Nick quickly placed both women on the ground and then cast Blink while cancelling Absolute Pull and Absolute Push. He instantly appeared within ten meters of the incoming attacks and with a quickness that raised the eyebrows of his hidden attackers, Nick acted:
(Dominate The Space.)
(Reinforced With Soul.)
Nick's body immediately radiated a grey magic power in all directions, almost instantly enveloping the incoming attacks. Nick's arm then oozed a translucent miasma that quickly took shape around his entire right arm, becoming similar in appearance to the corresponding section of medieval armor from his shoulder to his fingers.
Nick clenched his left fist and the incoming fireball and green mist were immediately suppressed and brought down to the ground where they came into contact with each other in accordance to Nick's will. Their interaction then resulted in a slight explosion that left a portion of the grassy area charred and some earth displaced.
Nick then pumped his right fist towards the group of incoming bees that he could not easily suppress with his space and rule path method and he cast another spell:
(Rumble.)
The space immediately in front of Nick's fist crackled like thunder and then a blast of linear pressure erupted from that space, crashing into the swarm consisting of hundreds of bees within moments; the bees happened to have been moving in a tight cluster.
About 80% of the bees died and their carcasses fell to the ground in crushed and mangled pieces. The remaining live bees then flew around in a confused frenzy and scattered. Following the death and scatter of the bees, Nick heard a scream sound from the forest that seemed to be directed at him:
"You bastard, you killed my queen bee! Do you know how expensive it was to enslave one of those?"
Nick internally snorted before casting Space and spreading his special space throughout a large portion of the forest's edge. Nick then proceeded to uproot a large number of trees in that area almost simultaneously and kept them raised in midair. His magic energy reserves dropped by a level but to Nick, that degree of consumption was inconsequential at the moment.
After the trees were removed from the ground, the three attackers whose plans Nick had foiled were revealed as they scrambled to get away from the influence of Nick's special space.
"That won't work morons."
Nick snapped his fingers and all three Magicians then appeared two meters in front of him, standing side by side. Nick's magic energy reserves dropped by a few more levels in response to teleporting the three students. The three were so surprised by what had happened that they tried casting spells in a panic without even thinking about a proper course of action.
Nick quickly mobilized his power in response:
(Dreadful Aura.)
A dark and fear inducing aura washed over the three male students and they instantly froze in trepidation, even forgetting to finish their attempts at casting their spells or launch some sort of defense. Nick then twisted his left fingers, following which sickening snapping sounds could be heard as each student had his right arm and left leg twisted in the opposite direction by the effects of Nick's special space.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!"
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!"
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!"
The three men screamed uncontrollably as they fell to the ground and writhed in agony. Nick dispelled his dreadful aura and arranged the trees that he levitated above the ground into a pile at a fair distance away. He then cancelled Space and instructed Cindy and Pearl:
"Keep an eye on them, if they move funny, break their uninjured limbs."
Cindy's brows were raised instinctively when Nick said that:
(If they move funny? They're already moving funny thanks to you. Jesus, so this is 'Nick Capitol'. I get why Daryl insists on treating him like a rival now, that was too easy or at least he made it look easy.)
Pearl's straight faced expression softened at witnessing Nick's strength but she became a little confused when she looked at his right arm and the hardened miasma covering it.
(Is that a soul path method? Uncle didn't tell me that he was a dual focused Magician like me.)
Jessie who had been circling the water fall and saw the entire course of events suddenly cried out, trying to alarm his three teammates. Only one moment after, while Nick was looking around for other enemies, the image of two men rising above the surface of the pool at the foot of the waterfall appeared in his mind.
Nick turned around while unsheathing Failed Tool and cast his next spell:
(Blade Escape.)
A gust of dull grey aura emerged from Nick's sword and carried him forward at incredible speed to the edge of the pool. The two men who had just emerged from the water looked at Nick in alarm and rage. They had sensed the commotion from not far away while they were searching for materials below this waterfall and so they decided to leave the pool in case there was a battle taking place.
Who would have thought that they would encounter trouble as soon as they raised their heads above the water. The young man with a light scar at the edge of his mouth cursed inwardly:
(What are the three morons that we left to guard the area doing?)
