The Golem Mage

What happened next was a blur to the spectators, as all they saw was a flash, which they believed to be Katie twisting mid-air as she unleashed a flurry of strikes on the two mages who stood frozen in place.

Bang!!

Two loud impacts echoed as the mages who had sensed danger at the last moment, tried to defend themselves.

But there was one small problem, just because they could read where her moves would go due to the blur it didn’t mean they had the strength to withstand them.

Like their leader before them, both had their arms shattered, as the blur paused for a heartbeat as Katie’s hands materialized in front of them, the two mages tried to turn their heads while still in shock as they just wanted to see her, but they were too slow.

Time itself seemed to slow for everyone watching as her hands gripped both mages by the neck, and before they could react, she hoisted them effortlessly and slammed them down in a brutal double choke slam, dropping to one knee with the force of the move.

Crack!

The ground beneath her split further from the impact, as both mages lay unconscious, with foam bubbling from their mouths.

“You bitch!” their leader snarled, his fury boiling over as he watched his comrades fall so quickly.

This time, though, he had learned his lesson, as he summoned his sword before advancing, even though pain shot through his arms with every movement he made since his injuries had yet to be treated, but he didn’t dare back down now.

He needed to land a single blow, anything, just to save face, because he knew if he failed here, even those who had planned to attack like he just did would mock him and use his defeat as a benchmark for their own caution.

He couldn’t stomach such disgrace, returning to the academy was supposed to be their moment of rise in prestige due to their high cultivation realm, a chance to reclaim honour as the academy bests.

But that spotlight had already been stolen, by Alec and his group, that’s why some were so desperate to defeat them, to prove that the academy had made a mistake ranking a bunch of newcomers above them.

Swing!!

He closed the distance between himself and Katie, slashing his sword, but she casually sidestepped every attack with minimal movement, making him look like a complete fool with how effortlessly she handled his attacks.

Growing frustrated, he finally twisted his blade and aimed the hilt toward her face in a desperate attempt to catch her off guard with a swift jab, but Katie ducked beneath the strike and slipped into his close range, his eyes widened in panic when this happened because he knew it was already too late to pull his sword back for a defensive action.

Bang!!

He had forgotten they were both fighting and he definitely wasn’t the only one calculating, Katie’s right palm shot upward, landing a brutal slap beneath his jaw like an open-palm uppercut, dislocating it instantly.

Before he could recover, she gripped the back of his head and slammed it straight into her rising left knee.

And everything went white in the mage’s vision, as he collapsed, completely unconscious, with his body crumpling with multiple bones out of place, far worse off than his two comrades, who had only suffered broken arms.

“Is there anyone else who still wants to come at us?” Katie asked, arms spread wide, the crowd instinctively began shaking their heads in fear.

“Good. Now, what’s my rank again?” she asked, genuinely curious, especially since Pale had been ranked fourth.

“Um… that would be the eleventh position,” the fourth mage stammered, raising his index finger defensively to show he meant no harm.

“Just eleventh? And this guy got fourth? Whoever made that ranking must’ve used outdated data,” Katie grumbled, shooting Pale an accusing glare.

“Why are you looking at me? It’s not like I knew any of this until recently,” Pale replied with a shrug.

“Aware of what, exactly?!”

A booming voice interrupted from behind, though the speaker wasn’t close, however his voice carried such power that it rippled through the air, silencing everyone in an instant.

The booming voice caused Pale, Katie, and many others watching the scuffle to turn toward its source, as they looked back, they found themselves face to face with Lucas Blade, as he appeared noticeably taller and far more muscular, with a long glaive and a massive great sword strapped to his back in an X-formation that caught everyone’s attention.

He strolled forward casually, but many of the girls around couldn’t take their eyes off him, as his muscles looked as though they might tear through the fabric of his clothes at any moment.

“Well, it seems I’m not the only one who’s grown,” Pale muttered, as his attention was on something else entirely, his gaze locked onto the student badge hanging at Lucas’s waist, showing the major rank and confirming what he suspected, and that was the fact that Lucas was now a Tier 6 mage like him too.

To the onlookers, Lucas even embodied the aura of a Tier 6 mage far more convincingly than Pale.

With wild, oppressive Qi swirling around him, most believed that if Lucas had entered the scene first, those three seniors wouldn’t have even dared to provoke him.

As his aura alone was enough to frighten the crowd, unlike Pale, who carried the appearance of a charming prince more likely to flirt than fight, Lucas on the other hand exuded raw battle intent.

“We were just talking about our ranks, we made it into the Earth Ranking, and apparently, we’re in the top eleven, and that somehow pissed off some hot-headed seniors who think they’re more deserving of the monthly rewards that comes with those positions.” Katie said, while brushing her hair back into place as she gave Lucas a quick summary.

“That’s cool and all,” Pale said, his attention sharpening as he turned to the fourth mage, who was now trying to drag his three unconscious friends away.

“But what’s this guy’s rank?”

“Uhh… he’s ranked number two,” the mage stammered.

Pale’s eyes twitched, and a faint glint of icy light flashed in the air, in the next instant, he appeared before the mage, gripping his collar tightly.

“What? That barbarian is ranked two spots above me? Not even just one?” Pale complained, pointing at Lucas, who was still trying to process the new information with a confused look.

“Well, I’m not the one who made the list! I just kept track of you guys because I’m a big fan,” the mage replied defensively, clearly feeling like luck had abandoned him after narrowly escaping a similar trouble moments earlier.

“Let him go before you freeze him into a sculpture,” Katie warned, her tone calm but firm.

“There’s no fire-element mage strong enough here to undo your damage fast enough.”

She’d noticed the mage trembling uncontrollably and turned her gaze to Pale’s hand, it was coated in frost, deep white with cold energy seeping from it, chilling the mage’s body just from being in close proximity.

“By the way, where is everyone?” Katie asked, shifting the topic.

“From what I can tell, it seems like the three of us are the only ones from our team who’ve shown up.”

Her words swiftly drew the attention of both Pale and Lucas, as Pale reluctantly let the mage go.