Chapter 14: Passing The Examination
Aeon was extremely exhausted. He had overexerted himself to break through the enemy's defense. After beating up the earth mage unconscious, he had little to no energy to spend. From a distance, he could see Suri have a hard time fighting a close combat battle against another fire mage.
Ultimately, he forced himself to move forward. However, he didn't move towards Suri.
Aeon disappeared into the forest.
….
Although it wasn't obvious, nor was it straightforward that he was literally blocking spells, Suri was able to cover Aeon. He had kept the Fire Remoran at bay, ridding him of the chance to assist his teammate.
The Fire Remoran was unable to provide support until his teammate fell. Luckily for him, Aeon was already too exhausted and wasn't able to help Suri as well. This was all clear to him and Suri. It didn't look like it, but the two were actually paying more attention to the other battle compared to theirs. The decisions they had to make would drastically change based on the result of that particular battle.
Fight or flee.
If their comrade wins and still has the ability to fight, then they gang up on the opponent. The opponent would then choose to flee in that case. If the winner does not have the ability to fight any longer, only then would the situation depend on how they were currently faring.
The two had equal choices.
Suri slashed and slashed with his broadsword but the Fire Remoran always dodged his attacks gracefully. It was as if every slash made by Suri was no threat to him at all.
The Fire Remoran held the big, red, tome in his right hand and the flag on the other. There was probably less than ten minutes left.
Victory was already assured. He would be passing the test today. As long as he kept his guard up, he would certainly pass. For a moment, the Fire Remoran felt the urge to chatter. He wanted to provoke the enemy into wasting his energy faster. He was confident that even if Suri flies into a rage, he would still be able to keep himself safe.
Taunt!
The Fire Remoran smiled smugly. It was really a coincidence that he recognized the person he was currently facing. This man... this was the son of a famous general. He was Suri Samo!
"You know, your father would be greatly disappointed in you," the Fire Remoran told Suri.
Before Suri could respond, the mage continued, "By the way, my name is Prius. Prius Melbark."
Suri thought for a while before responding, "Sorry. Doesn't ring a bell."
Throughout their short conversation, they never stopped attacking each other. However, when Prius heard this, his left eye twitched.
His taunting didn't work at all. Moreover, wasn't he going to ask how he knew him?!
Prius was stumped. Suddenly, he was out of words. Earlier, he had thought of many comebacks to continue pissing Suri off. However, now, it seems like he couldn't voice any of those out.
He was starting to feel that his taunt backfired on him. He felt rage looming inside him.
But Prius didn't care!
I'm stronger than this person!
Prius jumped back after dodging one of Suri's slashes then started casting a spell. It was longer than his usual Fireball spell. After he finished casting, two serpents with bodies made of pure fire hovered above his head. His tome was also glowing brighter than usual.
I'll tell you who I am with this. My name will SURELY ring a bell next time.
"Behold, the power that your father looked down upon!" Prius roared at Suri.
One of the fire serpents charged straight towards Suri. The attack came too suddenly that Suri did not have enough time to dodge. He swung his enchanted broadsword, meeting the serpent head-on.
Boom!
A strong explosion rung out. Suri staggered backward, clearly losing the exchange. The attack he received was very strong! When he lifted his head to look at Prius, he saw that there were still two serpents. One coiled around Prius, while the other extended forward.
The serpent didn't disappear after the attack?
Suri was shocked. The serpent had a very high attack power. It was only reasonable for it to disappear after one attack. It should have been the same with the technique that Suri was familiar with. Suri was still thinking when another attack came at him. Instead of meeting it head-on, Suri decided to dodge. He rolled to the side.
Boom!
The ground where Suri stood a few moments ago was devastated. It was also scorched black, proving that the serpent did retain its fire properties, although it was now physical in nature.
"What do you think?" the Fire Remoran said from the distance, "quite strong, eh? One serpent attacks while the other defends! This is my trump card!"
Although the Fire Remoran was clearly showing off, Suri could not retort. He backed his words with his actions. Suri could not close in at all. How would he steal the flag at this rate? Judging from the time, there should only be about five minutes left. Time was running out!
Suri gritted his teeth and rushed forward. One of the serpents attacked once more but Suri got out of its way just in time.
Boom!
Missed again! The attack landed just behind Suri. He pressed forward towards Prius while casting a spell. Before he even finished casting, he swung his sword from a distance. His spell finished as he slashed. A crescent flame shot towards Prius.
The second serpent moved its head. It twirled and formed a shield in front of Prius, successfully blocking the attack. However, Suri wasn't discouraged. He continued to rush forward, casting another spell.
But…
Suri jumped to the side at the last moment.
The other serpent, the one that was used for attacking had retracted and almost hit Suri from behind. Luckily, he dodged just in time. It really was hard to fight off against, especially for someone like Suri who was a Seran. Suri started to wonder what would happen if they had Korona here.
Out of the blue, and completely out of Suri's expectations, the serpent that had only been used to defend started glowing.
Pew! Pew!
It shot two fireballs towards Suri!
Suri, who was relaxing, thinking that he was still outside the attack range of the serpents was completely caught off guard. He failed to jump at the last second and was forced to block. He successfully blocked one of the fireballs but one of them got through his defense, scorching his left shoulder. Fortunately for Suri, he was tempered with flames, so fire attacks dealt much less damage to him.
