56. Exchange Battle (5)
Lucas could not suppress his astonishment at the scene unfolding before his eyes.
It was clear that Ivan’s speed was not on par with Karla’s.
Even during the time when Karla was still Carlo, his speed was remarkable.
Indeed, that is the nature of Lightning Magic.
Since it maximizes the caster’s physical abilities, it dramatically enhances both their strength and speed. So, even when that brute was still Carlo, despite his build, his speed was nearly impossible to follow with the naked eye, and it remained the same after Karla revealed her true form.
Ivan, however, did not have that level of speed.
Lucas could follow Ivan with his eyes, which was significantly slower compared to Karla.
However, there was another evident aspect—namely, sheer destructive power.
– BOOM!
A single lightning orb circling Ivan effortlessly shattered one of Lucas’s poison mist barriers. Lucas barely dodged Ivan’s incoming punch and cried out in confusion.
“You, you wretch! Why… why are you using Lightning Magic…!”
“Why? Did you think I couldn’t use Lightning Magic?”
Ivan struck down with a punch, his face bearing a confident smile. When Lucas narrowly avoided it and spread poison mist, the lightning orbs around Ivan unleashed a blazing fire that incinerated the poison.
‘How could this be? Burning poison? Is this even possible?’
He had never heard or seen anything like it.
Even Flame Magic couldn’t burn poison, let alone Lightning Magic, which doesn’t directly produce flames. Could it even be possible for this to happen?
“I already told you, mongrel. I’ll fight you in the same manner as the woman I love would.”
Ivan’s expression remained calm and collected throughout.
In stark contrast, sweat was pouring down Lucas’s cheeks.
“Make sense… will you!”
Lucas began scattering poison mist and unleashed every poison technique at his disposal towards Ivan.
“Are you even breathing, you wretch?!?”
A human body cannot resist poison. To avoid inhaling it, one must hold their breath, but holding one’s breath doesn’t allow for such agile movements!
“You really are unimaginably stupid, Lucas. Or should I say, Lord Lucas von Shaiskeil. You’re far more ignorant and dull than I thought!”
Withdrawing his punch, Ivan raised the corners of his lips.
“Think about it. I use Gale Magic. I use Lightning Magic. Can you really guarantee that I can’t use Poison Mist Magic?”
“…”
Lucas was speechless.
After all, you can’t really guarantee that. However, Gale Magic, Lightning Magic, and Poison Mist Magic are all high-tier magics. It’s absurd to think that someone can master all three. After all, it takes decades just to specialize in one.
“You’d think it’s impossible, but that’s because you’re a mongrel, Lucas. The word ‘genius’ was coined to describe this very body.”
Ivan raised his hand.
Unclenching his fist and extending his palm, a thick dark-green power began to billow there.
“Nonsense!”
Stunned, Lucas gasped. That dark-green palm—what Ivan was doing was unmistakably the spell “Venom Strike” of Poison Mist Magic. Moreover, the intensity of the green exceeded even Lucas’s own, signaling Ivan had surpassed him in the mastery of Poison Mist Magic.
“The vessel of this body is unparalleled, Lucas. The word ‘genius’ describes this very body. You, an insect, cannot even come close to or look upon my level. Do you understand?”
“IIIiiiiiiiiiii!”
“But I’ll stop using Poison Mist Magic to bring you down here. There’s no time to prolong this further, and my purpose is to avenge my beloved’s grudge.”
With a light flick of the wrist, the venom dissipated.
In its place, a purplish power took form, emitting crackling electric sparks.
“Now, I’ll face you with only Lightning Magic. And just like my beloved, I’ll face you with martial arts alone.”
Ivan then withdrew all the lightning orbs circling him.
Though there had been ten of them, zipping around with a will of their own and destroying poison mist barriers, they vanished. In their absence, poison mist crept up on Ivan.
“Huff…”
Ivan exhaled deeply.
Just like Karla had done, he stood firmly with a shoulder-width stance. Like Karla, a sharp, violent purple flame wrapped around him and flashed.
“… Then I’ll fight you with all my seriousness…!”
Lucas stretched his arms taut, sharply extending his palms. Dark-green power gathered there, deepening the green hue of the poison mist.
“[Contraction – Poison Needles]…!”
Poison mist soared high into the air.
The dark-green mist dispersed into place, and thousands upon thousands of needle-like daggers of pure poison formed, pointing their sharp tips at Ivan as they hovered in the sky.
Ivan slowly crouched.
Unlike Karla, who crouched low for even greater propulsion, Ivan, already possessing sufficient power, lowered his stance and gathered his power near his waist, compressing it into a single point.
