Chapter 21:

Vinci x Headmaster Ember (1)

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«Prism of Gravity». Like its name, this magical spell is ranked as a High-tier for its ability to instantly sealing any beings or monsters’ movements upon activation. This spell required several strong practitioners to activate due to the large amount of SP needed and is often used on Monarch Ranked magical beasts for purposes making it easier to capture or kill the beast. As its effect is to force several thousand tons of gravity down on its victim, which could easily kill a person therefore the spell is usually used on only high ranking beasts. And by using this spell against Vinci, this also meant that the teachers are now viewing the boy to be as a threat equal to that of a Monarch-ranked magical beast.

As the lights glowed from the large crest under Vinci’s foot, it signified the activation of the spell in its full force. The air around him condensed and slowly thickened as the current itself seems to be “pulled down” to the ground. Only the teachers rushing at Vinci were not affected since the spell was specifically targeting Vinci. But it might as well not have even existed.

When the spell was used, there was only a second pause in his steps before he regained his momentum. As he continued to walk within the crest the ground cracked with each step he took, creating deep impressions of “footprints” in the earth. The surrounding teachers that were holding the spell all had a look of incredulity as they stared at the boy who was casually moving about in the high gravitational space they had cast.

One of the teachers that was dashing towards Vinci noticed that he did not slow down even though the gravity spell was activated quickly turned to shout at the standing teachers.

“Oi! Why aren’t you guys putting any energy into the spell? Don’t hold back! Stop him!!”

But the teachers had nothing to say. They were already pouring all their SP energy into the spell, but it was evidently having no effect on Vinci.

“I-impossible...how can this be?! What is he??!”

One of the male teachers who was supporting the spell stammered as he questioned the scene before him. Not even Monarch-ranked beasts were able to move within the prism, yet the boy treated the effect of the spell with an indifferent attitude. Did this meant the boy was much more fearsome than a Monarch-rank magical beast? How could someone so young have such power?

Before the teacher could think any further of the questions that were zipping through his head, he heard screams in front of him. Upon focusing once again on the scene before him, he saw several of the teachers that had went up to engage Vinci, while in the spell formation, being ruthlessly crushed.

Even though the teachers were rushing at the boy with a flurry of martial art attacks, Vinci was nonchalantly waltzing through the blurs of fists and kicks as he easily slipped through them. As he lazily dodged a handful of bodily assaults, he suddenly paused briefly before flitting through a gap in the teachers’ defense. Upon passing them, Vinci stopped. The teachers who were battling him a moment ago had all frozen in place before crumbling down to the ground twitching and unable to get up. None of the surrounding teachers in the circle saw how Vinci took down his opponents, much less the two injured upperclassmen who were standing a few feet away from the circle of teachers and busy healing themselves. But nonetheless, they all understood one thing. The boy was able to take down the ten teachers in an instant without anybody being able to see his attacks.

The nineteen teachers remaining had started to hesitate now.

They glanced at Vinci and their previous hateful eyes were now replaced with a glimmer of fear just like the students. Vinci had taken out at least forty one person and injured several more, while he himself was barely even scratched. Their large number in people meant nothing to him. And realizing this, the teachers became weary as tried to think of what to do. But they didn’t need think any further. Since Vinci was not planning to give them to luxury to do so anyway.

Noticing that the circle of teachers had release the hold of their spell and began to slowly back away a little, Vinci mumbled something under his breath as his started to walk forward again. Before any of the teachers could react, a crest rapidly appeared under each of their foot before it flashed a blinding green light, causing the teachers to cover their eyes, and sequentially exploded. Pillars of emerald light came beaming through each of the crests as they buried the teachers in their intense flare.

When the lights finally twinkled down, the teachers fell down to their knees, bloods trickling down their mouth, before collapsing forward on the ground.

Vinci strolled past his fallen assailants as he continued towards the School building…

***

“ ‘R-Reprisal of the Soul’....is he a monster?!...”

