Chapter 528: The Grand First-Year Combat Festival: Annoying Win III

The people in the spectators’ seats, the important guest seats, and even the sections reserved for the people of power and high-power figures all stared at Maxwell’s position.

For a moment, the Arena seemed to have forgotten about the fight itself.

The flames and smoke had only just begun to settle, yet the attention of hundreds of thousands of people had already shifted toward the boy standing in the middle of the ruined section of the platform.

Many of them were very impressed.

A student in the first year knew how to use the Law of Magnetism.

That alone was enough to make several Alchemists in the audience look at one another in genuine surprise.

***

The Law of Magnetism, unlike the Law of Inversion, didn’t require the Alchemist to infiltrate a different body or substance and reconfigure the formulas making up the properties of that body or substance.

The Law of Inversion could be used to change those properties.

It could even mean destroying them if the Alchemist understood the formula well enough.

The Law of Magnetism is different.

The Cognis of the Alchemist performs two particular actions within the object or substance he or she wants to affect.

First, the Cognis infiltrates the formulas making up the body or substance.

Then, the Alchemist converts the Cognis nature inside the object or substance into a magnetic force.

Either a North magnetic force or a South magnetic force.

Once that process is completed, the Alchemist using the Law can follow the principle of magnetic force.

North + North = Repels.

South + South = Repels.

North + South = Attracts.

This allows an Alchemist to deflect an enemy’s attack without needing to block it with their bodies or their own Alchemy.

More importantly, an Alchemist could use the Law to take control of an Alchemy attack or even the Alchemist body.

And if the Law of Inversion is used together with it, an Alchemy attack can be neutralized with far greater ease.

That is the reason the Law of Magnetism is so troublesome.

It didn’t simply allow someone to block an attack.

It gave the Alchemist a way to interfere with the attack itself.

The only issue with using this Law is how quickly it drained an Alchemist’s Cognis compared to almost every other use of Cognis.

That is why only Alchemists at the Meister Alchemist rank and above are normally preferred to use this Law.

An Adept Alchemist could also use it, but only with extreme caution.

A mistake during the conversion of the Cognis nature, even one made for only a brief moment, could cause the magnetic force to behave incorrectly.

And if that happened, the Alchemist could easily leave himself or herself open to an accidental attack.

For the spectators who understood the Law, Maxwell’s actions had therefore revealed something far more important than the fact that he knew another Law of Alchemy.

He had enough control to use it in the middle of combat.

And he had chosen to use it against Cyrus’s flames.

***

"I really believed I wouldn’t have to use this, but that your Adept-rank Flame Alchemy Explosion was really dangerous, Cyrus."

Maxwell spoke while fire now surrounded his right hand like a gauntlet.

Smoke curled around his left hand in much the same way, twisting around his fingers before drifting upward.

The flames didn’t burn his skin completely.

The smoke also didn’t obscure his vision.

Instead, both seemed to remain under his control.

Cyrus stared at him.

What I’m really witnessing.

His scarlet eyes narrowed as he looked at the fire covering Maxwell’s right hand and the smoke wrapped around his left.

My Adept-rank Alchemy.

I Add more Flame Alchemy Symbols to increase the level of temperature the explosion would cause, not just that...

His gaze shifted toward the scorched platform.

With the power of five liters of Draconium Lacrimal Extract!

Cyrus knew exactly how dangerous that explosion had been because he had created it himself.

The amount of Draconium Lacrimal Extract alone had been enough to make the explosion something that couldn’t simply be ignored.

The explosion is enough to kill two to three Novice Alchemists at the same time, as well as severely injure a Binder Alchemist, even if he or she uses a barrier-type Alchemy.

Cyrus’s expression twitched faintly.

Even I, myself, had to use my Alchemy Coat... a Force Field Bracelet, Cognis Storage Earrings, Cognis Storage Rings, Cognis Storage Necklace, Cognis Storage Gloves.

His face slowly became more unpleasant as he remembered just how much preparation he had made for this fight.

I also bought three freaking Alchemy Coats.

All of them are of eighth-grade quality.

Cyrus’s mind screamed at him in shock.

"All my money."

He placed a hand against his head and shook it.

His fingers moved through his hair as his shoulders lowered, and for a moment, the surprisingly strong young Burnwick who had just created a massive explosion looked less like a combatant and more like someone who had just remembered a terrible shopping bill.

He had spent an absurd amount of gold coins preparing for this fight.

And Maxwell had just stood inside the aftermath of one of his strongest attacks.

Cyrus looked at him again.

His expression sank even further.

All that money...

He rubbed the side of his head.

For this.

Boom!

The sudden sound snapped his attention back to the fight.

Cyrus’s scarlet eyes sharply moved toward Maxwell.

