Chapter 28 - Counterspells - [C80]

“That’s…” Himo widened his eyes as the sight of Azusa’s escape played out. “A chantless spell?”

The teachers reacted the same, but the headmaster didn’t flinch.

Met-3, on the other hand, reacted with a few words. “’Space Shift’ spell detected. Proceeding spell solving…” A jet of white gas left its shoulders like an air leak of a pipe. It dissolved as Met-3 raised a hand. “Space Lock.”

A purple flashed from its hand and stretched to cover the whole island. Moments later, it vanished as if it had never existed.

A teacher, seeing that, spoke to the students. “Most of the spells have a counterspell: something capable of nullifying their effects. For example, the fireball spell can be stopped easily by the spell ‘blob’. In this case, since space is locked, the spell ‘space shift’ won’t work anymore. You should always keep in mind counters, as they’re fundamental in high-level fights."

Himo looked at the teacher. Wait, that useless water ball has an actual use?

[Of course. Why would they show a book about it if it didn’t?]

Wasn’t it to teach the students to distinguish between useless and useful spells?

[The inner workings of the user’s brain are something even the system cannot understand.]

Not funny.

[It wasn’t meant to be.]

You…

While Himo and the system continued their discussion, the fight between Azusa and Met-3 sped up.

She shot spells as she circled on the edges of the island, but its armor brushed them off like nothing. Met-3 countered every spell of hers, decreasing her arsenal as time passed. In but a few seconds, Met-3 charged through her last flames and threw a punch.

She replied with a chant. “Ice Shield.”

A wall of ice formed between the two. The punch of Met-3 shattered it, but she wasn’t there anymore—she had flown away in the meantime.

“’Ice Shield’ spell detected. Proceeding spell solving…” Its wrists opened a small opening. From it, a white gas flew out—one that heated its hands to steel-melting degrees. Then, it stared at Azusa. “Spell solved. Proceeding extermination.” Its cold, mechanical tone gave a shiver to the students as its image blurred and reappeared behind its target—it sent another punch.

Left with no safe option, Azusa curled up into a ball and yelled, “Air bomb!”

A tiny sphere of compressed air appeared beside her. It exploded. The shockwave threw her away and stopped Met-3. Her speed rocketed her to the opposite border of the island. She wasn’t unscathed, however, for the wind made several cuts and bruises on her skin.

This time, Met-3 reacted differently. “Spell solving… failed. Changing attack pattern. Activating the crystal cannon.” Its hand retracted in the arm and a long cannon took its place. It glowed. The air around it trembled as the cannon vibrated. It aimed at Azusa.

Yet, several chains darted out of the ground—out of the island. They bound Met-3 effortlessly, killing any strength within its cannon. The test was over.

“Aura Azusa has resisted for thirty seconds,”—the headmaster appeared on the island beside her—”so, she will pass to the S class! Congratulations!”

She showed a smile, though filled with fatigue. Heavy, slow breaths were all she said, for she lacked the strength to even speak. Albeit short, the fight took a toll she didn’t expect.

The headmaster brought her to the stands so she could rest. He then walked to Himo. “You have a minute to ready yourself.”

“A minute?” Himo tilted his head, but a glance at his opponent solved his doubt. Met-3, quiet as it stood, retracted its armaments, dispelled its magic, and returned to its idle state. As if no battle had been fought.

Meanwhile, every student stared at the ‘monster’. If they were next, they’d lose—they’d die—in a hit. They understood the reason behind the previous tests and made no question of them. With wonder, they glanced at Himo, thinking of how he would feel. He was smiling. Not out of worry, but out of excitement. They were speechless.

A minute soon passed, followed by the grin of the headmaster—he took notice of Himo’s enthusiasm. “Very well! The fight between Shu Himo and Met-3 can start—jump to the island whenever you’re ready!”

Himo jumped before the headmaster ended his words. He landed on the island, just a few meters from the mecha. Met-3’s transparent chains faded once again as Himo leaned toward it. “Wow! The view from here is quite impressive!”

Dozens of thick plates acted as its armor. A faint light—visible only if squinting—left from beneath the plates close to its heart, assuming it had one. It leaned slightly forward, and its hulking shape shadowed the child.

It was like being under a giant of metal.

Likewise, Met-3 stared at Himo. “Target threat level: extremely high. Reason: detected abnormal growth potential. Race: beast race, type wolf. Elimination priority: primary.”

“Abnormal growth?” Himo frowned. It can actually measure my talent? Ah! Did it measure it through my aur—

[Met-3 managed to measure the quality of the user’s cultivation technique.]

What? That’s a problem… System, do you have a solution?

[Naturally. For the modest price of 100 BS points, the user may purchase the “Awesome Masking Technique(100% Risk-Free!)” guide. It contains basic knowledge on how to hide the quality of one’s cultivation—hiding it from someone on the level of Met-3 will become child’s play.]

Shady. So shady! Why are all your guides so shady? What ‘ risk-free’! And I don’t even have those points!

[The user is too picky.]

No, I’m not!