Olsen was puzzled by how the Fang trio had figured out the secret of the Wind Blade.
"They figured it out by themselves? Just a few days ago, they were struggling in the public arena. Were they pretending all along? Who helped them? Anyway, what if they figured it out? Gent and Jinto are now at equal odds. Now it depends on who can give the better performance."
Olsen was more inclined to believe that somebody had helped the trio because even he had received slight guidance from his grandfather. From his studies, he noticed that what Master Hector said wasn't entirely the truth. With his efforts alone, he wouldn't have understood the full contents of the spell.
He side-eyed Gent, who was on his right, before stepping forward to participate. Sensing this change, Melissa also stepped forward, walking alongside Olsen to the red spots.
Sensing the familiar face, Olsen looked up at her as they headed forward. Melissa responded in turn with a light smile.
"Hmph! Trying to directly compete with me?" Olsen thought.
All five students gathered at their desired spots, prompting Master Hector to signal to them. Unlike Paul, this time the Fang family member placed herself at twenty meters, the maximum one could go.
Swoosh Swoosh Swoosh Swoosh Swoosh
Condensed wind-like projectiles shot out of the students' hands. Some missed, some managed to hit the mannequin completely, while others touched the ground with a soft sound.
Olsen's Wind Blade shot out, colliding with the mannequin's upper torso. The force of the spell made its upper torso fall to the ground with a thud, prompting one of the men by the side to quickly replace the mannequin with a new one.
Olsen nodded in satisfaction. He looked to the side to see what his fellow student at the same distance had managed to do, only to see that, more or less, Melissa had produced the same results as him!
"She's a lucky girl indeed. Let's see the next rounds."
Swoosh Swoosh Swoosh Swoosh Swoosh
This spell didn't produce outstanding results, only managing to cut one of its upper thighs.
"I must concentrate on my aim for the next round." As he thought, he casted his eyes toward Melissa's side.
"What? She did better than I?" Olsen's mood was worsening. In his mind, even if he had guided Gent, there was no way for him to be better than him at the spell. He thought that he would undoubtedly place first in the class, but now that fantasy was looking dim…
In his eyes, he saw Melissa's target being cut in its upper torso yet again. Unwillingly, he looked at Melissa, who in turn replied with a smile.
"Brother Olsen, your methods are outstanding. I mean, managing to slice its thigh. I see the deeper and profoundness of your motives."
"What?" He tightened his face at hearing her ridicule. What's more, she had said it with such a smile. His mood was worsening. Never in a million years would he have thought that somebody would ridicule him right to his face. She had at least given him some face and had replied in a low tone that only she and he could hear.
Swoosh Swoosh
Olsen was too distracted and forgot to cast the spell. Those who weren't at their limit, including Melissa, shot out Wind Blades. He had thought too much and didn't notice his surroundings. Not willing to fall behind, he rapidly shot out a Wind Blade.
Swoosh
Unfortunately, his spell completely missed the target, veering to the left and almost hitting one of the men who stood by the side.
Seeing the blade rapidly coming, the man panicked, sweat rapidly accumulating on his forehead. Thankfully, he dodged in time, turning his body around and managing to roll on the ground. The Wind Blade had dissipated by the time the man looked over.
"Brother Olsen, I recommend being more mindful next time. This is just my tip!"
Olsen turned his neck as she finished uttering those words, only to see her smiling at him with her eyes closed.
"This damn witch keeps taunting me." Olsen knew what Melissa was trying to do—by constantly taunting him, she was making him more prone to mistakes. He tried to calm his mind down, thinking that if she had to resort to taunts, then she wasn't confident in defeating him with her abilities alone.
Just when he was about to retort, his eyes darted to her target, only to see that she had managed to cut the mannequin on its lower torso. He swallowed his words and could only think:
"Such consistency!"
Master Hector praised her in his mind:
"This junior is rather good at aiming. It was no coincidence that she managed to hit the target on its torso. She has found the formula that ultimately results in success."
Like those old sages viewing a worthy junior, he wanted to stroke his beard, only to find empty air. Realizing his mistake, he quickly put his hand behind his torso, meeting his other hand.
"Heavens, when will the day come when I grow my beard?"
Swoosh Swoosh
Melissa's spell yielded the same result.
Olsen's face was throbbing with veins. He looked ahead, only to see his target intact. His spell didn't even have the grace to hit the mannequin—it collided with the ground…
Vitus looked with an unexpected gaze. He had thought Olsen would do better than this. His overall performance was too low to even compare to Melissa's.
Even the students on the side had held high expectations for Olsen.
"That girl from the Fang family is outperforming him?"
