Chapter 76: Music

Gozif expressed his confusion aloud, "He let himself get crushed?"

He looked up at the screen, his face reflecting bewilderment, while Fardeir, seated beside him, mirrored the same perplexed expression. All the students present had witnessed it clearly: Magnus made no effort to avoid the falling pillars, even dropping his magical barriers. Meanwhile, the professors and academy staff watching the match also reacted, conversing among themselves. However, the reasons behind these reactions differed between the students and the staff. Through the screen, the students could only observe the matches visually.

In contrast, the staff, thanks to the large-scale sensory spell woven into the Alternate Space, could discern exactly what events were unfolding beneath the fallen pillar that Magnus had seemingly been crushed by.

"That kid... I keep thinking he couldn't surprise me anymore, and then he pulls off something like this. I never imagined enhancement magic could be wielded to such an extent, assuming it even is enhancement magic," Lazitha remarked, shaking her head as she glanced over at Mulvin.

"Do you think you could replicate something like that?" She inquired, to which Mulvin chuckled.

"Hmm, maybe. But... I definitely wouldn't make it look as effortless as he does," Mulvin replied. By now, nearly all the professors, even those unaware of Ancient Magic, were beginning to realize that Magnus possessed abilities unlike any form of magic they knew. Some had even speculated that he might be a spirit naturalist who was highly favored. After all, even Grand Arcanists couldn't directly detect spirits through sensory spells. Yet, while this explanation might account for some aspects, it failed to explain Magnus's inexplicable ability to draw mana seemingly from thin air, his lack of a mana core, or his ability to cast spells instantaneously and without incantation.

Source code-level abilities simply seemed like an enigma to those operating at the non-source code level

Inside the Alternate Space, Reimun stood atop one of the taller rocky pillars, peering down with a confused expression shadowed by his cloak. He was eyeing the area below where Magnus had seemingly been crushed, there was no sign of him.

It didn't look like he had avoided it. But there's no way he got crushed; otherwise, the match would have ended by now. Meaning... he got away somehow.

Gathering his aura to enhance his perception, Reimun focused intensely. His eyes became like telescopes, scouring the desert floor and surrounding pillars for any hint of movement or traces left by Magnus from when he avoided the collapse. But, suddenly, there was a shift among the fallen pillars. Reimun's attention snapped back in an instant, as he saw one pillar tremble and begin to move, rocks falling off it with heavy thuds

"That's impossible; that thing must weigh hundreds of tons!" Reimun muttered in disbelief. The pillar that had supposedly crushed Magnus slowly lifted into the air, revealing Magnus underneath, arms raised.

It took me a second to memorize portions of these pillars but looks like pretending to get crushed finally drew him out into the open.

Lifting a massive object with one's bare hands wasn't how it looked in TV shows. Even if you had the strength to lift a massive cargo ship, trying to lift it from one end or from directly underneath it would just result in your hands going straight through the hull or snapping the ship in half under its own weight. Because of that, Magnus didn't just lift the rock itself; he also memorized the area around where he was going to place his hands and used the Command Console to stabilize the area he gripped. Thanks to that, the pillar stayed intact under its immense weight even as he lifted it up.

In theory, using this method, Magnus could even lift a mountain with ease, let alone the pillar he was lifting now.

"Now then... Since you dropped this on me, how about you take it back!" Magnus roared through his mask, his voice carrying an imposing weight.

With a swift motion, Magnus reeled back and tightened his grip on the massive hoodoo. Reimun, still in shock, snapped out of it and bolted as soon as he realized what was coming. He leaped off the pillar he was standing on just as Magnus effortlessly hurled the colossal rock through the air. The immense weight and speed at which it was traveling caused the hoodoo to slowly break apart mid-flight as it hurtled towards Reimun.

Mid-air, Reimun watched in wide-eyed astonishment as the massive spire hurtled towards him. It narrowly missed him by mere feet, obliterating the top of the pillar he had been standing on. The impact sent shockwaves that knocked Reimun back, while enormous fragments of sand and limestone rained down, each heavier than a car, leaving deep craters in the earth upon impact. Safely landing amidst the chaos and dodging falling rocks, Reimun stared at the destruction behind him, utterly speechless.

But there was no time to stand there stunned. Immediately after hurling the first pillar that Reimun had used to trap him, Magnus swiftly moved to the next closest one. Standing beside it, Magnus studied a small area, memorizing its texture before extending his hands and once again executing a visualization using the Command Console. From an outsider's perspective, what he was doing looked to defy physics.

