Published at 12th of November 2023 8:53 am

Chapter 380 Aerial Battle

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After reaching a considerable altitude, I came to a slow halt and started hovering in place. From this vantage point, nothing was out of my sight.

The fleet of ships was already almost done circling around the chain of islands for the first time and was about to do it once more.

The cadets were going to start jumping off the ships soon. I needed to get a head start and move toward the center.

The duration for the practical exams was five weeks. However, I had no intention of playing this silly game for that long.

No, no. I was going to ace this test within the next two days.

But to do that, I needed to spot the clock tower. Taking a deep breath, I willed mana into my eyes and instantly my sight was enhanced.

It was a neat trick Leo taught me. It wasn't a spell but a technique – an application of mana, to be more precise.

Right now, my eyesight was magnified to the point it felt as if I was looking through a pair of binoculars.

Nodding to myself, I began sweeping my gaze over the island middle in the middle in search of a high-rise clock tower.

"Come on," I muttered to myself, growing slightly impatient. "I don't have all day to myself."

The wind was sharp and biting this high in the sky. In the ruthlessly raging gale, my long silver hair fluttered wildly.

Squinting my eyes, I brushed back my hair and focused on looking for the clock tower.

Unfortunately, however, I sensed an attack coming in my direction from below me right at that moment.

"....!"

My eyes widened in swift surprise as I instantly cocked my entire weight to the side. The hoverbike titled in mid-air before a fireball passed right through the spot where I was just a split second ago.

-"Guys, my attack missed!"

-"You don't say, Sherlock! It's fine! We will overpower him!"

-"Good idea! Let's surround him!"

I cast a quick gaze down and saw five cadets flying toward me with blurring speed. Two were on hoverbikes while the other three had used wind spells to take flight.

The fireball from earlier was shot by one of the two cadets on the hoverbikes since the ones flying shouldn't be able to cast any other spells.

Yes, since no person could ever dual cast, flight spells were not preferred by a lot of freshmen. They couldn't be blamed.

Flight spells are very hard to master on their own already. But being unable to cast artillery spells while in mid-air is just too much.

Not to mention, you can't even fight properly while flying. There is no ground to step on, so your attacks depend on your raw strength rather than movement and techniques.

In fact, it's hard to even properly draw a bow in mid-air.

That's the reason why only experienced martial artists learn flight spells. After all, they can use true Martial Aura to perform both offense and defense. They don't need flawless techniques or precise movements to deal damage to their enemies.

However, that doesn't mean absolutely no freshmen ever learn flight spells. Some are suited well to fight in the skies because of their unique gifts while others just learn to fly to look cool.

There are all kinds of people.

Then there are cadets with hoverbikes like me. They are also well equipped to fight in the skies because they can freely cast spells while riding their compact aircraft.

"So annoying," I clicked my tongue and pulled the head of my bike up toward the sky before pulling on the throttle.

The engine of my mechanical beast let out a deafening roar before blue flames burst out from the propellers.

The speed at which I began soaring up into the sky in the next moment was frightening.

The windshield in front of me tried to protect me from the resisting gale but the raging wind still made me squint. It was at that moment I thought I should've brought riding goggles.

-"He's going up!"

-"Shut up, Captain Obvious!"

-"Don't fight. His speed is great but we can still catch him!"

The cadets behind me were still hot on my trail. By the looks of it, they appeared to be experienced in flying.

Obviously.

That's why, despite the difference in our speed, they were having no trouble catching up to me.

-"Open fire!"

Before I knew it, a barrage of artillery spells started raining on me from behind. Fireballs, wind blades, even lighting chains.

Gritting my teeth, I veered off my trajectory and started ascending in a wide spiral.

At the same time, I activated the barrier bubble that was meant to be used while diving in deep seas.

The wind stopped howling in my ears as it was blocked by the mana barrier. A fireball hit the barrier behind me in the next instant and exploded.

However, the barrier held on. In fact, the fiery explosion only hurtled me upward in the sky even faster.

This mana barrier was meant to withstand the crushing pressure of the deep ocean. I was certain that it could endure a couple of low-grade spells.

Besides, it was also shielding me from the biting wind.

But that was not enough. The cadets were still right behind me. Once they manage to surround me, it will be all over.

-"Stop, you bastard!"

Right then, a cadet suddenly appeared in front of me. He had a sword in hand and was flying toward me from above.

Since he wasn't on a hoverbike, he must be using a flight spell. That means if I deploy a long-range attack, he wouldn't be able to block.

Following that line of thinking, I pressed a red button on the left side of the handlebar and felt mana being drained from my core.

The energy blasters installed in front of my bike lit up, azure particles of mana swiftly clustering at the mouth of their barrels.

In the blink of an eye, a flurry of high-density energy bullets shot forward at the guy in front of me.

"What the–?!"

The cadet's eyes widened in shock but he quickly whipped his palm forward and chanted a spell under his breath.

In the next moment, a round wall of water appeared in front of the boy, protecting him from the onslaught of my energy bullets.

Ah! So he wasn't using a spell. That means he must have a Gift related to flight.

"Fine then," I smirked.

Removing this guy was a priority since not only was he fast enough to encircle me and block my path from the front, but he could also cast spells mid-air.

Coming to that conclusion, I fastened my speed instead of slowing down.

"Let's do this!"

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