The other young man who had his light-brown hair bound in a pony tail pointed his right index finger at Nick, about to cast a spell but Nick was undeniably faster in his movements.
(Mystic Blade.)
A thin but fast ray of blue light shot out from the young man's finger but Nick had already maneuvered to the man's left side using Blade Escape. Without much suspense, Nick's sword struck out at a speed that the man's eyes could not keep up with and made a deep cut at his shoulder, almost slicing his shoulder joint all the way through.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
As the injured young man screamed and blood started to pour from his wound and spread within the pool, the other young man quickly made an inhuman leap out of the water and landed onto the ground a few meters away. He quickly broke into a sprint towards the direction farthest from the people that he did not recognize, but his efforts were futile.
(Absolute Pull.)
The young man felt his entire being quiver and then he was forcefully pulled back towards Nick who was already approaching him with blade aura spread around himself. A few moments later, Nick poured some of his magic energy into Failed Tool and watched as it radiated with grey blade light.
The young man only saw the light glimmer for a short time before blood spurted out from his midsection as he was cut from the middle of his chest to the bottom right side of his abdomen. The young man coughed out a mouthful of blood, following which the blade light abated and Nick finally reached him.
(Absolute Push.)
The young man's entire being quivered again and he was rapidly slammed into the ground below his position, landing on his back and being buried a few feet into the dirt. The young man remained still after that. Nick landed on the ground, cancelling Blade Escape and observed the young man's condition.
(Since he had made such an extraordinary leap out of the pool, I assumed that he had some kind of physical enhancement and I was likely right. Although I cut him with Failed Tool's blade light, he is not seriously injured from that judging by his minimal blood loss. His bones are probably fractured from how I slammed him into the ground with Absolute Push though. I think this should count as incapacitating our opponents.)
Consistent with Nick's thoughts, not even five seconds later, a robed person with his face partly covered by a hood appeared out of nowhere and looked around the scene intensely. He saw three men who were being watched by two women lying on the ground in agony from being crippled, one man who was bleeding out in the pool of water near them and remained floating along listlessly - probably because of an excessive loss of blood and another man who had been embedded into the ground who softly moaned in pain without being able to move a muscle.
The robed person soon declared:
"These incapacitated five will be forced out of the exam venue immediately."
As soon as the individual, who they now new was a man judging from the tone of voice, finished speaking, the five were enveloped in silver light and then each vanished. The robed person observed Nick for a moment before also vanishing from sight like he was never there.
Cindy then eagerly ran over to Nick and jumped excitedly, cheering:
"Nick, You da best!"
Nick was a little surprised by Cindy's jubilant praise but he maintained his indifferent expression and sheathed Failed Tool, saying:
"Now it's time to search for the bitter wine."
Pearl came over and nodded seriously in agreement. Although she acted composed, she was inwardly impressed.
(Although his opponents were relatively weak, Nick's use of his magic spells is at a high standard, maybe even as high as some of my combat instructors back home. Space path, soul path and blade path, how many kinds of magic does this guy practise and what was that dark aura that paralyzed those three men before? It did not seem like your standard spell.)
Jessie flew down to the other three's level and cancelled his transformation. He then gave Nick a thumbs up with his right hand, saying:
"That was top quality battling. Were you this strong back in the Never Ending Battlefield?"
Nick shook his head in response to Jessie's question, replying:
"I improved much in the past six months but if I were to face William Rollins again, it would still be a tough fight."
Jessie could appreciate that sentiment since William Rollins defeated him without even giving him a chance to fight back. He replied:
"Tough is probably an understatement."
The four stopped talking and immediately went over to the section of the pool of water where the blood from before that polluted it had been washed away by now. Nick suggested:
"I could possibly divert the flow of water but that would be a hassle and cause more lost time than gain. Does anyone of you have methods to search this pool?"
Pearl announced:
"I have a few water path methods that I can use to submerge myself and search the pool at my leisure."
Jessie also voiced his intention to contribute:
"I have a water path magic beast transformation that I can use to search the pool. Don't worry, if there is bitter wine, I will find it."
Nick nodded at them both, replying:
"Then I can be at ease and leave the search to you two."
