The Old Scholar

It was now around 3 in the afternoon and it was now time for the third years for their first part of the tournament. While the second and first years had finished their preliminary rounds that eliminated half of the twelve sections in each year level, it was now time for the third years to do the same. And suffice it to say that Victoria's class of 3-A, it was not looking so good as their opponents in class 3-B were apparently on the verge of victory. 

When the round started, almost half of her classmates were eliminated by a massive wave of fireballs, lightning streams, water spears, air spears and every type of projectile magic that her opponents could throw at them, creating a massive explosion that sent a good chunk of her class into the eliminated category and standing outside the stage and helpless as they could only watch those who remained to fight. Each class started with about forty-two students but after the giant magic attack, it was now twelve to forty-two, but it only got worse from there. 

The fresh students of class 3-B had sent forward a division of their classmates forward, each of them being the best in their class in regards to close-quarters combat, clashing swords, daggers, axes, and other weapons and even their own fists against the disorganized rabble of 3-A. Victoria found herself parrying and blocking attacks from two opponents who had come down on her like lightning, with her barely able to keep up against their unrelenting attacks. With each clang of the blades making her grit her teeth as she could feel sweat drip down her face and limbs and even her back. Another ten of her comrades were eliminated in the attack before the students of 3-B regrouped and stood on their end of the stage. 

"Hah..haah...I don't think we can win this Vic, they have us soundly beat" Hissanti, Victoria's close lamia friend and classmate voiced as she was weakly holding up her twin scimitars 

"We can still do this Hiss...as long as we are standing here, we can win" Victoria replied to her friend as she walked closer to her, not removing her gaze from the unmoving class in front of them 

"Yeah? How do you fancy that huh? It's forty-two of them versus the two of us, and I don't think I can keep up with them anymore" Hissanti added as she glanced at her friend 

"I have a plan, but the spell I need to use will require some time to activate, I will need someone to cover me" Victoria said as she flashed her friend a smirk 

"Oh...oh for fucks sake....you better buy me a bunch of those mango floats they have in the dessert stall if we win this you crazy blondy" Hissanti replied as she forced her mana pool into overdrive and began pumping an absurd amount of body strengthening magic into her body

"Of course, I will buy you regardless" Victoria replied as she got behind her lamia 

"Bring it on!!!" Victoria roared in defiance as she placed her hand on the ground and began to chant 

Hissanti also let out a furious roar as she summoned forth several clones of herself that flanked the original from either side, each of them wielding twin scimitars, their purple scales shimmering brightly in the sun. 

Meanwhile, on the side, the half-orc Combat Professor, Professor Anton was residing as referee over the match. His keen eye observed everything that had happened on the battlefield so far. He was the only combat professor on stage as per tradition, only the first and second years would have their professors in the rear to help support and guide their strategies, while the rest would not and instead delegate the professors to stand outside the stage with the students who were eliminated. He was impressed by the initial magical bombardment that had wrecked 3-A at the onset of the match and was very much curious as to the strategy of 3-B now that it was only two students left, with him wondering why they had not just dropped the hammer all the way and dropkicked them off the stage and secure the victory. He was so curious that he glanced at his colleague in charge of 3-B, a blue-furred werewolf named Professor Duris, and then used [Telepathy] to talk with him 

[Hey, why hasn't your class just secured the win?] Anton asked as he looked at him 

[Well, I had initially told them that if their magical barrage had not worked, they were to simply be patient and beat their opponents in a battle of attrition via raiding divisions to weaken them until they were finally ripe for the taking] Duris' deep voice came back as the werewolf looked at him 

[I get that, but there are only two of them left, with one of them using clones of herself to shield what the other is doing. Wouldn't this be the best time to strike with full force?] Anton asked with a raised eyebrow 

[That's my thinking too! I believe I may have forgotten to tell them to know when the battle is entirely in their favor, I think I may have made them too overly cautious] Duris replied with a hint of embarrassment and disappointment 

[Well, whatever the case, I highly doubt your class will lose this one, to be honest, I was surprised given that I had money betting on 3-A to win] The half-orc professor stated with a  grin 

[HAHAHAHA! Looks like that money is a waste] The werewolf professor replied with a smile of his own

[Yeah, you are probably right] 

Back on the stage, Hissanti's eyes kept shifting back and forth on her opponents, trying to see which one of them was going to rush forward or fire a spell aimed at her or Victoria who was currently hidden behind her, and chanting some words she did not recognize. 

