Chapter 60: The Final Match (5)
Flame Flash? What is that?
After hearing the conversation between Ravia and Jiang Zhe, the students watching the match became very interested in this so-called Flame Flash.
Was it magic? Or a tool?
In everyone’s eyes, Jiang Zhe standing on the battlefield was clearly at a disadvantage. Even though his earlier barrage of fireballs had been impressive, now few seemed to believe he could win.
Unless he could cast another barrier to replace the current one…
But the second-year students in the same magic class as Jiang Zhe and Ravia knew that the guy Professor Hodde favored didn’t know any auxiliary magic at all.
Although the previous match had made everyone worry for Ravia’s extraordinary charm, they secretly breathed a sigh of relief when the barrier covered the entire battlefield and her opponent looked helpless at it…
But could they really relax now?
“Be careful!” It seemed to be a signal to attack. Ravia shouted softly, then raised her right hand and pointed at Jiang Zhe. A fire wave as thick as a pillar shot into the air, rushing toward him like a giant serpent engulfed in flames.
Suddenly, the neck of this “serpent” exploded without warning, sending flames flying. The watching students gasped in shock and stepped back in regret.
“What… what happened?”
“I don’t know either. How could it explode suddenly?”
Amid the confused murmurs of the students, Eddie frowned and asked intently, “Did that brat do something, Gert?”
Gert slowly shook his head and said calmly, “I only felt the little brat’s magic fluctuations change in an instant, but…”
The severely damaged “serpent” retreated back to Ravia’s side, looking weak for a moment. But after gaining more flames, it raised its huge head again, staring fixedly at its prey.
“Well done!” Ravia glanced at Jiang Zhe satisfactorily, clenched her right hand, and said softly, “That was just a test. I’m glad you didn’t deceive me… Let me see for myself, Thors. How many steps away am I from you behind you?” As she spoke, the four “serpents” leaped up simultaneously, aiming at Jiang Zhe from afar.
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew, and the four serpents rushed at Jiang Zhe like predators catching their prey.
“Snap!”
As everyone held their breath and watched, a crisp snap rang out from Jiang Zhe’s right hand. Along with that sound, one of the four “giant pythons” exploded again without any warning, the intense shockwave from the explosion even reaching the students watching from outside the arena.
“Your control is still excellent, but Sos, you only dealt with one of them!”
“…” Frowning at the other three “giant pythons” right nearby, Jiang Zhe quickly recited a few spells. Almost instantly, three fiery red vortices appeared in front of him, within which three fireballs were rapidly forming…
Incredibly, these three fireballs seemed different from any before—no matter how rapidly the visible fire elements condensed, their size didn’t increase by even a fraction…
The color of the flames gradually shifted from red and yellow to golden yellow, and the surface of the fireballs no longer showed burning flames; at first glance, they resembled golden spheres.
After seeing these three fireballs, some experienced senior students cursed “Damn it!” before retreating once more.
“Boom! Boom!”
Under Jiang Zhe’s control, the three highly compressed fireballs struck those three giant pythons precisely. With a loud explosion, the flames filled the entire arena and even reached the students watching outside.
Fortunately, the judges and professors realized the situation was serious and quickly erected a defensive barrier outside. Otherwise, just these flames would have made Jiang Zhe a public enemy in the entire academy.
“What does that brat want?”
“Does he want to burn us to death? Damn him!”
“However, the power of those three fireballs is truly astonishing…”
Amidst curses and exclamations, Jiang Zhe emerged from the flames, his face red from the heat, with flames even licking at the corner of his magic robe.
“Pfft!” Jiang Zhe spat out the dust in his mouth, then glanced down at the corner of his robe—the flames there gradually died out.
Just as he tried to spot Lavia among the raging flames, a sense of alert flashed through his mind. Instinctively, he glanced to the side, where a fireball about half a yard in diameter broke through the flames and flew past him at about a yard’s distance, slamming into the trunk of a tree outside the arena.