Cindy said nothing and only watched as Pearl used her water path method to part a section of the pool and jump towards the depths of it before the division disappeared. Jessie then transformed into something akin to a buffalo sized water monitor lizard with a grotesque growth on its back. He then crawled into the water and vanished from sight.
Nick and Cindy stood at the edge of the pool and waited for their results. Cindy went close to Nick and remarked:
"You are a really good fighter. There's no doubt that you will be a superstar when you get to the third year."
Nick shrugged his shoulders and replied:
"Don't butter me up, Cindy. That crap doesn't work on the likes of me."
Cindy pursed her lips and looked at Nick with annoyance before stooping down at the edge of the pool to look at her reflection. Nick took the time to look over the other materials on the exam list so that he could memorize their details.
One hour later, Pearl was the first to leave the pool, parting the water as she walked out of it with her red heels stepping on the surface of the water; she seemed akin to a pond skater insect. She opened her right palm out wide in front of Nick and a cloudy liquid quickly gathered to form a soccer ball sized orb. A rich alcoholic sent then spread through the air and tickled Nick's and Cindy's noses.
Pearl explained:
"Bitter wine seems to be fermented from water compressed amidst a special type of sand at the bottom of this pool. I happened to be able to gather two liters with my magic."
Nick nodded and replied:
"You are the second water path Magician that I've become familiar with. I'm pleased that you're not as moody as the other one."
Pearl squinted her eyes in suspicion.
(Was that a compliment or an insult?)
Pearl then summoned a water sack from her space band and stored the two liters of bitter wine. A few minutes later, Jessie also emerged from the pool and spit out two cricket ball sized pieces of flaky, pale-yellow mineral from his maw. He then transformed back into his human form and explained:
"Turns out that my transformation was not suited for collecting the bitter wine but I was able to dig into the soil and found two large pieces of beggar salt. It is one of the items on the list which only required a few tea spoons in quantity. The list stated that it could be found in pressurized soils and had a strong, fishy odor as potent as sulfur. It's a good thing that the big-back creeper has a strong sense of smell."
The other three were ecstatic that they obtained a second item on the list and without having been looking for it. Jessie was allowed to store the beggar salt within his space band and Nick decided that they would move towards finding their next material:
"We're going after chocolate flowers next."
***********************************************************************
Somewhere, many kilometers away from Nick and his group...
BOOM!
A section of a cliff wall was suddenly blown apart by a huge, fiery blast. A white young man that had wavy, red hair complemented with orange streaks laughed maniacally as he made jumps in midair while facing the damaged wall. He was dressed in partly ripped jeans, a baseball t-shirt and a pair of white runner's shoes. Every step he took released a short lived explosion that propelled him upward.
(Hot Boots)
The young man enjoyed using his movement spell and felt that although it was not suited to be used on academy grounds that it would certainly put him in the top ranks of the students most adept at movement. He raised himself eight meters above ground before casting the same spell that he had used to blow up a part of the wall before. The young man stretched out both his arms to their greatest length while crossing his palms, following which a flurry of bright-orange flames shot out at bullet like speed towards the mountain wall.
(Burn Blast 1)
When the flames came into contact with the wall, they changed from bright-orange to to pale-crimson and expanded with a popping sound, creating a ten meter radius explosion that raised the temperature of the surroundings for a brief period. The rock wall partly collapsed, creating a pile of rubble below. The man quickly used his movement spell to lower himself onto the ground where he stood in front of the rubble.
Another young man that seemed to be of east-Asian descent walked towards the rubble at its left side. The man had sharp, dark eyes and his hair rested in a bowl-styled fashion; the man wore a pair of black cargo pants, a long-sleeved, fitting, black t-shirt and a pair of black, leather work boots. He silently walked up to the rubble and willed for his spell to take effect.
(Constant Magnetism)
The pieces of rubble suddenly lightly sparked with light-blue electricity and then rose up from the ground before remaining in a floating position about one and a half meters above the ground. The man spent twenty minutes observing all the pieces of rubble before making a remark at the red haired man without turning his head:
"Falen, you trash. I only count five pieces of dark oil rock that are up to standard among this rubble."
The red haired man who was apparently named Falen gnashed his teeth and cursed at the other man:
"So the fuck what? The exam list only requires us to obtain four good pieces. Are you an idiot, Ritchie?"
