Merlin instantly realized what Kim Yiseo’s intention was in the fight.

  He didn’t really know much about Creation Mages as a whole, but from what he’d seen Kim Yiseo do, it seemed her mana was only connected to her spell when she was casting it. In other words, after the spell had left her body, even if her mana was depleted, it would still be present. Her Hex was unlike others. Nikoi’s Hex for example relied on him channeling his mana for it to be active; it was not something he could totally separate from his body.

  And that was what made Kim Yiseo dangerous. Now, she was pying a mild game of stamina with Lee Jaehyun. The web was hers, so she could move freely on it. But once the boy’s mana ran out and he fell to it, he would be stuck and under her mercy.

  However, they only had three minutes more to go. Merlin doubted that such was Kim Yiseo’s way of thinking completely. And she proved him correct immediately. She spun more web sheets, each one a yer upon the st, taking her higher and higher towards Lee Jaehyun.

  “Yeah, I don’t think I’d like to fight her,” a student said. “Not only is that gross, but there’s literally no pce to run.”

  They were right. At the moment, Lee Jaehyun was like a fly trapped in a web. However, why should a Mage be trying to run away from battle in the first pce? If they were faced with a monster, who were they leaving it up to if they ran?

  Sure, Merlin was well aware the headmaster had given that as an option during their discussion, but he had also explicitly stated that it was only to be done when there was backup. So running, when there was no one to pick up the pieces, was not to be done.

  And Lee Jaehyun obviously thought the same, because he didn’t look fazed. His expression remained calm despite Kim Yiseo inching closer to him with every second, and, finally, he attacked.

  Lee Jaehyun stretched forth his hands in Kim Yiseo’s direction, giving her pause. His mana pulsed around his body, and the one directed at his palms enhanced. All of a sudden, Kim Yiseo’s body glowed with mana that wasn’t hers, and she visibly turned stiff; even from where he was seated, Merlin could glean that her body weight had doubled as her web sheet sank deeper and deeper underneath her feet.

  The answer to what was happening came to Merlin like he had always known; Lee Jaehyun had doubled Kim Yiseo’s weight by increasing the force of gravity that was acting upon her body. Merlin’s interest piqued. How the boy did that, he had no idea, but he was definitely going to find out.

  People gasped. Breaths were held. Curiosity was enhanced. And Kim Yiseo plummeted.

  The first yer of web sheet broke with the toughness of paper, and so did the second, and the third, and the fourth. In less than thirty seconds, Kim Yiseo’s hard work was ripped apart by pure brilliance, one that made people confused.

  “What’s going on?!”

  The murmurs were loud.

  “Hey, if she hits the floor at the rate she’s going, won’t all her bones break?!”

  “That’ll count as a critical hit for sure. Is Lee Jaehyun going to win?”

  In hindsight, it did look like Lee Jaehyun was going to win, but what the onlookers were not considering was the amount of stamina that was taking out of him. He looked like he was about to croak.

  Once again, the battle between the two was one of stamina. Would Kim Yiseo reach the floor of the arena first and lose, or would Lee Jaehyun tire out before then?

  “What sort of magic is he using?” Hakyun questioned as he nudged his gsses. He wasn’t expecting an answer, thinking no one present would be able to give him one, but Merlin proved that false.

  “Gravity,” said Merlin, causing Hakyun and Chima to gnce his way. “He’s a gravity Mage.”

  There was silence between the three, then Hakyun chuckled softly. “You picked the wrong option, Merlin,” he noted as he returned his attention to the ongoing battle intently, which was just Kim Yiseo trying her best to fight against the pull of gravity. “She’s definitely going to lose.”

  Merlin thought otherwise, regardless.

  “I still have my bet on Kim Yiseo,” he replied.

  Hakyun frowned. “Why?”

  “The reason is obvious. She knew that I was a Deficient Mage before we even got to the Academy,” he expined. “That goes to show that she has access to cssified information regarding Mages, at least us, her fellow students.”

