The moment we stepped onto the academy grounds, now turned battlefield.
We didn’t even get a second of rest before the first fight broke out.
A professor was already waiting for us on the rooftop walkway that connected the two five-story buildings overlooking our assigned location.
"Rule one of being a good mage: expect the unexpected."
The professor laughed, arms crossed as his eyes began to glow bright gold.
[Light Barrage]
The entire sky from our direction was immediately blotted out, dozens of portals opening, and from it, thin, sharp strands of light began to emerge.
"Good luck, students!"
CRACKLE!
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Kevin and I immediately took cover using another building.
He was a light mage just like Julius and Marcellus... but he sure as hell wasn’t like them when it came to firepower.
That professor was like five of them combined into one!
It wasn’t just us who were caught off guard. Another group of students in the building across from us was also pinned down by the barrage.
"How is this fair!"
The student from the other group shouted, feeling the ground shake from the sheer amount of projectiles being launched.
"Just our luck, huh?"
I laughed excitedly, looking at Kevin to see him just as excited as I am.
Unlike that other group, this wasn’t just a moment to be afraid; this was a moment for the two of us to go on a rampage.
"Go strike from that side, I’ll strike here, let’s see if he can take on a dual assault!"
Kevin nodded immediately, moving quickly to the other corner of the building, and once he reached his position.
It was time.
[Profaned Serpent]
[Dark Serpent]
BANG!
"H-Huh!?"
The professor blinked, seeing two beams of energy heading straight into him from two directions.
[Light Guardian]
He managed to block in time, redirecting Kevin’s beam.
But unfortunately, mine was a little bit stronger than his defensive spell could handle.
BOOM!
"Overwhelm him!"
I shouted, not just to Kevin, but also to the other group of students across from us.
And they didn’t even argue; they knew that if they didn’t help and the professor recovered, they were screwed.
"G-Got it!"
The other group reacted fast.
A spear of wind tore through the air from their side, followed by a burst of condensed earth shards that slammed into the professor’s barrier from below.
CRACK!
The light shield flickered.
"Tch—students these days," the professor muttered, boots skidding back a half-step on the rooftop.
Kevin didn’t waste the opening.
[Dark Step]
He vanished, reappearing mid-air above the professor, palm already glowing with condensed black mana.
[Grave Pulse]
The blast detonated downward.
BOOM!
The rooftop shattered, chunks of concrete raining down as the professor dropped through the broken surface and crashed onto the floor below.
"Did we—!?" one of the other students shouted.
"No," I said immediately. "Not yet."
Light flared violently from the hole.
The professor burst back out, coat torn, barrier cracked but still intact, gold eyes burning brighter than before.
With him floating and the light guardian activated, he literally looked like an angel waiting to deliver judgment.
To anyone spectating from the outside who managed to grab a glance, that was enough to show everyone that things were already getting heated.
"Good," he grinned. "Now that’s more like it."
[Light Compression]
The scattered light strands from earlier snapped back toward him, collapsing into a single blinding sphere above his head.
The pressure spiked instantly.
"Kevin!" I barked. "Interrupt!"
Already moving.
Kevin slammed his hand into the air.
[Dark Bind]
Black chains erupted from thin air, wrapping around the light sphere and the professor’s arm mid-cast.
The chains hissed, light and darkness grinding against each other.
"Interesting spell," the professor said, muscles tensing. "But—"
I didn’t let him finish.
[Profaned Abyssal Lance]
The condensed projectile punched straight through his fractured barrier and clipped his shoulder.
BANG!
The spell sent him flying, but the chains on his arms reached their limit and yanked him short, his body snapping back with a brutal jolt.
The light sphere detonated harmlessly into the sky, scattering into sparks.
The sheer change of momentum should have been enough to reasonably kill any man, but it seems he was still itching for more.
The professor straightened slowly, rolling his shoulder once.
"...Alright," he said, smile sharp. "You two are definitely worth points."
[Dark Step]
Kevin returned beside me behind the building, breathing steady, eyes sharp.
"He’s more durable than I thought!"
He reported, but he sure as hell wasn’t concerned. In fact, the discovery of the professor’s durability gave him a manic edge that bordered on bloodlust.
He really is my student...
I looked back to check on the other group of students that helped out, but as expected, they ran away the moment we distracted the professor.
Couldn’t hate them for it.
It was the smart choice...
[Light Judgement]
A sudden ray of light appeared from the sky, and with it came a literal orbital strike that threatened to disintegrate everything on its path.
"Shit!"
I grabbed Kevin by his arm and quickly jumped out behind the building we were hiding in before it exploded into nothingness.
BOOM!
[Light Guardian]
I cast just in time before the rubble managed to crush us, effortlessly destroying the stones that came close to us and leaving us effectively unscratched.
"I-I could have died."
Kevin manically laughed before looking back at the connected buildings.
The professor was still there, arms still chained, entire body bloodied and strained as his own light guardian struggled to stabilize.
"Y-You survived, huh?"
The professor weakly laughed before losing consciousness and plummeting from the sky, but before he could land headfirst onto the ground’s surface, a flying observer intervened and dispelled Kevin’s chains.
Grabbing him from the mid-fall and redirecting him to a safer location.
[Ding!]
[Arden and Illinalta: Eliminated Varden Stone, 10 Points]
"W-We did it!"
"Yeah, but that’s not really how I expected our first minute to go."
If he was that strong... I got to admit.
I’m starting to think my plan of taking out Corvus might be a bit too optimistic.