Chapter 200 – Arriving Late.

Two bronze figures rose from glowing circles at Gwen’s feet, their forms clanking to life as mana sizzled around them. Each stood a head taller than her, and thick plates gleamed faintly under the arena lights. A third circle appeared behind them, and an armor made of iron with a similar build emerged. It held a large shield and a pike, while the other two carried bows. Instantly, the audience reacted.

“Two bronze types and one iron? She’s using low-rank constructs?”

“No way those can handle an E-plus summon.”

Gwen ignored the comments and steadied her breathing. The bronze armors raised their bows while the iron one moved forward to confront the large serpent. It was a simple tactic, using the two weaker armors as distractions and ranged support for the iron construct.

The viper hissed, its eyes narrowing before it lunged at the iron armor. The serpent’s body slammed against the construct, and the impact echoed through the arena like a thunderclap. The iron armor braced with its shield, skidding back several steps while digging its heels into the stone floor. Sparks flew as the serpent’s fangs scraped against the metal plates, and cracks appeared in the shield almost immediately.

The bronze archers fired, twin volleys of glowing arrows striking the serpent’s scales. They hit their target but barely left a mark. The projectiles clattered off harmlessly, turning into mana particles once they hit the ground.

“Pathetic!”

Eldric shouted from across the arena.

“Your toys won’t even scratch it!”

Gwen stayed silent, focusing on her constructs. They were not the strongest, but they required little mana to maintain. Even when the snake punctured the shield, she could restore it with a small infusion of energy. The real challenge was dealing damage to the serpent, whose scales seemed impervious to the bronze arrows.

‘Maybe if I hit the eye, but it’s moving too fast…’

The iron armor lunged again, thrusting its pike toward the viper’s side. The serpent twisted mid-motion, wrapping its massive body not around the weapon but around the entire construct instead. Its coils tightened, bending the metal frame until it began to collapse.

‘A chance!’

Gwen seized the moment. With the serpent now stationary, she commanded the two bronze archers to target its eyes. One arrow missed and bounced harmlessly off the scales, but the other struck true, piercing the serpent’s eye. The audience gasped as the viper let out a violent hiss. Its tail whipped around wildly, and it released the iron armor, which now hung in pieces, its frame bent and mangled.

Even though summoned creatures were made of mana, they still behaved like living monsters. Animal types such as this serpent could still feel pain, while Gwen’s armored summons could not. When the opportunity came, she poured her mana into the Iron Armor, restoring its form. The metal plates began to shift and bend back into place.

The audience gasped as the viper opened its mouth and released a spray that looked like venom. The substance struck one of the bronze archers, and the construct began to melt. When the liquid dripped down to its knee, the archer lost balance and collapsed to the ground.

Gwen gritted her teeth, but everything was unfolding as planned. Eldric was focused on destroying her ranged fighter, leaving her Iron Soldier free to act. Fully restored, it gripped its spear with both hands. The weapon glowed red as it unleashed a powerful thrust that drove straight into the serpent’s remaining eye.

A piercing hiss filled the chamber. The serpent’s body convulsed and slammed against the floor and the barrier walls as it writhed in agony. It was truly suffering, and the Iron Armor pressed its attack. For a brief moment, victory seemed certain. The spear was pulled out and driven in again, as if to finish the creature. It twitched once more and then went completely still.

“It’s over…”

Gwen whispered to herself.

“Not quite.”

Eldric’s voice cut through the silence. His expression was calm and confident, and his eyes glowed faintly. With a single motion, the massive serpent dissolved into drifting particles of mana.

“You thought I only had one serpent?”

Eldric raised his hand again, his voice echoing through the chamber.

“Serpent, return and rise anew!”

The air around him rippled as a pulse of mana surged from his core. A summoning circle flashed at his feet, larger than before, and the remnants of the first snake’s mana flowed back into it. From that circle emerged not one but two identical vipers, exact copies of the first.

“Not bad, he can summon two of those at once.”

“Smart, he managed to take back some of his mana from the defeated creature.”

“Wait, I don’t think he’s done yet!”

To everyone’s surprise, the two E-plus monsters were not the young man’s limit. He summoned several smaller ones, six additional ones.

“Those look like horned copperheads, the same rank as those bronze armors. But wait, some of them have two horns. That means they’re regular E ranks!”

Many of the students were astonished by the number of snake monsters Eldric could summon. The fight that had begun with three against one was starting to turn. Gwen reacted quickly, summoning more of her own creatures, but her limit was only two Iron Armors and three Bronze at once. She was already struggling against one of the larger vipers, and with her mana nearly drained, she knew she would not be able to restore any of her summons once they fell.

Gwen’s stomach tightened as she realized she was at a disadvantage. She had made progress in her training, but this young man was still far stronger. Her most powerful summon was only an E-rank Iron Living Armor, and her earlier strategy of striking at weak points would no longer work. She soon found herself cornered at the edge of the arena, her armors barely holding off the relentless assault.

“Let’s see how long you can keep those puppets standing!”

Eldric’s hands moved as he poured mana into his serpents. They struck the armors, coiling tightly and sinking their fangs into the metal. Even the magical suits began to buckle under the pressure, their surfaces corroding from the acid-laced venom.

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“Was she really first in that exam? It must have been a fluke, right?”

“This is boring. Just finish it already.”

The people watching from afar had already made up their minds. To them, Gwen had lost, and continuing to watch was a waste of time. Their teacher studied the battle and wondered if he should declare the victor already. Only one person still had a grin on her face: Astrella Fjord.

“Why are thou smiling? Thy friend is going to lose.”

“Haha, you’ll see, she isn’t done yet!”

Astrella replied with a smug look, and her fairy mimicked her mannerisms once again. At this point, everyone in B-class was convinced that the two of them were fools who did not know their place. Gwendolin had no summons left, and her opponent was merely toying with her. There seemed to be no chance of victory, or so they thought.

‘Should I just give up…’

Gwen thought as she looked at the slithering snakes on the ground. Mana particles drifted through the air as her last armor crumbled. She managed to recover a bit of energy, enough to summon one final armor for defense, but she no longer saw the point.

‘I should just…?’

Then something flashed before her eyes, the image of the summon that had made all of this possible. She could feel it again, the same sensation she had experienced twice before. Without thinking, she reached out to summon once more, and something began to appear.

“She’s so stubborn. Just give up already!”

“Ha, what is that thing even going to do against all those serpents?”

“Wait… something’s off about that armor. It looks different…”