Chapter 98: Karl’s Dominance

Chapter 98: Karl’s DominanceThe Knights exploded into cheers and their roars shaked the field like a storm breaking loose.


Karl’s victory over Diana was a bold slap to the Mages’ smug faces. The square, once a graveyard for the Knights’ hopes, now pulsed with their comeback.

The Mages, on the other hand, stood frozen with dropped jaws, their earlier taunts choked off.

’How did he pull that off?’ a Mage whispered with wide eyes, struggling to wrap their head around Karl’s back-to-back wins against two of their best.

Mrs. Georgina’s voice soon sliced through the noise, breaking the tension.

"Knight Number 18 wins! Mage Number 4, you’re next!"

Her call snapped the crowd back to order, setting the stage for the next clash.

Instructor Xana had a tight face as she rushed to Diana’s side.

The girl was defeated in a similar manner to the lightning boy. Karl had used a huge amount of force with his spear to break their legs with his final strike, and she couldn’t heal them completely.

"Lumen allevia!" A warm, golden glow wrapped around Diana’s legs, easing the pain and holding the bones together.

’She’ll need more healing,’ Xana thought, gritting her teeth as she helped Diana walk off the square.



***

What followed next in the next series if fight was Karl’s reign, a string of wins that left the crowd dizzy.

Karl easily defeated Mage Number 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 without any rest.

And while none of the Mages had dual affinity, he still went up against a variety of elements and their primary offensive move; easily using his spear to nullify them.

Though his dominance wasn’t to the level of Fabian’s, especially with the fact that the latter’s single fireball was enough to end almost all the fights he faced. But that didn’t make Karl any less weaker than Fabian, if anything he could be seen as stronger.

Karl’s use of his spear to nullify spells in that manner wasn’t any technique taught to him by his Instructor, rather he had developed it all by himself.

By the time Karl faced Mage Number 12, the field buzzed with energy.

The boy, a skinny fire-user, stood at the square’s edge, his eyes sharp with resolve. The hopes of all the Mages rested on him and he had enough confidence in himself to give it his all.

The moment Mrs. Georgina gave the signal, the boy chanted,

"Ignis orior, dirige flamma!"

Karl, still at his own edge looked worn and his muscles were all strained from fighting eleven Mages without a break.

He pushed himself one more time, his arms aching as he gripped his spear tightly.

Instead of using the spinning technique to disperse the fireball, he jammed the spear into the ground, pouring mana into it to hold it steady.

With a grunt, he jumped, using the spear to vault over the fireball, the flames hissing below him.

The crowd gasped, but the leap didn’t get him far, landing him just a few meters closer.

Pain stabbed through his legs and his body throbbed from pulling off move after move.

Pushing his 1-Star physique this far was a miracle, especially with his unrefined technique, and Karl felt no shame in his limits.

As the boy started chanting again, "Ignis orior—"

Karl raised a hand and said calmly. "I forfeit!" The words hit the crowd like a shockwave, the Mages bursting into cheers as the boy stopped his spell, pride puffing his chest.

Mrs. Georgina stepped in, chanting, "Ventus tempera!" to scatter the half-formed fireball, just to be safe.

"Mage Number 12 wins! Knight Number 19, you’re next!"

The boy stood prouder. He wasn’t one of the strongest Mages, but he had been the one to stop the spear-wielding terror and even had the chance to clinch the Exchange for his team.

Karl got up with a grin, feeling sore but not hurt. To everyone’s shock, he walked over to the boy and slapped a hand on his shoulder.

"I wouldn’t be so happy if I were you," he said in a friendly tone. "If I took out ten of you, then this will be a breeze for Adrian."

The boy’s pride dimmed and a shadow of doubt crossed his face as Karl’s warning sank in.

Karl soon left the square on his own, and the Knights swarmed him as he approached, clapping his back with shouts of "Well done!" and "You killed it!"

Their spirits were sky-high, fueled by Karl’s heroics. With just one fighter left, they still believed that they could become the first Knight class to win the Exchange.

Karl reached Adrian, who was already heading for the square with a face as blank as stone.

"Finish ’em, roomie," Karl said with a grin as he slapped Adrian’s shoulder, but the latter didn’t offer any reply and continued with his silent walk.