With a single hand, Magnus lifted the pillar effortlessly, as though it were magnetized to his touch, without digging his fingers or arms into its surface.

"Don't forget these ones, either!"

With a casual flick, he hurled the pillar like a frisbee, sending it spinning directly at Reimun, who had already begun evasive maneuvers. Like a blunt blade, the pillar tore through the ground where Reimun had been, shattering into fragments that caused nearby hoodoos to collapse. Undeterred, Reimun continued his swift movements, knowing Magnus wasn't done.

From a distance, his figure was like a small dot, narrowly avoiding the next pillar Magnus threw. It arced through the air, crashing precisely where Reimun had been running, kicking up a storm of sand and shaking the ground violently. Even as Magnus prepared to hurl the fourth and final pillar Reimun had toppled, he couldn't land a hit. It was akin to an adult throwing pillows at a buzzing fly—no matter the size of the pillows, the fly proved too fast and agile to be caught.

Well, it's not like I expected to hit him anyway; I just wanted to expose him and keep him out in the open.

Locking onto Reimun's position, Magnus dashed towards him, covering the ground between them in less than a minute. Seeing him heading his way, Reimun didn't bother running. He was already exposed, and he wouldn't be able to duck back into cover while Magnus had a direct line of sight on him.

As Magnus closed in, he leaped into the air, conjuring four spheres of orange flame around him with the Command Console. Seeing this, Reimun swiftly summoned four rune-tipped bolts and fired them simultaneously. The fiery spheres hurtled toward Reimun as his bolts arced toward the fireballs. At that moment, Magnus noticed that the tips of each of the four bolts seemed to be engraved with runes, unlike the explosive ones which were completely covered.

The runes activated the moment the four bolts pierced straight through the centers of the four fireballs, causing them to disperse back into mana.

So those types of flames aren't hot enough to melt them, huh?

Realizing the danger, Magnus swiftly erected a five-layer mana barrier around himself as he descended. The bolts, still charged with momentum, homed in on him. Initially, Magnus wasn't that worried, but the moment the bolts approached the mana barriers he created, he noticed the rune was glowing brightly, and the mana that he used to form the barriers began to become unstable and disperse.

Anti-Magic Runes? I see, so that's why my fireballs turned back the mana right away; it must be some kind of mana disruption.

The bolt went through all five layers of Magnus's barrier in an instant, piercing straight through his legs, stomach, and chest, respectively. As they tore through his body, Magnus gritted his teeth as he felt a warm yet burning sensation. It was like a searing hot knife had just sliced through his flesh, and the feeling only got worse with every one of his heartbeats, not fading for even the briefest moment.

The pain nearly overwhelmed him, momentarily clouding his thoughts until Basker activated [High-Speed Regeneration].

Almost immediately, Magnus felt the pain begin to dull as his wounds started to heal mid-air, allowing him to land on his feet as he hit the ground. Reimun watched, unperturbed, as Magnus recovered from the injuries he had just inflicted.

Hmm, I might be able to put him down if I aim for his heart or head, but that would violate the rules when it comes to fatal attacks. It's best if I focus on maximizing the amount of damage I cause to him as much as possible. Even if he heals from it, it should still count, and as long as I've done more to him than he's done to me when the time runs out, I'll win.

With his plan set, Reimun conjured another anti-magic bolt, aiming it straight at Magnus's abdomen. He knew from the training his family put him through that it was one of the most excruciating places to get pierced through. Even if he couldn't stop Magnus through his injuries or blood loss, he could do it through pain. But just as he readied his shot, Magnus conjured a compact sphere of blue flames in front of himself.

Fire again? Doesn't he know that won't work?

The bolts he was firing would disturb the flow of mana from anything they touched, whether it be a mana construct or an elementrix spell. So without hesitation, completely ignoring the flames Magnus had created, he fired the bolt at full force, watching as the blue flames erupted into a direct blast toward him. At that moment, for both combatants, time seemed to slow as they watched their attacks approach one another.

The color of fire is determined by the wavelengths of light emitted during the chemical reactions within the flame. This fact meant one could identify not just a flame's source but also its temperature based on the color alone. While Magnus's Command Console didn't allow for much customization when he went for the default settings, he retained full control over the size and color of his visualizations. That meant the moment he learned how to copy fire elementix magic through his [Arcane Matrix], he had not simply gained the ability to generate fire.

