"Can I go all out?"
"What?" Arina was confused.
Ellia squinted her eyes. "You want to test your other elements out?"
"Yes. Since both of you already know about them, this is a perfect time for me to test them," confirmed Auric.
As Auric said, nothing would change as they already knew the elements he possessed.
Being able to test them before the actual fight would allow him to gain more mastery over them.
Since Ellia also planned to bring him to this 'secret place,' she definitely wanted to see their effectiveness.
So, Ellia gave her approval. "I think that's a good idea. Arina?"
"I don't mind. But even with all your elements, I don't think you can beat me." Arina smiled.
"We'll see about that." Auric suddenly released his lightning. Over the last few days, Auric had been increasing his energy in three elements. They were the wind, earth, and dark elements.
The wind element was necessary for the battle since it had the elemental advantage over the lightning element.
The earth element was the only element he possessed that had two varieties, so he had more energy in this particular element compared to the rest.
The dark element was the strongest element he possessed, and he simply needed to train under the moonlight to have the biggest benefit. He would be a fool not to focus on it first.
Still, Auric's lightning was actually white.
Arina gasped. "White lightning? Isn't that…"
Ellia gripped her arms tighter. This confirmed her suspicions. Auric really copied other people's elements. In other words, he must have possessed her element for quite some time.
Auric couldn't utilize this power to the fullest yet, especially since he lacked battle techniques for this element.
Even so, there was one trick he could try.
He gathered the lightning element in his palm and released it.
It became an imitation of the Dark Arrow, but this was not a battle technique. It was simply shooting one's element forward.
The power was lacking compared to the dark arrow, but the white lightning was an extreme variant and the lightning element itself was known for its speed and penetrative power.
Arina was slightly surprised because this was the first time she had fought someone with multiple elements.
She hurriedly summoned multiple spikes to form a wall.
Bang!
The white lightning struck the wall hard. Unfortunately, it only cracked the root on the surface. It was far from enough to penetrate it.
This attack let Auric determine whether Arina's element could withstand the white lightning or not.
Since he would be fighting the real deal, he expected Simon's lightning to be even more powerful than this.
If he were not careful, Simon might end up piercing his wall.
Then Auric changed his approach. Auric used the Plant General again, sending the six roots forward.
Arina could easily shatter them, but Auric actually lit up the roots this time. He was combining the two elements through the first method, stacking.
"Oi. That's not fair!" Arina bit her lip and slapped Auric's roots as hard and swiftly as possible so that they would shatter right away without catching fire. Even if it caught fire, she would only need to sacrifice one or two roots.
But Arina was a bit too distracted by the blazing flames in front of her that she didn't realize Auric had disappeared from his original position.
Arina felt chills down her spine and abruptly turned around, finding Auric already discharging his lightning.
"You teleported? No, that's Ellia's Void Step!" Arina gasped while summoning a few spikes to block this attack.
Auric glanced at Ellia. As expected, Ellia already knew about it, as she showed no change of expression.
"I should be the one asking you a question. How did you even figure out my position? I was supposed to use the flames to distract you."
"This is an advanced technique from the observation technique. By spreading your magical energy, you are able to sense everything around you. Just think of it as detecting disruptions in your magical energy. Of course, high-level opponents can also blend their energy, so keep that in mind."
"Understood." Auric formed a water ball this time. This water element was called Heavy Water. As the name implied, it was heavier than normal water.
With that much weight, he couldn't shoot it forward. But it didn't mean he couldn't launch it toward her.
Auric used his wind element to generate enough force to launch this heavy water.
"Ah?!" Arina saw the cracks forming and hurriedly jumped back as the water broke her spikes.
Since she had been defending the whole time, Arina chose to release an attack. Multiple spikes sprang from underground.
Earth Wall.
Auric applied his steel element into this technique, turning the Earth Wall into the Steel Wall. This technique was much tougher than a normal stone wall.
The tips of the spikes broke apart against the steel wall's toughness.
"You forget that the plant element has an elemental advantage over the earth element!" Arina shouted. The energy from the plant actually flowed into the wall, which broke down the energy within it.
Now that the wall had become brittle, Arina controlled the spike to circle around the wall and smash it.
The root then continued toward Auric.
Auric used the same technique, Earth Wall. Instead of the steel element, he used the diamond element this time.
This wall didn't form like the previous one. Instead, it formed out of thin air and expanded like a barrier.
This translucent wall stopped the root's advance. It might provide the same result, but Auric got what he wanted.
The Steel Wall was robust but not flexible. On the other hand, the Diamond Wall could act as a barrier. It was weaker, but he could summon it anywhere.
With two different elements, the same technique could actually produce different results.
Still, once again, Arina broke the barrier and continued advancing toward Auric.