  “In other words, she already knew that Lee Jaehyun uses gravity,” Chima inferred.

  “Exactly,” Merlin nodded. “And she doesn’t strike me as the type that would not have prepared herself while considering the possibility of the both of them facing off.”

  Merlin’s theory was proved correct in the next second as Kim Yiseo gritted her teeth and held on for dear life to the st of her web sheet. It groaned under her weight, threatening to break apart at any moment, but she wasn’t satisfied with hanging onto a cliff. Her pn was to climb back up. And she did just that, though in a rather gross manner.

  Kim Yiseo’s skin suddenly split open, holes denting her body wherever was exposed. Faces wrung up at the sight, some turned away, but that didn’t stop her. Webs shot out of the holes like swarms of ants and climbed onto her body. In a matter of seconds, Kim Yiseo was nowhere to be found, only a mannequin bathed in a web which continued to grow until a mini dome had been created where she used to be.

  And that slightly revolting act of hers did the trick.

  Lee Jaehyun’s face contorted, his breath ragged and beads of sweat pouring out furiously from his forehead. He was well aware of the fact that his mana was no longer acting on Kim Yiseo. And the reason was as obvious as daylight. His mana was what served as a link between himself and gravity.

  From Merlin’s countless trance training, he had figured out that mana could not be directed into another object, only wrapped around them. Lee Jaehyun had been doing just that. He had wrapped his mana around Kim Yiseo and maniputed the forces of gravity acting on her to increase its pull. But then she redirected the force to no longer act on her, but on the ball of web surrounding her. Even if he compressed his force onto the ball of web, Kim Yiseo would not be subject to a critical hit, and he would just tire himself out.

  And Lee Jaehyun knew this. Rather, he was already exhausted. His mana flickered, and even the one surrounding him began to wane. He drew in a deep breath, and canceled his spell. Immediately, Kim Yiseo pounced out of the ball of web, her skin back to the smooth beauty it was, as she hurriedly conjured another spear of web.

  However…

  “I give up,” Lee Jaehyun muttered, arms raised, as he brought himself down to the arena, nding on Kim Yiseo’s st yer of web sheet. Kim Yiseo paused. “You win.”

  Kim Yiseo sighed and threw her incomplete web spear to the floor. She straightened, doing away with the stance she had taken and nodded.

  Professor Dmitri, seemingly fine with the outcome, went ahead to dishing out the points.

  “Winner: Kim Yiseo. Ten Cohort points, fifteen academic points.”

  Merlin frowned. What?! How come she had gotten more academic points than him when they had both won their bouts?

  Professor Dmitri didn’t hear his thoughts, so the man didn’t even bother himself to answer that question.

  “Lee Jaehyun. Five academic points,” Professor Dmitri added. “Step down from the arena.”

  Merlin was unsatisfied, and it bothered him.

  “She got more academic points than me,” he mumbled. Then he turned to Chima and Hakyun. “I don’t get it. Why?”

  “Hmmm…” Hakyun rubbed his chin. “Perhaps because she was more decisive in her battle?”

  Merlin recoiled. “More decisive? I beat Choi Sangook, Lee Jaehyun gave up. How was she more decisive?”

  Hakyun shook his head. “You destroyed Sangook’s Grimoire. You wouldn’t have nded a hit on him otherwise.” Merlin blinked. “Yiseo, though, would have definitely hit Jaehyun with that st attack of hers. That was why the boy gave up.”

  Despite that making sense to Merlin, he was still bitter. It was most likely because he had been seeing a glimmer of hope that he could end up finishing the Academy year as first on the academic ranking. He would have to check the updated list once css had ended, but it was already slipping away from his grasp bit by bit.

  Professor Dmitri turned in his direction then, having completely sanitized the arena.

  “I take it you have rested enough now, Merlin Tyrrell?” the man asked.

  Merlin sighed. It was not like saying ‘no’ would change anything, so he stood up.

  “Yes, Professor.”

  “Good.” He turned to Merlin’s final opponent for the day, who was already rising to her feet. “Head down, both of you.”