Free Web NovelChapter 18: Investment 18— Unnerving Battle
"Surrender? I don’t surrender. The Black Ring will never condone surrender!" Vena spiraled out of control at this point. It was obvious she was out of her mind.
Streaks and flashes of purple lightning appeared around her, the ground cracked as she crouched her feet on it. She vanished and in a blur her hand was wide open over Elliot’s face. "I will gouge out those eyes of yours first, pretty boy."
Before her fingers could penetrate his eyes, Elliot grabbed her arm with a tight grip and slammed her into the ground.
The impact spiderwebbed the floor. "Gckkk!" Blood splashed out from her mouth as she landed on the floor, eyes white and partially convulsing.
"So you have a connection with the Black Ring, huh?" Elliot adjusted the buckle of his uniform. A bright red and terrifying aura wrapped around his entire body.
"We are done playing nice." He drew his sword.
"A violent act calls for a crude response." He got into a striking position. The tip of the sword was placed forward as he held the hilt beside his crouched chest.
Edith came from behind and placed a hand on his shoulders.
"I would suggest you save your strength for later." She smiled with throbbing veins on her forehead. "But I humbly ask you, Elliot and the rest of you guys..." She bowed her head. "Please allow me to take care of this bitch. I beg of you." What was supposed to sound like a kind plea instead tingled as a threat and a warning.
Deria forcefully dragged Elliot backwards. "Elliot, I would suggest you take a step back for your own safety." frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
He looked around only to see Taumus behind a shadow barrier together with Renshi. And Seria had already erected an ice wall waiting patiently for him to join her.
’Huh?! Wait, what the hell is going on?’ He was completely dumbfounded by the current situation he found himself in.
The ground shook and as it parted it rose to become earth walls.
"Once she becomes like this there’s no stopping her. More or less, that Vena girl is screwed." Deria let out a defeated sigh. She wanted to participate in the action but even she couldn’t stop Edith.
"Why are you all running away from her? From the way I see things, she has the lowest mana reserve amongst everyone here and Vena seems to be stronger than her." Renshi adjusted his specs, stating his worries to Taumus. freewebnovёl.ƈom
"Ahahahaahaha. What was your overall position in the entrance exams?" Taumus asked as he laughed.
"Ehhhh... 67," he replied.
"It’s no wonder. You are simply too weak to quantify the amount of mana she possesses and don’t you know that mana reserve isn’t exactly how much mana a person has per se? It’s just how much we can release to cast a spell in one fell swoop." Taumus hit him with words of condemnation as he enlightened him.
Mana reserve was just another way of putting mana output. It’s not like people can’t cast spells above their mana reserve tier, it’s just that it was a very risky thing to do as it could lead to a blackout or death.
Most individuals could barely increase that mana reserve by 4 tiers from when they hit the age of 16 but prodigies are capable of consistently increasing that mana reserve through the continuous usage of spells, at least up to 7 or 9 tiers after the age of 16.
"That girl is a monster. When I look at her all I see is a bottomless pit," Taumus mused.
Elliot got behind Seria’s ice wall.
"Elliot-chan. Welcome." She beamed.
"Hahhhh. Even I would have problems battling in this state," she sighed.
"But if you did, who would win?" he asked with an inquisitive tone.
"I would, obviously." She pinged at him. "But that’s just because I am always at full power and right now she is basically not even at half strength." Her eyes drifted towards Edith.
"In a battle of attrition, Edith always comes out on top." Seria adjusted her specs.
"So if I were her enemy I would knock her out with my most powerful spell the moment the battle starts." Seria grinned.
Vena stood from the ground with a wide grin on her face. "You all must have really underestimated me. To send a Cloklein to fight me." Her voice carried.
The Cloklein noble family were well known non-combat focused mages. They instead directed energy to cultivating different species of plants. They were known as a family of researchers that made groundbreaking discoveries that took the pharmaceutical industry to the next level.
Edith’s father, Rubus Cloklein, was one of the five masters of the Sage Tower. An institute dedicated to making extraordinary magical research that reshaped the magical world drastically.
"Anyways, I’ll destroy you and then your friends." Vena dipped her hand into a pocket. "She warned me this would happen." She brought out a vial filled with dark eerie-looking fluid that radiated with a toxic mana fume.
"But through her infinite grace and mercy, she is my one and only salvation in this tainted world. She bestowed upon me this blessing." She referred to the fluid in the vial as a blessing with conviction and reverence for whoever she mentioned in her eyes.
She opened and gulped the fluid in one go. She buckled to her feet. Dark veins pulsed through her entire body as her eyes turned dark with a crimson pupil in the middle.
A dark eerie mana surged from her body, bringing with it a gust of wind that blew across the arena. She rose to her feet now way more powerful than she was before.
"How’s this possible? Her mana reserve increased by at least 7 tiers in one go!" Deria clutched her fist in anger at such a despicable act.
"Not to mention her mana seems corrupted." Elliot rubbed his fingers against his chin.
"Whoa!" A grin tore across Edith’s face as she let out a surprised word with totally zero interest. "Am I supposed to be impressed or something?" She yawned.
"You fucking bitch. I’ll cave your skull into the very ground!" Vena rasped. Her voice now sounded way too sinister as if her vocal cords were twisted and now sounded like a broken radio.
"Taumus, I think you should help her," Renshi panicked after seeing Vena power up.
"Chill dude." He held Renshi down on the shoulder to stop his haphazard movements.
"Hahhhh! What’s with the outdated monologue? Don’t tell me that thing you drank tampered with her sense of era. What do you think this is? The sixties?" Edith let out one hurtful word after the other. Each stabbed Vena directly in the soul though it didn’t cause any physical harm.
"You are dead." Vena streaked towards her with incredible speed. In a blur Vena’s jagged fingers pierced through Edith’s torso. A profound strike with zero flaws and she made sure to target her vitals.
Blood dripped from Vena’s fingers onto the ground as she removed them. Edith fell on the floor, eyes dim, blood rapidly pouring out of her wound, completely lifeless.
Vena put a leg over Edith’s face and scrambled over it.
"So much for all that talk." A wide grin tore across Vena’s face
