Magical Academy: Rise of the Supreme Magic Craftsman

Wallace watched the fifth round where Vanessa struggled a lot to last 15 minutes against the automaton. 

This time, one team loses a point as one of the participants was not able to last and left unconscious on the stage. He was a member of Maja's team and he wasn't used to fight a magician that could quick-cast  while  buffed by a three-layered movement speed spell. 

The other four only lasted for so long because they have a very strong defense and sturdy Mana Shell.

The automaton seems to have reached its peak after this fifth round. It probably learned Vanessa's Motion Break, a technique where her cast was being delayed to catch the target off guard. It wasn't a magic spell but a skill for those who possess high level of control on Mana. 

Vanessa had only learned this trick after getting a chance to dip in the Revitalization Mana Spring. 

"Haaa~ This is so tough. I almost showed all my cards just to last that long." Vanessa complained as her pale body was full of sweat after an intense battle against the automaton. She had to move around the stage to avoid the focus fire of the automaton which drained her not only a lot Mana but also stamina. 

"I wonder if Kyla can just give up mid-way if she find it too difficult." Vanessa kindly thought for Kyla. Although she had learned Inducement Control in the first event. She still needed time to comprehend the full ability it could give her. It requires time and practice to properly utilize the skill. 

"It should be alright. You can just announce that you've given up and the referee should stop the match." Hector butted in as Kyla was now together with them since the fifth match. She had been watching the fight together with Sheryl and Jun a while ago. Kyla heard this and seems to be pondering on the advice. 

"Well, that guy who had gone unconscious at the stage was remarkable and would surely receive praises from his teammates. But you don't have to copy that. There's still a match tomorrow and the next day so you have to preserve your strength." Aria finally said to let Kyla decided. They were worried that Kyla would push herself to last 15 minutes.

The automaton didn't just learned Vanessa's technique and probably learned the other student's special skills. The one from Virgan had shown a technique called Nine Shadow Step to avoid all the automaton's attacks and move on its blind spot for a counterattack. Although it was an amazing skill, the automaton hadn't been defeated due to its continuous movement just like Avery's Water Curtain Sword Art where it uses minimal movement to make a precised and timely comeback whenever an opportunity strikes.

The automaton had also been using the techniques that the other students had shown during the others rounds. 

"I understand. I will do my best first and give up if I find it too much for me." Kyla finally acknowledged due to her teammates insisting on her. Their words was true but it felt difficult for her to admit loss just like that. She'll surely show all her skills before she'll think of giving up. Anyway, they are here to just show their skills and not really aiming to win the whole competition. This is what she'll do. She composed herself and went to the shelves beside their stage to look for a suitable weapon. 

She looked at the automaton standing on the stage that looked to harmless. It doesn't look to be too strong just by looking outside. 

This type of puppet Mana Artifact may seem to be too strong but its ability could never reach the level of a Battle Mage. It may be enough to take a bit of time of a Battle Mage but it wasn't enough to defeat one. These automatons could only bully those combat magicians that are still learning. Also, Sheryl had also told her that these type of learning automatons had limitations. The skill that it copied using a special magic structure could only be saved for half a day. Because the special stone where the Learning Skill magic structure can be infused would be burdened and destroyed if it lasted more than that time frame. It isn't a limit of magic structure but materials.

Kyla took her time to find a weapon. Although she already have something in her mind, it didn't stop her to study the other Mana Artifacts out of curiousity. 

Looking at the hundred Mana Artifacts, she had used about 60 of them in practice due to her family and academy's resources. About 30 of them was Mana Artifact she had only seen in text books. There are ten of them that she had never heard even once at all. Even with the artifact's name and a brief description written beside them, she didn't found it familiar.

"Alright... This should be good enough." 

Kyla picked up an azure ring and wore it on her right middle finger. They ring size was a bit large but it immediately changed it's size after Kyla wore it to fit her finger. It's one of the simple function of the ring.

After she wore the ring, a black tattoo formed on her right arm looking like a flowers with a thorny stem slithering in her arms. 

***

Wallace was invited to watch the last match together with the other members. The nine of the participants together with the substitute was now in a same area near the stage with some of the managers of their team. 

It seems that since this is the last match, everyone had gathered together to support their last teammate.

He politely greeted everyone as aside from Sheryl and Kyla, they were all his seniors. He also met Van, the substitute they selected for him. The man didn't say a word but still nodded at him. Although he seems to be doubting Wallace's skills, they were still students from the same country. As long as he proved himself, it was even possible to be his friend after this event.

"What happened? We've been worried about you." Jun Richardson asked Wallace. They weren't close but during this competition they were all teammates and will be working together in the next few days. He wanted to destroy the invisible wall separating them and get close to each other.

It seems that the others had gotten his intention as Hector also joined the conversation. 

"That's right, we first thought that you'd never return. We didn't received any notice about your whereabouts until just now. Did you bring any souvenir? Did you go sightsee? I was told that we'll be given a day for that after the competition. It was supposed to happen before the competition but got rearranged due to the attack that has occurred." 

"Ah... I just had to sort something out. It wasn't really serious. I'm sorry, I didn't have time to look for a souvenir, I hurried here after finishing my business." Wallace explained his side as he approached Jun who offered a seat beside him.

"Haha, I'm just joking. It's good that you're back. This competition would give you a good experience so it would be a pity if you missed the chance." Hector said before concluding the chat. It was now time for Kyla to battle against the automaton.

Wallace was about to ask the unfamiliar Mana Artifact but decided to wait. It would probably be explained by the announcers or he could also ask the A.I.

'Oh, the A.I. still doesn't have a small version. I won't be able to communicate with it like this.  I probably need a smaller version. An earpiece or probably a contact lens.' Wallace thought as he glanced at the arm guard, but he suddenly remembered his limited resources. The earpiece might be doable at the moment but the contact lens level may be too much for the meantime.

During the event in artifact forging, he wouldn't be allowed to wear the arm guard too. Anyway, the A.I. was still learning and at the moment, it was only as good as a database. It may still take a while before it could do more than that.

As soon as the match started, everyone was curiously watching the Montego's team's participant. She was a small chestnut-haired girl holding the Vampiric Staff which had loaded five powers coming from the five participants earlier. 

The battle only lasted for about 10 seconds. The automaton had received a direct attack that was approaching the level of a Battle Mage. Because of the girl's fast reaction speed he immediately caught the automaton that hadn't fully shown it's might yet. 

The automation's program about how it would fight depending on the magician's type of skill hadn't changed. This is the only flaw that remained on it aside from what Sheryl had told Kyla. 

As the girl hadn't even cast a simple Mana Shell, any defensive spell, movement spell, or even an attack spell, the automaton attacked first using a mana-based spell with an extremely quick and precise control. 

The automaton had even anticipated a counterattack so it didn't stay on it's location. 

Sure enough, the girl released the Five-Force Push that they have been saving up.