Magic Academy Mayhem: A Class Full of Maniacs - Chapter 23

Chapter 23

A Sequence affected more than just talent. The strength of a Sequence-exclusive ability would be affected as well.

Cynthia had no idea what Divine Sequence 09’s exclusive ability was. It had never been recorded, not in the novel and not in any of the books on the continent that introduced the Sequences.

The unknown was the most terrifying thing of all.

Running into someone with a Divine Sequence right from the start… She wasn’t sure whether to call herself unlucky or say she had hit rock bottom in the luck department.

Cynthia’s gaze stopped on the final line.

Fortunately, Rafael had probably only awakened after enrolling too. His current realm was the same as hers: First Order Five-Star.

When their realms were the same, the one with the higher Sequence held the advantage.

This round was going to be difficult to win…

There was no reward for winning, but if she lost, Griffin would definitely seize the chance to increase the intensity of her training again.

After spending a month around him, Cynthia felt she understood him fairly well.

Still… ever since a moment ago, she had felt as if someone were watching her.

Cynthia leaned against the railing in the waiting area in the corner of the second floor, tapping it lightly with her fingertips. Her gaze swept over the sea of people below, but she noticed nothing out of the ordinary.

Was it her imagination?

As the assignments came to an end, the spectator stands gradually grew lively.

The host’s voice rang throughout the entire arena through amplification magic.

“The Freshman Competition officially begins! Contestants, please enter the arena in the order of your assignments!”

Cynthia withdrew her gaze and entered according to the designated route.

The instant her figure disappeared from the waiting area, the white-haired boy surrounded by several people at the other end of the stage drew back his gaze, left the crowd behind, and walked toward the contestants’ area.
The stage.

Once the contestants’ information was fully displayed, the spectator stands erupted.

Because of Rafael, the ring Cynthia was in had become the focus of the entire venue.

“It’s actually Divine Sequence 09! Holy crap! This is the first time we’ve seen one in years!”

“There’s no need to even compete. For the lowest Sequence to get matched against a high-ranking Divine Sequence holder… that’s as unlucky as it gets.”

“Wasn’t Cynthia always so arrogant? Let’s see if she can still act that way now.”

“Exactly. But wait, she’s Five-Star? It’s only been a month since school started. Did she use some kind of forbidden drug or forbidden technique…?”

“A forbidden technique is a bit much. She is the Duke’s Daughter, after all. She must have all kinds of spirit medicines. She just used potions to pile her realm up.”

“For sure. No need to think about it-she’s all show. Just wait for Rafael to crush her.”

“If she can last five minutes, I’ll eat my words!”

The spectator stands were in heated discussion. Amid the clamor, Cynthia could more or less hear a few of those malicious remarks.

Of course, to her, those words were no different from vicious dogs barking.

The host’s voice drowned out the noise. “Both sides, please perform the pre-match salute.”

Cynthia pressed one hand to her chest, bowed slightly, and gave her opponent the so-called Empire pre-match salute.

Her opponent did the same.

Once the salute was finished, a quiet “Long time no see” drifted over like an evening breeze.

Compared with the emotions conveyed by the written words, his voice sounded even gentler.

Cynthia straightened and looked at the boy before her.

He had already shed the immaturity of his youth. Back then, he had cried while comparing heights with the original owner, insisting he wasn’t short. Now, his wish had truly come true.

Standing there at 187 centimeters tall, he was strikingly conspicuous. His white shirt set off his lean waist, and the dark blue-black robe symbolizing the Tianxuan department draped down around him.

His slightly rolled cuffs revealed a section of well-defined wrist. His figure was refined and elegant, and even the academy uniform gained a somewhat sacred impression when worn by him.

With the passage of time, his features had become more and more exquisite. White hair, snow-pale skin, and brows and eyes as clear as mountain snow-anyone who saw him would praise his looks.

If Richter was a sly fox with the personality of a peacock in full display,

then the person before her gave off the feeling of the lofty moon described in novels.

Those silver-white eyes rested directly on her, never once moving away.

Cynthia had originally thought Rafael had cut contact with the original owner because he no longer wanted anything to do with her. But when she saw those eyes, so gentle they seemed to be hiding countless emotions, she rejected her earlier guess.

Unfortunately, she was not the original owner.

No matter what he thought, from now on, they would only be strangers.
The arena would not give anyone a chance to reminisce. Once the procedures were complete, the host’s voice rang out again.

“There is no time limit for this match! Anyone who steps beyond the red line of the ring or loses the ability to resist will immediately be judged the loser-begin!”

As soon as the words fell, a curved blade instantly appeared in the hand of the boy who had been standing near the edge, and his figure vanished.

Cynthia did not move. She simply stood there quietly.

The people in the stands who disliked her were just about to mock her when, three seconds later, a scythe radiating the aura of death appeared in her hand.

The scythe staff was silver-white from end to end, accented with icy purple.

The scythe blade curved like a crescent moon, its surface shimmering with cold, gradient rose patterns.

The shaft was as frigid as crystal, and an icy purple gemstone was embedded in the handle, causing the entire scythe to emit a chilling air.

It possessed a beauty that was both magnificent and uncanny.

