Swoosh!
Using the wind around his legs to boost his speed, Trent immediately moved to the side, successfully dodging the brown spike that flew past him.
His face morphed into a deep frown, and he turned towards the direction the earth spike came from.
His eyes caught sight of a black-haired Elementalist, lying weakly on the ground with blood bleeding from the numerous cuts around his body.
But despite the injuries around his body, one of his hands was stretched out, and from the deep frown on his face, it was clear that stretching his hand like that was causing him pain.
Trent stared at the Elementalist for a second, before letting out a dry chuckle.
He could sense some mana surrounding the student's palm, which made it obvious to him that he was the Elementalist that cast that earth spike.
Though he didn't want to admit it, if he had let his guard down even a little, then the earth spike would have pierced him.
While it might not have incapacitated him, it might have still caused him some serious injuries, and worst of all, it would have put him in a world of embarrassment.
Just thinking about it made him very angry, and he subconsciously clenched his fists tightly.
"I thought my last spell was enough to put you all down… but it seems I miscalculated a bit. You should have stayed down, I'll make sure you regret your actions." Trent muttered, but the Elementalist he was speaking to still heard his words clearly.
The black-haired student gritted his teeth in frustration, feeling very helpless against Trent.
He had planned to release that earth spike the moment Trent was turned away from him, to catch him off-guard and also injure him, however, it seemed like he had underestimated the instincts and prowess of an elite student.
Trent stretched one of his hands towards the Elementalist, and the edges of his lips curled into a wicked smile as mana gathered around his outstretched palm.
"Water Blade!" Trent shouted, and following his words, two small dark blue blades made purely of black water appeared in front of his palm.
Their shapes were wavy as if they could collapse any second, but they still contained a dangerous amount of mana.
Immediately, water blades shot towards the Elementalists laying weakly on the ground. But rather than hit the student himself, they hit the sides of his arm, the same one he used to cast the earth spike spell.
The blades cruelly scarped off the skin at the sides of his hands, causing him to scream in agony as blood bled from the wound.
At this point, more students in the audience started expressing their dislike for Trent and his methods in this stage.
They felt like he was being too cruel, and that attacking the already weakened Elementalist with a spell was him going too far.
However, despite the large number of students who hated his methods, there were still some who supported him and chanted his name in admiration.
To them, Trent was cool and it was his opponents who were too weak to withstand his prowess.
Just then, the instructor's voice reverberated from the speakers once more.
[I think I forgot to say this before, but you're free to knock your opponents using any method you desire; whether spells or physical attacks.]
[You can also use any methods you like to help your team win, as long as it doesn't involve using artefacts.]
[However, one thing that isn't allowed is killing. No matter what, you mustn't kill your opponents.]
Trent ignored the audience's murmuring and chattering and walked back to the bright red flag, before uprooting it from the ground.
Casting a speed-boost spell on himself, Trent used the wind fluttering around his legs to increase his speed and sprint back to his domain.
The Elementalists on the ground could only watch in frustration, as Trent took their flag and moved it to his domain.
They couldn't move, neither could they protect their flag.
After getting to his domain, he planted the red flag on the ground before staring off into the distance with a slight smile on his face.
"I told you, I would win this event without your help. Just watch…" He muttered in a low voice, and no one heard the words that came out of his lips.
As for who he was speaking to, only he knew.
***
Harry's eyes squinted slightly as he stared at a boy with light brown hair standing on the stage. No matter how he tried, he still couldn't shake off the feeling that there was something different about Trent.
It seemed like he still had the same irritable attitude as before, in fact, he had gotten even more irritable, but something just felt… off.
'Probe.' Harry mumbled inwardly, activating [Probe] and focusing it on the brown-haired Elementalists in the distance.
===========
[Name: Trent Morton]
[Race: Human]
[H/P: 100/100]
[Mana core: 3rd Stage]
[Mana: 3100/3800]
[Strength: 49]
[Agility: 69]
[Stamina: 40]
[Perception: 70]
[Endurance: 42]
[Intelligence: 80]
[Mental: 43]
[Charm: 70]
===========
Harry's eyes widened slightly when he saw the set of tabs that appeared in front of him.
To say Trent's stats took a jump since the time he saw him at the spell library would be an understatement.
His mana had more than doubled, and each of his stats had greatly increased.
While the amount of mana and elemental mana an Elementalist had could increase over time, it was very unusual for it to just boom up like the way Trent's did.
Increasing mana was quite difficult as one had to absorb them from the surroundings, and even if an Elementalist was gifted with the mana body physique, to achieve such a huge jump in only a few weeks or months was still insane.
Well, the academy also considered Harry's feats as insane and impossible, but his case was different since he had the manaless mage system.
The speed at which he "absorbed" mana increased with his level as his mana core itself was due to the passive effect of [Mana core illusion].
If he considered the speed at which his "mana core" was progressing, he should break through the second stage in about two months or even less.
However, that was all due to the system which was even more insane on its own.
While it seemed like all these were just Trent's talents, something just made him feel uneasy about it all.
Just then, the instructor's voice blared through the speakers, declaring Trent and his team the winner of this competition.
The members of Trent's team were also confirmed to have advanced to the next round, as their names were all reflected boldly on the huge yellow hologram floating in the air.
Each member of team 10 rejoiced and pumped their fists as they left the stage, excited that they had advanced to the next stage.
Strangely, the ones who rejoiced the most were the other four who did practically nothing to aid in the team's one, they jumped and rejoiced, even going ahead to hug each other while crying tears of joy.
Though Trent was the one who did all the work, they still felt no shame in rejoicing and taking pleasure in the win.
Trent only walked away from the stage with an indifferent expression, as if winning this competition meant nothing to him.
As for the wounded students on the ground, a female instructor came on the stage to heal them.
She signed before stretching his hands forwards as if to bless a gathering.
"Healing bubbles." She said. Following her words, small water bubbles materialized in the air, and began floating towards the injured students.
The bubbles glowed with a dim blue hue, and the moment one landed on one of the injured Elementalist, they injuries immediately started healing rapidly.
Within a few seconds, the water bubbles had already spread to all the students, and all their injuries were fully healed.
They all stares at their bodies in awe, surprised at how quick that spell healed them.
Water and light elements were the only elements capable of healing injuries. While the healing ability of the water element was slightly inferior compared to that of the light element, it was still very impressive.
Apart from the cuts on their uniforms, there was no other way to know that they were wounded just seconds ago.
They couldn't help but cringe at themselves when they remembered how they were easily dominated by Trent. However, they simply left the stage quietly, without saying a word to themselves about it.
After Trent's team members won their round, another set of names was reflected on the huge hologram as it was time for the next set of teams to compete.
Team 19 vs. Team 8
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