Magic Academy Mayhem: A Class Full of Maniacs - Chapter 18

Chapter 18

The instant Cynthia saw laughter ripple through those eyes as still and dead as the deep sea, the thought that surfaced in her mind was-so he did have moments when he was exceptionally quiet.

Or rather, before that hint of amusement appeared, he had been so quiet he felt strangely unfamiliar.

“Ugh…”

A muffled groan came from beside her. Eli had woken up.

Cynthia withdrew her gaze and shoved aside all those messy thoughts.

They had known each other for less than half a month. What was there to feel familiar or unfamiliar about?

Cynthia’s eyes swept over Eli as he braced himself against a stone pillar and stood.

His face was a little pale. Perhaps because he had only just awakened from the Illusion Realm, his expression looked rather grim.

The pressure around him was frighteningly low, as if it were saying, Whoever provokes me dies…

Vernel and Sangmo woke one after another as well. Although they did not look as terrible as Eli, they were visibly more exhausted than before.

Before they could adjust their condition, the surroundings changed again.

The prison-like space transformed into the magic training field located on the west side of Moon Soul Academy, reserved exclusively for first-year training.

Cynthia swept her peripheral vision over the area.

It seemed the two classes had ended successfully.

Griffin’s figure suddenly appeared on the second floor. He glanced at the hands of his magic watch. His voice was gentle, and his appearance was unusually warm and refined.

Yet no matter which it was, neither carried the slightest trace of warmth. “The fourth and fifth classes took thirty-five hours and forty-nine minutes. For your final magic combat class, you have twelve hours remaining. I hope you can defeat your opponents within the allotted time this time. Best of luck.”

The moment he finished speaking, the five of them were forcibly pushed onto the central arena.

Sensing something was wrong, Cynthia immediately summoned her Spirit Weapon.

Sure enough, in less than two seconds, five humanoid puppets in magic robes appeared on the previously empty arena. Black mist covered their faces, making it impossible to see their features.

Their ranks were exactly the same as the team’s.

One Six Stars, three Five Stars, and one Two Stars.

The instant they appeared, all five puppets chose to strike first.

When the Two Stars puppet’s twin blades came slashing straight toward her, Cynthia immediately raised her own blades and swung, forcefully knocking it back.

She had originally planned to seize the initiative with that opening, but the opponent seemed to have guessed her intention.

It launched an unrelenting assault, leaving her no room to breathe.

Every move, every technique, carried an eerie sense of familiarity.

Out of the corner of her eye, Cynthia glanced at the other puppets.

The sole Six Stars puppet among them wielded a bow, just like Vernel, and was trading long-range spells with her.

Sangmo’s opponent was using summoning magic, the same as him.

The two puppets fighting Eli and Richter also had weapons similar in form to their Spirit Weapons.

Cynthia understood.

…It seemed these five puppets were equivalent to clones of themselves. Their ranks, abilities, and even attack patterns were one-to-one replicas.

The puppet in front of her abruptly transformed its twin blades into a scythe. With a flash step, it dodged her attack, then swung the scythe toward her neck.

Death closed in. Cynthia retracted her gaze, and the twin blades in her hands merged into one, transforming into the Seven-Star Chain Whip.

She wrapped the incoming scythe several times with it, then tightened her grip and yanked hard, locking the scythe down in the simplest, most brutal way possible.

When the puppet tried to break free, Cynthia reeled in the chain and forcibly hurled it to the edge of the arena.

Before the puppet could charge again, the Chain Whip in Cynthia’s hand transformed into a magic staff, its body a crystalline ice-white, with a ruby embedded at the tip. As her incantation fell, an enormous rose magic circle appeared beneath her feet.

Cynthia calmly spoke the name of the spell. “Thorn Rain, descend.”

The moment the words fell, rain droplets across the sky turned into thorny spikes, instantly shooting toward the puppet that was preparing to rush at her.

During her days on the deserted island, Cynthia had tried using magic attacks. Thorn Rain was the spell with the shortest wind-up among them while still dealing area damage.

