Mage Manual
Chapter 306 - Chapter 306 Chapter 262 I Havent Been A Silver Mage For a Long

Chapter 306: Chapter 262: I Haven’t Been A Silver Mage For a Long Time Chapter 306: Chapter 262: I Haven’t Been A Silver Mage For a Long Time “Things aren’t looking good…”

The faces of the competitors from Sword Flower University turned grim as they watched Reonie retreat step by step on stage.

They hadn’t anticipated that Reonie, who should have been responsible for the leading battle, would show signs of defeat in the second seat battle.

Although the positions of vanguard, forward, midfield, second seat, and lead could be adjusted at will, generally speaking, the stronger ones were placed later, with the strongest as the lead.

If one were to play dirty tactics, such as using a ‘superior horse against an inferior horse, and an inferior horse against a superior horse’ routine to secure an overall victory in the friendly matches, it would be within the rules and beyond reproach, but don’t expect other schools to engage in exchanges with you next year–after all, friendly matches are meant to be a contest for schools to test their outstanding students, and the outcomes do not affect the league scores. If tricks are played in such matches, others will not bother to play with you next time.

Everyone can play tricks, but no one likes to be tricky all the time. If you’re clever in a friendly match, don’t be surprised if others are not friendly with you.

Thus, it also meant–Trajectory University’s second seat could actually contend with Reonie, even gaining the upper hand!

Keep in mind, before recommending Sonia, Reonie was Sword Flower’s top student for this session!

The second best from Trajectory was about to defeat Sword Flower’s former number one!

Moreover, they had already lost one match in the vanguard battle, the forward was a last-minute substitute who also was defeated, and they only recaptured a match in the midfield battle. If they lost the second seat battle, the score would become 3:1, and even if they won the lead battle, they would still have lost the overall score.

Not to mention that Sonia was responsible for the lead battle, a thought that made everyone even more pessimistic.

True, the redhead Sword Maiden’s fame had risen recently, becoming known throughout the school, and she could even force a draw with Reonie in a sparring match. But the competition team members did not trust her strength. Unfortunately, both Reonie and Professor Trozan recommended Sonia for the lead, so the other team members could do nothing about it, even if reluctant, and could only convince themselves with the reason of ‘an inferior horse challenging a superior horse.’

Their distrust of Sonia was not without reason–Sonia’s time as a Mage was too short, and she had too few experiences in battle. Even though the redhead Sword Maiden could draw with the orange dancer, that was because both were Sword Masters with a full understanding of each other, which gave them an informational advantage.

However, when going out to compete, they had to face Mages with the mysterious techniques of different factions, and at such times, combat experience became crucial. Reonie participated in the high school league last year and has been monster grinding in the Abyss intensely for nearly half a year, so her combat experience and on-site reaction could not be considered anything but rich.

In contrast, Sonia only fought against Sword Masters in the school. She hadn’t participated in leagues, nor had she descended into the Abyss. Compared with the battle-hardened Reonie, she was simply a naive miss who had never encountered the real world.

Even if she encountered battles in the Void Realm, how much experience could she accumulate?

Did she know how to cross swords with a Gun Master?

Was she familiar with the four tactics against a Flame Mage?

Did she know how to react when her skirt was blown up by a Wind Mage?

Had she experienced the storm of trash talking on the competition field?

Therefore, everyone was quite pessimistic about Sonia’s chances in the lead battle, feeling that she was just there to soak up the atmosphere. As for winning or losing, well, it’s the participation that counts.

If they had won the previous four matches, it would have been fine for Sonia to play one match; but now, facing a potential score of 3:1, if they lost the lead battle and ended up with 4:1, they could expect to be roasted on the school’s forum upon their return.

“Phew.”

The third note of ‘Rhythm Melody’ was abruptly interrupted by a resounding blow, and Reonie was knocked three meters away. However, she gracefully spun in the air and lightly touched the ground to stand firm.

“You’ve gotten quite strong, Skor.”

In front of the orange dancer was a dark-skinned man dual-wielding spinning sticks.

Adorned in a battle dress that sparkled and highlighted his darker complexion, he was tall and thin, holding ebony wooden bird-headed spinning sticks, stepping lightly in place, his movements lively yet sharp.

Skor, the second seat of Trajectory, majored in one of Trajectory University’s main factions, the Spinning Stick Faction. This faction, deriving from the Fist Claw Faction and integrating the essence of swordsmanship and gun technique factions, had developed over the last two hundred years. Its characteristics were its speed, agility, and explosiveness.

Reonie had indeed been unlucky. If she had been against a conventional Gun Master, she would have been able to take the initiative in battle with the high mobility of the ‘Rhythm Melody.’ Unfortunately, Skor was a highly agile warrior, fully able to keep up with Reonie’s rhythm.

“You too,” said Skor with a smile. “I never thought that in just one year, you would become the renowned Orange Dancer. I missed the chance to confront you in the arena last time, but now I finally have the opportunity.”

Both had participated in last year’s high school league, but at that time, they were just supporting characters, occasionally encountering each other. Now, it was their turn to be the shining protagonists.

“However, I thought you would be Sword Flower’s lead this year. I didn’t expect you to take the second seat.” Skor glanced at Sonia below: “Could it be your junior is stronger than you?”

“Hmph, she’s a genuine Monster,” said Reonie.

“Then she’s my next target. I hope she won’t disappoint me.”

