章節 14: Light Supreme

The average life expectancy of a normal person in Vel is seventy years old. For unranked, it is only a little more than that, usually somewhere in the low hundreds.

For magic practitioners, life expectancy increases exponentially with rank. Supreme class mages are said to be able to even survive for thousands of years.

Harlston

As he lay flat out on the floor, Hade's eyes were wide full of shock and disbelief. He had no idea what the f*ck had just happened!

One moment he was readying his martial stance to defend against whatever Leofred was about to throw at him, and the next, he was down on the floor, limbs all spread out like a f*cking starfish!

In the distance, Leofred stood coolly with a wide smirk, making no effort to hide just how much he had enjoyed that.

"That... did not feel bad at all," he giggled.

Hade slowly picked himself back up, his head buzzing and his legs wobbly.

He did not dare show it though. Far be it from him to give Leofred the satisfaction of seeing, well, sensing his pain.

That said, Hade knew that he had to find out how the spiky-haired man did what he did, else he was going to be in for a world full of hurt very soon.

Leofred, meanwhile, continued brandishing the smirk on his face like a retard. He was at least a few centuries old. What he had just done was the least of his capabilities.

Hade let out a huge breath to calm himself down. He then firmly planted his feet onto the floor before lowering his center of gravity. This time, he was fully prepared. Whatever dirty, underhanded trick the bearded man used the first time, it was not going to work again.

Leofred did not give him any more time to think...

*Flash!*

Barely half a second later, Hade found himself sprawled out on the floor once again.

"Damn it!" He groaned in frustration.

If his head was buzzing before, now it was pounding... almost as if someone had used his brain for a football.

Hade felt like screaming, but instead, he forced himself to stand once more. He was determined to conquer the damned hex if it was the last thing he did!

As if to mock him, Leofred yawned out loud, giving the impression that he was bored out of his mind.

He routinely cast the same spell again and like the other two previous times, Hade was knocked back onto the floor.

However, this time, Leofred sensed something different.

'What just happened?' He frowned.

He was almost one hundred percent certain that something different had occurred. He was just not sure what.

As if to confirm his speculation, Hade leaped back to his feet full of vigor and energy. He did not look as terrible as before and his feet weren't shaking as much.

The biggest giveaway, however, was the wide, smug grin stretching on his face from ear to ear.

He had figured it out!

Hade wondered why his body kept getting hotter and hotter as the attacks mounted.

Obviously, something had to be causing it.

So, during Leofred's last attack, he had forsaken all defense, just to try and figure out just what this something was.

That led him to his next puzzle. Only one thing had remained constant in all the attacks. It was the dastardly bright flash of light. If he was to conquer the spell, Hade had to find a solution to the light else focusing was going to be near impossible.

Fortunately, this problem was one that he solved quite easily. Before Leofred cast his spell the third time, Hade closed his eyes.

As expected, his eyelids shielded him from most of the light and as a result, his suffering was reduced to a much tolerable degree.

Once he solved the first problem, the rest was easy... With the light out of the way, Hade was able to feel something warm gently hit his torso, knocking him off his feet.

'Eureka!'

In the distance, a hidden Bartholomew could not help but feel proud. Hade's thinking, though simple and mundane in all regards, was still applaudable.

The spell Leofred was using was a simple Light Manipulation spell. In fact, it could barely be considered a spell...

All he did was simply compress a beam of light and launch it as a projectile. However, the speed with which he threw it was so fast that Hade could only see a bright white light before getting knocked down.

That said, the greatest hurdle to conquer was not the spell itself, but instead, the accumulated frustration of getting thwarted over and over again.

Bartholomew found it quite impressive that Hade had managed to come up with a solution in so little time.

Meanwhile, Leofred reluctantly cast the spell again. Even if Hade had figured it out, knowing something and being able to react to it were two different things.

It would require at least dozens of hours of repetition before...

Leofred did not get to finish his thought. It was now his turn to be shocked...

Not only did Hade predict the trajectory of the next projectile, but, he also managed to dodge the whole thing altogether!

Leofred was simply dumbstruck.

'That speed, isn't it way too fast for a Mortal class?' he exclaimed inwardly.

Though he had sensed during their first meeting that Hade was very strong for his age, extremely strong in fact, witnessing said strength live was a whole different experience.

Hade's speed, reflexes, and the fluidity with which he moved were all above and beyond the level of a normal teenager.

'Was this why his law manifested late?' Leofred wondered.

Law manifestation was as much a mental process as it was physical. While Hade might not have realized it yet, because he was so used to relying on his superior physical abilities, his mind had already sidelined his law.

Leofred was speechless. This was a situation unlike any he had ever encountered.

Usually, most practitioners religiously relied on their law to the point that it ended up being detrimental to their progress. However, for the first time in his life, he had met someone who was the complete opposite!

Within the boy, Leofred detected an astonishing in-bred resistance to using magic. It was almost... instinctive!

Granted, this was far from a good thing. While Dedric and Bartholomew saw a physically talented teenager, Leofred foresaw a potential risk that could cripple the boy's future.

But, if that was all, he was quite happy to lend his assistance...

Whilst Hade was in the middle of celebrating his minor victory, suddenly, the atmosphere turned grim as a foul wind began to stir.

The lights began flickering on and off and the ground began to shake, webbing numerous cracks all over the floor!

'What the hell?!' Hade exclaimed internally, struggling to maintain his balance.

He subconsciously turned towards Leofred, only to see him slowly and ominously raising his left hand towards him.

In the distance, Bartholomew's heart filled with dread. This suffocating aura, he could not mistake it...

Even without being the target, it slowly drained you of your energy, sucking on it like a bloodthirsty beast until none remained.

This tyrannical and overbearing presence was the aura characteristic of those in Supreme class!

"Damn it!" Bartholomew cussed. What was Leofred doing using it against a newly awakened teenager?!

'I should do something,' he resolved in his mind.

Unfortunately, despite not even once having taken a glance in his direction, Leofred had long discovered him.

*FLASH!*

The Light Supreme cast a treacherously bright light in his direction that made what he had been using against Hade seem like child's play.

"Sh*t!" Bartholomew was unable to react in time.

*Boom!*

The bald man was sent flying, crashlanding nearly 30 meters away! Before he could even enter the fight, Bartholomew had been knocked out unconscious, his body immobilized.

Meanwhile, Hade's head was spinning. Had Leofred gone crazy?!

Bear in mind, he had absolutely no misguided fantasies of wanting to fight this man. Nobu, who had nearly killed him a week ago, was only Sage class. Already, the difference between Supreme class and Sage class was like heaven and earth. What about his own pathetic Mortal class?

In this grim situation, Hade had no other option. He had to split!

But before he could even make a run for it, thick snake-like coils of pure condensed light rose from the floor and climbed up his legs, binding them firmly in place!

Hade faced the Light Supreme, his body quivering like a reed. The fact that Leofred was blindfolded somehow made the situation all the more terrifying.

Slowly, small light particles began to conglomerate in his hand. The particles combined to form molecules and the molecules merged to form fragments, the result of which was a magnificent sword of pure white energy!

From the sword, Hade could feel a devastating torturous heat radiating off into the surroundings. Even the concrete floor within five meters of Leofred had long been pulverized!

Hade gulped. Wasn't this overkill?!

Soon, Leofred grabbed the formless hilt of the burning blade of light and without hesitation, hurled it toward the seventeen-year-old!

"Sword of Abolition!" He bellowed like a madman.