It was also the one she was most proficient in among the spells she had taught herself.
Seeing the puppet blocked and intercepted halfway, Cynthia didn’t just stand idle. The wand in her hand transformed into a bow, and she drew the string with her bare hand.

Magic power condensed into five arrows adorned with roses. The moment she released her grip, all five arrows shot out at once.

As the arrows flew, the thorn spikes continued to rain down. The puppet suddenly broke free, unleashing a surge of high-intensity Magic Element in an instant.

Like a phantom, it stabbed toward Cynthia with terrifying speed.

Cynthia hadn’t expected it to break loose so easily. A faint trace of impatience appeared in her eyes.

The bow transformed again, shifting into scythe blades.

She stopped dodging and changed tactics.

If long range didn’t work, then she would fight up close.

The twin scythes collided, bursting into violent sparks of Magic Element. Cynthia lowered her body, bending at the waist as her scythe blade pressed against the edge of her opponent’s weapon. Taking advantage of its opening, she kicked the puppet in the abdomen.

Unfortunately, the puppet knew no pain. Not only did it fail to retreat, it used the opportunity to close in instead.

Cynthia realized what it was doing and hurriedly pulled back, but she still failed to avoid the attack.

The flesh of her arm was slashed open, and her abdomen was cut by the scythe blade as well. Blood immediately welled from the two horrifying wounds, sliding down her skin before splattering onto the ground.

Pain spread through her entire body. Most people would feel fear after being injured and would generally choose to retreat first.

But at some point, Cynthia’s calm expression had taken on a strange hint of excitement.

She flashed forward, her assault even fiercer than before.

Every swing of her scythe carried a ruthless resolve, as if she had burned her boats behind her.

Because her movements were so wide, the blood from her arm splashed across her face, outlining a visage both eerie and beautiful.

The puppet had never encountered anyone this insane before. Forced back by her relentless offensive, which came so fiercely it left almost no pause, it retreated again and again.

Its black robe was slashed to tatters, and its body, made of magic power and spirit wood, gained several deep cuts throughout the battle.

The instant cold light erupted, the corner of Cynthia’s lips curved into a smile.

With the force of an execution stroke, she severed the puppet’s head with one hand.

The moment its body was dismantled, the puppet crashed to the ground with a bang and turned into a pile of ash.

Cynthia’s face had long since gone paper-white from excessive blood loss. She took a potion from her Storage Ring and drank it one-handed.

The potions in her magic ring were all high-grade potions. There were even quite a few Saint-level Potion vials, and nothing below high-grade at all.

Because of that, the bleeding stopped half a minute after she drank it, and the skin where flesh had been torn open began to heal gradually.

If it had been a low-level healing potion, it probably wouldn’t have healed for several days.

Cynthia was somewhat grateful that after the vicious, embezzling butler and maids had been driven out, the original owner had no longer been abused in terms of material needs.

Otherwise, she would never be this comfortable now.

After putting away the empty bottle, Cynthia was just about to help her teammates when a card engraved with golden magic runes suddenly surfaced in her mind.

[Sequence Skill Awakening-①]

Mirror Prison Cage: You can summon Mirror Image and Mirror Shard.

Mirror Image can help you confuse your opponent and also become your battle companion. For every instance of Mirror Image you summon, you will consume 10% of your own Magic Element.

The first Mirror Image can replicate 10% of your own strength. The second, 10%. The third, 20%. Perhaps you can guess the maximum strength of the ninth Mirror Image: *?%.

(Note: The maximum number of Mirror Image instances is nine, and Mirror Image cannot use Sequence Skill.)

Mirror Shard can cause an opponent’s attack to backfire. Of course, you can be a little greedier and do the reverse, converting your opponent’s attack into Magic Element to absorb and Devour.

(Note: If your opponent’s realm differs from your own by more than 3 stars, you cannot cause backlash or Devour.

At the same time, you must obey the principles of Equivalent Exchange and Conservation of Cost. Each time you use it, the backlash you suffer will also stack.

Backlash manifestations include but are not limited to: vomiting blood, headaches, dizziness, ruptured internal organs, and so on… Backlash limit: death.)

Cynthia: …