The Mages were still cheering their Number 12’s win, but they began to hush when their eyes were drawn to Adrian’s easy stride.



Something about him and his calm felt off, and some of them couldn’t help but second-guess.

At the square’s edge, Mage Number 12 stood, his earlier pride fading as Karl’s words gnawed at him.

A bead of sweat slid down his forehead as his mind raced.

’First the bow girl, then the spear boy...’ he thought with a tight throat. ’They’re lined up from weakest to strongest.’

The realization hit hard: Adrian, the last Knight, was likely their deadliest. ’What am I up against?’ he wondered, swallowing hard as Adrian took his spot.

Mrs. Georgina’s voice cut through every ongoing thoughts. "Begin!"

The Mage began his chant, his voice steady despite the sweat beading on his forehead.

"Ignis orior...!"

Across the square, Adrian stood casually with his hands tucked in his pockets as his opponent chanted. His posture was so relaxed that it bordered on dismissive.

The crowd at that moment noticed his lack of a weapon and murmurs began to ripple through the spectators.

"He has given up already," one sneered.

"I thought he was scary for a second, but he’s just a coward."

But as the boy finished his chant, shouting, "Dirige flamma!" and the fireball shot forward, Adrian’s body shimmered briefly as a faint glow of mana coursed through him.

He executed the Phantom Flow Technique, tapping into its essence that centered on elusivenes.

The fireball, fast to most, seemed sluggish to Adrian, and with a casual sidestep, he evaded it, the flames hissing past harmlessly.

~WHOOSH~

In a flash, he moved, his body blurring as afterimages trailed behind, each step a flicker of speed that closed the 40-meter gap in seconds.

~THUD~

The boy who was still squinting to track Adrian’s position suddenly felt a quick brutal punch slam into his gut.

The force sent him staggering back some meters, blood spraying from his mouth as he crumpled to the ground, gasping.

Silence enveloped the Mages as Adrian walked closer, before standin over the boy with a blank blank expression and his hands still in his pockets, as if the fight had been a minor inconvenience.

Mrs. Georgina stepped forward to break the silence like always, "Lumen allevia!"

A golden glow wrapped around the boy, easing his pain and stabilizing his injuries.

"Knight Number 19 wins! Mage Number 13, you’re next!"

The Mages sat stunned, grappling with Adrian’s lightning-fast victory, while the Knights erupted in roars.

The next Mage to fight Adrian hesitated, as his feet remained rooted to the ground, but Instructor Xana’s eyes flashed with anger as she stormed over with the defeated Mage, grabbing his arm and dragging him off the bench.

"Get out there!" she hissed, shoving him toward the square. The boy stumbled forward, his hands trembling as he took his place, facing Adrian’s unnerving calm.

The next fight was a mirror of the first. The water-affinity Mage, chanted, "Aqua erumpe!" sending a torrent surging toward Adrian.

But Adrian’s body glowed again, the technique guiding his steps as he wove through the water like a shadow.

He closed the distance in a heartbeat, his afterimages confusing the girl as she fumbled her next chant. A swift kick to her stomach afterwards was more than enough to end her.

Mrs. Georgina’s healing spell followed, and Adrian was declared the winner as the Knights’ cheers growing louder.



The next fights continued in the same pattern, each fight a near-identical blur of Adrian’s dominance.

The Mages’ confidence were crumbled already and their benches were a sea of silence, while the Knights’ roars shook the field, feeling their victory so close that they could taste it.

By the time Mrs. Georgina announced Adrian’s latest win and called—

"Mage Number 19, you’re next!"

—the Mages were a shell of their former selves and their earlier arrogance were gone. Their last hope stepped forward, a figure so quiet he seemed to fade into the background.

Julian walked into the square with his dark eyes zo empty that it seemed to be swallowing light.

It was a surprise for everyone that he had even joined the team for the Exchange. Julian had claimed a spot by defeating the former 19th ranked Mage, in what could have been described as the most unremarkable duel ever.

Yet now, he was the Mages’ final stand in this action-packed Exchange.

Mrs. Georgina soon stepped back and her voice rang clear with weight.

"Now, for the final fight of the Exchange... The battle that decides the winner. We have Number 19 of the Knights against Number 19 of the Mages!"

She glanced at both fighters, confirming their readiness, with her gaze lingering on Julian’s deadpan face.

"Begin!"