{!} 

Suddenly, her eyes shifted to the right as she saw a group of four, each armed with swords and shields, rush to attack while another group of four on the right side, armed with axes and halberds did the same in conjunction with the left. 

"Shit!" Hissanti cursed as she moved with her clones to combat the threat, leaving a few behind to keep her best friend covered 

Sending six of her clones to the left, Hissati moved to the right with four other clones and engaged the swords and shield wielders. She darted forward and fired off a twin stab that pierced through the first opponent, breaking the buckler shield and turning her opponent into a puff of smoke and eliminated. She then ducked and blocked several swings from the opponent behind her, replying with a staggered pair of slashes that crashed upon the buckler before using her tail to sweep the young elf off his feet and then open him up to a slashing attack from one of her clones that also turned him into a puff of smoke and eliminated him. The remaining two sword and shield wielders hopped back as they disengaged, allowing Hissanti to see another group of four charging up the middle. 

She darted over there on her own while her clones on the right pulled back, dodging and weaving through the barrage of fireballs and lightning streams, unable to fire back her own spells lest she leaves herself open to attack.

{!}

When she got into range of the charging group, her eyes widened as they quickly shifted to face her, with all of them thrusting forward their spears, nearly hitting the lamia who barely dodged the four spear tips. Hissanti let out a menacing hiss as she quickly retaliated with a swing of her left scimitar, slashing off the heads of the spears and then using her right to eliminate all four of them as they were all shocked from the retaliation and breaking of their weapon. Hissani then moved back into position in the center of the formation of clones after seeing her six clones drive off the left-side attack, losing only one clone in the process. And although she was stoic in her gaze, she could feel her mana core straining itself to keep her body strengthening magic in its absurd production. 

"Vic, I only got so much time...you better hurry up" Hissanti voiced as she kept her gaze forward, hoping her words did not distract her friend from the chanting she was still doing 

Back on the side. Anton was surprised at the display of the lamia, He glanced at Duris who was left gawking at how skilled she was. Neither of them expected this much fight inside a single student and her clones. He then turned to his colleague assigned to 3-A, an arachnia professor named Professor Widow 

[Widow....what the hell...] Anton began as he glanced at his black arachnia colleague 

[You and me both Ton...I always knew that Hissanti was one of our best, but not like that] The sweet and soothing voice of Widow replied 

[Didn't you train her though?] Anton asked with a raised eyebrow 

[I did, but she is performing much more better than usual. I believe it is because she has shifted her mana pool into overdrive] Widow replied 

[Overdrive? I thought you needed to be at least our level of skill to keep yourself from hurting yourself when performing that] Anton stated with a shocked tone 

[True, but lamias are known for having amazing control with their mana pool regardless. So I am not that much surprised but still surprised nonetheless] Widow added with a small smirk 

[Do you think your students can pull off a win?] The half-orc asked 

[Honestly...I give them a 20/80, Victoria had told me beforehand that she has a spell that can win the match so I have yet to see it in action, and with Hissanti giving her cover to the point where the other side can't see what she is doing. I have faith in my students] The arachnia professor replied with a proud smile  

Despite their earlier setbacks, 3-B had begun amping up their attacks, sending out more coordinated waves of attack against Hissanti and her clones. But to their shock, the lone lamia would cut down more of their classmates than they could deal on her clones, with several classmates who tried to take out the original being sent into the eliminated zone. Commanding the class was their class president, one Charles Mills who was a smart young man with silver hair and a tall and built body with a face that could capture most girls in his batch. He was a royal and the heir to a small duchy in his home kingdom of Nak, and just like his looks, he had a very calm, cool and collected personality, just like his parents. 

