"Hm? Are you interested in them?"
Lawrend raised an eyebrow after hearing Aezel's words.
"N-No! It's just that I didn't know that there are so many talents in the Human Race."
Aezel shook her head and explained to him. She feared that Lawrend would misunderstand things.
"Okay. Don't think about it, Aezel."
Lawrend nodded his head and said to her in a warning.
"Lawrend…"
Aezel immediately felt fluttery inside her. Lawrend acting jealous and possessive made her heart skip a beat. She was the type that liked that sort of thing.
Lawrend and Aezel watched more of the mock battles. After an hour of waiting, it was finally Lawrend's turn.
"33 and 34! Stand in the vacant area."
Instructor Kail called for them. Lawrend heeded his words and walked into the battle area. To his surprise, he found the Young Master from earlier walking to stand in front of him.
"Red hair?"
Vernon eyed Lawrend with squinted eyes. He noticed Lawrend's eye-catching red hair that was similar to his own.
"Heh."
Lawrend chuckled lightly. He realized that he was given a chance to fight against this guy that cut his queue earlier.
"Ready? Fight!"
Instructor Kail shouted towards them.
Instead of a fight breaking out in an instant, Lawrend and Vernon stared at each other warily.
"Don't you know that only the Rubrignis family dares to have red hair in this city? And those who aren't a Rubrignis dyed their hair!"
After ending his speech, Vernon pointed his finger towards Lawrend gallantly. Mana accumulated in his raised staff before shooting a bright red ball of fire. It was also different from what Number 1 used before as it was redder and hotter.
"Arrogant."
Lawrend said out loud in annoyance. He opened his palm towards the approaching fireball and shot out a shock arc spell.
BOOM-BUZZZTT
The fireball scattered in a big ball of plasma as the fire and the lightning reacted together.
"A lightning mage? I thought you are better than that!"
Vernon suddenly lifted his staff towards Lawrend. A huge amount of mana was dragged from the environment, and it formed a huge fiery wave that towered over 2 meters tall.
"Fire… is plasma?"
Seeing that flame wave coming for him, Lawrend suddenly remembered something from his past life. It was that fire is highly conductive. Realizing this, Lawrend opened his palm towards it.
"M-Master!"
Aezel shouted in alarm. Lawrend was not trying to defend himself. Instead, he was trying to do a mutual annihilation!
Instructor Kail shook his head seeing Lawrend's actions. He was sure that Lawrend was gonna fail this Entrance Test.
As for the other mages, they sighed. They knew that only a few could win against the Rubrignises. They are one of the top 3 families in the capital city, after all.
Lawrend was not the least bit worried about the opinions of the people around him. What he knew was that his previous life's knowledge can be interposed into his magic!
"+Shock Arc+!"
Lawrend shouted for a dramatic effect.
BOOM!
A lightning bolt escaped his palm. It traveled straight through the huge flame wave coming for him and hit Vernon's body.
"Arghh!"
Vernon didn't have the reflex to defend against Lawrend's attack. Instead, he was thrown off outside of the battle area. His flame wave also dissipated as Vernon's control was interrupted.
"Hmph."
Lawrend snorted and smiled. He finally taught that annoying guy a lesson. He turned his head and waited for Instructor Kail to declare his victory.
Though, even after waiting for a while, Lawrend only saw Instructor Kail looking at him coldly.
"I… I have not lost yet!"
Vernon used his red staff to support himself. There were huge arc-like burns in front of his clothes.
"?"
Lawrend turned his head to him and grimaced. He obviously lost, yet no one was saying anything. Even the mages around him were looking at Lawrend with frowns.
"I, Vernon Rubrignis, have not lost yet!"
Vernon shouted at Lawrend in an unwavering determination.
"Didn't I already incapacitate you?"
Lawrend asked him with a frown.
"A Rubrignis never accepts defeat and humiliation!"
Vernon shouted with fervor.
"Alright. Come."
Lawrend became curious seeing Vernon's determination. He wanted to know what was fueling a man like him.
"O' great Phoenix of old, bring life into this death, from ashes be reborn, Nirvana Flames!"
Vernon chanted loudly. A huge orange flame suddenly appeared above Lawrend.
Lawrend looked at it and frowned. It was much stronger than he thought it would be.
'It's time to try it, I guess.'
Lawrend thought to himself with a shake of his head. He then raised his palm towards the flames.
"+Demonic Arc+!
Lawrend inst-cast the Shock Arc spell that used the red lightning mana inside him.
A bright red bolt of lightning flashed from Lawrend's hand. It connected with the flames and created a bright firework-like show as the red lightning scattered throughout it.
Shortly after, the flame dissipated into thin air.
"What!?"
Vernon looked at Lawrend in disbelief. This was his first time seeing someone counter a True Mage spell with a Beginner Mage spell.
"That worked better than I expected."
Lawrend said out loud as he looked at the sky. He then turned his head towards Vernon.
"Do you have anything else?"
Lawrend asked calmly. He was really curious how well he matches up to these talents, so he was using this opportunity to quantify his strength.
"Monster!"
Someone from the crowd shouted.
"Wasn't that the signature True Mage Spell of the Rubrignis family? He so easily dispelled it…"
The crowd was all in disbelief. They weren't like Lawrend that was clueless about the affairs of the capital city. They knew the glory and significance of Vernon's Nirvana Flames spell.
"Master used my lightning so well…"
Aezel's eyes brimmed with love as she watched Lawrend stand there valiantly like a lone hero. His calmness was a great contrast to the disbelief Vernon and the crowd showed.
"C-Cheating!!"
Suddenly, Instructor Kail shouted towards them as he pointed at Lawrend in disbelief. In his opinion, the power of the Nirvana Flames is something True Mages shouldn't be able to resist.
