Chaos And Wind

When I first made the system of magic for The Academy's Regressor, I had a hard time deciding on what to base it on.

I'd surf through various forums, read dozens of fantasy books, and even watch multiple movies, but I still could not decide on one thing.

That's when it hit me. Why not do multiple power systems in one story?

In the Academy's Regressor, many different types of fighting existed. But they were mostly divided into two categories: Skills and Spells.

In name, skills encompass both of them, but they can also be defined as their own single category.

They allow Heroes who have received the system's grace to wield various types of powers to hunt down their enemies.

For example, Rokas' Overdrive could be considered a skill.

The second main category of power was Spells.

Spells were different in the sense that they allowed their casters to display their control over Mana, a recently discovered element that was thought to be present in the air ever since the world was created.

Skills use mana as well, but they are more geared toward changing the user's body and movements rather than actually changing the world as Spells did.

The Eri siblings could be placed into the latter category, as their main form of power lay in conjuring various spells of their respective affinities to defeat their enemies in battle.

So as I watched the current battle of a Skill user and a Spell user unfolding in front of my eyes, my head subconsciously began to cheer for both Wang Jin and Alter.

"Stop running, you fucker!"

"Haha! Catch me if you can, Alter dear!"

The current match could be described as a cat and mouse game, with Alter being the cat and Wang Jin the mouse.

It was so because Alter had been constantly chasing Wang Jin around the arena for the past few minutes.

The Chaos balls she had sent forth were surprisingly unsuccessful in taking down Wang Jin.

The spell known as Asmodeus was a key factor in allowing him to guard and sometimes redirect the balls.

Wang Jin's spell worked in a weird way. The wind that he emitted would run across the entire length of his arms, coating them in an enchanting but deadly aura.

The weird part started here. The wind from Asmodeus ran so fast that I could see some sparks and maybe a few embers floating across the air.

I didn't know the logic behind such a spell, but hey, it's magic. When did that ever explain anything?

Anyway, thanks to the wind that he controlled, Wang Jin was able to quite literally slap away the balls. The moment they crashed against the ground they would explode.

"Stop running!"

Alter, clearly infuriated at Wang Jin's lack of interest in fighting her, continued her rapid assault of Chaos spells, this time more extreme.

Beams, spheres, and even javelins were fired at a rate almost invisible to my naked eye. I had to use Death's Vision and mark Alter as an enemy just to be able to see where they were going.

To think that Wang Jin could dodge these so easily… I wonder where he got his strength from.

"You want to fight me, Alter? Alright then! Here comes big daddy Wang Jin!"

Perhaps seeing the displeasure on Alter's face, Wang Jin stopped running. He slapped away the two remaining Chaos orbs and took on a fighting stance.

I could understand why he stopped. If Alter ever got too angry, then there's a big chance that he wouldn't live to see another day.

Truly broken, my teammates.

"Finally tired–*huff* aren't you?"

"I think you're the one tired here, Alter dear. Those spells must've cost you a great deal of mana."

"Shut up! I can replenish it whenever I want to."

There was also another difference between Skill users and Spell users.

The second group contained people who were more susceptible to the flow of Mana in the air, and thus devised multiple ways to gather them into their bodies.

The simplest method was breathing, which was also accessible to Skill users.

Through refined, rhythmic breaths, Spell users were usually able to completely fill their bodies with Mana in just a few minutes.

"Alright then, do it! I'll be waiting here. Come on, don't be shy. I won't attack you."

Wang Jin kept poking as if to show that he wasn't interested in getting rid of Alter but instead to have fun with her.

I don't know, I'm not a battle junkie.

"Heh, you're gonna regret that!"

"Please, be my guest!"

Alter obliged, sitting down in a meditation position. She closed her eyes and soon after, I could hear short breaths from her.

Wang Jin also sat down on the other side of the arena. He watched as Alter repeated the process of breathing in and out.

Creepy.

After a minute, Alter stood up. Her face looked more energized like she turned a few years younger.

Not that she was old, but you get the point. She just looks revitalized.

"Alright, here I come, you fucker!"

"Hoh, finally done, are we! Alright then, here I come, Alter!"

Casting Asmodeus, a much stronger current of wind began circulating Wang Jin's arms.

The speed of the wind could be compared to that of the strongest tornadoes. I could feel a short breeze every time Wang Jin fused more mana into his spell.