“[Thousand Poison Daggers]!”
The recitation rang out as Lucas swung his arm forcefully, as if giving the command for a bombardment. The thousands of daggers, saturated with poison, all aligned their ends toward Ivan and, at Lucas’s chant, hurtled toward him en masse.
“Queen, watch this.”
Ivan smirked.
Despite thousands of daggers flying at him, Ivan stood with a calm smile—
“[Explosive Charge]!”
– KABOOM!
The spot exploded with lightning.
A tremendous explosion occurred where Ivan once stood, then his legs propelled him forcefully forward. The highly condensed power erupted, scattering the signature purple streaks of lightning—
as Ivan dashed forward, incinerating every poisonous dagger in his path.
Harnessing the force of the explosion, Ivan shattered and demolished the poison barriers Lucas had set up ahead of him, charging directly at Lucas.
The poison barriers were utterly broken and shattered.
The vision obscured by the poison cleared and disappeared, consumed by the lightning.
With nothing left to protect Lucas, Ivan’s punch struck his abdomen in an instant.
“Ghh…”
No scream could escape his throat.
Smirking cruelly, Ivan pressed forward with the propulsion, driving his punch into Lucas’s abdomen without relenting. From one end of the arena where the fight began, Lucas was pushed all the way to the far wall, leaving a long trail behind him.
– KUWANG!
The arena wall resounded with a thunderous crash.
Amid the settling dust cloud, only Ivan’s silhouette remained visible.
The crowd murmured among themselves. It seemed like Lucas had disappeared entirely, overshadowed by Ivan standing alone.
“…”
With a derisive snort, Ivan retracted his fist and stood tall.
Taking a couple of steps back, Lucas finally revealed himself—leaning against the arena wall before collapsing slowly to the ground.
“Just this much of an accomplishment, mongrel.”
Ivan said, looking down at him.
“Given this level of achievement, how dare you insult anyone?”
Ivan lifted his foot.
Then, placing his foot atop the fallen Lucas’s head, he began grinding it roughly.
The crowd went silent, as if they’d had cold water poured on them.
It was clear Ivan had won, but this—this was too much. Even though Lucas was the heir of a great noble family, this behavior seemed excessive, even in the academy context.
“You won’t dare insult my beloved ever again.”
Ivan glanced up at the stands, raising his hand and pointing with his finger.
“—Go ahead and try me, you treacherous noble’s henchman.”
The finger pointed directly at one spot where Lord Cascata sat, his face rigid.
The mood in the audience wasn’t good.
Though Ivan had won, the clear disrespect shown toward Lucas von Shaiskeil stirred murmurs of disapproval among the nobles.
“That… isn’t that a bit much?”
“No matter what, mocking the heir of a great noble family like that…”
The noble spectators started murmuring and looking at each other.
Among them was the head of the Shaiskeil family, Contred von Shaiskeil.
He stared expressionlessly down at the arena, yet the nobles surrounding him were discussing Ivan with disdain, their eyes on Contred for his reaction.
They were dissecting Ivan’s actions, all under Contred’s observation.
“That commoner… or rather, Ivan Kontadino’s that name, right? Where does he get such strength…”
“No matter what, publicly humiliating the heir of a great noble like that— even in the academy, isn’t that excessive?”
“Could Ivan Kontadino be of noble birth, a secret heir? That strength and attitude doesn’t seem like a commoner’s…”
The whispers gradually grew louder.
But no one dared to criticize Ivan directly.
The strength with which he had just crushed Lucas von Shaiskeil was anything but ordinary for a commoner.
“Still… to completely dominate Poison Mist Magic like that. It’s hard to believe.”
“The pride of Shaiskeil has fallen.”
“But this almost undermines the order of the empire, doesn’t it?”
A debate was taking place among the nobles a little further away.
They were aligned with the Cascata faction, not the Shaiskeil family.
Enrico looked at Lord Cascata, who was watching Ivan’s scene.
“What do you think, brother?”
“What do I think? The answer is already clear, isn’t it?”
Enrico nodded briefly after the concise reply.
“That guy… he’s not just a commoner. There’s a power that can’t be explained by mere fortunate talent. There’s something hidden.”
Cascata’s gaze sharpened even further.
“You might be right about that… And something else is clear now.”
“Indeed.”
Enrico paused momentarily before raising his head to look down at the arena where Ivan was still pressing his foot onto Lucas’s head, glaring at the audience with a domineering stance.
“Intriguing.”
The smile lingering on Cascata’s lips deepened.
“…Those upstarts. They’re truly devious.”
