Chapter 7: Chapter 6 – Overwhelming Odds

 

The examiners only granted Asher a few minutes to prepare himself for the upcoming battle… Asher first measured his own mana to determine his limits… Based on simple estimations, Asher concluded that he wasted around 5% of his mana in the first stage…

 

While this was not an alarming amount, it was worrying for Asher considering that was against only a single opponent… Asher calculated that he would need at least half of his mana to pass the third stage so this meant he couldn’t afford to waste any more than 45% of his mana during this battle.

 

In other words, this was not just a deathmatch, but a war of attrition in which he couldn’t afford to waste any excess time, energy, or mana. The odds were terribly stacked against him…

 

Luckily, Asher was nothing if not clever and had already prepared a perfect strategy in anticipation of such a dire situation. After all, he hadn’t wasted the three-day carriage ride to Harenfall by just daydreaming…

 

When his grace period expired, Asher calmly strode toward the battlefield and greeted his opponents.

 

“My name is Asher Vazrael. You probably don’t know me, but I look forward to our fight.” Asher spoke simple words of courtesy as he awaited the judge’s announcement.

 

The opposing challengers ignored Asher’s greeting and continued to stare daggers at him with evident bloodlust filling the air. Still, Asher was unfazed. Compared to Walter and his father, their attempts at intimidation were like a small barking puppy.

 

After this brief childish exchange, the judge approached…

 

“We will now commence the second-stage examination for candidate #89: Asher Vazrael. On my mark, you may begin… 3… 2… 1… BEGIN!”

 

Unlike Asher’s previous opponent, half of the challengers directly charged at Asher the moment the battle commenced. They were clearly eager to beat Asher and win their second chance… After all, only the person that beats Asher would be given the right to attempt the second stage; everyone else would simply fail.

 

This selfish motivation prevented any cooperation or teamwork between the twelve challengers and was exactly what Asher was planning to take advantage of. Even against overwhelming numbers, poor teamwork can turn allies into a liability.

 

“[Light of Mutiny]” Asher cast a single spell that halted his opponent's charge…

 

[Light of Mutiny] was a unique spell Asher had created himself to counter a group of opponents… Spellcraft was a difficult art that not many could accomplish, but Asher had the necessary knowledge to achieve it. Despite his magic aspects limiting his power, he was still a genius once hailed as a prodigy.

 

The momentum of battle immediately shifted as 12 new illusions took shape, mirroring the appearances of the challengers. These seemingly sentient clones quickly began to charge at the closest target while emitting blinding flashes of light intermittently to cause confusion between what was real and what was fake.

 

[Light of Mutiny] resembled [Mirage Field] in theory, but its application was entirely different. Rather than disorienting anyone in range, it focused instead on confusing targets and turning them against one another. This type of trickery was what Asher excelled at the most.

 

Even if the illusions were only fragments of light that couldn’t harm the challengers, they were enough to distract the enemy into thinking their teammates had turned against them and forced them to fight against one another. A few challengers would likely even take advantage of this situation to truly take out their allies in hopes of claiming victory for themselves out of greed and selfishness.

 

The spell was a bright light that truly illuminated the darkness of human nature…

 

While this spell drained a significant amount of mana, it allowed Asher to watch from afar as his opponent’s chased illusions and began to strike each other down. Within just a few minutes, only two challengers remained standing…

 

One was a boy Asher’s age who seemed to use Wind Magic while the other was a slightly older man who appeared to be the strongest and most rational of the opposing challengers. These two were the only ones who didn’t fall for Asher’s simple trickery.

 

While Asher had succeeded in reducing his opponent’s fighting force, maintaining his spell had drained another 20% of his mana. He had only had 25% of his mana left to spare if he wanted to pass the third stage…

 

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As Asher carefully approached the two, his instincts detected immediate danger as he looked down to find his foot entrapped within a thick mound of dirt… The older man had cast an Earth Magic spell and ensnared him…

 

With a quick follow-up, the other boy launched a [Wind Slash] towards Asher who could only defend by switching to his Dark Magic and absorbing it with his [Dark Hole] spell. While the Earth Magic was strong, it wasn’t enough to trap Asher for too long.

 

By channeling even more magical power to his legs, Asher reinforced his body with a Mana Technique and freed himself before creating distance between his opponents once more… Raising his guard even further, Asher watched carefully in anticipation of any other attacks.

 

One false move was all it would take to ruin everything he had worked so hard for… And seeing that his opponents were being just as cautious, Asher took a moment to strategize his next move. 

 

While the boy’s Wind Magic was strong and fast, it couldn’t match the speed of Asher’s Light Magic. The real issue was the older man’s Earth Magic… He was clearly very skilled in using it, and Asher was at risk if he remained in one spot for too long.

 

While Earth Magic was slow, it is very difficult to escape if you’re careless. Not to mention that its versatile spells granted the Mage incredible defensive capabilities, even against spells that are faster like Light Magic.

 

The only solution Asher could think of was to reveal his trump card, but doing that would ruin any chance he has of passing the third stage… Asher had to form a new strategy, and fast…

 

As the silent standoff between the two sides continued for several more moments, Asher had an epiphany after noticing the reason for their lack of aggression… With a new plan in mind, Asher took immediate action.

 

“[Light Clone]” Asher shouted aloud as a new second version of himself materialized from particles of light.

 

As he inched closer quickly to avoid any of the Earth Mage’s attempts to trap him, Asher capitalized on his opponent’s ignorance of his abilities to silently cast [Flash].

 

Since he had been speaking his spell names verbally this entire time, this meant his opponents were unaware that he was capable of silent casting. This would give him the brief opening he needed…

 

As the two shielded their eyes from the painfully blinding light of Asher’s [Flash] spell; Asher and his illusion switched places. The clone headed towards the boy while dodging his Wind Magic, and Asher ran directly to the Earth Mage.

 

The boy could tell the one running towards him was an illusion and tried to turn his attention towards the real Asher. However, he was careless by ignoring the clone…

 

Unlike his previous illusionary spells, [Light Clone] didn’t just produce a harmless figure of light. The second it reached its target, the clone exploded and reformed into a barrage of [Light Arrows] that pierced the unsuspected boy with a sudden surprise attack.

 

Seeing his ally fall, the Earth Mage hesitated to strike Asher; imagining for a second that a similar spell would activate if he struck him. There was no real basis, but just this brief thought was enough to interrupt his focus and give an opening for him to fall victim to Asher’s attack.

 

With [Radiant Blade] quickly conjured, Asher struck horizontally across the man’s chest with a blade of light, just barely missing his heart… Still, the ensuing blood loss and pain were enough to render the man incapable of fighting and he collapsed to the ground…

 

“Candidate #89: Asher Vazrael, has passed the second stage.” The judge announced to the audience as a growing roar of cheers followed among the spectator.

 

Asher’s hands were shaking and his breathing was rough, but he had never felt more alive…

 

‘I wonder if this is how mother always felt…’ Asher thought to himself while embracing this thrilling sensation of overcoming overwhelming odds for the first time.

 

With this battle concluded, Asher had safely managed to pass through two of the three stages of the combat trials with roughly 52% of his mana remaining… He was cutting it close, but Asher had fulfilled with immediate objective…

All that remained was the final stage… And Asher was prepared to show off his other new spell. The trump card he had been saving all this time…

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