Chapter 108: University Screening [5]

Amon stepped down from the arena and looked around at the other matches taking place across the field.

Several fights were happening at the same time.

Instructors stood around each circle and carefully recorded the performance of every student.

Amon watched a few of them for a while before one particular fight caught his attention. ’Oh, that’s interesting.’

...It was Nolan Reed.

The messy-haired boy was standing in the middle of the arena with his opponent several meters away from him.

There was nothing visible around Nolan, yet his opponent seemed unable to get close.

Every time the boy tried to attack, his body suddenly stopped as though he had collided with an invisible wall.

Nolan wasn’t using any weapons or conventional magic.

Instead, he was using his spirit.

Amon narrowed his eyes as he carefully observed the strange ability. ’It’s like an invisible bubble or like infinity.’

The formless spiritual energy surrounded Nolan’s body, protecting him from attacks while simultaneously extending outward whenever he wanted to strike.

His opponent swung his sword again, but the blade suddenly stopped in midair.

An invisible force slammed into the boy’s chest immediately afterward.

"Ugh!"

The boy stumbled backward, barely managing to remain standing.

Nolan calmly stepped forward.

The invisible spiritual force around him expanded like a wave before suddenly contracting.

His opponent was caught by the force and thrown toward Nolan.

Nolan grabbed him and used the momentum to slam him into the ground.

BAM!

The boy hit the arena floor hard enough to make the dust around him rise.

The referee immediately stepped forward.

"Match over!"

Nolan released him and calmly walked out of the arena.

Amon watched him leave with genuine interest. ’That’s actually pretty cool.’

He had recently started learning more about spirits, and seeing someone use spiritual energy in such a strange way made him even more interested.

’I definitely need to learn more about this stuff.’

Amon had already experienced how dangerous the Spirit World could be, but Nolan’s fighting style showed him that spirits could also be used in completely different ways.

Before he could think about it any further, another fight caught his attention.

It was Darian Voss who was facing Selene Arkwright.

Amon immediately focused on the arena.

Darian was charging toward Selene repeatedly, throwing powerful punches and kicks while trying to force her into close combat.

However, Selene kept controlling the distance between them.

Whenever Darian got close, the ground beneath his feet shifted.

A pillar of earth suddenly rose in front of him, forcing him to change direction.

When he tried to go around it, a powerful gust of wind struck his side and pushed him away.

Selene didn’t just attack with her magic.

She used earth to create walls and platforms while using wind to redirect attacks and increase her mobility.

Darian eventually managed to break through one of the earth walls and rushed toward her.

Selene calmly raised her hand, and the ground beneath Darian suddenly cracked.

He lost his balance for a moment, and a concentrated blast of wind struck him directly in the chest.

Darian was pushed several meters backward.

Amon nodded slightly. ’She’s completely controlling the fight.’

Darian wasn’t weak.

In fact, his physical strength was probably among the highest of the students taking the test, but Selene wasn’t giving him an opportunity to use it properly.

She kept him at the distance she wanted while attacking whenever she saw an opening.

Amon continued watching the fight until a familiar announcement suddenly came from the arena behind him.

"Student Amon Arcadia, please return to Circle One."

Amon sighed. ’Already?’

He turned away from the fight and walked toward his arena.

When he entered the circle, his opponent was already waiting for him.

It was a girl with short brown hair and a slim build.

Amon immediately recognised her.

’Lyra Ven.’

She was the student Helena had mentioned earlier, the one with an extremely rare movement ability.

Lyra looked at Amon before glancing at his empty hands.

A small smile appeared on her face. "You’re not using a weapon again?"

Amon shook his head. "I don’t really need one."

Lyra smiled even more.

"Then I’ll give you some advice." She lowered her stance slightly. "You should just give up."

Amon raised an eyebrow. "Wow, you sure are confident."

Lyra shrugged. "I’m probably one of the fastest people here."

Amon looked at her for a moment before raising both hands. "You should be careful. My hands are bisexual."

Lyra laughed. "I’ll keep that in mind."

The referee raised his hand. "Prepare yourselves."

Both students took their positions.

"Begin!"

Lyra disappeared, and Amon’s eyes widened slightly. ’Damn, she really is fast.’

A gust of wind swept past his face as Lyra appeared beside him and swung her fist toward his ribs.

Amon turned his body and blocked the attack with his forearm.

Lyra immediately retreated, and before Amon could counterattack, she had already moved behind him.

He turned around just in time to block another strike. Her fist stopped against his palm.

Lyra immediately pulled away and began running around the arena.

Amon watched her carefully as she didn’t move in a straight line.

Instead, she constantly changed direction, running in circles around him while occasionally darting forward to attack before retreating again.

’She’s really fast.’ Amon shifted his feet as another attack came toward his shoulder.

He raised his arm and blocked it, and Lyra immediately followed with a kick toward his knee.

Amon moved his leg away and allowed the kick to pass harmlessly.

She used the opening to retreat again.

Amon stared at her. ’Did she put all her stats into speed?’

Her attacks weren’t particularly powerful, but her movement made it difficult to predict where she would appear next.

She was changing her momentum constantly, using short bursts of acceleration to create openings.

Lyra suddenly rushed forward again, and Amon prepared himself for another attack.

However, instead of aiming for his upper body, she suddenly lowered herself.

Her movement became even faster as she attempted to strike from below.

Amon’s eyes widened when he realised where she was aiming. ’Seriously?’

He immediately moved his leg and blocked the attack before it could reach his crotch.

Lyra’s eyes widened.

Amon looked down at her. "That was a dangerous place to aim."

Lyra quickly pulled away, her face slightly embarrassed. "I was just trying to surprise you."

"Well, it worked."

Amon shook his head before returning to his stance.

Lyra didn’t give him much time to think.

She began circling him again, occasionally moving in close before retreating whenever Amon tried to grab her.

For several minutes, the fight continued like this.

Lyra attacked from different angles while Amon blocked or avoided everything she threw at him.

Whenever Amon tried to close the distance, she immediately moved away.

Whenever she tried to attack him, he intercepted her before she could land a clean hit.

The spectators began paying more attention to their arena as they realised that Lyra’s speed was making the fight considerably longer than Amon’s previous match.

Amon, however, was slowly becoming annoyed. ’She’s fast, but this is getting boring.’

Lyra suddenly disappeared from his vision again.

Amon waited. She was moving around him so quickly that even the sound seemed to come from several directions at once.

Amon let out a soft sigh. ’Enough.’

Lyra suddenly rushed toward him from the front.

Amon waited until she was close.

The moment her foot touched the ground, Amon released his mana.

Frost spread across the arena floor.

The ground instantly became covered in a thin layer of ice.

Lyra’s eyes widened. "What--?"

Her foot slipped, and her incredible momentum suddenly became a problem as she lost control of her movement.

She slid directly toward Amon, and without any hesitation, he calmly raised his fist.

Lyra tried to stop herself, but there was no time.

"Wait--"

BAM!

Her face collided directly with Amon’s fist.

Her body flew backward and landed on the icy ground.

"Ow..."

She groaned while holding her face.

The referee immediately stepped forward.

"Match over!" His voice echoed. "Winner, Amon Arcadia."

Amon lowered his fist and looked at Lyra. ’That was much easier once she couldn’t control her movement.’

He stepped out of the arena while the referee helped Lyra back onto her feet.

Amon glanced toward the other matches.

’Two wins so far.’

He still had one more match to go.