Two Weeks Later.
—
Across the sky a green barrier stood tall blocking off the retreat of Arthur and his squad. Caroline Ashveil standing atop the treeline was watching over the group wondering how Arthur would get out of this predicament. He's been quite the interesting fellow to watch grow since the first day of class.
No longer does his squadmates ignore his commands instead they follow them to the tee as Arthur has shown himself over and over that he is a master tactician when it comes to battles against humans.
But today Caroline decided to spic things up.
So instead of the typical human targets they face, in front of them a beast tall as a gorilla runs on all fours at them. With a small herd of them following behind.
"Garrett hold them off while I set up my spell. Angela after I attack, find off the stranglers, Mars back up Garrett and Amy supports however you can."
Arthur holding out his wand waves it in fluid strokes greeting glyphs at great speeds, a spear of mana forming directly in front the same he did in the enrollment exam.
However this time instead of going all out and duplicating it like he did before this time he unleashes just the one.
Zip!
Flying through the air it zips across the field striking what looks like a hyena only much larger and fearless.
Borrowing into the beast it yips loudly as it tumbles along the ground before reaching Garrett's feet in shallow breath.
Putting it out of this misery Mars strikes it with his foot covered in flame ending it in one strike.
"Nice shot Captain!" Mars yells out as he prepares for the rest of the herd.
"Iron Wall!" Stepping forward Garrett slams his hands into the ground out and in front a wall of stone forms blocking the path of the hyena forcing them to split up.
"Nature's Thorns!" Amy, holding a staff sways, casting a spell of thorns that sprout in the path of hyena slowing them down and making them bleed.
"Don't leave the fun without me!" Jumping in Mars joins the folly, his arms and legs covered in flames that act as extension of his body, boosting him when he dashes and when he strikes.
Like a fine tune machine Mars skillfully dodges the bites of the hyena all while striking out letting his flames burn the beast.
"Oh yeah now this is a battle!" Mars, the battle junkie, roars out in happiness as he continues to dance around.
"Feast on my Flames!" And just as the flames were to engulf a hyena a mix of purple and gold exploded in a great array of colors as the hyena was blasted to bits.
"Angela, he was mine!" Mars turned back to see Angela, who stood in front of Garrett with her hands held out from casting a spell.
"Too slow." Angela didn't even look at him, her golden eyes focused on the next enemy. With bright gold in her left hand and light purple in her other, she combined the two together — creating a ball of radiant colors.
Launching the ball, it flew through the air like a wisp. Zipping through the air, it moved as it pleased, striking a hyena that had jumped over Garrett's wall.
"That one was mine too!" Mars protested.
"Then be faster."
"Why you—"
"Focus!" Arthur's voice cut through the bickering, shaking his head at the antics of the two. "We've got three more flanking from the side. Garrett, hold them off while we finish these two. Amy, support Garrett."
"Yes, Captain." Garrett clenches his fist around the air as if gripping something heavy, then with his muscles straining. The stone wall he'd planted earlier groaned, cracking free from the earth, and sliding across the ground in one grinding heave, repositioning itself to block the flanking hyenas' path.
"Nature's whip!" Swinging her staff a vine the length of 20 feet sprouts from ground near the hyena's feet whipping out attacks on all that get near.
Buying Arthur time, he knows he needs to make an impact or they get overrun here quickly, so...
'Time to test out the new spell then...'
Raising his wand, Arthur started to etch out intricate glyphs that formed an array between him and his wand. With five strokes, a formulaic pattern of glyphs spread out around him, creating a chain-like structure.
With his left hand he reached out, twisting his wrist, causing the glyphs to turn slightly making them meld into each other, creating a stronger bond.
And once they all fully blended together, its form was complete.
A Chain Glyph.
A chain full of glyphs melded together creating a powerful link one that could resist even Early Silver attacks.
Using his wand, he took the chain, whipping it above his head like a bola creating a whisk of air that singed as it cut through the wind. And like a caveman hunting dinosaurs, Arthur hurled the chain forward.
It spiraled through the air, glowing amber links spinning end over end, and caught the first hyena around the neck. The chain didn't stop — it snapped taut and the momentum carried it forward, whipping around the beast and yanking it off its feet.
