Re: Love & Magic

“But that was a good attempt; he finished it in 18 seconds,” Roman said with a nod. “His speed was really fast, despite dodging a lot of obstacles.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

“He wanted to beat the record, but his general speed was still slow,” Zevien said.

“Oh? Erica’s speed is faster?” Vernisia was surprised, and so were the others.

Everyone watched the screen as Erica had tiny dreamy white clouds wrapped around her ankles and wrists. On top of that, she was releasing a burst of wind from the soles of her feet.

“That’s her awakening magic spell,” Hemil narrowed his eyes. “It’s from Clouds of Nineveh magic labyrinth, a top-tier magic labyrinth for Auxiliary-type magic spells.”

“Yeah, those tiny clouds wrapped around her ankles and wrists are increasing her speed and also helping her move extremely nimble and flexible somehow,” Leena nodded while showing a curious look in her eyes. “How are those clouds helping her like that?”

“Those clouds are supporting her entire weight, which basically means that she’s flying,” Jacky said as he observed. “She has only let her feet touch the ground twice. That was for her movement boost and to dodge two obstacles.”

“She must have gotten that new awakening spell after reaching 4th class magician,” Roman wryly smiled. “It’s honestly powerful, just like all awakening spells. Unfortunately, I don’t have any movement-type awakening spell.”

Everyone watched with bated breath as Erica neared the end and…

“She passed!” Vernisia smiled happily and quickly looked at the timer. “15.78. Wow, almost broke the record.”

“I’ll go next,” Zevien said with a faint smile as he walked towards the glass tube entry door. “I am going to try something extreme. I won’t pass on the first try, but I want to pass using that method.”

“Sounds interesting despite not knowing what you are talking about,” Hemil said with a smile. “Let’s see your method of climbing.”

As Zevien walked towards the entry door, he used Blood Morphing Art inwardly to absorb eight drops of vampire blood and took out a vial from his storage ring that had the blood of a 3rd-grade beast, Virivolent Sparrow.

Everyone saw four beautiful wings coming out of Zevien’s back as they lightly sparkled with light green and light-blue hues due to the same colored wings.

The door opened with the electronic voice as usual. Zevien entered and saw the slope filled with trees, grass, and obstacles suspended that would soon fall in three seconds or the moment he stepped foot from the metal floor into the mountain ground.

But he waited for the countdown and observed the entire passage with full focus. His gaze captured everything as he increased his magic power up to 2999 by activating Shaman-seed and infusing mana in his wings and body to empower them while further enhancing his physical capabilities by internally casting <Raging Body> sub-spell.

Even when the countdown hit 0, Zevien didn’t move from his position but observed for two more seconds as many magically conjured obstacles like big black jaws, magic beasts, tables, chairs, spinning fans, and more fell down.

He captured their position by wasting two seconds as he pointed his palm towards a tree and used the <Blood Hook> as a hook shot towards the tree before he pulled himself up while rapidly dodging the obstacles by controlling his wings.

“What the f…?” Roman and others were dumbfounded from watching that huge rocket boost from the start.

‘Zevien, you said you might not succeed on the first try, but I know you want to,’ Vernisia thought as she saw his determined expression on the screen.

Zevien was using his <Blood Hook> and his very nimble four wings to maneuver himself through the obstacles and cut long distances. In just five seconds, he had crossed half of the path and continued moving quickly. ‘The toughest part is cleared. Damn, now I want to clear it and break the record!’

“Damn…” Hemil muttered. “That’s awesome. I also want to try this method.”

“If you have those wings, sure. You can try it,” said Leena as she rolled her eyes.

“It’s not about wings, but about focus,” Roman said with a somber expression. “He is walking several steps ahead and calculating by watching all obstacles from the top.”

“That’s true, but those wings and that hook are helping him keep up the pace,” Leena said.

Roman agreed and nodded his head. “That’s true as well, but it doesn’t look as easy as how he’s showing it.”

“I want to learn that hook spell. It looks very convenient. Vernisia, is that spell available in the library here? What’s its name?” Leena asked.

“Nine seconds and zero obstacles hit,” Jacky said as he clenched his fist. “Maybe he can do it.”

Zevien was at the last phase, and seeing a giant snake obstacle with a wide range, due to its long and unnaturally spread body, Zevien instinctively made a decision as he shot his <Blood Hook> on the ground from his right hand to dodge the snake. His face hit the ground before his body as he slammed, but still went upward and shot another <Blood Hook> from his left hand to pull himself towards the finishing line.

*Tin…tin…tin…tin…tin…*

A festive alarm rang before an electric voice reverberated everywhere.

[Congratulations to Zevien for breaking the existing record of the level 1 obstacle race. The current record for the obstacle race is now 9.89 seconds.]

This announcement rang in all training centers, causing an uproar.

“A hundred meters of obstacle race in 9.89 seconds… fuck. Who is this guy?” a random senior student muttered in another training center after hearing the announcement.

“The previous record for level 1 was 14 seconds something. Jeez, this is a huge gap. How did he do it?”

The teachers also got the news as they became surprised and impressed.

…

“Damn, bro! You nailed it,” Dan laughed as he saw Zevien coming out of the exit at the top of the mountain. He and Erica were sitting at a table under a tree. There were a few more tables, and it looked like a picnic spot at the top of the mountain with trees blocking most of the sunlight’s baring, yet gentle rays and comfortable wind that created a cozy atmosphere.

There was also a big screen that showed the student’s performance in the training challenge.

“Tsk, I have to admit that was a cool method,” Erica clicked her tongue. “We’ll do another attempt with that method. Ok, Dan?”

“As you wish, my lady.”