"Charles my guy, I really do think we should push with all we got now, otherwise, that lamia is going to down us all" Mills' close friend, a dragonkin named Lint stated as he and the rest of the class kept an eye on the lamia who was still standing guard 

"Lint is right Charles, most of our front liners are gone, we still have a lot of support so you guys can charge forward while we cover you guys with heavy magic attacks" A mage girl by the name of Trish added as she looked at him, she was in command of the mages of the class 

"Hmmm....I see your points but I do think this is the best strategy so far. We are whittling down Victoria's only defender, and I have yet to see her make a move which scares me" Charles replied as he looked at the duo 

"Really? Dude, by the rate we are going, we are losing more of our guys to Hissanti than it is worth, the raiding parties are being smashed by her skills. We had a forty-two to two advantage and now its down to only twenty-eight. We have lost like a dozen or so guys to her already" Lint stated with slight irritation and concern 

"I see your concern but trust me, it will all pan out soon. We are winning here, if we attack now with all we got, we would probably be falling into their trap. If I have read our opponent correctly, Victoria is supplementing her own magic into her lone combatant via a spell she is using on a clone, if we just wait her out, the two of them will run out of mana in their mana pools and we can simply walk over to them and crush them piecemeal" Charles replied 

"So that's why you have us continuously launch magic attacks and raiding parties? To drain their mana quicker?" Trish asked with crossed arms 

"Indeed. Lamias have great potential in wielding their mana pools in order to get more with so little. I have a feeling that Hissanti is going to run out soon and when that happens, we all will rush them" The silver-haired tactician smiled at his brilliance 

"Uhuh...fine. I get it, but the next wave we send out, I will personally go and bring down that lamia" Lint stated with a determined gaze 

"Good. I am expecting a victorious dance after you beat her" Charles replied with a small smirk 

Just like they said, another wave was sent out, this time led by Lint who charged forward up the center with a bastard sword in his hands. Hissanti sent her clones to combat the attacks from both sides and let out a hiss as she personally dashed forward towards the dragonkin. Her eyes burned with rage. She ducked under the first sword thrust by Lint and replied with a tail whip that struck his left wing, forcing him onto the ground due to the pain. 

"You have taken enough of my classmates already Hissanti, I won't let you down any more of them" Lint growled as he readied himself 

"You will join them Lint, don't you worry" Hissanti replied before darting forward, firing off a double stab that Lint barely managed to block, with the grip on his sword almost breaking.

He then replied by trying to push her away before launching a flurry of slashes with his bastard sword, with each slash being perfectly parried by the lamia in front of him. His anger growing as his attacks were doing nothing, all the while Hissanti had an unreadable expression on her face as she and the dragonkin dueled and dodged the numerous fireballs and lightning streams being fired at Hissanti by the mages of 3-B. 

Lint fired off a thrust he quickly turned into a downward slash, hoping to catch the lamia off guard but was surprised as Hissanti caught it with her twin scimitars and then replied with her own twin slash that landed with precision despite him blocking, thanks to her absurd amount of body strengthening magic outputting more than even Lint's she was able to shatter his bastard sword and watch as his expression turned to that of surprise and horror before the blades landed on him and he turned into a puff of smoke and was sent to the outside of the stage. With him cursing as he stomped his foot on the ground. 

Her clones were also able to drive back the attacks that were following Lint, although she lost almost all of them, she was able to down another eight people, plus Lint, it was now only nineteen versus two. And the crowd that had been watching them, from cheers of victory and supportive words to 3-B were now in utter silence at the spectacle before them. Even the other classes had already finished their duels and now all eyes were on the only match still ongoing. 

