"How are you going to win against him? You may think you have the advantage right now, but there is one thing I need to tell you." Lindwurm's expression was grim, as if he believed Auric would lose.
"Let me guess. I will definitely lose to him. Of course, I will lose to him, unless I'm prepared to reveal my other elements, right?" Auric smiled. His expression was still composed, as if he had thought about it carefully.
Lindwurm blinked a few times. "Y-Yeah."
Auric still managed to remain calm even after all that provocation. "So, you accepted his challenge because you can win?"
"Well, I do intend to reveal my other elements, but I need to know about the situation first. If you don't reveal enough talent, people won't place much importance on you. If you reveal too much, people will think you're dangerous. That's why I've thought this through."
Lindwurm was a bit speechless, but if Auric had indeed thought about everything, it seemed he didn't have to worry about him anymore.
After watching Auric for the past two weeks, he knew Auric wasn't a rash person.
"All right." Lindwurm nodded.
"Well, I might be guaranteed to win if you let me copy your element." Auric smirked.
"You…" Lindwurm was speechless. He harrumphed and looked away. "That's something I can't do."
Auric just shrugged as if he had expected this answer.
While walking to the exit, he suddenly noticed two familiar people standing at the gate as if they were waiting for someone.
"Yo! Isn't this Auric? Are you really going to fight the Lightning Emperor's disciple?" Arina asked while approaching him.
"Word sure travels fast." Auric smiled wryly.
"Of course. It's a hot topic among the freshmen right now." Arina nodded.
Ellia asked, "Do you have any confidence in winning? You surely don't think you can win easily, right?"
Arina nodded in agreement. "Looking at his status and backer, he will most likely spend the rest of his time practicing the Lightning Emperor's battle techniques and use his money to buy as much lightning-element material as possible to increase his element."
"I've heard that you were able to suppress him a few times in the last couple of days, but it will be different this time." Ellia warned him.
"There's actually something I want to ask. Did your generation have this kind of battle too?" Auric raised one finger.
"We had several fights."
"What kind of battles were those? Were your fights watched by others?"
"This kind of duel happens every year, so it wasn't that troublesome to arrange it. Since everyone had just awakened, there was a limit to their magical energy. So, the teacher would spread their magical energy to erect a barrier for you to fight in," explained Arina.
"So, we're just going to fight in the classroom?"
"Yep. The front of the class is pretty spacious, so you should have enough space to fight. It will be a simple fight, so there's no need for a big arena. In the worst-case scenario, it will be the gym. In that case, your seniors will probably watch the battle."
"I see." Auric nodded in understanding. It didn't really matter who watched him. The moment he showed his power, it was bound to spread to everyone, regardless of their year.
"In your case, it might result in the latter," said Ellia, as she could imagine what would happen when the two best students fought.
Auric had finally gotten an idea about how he should proceed.
"Anyway, how about having a sparring match?" Ellia asked. "I've heard that you don't have any experience in combat. Meanwhile, people like Simon have been training since they were young. Having a sparring match right now will give you some experience."
"That would be good, but aren't you supporting me too much?" Auric narrowed his eyes, feeling a bit suspicious.
"Well, I'm thinking about bringing you outside our wall to kill some beasts. There is a place where you need several elements to enter, but all this time, I've only worked with Arina. I don't want to share the reward with too many people either, so you are a perfect choice."
"I see. With me there, you can bypass the element restriction and get more rewards as a result. Shouldn't I get more since I'd contribute more?"
"We can discuss it when the time comes." Ellia waved her hand, stopping him, as it was pointless to discuss it right now.
Freshmen could only leave after the introduction period ended. So, they had to wait for a month before this discussion could continue.
"Well, I don't mind fighting you, but I believe Arina will be a much better sparring partner." Ellia pointed to the side with her thumb. "What do you think?"
"That's certainly going to help, but can I ask you to do it one day before the fight instead of right now?" Auric asked.
"Why?" Ellia tilted her head in confusion. If they did it right away, Auric would get more experience.
"Right now, I'm still practicing the basics as well as learning the battle techniques from the library. There is also a matter of magic armor, so I will need some time to even be ready to fight."
"Understandable." Ellia nodded in agreement. "All right. Let's do that. Arina will fight you two days from now. As for the location, how about my mansion on this campus?"
"Your mansion? Is it different from the professor's mansion?"
"Of course." Arina nodded while looking at Ellia with a judging expression. "This girl bribed… I mean, donated to the school so that she could renovate the mansion. Her mansion is probably the biggest one here. You don't have to worry because the wall is quite high, so no one will know."
"Oh!" Auric knew money could really buy everything. She simply had enough money to afford it. "I understand. Let's do that."
Arina waved her hand. "Good luck with your preparation. If you want some advice, you just have to send me a message."
She had worked in Auric's store for a few days, so he already had her number.
"Thank you."
Auric continued according to the plan. He first headed home to inform his mother about his stay on the campus. Of course, he would return on the weekend so she wouldn't feel too lonely since his father was on a business trip.
He brought enough clothes and bought a few more on the way with the money he earned.