Kyran Azarov stared at Vinci from the side as he watched the boy heading towards the school. Kyran is one of the top upperclassmen in terms of strength and wits, being the eldest son of the Rossia Clan. There were very few people in School whom were stronger than him, thus he came to view the other students with disdain. But now, even those few students whom he thought were powerful were all sprawled on the ground, clutching either their leg or arm in acute pain.

Kyran’s blue eyes flickered with fear as he froze in place, unable to approach the monster walking away from him. Although he had initially wanted to teach the boy a lesson for daring to challenge the heir of the Rossia Clan so arrogantly, he did not have one ounce of that desire now. Especially after witnessing Vinci’s display of strength and the previous spell he used, «Reprisal of the Soul», which was considered a Grand tier spell, how could he even think of fighting the boy now? As far as he knew, only the teachers and a few of the Class 8 students were able use this level of magic. Moreover, the one Vinci had use was quite top class since the spell’s ability is to instantly attack its victims at point blank range from the ground with a blinding green light. Even if each teacher was a high ranker, taking a Grand level spell head-on would be fatal. Especially one, that only attacked the ‘soul’, and not the physical state. That’s why the teachers seemed to have not taken damage on the outside, but inside their body, they were already heavily injured.

And seeing this, all Kyran wanted to do was get away from Vinci.

With his brown hair reaching down to his ears, straight nose, fit body, and masculine facial features, Kyran could be call handsome in terms of appearance. That is, under normal circumstances. At this moment, his face was twisted in an ugly expression completely filled with fear and despair.

The girl standing a little behind Kyran was no different. Her beautiful oval face, slim figure, black hair, and equally black eyes would have marked her to be no less a great beauty. But like Kyran, at this moment, her charm was easily overridden by her uncontrollable fear surging up from the depths of her heart.

This girl, who goes by the name Irina Babylon, is the next heir of the proud Kingdom of Sand Clan. She placed second best in her whole Class alongside of Kyran, so it could be said that her abilities no more inferior than him.

And if one were to talk about her Clan, it could be said that although the Kingdom of Sand is not as pompous as the United Sages Clan, they are nonetheless a prideful country and the members there always seem to hold an air of confidence around them at all times. They were taught to never fear others but to be brave in their heart and push forward. Cowards were not accepted, though this naturally applied to other Clans as well.

But Irina, facing the wreckage in front of her, were unable to conceal the dread that was oozing out from her very being. She found it quite difficult to contain the trembling of her body as she watched Vinci’s back while holding her breath. She feared that if she made even the slightest sound, the monster would turn around and finish them off for good. Although killing was not allowed in a duel, due to the erratic fear that the two star students were gripped with, they had temporarily forgotten.

***

At the same time, the headmaster was standing pacing around her room now. There’s a dark expression on her face.

At the beginning of Vinci’s battle, the headmaster was calmly sitting in her office as she viewed the scene in her head using the tracking magic she had previously placed on the boy. So even without going out, she could see the entire view on the school ground just fine. But as the battle progressed she felt that the boy was seemingly “holding back.” Because of that she thought of how cheeky the child was and seeing that the upperclassmen were not enough to subdue him, the headmaster finally gave the order for the teachers to attack. And that proved to be a miscalculation on headmaster Ember’s part.

She soon realized that even the teachers were not fit opponents for the boy. As she saw from the tracking magic that was relaying the battle in her mind, several of the students were instantly taken out from a successive firing of magical crests in the air. Then, even though the teachers had begun to make their move they instantly struck down with another batch of magical spells. The boy had used several magical crests at the beginning before switching to a single Grand-tier spell which instantly finished off the remaining teachers. To be able to multi-cast magic spells at once was a feat only those profoundly talented in magic could pull off. Although there is an unlimited amount of spells one can use at once when multi-casting, the most recorded number of spells used at once was only eleven, and the person who did it was considered an unmatched genius of his time. And if one does not have the talent for multi-casting, even if one were to reach higher ranks, they could at most pull off a dual-cast, but no more than that.

Moreover, the power Vinci displayed was inconceivable. Especially that blood lust that was emitted from the boy. Even the headmaster herself immediately stood up after feeling the bone-chilling aura. It was even able to reach the far building from the school ground.

