851 Lucielle's Match

Lucielle had star power.

She always knew that about herself, and now that she was in disguise as a Dragon, that fact about her had not changed. Her spectators wanted to see her win, and the enemies she faced were incredibly wary of her. All of this made her mood soar to new heights—though, she didn't particularly find much value in the attention of Dragons.

In her eyes, they were all the same.

'Still… I can at least immerse myself in the part a little.'

With the referee about to initiate the start of the match, Lucielle found herself in the same conundrum as Rey—not knowing the right option to use in attacking.

She had a myriad of ways to win, after all.

'I could use Imaginary Rain again, but wouldn't that be too boring? If I overdo it here, though, I'll gather more attention than necessary.'

The fact that Rey chose a less flashy method of attack meant that she had to follow suit, didn't it? 'Then…' A bright smile formed on her face as she took a steady stance and prepared for the fight to begin.

'... Let's go with that move.'

"BEGIN!"

The opposite of what happened to Rey occurred with Lucielle's match. Her enemies created even more distance and began casting their Spells.

They were very fast, too.

In merely a second or two, they were done, and they launched elemental projectiles at her. Their barrages completely obscured her vision, leaving her with a flurry of fire and ice—two opposite attributes—to deal with.

'I see. So they've taken resistance into account, and they're trying to see which end of the spectrum I am weakest in.'

The way Lucielle saw it, they were also prepared for her defensive measures, since an element-dedicated shield was usually stronger against one element and weaker against the other.

'Plus, if I manage to block both and they combust, it'll create enough steam to hide them for a while so they plan out their next move.'

Lucielle appreciated their attempt at strategy, but it was all so simple that she could see through all of it. The elemental projectiles all stopped the moment she did this, unable to reach their target destination or explode, as their Spell would have them do.

'I have studied all your Spells for so long that I know basic ones like these.'

She knew how to disrupt them too, but that wasn't what she was currently doing. No, she was simply halting their progress with a barrier of space.

'It merely seems like a barrier to most people, but this actually traps each projectile in a space-like cube that prevents combustion, hence it halts further activation…' Even in her mind, Lucielle found herself explaining her move to herself.

It was a fun process, though, so she didn't want to stop.

'I should end things now, though.' Her index finger was still raised, so by expending a bit more Mana, she caused something to form atop her fingertip.

… A black sphere.

It was small, but there was something ominous about the empty construct.

The hollow thing oozed danger.

'This is the miniaturized version of Black Void.' Of course, it was also slightly tweaked.

This wasn't going to suck in everything indiscriminately. Instead, it would only absorb select targets, which would be up to Lucielle's discretion.

'I learned to perfect this thanks to Rey, so… I guess I should thank him after this.' A smile formed on her face as she guided the black sphere towards the stationary projectiles.

As she did all of this, her seniors weren't merely standing still.

They were busy generating a much more powerful Spell that caused the stage to shake a little. Lucielle ignored this and simply focused on what that she was cooking up.

Her Mini Black Void successfully sucked in the fire and ice, causing a purple colored sphere to form, with the swirling blackness of the void being at the core.

'Haha… alright! This is good!' Even now, Lucielle was running experiments with her Magic.

Since she was already confident of victory, this was her way of making the fight have some form of meaning, rather than it being a complete waste of time.

Her excited face made it obvious that she was having fun with it, too.

"Now then…"

~VWUUUUUUM!~

The Spell of the seniors was finally complete, and what it brought forth wasn't a mere projectile or a simple string of attack.

—A Grand Golem.

This was an A-Tier construct, and it was incredibly powerful by the standard of the Basic Stages.

Not many students could cast an A-Tier Spell, and even those who could use A-Tier Skills had to have been born with some kind of talent or some type of bloodline.

This Golem was only made because the two students of Class 3-A collaborated.

"ROOOOARRRR!!!"

The thing was nearly ten meters tall, and it stood as the guardian of the two students who proudly stood behind their creation as though they were invincible.

They appeared drained, which was natural, considering just how much Mana they had to have expended on their ambitious venture.

Still, it was worth it.

With a Grand Golem, which had several features—one of the most important ones being its great durability—their opponent stood no chance.

As soon as the colossal construct took a step forward, the hollow mass of purple energy charged at the elemental.

The consequence was instantaneous.

~BWUUUUM!~

A massive hole was formed on its chest, completely devouring the Golem's core and easily causing every other part of it to crumble.

"E-EH…?" The two seniors couldn't help but give shocked faces as their wide eyes and gaping mouths laid bare for the audience to see.

They had been given the opportunity to try their hardest, and they still lost flawlessly.

"I-I surrender…"

"M-me too."

The applause from the crowd was deafening as Lucielle raised her fist in the air and basked in her victory.

Even though the cheers came from the enemies, it strangely felt good.

"Don't feel so bad, boys. You weren't weak…" Lucielle turned to her distraught seniors and gave them a wink as she smiled sweetly at them.

"... I'm just that strong!"

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Thanks for reading!

At the end of this Arc, I'll be confirming who the Female Lead for this story is.

You can cast your votes now.