Mythshaper
Chapter 62: Crude Attacks

Chapter 62: Crude Attacks

Before the two instructors clashed, I yanked Diana and another kid nearby to withdraw towards the institution building.

"Everyone, get back!"

The cheers stopped as soon as I cried, but it wasn’t my warning that interrupted them, but the aura blasted outwards from the two fighters. With thier anger clouding thier judgment, the two Noble classes awakened failed to keep their aura in check.

The luckier ones were at the back, but a few students, close to their aura onslaught, froze on the spot before their legs gave way, their expression aghast with terror.

It took a moment for Instructor Delric to note this and employ all his might to neutralise Shaper Ao’s wild aura, which seemed to be spreading wherever his Influence reached.

He tried to stop the shaper, “Wait! We can’t do this here.”

“Are you afraid now?” Ao’s face held a grin of satisfaction, mistaking Instructor Delric’s waver for his own achievement.

Delric cursed under his breath, his face fuming with anger. He breathed heavily, inching forward to accommodate all the aura onslaught onto himself. “Everyone,” he shouted at the kids, “get into the institution!”

I was already helping a few to get back to their feet, but that shout from Instructor Delric seemed to break the spell. All the students got up and scurried to the rest near the building.

Relieved, Delric put his entire focus on the fight at hand. As he contended fully with the aura onslaught, Ao sneered, fishing out a metal wand from his waist. Rune marks lit up on the metal surface, as a blast of kinetic force surged forth, aiming straight at Delric. Instead of evading, the instructor put his body on the line of attack, enduring the brunt of the forceful blast to close in on the Shaper.

Instructor Ao, naturally, wasn’t about to let him draw near. Every combat-class Shaper was taught how advantageous it was to maintain distance in a fight, as thier fragile body was their only weakness.

With a solid dozen paces between them, it was only a matter of time before victory fell into the shaper’s hands. Against another awakened of the same class, it was the only assumption to make.

Much as I disliked the man, I couldn’t deny that truth.

Perhaps it would have been a different story if they were of common classes, since Shapers required deep mastery to be of any use in the beginning. But Ao was already a grown man and had likely trained his shaping ability for dozens of seasons.

As soon as Delric managed to cut the distance, Ao waved the wand down, as a gust of force carried him several metres away. Now that Delric was withstanding the kinetic force with uncommon physicality with little difficulty, Ao changed his battle stance and brought out another wand—the one especially for augmenting his firepower.

His figure hadn’t even landed completely on the ground before deep blue essence threads bloomed out from the wand, forming a fireball twice as large as anything I was capable of weaving. And it seemed to be the only beginning.

Delric had no choice but to dodge, ducking under the hurling fireball. He hadn’t yet exhaled a breath of relief when more fireballs formed from his opponent’s wand. His battle strategy didn’t change much. Delric evaded whatever he could, neutralised some with his sword aura, which was clearly not as effective as a good shield would be. He pushed through whatever the shaper threw at him, though not completely unscathed.

A few fireballs struck him directly, flames licking across his arms and torso, but he didn’t even falter. His sheer grit blazed hotter than the fire scorching his skin, as his form scurried through the field in a masterful display of acrobatics.

By then, most of the students had already scrambled to the back. Some of the courageous ones remained to watch the battle at its full glory and had to change their mind for fear of becoming collateral in the clash. Surprisingly, Eran was among the few, along with Priam.

“Is that all you’ve got?” Delric roared as he sidestepped a fireball aimed at his head, his sword sweeping through the air in a strike. Reddish aura pulsed from the blade, disrupting the arrows of fire streaking towards him in waves.

"Wow, Instructor Delric has the upper hand!" Diana exclaimed, excitement lighting up her voice as she rooted for the local instructor. Well, the choice was obvious when compared to the patrician lordling who rarely spared the students a glance.

I shook my head slightly, unconvinced. Eran, who had edged closer, said nothing, his gaze fixed on the fight, hands clenched around his shield. He’d fought me enough to understand how difficult it was to bring down a shaper.

"Can he win?" he asked, his voice low and unsure.

If it were a moment ago, I would have completely written off Instructor Delric, but from what I could see now, it wasn’t out of the question. Delric had managed to close the gap twice, only for Ao to summon an essence shield to block his attacks at the last second. If not for the amulet on his neck, which formed the shield, Delric would have had the upper hand.

For all his arrogance, Instructor Ao’s essence shaping was surprisingly basic. So far, all he’d shown were fireballs, fire arrows, a standard levitation spell, and a crude kinetic blast. Nothing complex, nothing refined. Even the fireballs lacked layers of condensation and empowerment. He had hundreds of essence threads at his disposal, yet he relied solely on the wands to amplify the entry-level weaves.

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If I’d had even half his threads, I could have ended the fight in moments.

His influence control was adequate enough for someone ungifted in that aspect, but he thoroughly lacked in Weight distribution.

“Perhaps Instructor Delric really can win,” I muttered. Still, it won’t be an easy victory. If Delric had a couple of defensive fabricators to rely upon, he wouldn’t have to hopelessly put his body on the line.

My gaze landed on the shield in Eran’s hands, and my eyes lit up.

“Eran, give me your shield.”

He blinked, confused, but passed it over without hesitation. The octagonal shield should be enough to give him an edge.

Delric’s clothes were already in tatters, burned and clinging in strips. His skin was flushed and raw, blistered in places, but he hadn’t suffered anything truly debilitating yet. I waited for an opportunity which wouldn’t cause chaos in his rhythm, and hurled the shield through the air.

“Instructor Delric,” I shouted. “Catch!”