But something terrified Suri. With this skill, the serpents would not only be capable of fighting in close combat. It would also be able to fight off Remorans as well. What a technique! Suri suddenly remembered what Prius had said earlier.
My father looked down on this skill?
Suri was perplexed. Surely, it meant that his father had fought against someone from the Melbark family, giving them a harsh evaluation. But why would his father underestimate such a strong technique? Does it have a weakness?
Suri started to observe Prius' movements for quite some time.
Except, he didn't move at all!
Wait…
He didn't move at all?
Or he couldn't move?
Suri thought about this and thought that it was logical. Prius must've been focusing on controlling the serpents the entire time, completely reducing his mobility to zero. With this, Suri immediately came up with a plan.
Just because their family practiced the fire magic that was explosive doesn't mean that he did not know how to fight using the orthodox way. From a distance, Suri started casting a spell. Before he finished, he tapped his blade three times on different spots. It was quite a long cast, but he successfully did so. His enemy must have been conserving his energy for the last few minutes of the exam.
That was his fatal mistake.
Suri rushed forth once more.
While running, Suri suddenly pointed the broadsword at Prius as if it were a crossbow. Suri didn't disappoint, though. Several small fireballs shot through the air. But it didn't hit Prius. Instead, it hit the ground in front of Prius. The grass began burning and smoke polluted the air.
Prius wasn't dumb, he immediately understood what Suri was doing. He was going to cover his vision, so he couldn't pinpoint Suri's location. If he didn't know where Suri was, he couldn't direct where the serpents would attack or defend. He jumped back, away from the smoke.
In the end, these serpents didn't have their own consciousness, and could only be controlled by the caster. It was not a separate entity that moved on its own. In order to control the serpents, it required Prius to use his utmost concentration, not letting him move at all. Prius moving away from the smoke means that these serpents would be rendered unusable. That was exactly, the outcome Suri wanted.
Suri charged through the smoke and brandished his broadsword. He used several ranged attacks to keep Prius from settling and being able to use his serpents once more.
Burning slash! Firebolt! Flaming Stab!
Prius jumped from one spot to another. He couldn't control his serpents to defend him. They mindlessly hovered above his head, like what a fireball would do when not sent forth. The distance between Suri and Prius became smaller and smaller, until…
Explosion!
Suri buffed his enchantment with his family's unique skill, Explosion! It sacrificed the enchantment's duration for more power.
Suri slashed at Prius. The latter was forced to block with his usual fireballs, rather than using the serpents.
Unfortunately, he miscalculated…
Suri's spell was not your usual spell. With Explosion, that is.
The contact between the fireballs and the slash was too close to Prius. The collision of two explosive energies erupted practically right next to him.
Boom!
Prius was blown away. He rolled several times on the ground before stopping. The two serpents above his head, like flames burning out, disappeared. They've both either reached their time limit or were canceled due to Prius' concentration being interrupted.
Although victorious from the exchange, Suri had used up quite a lot of magic. Throwing several spells in quick succession almost depleted his reserves. Moreover, he was extremely exhausted. Fortunately, he knocked Prius out cold from the explosion. Suri used the broadsword as a crutch and slowly approached his fallen enemy.
Suri heaved a sigh of relief as he stepped right next to Prius. The flag was still in his grasp despite being blown away. Suri inwardly praised Prius' determination to pass the test, still holding onto the flag despite being unconscious. He slowly reached for the flag.
At that moment…
Whoosh!
A fireball started burning in front of Suri's head. It wasn't immediately visible to him because he was looking down! Prius opened his eyes. The fireball moved towards Suri.
Feeling the heat, Suri looked up at the last moment.
He had been tricked! Prius wasn't unconscious at all!
Suri raised the broadsword to defend against the fireball.
Boom!
Suri was blown away. As he was flying, he silently recalled the series of events. How careless he was. It's over for him. He would not have a chance to close in on Prius again. Not with the amount of magic left in him.
In Suri's perspective, the area by the corner of his eyes suddenly darkened. He felt like he was about to faint. He stopped hearing everything, except for his heartbeat. He looked at the triumphant Prius, appearing to be laughing hysterically with the flag on his left hand. And then there's…
There's Aeon!
Running towards Prius from behind!
….
Prius laughed and laughed.
Being able to trick and beat up Suri Samo boosted his ego.
Oh, how glorious is this moment! I thank the Grand Magic Examination for this opportunity!
Who would've thought that this would be a battlefield where he could elevate their family's name even further! Far enough that it won't be reached by the Samos any longer! In the past, their families were viewed under the same light. That the Melbarks and the Samos were equal. But with his victory today, it would surely become huge news!
Prius looked at the flag he was holding using his left hand. It was red, like the flames of passion burning in his soul! He raised the flag up high, just like a hero would.
Then a voice suddenly came from behind, "I'll take that!"
The flagpole slipped through his grasp.
Prius' hand was frozen in the air, subconsciously trying to reach for the flag that had been robbed from him.
When he looked at the culprit, he saw that it was Suri's teammate, flying through the air and smiling at him. The person was now holding the flag in his hands.
Dong!
The gong sounded at that moment.
….
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone