Earth's Greatest Magus

The spell Hardy had just displayed was [Temporal Barrier], a spell that momentarily distorted time within a limited space. With his current strength, Hardy could only hold the spell for a single second, but that brief window was all he needed to evade sudden attacks.

"Huh! That was close!" Hardy exclaimed.

Taking advantage of the confusion around him, Hardy swiftly maneuvered away from his opponents, using the precious moment to create distance and steady his spirit core. His mind raced as he focused on controlling the turbulence caused by his last spell.

The truth was that, despite his rare mastery of the law of time, Hardy's body wasn't well-suited to handle such power. Each time he bent time to his will, there was a significant backlash. His spirit core would become erratic, threatening to destabilize entirely with repeated use.

It was for this very reason that Hardy had developed a highly adaptive fighting style, one that prioritized speed, mobility, and keeping his enemies at a distance. To overcome his weakness, he became proficient with ranged weapons—firearms. Hardy had been training with them for years honing his marksmanship to cover for his physical vulnerabilities.

"Come on! Have you given up already?!" Hardy taunted, his grin never fading as he hovered in the air, wings flaring as he prepared for the next onslaught.

But this time, King Rig and Blaine attacked in unison, their movements more coordinated and relentless. Despite Hardy's remarkable agility and evasive techniques, he struggled to keep ahead of the two top-tier rank 9 acolytes. Their teamwork was impeccable, and they had quickly adapted to the rhythm of his blaster's rapid-fire shots. Each energy blast that Hardy fired was now skillfully dodged, timed perfectly to avoid any direct hits.

Hardy, ever the trickster, had yet another card up his sleeve. As King Rig and Blaine relentlessly pressed their attacks, Hardy seamlessly cast two more time-manipulating spells: [Accelerate] and [Decelerate]. He infused these spells into his blaster shots, altering the speed of each projectile unpredictably. The sudden change in rhythm made the shots nearly impossible to dodge.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

"Urgh!!" King Rig grunted, bruises beginning to form on his body as he failed to evade the accelerated blasts. Blaine, on the other hand, had his formidable armor to rely on, which absorbed most of the hits. Yet, even he couldn't help but feel the mounting pressure of Hardy's shifting tactics.

Whenever Hardy found himself cornered or unable to cast his temporal spells, he would use his blasters to propel himself away from danger or—most annoyingly—position himself behind one of his opponents, forcing them to clash with each other.

"That's it! You're done! I'm going to use my strongest spell!" King Rig roared, his fury reaching its peak as he prepared for a final assault, his chaotic energy crackling wildly around him.

But this time, Hardy did something unexpected. He stood still, lowering his blasters with a cocky grin. "Unfortunately… it's already 30 moves," he said, the smugness in his voice undeniable.

"What?! No way! I haven't even—" King Rig began to protest, but Hardy's grin widened. It suddenly dawned on both King Rig and Blaine that Hardy had outwitted them. The deal they had agreed upon was 30 combined moves between the two, and with King Rig's reckless charges, he had already burned through 20 of them alone.

Blaine's stoic face faltered, and he glanced over at King Rig, who looked equally dumbfounded. Neither of them could argue. Hardy had not only held his own in the fight but had also cleverly used his wits to win the battle.

With Hardy's clever victory, the leadership mantle was officially his.

The 50 acolytes of Hall 33 accepted him as their new leader without further contest. Now, Hardy would guide them through the upcoming group exam.

There were only five days left before their mission began, and the acolytes wasted no time in making thorough preparations. They pored over maps, memorized the plant geography of the exam location, studied the creatures they might encounter, and refined their battle tactics to ensure they were ready for whatever challenges lay ahead.

####

Amidst the hustle of training and strategizing, an unexpected visitor arrived at the hall. Shinta, Emery's daughter, walked in alongside her head instructor—none other than Grand Magus Lucius. The air in the hall grew tense as soon as Lucius appeared.

"What are you doing here? What do you want?" Emery asked, his voice edged with barely concealed frustration. Lucius, however, seemed unbothered. Treating himself as a VIP guest, the wolf Grand Magus strolled into the hall as if he owned the place. He glanced around before leaning to whisper his intention.

"I'm here to share some information about the group exam," Emery listened intently as Lucius divulged the details of the upcoming group exam. To his surprise, their Hall 33 would be traveling to the same planet as Lucius's Hall 9. Although both halls would be exploring different regions of the planet, the fact that they were grouped so closely was enough to raise suspicions.

In total, ten high-ranking halls and three top halls were being sent to this planet for the exam. However, Lucius pointed out a critical detail that had him on edge: two of the Nephilim-controlled halls, Hall 6 and Hall 22, were part of the group. Moreover, Hall 15—belonging to the Aryan faction under the Church of Purity—would also be present.

"I don't like this at all," Lucius said, his usual arrogance replaced by genuine unease.

Emery could understand why. The combination of the Nephilim halls and the Church of Purity's deeply zealous followers was a volatile mix. Lucius believed there was a deliberate attempt to sabotage both their halls, perhaps orchestrated by one or more of these factions. "There's no way this is just a coincidence," Lucius continued, his sharp gaze locking with Emery's. "I think they're planning something, which is why I'm suggesting our acolytes to work together when they get there."

Lucius handed him a set of communication devices, sleek and compact, designed to keep their halls in contact throughout the exam. Little did Lucius know, Emery had a far superior method of communication—the Khaos hub. As Lucius left, Emery fell in deep contemplation. The notion that the Nephilim and the Church of Purity were conspiring against his hall gnawed at his mind. He knew that simply waiting for his enemies to strike was a fool's approach—he needed to act preemptively, to gather more information and understand the true scope of the danger they were walking into.

Emery's thoughts quickly turned to someone who had more insight into the situation: Grand Magus Aurora, the academy's deputy headmaster, and the famous Oracle. Without hesitation, Emery made up his mind to seek her out, hoping she could provide some guidance or reveal any underlying plots.

However, as he arrived at the academy's administration halls, he was surprised to find Urix waiting for him. "The deputy headmaster is currently away," Urix said in his calm, measured tone, "but she left something should you come looking for her." He then handed over a sealed letter.

Emery's eyes widened as he scanned the message and Immediately, he began making the necessary preparations. One more chapter before the end of the month, dont miss it. Thank you for reading, dont forget to share your golden ticket

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