The mana links crackled on contact. The hyena yelped as the glyphs discharged into its body, locking its muscles and dropping it to the ground, twitching.
But the chain wasn't done.
The residual mana at the end of the links lashed outward seeking the next target like a heat seeking missile. It found the second hyena mid-stride and wrapped around its front legs. The beast pitched forward face-first into the dirt, glyphs detonating along its hide in a series of sharp cracks.
The chain jumped again. A third hyena, the one tangled in Amy's vine whip, was caught across the ribs. The impact wasn't enough to kill it, but the mana discharge seized its body the same way it had the others.
Three beasts put out of commission with one spell showing the superior firepower of an Artillery Mage.
"Now! Hit them while they're down!" Arthur shouted.
Mars didn't need to be told twice. Flames roaring along his arms, he descended on the nearest pinned hyena and ended it with a single burning strike to the skull.
Angela's wisp of gold and purple caught the second one clean blast while it was still tangled in the chain's grip.
The third thrashed against the glyphs holding it, jaws snapping wildly but between Amy's vines and the chain the hyena couldn't move. Arthur walked forward, pressed the tip of his wand against its skull, and put a single pulse of mana through it.
It went still.
Now leaving only a couple hyenas left Arthur's group work quickly to finish them off.
One died to Mars's flame-coated fist as it tried to circle around Garrett's wall, the other to a combined effort of Amy's binding thorns and Angela's blast that caught it mid-leap.
Mars stood over his final kill, breathing hard, flames guttering out along his arms. He looked across the field at the chain of downed hyenas then back at Arthur.
"Okay, what the hell was that?"
"A new spell I've been working on." Arthur nonchalant says as he wipes off the blood on his wand from when he stabbed the beast.
"Oh just a new spell my ass that thing took out three mid bronze beasts as if they were nothing. What kind of crack are you smoking!?" Mars getting animated can't help but fail his arms hearing Arthur's answer.
"A simple Glyph Chain that I made a few modifications to."
"A Few! Brother a glyph chain should be at your cultivation level not whatever that was, you freaking walking cheat code!" Mars shaking his head walks away towards the forest not wanting to be bothered with Arthur's bullshit.
Chuckling at Mars's words, he followed after him with the rest of the group falling into step. This exercise wasn't over just yet. No, this was only the beginning today was the first real test for those in Combat Fundamentals, and Arthur wasn't about to disappoint Caroline. He'd make sure everything went smoothly.
Or so he thought.
—
Deep in the Greenveil, half a mile ahead of Arthur's squad, four figures moved through the undergrowth in silence.
The first two were unmistakable Harold and Tommy Gemist, broad-shouldered and dark-haired. They carried axes over their shoulder, the blades dull but the weight being more than enough for the job.
Harold wiped sweat from his brow and looked at the massive tree they'd just spent twenty minutes felling. It lay across the trail like a barricade, moss and dirt smeared across its bark to make it look like it had been there for years.
"That'll do," Tommy said, kicking the base. "No one's climbing over that in a hurry."
"It looks fake," Harold muttered. "The dirt's too fresh."
"It doesn't need to fool him forever. Just long enough for Elias to finish his plan."
"And if he doesn't take the bait?"
"He will." The voice came from behind them calm, flat, carrying no emotion whatsoever. "He knows Caroline will be giving out a lot of points on this test, and any chance he can get to earn more, he'll take. He's desperate. So we just need to create the opportunity for him, and he'll take the bait."
Not expecting him to be there, the two brothers jumped slightly.
"Yeah, whatever you say, man. Just make sure you're ready in time. Your damn runes take forever to set up." Harold walked away, not liking the man one bit as he got on his nerves.
"Worry about yourself first. You have the hard part of the job, so make sure you don't disappoint."
"Trust me, we won't. You should be the one to worry about yourself." Tommy backed up his brother as the two of them left, heading to their marks where they lay in wait.
"Oh, I'm sure you will." Elias muttered to himself, smiling all while he set up the trap.
"Just you wait, Arthur. Master's going to show you why you don't get on his bad side."
"HEHEHEHEHEHEH!!!!!" Elias laughed out loud like a maniac.
"Jesus Christ, that guy is weird." Both Tommy and Harold said at once, hearing him in the distance.
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