Lucian and Sera charged toward Magnus at a blistering speed. Widening his manic grin even further, Magnus bent his knees slightly and spread his arms out. Against all the students he had faced so far, he hadn’t used a single spell or weapon. He never needed to; a simple barrier and his bare hands had been more than enough.

But looking at Lucian’s team rushing him with actual killing intent, he realized that maybe — this group could finally give him the fun he had been waiting for. Suddenly, the light green barrier surrounding his body began to shrink. It rapidly condensed toward his forearm, taking shape until it transformed into a dark green shield, setting firmly into place.

The shield didn’t look like it was forged from metal or some legendary relic. Instead, it glowed like a translucent, holographic construct made of pure, dense energy.

It was glaringly obvious now: Magnus possessed a rare skill that allowed him to shape his mana barrier. Whether he could form just one weapon at a time, or an entire arsenal, would only be seen if Lucian’s team could actually push him that far. He raised his arm just as their weapons arrived.

CLANG!!!

The blazing sword and the crackling baseball bat struck the dark green shield at the exact same fraction of a second. The pressure of their combined strike was so immense that the solid stone ground beneath Magnus’s feet instantly caved in to form a massive spiderweb crater. Yet, Magnus didn’t even bend a knee.

"Kids, is that all the force you could put into it?" he chuckled. I expected a little more..."

Suddenly, his eyes went wide with a crazed glint, and Sera and Lucian’s instincts screamed; they instantly jumped back the moment he released his intimidating aura.

"Haha... Come on, don’t stop now... come at me together. Come on!"

With grim expressions, they leaped forward once again. From behind, Zeri rushed in, joining the joint assault.

Bang! Clang! Shrrccchhh!

To the naked eye, the exchange became a frenzied blur. Striking from high, mid, and low angles, all three of them Rampant a relentless barrage at hyper-speed. Yet, Magnus effortlessly dodged and deflected every single hit.

Damn it, this is going nowhere... he is freaking good at dodging with his shield... every strike...

Gritting her teeth, Sera aimed to pin her sword at the tiny openings on Magnus’s ribs and chest at a crazy speed. A slight flowing move, and the sword clashed with the shield again...

Huff huff... I need to calm down... this shield is translucent, yet it is ten times stronger than any normal shield... I can’t let this go on for much longer, I have to try something else...

Down low, Zeri was continuously swiping at his legs, though with just a few minimal steps, Magnus avoided those too.

"Nyaa! Take this, this, and this, and this!"

Just then, Kaelen’s voice rang out from the back.

"I’m going to do it!"

Hearing this, the pupils of all three attackers shifted. They instantly relaxed their bodies, letting themselves fall backward as three portals opened up, swallowing them whole...

Finding himself suddenly alone, Magnus glanced upward.... A massive barrage of thousands of ice needles was already plunging down, barely ten feet above him.

The next second, his grin wavered slightly... Still, he instinctively moved his arm to raise the shield — and then just stopped.

His body simply didn’t respond. It felt as if multiple invisible threads had completely locked his wrists and legs in place.

The ice needles were only five meters away now. Dodging was literally impossible.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Crash! Shwwsssh! Swish!

For the next seven to nine seconds, Elira’s ice needles rained down mercilessly, burying the spot where Magnus stood.

A safe distance away, three portals opened up. Sera, Zeri, and Lucian stepped out, immediately spreading out and dropping back into their combat stances.

Good... Lucian thought, watching the dust settle.

His eyes shifted toward Lyria. From the elegant fan she carried everywhere, dozens of thin, invisible mana threads extended out, tightly binding Magnus in place. Taking in the successful trap, Lucian then looked over at Kaelen, giving him a slight nod to prepare for the next strike.

It’s a good thing we discussed this strategy yesterday, figuring out how to perfectly align Kaelen’s portals, Lyria’s mana threading, and Zeri’s strikes was the only way to handle an opponent this strong.

Eventually, Elira’s attack ceased.

A sudden, dead silence fell over the giant arena. All the previously battered students and Lucian’s entire team kept their eyes glued to the center as the smoke slowly cleared.

"Is he still standing?" Sera muttered, narrowing her eyes.

Sensing a dangerous shift in the tension, Lyria instantly severed her mana threads. As the dust settled, Magnus stood tall amidst the shattered ice and ruined ground. He had only a few minor bruises.

For a brief moment, his face remained completely shadowed. Then, unable to hold it back any longer, his shoulders began to shake.

"HAHAHAHAH!"

"What a bunch of real prodigies..."

Unnerved by his reaction, the team slightly relaxed their stances, completely confused.

They had no idea how to read Magnus right now.

"Is he one of those battle freaks?" Lucian muttered.

Magnus casually wiped a tear of amusement from his eye.

"Hah... that was fun. Seriously, I didn’t think any of you would be able to pull off much, but damn... I have to admit, you maggots actually have some guts."

He let his shield dissolve. The very next moment, the green shield broke its shape, coating both of his hands and transforming into a pair of glowing gauntlets now.

He stretched his arms over his shoulders until a pop sound echoed, and then cracked his neck left and right.

Watching him do all this, a sudden, heavy pressure filled the room as everyone could instantly feel it.

Sera, Elira, Lyria, Zeri, Kaelen, and Lucian — all of their stomachs tightened into knots the second their gaze met Magnus’s piercing eyes.

"So kids, the warm-up is over. Now let’s start the real game..."

DING!