Reader Mage 174-He Dragged Down Lightning

Losing the first battle to Crown Academy was slightly infuriating. But no one could fault Carlos. He had given his best, and it was hard to see things clearly on the battlefield as opposed to watching from a screen. Lena was strong, that much was obvious. And, honestly, it was possible that if she had wanted to finish Carlos off with as little stress as possible, she would be able to do it. In other words, her hands were tied by the restrictions imposed on the fights.

rlin sighed. Whatever the case, they just had to ensure they won every single battle going forward. That was easier said than done, considering who were their opponents, but it was possible.

The speakers in the waiting room chid at that mont, and with it ca the announcent that put an end to the wait of the audience and the contenders. The staff had taken that ti to clean up the aftermath of Carlos and Lena’s battle. The arena was now as good as new; rlin knew it was only a matter of ti before it was destroyed again.

Man-Shik huffed as he rose to his feet. His na and portrait had appeared on the screen alongside his opponent’s, Aisha Rahman, a girl with curly black hair, warm brown eyes and a calm expression. She was a B-Class Mage, and one to be feared.

But weren’t they all?

“We can’t afford to lose another match,” Kim Yiseo announced as Man-Shik turned towards the door, ready to make his way to the changing room and out. “Even a tie would be better than a loss. Our morale matters.”

Sangook scoffed. “None of your losses will affect my morale. I’m going to crush my opponent. It’s you all that needs to set your heads straight.”

The problem with Sangook was that he was clueless as to how to navigate social spaces—his blunt tongue was also problematic. There was a right ti to say so things.

Man-Shik, however, didn’t let it get to him.

He gave them a thumb’s up. “Don’t worry. I am well aware of what to do.” He left.

Man-Shik was an A-Class Mage. If there was anyone who could do it, then it was him.

A minute or so later, rlin sat upright, staring straight at the tv screen as Man-Shik and Aisha, both now in the arena, readied themselves to duel.

“Begin!!” Instructor Park Minjee’s voice rang out and in its wake there were claps and cheers.

Man-Shik didn’t waste a single second. He retreated three steps backward as his Grimoire took flight. His body was instantly covered in mana, and a considerable amount seeped into the sky above. Imdiately, the sky darkened, and everyone’s eyes were drawn upwards. Cumulonimbus clouds appeared overhead.

The spectators who were not protected by shades began to call out for sothing that would keep them from the incoming rain.

But they didn’t need to be worried. There was no rain coming. All Man-Shik had done was use his mana to create the requirents needed for his Hex to beco a possibility.

A rumble roared from the sky overhead as blue streaks appeared in the clouds. The wind beca erratic, almost like a tornado was approaching rapidly. The crowd only beca anxious, but none of them ran out of their seats. At that mont the shade above the seats stretched out further, covering every single person. The arena had been modified.

Man-Shik didn’t let the noise bother him. He wanted to finish it in one strike. And as the clap of thunder sounded over the area, a bolt of lightning ca flashing down. Man-Shik gritted his teeth, turned on his feet, diagonal to Aisha, caught the lightning with his left hand, passed it through his body, and shot it at her.

Aisha shifted on her feet. She had been busy all this while, but nothing physical that anyone could pinpoint. All she had done was use her mana to tamper with the air before her, and it was only when Man-Shik’s lighting tried to strike her did the result show.

The shockwave from Man-Shik’s lightning flung her backward. She sorsaulted and landed on her knees, looking up just in ti to see the result of her preparation.

After striking the space Aisha had modified, Man-Shik’s lighting changed direction and struck the floor of the arena. And now in its place was a thin, fragile crust with a greenish exterior.

rlin frowned, sowhat coming to a quick conclusion as to what had occurred based on their analyzing of Aisha and his own personal studies on her.

Aisha was a Glass Mage and her spells were created through Construction. If every single detail he knew about Construction Mages were anything to go by, he believed her spell functioned by rapidly heating and cooling the silica present in the atmosphere or earth to create glass. But she hadn’t done that with what had just happened. Well, not completely. If lightning struck sand, or more precisely in the current situation, silica, it would create a fulgurite. Which was exactly the thin structure standing in the arena at this very mont. She had used Man-Shik’s spell against him.

But Man-Shik knew this too. Because it had been a topic of their discussion. Which was why he didn’t halt for too long. He quickly began to pull down another streak of lighting from the sky.

Aisha also didn’t wait.

She lunged forward, bolting across the arena for the fulgurite. She managed to reach it before Man-Shik could complete his spell, and she broke it apart, taking hold of the shards that ca as a result. Then she cloaked her hands with mana and threw the shards at Man-Shik. They blasted through the air at abnormal speeds. Man-Shik hesitated to let go of his spell in exchange for dodging, and he paid for it. A shard cut his cheek, another pierced his side. And yet, they kept coming.

With a scream, he dragged down lightning from the heavens. The fulgurite shards embedded in him shattered, unable to bear the force he sent through his body, and at the sa ti so did Aisha’s expression.

She had seemingly been hoping her barrage would stop him and force him to dodge.

Man-Shik shot another streak of lightning at Aisha, and this ti she didn’t have the ti to block the spell with her earlier tactic.

She resolved to roll out of the way instead.

Lightning struck where Aisha had been just a mont ago, and smoke rose to the air.

During their discussion rlin had been scared that Man-Shik’s attacks would be regarded as too dangerous, and that was why Man-Shik had proposed passing it through himself first to show that they could be withstood as long as the Mage knew what they were doing, and that they weren’t lethal.

But even at that, consistently taking lightning head on would result in so after effects, which was what Man-Shik felt now as he stumbled to his knees coughing up a mouthful of blood.

Everyone shifted on their seats, even Aisha paused for a mont.

“I’m fine!” he shouted. “Fuck! Don’t stop. I’m fine!”

Sangook clicked his tongue. “Another damn loss.”

Murmurs rose from the crowd.

A considerable number of them were family mbers of the students present; none wanted to see a child be injured just because of a tournant. Their voices were so loud, each one carrying the sa consideration, asking to end the match.

“I said I’m fine!” Man-Shik voiced as he stumbled to his feet. “If I can’t go on anymore, you’ll know.” He turned to Instructor Park as he wiped the blood on his chin. “I’m a Mage. My own magic can’t kill .”

Instructor Park stared straight at him for a second. His eyes were as hard as rock, making his determination palpable and masking his pain.

She sighed. “If I catch even a whiff of you being on the verge of injury, I’ll throw in the towel. Understand?”

Man-Shik nodded and turned to Aisha. “Don’t hold back.”

She nodded. “Was never my intention.”

No more words needed to be said.

The cloud rumbled once again at Man-Shik’s command, and lightning shot down towards him, but this ti they didn’t pass through his body, but settled upon his hands. With a deep breath he pulled his arms apart and slamd his hands together.

A sharp screech like a thousand chirping birds resounded through the arena forcing people to block their ears.

Aisha didn’t have that luxury.

Lightning broke from Man-Shik’s hands, discharged erratically like webs as they scrambled towards her at high speed, leaving her with no direction to escape from them.

She instantly channeled her mana outwards and created footholds of glass that rose up to the sky above. And in the last second she was able to evade Man-Shik’s attack.

Or had she?

Man-Shik smiled and imdiately broke his current spell apart before Aisha could proceed to do anything else. In that instant, a small cloud broke apart from the ones above and closed in on Aisha. Before she could react, Man-Shik pulled lightning from the cloud. But not at himself. The lightning ca out in broken chunks and struck Aisha directly. The effect was greatly reduced in comparison to the original spell, but they sent her hurtling to the ground.

Aisha yelped as she landed on the floor of the arena, her battle wear charred at her back and shoulders where she had been hit.

Man-Shik thought about giving her the opportunity of standing up, but decided against it.

He dropped to his knee and placed his hands on the ground; however, before he could cast the spell in mind, glass shards manifested right before him like they had been there all this while and he hadn’t noticed them.

Aisha gave him a smirk and snapped her fingers. The shards shot forward, forcing Man-Shik into a change of plans.

He scrambled across the arena, trying to evade the glass, but they kept following him.

At the sight, rlin was reminded of Hakyun’s stone slings.

If Man-Shik wanted to deal with that spell, there was only one way, it was by closing in on a target the spell wouldn’t want to hit. In other words, Aisha.

But rlin felt like that was her plan.

Man-Shik was a long range fighter; Aisha, on the other hand, showed promise for close-range battles. She would win if Man-Shik tried to close in on her.

And yet, he did just that.

“What’s he doing?!” Hakyun exclaid. “Hey! That’s her plan!”

It seed everyone besides Man-Shik realized that, and everyone shifted on their seats, on edge.

Man-Shik zood behind Aisha, and just like rlin had suspected, the glass stopped chasing after him, because she caught them.

On the other hand, Man-Shik was trapped. It had been invisible at first, but after being caught, a barrier of glass appeared, and inside it was Man-Shik unable to move.

Aisha turned to him, breathing heavily.

“I advise you to give up,” she said, slowly clenching her fist; bit by bit, the glass barrier closed in on Man-Shik, compressing him. “Just so you know, this counts as exhausting you. So if you don’t give up you’ll only be in for a world of pain and I’ll still get the victory. There’s no point in proving stubborn.”

Man-Shik gritted his teeth in pain, but the fire in his eyes had not turned into embers just yet. He proceeded to regard Aisha with a smile.

Before she could frown a clap of thunder sounded and a streak of lightning struck the space in between her and Man-Shik.

The arena caught fire and smoke rose into the air, covering Man-Shik completely.

Aisha stumbled backwards, an arm spread over her nose as she coughed.

And then the sound of glass shattering echoed around the arena, snapping Aisha back into focus.

She imdiately channeled her mana and set up layers and layers of glass before her, taking a step back after every layer.

In the next second, lightning shot out from the smoke, breaking through every single layer of glass with ease, but unfortunately lost its power before it got to her.

Aisha had lost considerable stamina now, and it showed in the way her breaths were heavy and her complexion was pale.

The arena fell eerily silent for a mont, making everyone gulp anxiously. Brows were pulled down as eyes fixated upon the smoke, waiting for Man-Shik’s next action.

Then there was a clap of thunder and lightning shot out of the smoke again.

Aisha bit her lower lip, poured out more mana than she had done since the beginning of the fight to set up a thicker protective layer.

Although, the lightning didn’t head straight for her. It swerved around.

Aisha’s expression darkened in realization; she glanced over her shoulder, too slow to do anything else, as Man-Shik appeared behind her, his battle wear ripped apart by the lightning cloaking his body.

Blood stread down Man-Shik’s chin as he smiled. He then redirected the lightning around his body to his palms and grabbed Aisha.

A scream poured through the arena as lightning coursed through Aisha’s body, sending her to her knees as steam rose from her body, every drop of her sweat evaporated.

Seconds of silence later as Aisha gave no response, Instructor Park rushed onto the arena to check her pulse. Then she stood up and shifted away.

“She’s fine,” announced Instructor Park as she gestured at the dic close by. Before they arrived on scene, she turned to Man-Shik who was still standing, but barely. “We have our second winner, Hwang Man-Shik. A point to Prestige Academy.”

Relief brushed over Man-Shik’s face, and it was then that his exhaustion finally caught up to him.

Under the dark sky, he fell to his knees beside Aisha and lost consciousness.