Chapter 132: State of Enlightenment
"I-impossible," Emily murmured, her lips shivering. "That was a pseudo three ring spell. How could he block it so easily?"
For the first time, fear and desperation surged in her heart. She moved her hands again, channeling whatever mana remained in her core.
"Two Ring Spell: Serpent Vines!"
From the ground before her, two thick green vines emerged, bolting forward, their sharp tips pointing at Vlad.
Just as they reached his range, countless thin crimson lines appeared on the vines’ surface. The next moment, they fell to the ground, chopped into numerous small pieces.
"N-no...I will not lose to a man," Emily muttered as she kept feeding her mana to the vines, their length increasing, continuously attacking Vlad.
On the other side, Vlad began moving forward in slow steps, his sword paving the path in front of him through the incoming vines.
His raven black hair fluttered upward without any wind, his silhouette covered in thin crimson mana with electrical bolts flickering at irregular intervals, his bloody eyes glaring at the source of the attack, Emily.
Each step he took towards her sent chills through her whole body, her limbs trembling, sweat covering her skin as she unleashed the vines even more desperately.
Yet the vines still could not move past his blade, the distance between them decreasing.
"St-stay away...stay away from me, y-you monster," she shouted, extending both her hands forward, erupting the vines in a wild, uncontrolled manner, smashing the stone floor like a whip.
Sensing the aggression in the vines increasing, the lightning from his body moved down to his feet, the muscles in his legs tightening.
Emily did not even blink, yet Vlad suddenly vanished from her vision. The only thing she saw next was the tip of a blade reaching terrifyingly close to her face.
Just as the blade was about to stab her face—
Tang!
Jimmy appeared between them, Vlad’s sword striking Jimmy’s blade. A thunderous roar of lightning followed.
It was only then that Emily noticed the vines behind Vlad had been cleanly sliced off, their severed parts scorched and burning as the essence of lightning still lingered on them. He had cut through her spell with a speed she couldn’t even track, not even catching a blur of his image. If not for Jimmy intervening, she would have been dead already. The realization struck her like a cruel slap across the face. Her legs gave out and she fell on her back, utterly terrified.
"Everyone step back!" Jimmy ordered, pressing against Vlad’s sword. "He has entered the State of Enlightenment!"
A ripple of gasps echoed through the gathered students, their mouths hanging open. No word was exchanged, yet everyone moved in unison. In an instant, they stepped several feet back from the stage, forming a close protective circle, facing outward, their weapons unsheathed as if they would not let even a fly inside.
Meanwhile, on the stage itself, Vlad, who had no focus in his eyes, began pressing against Jimmy, his new opponent, sparks erupting from steel screeching against steel.
"Now, show me what you got, Vlad Lumberjack," Jimmy muttered, his face carrying an excited smirk.
Just as he said those words, Vlad vanished again. A trail of crimson lightning moved through the stage, spreading cracks along the stone path in its wake.
Tang!
The sword crashed down from the sky, blocked by Jimmy again. His knees bent slightly from the force, the stage cracking beneath him. Before he could put pressure on Vlad, he vanished. In the very next moment, he appeared behind him, his sword swung in an arc for Jimmy’s neck.
Jimmy blocked the attack at the last moment, protecting his neck with his sword, holding its hilt with one hand and the blade with the other.
The pressure from Vlad’s strike had not even vanished from Jimmy’s blade when he had already appeared in front of him, his sword thrust in a stabbing motion for his chest.
Tang!
Tang!
Tang!
In the blink of an eye, a barrage of attacks struck Jimmy from every direction, the thunder of Vlad’s lightning and the clashing of their weapons echoing through the hall. It was as if Jimmy was fighting multiple opponents at once.
"Th-this kid," Jimmy muttered, blocking Vlad’s strikes. "He is only aiming for my vital points. Each of his strikes is meant to kill. I should slightly increase the pressure on him so he finishes his enlightenment quickly."
The thought had only crossed his mind when Vlad unexpectedly aimed for his shoulder, a non-vital point.
