Elite Mages’ Academy (Web Novel)

Chapter 182: Battling Cheng Ming

Cheng Ming was the monitor of Class One. He was also a very straightforward man, well-liked among the freshman year. Everyone was shocked by the tutor’s words. Cheng Ming quickly said, “Instructor, you know that my Basic swordsmanship is only level seven now, right?”

Everyone else could not help but roll their eyes when they heard that, lamenting to themselves that Cheng Ming was too honest. It was impossible for anyone to know if Xiao Lin was just making a random assertion about his LV8 , and Cheng Ming was probably the only one among all those people who truly believed Xiao Lin’s words.

Xiao Lin was also slightly surprised, but Cheng Ming’s Swordheart talent was common knowledge because of Cheng Ming’s own loudmouth. All swordsmanship-related skills increased by one level, and he only attained LV7 because of the bonus accorded to him by the Swordheart.

The instructor still maintained a cold face and showed no expression on that fair mien of hers. She did not provide any explanation and simply watched them quietly.

Xiao Lin was suddenly intrigued. In fact, he was curious to know what level his current strength had reached. Cheng Ming possessed one of the more outstanding strengths among the class monitors, especially in terms of swordsmanship.

“Let’s try, then.” Xiao Lin gave Cheng Ming a friendly smile and said, “Let’s treat this as an exercise for us to learn from each other.”

Cheng Ming felt a little pressured. “Learning from each other is different from training. Swords don’t have a mind of their own and I still can’t willfully control my power.”

Xiao Lin immediately understood why Cheng Ming felt awkward and could not help but realize how much of an honest person Cheng Ming was. The latter was probably worried that the two of them would be injured and would have to use their redemption points for treatment. Those points were more important than anything, especially when the third monthly exam was approaching.

“Come with me,” the tutor spoke again and walked toward the training hall.

Xiao Lin and Cheng Ming looked at each other and followed, only to discover that there were actually other rooms inside the training hall. Cheng Na had never mentioned it before, and they were not allowed to enter them either. After opening the door to those rooms, Xiao Lin stretched his neck and looked around. His eyes widened and he could not resist muttering, “A simulated battle system?”

The tutor raised her brow somewhat unexpectedly. “You’ve used it before?”

“Yeah, in New Washington.”

“Alright, then I’ll keep things brief.”

The instructor briefly explained that the system could also allow two people to learn from each other, in addition to creating virtual characters for combat practice. That way, the simulated health bar could provide a rough distinction between the strong and the weak.

The sword to be used was a special wooden sword that was not lethal in the slightest, which meant that there was no need to worry about getting injured. To put it bluntly, it was solely to compare their Basic Swordsmanship level.

The simulated battle system consumed energy stones every time it was used, so the tutors almost never let them use it. On that occasion however, they made an exception for some reason. Xiao Lin’s relationship with Cheng Ming was quite good too, and their friendship would not be affected, no matter what the outcome was. Meanwhile, Cheng Ming was amazed at the two health bars in the battle room and heaped continuous praises on how amazing the system was.

“Haven’t you played online games before?” Xiao Lin asked softly.

“I never play online games.”

The corner of Xiao Lin’s mouth twitched as he brandished the training sword in his hand. The sword was very light and had no edge. It is not very easy to use, but it did not matter since they were just using it to learn from each other. He said, “Let’s start then.”

“Looking forward to learning from you!” Cheng Ming was still very polite, but his gaze sharpened suddenly when the battle began. He chose the épée, and the combat system subsequently made a higher assessment of the damage it could inflict. Cheng Ming launched the first attack.

The battle room there was much more spacious than that of New Washington, which allowed more room for maneuverability. Although Cheng Ming’s Basic Swordsmanship was lower than Xiao Lin’s, his total power value was higher than his. Cheng Ming’s strength was likely around the 20- to 30-point range. Even if Cheng Ming did not exert 100% of his power, it would still be enough to spell trouble for Xiao Lin.

“So, you’re confident enough to engage in a direct confrontation with me?” Xiao Lin muttered softly and raised his sword high. He chose a long and slender sword, of which the attack power was weaker than that of an épée. However, his advantage was in the lightness of the blade, with both his attacking speed and posture improving tremendously as a result.

Xiao Lin understood that his low agility was a big weakness for him, so he naturally refrained from choosing heavy swords that increased his burden on speed.

On seeing that, the tutor moved her lips slightly, and coldly spit out two words: “You idiot! You’re using the Slashing right away?”

The battle room was surrounded by glass windows, which afforded the outside world a view of what happened within. Behind the instructor, other students craned their necks to watch the battle, and it was no surprise that they were greatly interested.

Both opponents in the battle could be considered some of the more famous individuals from the academy, albeit on two different extremes of the spectrum. Cheng Ming was a good person who could get along well with anyone, while Xiao Lin received comments that were mostly negative. His sudden return in those two days dispelled the claims of him dropping out, and there were also rumors saying that someone was taking care of him behind the scenes. Although no one verbally expressed their skepticism, it was all but certain that many felt that way in their hearts.

‘I’m stronger than him. Why does he have the right to become the acting monitor? How is it possible that he could be valued by the student union and even the dean?’

Every onlooker had that mentality and cheered for Cheng Ming, though it was impossible for the two to hear anything coming from outside the battle room.

Xiao Lin did use his Slashing. The others learnt that skill too, but he had already mastered it early on using his talent. The shortcomings of that skill were something he was very aware of; it had to be powered up for some time in order to exert enough power. Such luxury of time was nonexistent in a battle, where changes occurred in the blink of an eye.

Cheng Ming roared and accelerated his sprint speed at once. In seconds, his body was already fast approaching Xiao Lin, but Xiao Lin gave him an unexpected smile. Xiao Lin, who had already accumulated his energy from the start, immediately dodged sideways with ease, avoiding Cheng Ming’s head-on attack.

Cheng Ming gaped in surprise. With his burst of speed, he attempted to seize the moment before Xiao Lin completed the Slashing’s power-up, but there was a drawback to it—he could not stop his pace at all because of inertia, and the empty attack which he placed all his focus on destabilized his body’s center of gravity. Cheng Ming was unable to defend himself at that moment and it was exactly the effect Xiao Lin was aiming for.

“Nice hit!”

The tutor was silent for a moment before gritting her teeth and uttering those two words. The students around her went blank when they heard her remark, and the sequence of events happened as quickly as a spark, so much so that most people did not understand what happened.

“Tutor, can the Slashing’s power-up be forcibly canceled midway?” someone asked suddenly in confusion.

“Yes, but you must have very precise control over power, otherwise you’ll lose your defensive ability in an instant. Doing this requires a lot of experience!” The tutor’s eyes gradually became serious.