The man called Ritchie finally turned to look at Falen in the eyes and Falen unconsciously took a step back in response, thinking:
(God, this guy's creepy looking. He's strong though so there's that...)
Ritchie stared at Falen who stayed silent for a few seconds before silently turning his head away and collecting the dark oil rocks which looked like normal mountain rock except that they had dark, oily stains spread over sections of their surface. He stored the five rocks within his space band, following which he cancelled his spell and let the rest of the rubble fall to the ground.
A feminine voice then sounded from several meters away from the two:
"You two took your sweet time. I know that we agreed that no one would be the leader but you both have to have a sense of urgency if we are going to do well."
Ritchie turned around to eye the woman who sat on a large rock about fourteen meters behind them and then quipped:
"I didn't see you helping to sort the rocks."
The woman jumped from her sitting position on the large rock to land on the ground before replying:
"That's because I was keeping an eye out for other students. I'm the strongest in our group so naturally that is my responsibility."
The woman lightly flashed her long blonde hair while maintaining her plain expression which did not in the least dull the beauty of her sparkling eyes. The woman wore a green, pleated shirt that reached to her knees and a sleeveless white, cotton blouse.
Falen also turned to face the woman and hissed in response to her arrogant words:
"You are the strongest? Who decided that? The last time I checked, I was king cobra over here. Do you want to see if your claim can hold up in a real fight, Jessica?"
Jessica Jones's expression did not change while she regrouped with the two men; she replied to Falen with disinterest in her tone:
"The exam is all I care about right now."
(Not to mention that I can't possibly lose battling it out with a fire path Magician.)
Falen was irritable but he new his priorities so he dropped the argument and asked Ritchie:
"Where do you think that we should head next?"
(This guy's magic involves lighting path, specifically magnetism so he is a great scout. Leaving him to decide where to hunt for materials is probably the best play.)
Ritchie silently contemplated for a few seconds before slowly saying:
"There is a large field of many kinds of grass to the south of here. It's seems fairly damp so we might find a few smelly rice crops there."
Jessica mused:
(Smelly rice is a qi path material that naturally produces smelly qi. The exam list states that it grows in damp fields and has a propensity to sometimes act like a type of weed so it grows well in close proximity to other crops.)
Jessica didn't even bother asking Ritchie how he knew that the field existed. She just asked him to point in the direction and she then enveloped herself in a torrent of water and moved off at incredible speed. Falen didn't say anything and used his spell, Hot Boots, to propel him in the same direction as Jessica, also at great speed but lagging behind Jessica.
Ritchie sighed at this moment, thinking:
(I thought that our team was a sure winner but Jessica Jones is arrogant and self-centered and Falen Mitchell is hot-headed and impulsive. Despite their high individual skill, they need more maturing as people.)
Ritchie also cast his movement spell:
(Magnet Rise)
He then levitated two feet way from the ground while folding his arms and his body proceeded to move forward at the speed of a fast paced conveyor while remaining completely upright. All three young Magicians moved in the direction of the smelly rice.
Jessica who remained at the front used the travel time to silently think:
(I've made great improvements to my magic powers since the last exam since I had the time to digest all that I learnt from studying the monolith. I was even able to modify my Mini Torrent movement spell to make it twice as fast. Things are looking good for me except that back home the Mathers family approached my gramps about hooking me up with Roy Mathers. Inter-family politics is not my strong suit but as long as I'm still in the academy, my gramps won't budge in terms of keeping me here. If I get strong, enough then it won't matter who makes proposals, I'll be able to refuse them all like my sister. Besides, I can't lose focus when I haven't beat him yet...)
The image of a brown skinned, white haired young man entered her mind before she shook her head, dispelling the thought.
(Let's focus on getting the best score in this exam first.)
It took the three one hour to reach the field of grass. When they arrived they could easily identify the smelly rice crop because of all the smelly qi flowing in the air. Smelly qi was pale-yellow and just like its name suggested, had the scent of rotten eggs. All three young Magicians frowned and cringed upon entering the field but they unanimously came to a decision. Ritchie voiced it clearly:
"Let's just each pick up as much smelly rice as we can so that we can leave this place quickly."
They stepped onto the damp and soft soil in order to walk among the grass and pick out the smelly rice crops that had shells of unpicked rice on them. Falen soon cursed while storing crops into his space band:
"Man, this bleeping sucks!"
