Chapter 122: Losing Streak

"...argh!"

"Your mana control is shit and you take ages to cast a simple spell. How you manage to get into this Academy puzzles me but since you're already here, practice more. You lost."

Older Students - 2, Freshmen - 0

"...crap! No!"

"Your foundations are good but your senses are terrible. I could've ended this match as soon as it started. Take 'Capricorn's Trials' to hone your senses. You lose."

Older Students - 3, Freshmen - 0

"...what!? How!?"

"Just like the previous guy, your senses are severely untrained. I used a Tier 1 Illusion Spell just now and you fell for it, aren't you ashamed? Go with the previous guy to the 'Capricorn's Trials', both of you could use some good training."

Older Students - 4, Freshmen - 0

"Shit! Ow...my leg!"

"That's your weakness and it's fairly obvious. Your lower body is untrained, that's why you're not making any progress in your movement technique."

"How did you—?"

"When you've been here for as long as I have, things like this become easy to notice. Challenge 'Saggitarius' Trials' or rent a 'Gravity Room' to train your lower body and movement techniques. If you can't confront an enemy head-on, at the very least you should be able to run."

Older Students - 5, Freshmen - 0

Boom! Bang!

"...keugh!"

"I will only say this once, so listen carefully. You've got good strength but your weapon doesn't suit you. Instead of a rapier, try polearms like spears, halberds, tridents, etc. Those would amplify your strength even further than this. It's not too late to make a switch, plus you're in the best environment to do so."

Older Students - 6, Freshmen - 0

"...what!? No! I was so close!"

"Close to what? Beating me? If so then no you're not. I only used 40% of the strength I'm allowed to use in this spar, so no, you're not even close."

"Honestly, your foundations are good enough. But that's exactly why I defeated you. 'Good enough' won't cut it here. You're supposed to belong to the 'genius' group. The 'cream of the crop'. Being ordinary won't get you far here so find ways to elevate your strength some more."

Older Students - 7, Freshmen - 0

...

Older Students - 10, Freshmen - 0

With the mention of that name, all of the older male students blanched. The boys scrambled to fix themselves and Isabella, to her astonishment, felt the gazes disappearing right away.

Her opponent seemed to have noticed her surprise so she said: "Mistress Christina is one of the Instructors of this Academy, and she's famous for punishing men of all ages for disrespecting women. She's very protective of us. Go to her if somebody consistently tries to push their luck, she'd teach them a lesson."

"...I see." Isabella replied softly, committing the name to her memory.

"Isabella, right?" Her opponent asked, to which she nodded. "My name is Michelle, let's have a good round."

Isabella released a shroud of cold air and became serious. Seeing this, the instigator signaled the start of the fight.

"Start!"

Boom!

A clash immediately ensued as soon as it began. Smoke filled the arena as Michelle's Fireball and Isabella's Frost Orb met.

Scanning her surroundings, Isabella noticed that Michella was gliding around the arena while condensing multiple fireballs. Six revolved around her body while three hovered behind her.

In response to this, Isabella conjured a spiked orb of frost which hovered on top of her and followed her movements. This orb shot icicles at the fireballs coming to her, neutralizing them immediately.

The clash of ice and fire caused smoke to fill the arena, making it difficult for the audience to see what was going on. Fortunately, the women who were fighting didn't seem to mind this at all.

With a wave of her hand, Isabella summoned a trail of glaciers which narrowed Michelle's room for movement. In response to this, fire erupted on Michelle's soles as she took flight. She then hurled fireballs at Isabella, who glided like a figure skater in the arena to dodge the impact while also occasionally sending her attacks to retaliate.

Their fight was fierce, even those who couldn't see what was going on, they could tell that they were matched evenly.

"Not bad, girly! But it's going to take more than that to defeat me!" Michelle chuckled as she suddenly increased her speed.

Her flames billowed in intensity, melting the ice that Isabella left behind at a visible pace. Isabella could even feel the sheer heat of those flames, making her uncomfortable.

What's more is that, Michelle's flames now shrouded her entire body. Any attacks Isabella sent her way would evaporate before making contact with her skin.

The only way she could respond to this is by using more mana to conjure harder and colder ice. But that drained her faster.

After several minutes of high-octane battle, the area turned quiet. When the smoke cleared, the audience saw that Michelle still looked as fresh as a daisy while Isabella was left panting...

"You lost because your mana capacity is low and your control sucks at your level. You've got the fundamentals of the Ice Element down but your fundamentals as a Spell Caster fall far behind."

"You've got a lot of time to hone your Elemental Control and Affinity. Focus on improving your fundamental skillset as a spellcaster first. This includes your Mana Control and Emission. If you can perfect these fundamentals, you'll see an explosive increase in your Mana Pool. If you want a chance to make contact with Ice Laws, this is a must for you."

"Other than, you're good. So go back to the basics first, understood?"

Isabella nodded before turning around. She didn't feel bad about this defeat because it had given her a lot of things to think about.

"Good fight, girly! I'm looking forward to your growth." Michelle cheered before returning to her position.

Older Students - 11, Freshmen - 0