Ellia flicked her blade, ready to make a move. However, it looked like she didn't need to make one yet.
Auric raised his forefinger and middle finger before waving down his hand as if he were making a cutting motion.
Crescent Void.
This was a technique Ellia had learned as well, but she wasn't the one who created it. Normally, she used it with her blade, but that didn't mean that was the only way to use it.
Auric released it from his fingers rather than a blade.
Arina could avoid this strike, but this attack would shatter the lower part of the spike, stopping it as well.
So, she chose to confront the Crescent Void head-on, as she was familiar with this technique.
As expected, the clash between these two lasted for two seconds before the Crescent Void shattered the spike.
"This cheater…" Arina clicked her tongue. If they were really at the same level, she wouldn't stand a chance against Auric even with all her experience.
Auric didn't stop there. He gathered the white lightning again and shot it.
Arina simply created a wall to block it. Just like the previous two times, the lightning cracked the wall, but it failed to pierce it.
Auric, however, followed up immediately. He gathered the dark element this time.
Dark Arrow.
Unlike the lightning shot earlier, this arrow was a full-blown battle technique. Its power far surpassed the lightning.
When it hit the wall, the dark element erupted and crushed the wall almost instantly.
"!!!" Arina didn't expect Auric's attack to finally reach her. She put her hand forward and channeled her magical energy into it, catching the Dark Arrow with her bare hand.
The Dark Arrow failed to do any further damage, as her energy was much higher than his.
"This is interesting." Arina smirked. "Get ready!"
When she was about to release her element, Ellia abruptly appeared between them and declared out loud, "That's enough!"
"Miss?" Arina's eyebrows twitched in confusion.
"Don't forget that he is a new student. You expect him to have your mastery?" Ellia shook her head helplessly. "You should have reached the same conclusion. If he really used all these elements, he wouldn't have any problem defeating Simon."
"That's true… Fine!" She was slightly disappointed because the fight stopped so suddenly, but she couldn't do anything when it was Ellia who stopped it.
Ellia turned to Auric. "Although I praise your ability, you're not going to reveal everything, right?"
Auric nodded. "Of course. Well, I have prepared some bullshit if anyone asks for an explanation."
"What kind of bullshit are you talking about?"
"The unique element is the most mysterious element, as no one has yet figured out its limit. So, if I say the unique element allows me to possess two elements, they will at least believe it for some time."
Ellia looked down, falling into deep thought.
As Auric said, no one knew the limit of a unique element yet. So, using this element as a shield would be pretty effective.
"I see. So, you're going to use your wind element as a secondary?"
"Yep."
"That should work. Whenever you are in trouble, you just have to reveal one element at a time. This is important. If you reveal everything at once, people will figure you out pretty quickly. But by revealing them one by one…"
"I can at least win several important battles before people figure out my power." Auric nodded in agreement.
They really thought the same way.
"Well, make good use of my element."
"Your element?" Arina couldn't contain her curiosity anymore. "What are you talking about?"
"You are pretty slow at this kind of thing, aren't you?" Ellia pointed at Auric. "He is able to copy other people's elements. The plant element must be your element."
"Eh?" Arina blinked her eyes a few times and turned to Auric to confirm whether it was true or not.
Auric shrugged while looking away.
"In any case, the sparring match ends here. Or do you want to fight more?" Ellia asked. If Auric wanted, she didn't mind accompanying him for another round.
But Auric shook his head. "This is enough. I have figured out the direction and I plan to hone it for the battle."
Auric accepted this battle because if he defeated Simon, he would show enough talent and stop anyone from challenging him for quite some time. Several people would probably come to him later, but people who dared to challenge him would probably be Eric or the second-years or above.
Ellia raised two fingers. "In that case, we will meet again two months later, and please continue honing all your elements just like this."
Auric agreed to Ellia's condition because he thought having some experience fighting beasts would help him a lot.
Even though he had the identity of an evolution master, he wasn't entirely safe. There were maniacs or even assassins who were willing to kill him for a price. His future enemies would gladly employ dirty tricks to get what they wanted.
So, having some combat power for himself would be good for his safety.
In addition, they were supposed to go outside sooner or later, so he might as well gain some experience beforehand.
After all, this might be a college, but people often treated it as similar to compulsory military training.
They were taught how to fight so that they would be deployed. Even people who didn't wish to leave had to fight as well so that if the city ended up getting breached, they could at least fight to protect themselves.
"Anyway, good luck with your fight." Ellia glanced at Arina. "Bring him back. Don't let anyone bully him."
Arina rolled her eyes. Bullying him? There was no way they would do that, especially with the fact that most mansions nearby were occupied by female students.
She was probably worried that they would hit on Auric. "Fine. Let's go, Auric."
Auric nodded. "Thank you for the help today. It really helped a lot."