"Two more spells, and I probably would have run out of mana," Zane thought.
Plump!
Evelyn's armor suddenly dissipated, and she fell to the ground, her white expression becoming the same shade as snow. She did not seize, but her expression conveyed pain or discomfort. One of her friends rushed into the arena and fed her a blue potion, refilling her mana by more than half.
"Thanks," Evelyn said before slowly standing. She politely nodded to Zane before walking out. Zane returned the polite acknowledgment before heading to the corner pillars to meditate. However, as soon as he descended the stairs, Instructor Seiya summoned him. Interestingly enough, they had just finished speaking with Sergeant Rhode.
"I have a few questions for you."
"Go ahead, instructor."
"What would you have done if your initial plan didn't work?"
"Use Plan B," Zane calmly replied.
"Which is?"
"Push her out of the arena."
"There are no rules that a participant will be eliminated if they are out of the arena." They purposely did not mention this rule to see if anyone would try a similar approach.
"That wasn't my intention," Zane shook his head. "That armor must be heavy, and the arena is at least 7 feet above the ground. Under such a fall, the weight would cause enough damage for her to be eliminated."
"Do you think you would have enough mana to pull off that plan?"
"Probably not, which is why it was Plan B, a desperate plan for when Plan A — the plan with the highest chance of success —has failed."
"You only have enough mana for two or three spells. When and how would you have executed Plan B?"
"After one or more Magic Bullet Spells, I plan to leave enough mana for channeling. Afterward, I would initiate a conversation to buy time while my mana recovered naturally. Then, I would have lured her out close to the edge and pushed her off."
"And how would you have done that?" Instructor Seiya continued.
"I don't know. When I saw her hesitate, I moved forward, forcing her to retreat closer to the edge. But, honestly, I didn't think that far ahead. At that point in the fight, I wasn't running more on instinct than strategy."
"I understand. You can leave."
Zane frowned before nodding. This conversation felt important, and simultaneously, it felt like a minor issue of a teacher trying to assess their student's ability. The inability to determine which was the truth was slightly irritating; luckily, he had a hint. The instructors had called Sergeant Rhode before him, and if they do the same for others, he'll have his answer.
Zane didn't have to wait for long, as Evelyn was summoned immediately after him. After glancing at her, Zane chose to continue with his affairs; now was not the time to be distracted. The Semi-Finals were next, and he needed to recuperate his mana and stay in the best shape possible.
"Just like his profile said: cunning, strategically minded, and quick thinking," Ms. Luna commented.
"We still need to test his leadership skills, but for now, he has lived up to his potential," Instructor Seiya nodded. Evelyn soon arrived, and they also asked her questions about the fight.
Less than ten minutes later, Zane opened his eyes. He looked around him and saw the sergeant and Keesha were still recuperating. With this one glance, he knew who the remaining competitors were. While there was still time, he first asked Tom how many people had been called, and he told him that all six students, including James, had received a summons. Zane nodded before retrieving the video of all the matches that he had Tom record to gather more information.
"Something is wrong with Keesha's spell casting," Zane thought as he watched a beautiful, light-skinned black woman with short, straight hair, a cropped black tank top that revealed her stomach, black tights, and a tattoo of an angel wing that began at her clavicle and covered her left arm.
"The way she engraved her spell is not smooth and full of pauses, which is a sign she didn't find the optimal path. But why is she so fast?" Zane slowed down the video to calculate her speed, and the result was 3.11 seconds. "Is this purely from reflexes and hand speed? How terrifying would she be if she optimized her spell?"
Zane was secretly jealous. Before mastering the magic skill of [Instant Cast], high reflexes and dexterity are a superpower for mages. And even after mastering it, such abilities will still be useful. "I wonder whether it's a natural talent or the result of a title? Maybe both."
Zane focused his mind, trying to figure out how he would deal with her if they ever met. However, just as he was in the midst of his strategizing, the instructors called the three students who had lost this round and had them fight it out for 4th to 6th place; this was good news for Zane, since he now had more time to prepare.
