After a few long seconds of silence, the dust covering the stage finally cleared, and the students' bated gazes landed upon the outcome of the devastating attacks.
On the earthen platform, two figures stood inches away, facing each other.
On the left hand side was the figure of a 6.4 feet whitevhaired boy whose entire form was cloaked in a thick red translucent glow.
And on the right hand side was an orange haired man with a height leaning in on 7 feet. Just like the first figure, the man was cloaked in a thick blue translucent glow.
Both of these figures had their right hands stretched out in a punch, each punch targeting the chin of the opposite individual akin to a brutal upper cut.
But if one should look closer, both of these punches were suspended, remaining fixed just inches away from their targets, both of them stopped by a red and blue translucent barrier that was created just beneath the targeted chins.
The red and blue glow in Atticus and Jared's eyes respectively blazed as the translucent glow engulfing both of them increased another fold.
Just when it seemed like both their forms were about to erupt,
"End the spar,"
Jared's controlled voice suddenly rang out, and an AI voice immediately responded,
Ending the spar.
As soon as the AI voice rang out, Atticus instantly felt his connection to his mana and mana core quickly returning back to him.
And then suddenly, his passive strength that had increased because of the cloak of will and mana encompassing him, increased in to a height he never thought possible unless he was using the life weapon's art.
Atticus had never expected he would get such a huge boost of strength so early!
'This is amazing!' Atticus marveled, dropping his outstretched hand.
Atticus clenched his fist multiple times, trying to get a grip on just how powerful he had become.
'It's hard to accurately tell, but I feel like with all of this combined together, I should have a passive strength very close to master- rank. Plus this strength is when I'm not using the katana's art, this is crazy!'
Atticus was elated! His head immediately started swirling about the possibilities and potential of this new technique. It would boost his prowess to a whole new level!
He couldn't help but imagine combining the life weapon's art together with this; won't his power reach new heights he never thought possible in such a short duration?
'Damn, to think I didn't want to go to school!' Atticus was tempted to go back in time and slap his past self for not wanting to go to class.
What he had just learned, this power, was completely priceless.
Atticus couldn't even begin to fathom why he was just learning about this now. Magnus had never once mentioned it before during all the years of training with him.
'Doesn't matter, at least I've learned it now,' regardless, Atticus was elated that he had learned something so valuable.
Jared gazed at Atticus, who kept on clenching his hands, trying to get used to his new found power with a small smirk.
'I really want to see how powerful he has gotten now that he has his mana back,' Jared thought. He was curious about what Atticus's full power truly was.
Jared had really wanted to continue the spar, but he knew that he had to end it early or else the fight would drag on for a long while.
'It's too bad he's not the only one I'm teaching,' Jared sighed.
Jared shook his head slightly, snapping out of his reverie. He suddenly clapped, and in response, the high stage started descending down into the ground.
Controlling the intensity of his voice, Jared spoke,
"Great job, Atticus! 10,000 academy points for such a spectacular display of skill," he complimented.
Atticus snapped out of his thoughts as he heard Jared, and immediately, his artifact sounded in response to the reward he was just given.
Many of the students who had heard Jared couldn't help but suck in a cold breath.
10 thousand academy points?
That was a lot of points!
Granted, Atticus had just displayed something mind numbing, but even then, 10 thousand academy points was still a lot!
Atticus's expression didn't undergo any change as he saw the number of points Jared just gave him.
There was only one thing that just came to his mind, 'one teleportation rune.'
Seeing that the spar was over and there was nothing left for him to do, Atticus released the control of the surrounding mana, the red translucent glow leaving his form and dissipating into the air.
Then he gave Jared a small bow and started walking away from the stage, towards where he was standing earlier beside Kael.
All of the students' eyes were on him as he walked, many trying to bore into him. But Atticus had never been one to falter from something so trivial. There was simply no reason too.
His confident gait remained unchanged.
Atticus could feel a lot of different feelings from the gazes of the students that were looking at him.
Some were shocked, some gazed at him in awe and reverence, and many, especially the tier ones, gazed at him with wary looks.
'You can't stop staring, can't you,' a smug sounding petite voice spoke.
Zoey flinched.
She had been looking at Atticus a little too much and hadn't noticed until Lumindra pointed it out.
'I wasn't staring!' Zoey instantly responded with an inward scream, her reaction making Lumindra immediately erupt into a fit of laughter.
"Bitch," Zoey muttered as she reluctantly took her gaze away from Atticus and stared at her front.
'Oh my. Such foul language! Just what would your Prince Charming think if he heard you saying that!' Lumindra quipped, her words making Zoey freeze once again.
'Shut up!'
But Lumindra didn't stop; she continued her laughter not caring about Zoey's crimson cheeks or her lack of response.