In an instant, after emitting a faint white light, the trunk of that tree began to burn fiercely, engulfing the entire tree in flames.
“Put out the fire! Go and put it out!” One of the judges pointed at a few familiar senior students, ordering them to extinguish the flames. After all, with trees everywhere, a fire could spread quickly and cause serious trouble.
Glancing back at that unfortunate tree, Jiang Zhe’s expression turned strange. He thought to himself that if such a thing hit him, even with the basic defensive magic in his magic robe, it probably wouldn’t be very effective… After all, that was fire energy he had conjured himself…
Jiang Zhe shook his head with a bitter smile.
Suddenly, his senses seemed to detect something. Turning around, he happened to see a giant fire fox leaping lightly out of the flames. After giving him a proud glance, it opened its mouth and spat out three fireballs in a row.
“Damn!” Just by sensing the energy contained in those three fireballs, Jiang Zhe couldn’t help but curse under his breath. He certainly didn’t want to test just how powerful they were on his own body.
Finally, after several matches without moving an inch, Jiang Zhe moved again…
The speed of those three fireballs was truly astonishing. In the blink of an eye, they reached outside the arena. Two of them hit the trunks and crowns of two trees, while the third flew about thirty yards before sinking deep into the ground. Some students clearly saw the plants near that deep pit wither instantly due to the intense heat.
“What’s going on with these two students?” Looking at the other two “fire scenes,” one of the judges frowned and said to the professor beside him, “Hey, Bourne, isn’t this kind of magic power already beyond the restricted level?”
The professor named Bourne shook his head and said, “The magic itself isn’t beyond the restricted level. Whether it’s that boy or that girl—fireballs and fire projectiles aside—the fire fox is just a level-four transformation magic. It’s just that the fire energy here is too dense, causing that girl’s magic to rise by at least one level… Puli, send a few students to put out the fire first. Then we’ll erect a protective shield around the arena to prevent the outside from being affected…”
“But…” Professor Puli frowned deeply, glancing at the raging flames in the arena, and said in a grave voice, “No. Even if the outside area isn’t affected by the shield, what about those two children? If this continues, sooner or later… Sigh! Honestly, I can’t believe this is just a match between two second-year students… No! I must end this match unless the magic’s power is reduced!”
As soon as he finished speaking, just as Professor Puli was about to run toward the arena, someone placed a hand on his shoulder and pulled him back, saying in a firm voice, “Just leave it at that… Puli!”
“Hm?” Professor Puli turned around in surprise, frowning and saying, “Hod, what are you talking about? If those two children get hurt because of this… If they already have such strength at second year, they’ll become excellent magicians!”
“Puli!” Holding Professor Puli’s shoulder, Professor Hod glanced at the arena and shook his head, saying, “Trust me, Puli. I know them better than you do, because they’re my students—no, apprentices—my two most valued apprentices!”
“…” Stunned, Professor Puli looked at Professor Hod, seeing the determination in his eyes. With a wry smile, he shook his head helplessly and said, “Congratulations, Hod. Those two children are truly outstanding! But…” At that moment, as if sensing something, he suddenly turned around and quickly recited a spell. A gray light barrier instantly enveloped everyone.
The next second, two giant fireballs flew toward them at incredible speed. One barely missed the shield, sparking slightly before burrowing into the ground, while the other struck the shield head-on, causing the barrier to tremble.
Pointing at the fireball that was blocked by the shield but still shaking and impacting the barrier, Professor Puli said with a wry smile, “See? Magic of this power, if it hit any of my students…”
“Trust me, Puli,” said Professor Hod, patting Professor Puli’s shoulder with a smile, “I’ll explain this to the dean later. For now, let’s set up a shield first…”
After staring at Professor Hod for a few seconds, Professor Puli shook his head and said helplessly, “Alright, since their instructor says so… Let us take care of the shield. I think you’d better go check out the arena. After all, in Riox, no one besides the dean is more confident in their mastery of fire magic than you…”
“Hehe, is this sarcasm?” Professor Hod gently patted Professor Puli’s shoulder, waved his hand, turned to look at the battlefield, and said calmly, “Trust me, Puli, I understand this better than you do… That kid will think it through!”
