12 12. Challenge

"For your homework, write an essay on the best way to defeat a Clytodasaurus." The professor said at the end of the session.

"Hmph! Easy," Ash bragged.

"Stop boasting, you'd probably take a whole day." Robert scoffed.

As Ash and Robert shoved each other around playfully, a group of students with bad intentions came over to their seats.

"Emilia? Rank 1? I challenge you!" Midof and his lackeys came over.

Emilia glanced up at the group.

"Shit, so fast?" Ash and Robert both thought in their minds.

"Ok." Emilia said calmly.

"What the hell? She accepted so quickly!" Robert exclaimed in shock and anger, nearly wanting to tear Emilia's hair out.

Midof's mouth arched up into a sinister smile.

"We will have a competition about mana control."

Emilia looked up.

"Are you sure?" She asked in a meek voice.

"What, are you scared?" Midof scoffed.

"Ok, lets go." She said.

Midof and Emilia walked towards the arena beside the classroom.

Although the arena was not extremly large, it had all sorts of top notch facilities designed for various challenges.

The arena also had a light blue barrier around it, that did not let anyone enter.

Misof tapped challenge in his student id, and the whole class list popped up. He pressed on Emilia's name.

"Rank 6, Midof Kuraekei has challenged you, Accept?" A thin hologram popped up from Emilia student id.

Emilia pressed accept with her thin and slender fingers.

"Challenge commencing. Rank 6 has challenged the Rank 1. Please enter the arena." A female voice vibrated throughout the room.

The blue barrier disappeared, allowing for then to enter.

Just as Emilia was about to enter, Ash grabbed her hand.

"Do your best!" He said solemnly. In his mind, Emilia had already lost.

Emilia nodded before proceeding to walk towards the arena.

"I challenge the rank 1 to a mana control control competition." Midof shouted with excitement.

"The challenge type is valid. Would you like to back out?" The female voice asked.

"I accept." Emilia said.

"Challenge commencing." The female voice said.

The barrier appeared again, obstructing the view of everyone below the arena.

Ash and Robert looked at the arena with worrisome faces.

"Hmph, you countryside brats wouldn't even dare to hope to win against my brother." A burly man said.

"You are?" Ash raised an eyebrow.

"Ridof Kuraekei, rank 10." Ridof boasted proudly.

"Don't count your chickens before the eggs hatch." Robert said.

"What? What is that? Some lost saying from the 21st century?" Ridof Kuraekei provoked. "I've never even heard of that." He laughed.

Robert and Ash fell silent, only helplessly hoping for Emilia to win.

"Materialize at least 6 degrees of mana." The female voice sounded.

"Challenging, as expected of the S class." Midof thought. Materializing 6 degrees of mana exactly was harder than it sounded, one needed to have extremely precise control. Even geniuses from the 10 great clans had a great margin of error, this way why degree control was named the hardest type of mana control. He glanced at Emilia and was surprised to find that she was calm.

"Increase it to 8 degrees." The fenale voice said emotionlessly.

"Damn it! It actually hit my limit so quickly." Midof cussed.

"Please don't increase more." Midof prayed as he materialized more mana. Big beads of sweat trickled down his forehead.

"7.5 degrees."

"The heavens are helping me." Midof sigh in relied as he decreased his mana.

"2 degrees."

"What? Seriously? That easy?" Misof thought happily.

Robert and Ash stared intently at the ranking list from their student ids. The ranking list would automatically update once a challenge was over.

Suddenly, the ranking list changed.

"See? No one can beat my brother in mana control." Ridof scoffed arrogantly. "That wretch probably seduced the principal to get the first place." He barely glanced at the ranking list, because of his absolute confidence in his brother.

The blue barrier faded and two figures could be seen inside.

"How...how is this possible?" Midof sunk onto his knees, not even caring about the spectators.

"Brother, what's going on?" Ridof asked in shock.

"She actually won..." Robert was speechless.

"She beat Midof? The young genius of the fleeting wind clan?"

"But Midof can manipulate up to 8 degrees of mana!How is that possible?"

The spectators murmured.

When the results appeared, the spectators got even more shocked.

"Midof Kuroekei, average margin of error: 0.5

Emilia Vin Astrea, average margin of error: 0" The hologram stated.

"Wait, that means, she got perfect? Her mana control is perfect?"

"That's impossible! That system must have glitched!" Ridof retorted.

"Yes, that right, it must have glitched, that's why I lost. She could never beat me in a fair fight." Midof thought, he got up from his previous kneeling position.

"Bullshit, the school programs never glitches!" Ash said furiously.

"Hmph, what? You scared that you won based on luck?" Ridof crossed his arms and scoffed.

"This.." Ash could deny all he wanted, but he could do nothing without proof hence he tacitlly remained silent.

Robert, on the otherhand with his impulsive nature.

"Shut up! Don't be salty just because you lost!" He sneered. "Are all you people from the fleeting wind clan sore losers? Pui!" He spat at the floor.

"Bastard, what did you say?" Ridof was ready to throw punches, ready to show off his 10 years of martial arts training.

"The school system can never glitch," a cool voice said from the crowd.

"Who? Which bastard said that?" Ridof shouted.

"I did." A young man with long blonde hair walked out from the crowd.

Ridof went as pale as a ghost, he immediately knelt on the ground.

"Young master Ley, p-please forgive me, I-I didn't mean to say that." He quivered in fear.

"Young master Ley, please forgive my brother." Misof also knelt, he knew very well his status as the young genius of the fleeting wind clan meant nothing in front of this man. As long as he did not kill or cripple both of them, the young master could do whatever he wanted.