Chapter 29: Deciding who goes

Yohan had general magic theory in the morning and he enjoyed the rather insightful information he got from it, he was able to better visualize how mana interacts with the elements.

"Magic is a more general term for the use of mana, while a spell involves a process much like molding to give a greater effect for example higher temperatures for fire magic, or higher speed or compression for greater power and sharper edges on say wind or water spell. All spells are magic but not all magic are spells. The most effective method so far are through chants and magic circles however there are advantages and disadvantages...." The teacher went on lecturing accepting questions when someone raised their hand. The day continued and on the PA system they called to the office Arwen, Acia, Kevin, Klara, Snow, Yohan and four others from standard courses during recess. At that meeting the vice principal informed them that this weekend there would be a showcase of newfound talents between the three major schools in Hakono. Only 5 pupils are allowed to participate from each major school. It is structured differently since all it does is exhibit the talents each school has taken in. It is basically winner stays on until he or she is defeated. They've gone with this 'demonstration type' matches which is typical in wuxia novels because there is an odd number of magic academies.

They were going to decide through a series of matches for tomorrow in the afternoon which shouldn't take more than a little more than an hour. The three schools would usually do this demonstration during the first trimester break but, some things have come up that has inexplicably interrupted this routine.

During lunch break Yohan decided to play some basketball with Devin and Clyde since a little recreational activity wouldn't hurt. He, of course played 2 on 1 against them but even then it was one sided in his favor. He quickly drove through their defenses before scoring a lay up. Devin and Clyde felt a little discouraged but there was two of them so they at least felt that they could hold up well besides Yohan can't charge through them anyways. Bonny, Stella and Ayne were cheering for Devin and Clyde because they knew they needed it more than Yohan. Klara and Snow were passing by and noticed the one sided match. Their attention was on Yohan's speed compared to his opponents.

"Isn't he cheating by using magic to increase his physical capabilities while the other two aren't?" Snow asked Ayne curiously.

"Huh? Yohan isn't using any magic to boost his speed or strength, this is all his physical abilities." Stella interrupted.

'What?!' Klara inwardly exclaimed. 'The speed he is driving through the team with is almost identical to the speed he used against us.' Snow also followed a similar train of thought. Since Yohan had to dribble the ball and had to face a bit of defense from two people his speed has gone down a slight bit compared to when in combat, a slight bit. This somehow irritated Klara and dumbfounded Snow.

Klara left in a huff while Snow continued on her path after lingering for a few minutes. Some other kids from his grade and other above asked to come play with them and Yohan allowed them since the more the merrier. He was called out for being ball hog by his friends at some stages and he responded with a bit of banter as well.

The day went by and Yohan retired his room to study a bit, he summoned a couple of shadow clones in his kamui dimension to do the studying, he had to catch up on the material after all. Yohan had his sister's notes though he still needed to catch-up with the wizardry (All 4 basic elements) course since that was the only difference between their curriculum, though the fire magic course which studied more in depth on fire magic did help him in visualizing how fire magic and spells work. The difference between the elemental magic course and the general magic course is that the elemental magic focuses on the application of mana with respect to the studied magic while general magic course talks about the behavior and interactions of mana in general.

While his clones were studying he decided to perform some jutsus, since he had some new insights from his class due to his fairly inquisitive nature towards magic. The information regarding magic on the internet was quite restricted and wouldn't be so easily come across and even if there was information about it, it would only be to the point of low tier magic. He had felt his own jutsus were shadows of what it once was. He now has superkage levels of chakra but his overall output was a bit weak.

Tomorrow went by fairly quickly Yohan was stoked for some matches. After school he caught up with Stella and the rest of the gang he headed to the combat center, some students from the higher grades were already duking it out. Stella, Ayne, Bonny and Clyde were just there to spectate their deciding matches.

Yohan, Devin and three other boys had already changed into combat gear. Yohan and Devin decided to warm up with a light spar. Yohan brandished his gunbai while Devin his Halberd. Stella, Ayne, Henry, Bonny and Clyde were watching the match unfold from the stands.

The way Yohan swung his gunbai once again looked comical as Devin looked to be having a hard time receiving his blows. Yohan was doing this quite leisurely. Some kids from the higher grades came along and spectating as well. The combat center they were using was reserved for the deciding matches but others could watch.

Yohan saw from the corner of his eye Amber and Cain, though almost on opposite sides of the arena. Yohan however did not notice that they would glance at each other from time to time. Devin soon conceded, after all it was a warm up and not the actual deciding matches. Soon Klara and Snow arrived and after them the principal with the Wizard Crawford. Each one quickly stood in a line as Mr. Evans had instructed. He would be the combat supervisor for these matches

"Good afternoon everyone, I trust that you are all ready for the deciding matches." Principal Proudmoore greeted.

