Chapter 114: The Bull Prince

As much as Solomon wanted to, he could not justify rushing in blindly to attack. This was an instructor he was dealing with. And one with a deep grudge against him.

He had been waiting for this moment ever since they’d come back from Darrod.

Instructor Wilkins would be careful. Metodical. Solomon could not afford to make any mistakes here. The good thing was that he had plenty of resources to feel him out.

The ground underneath Solomon became molten and jagged.

He stomped hard on the ground a single time and sent forth a wave of magma and sharp rock. Instructor Wilkins seemed largely unfazed by the opening move.

“Child’s play.”

He moved only one of his hands from behind his back and covered it in a glowing violet aura. Solomon instantly knew something was wrong with it.

Aura could take three different states of being. There was the usual gaseous form that usually appeared whenever a knight was angry or emotional. When in use, it helps temper the body and make it stronger. More durable.

Then, there was a solid aura. Knights typically used this to harden their own weapons, or those who are more advanced can use it to create temporary blades that work just as good as regular ones.

But the final state, liquid aura, was among the most difficult to learn and manage. It gave a knight almost all of the protections and benefits of the first two forms, while simultaneously giving them an extreme amount of versatility.

Producing liquid aura required one to be at least an advanced blue core. Nearly violet.

Instructor Wilkins sent forth a wave of liquid aura. As it wrapped around Solomon’s attack, the magma instantly cooled and hardened.

“It’s time for a lesson, young man!”

Wilkins’ aura suddenly took on a more elastic state. A cross between something solid and liquid.

He yanked his arm and ripped the jagged rocks out of the ground. Spinning his arm overhead, he used his aura like a whip and flung the rocks at Solomon.

Grinding his teeth together, Solomon rolled out of the way to avoid a very gruesome injury. When he recovered, his glare was noticeably more intense than before.

“You bastard!”

Jiaoying stood up from the stands angrily. “You call this a fair assessment?? The opponent is clearly more advanced than the cadet! I thought all contests were supposed to be suppressed to that of an orange core!”

Murmurs rippled through the crowd as they acknowledged the validity of Jiaoying’s statement.

However, Raidis alone seemed completely unconcerned.

“Lady Xu, I know you must have grown attached to your protege during your time here, but we are a teaching academy. Solomon’s skills are so great that he’s already killed one of his upperclassmen. We have to take the appropriate steps to ensure that he is sufficiently challenged.”

Raidis’ answer was thought out. Meticulous. Jiaoying knew that the dean had already planned what he would say before all of this.

Her hatred for him soared to heights she had not considered possible.

“Where are you looking?”

Instructor Wilkins appeared in front of Solomon like a ghost.

Solomon was kicked hard in his stomach and sent nearly ten feet in the air.

Before he could hit the ground, Instructor Wilkins grabbed him by the collar and slammed him headfirst into the ground.

7

Solomon felt his vision go white. His hearing became filled with the sound of static. He was so dizzy, he could barely even get his bearings.

“They call you the ’Bull Prince’. Did you know that? The halls are often filled with tales of your alleged might and competence. How disappointed I am to learn that all of that chatter was overblown.”

Solomon’s eyes snap wide open.

The cracks on his skin finally burst open, and a column of flame rises from his body.

Instructor Wilkins gets clear in time with ease, believing the occurrence just now to be a half-ditched effort of someone on their last leg.

That is, until a giant molten hand comes out of the fire and strikes him squarely in the arm. The impact, while negligible, did surprise the instructor quite a bit. Had his body not been reinforced, that might have been a clean break.

“…Brute strength seems to be all you have. In addition to these strange little… tricks…?”

Heavy footsteps shook the platform as a creature broke through the flame. Surprised cries rippled through the crowd as a large, horned creature emerged onto the platform.

As the column of flame subsided, Solomon’s own wings of fire sprouted from his back.

He released a deafening roar that cracked the ground around them. While everyone else covered their ears, Dean Raidis leaned forward, the corners of his mouth twitching uncontrollably.

Instructor Wilkins hovered away to put some space between them. His permanent scowl deepened even further at the show of power.

“What are you…?” He asked in genuine curiosity.

Solomon summoned his sword into his hand and the temperature outside soared.

He swung his sword in a wide arc, sending flames billowing from the weapon in a destructive wave.

Instructor Wilkins covered his body in liquid aura, shielding himself from the flame while also dodging the sword swipe.

But despite the way he appeared, Solomon was not some mindless rampaging animal.

He was more focused than the last time he stood in this form. His attacks were precise. Measured.

His blade came within inches of striking the instructor. But Wilkins danced around the weapon at every opportunity, laughing mockingly as if he were having a stroll at the beach.

The more confident he became, the less space he left between himself and the blade when he dodged. It was all a game to him. And he was showing everyone in the stands how to play.

Solomon finally cracked a smile too. But there was no warmth behind it.

With a thought, Solomon commanded his sword to adapt.

There was no warning as black barbs sprouted from the blade and pierced through the body of the instructor, wrestling a scream from his throat.

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