Chapter 77 77 – Reaction Time

"WHAT'S WRONG WITH TAKING AN OPPORTUNITY TO GAIN MORE POWER?"

Enraged, Jaina screamed and released huge bursts of mana. She was using one casting slot to defend herself with a water sphere against Lena's attacks and one slot to change the beams into water birds.

The birds worked similarly to the water beams, in the sense they flew as fast as a bullet, and their hit was blunt, but they were more flexible and unpredictable in their route. The downside was that for the same reasons, they were also weaker.

"Lena is speeding towards Jaina with no hesitation! She jumps and dodges the birds, using only the minimal spells to deflect one or two! Are those the benefits of being strengthened by four different elements?!"

They were unaware of the light element which made it 5, Lena didn't show it yet in her battles.

Jaina was going crazy as the battle passed and the crowd didn't show any change in its behavior even after her recent outburst. She removed her water sphere spell and used both slots for offensive spells; one for the water birds and one for the water cannons.

The water cannons were meant to restrict Lena's movements while the birds were meant to deal the damage.

Additionally, she ran to meet with Lena to shorten the distance, which would give Lena even less time to react.

"How is Lena reacting so fast to everything Jaina does? Her reaction time seems inhuman."

Gale noticed this peculiarity and asked Shana, who just shook her head to sign she didn't know either.

It was a weird sight; although Jaina's spells were faster, the one who accumulated wounds when they got closer was Jaina. The shorter the distance between the two women got, the more Jaina couldn't react in time to Lena's spells, while Lena's dodges turned risky but still successful.

They were so close now, that whenever Jaina cast a water cannon, it'd take around a quarter second to reach Lena, including the charging time. Yet Lena's shields were generated in precision as if she had ample time to prepare for each shot.

"AH!"

Jaina screamed as a stone bullet from the barrage hit her leg. She was concentrating on offense only and tried to dodge Lena's attacks without any defensive spells. When they got too close, she couldn't dodge anymore even with her special flexibility as a water and air advanced mage.

The bullet left a deep cut on her right calf, and a steady stream of blood started leaking from her injury.

"AH!"

Another scream was heard; the moment of pain made her lose concentration for a split second which cost her another deep cut, this time on the thigh of the same leg.

She hurriedly dropped the extreme offense and raised a sphere of water to protect herself. Their distance now was only 3 meters away and both couldn't get any closer to each other.

Lena kept using exploding boulders to take advantage of the water sphere's weakness, while Jaina tried to retreat to the former stalemate. However, Lena stayed within the three meters distance without fail.

Because of Jaina's running and moving, the cuts failed to close even with her heightened healing speed as an advanced mage, and her wounds kept bleedings. On the other hand, Lena only had a few bruises in places Jaina's spells grazed her.

Jaina started to panic; she felt like she might lose if things continue that way. She had to keep spending a lot of mana on replenishing and fixing the collapsing water sphere, which would lead her to lose her main advantage as a higher-stage mage – her mana reserves.

"Damn those ridiculous body stats and reaction time! And why the hell are her spells so damn powerful as a true mage?!"

She cursed under her breath as she felt those were her main problems. She was already regretting getting provoked by the crowd and running to meet Lena in close range where those advantages came to full display.

"They are in a stalemate! None can break the other's defenses, yet Jaina's mana expenditure seems much higher! Lena's spells can contend against those of an advanced mage, how does she do it?!"

Steve's astonished shout reflected everyone's feelings. This match was boiling their blood even more than Nina's fight against Lara. Seeing a fight of this level was too rare in the kingdom!

"I think it's because Lena's compressing abilities are extreme. Although Jaina advanced and uses more mana for her spells due to her stronger connection, she still didn't have time to train and improve her mana-compressing abilities as an advanced mage."

Shana shared her thoughts with her students who nodded in understanding, and Shana continued.

"So while Jaina's spells are superior in quantity, they are inferior in quality. I still can't explain Lena's reaction time though."

Although Lena's spells were slightly weaker, she overcame the problem with precision and countering Jaina's element.

*BOOM!*

The water sphere collapsed in one big explosion and stones hit Jaina's body in different body parts, leaving numerous bloody wounds behind. Jaina screamed in pain and stumbled back, and a large shield made of stone saved her head from getting hit by the incoming stones and exploding.

"STOP! FIGHT'S OVER, LENA WINS!"

The judge shouted hurriedly as he spent a lot of mana at once. He was only an advanced mage himself and he advanced at a much later age; he was worried Lena's spells would break through his defensive spell and kill Jaina.

Lena stopped casting her attacks and stood in place, breathing heavily. She won, but it wasn't easy at all. She had to maintain full concentration throughout the whole match and always run at high speeds. Naturally, it was very taxing on her stamina and mind.

The crowd screamed as if Lena already won the finals, and the chants of Lena's name would make an outsider think she was the kingdom's savior.

Inside the booth of the five academies, the representatives looked at her with interest.

"Judging from her reaction time, it's safe to assume she advanced to the mage phase with talent alone, without any potions boosting her connection. That's amazing, whoever manages to get her attention must take good care of her. I wonder if her brother is the same."

Charles said out loud everyone's thoughts, and excitement could be seen in their eyes.