And just one second before the explosion occurred...
Leo’s figure suddenly blurred while no one was paying attention.
Swish!
【Blink】
Space twisted for a moment.
In the next instant, his figure vanished from his spot and reappeared in the corner, right beside Lucrezia, who was covering her head and bracing herself to be crushed.
"Huh?" Lucrezia only felt her vision go dark.
Before she could react, she was pulled into a warm embrace and shielded tightly. She was then completely wrapped in a robe that carried a faint, indescribable pleasant scent mixed with the fragrance of herbs.
"Earth Wall!"
Leo held her with one arm, draining the last bit of mana from his body as he slammed his other hand onto the ground.
A semi-circular wall of earth rose up, shielding the two of them behind it.
Clatter—!
Countless ice spikes and debris slammed into the earth wall, creating a dense series of dull thuds like a relentless storm.
Up on the second floor...
Master Brandon looked at the mess, feeling a headache coming on as his old face flushed red.
He had overdone it. He had really overdone it this time.
"Freeze!"
He acted again, his vast mana surging to manifest a massive frost barrier above the hall. Like an inverted bowl, it clamped down over the center of the explosion, preventing the remaining ice shards from flying out and injuring others.
After a long while, the dust finally settled.
The surrounding mages who had escaped the disaster were still shaken. Seeing the massive barrier that had protected everyone, they hurriedly clutched their chests and took the opportunity to flatter him:
"As expected of Master Brandon! Such decisive action!"
"Too strong! He brought the situation under control in an instant!"
"Master is mighty!"
Listening to the sycophancy around him, Brandon’s face reddened slightly as he secretly wiped away a cold sweat.
Mighty, my ass! I almost bit the dust in a backwater ditch!
He glanced at the large, smoking crater in the center of the room, then at Leo, who was standing unharmed behind the earth wall. A flash of amazement—and a hint of... wariness—flickered in his eyes.
"Ahem!"
Brandon cleared his throat. Although he had been made to look a bit disheveled just now, he quickly regained his profound and mysterious masterly aura.
After all, his instant cast of 【Absolute Ice Wall】 and the 【Great Barrier】 just now counted as a bit of a flex. It wasn't too embarrassing.
"What character! What strength!"
Brandon waved his hand and announced cheerfully:
"Young man! Consider this trial passed! The 【glorious】 rank certification is well-deserved!"
Whoosh—!
Though the surrounding mages were still a bit dazed, they spontaneously broke into applause.
After all, the strong were respected no matter where they went.
Behind the earth wall...
Lucrezia, who had been shielded in Leo’s arms, poked her small head out. Looking at the thunderous applause and the ruins everywhere, her heart raced, and her red eyes shone with terrifying brightness.
Just as I thought!
All of this... was within this small fry's calculations!
From feigning weakness at the start, to provoking Kevin later, and finally the fatal blow... he even predicted that Brandon would step in!
So this was this guy's plan from the very beginning!
To actually use such a near-insane, unbelievable method to obtain the 【glorious】 rank certification!
Lucrezia’s mouth hung open slightly, revealing a pointy little canine, her eyes full of stars.
'Too strong... what incredible wisdom! It seems I still have much to learn!'
But immediately after, a sense of crisis welled up within her.
'This guy... his scheming is so deep. Can I really win against him?'
'If he ever schemes against me... would I be swindled out of everything and still end up helping him count the money?'
The girl instinctively shrank back, but then she felt the slightly raised texture of the Command Seal on the back of her hand.
'It’s fine... what am I afraid of!'
'Don't I still have two 【Command Seals】 of absolute command in my hand?'
'Even if these broken seals are sometimes hard to use... combined with this princess's unrivaled beauty and charm!'
Lucrezia cheered herself up and puffed out her chest (though there wasn't much of a curve):
'Hmph! With just a few tricks, I can still easily handle him!'
...
On the other side of the field...
Kevin, who had been sent flying by the ice wall and landed in a pile of rubble, stared blankly at the ceiling.
He wasn't too heavily injured; Brandon’s ice wall had protected him.
However, looking at that 【palace】 rank ice wall that had shattered into dust just to save him, and recalling the aura of death that had rushed at his face earlier, his eyes gradually lost their focus.
"No matter what, talent isn't something you can have just because you crave it..."
Kevin muttered to himself, his voice raspy.
In his mind, the lectures from his elders and the moments of self-doubt he had felt in the dead of night flashed before his eyes like a montage.
"That’s how talented people are..."
He looked at Leo in the distance—the youth who was younger than him, who was a mere "unorthodox" mage compared to him, yet had completely crushed him in magical attainment.
"Talented people with self-awareness expect nothing from the start; they just do what they must."
"And the more someone lacks self-awareness, the harder they struggle to win, desperately trying to prove themselves... just like me."
Kevin closed his eyes. Two lines of bitter tears rolled down from the corners of his eyes, disappearing into his messy beard.
The moment that 【Pyroblast】 exploded, it hadn't just shattered the ice wall; it had also shattered his fragile self-esteem, which he had always kept wrapped in arrogance and conceit.
"Did I lose..."
"I lost completely."
Rate on N.U.
