Chapter 149
“You can use the backyard for practical implementation.”
“Thank you, elder!” Evelyn beamed and nodded.
Her enthusiasm was infectious, spreading a smile across Sigfor’s face.
The fog hung thick in the air, muting the world in shades of gray.
He nodded, and they left through the back exit, which led to a wide-open ground. It was foggy and dark, with moss covering the walls, evidence that it had not been maintained much over time.
The ground squelched under their feet, leaving imprints that quickly filled with water.
The damp air was thick with the scent of earth and decay. Evelyn shivered, not from the cold, but from a strange mix of excitement and anticipation.
“Let’s get right into it!” Evelyn exclaimed excitedly.
Oliver smiled at that. He had to explain many things to her for her to understand his idea.
But once she understood, she was so excited that she kept making possible combinations from the branches of theory he taught her.
Her eyes sparkled with every new idea, her energy seemingly boundless.
“It has been a few weeks now, and I have observed that almost everyone has reached a certain level of synergy and coordination with their teammates and elements.”
“So it’s time I see what you have prepared,” Sigfor said as he stood up and looked at the group of children.
His gaze was sharp, appraising each child with a mix of curiosity and expectation.
“Come one by one with your partner and demonstrate the combination you have come up with.”
“We will go first!” Amber announced as she dragged Alphonso behind her.
“What are you doing!? We should wait and observe others first!” He looked at her in disbelief and whispered desperately.
His voice was a hiss, barely audible over the murmur of the other children.
Never in his life had he seen such a reckless girl. They should have waited first and let others show their moves; then they could have made adjustments to their own elemental combinations.
He felt a knot of anxiety tighten in his stomach, but her confidence was unyielding.
But here she was, charging in recklessly.
She looked at him and assured him, “Don’t worry, with what we have prepared, I doubt anyone can do better than us.”
Alphonso was still skeptical; she was too hasty to think things through.
Her certainty both irritated and inspired him.
He shook his head and left everything to fate. Whatever happens was going to happen anyway; it was just a simple challenge in the end.
“Are you ready?” Sigfor asked.
“Yes, elder, we are both ready!” she said proudly.
Her voice echoed with determination, filling the silent courtyard.
“Alright, then show it to me.”
Sigfor made a gesture with his hand, and a runic symbol-filled paper floated in the air in front of him. Soon enough, a translucent barrier covered the walls and the surroundings.
The air hummed with the energy of the barrier, a faint blue shimmer outlining its edges.
It was done to prevent the shockwaves or impact any of the elements might have on the surroundings.
“Alphonso, start!”
Amber called out to him as she clasped her hands together in a praying form, with her eyes closed as she focused on something.
“Here you go.”
Alphonso put both of his hands forward, twisting them slightly, forming some gestures.
The sound of nearby winds slowly started to intensify in the area before him.
The noise kept rising as wind started to gather in front of him.
Soon enough, everyone could see and feel it.
The wind in front of Alphonso was starting to rotate in a spiral form.
Before they knew it, a mini wind cyclone was taking birth.
The speed of the wind kept increasing as time passed by, Alphonso was channeling his espera continuously.
He non-stop poured espera into the cyclone, watering it like a plant as the cyclone only kept getting bigger and bigger.
On the other hand, Amber was doing something different.
Her hands, which had been clasped together, moved as she pulled one of her palms upwards, just at the height of her forehead.
The ground before her started to turn mushy, losing its form as if someone had turned the rock into clay.
The moment she pulled her hand upwards, multiple pieces of rocky land, which had now been reduced to nothing but a clayey form, started to rise from the earth.
Her brow furrowed with concentration, every movement precise and deliberate.
Each piece of clay was a chunk extracted from the ground, leaving the flat surface with multiple holes.
She once again did something; her hand, which had still not moved from the praying gesture, turned as she stretched her palm towards the clay balls that were slowly rising from the ground.
Her eyes were determined and her focus was sharp; she slowly started to close her outstretched palm.
As her fingers neared the center of her palm, the clay balls shook as if someone was sending shockwaves through them.
In front of everyone, the balls made of rocky clay started to deform once again, their shape changing slowly under the enormous espera focused on them.
The clay balls stretched, slowly turning into long lines, hardening at the same time under the effects of her earth-attributed espera.
The group could see the clay turning into something akin to a stick.
Amber focused, her brows knitted together as she opened her eyes and stared at the sticks.
Her hand closed; the moment her fingers touched the base of her palm, the sticks started to float and shook violently.
The size of those rocky sticks was slowly shrinking.
No, it was more accurate to say Amber was compressing those sticks, reducing their size and increasing their density.
The sticks made out of rocks trembled as they compressed to the point where they were nothing more than extremely sharp and thin needles.
One glance at them and anyone could tell they were quite sharp.
Amber used the hand still above the level of her forehead, moving it down, and the needles followed her direction.
She pointed towards the raging cyclone that seemed to be slowly enveloping the surroundings. One could see strong wind currents making the clothes of the other children flutter.
Amber’s own hair whipped around her face, yet she stood resolute.
However, somehow Alphonso’s clothes were intact, unmoving and normal. It was as if the wind was not even reaching him, much less having an effect on him.
His focus was unwavering, the wind obeying his every command.
It was a testament to his control over the wind element; he was properly controlling the winds around him to cancel any strong currents coming his way.
The needles flew directly into the cyclone.
It was at that moment when Amber’s and Alphonso’s eyes met. They seemed to be in sync, as if they knew what was happening with the other’s espera.
Their movement slowly turned into coordination, flowing smoothly and unifying as one.
“Move!”
Both of them said at the same time.
BOOM!
It was at that moment when the mini cyclone exploded with force and power as it spun at a crazy fast speed, destructing everything in its trail, even the earth below was not spared.
A shockwave rippled out, causing the children to stumble back, shielding their faces.
Oliver narrowed his eyes at the spectacle. Through his special eyes, he was able to perceive the extremely fast-moving, densely packed needles roaring inside the tornado.
It was so fast that the movements of the needles had long turned blurry to the normal naked eye.
They had merged with the wind as one!
It was a terrifying sight.
Anything in direct contact was destroyed by the force and punctured by the sharpness of the needles.
The metal dummy on the ground was torn apart the moment it came in contact with the raging cyclone of wind combined with the robust energy and power of the earth element.
It was a destructive sight; had they been stronger, it would have been enough to obliterate a battalion or group of demons at once.
The offense-related spell was just that powerful!
Amber had properly used her element’s destructive nature, and Alphonso had skillfully incorporated the element into his calm but sharp wind element.
They both managed to pull this through despite the opposing nature of their elements.
It was not bad for their age and talent level.
Sigfor clapped.
“Impressive,” he said as he looked at the moving cyclone.
“Very creative of you two to come up with this. The needles are quite strong for an unarmed body, and coupled with the raging winds and their sharp nature, it fits perfectly well.”
Sigfor analyzed the cyclone with interest. He nodded approvingly, a rare sign of genuine praise.
Amber and Alphonso looked at each other with smiles; they were quite happy to have been acknowledged for their efforts.
Amber’s eyes subconsciously wandered towards a certain person.