Chapter 106: Sheer Destruction

Now…

I really need to rack up some points.

While the examination will naturally introduce more ways to gain points, I still couldn’t afford to be careless. Someone might get lucky; some may just be that smart.

Either way, both could ruin my plans if I’m not careful.

I should at least get enough points to reach the top 5 before I get confident.

I still have the rest of the day, and the professors are already quieter than they were last night, though still considerably more aggressive than at the start of the examination.

It was the best time to gain as many points with as little resistance as possible.

[Soul Sense]

Luckily enough, there were still a few high-ranking professors who preferred to stay solo.

[Profaned Step]

*** Dormitory District – Streets

Herman Frey.

A high-level dark mage worth 20 points upon elimination.

A new professor who was released just last night, right when the reverse hunt event started.

He seemed confident he didn’t need teammates—and with the sheer talent and skill I could sense from him, he had every reason to be.

“Don’t think you could sneak up on me that easily.”

Herman snapped his fingers. The instant I appeared behind him, I froze as dark, grotesque hands burst from the ground, clamping around my feet and locking me in place.

“So you’re the so-called prodigy?”

Herman looked at me, but he wasn’t dumb enough to just start talking without doing anything. He already had his palm point-blank on my chest.

He didn’t want to take his chances with me.

[Abyssal Fireball]

I guess it’s time for me to test out my new kit.

[Echo (On)]

[Endless Fang (Unique)]

SLASH!

I cleaved through the hands that locked me in place, quickly bending my body backwards as I narrowly dodged the unbearably cold fireball that licked at my uniform.

BANG!

I didn’t wait for another second to move again, kicking him in the chest to send him flying in the opposite direction.

But that wasn’t enough, obviously; he stopped himself just before he crashed into a nearby building, using dark manipulation to grab himself just before he could have his back broken.

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

He fired a volley of beams straight at me, but this sword was the perfect counter to them.

I didn’t bother dodging and instead charged, slicing through anything that got in my way.

“A spellsword…?”

Herman frowned. He hadn’t expected a student to actually pursue the academy’s least recommended path of combat when it came to a magic user.

“So the reports weren’t lying.”

Herman quickly cloaked himself with darkness, stacking dozens of teleportation spells at once in order to remove my winning condition of getting close.

[Dark Step]

That was the first one, narrowly avoiding my blade just inches away from his neck.

[Profaned Step]

But he wasn’t the only one who could teleport!

BANG!

SLASH!

SLASH!

BOOM!

The entire dormitory district was a mess, both from his relentless attacks as he moved and from the brute force I used to chase him.

Buildings lay in ruins, and the streets had been blasted into craters.

The damage alone would cost a small count’s entire net worth to repair.

The gap between a 10‑point professor and a 15‑point, or even a 20‑point professor, was drastic. Even though the difference was only five points each time, the increase in strength felt exponentially greater.

[Call of Abyss]

A huge bell appeared from the sky, huge enough to be a house.

DING!

The moment it rang, a deafening blast of sound slammed into me, making my whole body vibrate.

The attack completely ignored my physical strength and went straight through me using nothing but sound.

“S-Smart…”

I laughed, but I still haven’t even taken things seriously yet, trying my best to conserve energy for the last night.

But it probably won’t hurt to show him, and the observers, a hint of what’s to come.

Well… aside from the chaos I already caused when I completely destroyed the seniors’ entire fortress.

[Profaned Recovery]

[Profaned Manipulation]

Hundreds of violet tendrils burst from the floor and walls around us, each one whipping toward Herman as he struggled to fend off both my advance and the relentless assault.

But that wasn’t all. Echo multiplied my tendrils, doubling their strength and durability in an instant. It also amped up my recovery, turning me into a near-unkillable tank—unless he landed a single hit strong enough to pierce my skin and tear through my vital organs.

I wasn’t going down.

ZIP!

ZIP!

ZIP!

He tried to counter with his own, hundreds of needle-like projections of darkness exploding outward from his hands as he attempted to overwhelm me.

But it was useless; I was recovering faster than he could deal damage to me.

I lunged for his face, wounds knitting shut as fast as they opened. Blood and sweat soaked my shredded uniform, but I kept charging, tanking thousands of shallow cuts without slowing. Violet tendrils coiled and snapped around him, straining to pin him down as I closed my hand over his head.

“Y-You’re not human!”

Herman struggled to speak, feeling his head slowly get crushed by my sheer grip strength. Doing his best to escape by increasing his barrage second by second.

[Thousandfold Dark Ascent]

His eyes went impossibly dark, glowing like pits of pure abyss as he screamed, turning the entire dormitory district into a killing field.

Hundreds of tendrils and countless slashes overlapped into a single storm of death, making the area almost impossible to approach unless you could heal faster than the thousands of invisible blades tearing you apart.

“Die!”

Two voices. One outcome.

***

“What in the name of Nyx…”

The main observer turned toward our direction, taking in the sheer amount of destruction wrought by just two mages.

He smiled faintly, clearly impressed by the combined power of the academy’s student and professor.

Still, that level of power needed to be kept in check.

“Should we stop them?” another observer asked.

“Obviously—unless you want them to destroy the entire examination completely.” The main observer chuckled, resting a hand on his chin as he thought.

After giving his orders and watching several observers move into action, he turned his attention to the ones managing the upcoming scenario events.

“Can I add something new?”

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