“That kid? Which one?”
Staring intently at the battlefield, watching Jiang Zhe trapped in danger by the giant fire fox and eight fire waves like giant pythons, Professor Hod smiled slightly and murmured, “There’s nothing wrong with pursuing powerful magic, but going overboard is too much… There are no useless spells in this world. You should learn from this, kid!”
“Huh?”
“Nothing, Puli…”
Meanwhile, the “kid” referred to by Professor Hod was in extreme danger. Whether attacking or dodging, those four fire pythons kept restraining him, and the simulated fire fox made things even worse.
Compared to the single-track, slowly moving fire waves, the agility of that fire fox stunned Jiang Zhe. Not to mention the fireballs it spat out, which were probably on par with those of Jiang Zhe himself.
Fortunately, the fox could only spit out three fireballs at a time before needing to rest for over ten seconds; otherwise, Jiang Zhe would have long given up.
But even so, Jiang Zhe’s dangerous situation remained unchanged…
“Snap!”
“Snap!”
“Boom!”
“Boom!”
“Hey, Ravia, be careful! It really can kill people!”
Amidst layers of flames and under the tight protection of the other four fire waves, Ravia said calmly, “Someone else might, but you… Don’t try to fool me, Thors. I heard from Allen that you often get blown up by your own fireballs…”
“That was in the past…”
“Oh? Is that so?”
“Yes…” He hadn’t finished speaking when a warning flashed in Jiang Zhe’s mind. He snapped his fingers, and immediately, a fireball exploded not far ahead, sending a powerful gust that forced Jiang Zhe to take two steps back.
Ugh…
Even if it didn’t kill him, getting hit would probably leave him bedridden for a week or two. What if it hit his face…
Thinking of this, Jiang Zhe shuddered. He looked up just in time to see that damned fire fox opening its mouth again…
“You’re back?!”
“Snap!”
“A loud boom” came from the fire fox’s mouth. The violent explosion destroyed half of its body, but the next second, the damned fire fox reformed itself.
“Oh, no…” Jiang Zhe sighed gloomily. Out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly noticed a faint, eerie red glow emanating from the ground beneath his feet. At the same time, he sensed immense energy gathering underground. Instinctively, he looked up at Lavia, only to see her concentrating intently on chanting something… “Hey, hey…” As the eerie red light from the ground grew stronger, Jiang Zhe didn’t hesitate and quickly ran away. In just a second or two, a column of blazing flames, like a torrent, burst through the hard stone slabs and shot into the air from where he had stood. Then another one followed… Within just twenty or thirty seconds, more than a dozen such flames burst through the stone slabs and continued to shoot into the air like an oil spill, creating a spectacular sight. [Flame Torrent] “Hey, hey, do you really want to kill me?” “Interrupting Jiang Zhe,” Lavia said in a low voice, slightly out of breath, “I’ve said it before—Sos, once we step onto this battlefield, we are enemies! I said I would use all my strength… Battles between magicians inevitably result in injuries, even…” “Injuries? It’s not just about injuries, right? I know you have excellent control, but what if you make a mistake?” “What if I make a mistake…” Hearing this, Lavia paused for a moment. Then she looked up at Jiang Zhe with a confused gaze. After a few seconds, she bit her lip tightly and murmured, “Well… I’ll just compensate you!” As she spoke, her gaze sharpened again. Pointing at Jiang Zhe, Lavia, seemingly giving up on defense, controlled eight serpent-like waves of fire to rise slowly into the air, covering his front, top, left, and right sides. Meanwhile, that troublesome fire fox also leaped forward a few yards, staring intently at Jiang Zhe, ready to strike. “That kid is in big trouble…” Gayer said with glee from a distance, leaning against a tree trunk and watching the battlefield. “That girl is really strong—she’s cornered that kid…” “Cornered?” Katerina asked softly. Then her gaze met Gayer’s, and she instinctively held the book in her arms tightly. With a sigh, Gayer snapped, “It won’t take it from you… Just hold it tight!” He glanced at Katerina, shook his head amusedly, walked over to her, and said in a teasing tone, “Aren’t you quite interested in that kid? He’s about to lose…”
“Stop talking nonsense, Geller—the Lord is everywhere!” Katerina said seriously to Geller, then glanced at the battlefield and asked hesitantly, “But… will he really lose?”