“How could a young child like him wield such power?? And that blood lust...”

The headmaster was once again baffled. After hearing about the boy’s SAT score for the first time and after following him around for a few days, the headmaster had come to accept the fact that the boy, Vinci, was a unique being. He was an anomaly that would bring a raging storm to this large continent. And perhaps one, that could not be stopped at any cost.

As she watched the boy arrive in front of a wall of the school building in her mind, she knew it was inevitable to fight the boy herself. She stopped pacing around the room and turned to face the wall behind her usual desk. She stood in the center of the room as she waited for the boy to arrive.

***

Vinci stopped in front of the school wall. He was far left from the school entrance as he looked up at the slightly dyed red wall in front of him. He closed his eyes as he used his inhumane senses to pinpoint the headmaster’s location. She had a ‘particular’ aura out of all the people he’d met so it was easy to spot. It seems there is another person with her in the room, though the other guest seems to be trying to hide his or her presence.

Vinci ignored it as he took a few steps back before slightly bending his knees and then charging at the wall. Before he crashed into the building, he leaped as he literally ‘flew’ up towards the wall. Because Vinci’s body was special, there were many godly enhancements to it which allowed him to learn almost any martial techniques or skills. His body’s strength and endurance alone would already make him a huge threat even without the use of magic or martial skills. As he neared a certain part of the wall, he raised his right fist.

*Bam!*

The wall caved in as Vinci’s fist met it with a loud bang and his body flew into the crumbling space. He noticed the headmaster standing calmly in front. As he was just about to land, a shadow darted out of a corner of the room. It was the second presence he had detected before coming up here, but he didn’t expect him or her to attack immediately. That was naiveness on his part.

Before he could balance himself on the floor, a woman with round glasses wearing a business attire sprinted up to him while he was still in mid-air and reached out her right palm towards him.

“ «Air Bullet»! “

*Boosh!*

A giant ball of air exploded from the blue crest in her palm as it blasted Vinci out of the opening he had just flew in from. As Vinci fell down, Sina immediately dashed after him and upon jumping into the air, she slightly bent her knees and chanted a spell.

“«Air Boost»!”

Another magical crest appeared behind her soles. Upon straightening her knees and ‘jumping’ off of the crest, Sina instantly blasted down like a human bullet after the falling Vinci.

Vinci, who was falling with his back to the ground, faced the lady who was quickly nearing him even though they were in mid-air. As he fell, the wind ruffled his hair, covering the upper part of his face from the nose and up. But before he completely fell to his demise or allowed his attacker to catch him, Vinci gently whispered while he was in free fall,

“ ...you’re wasting my time.”

With that, turned his right arm until it was perpendicular to the wall beside him. Upon a slight whisper, instantly a large brown colored magical crest appeared on the side of the School. And without any warning, the wall distorted for a moment before a enormous rocky hand reached out.

Sina, who was caught unaware, fell prey to the attack as the giant-like hand clutched her within its grasp. The hand raised itself into the air before forcefully flinging her into the ground below.

*BOOOM!*

Dusts of cloud flew up wildly before settling down. There was a large, round crater where the monstrous hand had threw its victim, with Sina lying unconscious in the middle of it. At the last minute, she had cast a high level body protection spell to help lessen the damage, otherwise her body would’ve been shattered to pieces due to the impact. But alas, it was still not enough to fully absorb the powerful hurl.

At the same time, another small hand had formed out of the wall and caught Vinci in its palm. The dark haired boy picked himself up as he stood on the earthly palm and looked up at the hole in the wall where he fell out from. Suddenly, someone darted out from the breach and landed softly on the ground below. It was headmaster Ember.

Vinci turned around to direct his gaze at her below. With a leap, he easily landed on the dusty ground below. The two giant arms also quickly retracted back into the wall before the crests disappeared.

The two stared at each other for a while before the headmaster broke the silence.

“To be able to even use the Grand-tier spell «The Earth God’s Arms», you’re really full of surprise, boya...tell me, what are you seeking to battle me?”

“To gain the position of headmaster.”, Vinci replied as he continued to coldly stare at her. His eyes were like a hungry predator who has found its prey at last.

