381 So I can't fly, so what?
"Hey! Hey! Hey! You bastard, why aren't you slowing down!"
The smirk on my face widened. "Let's see what's sturdier, my bike or your barrier spell?!"
"Th-This insane fucker! He's insane!"
The cadet floating in the air before me panicked. His eyes darted frantically as he tried to think of a solution, but time was slipping away.
I was on the verge of ramming the front of my bike into his water shield any moment now. If his barrier shattered from the force of the collision, his ribs would break as well.
However, that wasn't the scary part.
If his barrier held, the speed at which my bike was about to clash with him would throw us both off balance, and we'd fall down to our deaths.
...Well, we wouldn't technically die, since there was nothing but ocean directly below us.
But, plummeting uncontrollably from this height was still terrifying.
Besides, if we were to land on the water surface incorrectly from this height, we could still break just more than a few bones.
"You crazy, reckless lunatic!"
The cadet in front of me dismissed his mana barrier and barely moved out of my way to evade being rammed.
I continued ascending toward the clouds for a couple of more meters before pulling back on the handlebar, executing a mid-air somersault with my hoverbike.
Now, instead of flying up, I was diving downward at an incomprehensible speed. But as if that alone wasn't enough madness, I jumped...
I jumped from my hoverbike.
The cadet who was cursing at me just a few seconds ago was too astounded to understand my crazy actions.
If only his reaction time had been a little faster, he might have noticed me hurtling toward him in time.
"...Huh?! Wait- What?!"
However, by the time he registered what was happening, I was already upon him. Yes, I had jumped toward him.
The cadet snapped out of his daze and attempted to intone a spell.
However, as soon as I closed in on him, I grabbed his hand – the one on which he wore his smart bracelet – and summoned tendrils of crimson flames to enshroud my body.
In the next moment, I let out a soft breath and uttered a single whisper, "Mana Burst!"
Kabooom—!!
An immolating fiery explosion bloomed in the midst of the sky, looking as if a second sun had spawned.
The flames dissipated almost instantly, leaving behind only a large sphere of black smoke.
Something stirred within the smoke before a cadet was throwing out from it, hurtling downward, crashing.
Right then, an announcement rang from my smart bracelet.
[You eliminated Cadet #1798, Jack Morton]
Almost at the same time, another dazzling explosion erupted within the billowing smoke.
This time, I was propelled outward at tremendous speed.
I had my arms and legs extended wide, trying to control my descent as much as I could.
Skydiving has always been an item on my bucket list. Now I could check it off.
Heh.
Smirking, I employed mana bursts a few more times, triggering small explosions from the palms of my hands and the base of my foot to hasten my descent and adjust my course of fall.
The remaining four cadets flying toward me looked at me as if I were some kind of lunatic.
So what if I couldn't fly? I could certainly fall with style.
Haaa!
Directing my descent, I caught up to my hoverbike and remounted it mid-air. I was still plummeting downward, while the other four cadets soared toward me.
We were about to clash.
I smirked and activated the front energy blasters without hesitation. Once again, vibrant particles of azure mana coalesced in front of the blasters' barrels.
-"Watch out! He can fire energy beams!"
-"Oh, really? Thanks for informing us of what we can clearly see!"
-"Dude, what's your problem with me?!"
-"You kissed my mom!"
-"Both of you, stop your bickering and pay attention!"
Without waiting for their banter to end, I started showering them with energy bullets.
The two cadets on the hoverbikes surged forward and thrust their palms outward.
Mumbling an incantation under their breath, they conjured twin slabs of rock in front of them to shield them from my attack.
Huh, an earth barrier spell?
Earth barrier spells are a good option when battling on solid ground since they are much sturdier compared to water barrier spells.
However, in aerial battles, they're not the wisest choice since they obstruct too much vision.
What's the problem, one may ask?
On the ground, attacks can only come from four directions, whereas in the air, there are eight potential attack vectors!
And that's why–
"...Huh?!"
Just as I was thinking about my next move, the stone shot forward, blocking my mana bullets while hurtling to crash into me.
Ah, I see now.
They weren't using those rock slabs as stationary shields but as projectiles – a moving cover, to be more precise.
The expression of astonishment on my face swiftly transformed into a broad grin. "Oh, you poor souls."
Unfortunately for my enemies, even this tactic was futile.
I summoned the Bringer of Lost Flames from the dimensional storage of my smart bracelet.
At the same time, I also summoned a bow in my other hand, leaving my grip on the handlebar completely.
Placing my weight on the foot pedals, I pulled my spear arm back. I took a deep breath and the crimson spear in my grasp suddenly was engulfed in scorching flames.
Without hesitation, I whipped my arm and threw my spear forward.
The fiery projectile surged like a missile and collided with the rock shields, instantly exploding them into hundreds of shards.
-"Huh?!"
-"...What?!"
-"Damn it! Damn it! Fuck!"
The cadets, who had been sheltered behind the rock shields, were still in the middle of casting spells and nocking arrows.
They never expected their barrier spells to shatter so easily.
They looked ahead with shaky eyes. In front of them, I drew back on my bowstring, a malevolent smirk on my face.
Before they could do anything, I released the bowstring, and the mana arrow that was materialized on it shot forward, splintering into ten darts mid-air.
[Thousand Falling Lightning Needle Strike]
The mana darts rained down on the cadets, striking everyone's smart bracelet with surgical precision, shattering them.
The cadets could only widen their eyes and drop their jaws as I blurred past them in the next moment, catching my spear and stowing away my bow.
"Good game, well played, everyone. Until next time."
[You eliminated…]
[You eliminated…]
[You eliminated…]
[You eliminated…]
