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StarGazer Stadium, a place where all kinds of events and battles were celebrated. It was an iconic spot for this branch of EverGreen Academy's. Most of the exchange tournaments and regional tournaments happened here. It would be empty most of the time, as without the permission of the professor, no student could use it. So, only on festive occasions could this stadium be seen full.
But today was different, as it welcomed people at a convenient time.
Mori led the students into the stadium, letting them witness the grandiosity of the stadium. Ana and others looked around in awe as they saw how massive this stadium was.
"So big! It is almost half the size of my city." Lily exclaimed out loud, having a hard time containing her shock.
Ana nodded her head to Lily's statement, agreeing with what she said. She had seen and heard of this place but never got the opportunity to pry into it, but today she got the chance and got reminded of how small a city she came from.
"Tsk, bunch of country bumpkins." Suddenly, Troy snickered at them, ruining Ana and Lily's mood.
However, they saw not only Troy but a few others also looking down and acting proud. Ana didn't have to take a guess to know that, given their high privilege, these people might have come here many times.
Mori didn't pay attention to their shock or wonder; he just led them to a corner of the stadium where a small court could be seen. "You guys take your positions. We will be using this court for our own, and the rest, follow me."
After saying that to Ana and Troy, Mori took the front seats for himself and the students. With just a few of them, the stadium wouldn't even look like it had people in it, but that wasn't the case this time.
It was senior year students' break time, so they were mostly dozing off outside and slacking off. Having nothing to do, they decided to follow Ana's group, wanting to see what they were up to and Mori had a great reputation among the students, so they believed whatever he was trying to do would be great. They sat behind Ana's classmates and discussed with enthusiasm about the soon-to-happen battle. However, not everyone came to the stadium, but those who did were enough to make one side of the stadium look full.
Troy casually stood a few meters away from Ana and said to her. "Make a move, I want to finish this fast."
However, Ana ignored the orders that he was giving with his authoritative tone; instead proposed. "Before we fight, let's have a wage."
"Oh," Troy said, showing interest despite Ana making him mad just now. "What is the wage?"
"It is very simple. Whoever wins will have the defeated listen to their one wish." A sudden smile appeared on Ana's deadpan face, as if she could already see the result of this.
"Good, good." Troy didn't notice her expression or ignore it, as the wage had made him think of the possible chores he could give to her after winning. "Okay, I agree, but do not cry later on."
Ana just smiled at him and started warming her body with mana. However, Troy didn't do anything, just stood in his place with no care.
"First rule." Mori said this to his students, who shifted their focus from the drama before them to him. "Do not underestimate your enemy, even if he or she is not as strong as you. Remember, a defenseless man is no different from a naked chicken."
Not many understood that statement, but the seniors in the back did, as they had many years of experience.
"I wish I had someone like Professor Mori in my class to tell me this. I almost got killed by an adventurer group for ordering them."
"What the!? Why were you even ordering them? Did you think they were weak just because they were lowly adventurers? Clearly, you don't know the dormant monsters living among the adventurers."
"Hey, it wasn't my fault for being like that. I was taught that we, the students of EverGreen Academy, are the best and respected by everyone."
"Well, there are many things wrong with your thinking, but I will say, do not dare to be arrogant, just as Professor Mori said."
Just like these two recent second-year friends, many were also describing their unfortunate events and some were preaching to others.
Ana, who was a bit dumbfounded by Troy's confidence. But her face turned stern as she aimed her finger at Troy's head. 'Don't make it look easy. [ Star Revolver ]. '
Troy grinned at Ana, who was aiming her finger at him, thinking of what she would do with just that. However, he was proven wrong when suddenly a white light flashed from her finger, making his heart quake. 'Evade it, no matter what, evade it!'
Nudging his body to the left in the nick of time, Troy managed to save himself from getting killed. With sweat dripping from his head, he looked at Ana and wondered. 'What was that spell? I have never seen something so deadly and fast.'
"Come on, don't make it look like I won by accident." Ana said this while still shooting at Troy.
Troy, suppressing his anger, dogged the attacks. He wanted to get a solid footing but failed to do so, making him still run around the court aimlessly but in an organized way.
Mori commented on the current situation, teaching his students. "Another thing people neglect is having their footing on the ground. For mages, warriors, or whatever your class might be, you need a solid footing to cast your spells and skills. Maybe it is not necessary in later stages, but for now it is important for you all."
"Ana is definitely exploiting this advantage she got from Troy's earlier negligence." Mori became more surprised as he went on, as he didn't expect Ana to know such basics.
While other students tried to engrave it in their minds. It could be guessed why the students from common backgrounds did not know such a thing, but for royals, they had every resource in their arsenal, however, even they took this teaching. The reason was that royal children had the best tutors teaching them from early ages, but there was no one to teach them how to actually utilize the basics of a fight. Only the ones who got to experience real life and death battles knew such things.
'No, I can't keep on running like this.' Troy gritted his teeth, trying to think of a way. 'I don't have any defensive spells to counter…then I will use offense as the defense.'
Troy, in midair, focused all of his mental energy with everything he had and conjured one of the spells he knew. " [ Fire Snakes Chase ] "
A medium sized rec magic circle appeared before him, from which six snakes – made of fire – burst out. They slithered in the air and clashed with Ana's star bullets.
Bang Bang Bang
Small explosions occurred, scattering smoke and dust in the air. Troy used this to hide from Ana''s vision and finally escape from her onslaught of attacks.
Ana stopped shooting, knowing she wouldn't be able to hit Troy amidst the smoke and that it would just be a waste of her energy.
"Good. Using any aspect of the battle to use it for your own advantage is necessary." Mori praised Troy too, not being biased toward Ana just because he was behaving badly with him. 'It looks like he isn't arrogant just for being someone with a good background. His strength was the boost for this arrogance.'
"They are both good while just being in the 1st Stage Novice realm."
"Yes, they know the basics very well, which many first-year students lack. Are we finally going to see the Star Shower of Prosperity generation?"
"What nonsense are you sprouting about? There is no specific generation. After the Star Shower of Prosperity, in the next fifty years, the geniuses we will be seeing are most likely blessed by the gods."
While they got derailed from their discussion, the fight between Ana and Troy continued on.
Ana had her eyes on both sides of the smoke, ready to attack the moment Troy came out.
However, contrary to her assumption, Troy didn't come out in the direction she guessed. Ana looked up and saw Troy crashing down at her.
Troy had both his hands pressed down on Ana as he spoke. " [ Rain of Fire Tears ] "
From the red magical circle before his hands, balls made of fire speed out, shooting down at Ana.
Ana quickly came up with her own countermeasure. She also pressed her hands upward. " [ Star Spike Burst ] "
Balls made of star magic shot upward, clashing against Troy's own attack. Upon contact, the white balls burst open like spikes, impaling the ones that escaped their influence.
Boom
Another cloud of smoke appeared above the air, blocking the views of everyone in the stadium.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel