The examiner asked her if she was ready with a simple nod and she nodded back without hesitation.
She was confident, and more than that, she was ready to just finish this match as soon as possible with the least energy and moves she could use.
There was a fire in her eyes, almost a dot of crimson red light in those black eyes.
The mage lady nodded last time and looked at the other side of the pavilion, where the control room of the arena was.
And they got her signal as a horn rang in the arena and three lights, glowing in red, appeared on both sides of the arena.
They both could see them at the front and they were the signals for the match's start.
The girl looked on the other side at the back for a moment, at the boy who had come with her, and even though it was a brief moment, they both talked about everything they wanted through their eyes.
And she was now even more confident, as a smile had appeared on her face, which naturally surprised everyone who could see her.
The girl was going to start an offensive, naturally, and the mage lady also knew this so, she was ready with an attack of her own.
She didn't yet know the powers of this girl but, from the looks of things, she could understand that the girl was strong, so underestimating her would be the last thing she would do.
The red lights started to go out one by one, and this meant the start of this fight that even the branch manager was watching from surveillance.
Things were spiced up just from this much so, the heart of the mage lady was beating even after now.
This match would be some of the few amazing ones she had ever had in this place, and she wholeheartedly believed it.
So, she was expecting many things from this girl and hoped she wouldn't disappoint her.
And the girl was just... normal.
Calm, normal breathing, clear eyes, no fluctuation of Mana around her, and still, countless places in the air before the mage lady had started acting weird.
The second red light vanished and now, the mage lady knew something bigger than her expectation would be hitting her.
Something she didn't expect even after having this much excitement.
A strength she wasn't looking forward to see, the prowess she hadn't expected, and something she couldn't block with just a simple attack spell.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtThe third light went out in the split second the mage lady thought things through and now, it was time.
The calmness in the girl's eyes was the same, and the entire area around the examiner was now her attack zone.
Now, the ones on the ground knew this too... they were seeing a genius of the twelve's level.
And the thing that will happen now could only be blocked, and not even dodged by even a (tier-4) mage like her...
A sudden shock and fear appeared in the eyes of the experienced mage lady as she channeled a large amount of Mana and cast two (tier-3) defensive shields.
And that was good quick thinking because… as soon as all three of the lights turned green... rain started.
Rain of the water attribute spells, original spells of (tier-1) with the genuine power of (tier-2) spells.
Countless magic circles had appeared in the surrounding air of the examiner and started firing unstoppable water lances, sharp water currents, crescent blades of high-pressure water, and many spells like that.
Though the spells were all weak on their own, no doubt about that but, being hit by these countless spells at this absurd rate was maddening.
The magic circles that looked attractive were there for just the moment when the spell was shot at the lady and then it vanished, replaced by a new one, different from the others.
And the spells were so strong after being shot at once that... the (tier-3) barriers were nothing in front of them.
The barriers she created just vanished, shattered into pieces, but the spells that attacked her from all directions, not even giving her a chance to cast another spell.
This was absurd... and more than enough to make everyone on the pavilion and the downside of the arena speechless.
They couldn't believe what was happening at the moment and at the degree, the spells were shot at the lady and their combined strength was nothing less than a (tier-4) spell.
Just doing this required unparalleled knowledge and mind but, to maintain it for this long was a miracle on its own.
Not that no one couldn't do the same. There were young mages in the twelve prodigies that can do things like this but, right now, the girl wasn't one of them.
And still, this unknown girl was overpowering the mage lady at this moment.
Countless spells shot at the powerful barrier, countless barriers broken by the sudden barrage of spells. The lady barely holding her place and maintaining the continuous summon of the barrier spells and the now somewhat tired girl with the dimming crimson light in her eyes.
The spells were countless. The strength was undeniable. The opponent was genuinely weak, and she was done with what she wanted to show she was capable of.
So, to end things there, a bigger magic circle started appearing on top of the barriers the lady was creating.
A bigger circle and one would naturally know the spell was (tier-2) just from the structure and... its strength would be the last thing from this girl.
Her impeccable act made them believe this was all she could do and that last one would be her last attack of the absurd barrage and even then, no one could believe what had happened in the past few minutes.
A countless barrage of spells that made the overall output even grander than the normal (tier-3) spells could ever reach?
It was possible when one knew how the magic spells worked, how to make new magic spells, as well as how to constantly channel Mana to continue these spells.
The technique wasn't hers, but she was grateful to the one who taught her this.
Though not so difficult for her... this was definitely something even more difficult than the double, triple, or quadra casting techniques.
And she could only do this because of her special body, the deep knowledge of the spells, and the [Old magic] skill she had.
But still, she was genuinely mentally tired by this thing.
Even with her high affinity with water attribute Mana and similarly higher concentration that was the key component of this spellcasting method, she could only maintain this for around ten minutes at her current level.
And though the ten-minute thing was absurd in itself, he had told her not to overwork at all.
So, these two minuses were more than enough and that final spell of almost (tier-3) power was more than enough for them to get a decent score.
She had started her attack at a legal time, just after the signal. The instructor never even got the chance to attack, so she was naturally strong. The fight had shocked everyone beyond belief and now... this was good enough.
Time slowly passed for the spectators, and even slower for the one blocking these countless spells.
This was supposed to be a rank inspection, not a one-sided total domination.
This girl... the lady never wanted to underestimate her, but she didn't even give her any chance to prepare any attack spells.
One after another, the aftershock of the spell hitting the barrier was intense.
And even though she had just defended herself from these mere (tier-1) spells, the spells definitely hurt her a bunch.
Her Mana flow and concentration could barely keep up with the monstrous efficiency of this girl.
And even though she would be fine after being hit by the small (tier-1) spells, it was not for much longer.
They were original spells and tough to dismantle.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmShe could tell just from the looks and structure of those spells… the girl was no normal person.
And this technique she used to cast the spells... mysterious and something that would definitely take a huge toll on one's body as well as mind.
And from the looks on the girl's face, this lady could tell, this magic circle that was appearing above her would be the last thing from her.
Then she would be in no shape to attack and similarly, the lady herself would be too tired to even stand in the place like she was now.
The girl smiled, and the lady knew this was the time.
The magic circle manifested in the air and she cast another two layers of (tier-3) spells on the existing six (tier-2) ones.
And she could just hope that these barriers... could at least stop the attack coming at her.
The magic circle manifested and started rotating in the air as every other small one vanished.
And then... a whirlpool fell from the sky and collided with the eight barriers the lady had created.
The pointed end of the whirlpool, like a drill before wood, easily broke the first barriers, and the savage recoil from the block was definitely more than enough that her internal organs took a bad hit.
But still, she managed to stand strong and endure the pressure from this small but high-pressure whirlpool.
And thankfully... the spell didn't last more than a few moments.
The last two barriers had managed to block the spells, and she was alright even after that horrible spell.
The girl was covered with sweat and there was blood flowing out of her nose, with her complexion being pale white.
'Nice acting' the boy would say... but still, the sudden sharp headache she felt was real.
The ground of the stage was damaged quite a lot on that one side, and after the spell, both the girl and the lady had fallen to the ground, tired and powerless.
Their battle was one-sided, to some but, it was just a close call in the eyes of other examiners.
If the girl could maintain that technique for just another minute or so, then she could have easily defeated the (tier-4) mage lady.
And that was their deduction, not the truth.
The lady was just a normal and powerful (tier-4) water mage, nothing special.
So, the boy knew that someone like the girl, who could actually see through his near-perfect defense, was more than capable of defeating even a 'normal' (tier-6) mage at the level she was right now.
Anyway... the fight was jaw doping and the reactions from the spectators as well as the five instructors were quite the sight for the boy who was happily smiling at the girl on the stage.