The moment Alec casted the Stone Skin spell, no one was even surprised anymore by his proficiency in it also, by now, they simply felt it would be normal if he had pushed most of the basic spells in his arsenal into the Mid Tier level.
As to them, he was some kind of perfectionist who refused to settle for less.
However, those closest to Alec, like Arthur and Brandon, were left wondering when he had even found the time to practice his basic spells to such a high level, considering everything he had been going through at the academy.
As these thoughts ran through their minds, Alec’s body was instantly covered in a rocky exterior, it was almost effortless, as if he didn’t even need to try, beyond his high spell proficiency, his Earth Manipulation ability made his casting nearly instantaneous.
Unlike their own Stone Skin, Alec’s looked like a second skin, blending seamlessly with his body.
It was thin, almost like a layer of hardened fabric rather than rough stones, but despite its sleekness, it was far sturdier than what any of them had cast.
As the difference was clear Alec’s spell had been compressed, making it denser and significantly more powerful in defence.
“Come on, don’t just stand there admiring my spell, we don’t have all day, send your strikes in,” Alec said, his sharp gaze sweeping over the mages.
His words snapped them out of their daze, immediately, they sprang into action, summoning their spells and launching attacks at Alec, though uncoordinated, but still yet it was over thirty spears surging toward him.
Agnes alone had managed to fire five Earth Spears, and several others had unleashed multiple projectiles of their own.
They weren’t holding back.
The mountain top fell silent, as the only sound being heard was the sharp swoosh of Earth Spears cutting through the air, each one homed in on Alec with deadly precision, a testament to how much his words had fired them up.
But as the spears entered Alec’s twenty-six-meter zone, something strange happened, without him moving a step or even lifting a finger, the incoming projectiles seemed to be affected by an invisible force.
And one by one, they crashed down and crumbled, unable to get any closer.
Some managed to push further, reaching the ten-meter mark, but the result was the same, the moment they entered that range, they were slammed down as if a more crushing weight had descended upon them.
It was clear that the gravity pressure increased in stages, the force at ten meters was significantly stronger than at eleven to twenty meters, which in turn was stronger than at twenty-one to twenty-six meters.
It was almost as if every ten-meter increment carried a progressively heavier gravitational force.
Watching this unfold, many of the mages couldn’t help but wonder
‘What if it had been them instead of the spears who had attacked Alec at such close distance?
Would they have even been able to take a step forward before collapsing under the pressure?’
But Alec’s voice suddenly snapped them out of their thoughts.
“What about you, Brandon?”
All eyes turned to the Tier 5 Mage sub-leader after that sentence, who also seems to have been staring silently at Alec.
Brandon exhaled, shaking his head.
“I never thought I’d say this, but no matter how hard I try to catch up, you keep pulling further ahead, you were so relaxed while facing the attacks of twenty mages that you even noticed I didn’t make a move.”
You seem a little chatty now, let me entertain you then.
I didn’t even need to observe to know you didn’t attack, even if I closed my eyes, I would still know.”
His words made a few furrow their brows in confusion.
“Why’s that?” Brandon asked.
Alec crossed his arms before explaining.
“Simple, among the Tier 5 mages here, you surpass them by far in this same spell proficiency, so I expected your attack to at least reach me, and since none of the spears even touched me, I knew for sure that you hadn’t made a move.”
Alec’s explanation felt like an indirect insult to the Tier 5 mages, but instead of feeling slighted, they saw the compliment hidden within his words.
And they felt If Brandon’s attack could at least reach Alec, then there was still a chance, a chance to see someone break through Alec’s overwhelming defence.
And right now, that was enough for them.
These Tier 5 mages are highly respected in their own right, and never thought they would one day feel so powerless before another Tier 5 mage.
But here they were, watching their young master, a demon-like prodigy, stand unfazed against their collective might.
And that’s why, despite everything, they desperately wanted to see an attack reach him, even if it didn’t harm him, just touching him would feel like a small victory.
“Ohh, here I come then.”
Brandon stepped forward as he took a stance, throwing his right hand back as he cast his Earth Spear spell, but when he did, only one spear materialized in his grasp.
The watching mages exchanged confused glances,
‘Why had he summoned only one?
Was he holding back?’
But Brandon wasn’t concerned with what anyone else thought, he had taken Alec’s words to heart, and those words ignited something within him.
Alec’s rare praise meant everything to him, it was more of a challenge, one he refused to back down from.
Taking a deep breath, he let his Qi flow into the spear, his grip tightening.
He locked eyes with Alec, refusing to be the first to look away, his mind drifting back to the first time they met, during the zombie clean-up mission to rescue the Lanzt family’s younger generation.
Back then, he had wielded his greatsword, standing shorter than the others, the only one in the group with just one element, yet, Alec had never treated him as lesser, instead, Alec had always made him feel like a rare, supreme gem, valued not for his limitations, but for his strengths.
Brandon had never been one for words, but he had always been grateful for Alec’s unwavering support.
That was why he trained relentlessly, always striving to meet the high expectations Alec had of him.
The moment Brandon threw the spear, it shot forward like a javelin, cutting through the air, but what shocked everyone was what followed—
With each thunderous explosion, another spear erupted from the base of the first, stacking behind it in rapid succession.
Ten continuous blasts, each one louder than the last.
And the moment a new spear emerged from the bottom, the one at the front accelerated, as if boosted by some mysterious force.
This pattern continued until eleven Earth Spears were flying through the air, perfectly aligned, one trailing behind the other.
Unlike the other mages who had attacked from random angles, Brandon was attempting a different strategy.
He aimed to focus all his force on a single point within Alec’s gravity field, trying to break through with his chain of eleven spears.
Show me just how powerful you are, brother.”
Alec’s voice carried excitement, but not because of the attack itself but it was because his analysis skill had just confirmed something—
Brandon was on the verge of evolving his Earth Spear spell from the Low Tier to becoming a Mid Tier spell.