His head turned at the sound of his name, and instinct took over. He caught the shield mid-air, reacting before he had time to question it. No sooner had it settled on his arm, six fire arrows launched at him, the air crackling with their heat.

With no room to evade them all, Delric braced himself, raised the shield, and charged. He managed to sidestep two of the arrows, dispersed one with his sword aura, but the remaining three slammed into the shield in rapid succession. To his utter surprise, the octagonal shield held firm. His eyes widened as he stared at it, a flicker of disbelief crossing his face.

“You think a mere wooden shield can save you from me?” Ao bellowed, his voice laced with disdain as more fire arrows formed at the tip of his firewand and shot forth.

Delric fell into a steady rhythm, wielding the shield like a veteran of countless battles. He moved as if a missing piece had finally clicked into place. The switch on the shield’s strap didn’t escape his notice, though he was uncertain what it was for. He waited until arrows swarmed him before activating it.

A sudden burst of kinetic force erupted, intercepting every arrow with a sweeping surge that startled not only Delric but also his opponent. Ao’s eyes snapped to the shield, and then to me—the one who had thrown it—and that proved to be his greatest error in the fight.

Taking advantage of a split-second lapse in his opponent, Delric courageously threw the octagonal shield like a disc. Foolish as the move might have seemed, it caught Ao completely off guard and didn’t give him enough time to trigger his protective amulet.

A violent thrust slammed into Ao’s chest, flinging him backwards. The augmenter hadn’t held back his strength after suffering from the fire attacks.

The lordling let out a twisted cry of half snarl and half scream, but before he could gather another weave, Delric was already on him, blade ready for a strike. Mustering his essence threads, Ao hastily summoned a crude barrier, brittle and incomplete. It shattered on first contact, sending him crashing to the ground.

Delric slammed the thick body of the sword onto his arms in a swift arc, disarming him of the wands. Ao had barely put in any physical training, causing blood to swell and gush out from his arms. He flung his arm and body, struggling like a fish out of water. Delric seized him, a foot pressing on his chest and holding his sword at his throat.

"You are older than me,” he said, his voice frosty, “and only the Oracle knows how much your family spent on you to reach this point, and yet you cannot defeat me."

“NO!” Ao growled. His face darkened as he clutched his arms close to his chest. But he still refused to concede defeat. "If not for your underhanded means, do you still think you can defeat me?"

"Underhanded means?" Instructor Delric laughed. "Are you just—"

His words cut short as a brutal force slammed into him, hurling him several metres away.

Instructor Ao rose shakily, still gripping his chest. Dragging himself forward, he caught his firewand with a telekinetic weave and prepared to strike again. With a wave of his wand, two fire arrows materialised, smouldering with all their intensity. He was prepared to unleash them—even now, even after the duel had ended in his defeat.

"You were just as I thought you were," sneered Delric, rolling aside as an arrow slammed into the spot he'd just occupied. The second grazed his back, drawing a sharp groan.

Ao formed more and unleashed them all, laughing maniacally. Delric used all his aura to arm his form while he rolled. Even with remarkable control over his body, he knew he couldn’t evade even half the attacks now that he was in a disadvantageous position. But before the spells could reach him, a streak of Influence crossed over, followed by braids of essence threads shimmering with force. They enveloped Delric, forming a translucent shield, taking most of the brunt from the attacks.

To my astonishment and relief, a lone figure flew from the other side and landed between the two fighters, her eyes locked on the Patrician lordling, essence threads sprang from her fingertips, ready to employ.

“You have gone too far,” said Shaper Tullia, her eyes blazing coldly.

Ao's face contorted with rage, power still gathering in his hands. But it wasn’t only Tullia who’d joined. From the crowd behind, a balding man stepped forward. The Headmaster’s expression was neutral, but his eyes burned with quiet fury.

Magus Larius barked, "You two, in my office, right now!"

With nothing more, he turned and strode away.

"Count yourself lucky," Ao snapped, turning his back and storming off after the headmaster.

Only when his figure disappeared did Shaper Tullia withdraw the shield and knelt beside her friend to check his wounds

"Are you alright?" she asked, helping him to his feet.

"I'm fine, barely a few scratches," Delric replied, gripping her hand as he stood.

Satisfied he was well enough, Tullia found her voice for an outburst. "Are you out of your mind?" she hissed. "Duelling him is one thing, but did you even consider where you were? What if one of those attacks had hit a child?"

Delric had been ready to snap back at her, but he restrained himself. He lowered his head, shame creeping over his features.

"Instructor Delric tried to stop him," I said, creeping closer to them with my friends, "but Ao didn't listen."

Delric seemed like a fellow who didn't want to explain himself, even if it was to his friend. So with my friends, I tried our best to defend ourselves, explaining everything.

Tulia narrowed her eyes and sighed. "Well, let’s not keep the Headmaster waiting. I’m sure Ao is already spinning the tale in his favour."

Delric nodded. As he turned to leave, his gaze drifted to the shield lying a few paces away. He walked over and retrieved it before returning to me.

"Here you go," he said, holding the shield out to me.

"It’s not mine," I said, pointing at Eran.

The instructor nodded, having already seen Eran practising with it many times, and passed it to him.

“Thanks for lending it to me. At first, I thought it wouldn’t hold up, but surprisingly, it’s sturdy.”

“Well, it looks to be an Uncommon piece, made out of good material,” Tullia said, surprising the instructor. After all, the sword he held was his only possession at that rank.

“It’s just common hardwood from the mountains,” I muttered, “but it can withstand simple fire shaping like those with ease.”

Instructor Delric shot a peculiar gaze and then turned his head to look towards the mountains, the sun still a couple of hours away from setting. "I suppose that means class is over for today. You’re all free to head home."