Chapter 104 Chapter 104-The Shock of Victory
"I challenge Howard!"
Almost immediately after Jack's words faded, Maithus, who had been previously defeated by Howard's group, leaped forward, his eyes burning with hostility towards Howard.
Upon hearing this, a smile emerged on Howard's face.
He hadn't expected someone to actually dare challenge him.
"Excellent," Jack grinned, "I always admire students with guts. If you succeed in your challenge, I'll grant you an extra reward!"
"Come now, Howard," Jack's gaze shifted back to him, "someone's thrown down the gauntlet. Don't disappoint me."
All eyes turned to Howard and Maithus, and whispers rippled through the crowd. "That's Maithus, isn't he? The one who also awakened an S-level talent?"
"Anyone who dares to challenge Howard must be an expert."
"Honestly, I'm quite curious about Howard's actual combat strength."
"If he can defeat Maithus, he'll essentially top our cohort."
"Each generation of students keeps getting stronger. It's intimidating to think about. Who knows what resources we'll end up with?"
Amid the murmurs, Maithus and Howard stepped into a circle the students had instinctively cleared for them.
"Given that Howard is a magus, you two must maintain a distance of nearly 20 yards before the battle begins. Only after I give the signal can you launch an attack!" Jack directed Howard and Maithus to space out accordingly.
Tana gracefully waved her right hand, and a pale blue barrier materialized, effectively separating the other students from Howard and Maithus.
With her formidable power, no matter how Howard and Maithus attacked, they wouldn't be able to breach the barrier, ensuring the students' safety.
"3... 2... 1!"
"Begin!"
As the countdown concluded, Maithus, being a warrior, took the initiative.
He leaped high into the air, his greatsword glowing brightly.
A piercing blade aura emerged, tearing through the fabric of space, and aimed a slashing strike at Howard.
Feeling the sharpness of the blade aura, Howard didn't retreat. Instead, he confidently stepped forward.
Whoosh!
Just as the blade aura was about to hit Howard, his figure shimmered and vanished from sight.
"Hmm? Blink?!" Maithus's pupils constricted sharply.
He swiftly turned around, but what greeted him was a glacial-blue feathered arrow.
A bone-chilling coldness approached. Maithus immediately retaliated, swinging his greatsword in a wide arc to collide with the arrow.
Clang!
Almost the instant the feathered arrow touched the greatsword, Maithus's arms began to tremble violently.
His complexion changed dramatically, unable to believe that the sheer power emanating from just a single skill could be so terrifying!
This was the suppression of attributes!
It was inevitable. With Howard's high-tier equipment combined with his level advantage, his attributes dwarfed Maithus's.
Naturally, the force imbued within his skills was immensely formidable.
Fortunately, Maithus's combat prowess was equally exceptional.
Using his greatsword, he managed to fend off the Frost Arrow Spell without becoming encased in ice.
However, the sheer number of skills Howard possessed was staggering.
What good was it to block a single Frost Arrow Spell?
Before Maithus could even regain his footing, a bolt of lightning burst forth, striking directly at him.
"Hmph!"
"Earthshatter!"
With a defiant shout, Maithus employed a technique reminiscent of a weighted descent, instantly grounding himself.
Not only did he dodge the lightning, but he also drove his greatsword into the earth below.
In the next instant, the ground trembled.
An unseen blade aura erupted, seemingly with a mind of its own, zeroing in on Howard.
Witnessing this spectacle, the other students were utterly stunned, their faces painted with astonishment.
It was their first time seeing someone rapidly pivot in mid-air and, without a point of leverage, unleash a skill.
Similarly, it was unprecedented for them to see a magus, who had only recently awakened, successively deploying multiple elemental skills!
This wasn't just some game world.
Even after mastering a skill, one would need to practice repeatedly, enhancing its proficiency to augment its damage, effectiveness, casting speed, and accuracy.
For someone freshly acquainted with a skill, deploying it would typically be quite the challenge.
Hence, under normal circumstances, after grasping a skill, a considerable amount of time is required to master it.
Yet, Howard's casting speed and the accuracy of his skills were alarmingly high.
Given that he had only recently awakened to his abilities, it's no wonder the students were left in sheer awe.
The battle raged on intensely.
Maithus, with his S-level Talent Awakening, exhibited a formidable combat prowess, evading skill after skill with sheer grit.
Of course, part of this can be attributed to the inherent weakness of a magus's basic skills.
The strength of the magus class lies in its high offensive capabilities.