Evelyn took 4th place; James was last, and a Spanish student took the 5th spot. At first, Zane thought the instructor would continue with these matches to choose the top 10 before the final. However, he was immediately summoned, along with Sergeant Rhode and Keesha. Holding a bowl in his hand, Instructor Seiya calmly stated, "Each of you take one. The person with a blank number will directly move on to the final."
"Isn't that unfair?" Keesha asked.
"It is, but in this world, luck is a real thing," Instructor Seiya continued. "Many studies have proven that people with great luck have a higher chance of succeeding in life."
"Are you saying luck is something a mage can detect?" Zane asked.
"Yes."
"Manipulated?" he continued.
"Yes. Although primarily used by Shamans, there is a school of thought in Divination that studies Luck Magic, and there is even a Luck Potion, but only a few Grand Alchemists can brew it," Instructor Seiya said.
Zane suddenly touched the amulet he always wore. Ever since his mother handed it to him, his life had fundamentally changed. It was as if all his bad work had turned around: he was first chosen by the tower, which subsequently led to numerous events that have improved his life and, more importantly, given him hope for a better future.
"Enough with the questions. Now, choose."
Everybody took a piece of paper and slowly opened it. If there was any doubt before, it has now been removed. Zane was a blessed man. A smile crept on his face, "I should ask Ma or the others for a few more amulets."
Instructor Seiya suddenly frowned. Glancing deeply at Zane, he suddenly said, "I feel as if I should warn you. The fundamental rule of [Luck] is balanced. If you have great luck today, tomorrow, you'll have bad luck tomorrow, until things return to their balanced state. You've suffered tremendously over the past five years, and that amulet has tilted the odds in your favor.
"As such, many things will go your way for a period, but if you think you are suddenly going to win the lottery, or that if you put a gun to your head, the gun will jam, then you are mistaken. The way luck manifests is subtle, slow, and, more importantly, it's not absolute — on the contrary, it's far from it. Most people with great luck have died at a young age because they are too sure of themselves."
"I understand," Zane nodded. Although he didn't think he was the kind of person who would let his luck get to his head, he still appreciated the warning.
"Alright, you two can start your fight."
Sergeant Rhode and Keesha glanced at each other; the former stood straight with his arms crossed, his more-than-six-foot-tall, muscular frame creating an intimidating presence. Meanwhile, Keesha — who was about 5'4, maybe 5'5 — was no less imposing. Her eyes radiated a dangerous vigor that made the mind sluggish. Without saying much to each other, they headed toward the arena, which had finally been fully opened, with no separating barrier.
The two stood about 10 meters apart, the standard spell-casting distance for most apprentices after 2 weeks of training. A holographic countdown materialized between them, and as soon as it reached zero, they acted. To be precise, the sergeant moved backward while Keesha remained in place; there was no attempt to quickly cast a spell or any defensive or offensive maneuver — she just glanced at her opponent, waiting for something.
Sergeant Rhode frowned briefly before proceeding with his plan. With swift motion, he cast the 0-ring Wind Blade Spell. The visible, moon-shaped, pressurized wind flew from his hands at great speed, promising to bisect anyone or anything in its path. Keesha remained cavalier about the attack, prompting many to believe she had given up and was about to be eliminated.
However, no one dared to continue to entertain such a thought after she casually squatted, and the attack passed over her head. Sergeant Rhode frowned and fired a second attack, and this time, the blade flew vertically. His actions soon proved to be the wrong choice, as Keesha only needed to stand and slightly shift to the side to evade. The sergeant corrected himself, trying different angles, but that only meant Keesha needed a bit more effort to evade. It didn't take him long to realize he was wasting mana and stopped to re-evaluate the situation.
"What great skills and reflexes, but why isn't she attacking?" Tom Nguyen asked.
"It's outside her range," Zane replied.
"Hmm? What do you mean?"
"Sergeant Rhode positioned himself 20 meters away from her, which is outside of Keesha's 17-meter range."
"His range is already 20 meters? Mine just reached 15," Tom Nguyen commented.
Zane did not reply. His range was the same as Keesha's, and he only recently achieved it while in school. "He's about to change tactics, so let's see what he does."