“Haven’t you seen he’s been cornered?” Geller said, patting Gert’s back. “You explain it to her!”
Gert frowned at Geller and said calmly, “That girl’s tactics are similar to mine in my last match—she confines her opponent to a small area. After all, the entire battlefield is too large; just those eight waves of fire and that artificial fire fox aren’t enough, as proven in the battle just now by that kid named Thors…”
“That’s true,” Eddie added, arms crossed, in a low voice. “That girl’s attacks are fierce. Her fire wave technique can be used both offensively and defensively. And as you saw with that fire fox, Riox’s professors set up a protective barrier around the battlefield. Even so, that kid named Thors still hasn’t taken a single injury…”
“That only proves that kid’s good at escaping!” Geller said in a low voice.
Glancing at Geller indifferently, Gert said expressionlessly, “Want to give it a try?!”
“What do you mean? I’m not low enough to bully a sophomore…”
“Enough, Geller. Gert didn’t mean that,” Eddie interjected firmly. “If you observed carefully, you’d realize that kind of speed-based fire projectile isn’t something ordinary people can dodge. Yet that kid managed to do it without even a single strand of hair getting burned—this shows he understands the trajectory and speed of those projectiles very well. But one thing worries me: his stamina… Have you noticed? That kid kept moving back and forth for so long, yet he’s still full of energy…”
“And his magic power!” Gert interrupted Eddie, calmly. “I’ve been watching his magic fluctuations. From the start until now, his magic power has remained stable and regular. In contrast, that girl’s magic fluctuations have gradually become irregular…”
“Hey!” Geller shook his head amusedly. “What’s so surprising about that? Haven’t you seen how long that girl kept using magic? With that level of fire wave technique and that artificial fire fox, do you think those don’t consume magic power?”
“But that brat consumes far more magic power than that girl,” Gert shook his head and retorted with a frown. “Not to mention those astonishing numbers of fireballs earlier, just that last one… that magic called Flare Flash. I still don’t understand what kind of magic it is, but judging from its power, it’s at least level four. How many times has that brat used it? I observed carefully—he always snaps his fingers habitually when using Flare Flash. So far, I’ve heard it twenty-two times, which means he’s cast twenty-two spells at least at level four. But look at him…”
“So what? Anyway, that brat is going to lose!” Geller scratched his head, shrugged indifferently, and said mockingly, “The rear, which he could have used to evade attacks, is blocked by those columns of fire. And in front, above, to the left, and to the right, there are those waves of fire, plus a fire fox… If they all attack at once, how can that brat not lose?”
Perhaps everyone thought the same, including Ravia…
After setting up her strategy, Ravia didn’t attack right away. She kept staring at the boy across from her. It was clear she was nervous; her right hand trembled slightly as if she were hesitating, struggling with something.
If it had been Ravia from a year ago, she wouldn’t have hesitated so much. Even if she had, it would only have been about winning or losing.
But now, Ravia’s heart was filled with conflict.
Or rather, she was confused…
He no longer had any space to escape…
Although she didn’t quite believe it herself, but… she would win!
But what if…
No! His affinity for fire elements was extremely high. As long as she had enough magic power, the spells she cast shouldn’t hurt him too badly…
But what if…
“Huh!” She let out a long sigh, her conflicted expression becoming more evident.
As the students watching the match murmured due to the silence on the field, Jiang Zhe sighed helplessly.