But its corresponding weakness is the difficulty in landing hits, often requiring the assistance of teammates for crowd control.
This was the very reason behind Maithus and Lanas's confidence in challenging Howard.
What's the use of having a powerful skill if it's hard to land and has a slow casting speed?
In a one-on-one situation, they had no reason to fear.
However, Howard wasn't giving it his all either.
He saw Maithus as a sharpening stone, an opportunity to hone his own skills.
After an intense duel that spanned over two minutes, Howard noticed Maithus starting to pant and quickly changed his approach.
Maithus's weapon was just too heavy.
No matter how skilled he was, it was impossible for him to keep wielding it continuously.
Seizing the moment, as Maithus's old energy waned and new strength had yet to emerge, Howard suddenly unleashed the Multiple Wind Blade.
Maithus had impressive footwork, didn't he?
So Howard decided to exploit an AOE damage to restrict his movements!
In an instant, razor-sharp blade auras, formed by Anemo, howled and slashed at Maithus from all directions.
Even at this juncture, Maithus showed no signs of surrendering.
With a resounding roar, he spun, trying to harness the inertia combined with the might of his greatsword to sever all incoming wind blades.
However, almost the instant the first wind blade clashed with his greatsword, Maithus felt a torrent of savage power channeling through his arm and into his body.
The very next moment, he was sent flying.
The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth, and he spewed a large gush of crimson. His head lolled to one side, and he slipped into unconsciousness.
By this time, it was abundantly clear to all the students: Maithus had been defeated!
"Hiss!"
"How does Howard's MP seem endless? He cast so many skills in succession."
"Right? I was also puzzled by that. With my current MP level, I can only cast, at most, five skills before needing to take a potion to restore my MP."
"Not just that, did you all notice? Howard also mastered Blink. Under such conditions, unless a warrior possesses two quick gap-closing skills, it's undoubtedly a lost battle."
"Indeed, Maithus charged in too recklessly earlier. Once Howard used Blink to create distance, Maithus couldn't close the gap. He was quite literally drained to death."
The students, with their limited insights, couldn't discern that Howard was comfortably in control.
They mistakenly thought Maithus had suffered a narrow defeat.
Only Lanas and the three mentors could see the truth: Howard was merely using Maithus as a sparring partner.
Yet, despite this, Lanas was undaunted, especially since his chosen profession was that of an archer!
In some respects, both archers and assassins serve as natural checks against the magus profession.
Assassins possess the ability to become invisible, closing in on a magus undetected, only to unleash deadly strikes, leaving no room for the magus to retaliate.
Archers, on the other hand, are not only ranged damage dealers, but they also boast incredible agility, posing a significant threat to magi.
Therefore, even after witnessing Maithus's defeat, Lanas held firm confidence in himself.
Wales discreetly appeared within the light barrier, his right hand gently passing over Maithus.
Immediately, a silvery-gray luminescence emerged, sinking into Maithus's form.
Within mere moments, Maithus astonishingly regained consciousness, promptly overwhelmed by embarrassment.
He recognized his failure in the challenge.
"Well done, your performance was commendable," Wales said with a soft chuckle. "A few more years of training, and you'll truly come into your own."
"Thank you for the kind words, mentor," Maithus replied with a rueful smile, rising to his feet and giving Howard a respectful nod.
He too could discern that Howard had not been going all out, and he accepted his defeat wholeheartedly.
Yet, despite this, Lanas was undaunted, especially since his chosen profession was that of an archer!
In some respects, both archers and assassins serve as natural checks against the magus profession.
Assassins possess the ability to become invisible, closing in on a magus undetected, only to unleash deadly strikes, leaving no room for the magus to retaliate.
Archers, on the other hand, are not only ranged damage dealers, but they also boast incredible agility, posing a significant threat to magi.
Therefore, even after witnessing Maithus's defeat, Lanas held firm confidence in himself.
Wales discreetly appeared within the light barrier, his right hand gently passing over Maithus. Immediately, a silvery-gray luminescence emerged, sinking into Maithus's form.
Within mere moments, Maithus astonishingly regained consciousness, promptly overwhelmed by embarrassment.
He recognized his failure in the challenge.
"Well done, your performance was commendable," Wales said with a soft chuckle. "A few more years of training, and you'll truly come into your own."
"Thank you for the kind words, mentor," Maithus replied with a rueful smile, rising to his feet and giving Howard a respectful nod.
He too could discern that Howard had not been going all out, and he accepted his defeat wholeheartedly.
Updat𝓮d from freew𝒆bnovel(.)com