He looked over at Ritchie from his stooping position and asked a question since Ritchie seemed to be a very smart man:
"Hey bowl-cut, is this the sort of thing we'll be doing if we join the Magicians' Association after we graduate?"
Ritchie was unbothered by the sudden question and answering while picking crops:
"Maybe. It depends on what position you take up. I know that there are divisions in the Magicians' Association more geared towards resource collection but the Association is mostly a pooling house for magical tools, natural resources and magical knowledge. It also does a little regulating here and there so most of the positions in the Association are administrative and investigative. People go there to make money from inside knowledge and to play status games."
Falen slightly raised his right eyebrow in response to Ritchie's apparent knowledge and asked another question:
"Isn't that what people do in other private magic companies?"
Ritchie shook his head, saying:
"Most private magic companies focus on resource collection by exploring other realms and doing research and development. Status games will likely get you killed in such a place because performance is so directly related to actual competence which is related to benefits. Mind you that the government still has issues with policing strong Magicians so if you were to mess with the wrong person's benefits through politics, they could just kill you and face little consequence. Those private companies also share the same combat risks as the military and even though they make more money, they have less personnel that they treat like treasures with the trade-off that it is very difficult to resign from a private magic company unscathed."
Jessica suddenly grew interested in the two's conversation and asked without turning her head:
"If private companies are so good, then why do people join the Ministry of Magic?"
Ritchie thought for a few moments before replying:
"Probably because of political and/or family reasons. The ministry controls much of the country's access to high value realms and greatly decides the distribution of benefits among the more established magical entities. The more members a family places in it, the more likely they are to attain greater benefits. There is also the combat training that public Magicians receive. Although on average Magicians in the private sector make more money and have better quality weapons, spells and skills, the strongest Magicians in the United Kingdom actually work for the government and receive authority and benefits that eclipses their private counter parts...most of those benefits are not disclosed though."
Jessica turned slightly to show Ritchie a grateful expression in response to his answer before quickly focusing on picking crops again and going through her thoughts:
(I've been wondering for a while were I should go after I graduate. Gramps chose the Magician's Association and made a fortune and Rebecca chose teaching in a private organization and has access to information and tools that I can't even imagine. What do I want to do?)
Rebecca was unsure of what she really wanted to do with her power at this time but she reassured herself that she would figure it out eventually. She was about to pick the last crop in her section when she suddenly heard a loud buzzing noise resound over the field and she stood up straight in response.
Ritchie and Falen heard the noise as well and went on alert, looking around to see if they could find any other students nearby. Ritchie who had strong scouting capabilities soon warned:
"Ten of them to the east, they are using an illusion path spell and this sound to try and hide the direction of their approach."
Falen laughed maniacally in response to the news and then said:
"No worries, since you already gave me the general direction, I'll shake them out of their hiding place."
Jessica remained quiet and in place while Falen moved forward to their eastern flank. He folded his hands together to form an 'O' before he began forming the laws for one of his advanced grade spells within his mindscape. Magic energy exuded from him en masse before it transformed into a flaming red magic power that receded towards his two hands. An orange-red glow appeared in the middle of his hands and twelve seconds later, an explosive blast of flames shot out from between his hands that burnt all the crops in its path and covered Falen's vision as it carried fire and shock waves a far distance.
(Burn Blast 4)
The blast consumed a fifteen meter horizontal space for up to twenty five meters in front of Falen. It left everything that it came into contact with either burnt to cinders or blown apart, charred and unrecognizable. Eventually, after the fire and shock waves from the blast dissipated, the ten students that Ritchie had warned them of were revealed, huddled together among the ruins of the distant section of wild grass. Most of the students were wearing casual wear and all were white and they had heads full of black or brown hair; they were also a mix of males and females.
There had been much moisture on the ground so alot of steam was raised as a result of Falen's blast but that did not stop both sides from fully appreciating the presence of the other. Rebecca squinted her eyes slightly and soon she noticed a feint jade-green colored wind that circled around the group of ten.
Falen rubbed the back of his head with his right hand and remarked:
"They somehow defended against my Burn Blast 4. I'm at a disadvantage because of the water path laws and moisture everywhere in this damn field."