Because he felt that Ravia’s magic power fluctuations were becoming unstable, indicating that she had already consumed too much magic power. Maybe in just five more minutes, or even three, she would run out…
Perhaps this attack was her last stand…
“Delaying again and again, delaying every time. How long have we waited for this day? Do you understand?”
Unwittingly, Ravia’s voice echoed in Jiang Zhe’s ears.
Back then, her eyes were a bit moist…
Ah, fair enough. She had worked hard for a whole year…
What a hassle!
With a bitter smile, Jiang Zhe took a deep breath and shouted loudly, “Hey, what’s the matter? You’ve gone to such trouble to trap me here—aren’t you just planning to wait until my magic runs out? If you lose like this, you’ll regret it to tears, right?”
Ravia was clearly stunned. She hadn’t expected the boy across from her to challenge her like this; it was completely unexpected.
Him…
“Come on, don’t leave yourself with regrets at the last moment. Try to attack… only today!”
Somehow, Ravia seemed to understand Jiang Zhe’s gaze.
“Idiot!” She kept her head down in silence for a long time. When she raised her head again, her gaze was as resolute as ever.
Don’t disappoint me… idiot!
“Final attack, Thors!” As these words left Ravia’s mouth, eight waves of fire surged into the air simultaneously, rushing toward Jiang Zhe. At the same time, the giant fire fox, after gathering its strength, spat out an enormous fireball with a diameter of nearly two yards.
A diameter of nearly two yards meant this fireball was even larger than Jiang Zhe himself. If hit, it wouldn’t be a joke!
“Huh!” Jiang Zhe took a deep breath, his eyes fixed on the massive fireball. It was clear that facing such a powerful fireball made him nervous as well.
Troublesome! Too troublesome!
Nervously rubbing his right index finger and thumb, his breathing became rapid.
With clearly insufficient controllable fire elements, head-on confrontation with this giant fireball was obviously the stupidest approach. Moreover, once such an energy fireball exploded, the damage it could cause would be immeasurable…
Even if he managed to escape at the cost of minor injuries, what about her?
Her magic power was continuing to weaken…
Could this fool not save some magic to create a protective shield against fire damage? Did she have to settle things with a win or loss?
Tch!
There’s no other choice…
I have to try that…
“I don’t know if I can do it…” murmuring, Jiang Zhe watched helplessly as the fireball grew larger and larger.
“Oh no, those two students… quickly remove their shields, use them now…”
Not only the students watching the match but even the professors at the academy were panicked. After all, if something happened to Riox’s students during the competition, it would directly affect the academy’s reputation.
Amidst the chaotic noise, Jiang Zhe took a deep breath and slowly raised his right hand…
Flame Flash?
No! He didn’t do anything. He just held his palm out straight toward the giant fireball…
“Damn it!”
“Is that brat seeking death?”
Amidst the panicked chatter of the crowd, the fireball approached Jiang Zhe at incredible speed. Just as it was about to touch his palm, it strangely stopped…
“He… he’s controlling that fireball?”
What was even more unbelievable was that the fireball hovering in front of Jiang Zhe gradually began to disintegrate, breaking down from the outside in until it reverted to its original fire elements…
“My god…”
“How did he do that?”
Standing outside the chaotic scene and watching this incredible sight, a referee professor who was about to go in to rescue people widened his eyes and murmured, “Reverse element decomposition? By a second-year kid? Good heavens, even sixth graders might not be able to do that…”
But reality proved that everything they saw was true. In just three or four seconds, it had been completely broken down back into pure fire elements. At that moment, eight massive fire waves carrying intense flames arrived as expected…
“Be careful, buddy!”
With Allen’s cry of alarm, a faint red glow mysteriously appeared around Jiang Zhe’s body. Instantly, the red light expanded, and a huge figure appeared before everyone’s eyes.
To the shocked and astonished gazes of the crowd, a flame giant bear, towering twenty or thirty yards high, appeared on the battlefield—no, actually much taller than that, as the bear wasn’t standing upright, its massive body pressing down so hard that the protective shield above creaked under the pressure.