The real battle had finally begun. Applying wind to his feet, Wang Jin charged forward.

Now that she was fully charged, Alter was ready to tango. She quickly prepared two, three Chaos orbs and fired them at Wang Jin.

They halted his advance for a short moment, but that was about it. Wang Jin simply whacked them away like they were beach balls.

"Oh, so that wasn't her plan."

Seeing as how she was half-blinded by her anger, I wasn't expecting Alter to make any sort of ingenious moves.

Boy, was I wrong.

Using the Chaos orbs as a distraction, she fired off a potent beam of magic.

Whoosh! The beam flew past the entire arena in a flash, scattering sound waves akin to a bullet.

"Shit." Wang Jin raised his arms to block the beam but found them pierced in an instant.

The beam easily penetrated his wind armor, leaving a gaping hole below his wrist.

Blood spurted out from his left hand, and Wang Jin groaned in pain.

That was close. If Alter had just aimed a little lower, she probably would've won.

Oh wait, but he has that, doesn't he?

My thoughts flashed back to the day that I met Wang Jin.

I could still vividly remember stabbing Dainsleif straight through his heart.

Right! He could move his organs. And seeing as he had never used it once even after joining our team, then Alter must not know of it.

Oddly enough, that could be his trump card.

*whoosh*

Another beam was fired, and the crowd went silent.

From everyone's perspective, a beam of magic had just pierced through Wang Jin's stomach.

There was a gaping hole left in his belly, much like his arms.

"Heh."

Wang Jin looked down, and seeing the wound on his stomach, he snickered before dropping to the floor.

"I win!" Alter turned to the robot referee who was watching the fight with an expressionless look on its face.

"Hey, I won, didn't I? The match ended."

Alter approached the referee and waved her hand over its face to get its attention.

"As per the rules of the match, one has to admit defeat or be knocked out for a cadet to be considered the victor. None of the two goals has been achieved yet."

"Huh? But he's on the floo–"

It was then that I spotted movement from Wang Jin. His fingers slowly began to return to life.

Eventually, he stood up, looking like he wasn't just pierced through his stomach.

"That hurt, Alter dear! Ever heard of going easy on your friends? I could've died right there, heh."

"Wha–"

"Oh, so you're playing like that, huh? Come on then, baby! You're not going to be able to walk after I'm done with you."

How… profane? And dirty. Anyone would think twice after hearing what he just said.

Somehow unfazed by the injury, Wang Jin stood up. His body suddenly disappeared from where it was, and only an afterimage was left.

"Wha–?"

*boom*

Alter was barely able to react in time when Wang Jin's fist made contact with her stomach. And by the sound of it, it hurt a lot.

Alter was sent flying, and her body landed right on the edge of the arena.

"Hehe. I'm not fond of hitting women, especially ones that I know, but hey, you asked for it, baby doll!"

"You fucker…"

Quite literally, Alter was unable to stand up. She pushed against the floor with her arms, and barely brought herself upright.

"That's it, I'm fucking ending this. I've had enough of you, Wang Jin."

"Ooh, yes, say my name!"

Alter didn't respond.

Whoa.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

Isn't that fucking dangerous?

On Alter's side of the arena, I could feel a power level I never thought was possible for a D rank to achieve.

Alter's body was covered in a ghastly orange shade. Chaos mana itself was wrapping around her arm, and forming itself into an attack.

"Hmm. Damn, that's fucking scary. But I love scary women! Very well, Alter! Let's end this."

Simultaneously, Wang Jin's mana signature grew terrifyingly high. A thick green aura began surrounding his tiny body, concentrating directly into his right arm.

"Haha! This is fun!"

Wang Jin was the first to charge. With both cadets having their mana at their peaks, the ensuing result was sure to be devastating.

With all of the mana in his body, Wang Jin threw out his fist.

Alter responded similarly, releasing her Chaos magic into a funnel-shaped spell that expanded as it went forward.

*woosh* *wirrr*

The clash of two powerful spells, something that D ranks shouldn't be able to do, shook the Colosseum.

It was so intense that smoke filled the entire arena, shrouding everything in sight.

"Damn… what happened? *cough*"

Moments later, the smoke dissipated, and I was shocked to find one of the two cadets on the ground. One was breathing steadily, the other was passed out.

The one who lost… was Wang Jin.

"Alter Eri wins!"