Ritchie spoke to Falen while moving to Falen's left side:
"It's only ten whelps. No worries."
The ten students in front of them suddenly began to run towards the three with undisguised hostility. A tall young man who wore a pair of black jeans pants, leather dress shoes and a tucked in yellow dress shirt ran in the lead position and shouted, no softness in his tone:
"Leave behind whatever resources that you collected here or else. You three are out numbered and us ten are fully loaded. Don't do anything stupid."
The man then turned his head slightly to his male companion at his right side who ran beside him, saying:
"Totta, don't let our two groups working together be a waste. If that fire path spell was any indication, these three are strong. I need you to use a method to disorient them. Now!"
The two groups were close with only Jessica's group remaining stationary. At about the fourteen meter mark, the man named Totta used his right hand to clench his fat lips and cast his spell:
(Army Marching)
Jessica, Fallen and Ritchie suddenly heard sounds of many footsteps coming at them from all sides. The method completely drowned out the sounds that they heard from their approaching adversaries.
The tall man then turned his head to his left side and urged a short, chubby woman that had her hair styled in an Afro who seemed to be breathing heavy:
"I need another illusion for cover, Grace!"
The chubby woman nodded her head and then clasped her hands, saying:
"No problem, Phil!"
(Nothing To See Here)
Jessica's, Ritchie's and Falen's right brows simultaneously raised as the ten students disappeared from view. Ritchie spoke at this time:
"The sound waves generated by their method is interfering with my scouting. I can't give accurate readings now."
Jessica walked to Falen's right side and asked with a relaxed tone:
"Is that a problem?"
Ritchie's dark eyes eerily glistened as he replied:
"Not at all."
Ritchie's body suddenly developed innumerable small grey sparks which made him look like a holiday decoration. The sparks then quickly flowed from his body into the damp ground and spread out from the three in all directions.
(Electric Interference)
Suddenly, a space eleven meters to their left flank violently sparked with grey electricity and the scene became like reality itself had broken down as the empty space suddenly fell apart with colors and images that mimicked the surroundings shriveling like burnt paper and then ten people appeared, halting at that position.
Phil grew alarmed, he had never met someone who could so easily nullify Grace's illusion.
(Although we have ten people, charging at them head on is reckless since if any one of our groups has its five people incapacitated, the group will be eliminated. These people have me shook, not only were they able to find our position earlier, they have someone who almost blasted us to smithereens and now one of them turns out to be able to destroy illusions. I can't have my people throw spells from this distance or we might not be able to advance quickly because of possible friendly fire. But we need to advance in order to increase our control of the situation. My goal is not to incapacitate them but it's to hurt them enough to force them to hand over their resources, we can't shoot aimlessly.)
Jessica observed Phil's concerned and thoughtful expression and shook her head silently, thinking:
(That's the look of indecision. If you're just going to hesitate while your enemy is standing right in front of you, you might as well just offer your head on the chopping block instead. It amounts to the same thing.)
Phil quickly decided on a conservative course of action:
"Everyone, don't cast your spells until I give you the okay. I'm going to pressure them first."
Since Totta's sound path method was still active, Jessica, Ritchie and Falen could not hear what Phil was saying but they did not need to in order to sense his intent. Ritchie spoke with certainty:
"That tall guy is about to do something big."
Falen openly snorted, saying:
"One more blast is all I need to deal with him."
Jessica quickly rejected Falen's intent:
"You can't use a big blast on them at this range, it might hurt us too. Besides, your fire path methods are suppressed here. No surprises can be allowed so we should finish this quick. I'll deal with them using to a few decisive methods."
Falen replied with a snicker:
"So the princess is finally going to act."
Ritchie said nothing, intending to just watch the show.
(Rumor is that she's Rebecca Jones's sister. I wonder how strong she really is. I guess I'll get to see soon. I'm not as suited for offense as these two anyway. For most of this exam, I'll let them bust heads.)
Phil stood in front of his group with his feet firmly planted onto the ground. He had already formed the laws for an advanced grade spell within his mindscape and he was now ready to cast it.
