Chapter 336: Incorporating New Techniques

Julius was very glad he had fought Irene. He had learned a lot and could implement so many of her techniques into his own style. It helped that she had a fire affinity as well, which translated well to his own skill set.

He had never attempted to infuse his own mana into another person’s construct like she had done. It was a brilliant technique, one that suited his talents very well. He had excellent mana control. Better than almost anyone he knew in Tier 3. However, in the past, he had been trying to use his willpower to influence an opponent’s mana directly.

That was a silly oversight. Why would he do that when he could use the mana he had, which was already infused with his willpower? Mana had the tendency to stick to other mana, making it even easier.

All he needed to do was send a thread of his own mana toward his opponent’s creations and integrate it just a little bit. It wouldn’t take that much, and he didn’t need to take it over, but if he could destabilize, that would be enough.

It was also a reason why Irene’s beam of fire was a good attack. It wasn’t something that was easily destabilized. The beam of fire wasn’t like a construct. It didn’t really have a physical form. It was just pure thermal energy compressed into a deadly beam of light.

Not to mention that it was ridiculously fast. The beam of light had barely left him any time to react. He might steal that particular attack from her. Actually, he might steal a lot of things from her. It was just too bad that her defenses weren’t that robust.

The barrier she used to block his attacks was quite strong, but once he got through that, it was over. She had a movement skill, but it was just a fire version of [Flash Step]. She wasn’t a warrior either, which meant she wasn’t able to utilize the skill as well as he might have. She wasn’t fast enough to avoid him when he anticipated her movements.

It wasn’t as fun or exciting as the last fight, but he had technically gotten way more out of it. He already had so many ideas blooming in his head. If he could learn how to disrupt an opponent’s constructs without having to rely on his ruinous aura, that would be really good.

His aura was nice, but it required him to already have the advantage before it could prevent them from activating their skills. However, if they were ready, his aura, no matter how strong, had to work for it.

This would simply let him get closer to that point. He believed that if he had this when he fought Liam, he would have had an easier time dealing with the ice constructs. He had always been a bit envious of other mages’ skills that disrupted mana.

Although he could already tell that it was going to take some getting used to. Irene’s skill was clearly pretty difficult to recreate, but he would still try to emulate it. He wasn’t expecting it to be easy.

While the idea was quite simple in concept, the actual success relied on some hard work. A really good sense of mana was absolutely required. Otherwise, it was doomed from the start. How else was he supposed to spot the opening in the construct he could exploit?

Thankfully, he had that down. His mana senses were definitely better than most. It was hard to compare with other people, but he got the idea that his senses were usually not of the norm. He suspected that [Spatial Perception] had helped him immensely on this front.

Then came the demanding mana control. Just because he found the right doorway didn’t mean he knew how to open the door. Since he didn’t have a key, he would need to lockpick it until he gained entry. Something that required a level of finesse and skill. What he had done with Irene a few moments ago was something similar to using a battering ram to smash down her door.

Not a very elegant solution if he was being honest. He had just beaten her down with brute force. While it had worked, he didn’t feel the need to continue this method. His mana control was one of his best qualities, and it would be a shame if he couldn’t figure out a more discreet and efficient way.

It was also why he had even been somewhat successful on his first try. Just because he used brute force, it didn’t mean there wasn’t a level of skill involved. It still required him to carefully control his mana. Just not as carefully as Irene had done when she infiltrated his constructs.

His improved aura control had also helped in this process. It gave him the extra power he needed to break through.

Aubrey might be a perfect training partner if he needed one. Her clones were a mana construct or at least something pretty close to it. He didn’t see a reason why he couldn’t use this idea to deal with her clones.

However, it would probably have to wait until the end of the tournament. He was officially in the top four. Not only him, either. Aubrey and, likely, Derek were going to be joining him. Unfortunately, Edgar wasn’t a part of that as well. It would have been nice if all four of them had taken the spots.

The achievement didn’t feel as impressive as he probably should have thought it was, but it was hard to get excited when he was beating students whom he believed never had a chance. He was much more excited that he had learned so much. There was such a wide variety of skills and abilities that he was exposed to some amazing things.

He wasn’t a sit-at-a-desk type of learner, either. He loved to experience something with his bare hands, which helped him retain the information better.

With a happy smile on his face, he went over to his opponent. Irene was still catching her breath and he patiently waited until she got it back. However, it didn’t seem like she was in the mood for chatting with him and the moment she could get up, she walked in the opposite direction.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

He couldn’t blame her though. Not everyone could be a good sport about losing. Especially when it was against someone younger than her.

He had learned that almost every noble student had a bit of their own pride. It didn’t matter what family they came from; they all had their own tendencies and ego. Of course, some were worse than others, but it was a common theme.

Not seeing a reason to stick around any longer, he left towards his own tunnel. The cheers of the crowd no longer disturbed him and with a soft nod of appreciation for their zeal, he went to meet with the others.

***

Derek won his match quite easily, to nobody’s surprise. However, he suspected that many people were half expecting another wildcard to appear and take him down.

After the match, they had a little celebration for all of them. Cake was included.

He had promised to hang out with his other friends as well. Speaking of them, he was glad to see that Polux had made it to the top four as well. Unfortunately, Joshua hadn’t won his previous match, but he still made a good showing of himself. He had been one of the few first years even in the top sixteen for the Tier 2 tournament. The only other people, being Polux and Helen Cromweld, who, in all honesty, were likely to win the entire thing.

He had seen her recent fight against a strong second-year. She did not have any trouble winning, and it was obvious, at least to his eyes, that she was holding back some of her strength.

“Do you think I have a chance against her?” Polux suddenly asked him as they hung out in a training room.