Chapter 457: Genius Mystic user
Michael stood at the opposite edge, waiting at his side of the arena.
His opponent, a man wearing full metal armor and wielding a giant metal club looked at him with a disbelieving expression.
"Are you sure that you want to fight?"
The man asked not because of maliciousness, but because of worry. He genuinely believed that if they fought, he could seriously hurt Michael beyond what the normal limits of the duel allowed.
Michael looked at his opponent and nodded. "I’m perfectly capable of fighting. Just to warn you, I am a Mystical Arts user."
The other spectators worried even more.
"This is just brutal..."
"I just hope the kid knows some defensive spells."
"Will he even cast it before his opponent rushes him?"
Magicians simply didn’t have the advantage in these kinds of fights. Physical Art users could overwhelm Mystical Art users fairly easily before they could even conjure up a single spell. They’ve seen this multiple times before.
And not only that, but Michael was just a kid, who they presumed to be in the 1 to 2 star realm.
"If you really think you can fight, then I will respect your decision. However, I will not hold back," said his opponent.
"Just the way I want," he replied. Conversely, he didn’t want his opponent to get too hurt from the fight either. But he didn’t vocalize his concern because he knew other people underestimated him.
"Start!" said the announcer.
Immediately, his opponent used a Physical Art to boost his speed, turning his legs almost into a fiery jet. Contrary to his full metal armor and his heavy club, his speed was almost like that of a jaguar.
He was taking advantage of a Mystical Art user’s weakness: close range.
And within a second, he had come close enough to swing his club. The weapon glowed red hot as it got imparted with a Physical Art skill.
The man intended to finish the fight in one swing, hoping that he wouldn’t do too much damage on the kid.
But surprisingly enough, his club swung through nothing but the air. As he counteracted the force of his own missed swing, he looked forward and saw Michael nowhere in the arena.
"Oh my god!"
"What?! He can do that?!"
The man looked at all the spectators and saw them pointing up in the air. He looked up, following their gazes, and saw Michael floating perfectly above him.
"A [Flight] spell? That means you’re in the 4-star realm!" the man realized.
The fact that a kid like him reached the 4-star realm felt world-shattering for people like them. They’d never have expected to see a Mystical Arts genius in this tournament!
"Who is he? Is he one of those geniuses from the Magic Tower?"
"No! I haven’t seen him before."
"Are you sure? Then how can a child not even in their teens become a 4-star mage?! He must be a secret student from the Guild of Arcana."
"You guys don’t know anything. The Guild doesn’t allow their students to mingle in the world. They force them to focus on their studies in the Magic Tower. He’s definitely not a student there if he’s in this competition."
After hearing this, most people became even more curious about the genius boy who suddenly popped up from out of nowhere.
Meanwhile, Michael’s opponent eyed him with more seriousness than before.
"So that’s why you’re so confident in fighting. I admit. I underestimated you. But that ends now."
The man swung his sword, generating enough power in his weapon to conjure an arc of magma that shot towards Michael at fast speeds.
And surprisingly, Michael didn’t dodge away.
"What is he doing?!"
"Dodge kid!"
They all watched as the magma reached just inches away from his face. But that was before a prismatic shield appeared around him and turned the magma into nothing but microscopical mana that withered in the air.
"What?!"
"Just what kind of defensive spell is that?!"
"That’s not the most surprising part. He’s still flying! That means he’s double casting without even chanting a spell! He’s not even breaking a sweat!"
If flying wasn’t enough to treat Michael as a genius, then simultaneous casting was definitely enough to do it. He made everyone get up off their seats in shock.
Meanwhile, his opponent finally felt nervous for the first time. He thought he’d win this easily, but seeing the boy shrug off his attack made him feel like he was about to lose.
The man jumped up, carrying his large club with him. He chased Michael, swinging heavy and hoping to hit him at least once.
Yet, the boy kept speeding away from him every time.
The man stood in the arena, looking up at Michael, as he tried to catch his breath. All of his attempts at hitting him ended up wasting his energy instead.
Eventually, Michael had enough and conjured all four basic elements in the air. Fire, Water, Earth, and Air.
Although he only used the four basic spells, [Water Ball], [Air Ball], Fire Ball], and [Earth Ball], just the fact that he could conjure it up in the first place meant that he had masteries over all of them.
Everyone gasped. Seeing all four elements being wielded was akin to the moon turning blue. They had never seen it happen in their entire lives. They’d only ever heard it from books and in legends!
"Four...four element masteries!"
"That’s impossible!"
"Who is this kid?!"
Even Claudia couldn’t help but jump up at her seat. "You still have something up your sleeve?!" she asked in disbelief.
She thought him having a Diva was already surprising enough. But now, he was also a terrific genius in the Mystic Arts as well. Was there nothing that this kid could do?
He was even more of a genius prodigy than Yuna! As a genius-level diplomat and an astounding talent in the Way of the Rapier, Yuna was thought of as one of if not the best new descendants in the whole world. But as it turned out, that crown was reserved for Michael.
Still, no one was more surprised than Michael’s opponent. He just stood there, jaw dropped, and watched as the four elements crashed into him at the same time.
The four spells created a large explosion, sending his opponent crashing into the wall with his metal armor dented and charred.
"...."
The Association employee in charge of announcing the winner was tongue-tied. It wasn’t just her. It was everyone else who witnessed this historic moment.
And seeing that his job was done, Michael just floated up back to the stands and returned to Claudia’s side, all the while everyone’s eyes were just locked onto him.
"I move up to the second round, right?" he asked her.
"....yup...," she answered.
"When would that be?"
"....tomorrow...."
Since he had nothing left to do, Michael decided to leave for the day, leaving everyone else still completely unable to process what they had just witnessed.
"Was...was that real?"
"I don’t know. Pinch me...OW! That’s real, alright."
"What’s the kid’s name again? Michael?"
His name was etched onto their very minds. It was so surprising that they wanted to tell it to others as well!
Because of that, tomorrow’s tournament ended up getting so many more spectators than normal.