Valerian, The Legendary

130 Valor.

Valerian waited for the competition between the two groups to end. He was observing his potential opponents constantly while eating something to sate his hunger as well.

Fallax was keeping an eye on him and said, “Valerian, come over.”

His sentence rang in the ears of the child and he cast a glance at the top of the observation tower. With a nod, he followed the instruction. He was not a fool to not realize that the old man had something in his mind.

He did not hesitate, because it will not be his fault if things do not go along with the plan Fallax had in his mind. It will be the face of the old Magnus Magister on the line.

Thinking about this, he climbed the tower, and the people again scrutinized him. Fallax did not have a habit of beating around the bush and asked, “What do you think of the students below?”

Valerian looked at the faces of all the old people and then his teacher, he sighed as he thought, ‘To think I will not be suffering, this old man sure is a pain in my neck.’

Then he cast a gaze at the bunch of students casting spells and martial art skills against each other before he said, “They lack the commitment.”

The eyebrows of the old people jumped and they were all surprised, they did not expect for such a concise answer from this child. It was shocking to them to hear such a thing coming from someone who was not even a teenager.

A man with a long beard and blue robes asked in a gentle tone, “Why do you say so, child?”

.....

Valerian did not wish to communicate with these people, but then he sighed and still moved forward as he replied, “Sir, they all do not have a sense of urgency on their faces. I said they lack the commitment because they probably have never seen the real battlefield.”

The elders from the mage and the warrior groups understood his meaning and were astonished at this. A burly old man asked, “Why do you think they have not seen a real battlefield?”

Valerian did not back down or fumble under the pressure this man gave off, and said, “If they did, then their eyes would not have so many thoughts fluctuating. They think a lot before they cast a spell. They think and search for the weak point when they throw a punch or a blow. Thus, they lack commitment.”

The supreme mage from the wood mage tower chuckled and asked, “Then how can they gain commitment?”

Valerian shrugged his shoulders and said, “Everyone has their own method to grow. I am not capable enough to guide them at the moment. I have a long way to go.”

Fallax nodded and said, “Good that you have your own opinions and that you do know humility and modesty. Eat your food, and do not forget to give some to your companion as well.”

Valerian nodded but did not forget to squint at the old man before turning around to tease Fortuna, who was laying in Fragrantia’s lap.

...

After three hours, finally, the battles came to an end and two people were declared to be the best students this year. The imperial academy did not believe in segregation and even if you are just a freshly awakened mage, if you are a student of the academy, you will have to face a grade seven mage.

The same goes for the warriors. The older generation believed that only when people meet hard competition do they grow. Only when a strong man stands against strong winds, can they face the storms in life.

Valerian was called down to the arena to prepare for a match. The atmosphere was tense. Everyone wished to see how a battlemage would tackle the best of the two groups at the same time. It was a rare sight for the people to see a battlemage in action. Valerian may be a child but he was someone, who could use both blessings at the same time.

The people were eager for the match. On the ground, Kartan Shin and Instructor Chug stood on the right and the left of a rectangular field, respectively.

This field was thirty meters in length and twenty meters in width. Kartan Shin said, “Valerian, this field is the area of your battle. Once you are unable to fight or leave the boundary, you will be considered defeated. The same rules apply to the two people. Do you agree?”

Valerian replied, “Yes, Teacher Shin.”

This reply made the teacher nod in affirmation. Instructor Chug then said, “Constans, Fallicia, come forward.”

Two youngsters came forward from the group of mages and warriors standing in a distance. One of them was a boy with a burly figure, while another was a delicate-looking girl.

However, Valerian knew that this lady was not a vase, her eyes were brimming with haughtiness, and that was something she could not hide. The silver-haired boy had been observing her and knew that she was a dual elemental with one of them being fire and the other being a shadow.

She was a natural counter for his element of light, but earth countered fire as well. This would be an exciting match.

The guy on the other hand looked very calm and silent. Valerian had seen this guy taking seven hits in a row and then making the opponent drop on the floor with a counter. This guy was the person who would accumulate the damage and shock wave in his battle aura armor, and then return it in kind.

Valerian scratched his head thinking about the imminent battle. He was excited and also fearful because the opponent was strong.

He watched the two people take their places in the arena. Instructor Chug said, “Introduce yourselves.”

The lady nodded and said, “Fallicia, grade seven mage, fire and shadow elements.”

The guy followed her lead and said, “Constans, grade seven warrior.”

Valerian nodded to the two and said, “Valerian, grade six battlemage, earth, wind, and light elements. My warrior grade is the same as my mage grade.”

This simple statement shocked the people, they did not expect this young man to be catching up with the seniors at such a young age. It was a fact that the battle mages were stronger than the other people.

However, there was another fact that the growth of the battlemages was slower than the others. It was because they had to work on two things at the same time. Valerian’s growth rate displayed his potential and talent.

Kartan Shin gazed at the boy in the arena, and could not help but evaluate the boy once more. Instructor Chug was the same, he could not help but imagine what sort of tormenting training this boy must have gone through to reach this level at such a young age.

Valerian noticed the shock and cleared his throat, calling back the dazed people.

Instructor chug said, “Contenders, at your ready.”

Valerian took out two of his knives and held them both in a reverse grip, parted his legs, and leaned forward to lower his center of gravity.

On the other side, Constans assumed a standard boxing stance, while the haughty Fallicia took out a wand. This was something new for Valerian and he could not help but take a prolonged look at this article.

Fallicia sensed his gaze and said, “This is a magic weapon. It helps in gathering the mana quicker and spell casting.”

Valerian said, “Thank you.”

This interaction was not surprising to the crowd, Valerian had shown them the behavior of a guy who wanted to learn from the people around him. Well, this was partly the truth, because Valerian never had a cohort, and the fake part was that he cared about it.

At least, since the day he put Diligentia to rest, he stopped caring about his need for a cohort or social circle. Instructor Chug observed the three people and said, “Begin.”

As soon as he said this, Constans charged at Valerian, and Fallicia said, “Catena Flamma Lancea.”

Around her, appeared five lances of fire, floating in the void, and with a flick of her wrist, the lances flickered as they charged at Valerian.

This was a chain spell, where the caster can save time and cast similar objects with his or her mana. However, it required one to gather a lot of mana at a very quick speed.

The young man did not hesitate and said, “Murus Lapis.”

He wished to cast a chain spell similar to the one cast by Fallicia, but he did not have a magical wand. Thus, he chose to defend himself from the magic spell and deal with the charging Constans first.

A wall of stones protruded between the field separating the whole arena into two parts, as it stopped the flame lances. The crowd gasped, but before they could guess what will Fallicia do to counter Valerian.

Constans and Valerian met and while the latter punched to test the strength of his opponent, Valerian suddenly dodged and his earth-attributed dagger flashed and sparks flew.

The blow made Constans retreat, while Valerian also came to a stop. This simple exchange between the three people displayed their skill level, and the crowd became even more eager to see how this battle would unfold.