The Space Storage was truly convenient for carrying his items. The space itself was not big, but that was simply because his current strength was too low.
Nevertheless, he was fully prepared for the intense training.
On the third and fourth days, Professor Eren didn't bring anything special because the Body Armor and the basic trinity were extremely important. He just watched them improving on their own and offered his advice when they needed it.
Once the lesson was over, Arina met him again to guide him to the mansion.
As Arina had said, it was truly the biggest mansion around. It was even located a bit farther away from other buildings.
The campus itself was similar to a small city, so having a mansion like this was normal. The campus had no intention of refusing it either, considering Ellia had to leave it behind once she graduated. Most people simply thought it was not worth spending that much money to upgrade their already adequate living space.
The empty field next to the mansion was about a quarter the size of a football field. It was more than enough for a simple fight.
The maid seemed to have been dismissed for the rest of the day so that no one would watch the sparring match.
Ellia was wearing a simple jacket and tight black leggings. She crossed her arms, holding a long single-edged blade.
Arina, on the other hand, wore a plain white skirt and a black shirt. Her way of fighting didn't require her to move too much, so she didn't need to change her attire.
Ellia stood in the middle. "Remember. This is just a sparring match. Arina, you need to limit your power. Understood?"
"Got it!" Arina waved her hand playfully.
"If it gets dangerous, I will stop it. I can move fast enough to block any attacks, so you don't have to worry." Ellia assured Auric.
Auric nodded with a solemn expression.
"You may begin anytime, Auric. Make your first move." Arina waved her hand up, challenging Auric.
Auric took a deep breath before releasing his magical energy, which soon shrank into a layer over his skin.
"Oh? You've mastered it? How long can you last?" Arina asked, her tone filled with excitement.
"40 minutes, but I don't know how long I can last in a fight." Auric shook his head. "I will begin now."
"Come!"
He had learned two battle techniques for the plant element. He got one from the library, but the first one he learned was Arina's battle technique.
Hence, Auric started with the battle technique from the library.
Plant General.
Giant roots broke through the ground and extended themselves toward Arina.
There were at least six roots, so the range of this area was quite wide. There was no room for Arina to slip past them.
But there was no need for Arina to do so.
"GO!" Arina snapped her fingers. Only one root came out of the ground, but it moved like a snake.
Arina's root suddenly pounced on Auric's and circled around them.
"The power of plants is quite underestimated. People think we're gentle by nature, but if used properly, this nature can be quite deadly!" Arina clenched her hand as her root broke three of the six roots Auric had created.
"!!!" Auric was quite startled. He could imagine breaking a person's body just by wrapping them in these roots.
Auric stepped up his game and controlled the roots. The remaining roots approached Arina's, but hers actually went one step further.
Her root gradually changed its form as if it were being sculpted in real time. Before he knew it, this root had become a true snake.
"What?" Auric gasped as he saw the snake slam the root on the left with its body and whip the root on the right with its tail.
"This is the power of plants. We're quite flexible, so what you really need the most is control!" Arina smiled and controlled the snake to launch itself to the last root.
Auric wasn't going down easily. He put Arina's explanation to good use.
His root suddenly folded itself. Folding something thin multiple times would increase its toughness. As a result, the snake failed to break this root.
"Oh? You adapt pretty quickly." Arina started to get fired up.
Unexpectedly, there was a reason Auric chose this form. What he envisioned from this root was actually a spring.
He released all those folds, causing the root to spring forward and stab the snake like a spear, shattering its body.
"!!!" Arina was startled as the root continued forward. If she didn't do anything, the root would definitely hit her.
So, she snapped her fingers one more time as a root shot up from the ground like a spike, breaking Auric's root from below.
"Amazing! Let's increase the difficulty, shall we?" Arina smiled. This time, she actually summoned six roots like Auric. This way, Auric would fight her on equal ground.
"Huu…" Auric summoned six more roots and folded them at the same time.
Arina turned hers into snakes, springing toward Auric's roots much faster than before.
Feeling the pressure, Auric launched all the roots at the same time. To his surprise, the snakes suddenly twisted their bodies, avoiding the roots. Then they wrapped around the roots and shattered them.
"Checkmate." Arina winked playfully. "Since this is your first week, I guess one battle technique is the limit…"
Auric hadn't given up yet. He used the battle technique he got from Arina.
Plant Outburst.
Six spikes impaled the snakes and destroyed their bodies. These spikes originated from the same battle technique as Arina's.
"!!!" Arina dropped her jaw. "That's my battle technique. Don't tell me… you learned it just from reading it once?"
Auric had learned two things from these exchanges. First, he understood how to utilize the plant element better. Second, he figured out that he needed more techniques to fight properly.
At least three or four battle techniques would be good. By combining them and using them with a different timing, he could create a complex attack pattern.
Continuing like this would improve his control over the plants, but he could also do the same thing by himself.
Hence, he wanted to test one more thing. Since both of them knew it and no one was around to watch, this was a perfect time to test the effectiveness of the talent he possessed.
Auric smiled while clutching his hand. "Can I go all out?"