again.
No matter what happened, everything was chaos.
Well—
"Ready?"
—Not to two people.
"Yeah."
Rey and Lucielle both glanced at each other, donning confident smiles, as they welcomed the commotion around them with excitement. Several opponents were already closing in on them, causing electrifying sensations to run through their bodies.
They couldn't hold it in any longer.
"Let's go!"
~WHOOOOSH!~
In an instant, both of them vanished from their positions, leaving nothing but a cloud of dust—as well as the unconscious bodies of those near them—in their wake.
Rey took the initiative by attacking first—summoning a blunt blade in his hand and opting for a more Martial Arts-based fighting model than the usual Magic and Skills type.
Not only would he have the advantage of speed in that regard, but he was also going to have tons of fun with the exercise.
Besides, it wasn't like Dragons—even those presently in the hall—didn't have a concept of Martial Arts.
A few were even utilizing it.
Unfortunately, compared to his own level of skill, they were… "Weak!"
~WHOOSH!~
Easily getting amidst a few enemies with his nimble movements, catching them off guard as he appeared in their center, he held his blade with tight precision.
"Gurhhk!" Most of them noticed him, trying their best to get rid of him first.
They were too slow, though.
In a blur akin to wind, he easily sliced through them with his dull blade, shattering their bones and knocking them unconscious in swift arcs.
As soon as he did this, however, he noticed a few projectiles being fired towards him.
"Hup!"
Easily kicking the ground beneath his feet, Rey leaped high into the air and voided the successive bombardments that radiated beneath him.
That wasn't enough to avoid his new and incoming adversaries, though.
They had surrounded him, all coated in what resemble blazing energies of varying colors—their Mana, no doubt.
While still in the air, they completed their chants and launched destructive blasts of fire, lightning, winds, cyclones, etc.
The abundance of their projectiles guaranteed them a surefire win, at the very least.
Right? RIGHT?
—Wrong!
~VWUUSH!~
A wall of energy surrounding Rey easily blocked all of them while he twisted his body in the air and thrust himself in the direction of his opponent.
"W-wai—!" Before any resistance or plea could be made, the blade came crashing down.
~SWUSH!~
The enemy instantly fell to the ground, and the rest met similar fates as Rey ricocheted in the air and sliced them all while bouncing away to his next victims.
All of these happened within seconds, and he was smiling throughout.
As he darted back to the ground to resume his fun, he noticed a lone figure hanging in the air.
'Lucielle…? She hasn't attacked anyone yet?'
She was staying still above, watching everyone with a wide smile as she clasped her fingers together.
There was no doubt that she was planning something.
'Oh well… I'll leave that to her.' With a maniacal grin on his face, he bolted downward and spread destruction around him with his landing.
—Completely unaware of the devastation that would soon follow.
***********
"Now then… where to begin?"
Lucielle's white hair flowed in the air as clasped hands remained in place, inhaling slowly while she watched the commotion beneath her.
'Rey is having all the fun. At this rate, there'll be nothing left for me. In that case… he wouldn't mind it if I went a little rough, would he?'
"Furnace Spell Activation… and Blizzard Spell Construction."
As she began to part her hands from each other, crackles of lightning began to roar, followed by the loud howls of wind and the rising heat of unmatched proportions
Bursts of blue electricity trapped in a torrent of bright white winds manifested on one side, while the other side was occupied by the brilliant red energy that simmered like molten magma and brightly burning flames.
Blizzard Magic… and Furnace Magic.
Lucielle shifted her hands and began to aim, drawing the two opposing and equally destructive elements together; all while her eyes remained glued on the targets beneath her.
~ZZZTTZZZ!~
As they merged, purple energy danced around, filling the air around her with an electrifying sensation and vibrations that would make anyone shiver.
Cold. Heat. Shock. Cool.
… Dispersion and Acceleration… all bound together in a purple comb of sheer destruction.
Once it was done, the purple mass stood at Lucielle's fingertips, an over-expanding orb that was ready to burst wide open and spill out its contents.
Then, she spoke.
"Storm Magic: Imaginary Rain."
~BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM!!!!~
The sound was enough to stop everyone in their tracks, as they all paused and looked in the direction of the fast-approaching blast of destruction.
Unfortunately, it was too late.
In a split-second, its power dispersed, forcing everyone to feel the combined sensations of heat, cold, electrocution, and finally… dispersion.
Needless to say, the fight was already over.