"Vic...I cannot keep it up anymore...I am on my last leg, or tail rather" Hissanti voiced as she could feel herself weakening and her head began to spin 

"I understand Hiss...I am sorry, I am ready now. Just give me an opening and I will blast them to kingdom come" Victoria replied as she looked up at her friend, beads of sweat rolling down her face as she poured the last of her magic into the final part of the chant 

"I understand. I expect us to win all alright...it will make the mango float taste even better" Hissanti joked as she glanced back at her friend 

"Of course, let's light em up then, shall we?" The blonde crown princess stated with a smirk 

"Right then. let's light em up" The purple lamia replied with a grin of her own

Shifting her gaze back to the remainder of 3-B, Hissanti crossed her arms and scimitars, before taking a deep breath and then pulling back all of her clones into herself, and after a few moments when the last clone rejoined her body, she opened her eyes as it glowed a menacing purple, sending shivers up the spines of 3-B who were caught off guard by the action. 

"Come and attack" Hissanti commanded as she pulled her scimitars away from the cross they had made and had them on either side of her torso 

Charles, Trish, and the rest of 3-B then felt the unexplainable urge to follow the command, with them suddenly running forward and charging with a mighty roar. Eliciting gasps of shock from the crowd, while nods from the fellow lamias among them as to them, it was said that a lamia whose color was purple meant they were descendants of the First Scholar of Chantook, a continent known for their intense heat and powerful lamia clans, and that was true as Hissanti came from a long line of descendants, and while neither of them held the same power as their ancestor, they were trained and drilled to at least be at their peak even before leaving home. 

And while a lot of her relatives and ancestors had invested into different kinds of powerful elemental magic, Hissanti had forced herself to learn the hardest in her tribe. The one of command magic. A magic she had mastered over years of grueling training and one that she had enhanced in her time here at Imperia. Although it drained her to the point of being unable to fight back once she did it, if it meant securing victory as a final solution, she was all in without hesitation. 

As 3-B charged her, Hissanti let out a sigh and a smile as she turned into smoke due to a thrust from Charles and his rapier, his eyes then widened into horror as the command magic quickly subsided and his gaze turned down to Victoria who was smiling at him and his classmates, her hand crackling with arcane energy that danced like lightning in her palm. 

"Eat this!" Victoria cried as she raised her palm and fired off an intense black and white lightning storm that struck all of 3-B, with them screaming in horror before turning into puffs of smoke 

The light show caused by the spell left the Colosseum silent when it subsided. No one had ever seen that type of lightning magic before, and some were left awe-struck by its power. Duris was left slacked jawed, along with Anton but Widow was grinning from ear to ear. With Anton quickly regaining his composure and raising his hand directed towards 3-A

"Total Elimination! 3-A wins!" He shouted, with the announcers reiterating it. 

The crowd then went wild as the cheers for 3-B turned into cheers for 3-A who had made an amazing comeback after a certain defeat. Victoria then raced down to her class and they all began to celebrate while 3-B and the rest of the third years were all in shock, none of them knowing how to counter whatever the fuck they had just seen. 

.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Meanwhile, in a corner of the colosseum, with her brows furrowed and arms crossed, and a scowl on her face, was Leilani. Her joy of seeing an epic comeback was drowned by the fury and anger of seeing a spell she had hoped to never see, a spell used by a race that slaughtered the people of this world in the thousands or if they were lucky with their portal openings, the hundred of thousands. If it were not for her sensing the magic when it was fired, and then coating the students of 3-B in a much stronger protective barrier casted by herself, they would not have lived after getting struck by that lightning strike. 

"Motherfucker...." She growled as she began to make her way towards the victorious 3-A, intent on finding the certain girl who had just cast a forbidden spell 

A/N: And here we are! Another chapter of the tournament arc. I hope you all enjoyed this action-packed one and I would lover to read your thoughts and reactions to the chapter! I am glad you are all enjoying the arc so far and I hope you continue to enjoy it further! I hope you all enjoy this once again and as always, Stay Safe and Enjoy Your Day!