Chapter 218 218 - Failure

Chapter 218 218 - Failure

The possibility of a portal being opened from the second world to the first was something that made Ryan's mind a little worried. But this could be tested with the same method of timers that Eliot had left in his book.

Before returning to the second world to test, Ryan decided to walk around the Neodrazzil academy for a while. The corridors full of people walking in silence gave him a certain peace of mind.

Taking a seat in a square near the entrance to the south block, Ryan looked up at the expansive blue sky that stretched overhead, its brilliance adding an extra touch of warmth to the already sunny day. "Ryan Whitemane?" a voice asked as he approached.

Now that Ryan was paying attention, there were several people looking in his direction, their curiosity piqued. Surprisingly, this feeling of being watched wasn't as unsettling as he had initially imagined. "Exactly," he replied with a friendly smile.

The person who called him over was a short, thin boy, appearing almost deceptively youthful for someone entering a university. On his belt hung a sword that seemed disproportionately larger than what would be deemed practical for him. His unruly green hair caught Ryan's attention, a detail he wouldn't normally notice in boys. However, this time, it was impossible not to be intrigued. The boy abruptly bent down in front of him, putting his head to the ground as he shouted, creating an unexpected and amusing scene that drew even more attention to the two.

"My name is Ezra! Please! Take me as your apprentice!" he said with earnest enthusiasm.

Ryan's face shifted tones abruptly, and dozens of onlookers now focused on the unfolding conversation. "Heh... I don't know if that's possible," he responded, a touch of uncertainty in his voice.

'My training sessions with Lyza and the rest of the girls are exclusively for women... And honestly, I don't need any more followers....' he thought, a hint of internal conflict clouding his expression.

As he raised his head to respond, Ezra's demeanor took a sudden turn. His greenish eyes, previously filled with hope, now seemed to be shedding rivers of tears. The stone floor on which they were sitting had imprinted its shape on his red, tear-stained face, creating a poignant scene that added an unexpected emotional layer to the unfolding encounter. The cringe of the moment was perceptible, drawing in the attention of the surrounding spectators.

"I'm! I'm an S Rank prodigy just like you! I promise I won't let you down," he continued.

Ryan crossed both arms and went back to assessing the situation.

'He's being very serious about this... I don't want my reputation tarnished at the academy for denying a request for help'

*Sigh

Opening his inventory, Ryan pulled out a glove from inside his backpack.

*Tap

The glove flew towards the boy's face at high speed. "Ah, my wind magic was too strong," he said.

For a few moments, the glove landed on the boy's face, only for it to fall to the ground a few moments later. All the dozens of people around began to comment on what was happening, some excited and others surprised.

"Is Ryan Whitemane going to have a pupil?"

"Maybe he's going on a raid?"

"But didn't he have several women to fight with him?"

"Heh, that boy's in trouble"

"Isn't that boy the S rank of the gold class?"

"Yes yes, I remember him from the last fighting event"

Conversations and rumors began to take hold of the place. Rising from his chair, Ryan held out his hand to Ezra "Here" he said. The sound of their handshake echoed around the square as he stood up, Ryan's glove in his pocket.

"Should I give it back to you?" he asked. Ryan shrugged "I saw it in an anime, but that's a common goblin loot"

* * *

There were many more people than usual inside the gymnasium of the Neodrazzil travelers' academy, from one side to the other students sat down to observe what kind of challenge Ryan Whitemane was going to deliver.

"The gym is open, isn't that a problem Mr. Ryan?" asked the boy.

Nodding his head, he replied, "I don't have anything to worry about, maybe they need it."

The green-haired boy's face was obviously confused, as if a question mark was floating above his head.

"My tests are no big deal, so maybe this is a bit boring," he commented.

Ryan and Ezra were in the two corners of the arena. Moving his shoulder, Ryan warmed himself up while he should have shivered with worry at that simple gesture of reassurance. At the same moment, the audience's emotions began to run high, some whispering while others commented aloud on their opinions of the situation

"I want you to cast a spell on me, it could be a magic circle or a skill," Ryan shouted.

Clapping both hands, Ezra launched himself into the air with wind magic. The boy's body began to turn slowly as the wind gripped his feet, channeling his mana, he made a bow and arrow gesture with both hands.

In the position he was in, the green-haired boy could easily aim for Ryan's head. Releasing one of his hands, he fired a wind arrow at high speed, his precise aim hitting his opponent in the eye.

*Snap*

With a snap of his fingers, the arrow was nullified. Holding out his hands, Ryan gestured downwards and soon afterwards, Ezra fell to the ground.

"You're using two skills and you're not protecting your mana flow, I can control your attacks this way," he shouted.

The audience went wild, some startled by this display of power while others imagined he was lying.

"How is that possible?"

"Did he manipulate the boy's blood?"

"Maybe he just threw that child to the ground with wind magic"

"This liar wants to deceive us"

"No! He could be manipulating mana injection attacks! That's possible"

"If he's doing that, Whitemane is the most powerful student in the academy"

Using his Demon Sight, Ryan was able to observe in detail how Ezra's mana was being released for his abilities. The energy was being channeled and then distributed in the wind, the delay in action meant that the accumulation of mana remained manageable for Ryan, who could see where the energy was.

'This isn't normally very useful in combat, but let's see how far it goes'

Worried by this display of strength, Ezra began to draw more than five magic circles around his body. Unlike before, now the attack was multi-elemental.

This simple change of mind made Ryan pay a little more attention to the boy. That insight was admirable, although the way he was applying it, it didn't go very far.

The more spells you try to do at the same time, the lower the quality of each one. With that, Ryan could destroy every one of those magic circles without even having his Demon Sight.

But now, the little green-haired boy had a plan to try and outdo the hero of the black flames. A sixth magic circle was created on the other side of the arena, in a place that was out of Ryan Whitemane's field of vision.

Ezra's eyes were glued to Ryan's. And with a quick gesture of his hands he launched five combined attacks, each of the magic circles had a purpose in the combo he was making.

The first was a wind circle, which would be thrown in front of the attack to reduce air resistance and make the magic fly even faster. Soon after, a stone bullet was thrown inside a fireball, in a surprising combo.

The last two magic circles had the same purpose. One was a fire explosion spell, which increased the speed of the shot even more, while the other was a wind spell that sealed the attack and made the bullet propel even faster.

That shot flew at high speed towards Ryan who, for a few seconds, looked dead with his future-predicting gaze. But before the magic could be released, he swerved at high speed and dodged the attack.

The explosion was so fast that the audience couldn't keep up. Many even thought it was an attack by Ryan.

"That was a good attack," he said as he clapped his hands for Ezra. Taking a few steps forward, he continued, "You're really clever," and with another clap, a blast of wind was launched towards Ezra's head. n--OVElbIn

The attack was weak, the force was on a par with a moderate push. Ezra fell to the ground on his back confused by what had happened, but seconds later he understood the result of his secret plan.

The magic circle that was outside Ryan's field of vision, the blow he was going to use after his attack, was corrupted. Ryan Whitemane had mastered that electric magic circle and turned it into a wind attack, and to make matters worse, he hadn't even used his mana to do it.

Ezra was defeated by his own magic.