Chapter 120: I dont give third chances. (1/2)
For this particular part of the tournament, Cekrad had apparently decided to turn the 10 vs 10 into a 40 vs 40.
Thus, once the eighty students stepped on the spacious arena, the match officially began. Of course, with a big figure like eighty fighters, things could happen in a lot of different ways.
Strategies were more than welcome in this kind of setting. And since no one expected the fact it would be a confrontation between groups of 40, it would require some adaptability and quick thinking from the students.
The first thing Arima's students did was using the custom telepathic link their teacher had given them. It allowed them to communicate together without having multiple thoughts clashing against each other.
The underlying principle was simple. If someone sees it as a program, it's even easier to comprehend. A telepathic network usually fails because people's thoughts can clash against each other and cause a backlash. But with Arima's theory, it filters every thought and sends it toward its fixed receiver. And the one who is given 'administrator's rights, the leader, has the possibility to send a thought to everyone, bypassing every other without clashes.
This kind of theory is only possible to use when you think of human thought as a simple signal that you can deviate or control while having extensive knowledge of how brain waves function. That is why Arima could create this kind of theory so easily.
The class' strategy was quite modest though and was the one that Arima came up with at first.
Five students would stay behind and simultaneously use the fifth red art to gather as much mana as they could. Mana is as important for humans as electricity is for machines. So, of course, having an energy tank charging behind your back was certainly beneficial.
At first, Velvet's students failed to understand until they finally noticed that most of the mana in the air was being siphoned by their opponents.
It was without saying that the less mana there is around you, the less you can replenish your mana pool. That alone was a big disadvantage. But the scariest aspect of the Fifth Art is that it could even directly steal mana from one's soul if the one in the air was insufficient.
The one who realized all of this first was a boy named Gile. For Velvet's class, he was basically the equivalent of Irian, and one of their aces. Velvet could have put him in the following fights but she decided to put him in the large-scale battle. Class B's organization for their communication was a 'chain'. A student was connected to another who was connected to the third one and so on.
Gile was at the top of the 'chain' end everyone effectively received orders from him. He nodded at everyone and kicked the ground to be the head of the spear. His figure started changing as he was running. He soon transformed into a four-legged animal. His resonance was a bit special as he completely changed into an animal.
”Oh?” Arima exclaimed in surprise as this was the kind of resonance he wanted to attain with Night, although a lot more complex and stronger.
The result of that resonance was a huge black rhinoceros who charged alone toward the full team of forty. His comrades soon followed him.
The reaction on the other side was immediate, they all moved synchronously and went out of the way of the rhinoceros. As if they had planned this beforehand.
Gile had now a clear path leading to the rear and that fact perturbed him greatly. He chose to bury his legs on the ground and forcefully stop his charge. He knew that once he would be immobile in the middle of everyone, they would encircle him and attack. But he preferred that over going straight into a trap.
Instead, he promptly conjured his magic and lifted his front legs before slamming them down in the next motion. The stone arena cracked and the ground started shaking.
The earth began to move like a living creature and attacked class A in all kinds of ways. The rest of class B then joined the fray and quite a chaotic battle erupted. Magic flew in all directions and the arena lit up in a multicolor rave.
Arima gazed with blank eyes at the sky where fireballs, water streams, and boulders were being flung in all directions.
”This is just a mess… Maybe I should have taught them how to fight a big number of enemies,” he muttered and winced. ”I forgot.”
”Hey…” Night stared at him incredulously and shook his head.
In the end, the first battle didn't last long. Although Gile's performance was outstanding, his class was beaten by the perfect coordination of class A and their mana gathering strategy. They were inevitably pushed back and at some point, the judges attributed the victory to Arima's class, adding two points.
Following that, it was time for the tag teams. The first fight involved Ofia and Lena. Even if the other side did everything that they could, the winners were undisputed as class A won once again. They continued on a winning streak until Irian fell against Mila in a one vs one.
His advantages over her were next to nonexistent and he was forced in a contest of endurance which he lost because of his opponent's ruses.
In conclusion, class A came out victorious six times out of seven. Velvet could only smile bitterly in the face of such a result.
She understood that Arima's students were above hers in every aspect. Even experience. She felt like the main reason why her class lost so badly was that Arima's students seemed to be more experienced to fight.
”Fine, now onto the next,” Raal announced. ”This time, class A, please leave and free the place for class C. The students will be healed and the tournament will resume in thirty minutes to let them rest.”
After he said that, Arima led his class out of the spatially-closed arena and then went back inside a minute later. His students were confused at his behavior but still followed him back in. Then, when they saw that the fights were already over, they were struck speechless.
Since Arima had altered time within the arena, upon leaving it one would obviously be a victim of the time gap.