The once-giant fire fox now seemed minuscule in comparison, not even reaching the knees of the flame giant bear’s hind legs.
As for those eight fire waves, they rushed into the bear’s body like small stones thrown into a calm lake, causing only slight ripples.
“Boom!” The bear slammed its paw at the fire fox, but unfortunately, the agile fox dodged skillfully. With a loud crash, the hard rock surface of the battlefield was cracked into a web-like pattern by the seemingly intangible flame.
But the fire fox’s luck seemed to run out there. The giant bear bent down and bit the fox’s body with its enormous mouth.
“Bang!” After struggling for a while, the fire fox turned into a flame and merged into the bear’s body.
Meanwhile, a crackling sound came from the barrier adorned with red runes; visible cracks rapidly spread across the entire barrier, followed by a loud “ping” as it shattered and dissipated into its most primal form of fire element. The disappearance of the Fire Fox and the destruction of the barrier signified that Ravia’s magic had finally run out—she no longer had the ability to control the flames everywhere in the area. Yet, the ground where she stood was still a sea of fire. Perhaps the most ridiculous and tragic scene for a fire mage was about to unfold today… Well, just perhaps… By the time everyone realized something was wrong, those uncontrolled flames could no longer harm Ravia, as the giant fire bear had covered her fragile body with its own, just as they had done against Gungro in the underground mine shafts… “Ah!” Feeling the searing pain in his right hand, Jiang Zhe broke into cold sweat. To be honest, his right hand was severely injured—although it had only been in contact with the giant fireball, its intense heat still caused serious damage to his palm. But compared to the worst that could have happened, this was just a minor injury, right? Glancing at his right hand, which was trembling from the intense pain, Jiang Zhe used his left hand for the first time to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead. Then he spread his palm and pointed at the flames in the field. Under his control, those flames that resembled a sea of fire gradually died down… “Phew!” Thankfully, he had arrived in time… Thankfully, Ravia’s mental strength wasn’t as strong as it had been at first… Thankfully, her magic wasn’t enough to control those flames… Thankfully… Just as Jiang Zhe was secretly relieved, he suddenly heard faint footsteps. Looking up, he saw Ravia walking toward him step by step, her head lowered, making it impossible to tell what expression she had. “Rav… Avi…” “Don’t speak!” With her head still lowered, Ravia walked up to Jiang Zhe and gently pressed her right hand, covered in white gloves, over his mouth. Then she raised her head, with a hint of disappointment and resignation, and said with a smile, “I lost, Thors!” “Avi…” “If it’s meant to be comfort, I don’t need it!” With that, Ravia turned away gracefully and headed toward the audience. But after taking a few steps, she stopped because someone’s hand pressed on her shoulder. “I promise, it’s definitely not meant as comfort!” Jiang Zhe said earnestly, using his left hand, which he had never used before, to press on Ravia’s shoulder.
“…” After hesitating for a moment, Ravia turned around and looked at Jiang Zhe calmly. Rarely showing tenderness, she said, “Then tell me!”
Looking into Ravia’s flame-like eyes, Jiang Zhe raised his left hand, pointed with his index finger, and said slowly, “That footprint… there might only be one!”
Glancing at Jiang Zhe, whose face was covered in soot from the fireworks, Ravia giggled. She nodded slightly and said seriously, “I understand—thank you, Thors!” Then she glanced at Jiang Zhe’s right hand, which was bleeding, and softly said, “I have bandages over there. Wait a moment…”
Jiang Zhe raised his right hand to take a look and shook his head, saying, “It’s fine. Just a minor injury…” But before he could finish, Ravia interrupted him.
“I said I have bandages! Thors!” Ravia repeated.
“Okay… very well!”
At that moment, the protective shield outside the arena was removed as well. A referee professor stepped onto the scorching hot arena and shook his head helplessly at the uneven surface.
“Match thirteen of the first round of the finals: the winner is Thors, a second-year student from our school!”