Chapter 78: On the beat

Standing face-to-face with the giant, Steven didn’t waver for a single second. He raised his right arm as the sand from the ground began levitating into the air.

Qwenz’s eyes were still wide open, probably confused about what had just happened, as his focus slowly shifted back to the enemy standing in front of him.

"Not bad at all, for somebody like you," Qwenz spoke, but the first drop of sweat was already running down his face.

Steven could see the inner conflict playing out within him, probably unsure of how to fight somebody like Steven.

And Steven wasn’t going to allow him to figure it out. As he dashed forward, trying to grapple Qwenz, the giant jumped high into the air to evade the attack.

"But games like that won’t be enough to beat me!" the young student yelled.

He swung his hand wildly through the air, trying to gather new water for his spirit to use. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t gather a single drop.

Landing back on the ground, Qwenz stared at his hands, confused about what was happening. Then his gaze returned to Steven.

"What... What did you do?"For the first time, there was a hint of fear in his voice.

"Oh, nothing really. I just claimed all the mana from the nature around you as mine." Steven shrugged at the giant as if this were a completely normal feat.

"Your mana capacity isn’t that big. You shouldn’t be able to achieve something like this." Qwenz tried once more to gather water from the air, but failed.

As Steven stepped closer towards the trembling giant, his single hand completely open, he spoke. "Who said anything about doing it with my mana?"

He pulled up another wave of fine sand. Qwenz seemed to finally understand, and his fear evaporated into nothingness.

"Oh, what a silly trick of yours." The ground started shaking around them. "Sadly, I know how to counter it."

Just after finishing his words, a giant wave of water flowed over the corner of the arena. He had managed to connect himself to a pool outside.

As the wave washed towards him, Steven tried to freeze it, but the sheer volume was enough to slow him down. Meanwhile, another stream connected to Qwenz, restoring his power.

"Well, if it couldn’t get any worse..." Steven whispered to himself, trying to find a way through Qwenz’s new defense. But instead of attacking him, Steven came up with a different plan.

"Is that everything you’ve got? Thought you were stronger than that for a Diamond student!"

But Qwenz’s laughter made him shiver. This guy truly was an insane beast.

The water began changing its form into a spear. No, not one.

Hundreds of them, all pointing towards Steven and his surroundings. But before the giant could fire, a voice rang out from the crowd.

The elderly teacher was trying to intervene.

"Surrender already, Steven. It’s over."

But he waved her off. "Who said anything about it being over?"

With that, his hands began burning brightly.

Igniting the dust, the entire air around him started glowing red, as if the sun itself were standing in the middle of the arena.

"Nice trick, but that won’t change anything!" Qwenz yelled, sending the spears forward.

They began evaporating in the air. But there were simply too many for Steven to handle.

The dust began cooling down, allowing the first spear to get through, which he easily evaded. But the following ones were much harder.

And with the number increasing every second, surrender truly looked like the best solution for everyone. Except for him, of course.

As he blocked another spear, the attack finally stopped. They had all either evaporated or missed their target.

But Qwenz could simply restore them as long as he remained connected to his spirit.

"What now, Steven? Ready for another round?" the giant asked, raising his hand as the water began flowing back towards him.

Steven only swung his hand through the air. Nothing happened.

The crowd grew louder behind him.

"He’s going to die if he continues," one spectator spoke worriedly.

"What was he even trying to do just now?" another asked.

"Probably cast some magic, but he’s Bright, after all," a third added.

Their whispers continued to grow. The water had nearly reached Qwenz, but Steven still hadn’t tried to intervene.

As the giant finally reconnected with the water, his face suddenly changed.

Joy.

Then confusion.

Then terror.

Out of nowhere, the water changed color, becoming something much darker. Steven raised his hand, which had begun trembling.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Qwenz yelled, raising his hands once more and trying to control the water. But it only became darker with every passing second.

As the giant finally realized what was happening, his hand began trembling violently. "This was all your plan from the beginning, wasn’t it, STEVEN?!" he yelled.

But the muddy water had already engulfed him. Steven had used the entire fight to fill the air with fine particles of dust and sand under his mana control.

By sending those particles directly into Qwenz’s water, he had managed to neutralize his control by overwhelming it with a greater amount of his own element.

That was the problem with water, the most versatile element. If Qwenz had used it as steam or even ice, Steven’s plan would have failed. But the giant never even had the chance to figure that out before he was defeated.

As the student began drowning in the muddy water, Steven walked over, waiting until he saw the surrendering look in Qwenz’s eyes.

He finally let go after the teacher had already screamed at him to stop for the third time. Qwenz fell to the ground, breathing heavily while spitting out muddy water.

Steven slowly pulled the headband restraining his second arm from behind his back. The wounds across his entire body immediately began regenerating at great speed.

Holding the dark blue fabric over the head of the barely conscious student, he waited for a single sentence.

And he didn’t have to wait long.

"The winner of the final exam battle is Steven Bright."