But he had absolute free reign over the temperatures of the fires he created, and blue flames, in particular, are among some of the hottest flames known to man.

And so, before the bolt Reimun had fired even made contact with Magnus's inferno, he suddenly saw the metal rod begin to glow a bright orange. In the next few seconds, before the rune even had a chance to disturb the mana flow of the blast, they began to melt.

What!?

Wide-eyed, Reimun attempted to dodge, but it was too late. The blue flames carved a molten path through the ground, catching Reimun's arm. While his aura normally protected against conventional fire and heat, mana-forged flames were a completely different topic. He stifled a cry, as he felt the intense burning on his right arm. Retreating swiftly, he leaped from pillar to pillar, trying to gain distance before perching atop a pillar, and getting the chance to inspect his arm. The cloak that covered it was charred away, revealing red, blistered skin beginning to peel.

"Ugh..." Grimacing with pain, Reimun noticed Magnus wasn't giving chase and had decided to speak instead.

"You should surrender," Magnus said calmly through his mask, glancing up at the sky.

"There's still over forty minutes left in this match, and I don't think I need to tell you that this has become a war of attrition now. As you get more and more injured, I'll simply heal while driving you into a corner. There's no scenario where you win now that you're exposed and out in the open," Magnus stated matter-of-factly. Reimun's face remained hidden under his cloak, but Magnus sensed him contemplating his words.

But a moment later, he heard Reimun chuckle softly.

"Yeah... Maybe so. But I'm afraid I wasn't taught to give up on a mission until I accomplished my goal." With that being said, Reimun pushed through the pain of his burned arm, as he summoned another bolt. Magnus's gaze sharpened as he immediately leaped back, ready to evade the incoming attack. He had learned earlier that taking Reimun's attacks directly where too risky, thanks to the arsenal of bolts he had stored away. So, as he retreated, Reimun fired before giving chase himself.

The bolt flew through the air as Magnus prepared to counter it. But suddenly it broke apart and split down the middle. Hidden inside, there were nearly a dozen smaller bolts, each connected to one another by thin, nearly imperceptible threads, which formed a net, coated in green liquid.

What the hell is that? Well, whatever it is, I'm definitely not letting it touch me.

Turning, Magnus was about to dodge to the right to avoid the net entirely, but to his surprise, that's when he noticed Reimun was already waiting for him. Moving swiftly, he circled Magnus and fired off three more bolts while doing so, each one breaking apart and turning into yet another wide net. With all four of them flying through the air, Magnus was surrounded on all sides, leaving him without an escape route.

Not bad. But if I can't avoid them, then I just need to break through.

Focusing his finger, water gathered and condensed, building pressure until it shot out just like the Wave Cutter Spell Velis had used on him. The water jet sliced through the nets effortlessly, cutting through nearby pillars and leaving clean lines in the ground. As the nets were cut, the green liquid coating them touched the sand, sizzling and emitting smoke.

Acid, huh? I guess it was a good call not to try to power my way through, then.

Reimun, still circling Magnus with his quick movements, thought to himself.

Fire elementrix magic, and water elementrix? Add that on top of his ridiculous physical strength, and restraining him becomes practically impossible. I'll have to catch him off guard. Despite how strong he is, his senses seem lacking; I'll exploit that.

Drawing upon his ring, Reimun summoned a small black ball into his hand and hurled it straight at Magnus. Reacting swiftly, Magnus retreated a step and conjured water at his fingertip, slicing the ball in two. Yet as it split, a massive cloud of black smoke billowed out, swiftly engulfing Magnus and the surroundings, obscuring even the artificial sun's light.

Amidst the swirling smoke, Magnus felt no concern that it was poison gas or anything like that. The human body naturally possessed the ability to process various toxins; the actual issue was that by the time the poison was neutralized, the body would have suffered too much damage to survive. But, with Magnus's [High-Speed Regeneration], not only could he repair that damage in an instant, but he could accelerate his immune response.

But, in that dense haze, something unexpected reached Magnus's ears—a sound. And it wasn't just a noise either; in fact, it resembled... music.

[Command Console]

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↑…

[WARNING]: A glitch has been detected!

Initiating Debugging Protocol…

Debugging Protocol Activated…

[Debugging Protocol]: Initial glitch has been designated as Codebreak-006.

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Users:Magnus_Wright:\>

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