Chapter Sixty-Seven: Turning the Tables

Gazing at the dense tangle of vines surrounding him, Hughes noticed the subtle movements of the man in black. Red light began to gather in his left hand, and soon a spear forged from flames appeared in his grasp. The fiery spear was about a meter and twenty centimeters long, and as Hughes held it, he could clearly feel the surging energy contained within.

"Go!" Hughes hurled the spear toward the surging mass of vines.

As soon as the flaming spear touched the black vines, it exploded, and the fire wrapped around the writhing vines, igniting them in an instant and transforming the area into a sea of flames.

"Now it's your turn!" Hughes strode swiftly toward the person controlling the vines.

"Not good!" The man in black, though unsure how Hughes had suddenly shaken off the effects of the gravity scroll, glanced at both the charging Hughes and his fallen companion on the ground. He decided it was best to escape for now—after all, the Academy's rules forbade killing.

With that, he turned and ran toward the forest behind him.

"Trying to run?" Seeing the man in black attempting to flee, Hughes gathered red light in his hand again, and a beam like a laser shot out toward the man in black.

This was a spell Hughes had chosen before coming here: Scorching Ray. Unlike the fiery spear, the attack of the Scorching Ray was highly focused.

Before firing, Hughes deliberately adjusted his aim, avoiding vital spots on the man in black. He didn't want to accidentally kill him and cause himself unnecessary trouble.

The spell struck the man's leg with precision, sending him crashing to his knees.

A strange aroma of roasted flesh filled the air. Stifling his revulsion, Hughes walked over to the man in black and removed the badge from his body.

As Hughes searched him, the man in black initially wanted to resist, but the pain left him drenched in cold sweat and completely powerless. His mental strength was already depleted from manipulating so many vines, and all he could do was watch helplessly as Hughes took his badge.

Glancing at the badge, Hughes saw the number 2. It seemed this group had already ambushed quite a few teams.

He transferred the points to his own badge, tossed the now-useless badge in front of the man in black, and turned to look for the other fallen companion.

As he walked, Hughes glanced at the number 4 now displayed on his badge.

"This is too slow. I need to hurry, or I won't make the top ten!" Checking the time—already six o'clock—he realized he had only accumulated four points and needed to pick up the pace.

The sun hung low on the horizon, bathing the forest leaves in gold. All around, the sounds of distant battles and explosions echoed through the woods.

Hughes found the other man in black, who had already fainted from the pain, and simply took the badge from him.

"What’s this?" Hughes spotted a gray stone hanging from the man's neck.

"Beep! Wearing this grants partial immunity to gravity," his chip informed him.

"So this is why he wasn’t affected by the gravity scroll," Hughes realized, remembering how the man's movements had been unhindered. It was all thanks to this stone.

"A fine item. Mine now." Hughes tore the gray stone from the man's neck and slipped it into his pocket.

"Let's check the badge." He turned it over to see the number.

"Only a 1?" Hughes was disappointed; he’d expected at least two points, like the previous opponent, but there was only one.

Still, he didn’t complain—points were points. He transferred it to his own badge, then picked up his discarded backpack and bow, brushed off the dust, and took out a vial of nature potion from the backpack, drinking it down.

Although the potion was mainly effective for healing wounds and only marginally restored mental strength, he didn’t have the luxury to be picky right now. After the battle, Hughes had little spiritual energy left, and meditation wouldn't be enough to recover.

Once the potion took effect, Hughes felt much better. He gathered his belongings, checked the location indicator on his badge, and saw that many light points were still clustered together—likely that Oni’s fight with the others hadn't ended.

The area where Hughes and the two men in black had fought was now far from where he had started. He looked at the unconscious men and, deciding they would survive, took their badges and began heading toward Oni’s position.

Hughes walked at a leisurely pace, waiting for the potion to take full effect. Though his physical attributes meant he didn’t fear a third-level apprentice, having spiritual energy was still a safer bet.

Cautiously approaching the ongoing battle, Hughes saw that both sides had suffered heavy injuries. Oni’s group, in particular, had taken severe losses—two apprentices were already missing limbs.

Anker’s side was not faring much better. Though they outnumbered Oni’s team, Oni’s group was among the Academy’s elite, and in the recent skirmish, they had fought recklessly, trading wounds in a brutal exchange. Most of their injuries were self-inflicted in their desperate attacks rather than directly caused by Anker’s group.

From a short distance away, Hughes nocked an arrow and, taking advantage of the chaos, let it fly. He had intended to target Anker, but the latter was too well protected at the center, making it impossible to get a clear shot.

The arrow pierced through an apprentice’s right leg, sending him crashing to his knees.

"Who’s there?" The sudden arrow startled Anker, who quickly pulled out his badge and scanned the area, turning his gaze toward Hughes.

Oni and Milan, recognizing the power of the shot, were elated—it could only be Hughes.

When the two teams had started fighting, Oni and Milan had worried when Hughes failed to appear, fearing that Anker had sent someone to eliminate him. They were relieved to see him now.

"It’s you—are you alone?" Anker was incredulous as Hughes emerged from the trees.

"Where are Cliff and the others?" Anker’s expression darkened as he took in Hughes, who bore not a single scratch.

"Cliff? Oh, you mean those two in black who ambushed me? They’re still lying over there," Hughes replied, pointing in their direction.

"Unbelievable," Anker muttered. He couldn’t understand how two third-level apprentices had failed to defeat one opponent—and had been so thoroughly routed they couldn’t even get up.

To be honest, Anker found Hughes’ story hard to believe. If Hughes had said the pair fled, it would have sounded more plausible than him defeating both on his own.

Still, Anker checked his badge. Sure enough, the two separate light points were gone.

"Catch!" Hughes tossed two vials of nature potion to Oni and Milan. It wasn’t that he was unwilling to help the others, but his supply was limited—he had only brought five, intending to save them for himself. After giving some away and using one himself, only these two remained. He hadn’t expected the assessment to unfold this way, but by now he understood that going solo was no longer an option, hence sharing the potions with Oni and Milan.

Oni quickly caught the vials, passed one to Milan, and they both hurriedly uncorked them and drank.

"Damn it!" Anker, seeing Oni drink the potion, was both annoyed and furious with the Cliff brothers—two supposedly elite apprentices unable to handle a single opponent. It was laughable.

"Hey, could you spare one of those potions for us? I can pay—you’ll get your money as soon as we’re back at the Academy!"

"Yeah, I’ll pay double! Please, just one nature potion!" Others, seeing Hughes give the potion to Oni, quickly asked if he had any more, their own injuries severe.

"Hughes, if you have any left, could you...?" Oni pleaded. These men had suffered such heavy wounds on his behalf, and he hoped Hughes would help.

Without a word, Hughes opened his backpack, revealing that he was out of nature potions—only a few stamina potions remained.