Tension was high, as everyone seemed to hold their breaths while watching what would unfold next.
Surprise, confusion, and anticipation clashed among the audience.
In silence, they waited for who would make the first move among the two remaining contestants—Ciara Epilson or Roy Lesryio.
As if responding to the inner thoughts of the audience, the latter sprang into action immediately.
With the sleight of both his hands, several torrents of wind appeared, enveloping his surrounding with the raging element.
In a flash, these torrents whirled and became twisters, higher than two adults placed atop each other. If it were only one, that would be understandable, but the whirlwinds that formed were double!
>WHOOOOOSHHH!!!<
Two fairly large tornados whirled and made their way toward Ciara, who stood before them—clearly undaunted.
"Hmph!"
She stretched out one hand and cast her Spell to counter.
Torrents of equal, no, greater proportion grew out of thin air—faster than the ones Roy had summoned—and made their way toward the ones that charged at Ciara.
Two against two, the whirlwinds clashed and sent waves of chilly air flying across the stage.
Screams of the audience rang aloud as they felt the harsh breeze blow from the far distance where the strong spells clashed.
>WHUUUUMMM!!!<
After colliding for a few seconds, Ciara's spell prevailed and now charged at Roy.
Of course, the boy, who had already seen this coming, prepared an earth Spell to shield himself from the weakened twisters.
A wall arose from the platform completely defended against the double whirlwinds until they vanished with distant whispers.
Once he realized his barrier had served its purpose, Roy brought it down since the wall of stone impeded his vision.
It wasn't like a wind spell that provided a translucent barrier—this was earth, after all.
Making the right call, Roy was a hit hesitant to bring down the wall since Ciara could have been preparing for that window of opportunity to strike, but the took the risk.
If she shot something else at him, he had something else up his sleeves. With that in mind, the wall crumbled, revealing both students standing on stage.
To Roy's surprise, Ciara had not moved a single inch from her location. She also didn't seem to be casting any obvious Spell. Her eyes twinkled with a bit of mischief, though, same as her lips.
This told the nervous boy that something was amiss.
"Well, I gave you a chance to show me something interesting..." The goddess of Ainzlark Academy called out to the boy with a lackluster expression.
He could only gulp in response.
"... As expected, it was a waste of time."
Ciara wasn't surprised, though. This was how much the guy had been worth from the start.
"I'll be using this opportunity to make you a scapegoat... to show a particular someone something beyond both your capabilities."
Roy wasn't sure what Ciara was talking about, but he had already resolved to see this fight to the end the moment he climbed the stage.
Unlike the Lower Class cowards, those of the Middle Class valued their honor above all things.
If one of them acted like trash now, it would only sully their name.
'Bring it!' Roy snapped within him as he also began preparing a powerful spell on his end.
'It seems she's not making a move because whatever she wants to do is big... and if it's big, it'll take time!'
Using this line of reasoning, Roy thought he had time on his hands and went for one of the most destructive spells in his arsenal.
'I can do this... I just need to cast faster than she can—'
"Mage Mode..."
>VWUUUUUUUSSSSHHHHHHHH!!!!<
In an instant, faster than Roy could even complete his sentence, a massive gust of energy surged from Ciara's location. It was so unreal that anyone would doubt their eyes!
The wave of blue energy circled the girl, causing whatever was left of Roy's composure to completely vanish.
Sparkles of light shrouded the girl on stage, and her outfit slowly changed.
The ribbon she had on slowly turned purple, and blue earrings appeared on both ears. Her eyes glowed brighter than ever, and designs ran through her attire.
A caped robe also appeared behind her and the most amazing thing also materialized in front.
A book!
No, not just any kind of book... this particular object floated and was doused in blue energy. Not only did it emit faint glows of Mana, but the concentration of energy it had was enough to make anyone shriek in terror.
This book was known as a Grimoire, and the current attire Ciara currently donned was known as a Magerobe.
These two objects had one thing in common... they could only belong to fully-fledged Mages.
Of course, Grimoires and robes were—by nature—Magic Tools, and could be used freely by those skilled enough to handle their power.
But, one of the rules was for students not to use any form of Magic Tools in combat, so where did Ciara get these items from?
The answer was not known to many.
But, the few who realized what was going on gasped in utter disbelief. Not many knew she had reached a level strong enough to achieve this feat, but with what currently unfolded before everyone, the truth was made clear.
—Mage Mode!
Just as Original Magic was hailed to be the ace of any experienced and powerful Mage, this concept was equally esteemed.
Mage Mode was a state of enlightenment that very few Mages achieved. Those who did, however, experienced boosts in their Magic abilities that raised them at least one Level above their usual state.
So, if an Intermediate-Level Mage used Mage Mode, they could temporarily gain the abilities of an Advanced one.
If an Advanced Mage achieved this, they could even go higher and reach the level of...
In essence, it was extremely critical, and very rare to be seen. The ability to transcend one's limits belonged only to those who had studied and trained hard enough to obtain this power.
Yet...
Yet...
YET... why did this girl, barely even fourteen years of age possess such abilities?!
It was groundbreaking!
"Y-you... what are you.... w-what is... t-that..?!" Roy was already staggering backward, giving in to the primal instinct that assailed anyone once they couldn't understand something.
—FEAR!