The youths' mouths were agape. Wasn't Olsen the grandson of an elder? How was such a person losing to somebody with a lower background?
Gent was grabbing his hair, nearly pulling it out of his scalp.
"How is it possible for her to outdo him? Not even I can do such a thing."
Gent looked with wide eyes. He was now regretting making such a bet with Jinto. He had complete confidence in himself. He never thought Jinto would counterattack this way, and the thing was, it wasn't even his scheme!
"That damned Olsen, it was all his ploy."
Gent cursed Olsen in his mind. It was Olsen who approached him with the idea of the bet. He informed Gent of the hidden details within the spell, assuring him that there was no chance of him losing. That's why Gent had placed such relaxed conditions on his end.
"No room for loss? Now look at you!"
Gent wanted to scoff, but he and Olsen were on the same boat.
They had to rub their eyes in order to confirm what their retinas were seeing. In their eyes, Melissa's standing went up severalfold.
"It seems the strategy has worked," Paul praised. "Although it isn't my style, I admit that it is effective. Just look at his face."
Jinto smiled. "It wouldn't have been possible if it wasn't for her."
"Brother Olsen, I recommend being calmer. At this rate, your casting will result in backlash."
"Enough! Shut up."
Swoosh Swoosh
A change of pace occurred. This time, Olsen managed to directly slash the mannequin in half, quelling his anger greatly. But as for Melissa, she had missed.
"Hehe, Sister Melissa…"
"It is what it is." Melissa shrugged, heading out of the stage.
Olsen only saw her back. Her yellow robe-like dress grew farther and farther. He could only stand there for a moment before collecting his thoughts.
"Those Fang bastards…"
In his heart, he would not let today's event go. For the first time in his life, he had suffered such a loss at the hands of someone. He was coddled greatly by his grandfather and never disappointed, always being outstanding among his generation. But today, he had lost completely to somebody of the same generation.
When he got back, he spoke to Gent.
"Once you step onto the stage, do not listen to any word that comes out of his mouth!"
Gent wanted to reply, but he saw Olsen wasn't in a great mood, so he chose not to speak. He was growing increasingly worried. Paul was one thing, but Melissa was another thing entirely. She had managed to outdo Olsen? If two out of the Fang trio had such capabilities, then what about Jinto? He had wanted to get it over with as soon as he saw Paul's capabilities, but Jinto's sharp tongue held him back to the last round. For now, he couldn't do anything but wait.
Gradually, the students participated one by one. The rounds mostly went by quickly, as most of them had low-ranked fissures, only managing to cast two to three times. All of the sixty-three students had gone, making twelve rounds in total—only the last round was left.
"Now, may the last three please step forward."
Everybody grew expectant of this round. It was none other than the round that would decide the bet between Jinto and Gent.
"Good luck out there." Paul gave his best wishes.
Melissa looked at Jinto: "Destroy that clown. I can't wait to see what face he will make. Please make it a good show to watch."
"How sadistic," Paul could not help but think.
Jinto breathed out: "It will be quite the show."
Jinto stepped forward, meeting up with the two participants.
"Brother Gent, it seems you are in good health. Good luck." Without shame, Jinto uttered such words with a smile.
"Now that it is the last round, let's see if you can hide like the little rat that you are. I don't know how you guys managed to do it, but your tricks won't work on me."
Jinto smiled. "Rat? Like the time Paul left you crackling on the ground like a beggar? Out of all of us, you mostly resemble one."
Gent stopped retorting. He had taken what Olsen had said to heart. He knew that Jinto was provoking him in order to make him lose the duel.
"Man… how unlucky can I get? Why did my luck make me participate so much in the middle of this? I'm just a side character!" The unlucky fellow participating alongside those two had such thoughts. It wasn't that he deliberately chose not to participate until now; it was just that they had moved faster than him. He could only sigh. He knew the limits of his abilities. In contrast to them, who had a Gold fissure and a Diamond fissure, he had a lowly Bronze fissure.
They walked towards their spots, placing themselves on the red spots on the ground.
The unlucky fellow placed himself to the side, completely separating himself from the two. Jinto and Gent stood next to each other—Jinto being on Gent's left, both at the fifteen-meter increment.
The unlucky fellow did not want to be near those people at all. He wanted them to gather all the attention so that his poor performance would be covered. Even worse for him, he was one of the ones who placed a bet on Gent. Now he was regretting his actions by the looks of things.
"If Olsen lost to that Fang girl, then what's a mere Gent?" Even though the unlucky fellow didn't have the qualifications to disdain Gent, this was his opinion as a spectator—the trait of a side character.