""Yes Principal Proudmoore!"" Everyone said in unison. The principal briefly inspected each one before arriving to Klara and Yohan.

'These two are the ones with extraordinary talent in every primary element according to Sir Crawford. Mr. Evans especially mentioned Yohan. What a unique weapon to have.' the principal mused as he looked at them both noting Yohan's gunbai.

"I look forward to seeing each of your performance," The principal wished as he went to sit in the stands.

"Alright, we will have two of you at a time come and duel. Afterwards the challenger will face the current last place and if he wins he will face the person next in ranking ." Mr. Evans came up with a system which follows the logic if the challenger is stronger then he will eventually climb the ladder to the top.

Snow was randomly picked to go up against one of the boys from the standard course. They stood opposed to each other ready for the signal.

"The match will begin in 3,2,1, Start!" Mr. Evans signaled at the match was underway. Snow wasted no time and began to condense shards of ice as she assaulted her opponent. The boy exchanged one or two with his weapon quite skillfully but was forced back due to the reach of Snow's scythe and her barrage of ice. Snow quickly overwhelmed him after he gave way and was left tired out due to exhaustion.

The matches had gone by and some students from each year came, some cheered since they were friends or a sibling. The principal looked pleased with their display. Arwen, Devin, Klara went up and also fought. Klara swept to the top with her own diverse set of magic as she had learned another intermediate-tier spell.

'Amazing, as expected from the grand-daughter of the Light Bringer guild.' The principal applauded.

Yohan was second to last to climb the ranks, he looked at the line-up and could not wait to stretch. "Come at me!" Yohan became frenzied, he absolutely overpowered his opponent his speed which was astonishing to even third years.

'[Wood Release: Entangling Roots],' '[Wind Release: Vaccum bullets],' '[Earth Release: Super Light Weight Boulder],' Yohan one match after another displayed his might. Whenever they tried to counter with magic Yohan just blocked it with his gunbai and got up close to discharged all the absorbed mana. Arwen, Acia, Devin each tried their best with varying success.

Each match were filled with flurries of magic. The roots entangled, the vaccum bullets knocked them over, he hovered over as he rained down more and more controlled jutsus.

'What the hell!? Just how much was he holding back before?!' Mr. Evans was in disbelief. A couple of students conceded without a fight, recognizing that it was redundant to try. The upper years were even more so since this was the first time they saw him in action, especially using equally powerful magic of different elements.

'Hahaha! Excellent! How domineering' The principal was finding it more and more difficult to suppress exclaiming the thoughts in his mind.

Soon Snow was defeated by far one of the more entertaining matches as she also used water magic specifically to counter Yohan's fire magic this time. Yohan now stood facing his final opponent, Klara Price on his rise to the top. His face looked extremely eager as he began to impatiently tap his gunbai on his shoulder.

"Klara Price versus Yohan Uchiha, fight in 3...2..." Gulps could be heard from the crowd and on the field as Mr Evans counted down. "1... Fight!" Klara did not start firing off magic but made some distance. She knew she couldn't face head to head against Yohan's gunbai. Klara tried to trip him up by raising some earth. This however failed to do anything as Yohan soon caught up to her and swung down. She stepped to her right since Yohan handled his gunbai solely in his right making it a bit awkward to try and slash horizontally to his left.

Klara then tried to fire some sparks of lightning at her opponent but to no avail as he quickly recovered from the awkward position. "[Earth Golem]!" Klara chanted as Yohan began to chase after her again. Just before Yohan was about to strike Klara, a hand made out of hardened dirt blocked the impact but still a small portion was pulverized when receiving Yohan's blow. Yohan used [Body flicker] once more amazing everyone besides Klara, Stella, and some of Yohan's other friends.

'It looks like space magic but it doesn't feel like the element, more like precise application of mana to dramatically increase speed.' The Principal analyzed. Soon Klara could not keep up and Yohan once again relentlessly ceases the opportunity and ends it right then and there.

"That was a nice match!" Yohan said grinning ear to ear. Klara seemed mad as she slapped his hand away and dusted herself off as she picked herself up. "Did I do something wrong?"

Everyone in the arena were shaking their heads understanding there must be some resentment from Klara's end.

"Okay last is Issac Shade" The last student was a black panther beast man who was slim and looked agile. He seemed quite ordinary even as he face his opponent.

"Terrence Dale vs Issac Shade, fight in 3...2...1... Fight!" The match began but neither moved until about 15 seconds later when Issac went by Terrence's side and slashed his opponent with his short sword. The Principal looked surprised as he knew instantly what had happened, even Yohan looked intrigued as he thought the same thing as the principal.

'Illusion magic?'