“Don’t be in such a rush.”

Reonie drew a short sword from her waist: “When you’re on a date with a lady, looking at other beautiful girls is a taboo, you know.”

“Continue to target me,” she said.

Skor’s expression grew slightly serious, “Dual swords? Could it be the ‘Rhythm Sword Saint’s…'”

“That’s right, it’s exactly what you’re thinking!”

In an instant, Reonie vanished from sight, and as Skor twirled his spinning stick across his chest in a defensive stance, his shoulders drooped weakly, his legs slightly bent, giving the impression that his entire body had relaxed.

Miracle*One-Arm Domain!

In this state, any attack that entered within one arm’s length of Skor would trigger an immediate, high-speed counterattack, enhancing his agility, strength, reflexes, and insight comprehensively, coupled with the high-explosive destructive Miracle of the Spinning Stick Faction, hence completely suppressing Reonie’s dance!

Even at the silver level, the ‘One-Arm Domain’ was an impressive Miracle among the Upper Silver. Of course, its drawback was clear–if faced with a Mage who excels in long-range attacks, this Miracle would be useless. However, should Skor confront a long-distance Mage, he naturally had other strategies at his disposal, just as capable of smashing a long-distance Mage’s head with his spinning stick.

The defensive effect of the ‘One-Arm Domain’ was beyond doubt. As an example, Skor’s fastest recorded reflex was instantaneously deflecting five gun bullets, suggesting that within ten steps, not even a Gun Master could stop Skor’s advancing steps!

If beyond ten steps, neither could a Gun Master prevent Skor’s escape.

Yet at this moment, Skor’s face was extremely grave, as if bracing for some significant event. Reonie had already disappeared on stage, with only occasional flashes of orange fleeting by.

Her voice wandered across the stage, “Do you know what the most beautiful music in the world is?”

“Silence.”

Clang!

Suddenly, a harsh, ear-piercing buzz reverberated through the Trajectory Chapel, followed by a fleeting deafness–this piercing sound, like the most venomous, juicy bug, desperately burrowed into the depths of everyone’s ears, isolating all vibrations from the outside world!

Silence descended!

Just then, Skor abruptly turned and swung his stick, his spinning stick flashing with purple lightning like divine retribution targeting Reonie behind him!

Miracle*Purple Lightning God Mower!

However, as the spinning stick swept through, it shattered only the image in his mind. The real Reonie emerged at his side.

Skor faltered slightly, already pierced through the chest by Reonie’s long and short swords. The orange dancer, still unsatisfied, tripped Skor with a kick and pinned him to the stage with her sword!

“The winner… has been decided!” the host, sickened by the piercing sound, struggled to fulfill his duties, “The winner is Reonie Victor from Sword Flower University!”

By this time, the others had largely recovered, and the eager-to-get-employed Medical Mages rushed to treat Skor.

In friendly and league matches, students could only combat using their personal strength and were not allowed to benefit from protection Miracles bestowed by the academy.

For example, when Sonia and Felix sparred, there was a layer of ‘Star Dress’ protection–this was a privilege for outstanding students within the academy, which would be impossible to have in official competitions unless the student himself mastered the ‘Star Dress’ Miracle.

After all, if an academy could stack armor on its students, the collegiate league would become a competition of armor stacking.

Lacking protection Miracles also meant that injuries or even fatalities could occur, and Medical Mages were to step in and “clean up” after a match resulted in casualties. Every year, during the collegiate league season, Medical Mages from every school gained experience rapidly by “monster hunting,” eagerly wishing for the matches to be fierce so that they could treat more patients–such an experience boost was highly coveted.

“Wait a minute…”

Supported by Medical Mages, Skor managed to sit up and raised his hand to stop Reonie, “The ‘Rhythm Sword Saint’s’ signature Miracle, ‘Silent Rhythm,’ if I’m not mistaken, is an Upper Gold Miracle!”

“You’re already… a Two-winged Mage?”

The Miracle that silenced the whole arena was indeed Professor Nidara’s most dreaded and nauseating technique–Silent Rhythm.

The second short sword was not used for dual wielding, but rather served as a musical instrument. Reonie had been moving at high speed, continually scraping her long sword against the short sword, absorbing the resulting noise with a Miracle and releasing it all at once to create a wide-range sound wave assault, rendering both enemies and allies temporarily deaf!

As an enemy of Reonie’s, Skor naturally suffered the full brunt of the sound wave assault, his hearing nearly destroyed in an instant, leaving him only able to hear his own heartbeat.

More than that, the intense shockwave severely affected Skor’s vision. Although the ‘One-Arm Domain’ made him counterattack at high speed, he could only see the afterimages left by Reonie, his dynamic vision failing to capture the orange dancer at his side!

If ‘Rhythm Melody’ was Nidara’s standard attack, then ‘Silent Rhythm’ was his coup de grace. The wide-ranging sound wave shock, deafness, and blindness made Nidara one of the rare Sword Masters unafraid of group attacks, thus standing out among Two-winged Mages and reaching for the skies!

But the primary Technique Spirit of ‘Silent Rhythm’ was mostly at the Two-winged level, with no One-winged substitute, hence the minimum casting requirement was a Two-winged Mage!

The audience below was taken aback, but two faculty advisers showed no surprise.

Reonie glanced at Skor and nodded, “As a Silver Mage, I stopped being one a few days ago.”