The strike took Jimmy off guard. His eyes widened as he pushed his sword before him to block the attack, reaching it just in time.
’Th-that was close—’
The relief was only momentary. At the last moment, Vlad twisted his hand, the trajectory of his sword changing, reaching for his chest instead.
"Dammit! It was a feint." Chills surged through his spine as he realized it was already too late.
The sword pierced his clothes, reaching his skin. Less than half an inch of Vlad’s blade had stabbed him when the electro mana covering his body and sword vanished.
Thud!
He fell forward onto the platform, unconscious.
"D-dear lord..." Jimmy gasped, his hand holding his chest where Vlad had just stabbed him. "I just saw myself crossing the river Styx."
It was only when the noise of the battle vanished that the other students turned around and quickly rushed to the stage.
"Emily, are you alright?" Bianca asked as she reached Emily’s side; Emily was still sitting on the stage, completely frozen.
Her eyes widened as she noticed the wet floor between Emily’s legs. The poor girl had pissed herself.
---
"Can’t you fight a single battle without fainting?" Chloe demanded with a sharp tone as soon as Vlad opened his eyes. He was in a familiar room, white ceiling, walls of curtains surrounding the bed with Chloe sitting at his side, her arms folded.
"What happened?" he muttered, his head throbbing with pain as he tried to recall his last memory. "Did I suffer from Mana Deviation again? But I was sure I still had mana left."
He suddenly jolted to a sitting position and demanded, "What about the last match?" He released a sigh, his fist tightening in frustration. "I must have lost."
"You won," a familiar voice came from the other side of the bed. He turned his head only to find Seraphina sitting cross-legged on a chair. "Congratulations! You can fight in the central arena tomorrow."
"Wait, wait, wait," Vlad said, seeming completely confused. "Do you know what happened in the match? I can’t recall anything. The last thing I remember is being attacked by a flower spell from Emily."
"You entered the State of Enlightenment," Seraphina revealed, her voice carrying a hint of delight.
Vlad froze at her words, his lips parting in shock as he understood what she meant. When a mage or knight reaches a certain level of synergy and understanding with their element, they enter the State of Enlightenment. During this process, their body is moved by instinct, pumping mana in and out of the body, increasing their synergy with their element. Only when all the mana is consumed does this enlightenment end. However, if the mana is not emptied in time, the backlash one might suffer is equally dangerous. Severe internal injuries would be the best case, with the worst case being consumed by their element and turned into a mindless monster.
Vlad had not suffered any internal injury, and he was certainly not a monster. That could only mean one thing... he had succeeded in the State of Enlightenment.
It was only then that he noticed the size of his core had increased from before, his meridians having become wider and more robust.
His lips slowly curled into a bright smile as his eyes fell on the hovering system screen before him.
[Congratulations! You have attained enlightenment for the Electro element.]
[Your control over Electro Mana has greatly increased. You can learn electro-related mana manipulation more easily than before.]
[The size of your core has increased by 10%]
[Your meridians are strengthened and widened by 5%]
[Alert! As a D-Ranked, you have reached the limit of your understanding of the electro element.]
Although the last message spoiled Vlad’s mood for a moment, he still could not help but giggle like a child at this unforeseen benefit he had just received.
"Since you seem well enough to smile like an idiot, I will leave now," Seraphina said, rising from the chair. "Be sure to drink these potions. They will help relax your strained core."
She pointed at the red potion bottles placed on the small table beside his bed before walking away.
"Oh sure... thanks... and also thanks for checking on me, Sera," Vlad blurted out as Seraphina reached the curtains.
"Do not be so full of yourself, commoner," Seraphina scoffed. "I am only giving you these potions because you still have a promise to fulfill."
With that declaration, she quickly moved out, drawing the curtains closed behind her.
Chloe looked at their exchange with narrowed eyes before shifting her piercing gaze to Vlad.
"Why are you looking at me as if you want to kill me?" Vlad asked, flinching.
Chloe pushed him back onto the bed, pressing a palm on his chest, and muttered, mimicking Vlad, "Thanks for checking on me, Sera~"