Chapter 223 : The Center of Attention
Chapter 223: The Center of Attention
As the dust settled, a figure emerged.
Vivian, who had reverted to her human form from her bloodline transformation, had long since fainted from exhaustion.
Beside her, Janna crouched on the ground, continuously casting the sorcery 【Rapid Healing】 to treat Vivian's horrifying injuries.
"Was it really necessary—"
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Seeing the extensive burns and countless thorn scratches on Vivian's body, a trace of heartache flashed in Janna's eyes. She promptly increased the mana input into 【Rapid Healing】.
In fact, by the later stages of the battle, Vivian's consciousness had already been overtaken by the bloodthirsty instincts of the 【Cochin Viper】, losing her ability to think as a "human."
This state resembled Soro-Flame's berserk mode—no sense of pain, no fatigue, only relentless killing, like a machine that wouldn't stop until completely exhausted.
Moreover, due to the 【Cochin Viper】's lack of the five senses but extraordinary perception, many of Janna's mental control techniques were rendered ineffective.
If not for Vivian's unfamiliarity with her own bloodline, leading to premature exhaustion and unconsciousness, Janna might have had to resort to her trump cards—the 【Law Fragment】 and her fifth contracted creature—to defeat Vivian.
"This team's performance was quite impressive."
Watching Janna carry Vivian away from the dueling arena, Grace-Eva's gaze was full of admiration.
Not to mention Janna, who consistently maintained a high-level combat state, even Vivian, who had evidently only recently awakened her family bloodline, gave Grace-Eva the pleasant surprise of discovering a dark horse.
Years of commercial competition with the Rose family had made Grace-Eva well-acquainted with their information.
The 【Cochin Viper】, as the Rose family's top-tier ice-elemental bloodline, had only appeared once in many years.
Yet, unexpectedly, this bloodline manifested again in a female apprentice whose initial talent was merely C-level 【Freezing】.
"No wonder the Rose family spent a fortune to enhance her talent—it was because of her bloodline."
Previously, from Mary-Margaret, Grace-Eva learned that the Rose family had paid an exorbitant price to purchase a magical food from her that could enhance an apprentice's talent.
At the time, Grace-Eva found it puzzling. Even if Vivian was the daughter of the Rose family's patriarch, a mere C-level wizard talent shouldn't warrant such treatment.
As someone from a family background herself, Grace-Eva understood that those seemingly harmonious wizard families had extremely strict resource allocation hierarchies.
Even the patriarch's daughter couldn't monopolize resources meant for high-talent apprentices.
Not to mention the frequent backstabbing within families to seize resources—it was all too common.
"Alright, is there anyone else who wishes to challenge?"
Upon hearing Grace-Eva's words, the second-year apprentices fell silent.
Especially after seeing Janna still tending to the unconscious Vivian, they all had the same thought:
Too strong!
Both Janna and Vivian were simply too strong!
While most second-year apprentices were still at the first-level apprentice stage, Janna and Vivian had already broken through early. Their displayed combat power not only shamed their classmates but also alarmed many third-year apprentices.
Especially Janna—
To this day, no one present could discern the limits of Janna's strength.
It was evident that during the duel with Vivian, Janna never exerted her full power.
"Professor, I want to challenge Janna!"
"I apply to challenge Janna."
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After a brief silence, several voices rang out simultaneously.
Everyone looked towards the source. Besides Bell-Moonshadow, who had fought Janna twice before, second-year apprentices Andre-Green, Marlowe-Haig, and Nia-Flame—all second-level apprentices—raised their hands.
Moreover, they all wanted to challenge the same person—
Janna!
"Not bad."
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Observing the unexpected situation, Grace-Eva looked at Janna with even more interest.
Once again becoming the center of attention, Janna continued to quietly heal the unconscious Vivian, her gaze lowered, revealing no emotion.
"Janna, do you accept a second challenge?"
"I accept."
Upon hearing Grace-Eva's question, Janna stopped all her actions, then looked up calmly at Grace-Eva and the four challengers.
"However—"
Seeing the four individuals standing separately, Janna was momentarily unsure who Grace-Eva would choose as her second opponent.
After all, besides Bell-Moonshadow, Janna only knew Marlowe-Haig. The other two were merely familiar faces; she didn't know their attack methods.
However, as someone who frequently participated in class duels, Janna's various techniques were well-known.
For instance, when Bell-Moonshadow fought Janna, he would preemptively seal his hearing with mana to avoid the effects of sorceries like 【Siren's Chant】 and 【Soul Screech】.
Not only that, Bell-Moonshadow would also cast 【Stone Skin】 to defend against the Thorn Flower Fairy's underground "ambush" and Janna's 【Spore Parasite】 poisoning methods.
In short, Bell-Moonshadow had put considerable effort into finding ways to defeat Janna.
"You five, come up together."
"???"
Hearing Grace-Eva's words, Janna momentarily doubted her hearing.
Not only Janna, but the other four challengers and all the onlooking apprentices wore stunned expressions.
"Professor Grace, do you mean... the four of us against Janna alone? Isn't that a bit too much for Janna?"
The first to question Grace-Eva was Nia-Flame, who wasn't very familiar with Janna.
After the "Three-School Joint Exam" battle, Nia-Flame acknowledged Janna's strength objectively.
However, no matter how strong Janna was, Nia-Flame didn't believe she could win against the combined assault of the four of them.
From Nia-Flame's perspective, Grace-Eva's decision was an overestimation of Janna's strength—and a slight against her own abilities!
"Whether it's too much or not, you'll know after the fight—"