“And if you were to achieve that, what would you do next?”, the headmaster further questioned.

“...I haven’t thought that far..”

Vinci quietly said as his face expressed a splendid uncertainty.

There was a pause in the school ground as the world seemed to stand still for a few seconds.

The headmaster stared at Vinci with a blank expression before bursting into laughter.

“Kahahaha! Interesting! Very interesting! You don’t even know what you want to do with the headmaster’s position, and yet you’re fighting me to attain it. I’ll tell you boyah, the responsibility of a headmaster is much more than it seems. If you’re prepared to inherit it, then come! But I won’t let you take it that easily…”

The headmaster glared at the boy standing a few feet away from her.

“...I don’t want the responsibilities. I just want the title.”

Vinci answered flatly right after the headmaster’s speech.

“....”

There was another pause in the fiery battlefield as the world once again stopped to take in the boy’s bold words.

“Ku!...Kuhahahaha!!! Ahahaha!”

Headmaster laughed as she covered her eyes with her left palm. After a while, she slowly lowered her hand as she narrowed her eyes at Vinci. There was an evident coldness now present in those twin emerald jews.

“Alright, boya. Let’s do this. If you are able to defeat me, I shall give you the title of Headmaster and help you take care of all the school responsibilities that comes along with it. You’ll just have to do the main job of the headmaster, which I’ll tell you only if you win. How does that soun--kh?!”

As the headmaster was about to finish her proposal, an tremendous amount of killing intent exploded towards her. And the source was the boy in front of her, Vinci. This time, the blood thirsty aura was many times stronger than before, his thick pressure seems to ‘melt the air around him.’ Headmaster Ember was at once taken aback by the sudden strain around her. She stared at Vinci with eyes of disbelief. The level of aura she was feeling from Vinci this time was several times her own -- and it was still increasing!

Vinci faintly smiled as he coldly focused on the headmaster.

“I will...gladly accept that offer.”, he said in a low tone as he thundered towards the elder at a frightening speed.

Headmaster Ember, seeing this, immediately swiped her right hand in front of her as four magical crests appeared and each blasting a different spell at the approaching boy. She was able to multi-cast as well.

Vinci saw the fired magics as he waltzed through the attacks with relative ease, dodging and slipping left and right.

The headmaster smiled as she shook off Vinci’s oppressive blood thirst. She was a Spiritual Rank after all, one of the four monsters in this world. How could she let some mere killing intent stop her? Even if it was tremendously powerful, it was not enough to completely shake the old monster.

Then, just as Vinci arrived in front of the headmaster and delivered a blow with his raised right fist at her, he fell forward as his hand slipped through the elder’s body as if she wasn’t even there.

“?!”

Alarmed, Vinci tried to regain his posture but alas, it was too late. Without missing a beat, the headmaster that Vinci attacked dissipated before a second headmaster Ember, the real one this time, appeared in front of the falling boy. With a swift raised of her hand towards the boy, a magical crest appeared on Vinci’s chest. Before he could react, the elder slammed her palm upward towards Vinci’s chest.

*Ka-boom!!*

Vinci did not fall back. Instead, a huge pressure had blasted straight through his chest and out from his back as column of air could be seen piercing through Vinci. It an attack directed to destroy his internals and inner energy.

“ Kh!?”

Small trickles of blood slithered down the corner of Vinci’s mouth as he tried to escape, but it was of no use. The attack from the elder earlier had temporarily immobilized his body. Even if he had a godly body, in the end it just meant that the attack the headmaster used on him was monstrously powerful enough to briefly paralyze him and cause him to bleed. And that slight moment of immobility from Vinci just what the headmaster needed.

As Vinci laid forward with the elder’s palm still firmly pressed against his chest supporting him. headmaster Ember moved forward until she was directly besides the boy, her arms in a pulled back, arch position but still secured on his chest. As she stood still, she began to chant various spells at once.

Suddenly, layers after layers of magical crests began to formed in the elder’s right palm that’s pressed against Vinci’s chest. The boy, unable to move, could only wait as the crests slowly piled up on top of each other...