The moment the scythe appeared, Cynthia turned and raised her hand, slashing the blade in her grip viciously behind her.
The instant their weapons collided, two different currents of Magic Element crashed together and burst into sparks.

Rafael, who had been invisible, appeared. The silver-blue scimitar in his hand was braced against the blade of her scythe.

His long snow-white lashes lowered slightly, and a faint smile curved his lips. “…It’s been a long time. Xiya, you’ve grown even stronger.”

“You’re not bad yourself.” Cynthia put strength into her wrist and forcibly knocked him back.

The original owner of this body hadn’t been close to her family, and even this one friend of hers hadn’t seen her in years. They had only maintained that tenuous connection through letters.

When it came down to it, they didn’t really know each other that well. So she wasn’t too worried about him discovering that her soul came from another world.

Still, to be safe, it was better to end this quickly.

His invisibility earlier had to be his first skill. If she kept letting him take the initiative, sooner or later, he would drive her into a dead end.

Cynthia decisively shifted her strategy from defense to offense.

The scythe spun lightly in her hand, sending out a dark blade of magic.

At the same time as she activated her first skill, Mirror Image Clone, she used the spell with the shortest wind-up to release a burst of mist that could block his vision.

Rafael calmly crushed the magic blade head-on.

At the same time, thick black fog spread across the arena.

With his vision obstructed, Rafael gathered Magic Element and summoned the wind element, dispersing the fog.

His vision cleared again very quickly. From start to finish, it took less than five seconds.

But in those five seconds, two more Cynthias had appeared in the arena that had originally held only the two of them.

From their appearance to their aura, it was impossible to tell which one was the real body.

The three figures attacked at once, trapping Rafael in a triangle and sealing off every route of retreat. At that same moment, three scythe blades came cleaving straight down.

A clone skill, is it…

A flicker of amusement passed through Rafael’s eyes. He snapped his fingers lightly, and countless threads immediately appeared out of thin air, wrapping around all three scythes.

The threads were the same silver-white as his eyes.

Each thread was as fine as a strand of hair. They looked fragile, but in reality, even the sharp scythes could not cut through their bindings.

Soon, the three scythes were like moths trapped in a spiderweb, seized so tightly they could not move.

The threads crawled along the scythes toward Cynthia like living vines.

Rafael’s second skill-Silver Thread Bind.

The silver threads carried a paralyzing effect, and they could also Devour the opponent’s power.

The moment Cynthia felt her strength being Devoured, she wanted to control the clones and pull free. But it was already too late. The silver threads were too dense. Without a teleportation skill, avoiding them would not be easy.

Cynthia had no choice but to face them head-on. The threads crisscrossed, each one gleaming with a cold edge, as though they could slice a person alive into shreds.

After infusing Magic Element into her weapon and forcibly cutting them apart, Cynthia discovered that the damned things could actually heal themselves.

Just as the threads were about to wrap around her body, Cynthia lunged forward and sprang through a narrow gap between them like a nimble wildcat. Her figure was like a streak of lightning, so fast it left an afterimage behind.

The two clones obeyed her will as well, successfully blocking all the threads that were about to attack her.

Before Rafael’s threads could slaughter the clones, Cynthia turned them into Magic Element Form and recalled them.

At the same time, the scythe in her hand transformed in an instant into the Seven-Star Chain Whip, which severed all the incoming silver threads.

But Rafael gave her no time to catch her breath. His figure flashed, and he vanished once more.

His first skill was invisibility, his second skill controlled the field with threads, and his scimitar leaned toward close combat. There were almost no openings, making it even harder to find a weakness.

Cynthia tightened her grip on the Chain Whip and did her best to calm her mind, sensing the fluctuations of magical power around her.

The scimitar cut through the air, drawing a dark arc. The moment she detected his position, Cynthia immediately bent low and dodged, then slid forward on one knee in a burst of speed, leaving the range of his attack.

A lingering trace of magical power opened a bloody gash across her shoulder, and blood instantly welled out.

Cynthia ignored the pain. The Chain Whip in her hand lashed toward Rafael’s position like a giant python.

For some reason, Rafael’s speed was a little slower this time. The Chain Whip struck him across the entire abdomen.

Blood sprayed from torn flesh, but he didn’t get angry. His expression remained as gentle as ever.
As the two sides remained locked in a stalemate, different voices gradually rose from the audience stands.

“She can actually hold out this long…”

“Holy crap… How are those two reacting so fast? Is this really the level freshmen are supposed to have? That makes no sense!”

“Right? Isn’t Cynthia the lowest-ranked bottom sequence? Even if her star level was piled up with drugs, there’s no way her combat ability on the field could be faked… Honestly, this is kind of beyond my expectations.”

“…Can you guys not switch sides so fast?”

“We’re not. Even if they’re in the same realm, their sequences are heaven and earth apart. Rafael is definitely still going to win in the end.”

“Exactly. How could a low-sequence piece of trash possibly win? I think Rafael is just going easy on her.”

“Stop arguing. What are you even arguing about? If they keep fighting, they’ll run out of magic sooner or later. We’ll know who wins and who loses soon enough.”