BXBX NOVEL Chapter 122: Losing Streak
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
The Freshmen Welcoming Party went on along with the sparring. So far, the Freshmen are now experiencing the gap between them and the older students, they're learning what it truly means to be a student of the Academy.
They haven't even won once yet. It felt vexing and stifling for the Freshmen but they couldn't do anything about it.
That said...say what you will about the Older Students but at the very least, they followed their word. They said that they would impart their knowledge to the freshmen, and even though the process felt humiliating for the new students, their criticisms were sound and valid.
The freshmen who received their advice started considering their words properly. Sure, it's valid for them to doubt their words but they can't deny that what they said made sense, and maybe they could consider it after hearing the opinion of someone more professional.
Still, this was a secondary benefit to them. What they're mainly after was, at the very least, a win or two against the older students.
This might seem immature but it's humiliating to be stomped so easily like this. The new students know that their seniors are strong but was it too much to wish for a win at least?
It also didn't help that they could feel the sheer disappointment and boredom of their seniors. They must be thinking that they're too weak and easy to bully, and that feels vexing for the new students.
"Hey, look!"
"What the—! It's her, she's coming up!"
"Bro, it's the goddess! The goddess is moving!"
"Go, Isabella. Win this for us!"
Someone noticed it first and that led to a chain reaction. That's right, Isabella had enough of watching from the sidelines and was now coming up to the stage to challenge one of the older students.
If the freshmen noticed this, the older students did too obviously. Under her veil, Isabella frowned when she felt the lingering gaze of the disgusting men on her body.
Some lingered on her face while others stuck on her body. Either way, they disgust her all the same. This is why she doesn't talk to boys. And it's not like she's wearing a revealing outfit either. Her uniform was on the loose side, and on top of this, she was wearing a jacket too. She's not even wearing a skirt, choosing pants instead because she doesn't want those gazes to linger on her legs.
'Men are disgusting...' She scowled beneath her veil while stepping up the stage.
"Isabella, right?" The instigator of this whole event asked in a friendly tone.
'This one's disgusting too.' She muttered inwardly as she looked at the man.
Receiving an icy glare from the lady, the instigator swallowed nervously. Those eyes of hers looked as if they could see through his thoughts and he was wise enough to stop leering at her because he'd be risking his balls if he continued.
"...who do you want to challenge?" He asked while sweating coldly.
"Her." She whispered loud enough to hear.
There's only one female on the older students' roster and she chose that one to be her opponent. There are several reasons why she did this but it's mainly because she's a girl like her.
At the very least, this woman wouldn't aim to take advantage of her during the fight.
Her chosen foe looked surprised at first, but when she looked at her teammates, she understood why she was picked:
"Seriously, you boys are creepy! Show some decency at the very least, or else I will report this to Mistress Christina!"
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