Heavy, pale-green winds started blowing at Phil's collar. His teammates also felt a strong gust developing and stepped back, not wanting to get caught up in the aftermath of his spell. Magic battles were like this, numbers were not the most important thing, magic power was and if comrade Magicians foolishly cast their spells without consideration of the other, the net result might end up a zero in terms of effectiveness. That is was why Phil decided to lead the way on his own.
The accumulation of pale-green wind circling Phil's position grew and grew until a rotating plate of condensed wind formed above Phil's head. To onlookers, its likeness seemed like that of a massive, green, circular saw blade outfitted with jagged edges. To Phil's group, the wind generated by the spell created the sound of large power saw. Jessica, Falen and Ritchie could not hear the sound of the winds but the sight of the raging wind already indicated how dangerous it was.
(Wind Killer)
Within an instant, the wind blade flew forward like a shot put disc, threatening to cut Phil's three adversaries out of existence. All three felt the approaching wind but remained unfazed. All three were from special backgrounds and they all had sufficient magical training that allowed them to stay calm during flashy displays of magic power.
Jessica quickly stepped forward as she finished forming the laws of a spell within her mindscape.
(For a few spells, I always have their laws 70% complete within my mindscape, ready to be completed at any time. This helps me to avoid lengthy waits during battle when casting advanced grade spells that could result in my defeat. Since Rebecca taught me this trick a few months ago, I've been honing it like a sharp blade and now it's time for my hard work to show results.)
A massive cloud of azure colored magic energy erupted from Jessica, following which the entirety of the space directly in front of her instantly became a wall of water, stretching horizontally for more than five hundred meters and being about six meters high.
(Tension Wall)
Phil's rotating wind blade crashed into the water wall within moments, less than three seconds having passed since Phil threw his attack. The wind blade attempted to cut through the water wall as it rotated its jagged edges madly at the water but the water wall held with only a few splashes of water falling to the side every now and then but as water left the wall, water moved in from the left or right to fill and strengthen that section. Sine the wall was half a kilometer wide, it would probably take days for the Phil's method to cut through it.
Jessica pondered on her spell's effectiveness:
(As expected, tension wall is incredible. The thickness of this wall is pathetic compared to other similar spells in my possession but this advanced grade spell grants the water droplets that make up the wall an increase in surface tension equivalent to manifold the concentration of my own magic power. I have a divergent mindscape that passively increases the density of my magic energy for every magical unit that I possess which is roughly 19,000 magical units but the increased density gives me about the equivalent magic energy holding capacity of about 39,000 magical units; that's why my magic energy has an azure color. That's an over 100% increase in concentration, resulting in about a one thousand fold increase in the surface tension of the water droplets in my wall making it far stronger than even magically enhanced titanium.)
Ten seconds passed since he threw the wind blade and Phil saw that his attack had stalled indefinitely. He looked on with shock at both his situation and the strange water wall in front of him that seemed almost paper thin. He quickly turned around and screamed at his companions:
"Everyone, attack with all you have! I don't care about crossfire so long as you take down that damn wall."
Phil was too late in issuing his command, however. Jessica was already poised to cast another advanced grade spell. She quickly stopped down and then place her palm on the wet soil. Bathed in azure magic energy, looking like a mystical fairy, Jessica cast her spell:
(Water Monolith)
The ground rumbled beneath the feet of everyone present like an earthquake was taking place. The ground beneath the ten people cracked apart for several meters all around them and water seeped out slowly. Phil and his teammates looked at the broken ground with shock and despite their disrupted balance, they were keen on moving away from their current position immediately.
No one knew exactly who said the words, especially Phil who by this time had decided to flee from the three Magicians even if it was by himself, but everyone heard a shrill scream just before the situation became dire:
"Scatter!"
Jessica muttered as if she sensed the panic in their movements:
"Too late to leave."
The cracks on the ground below the ten students widened in an instant and then the ground was completely broken through by a wide cylindrical pillar of water that shot up straight towards the clouds above. Due to the pressure of the water, the pillar rose over two hundred meters in two seconds. Phil's Wind Killer spell lost effect soon after and the rotating wind blade dissipated.
Falen looked at the enormous Water Monolith in a daze and then soon looked at Jessica's back that was still bathed in azure magic energy. He spoke aloud with much respect in his tone:
"Well princess, I don't think that I'm ever going to forget this."