Maxwell had stomped his foot against the ground.

The impact cracked through the platform, and several pieces of loose stone jumped from the ground beneath his boot.

The flames around his right hand twisted at once.

Maxwell had used the Law of Inversion to convert the free-flowing, gaseous properties of the fire into a controlled rotation around his right hand.

He did the same with the smoke surrounding his left.

The two substances moved in opposite patterns around his arms, forming a strange combination of flame and smoke that remained close to his body instead of spreading through the Arena.

He kept the burning-hot properties of the fire, and also kept the properties of the smoke.

At the same time, Cognis flowed through his veins and gathered around both hands, reinforcing his skin before he continued.

Then the smoke finally began to clear.

The view of the fight platform opened up.

And the reaction from the spectators changed instantly.

"Kyyyyyaaaaaaaaa!!!"

"Look at his body!!!!"

"Oh, my scholars, he’s so hot!!"

"Fire is on his hand!!"

"Kyyyyyaaaaaaaaa! The abs!!"

Many voices from the young ladies in the Arena echoed loudly.

The flames had burned through Maxwell’s training shirt, leaving large portions of the cloth torn and scorched.

What remained of the shirt hung around his body in burned pieces, revealing the physique of a boy who had clearly trained himself well.

His arms were defined from constant physical training, his shoulders were firm, and his abdomen showed the results of countless hours spent strengthening his body.

It wasn’t an exaggerated body.

It was simply the body of someone who had trained seriously.

That alone was enough to send a wave of excitement through part of the audience.

Several parents quickly covered the eyes of their very young daughters before they could get a proper look at Maxwell’s exposed body.

"Don’t look."

One father hurriedly placed his palm over his daughter’s eyes.

Another mother pulled her daughter closer while trying not to laugh at the girl’s confused expression.

The Arena had somehow gone from discussing Maxwell’s use of the Law of Magnetism to discussing his physique.

At the first-year seating section...

"Wow."

Priscilla and Page said at the same time staring at Maxwell with their eyes glued to him.

Neither seemed particularly interested in hiding their reaction.

Nate, who was sitting nearby, slowly turned his eyes toward Priscilla.

His expression became narrow.

"Seriously?"

He said it faintly, and there was clear displeasure in his voice.

Priscilla looked at him innocently.

"What... he got a good body."

Nate stared at her for another moment, then he looked back toward the platform annoyed.

At a different seating column where Linda and Tracy sat, the reaction wasn’t much different.

"This fucking prick... My Cele shouldn’t see this."

Nickolas bit down hard on his handkerchief.

His face had become red from the burning hatred he had developed toward Maxwell, and the hand holding the cloth tightened as he watched him.

Linda folded her arms and turned toward Tracy.

"Humph. The Young Lord has a better physique, right, Tracy?"

Tracy immediately placed a hand over Linda’s mouth.

"Sheesh."

Linda’s words were muffled beneath Tracy’s palm.

"I know that... but it’s always good to admire humans’ creation."

Tracy said it while her eyes remained completely glued to Maxwell.

Linda slowly pulled Tracy’s hand away.

Neither of them looked toward Nickolas.

At the section where Princess Stella Aethelmont sat with her friends, the reaction was similar among both the girls and boys.

"Oh, my."

Princess Stella placed a hand close to her mouth.

She couldn’t help but admire Maxwell’s fitness, especially after seeing him standing there with flames and smoke still moving around his hands.

Her golden eyes shifted toward where Cherry Sailor sat.

Cherry couldn’t even bring herself to look.

She had covered her face completely, her cheeks glowing red from embarrassment.

A small drop of blood slowly slipped from her nose.

Stella noticed it.

Her eyes paused for a moment.

Of course...

In all of this amusement, there were few ladies who didn’t seem to care in the slightest.

Diane Bergwyn was sleeping peacefully on her seat with her eyes covered and a neck pillow behind her.

She wasn’t even watching the fight in the first place.

Her head rested against the seat, her eyes closed, and the noise of hundreds of thousands of spectators somehow failed to disturb her.

Selena Galehart covered her eyes with her fan.

She didn’t look like the other ladies who were embarrassed by Maxwell’s exposed body, she just found the situation less elegant if she stared at him.

Willow Derlis, on the other hand, looked at Maxwell with clear irritation.

"Pervert."

She said it coldly to herself in a low tone.

To her, Maxwell should have at least bought a training cloth that could resist the power of Cyrus’s flames to a degree.

It was classless for a Royal Academy student to be displaying himself in front of the spectators, especially when younger children were watching the fight.

As for Vera Ashenlocke...

She just looked bored as always.

Her dull black eyes remained on the platform, but there was almost no change in her expression.

It didn’t even look to her as if something interesting was happening.

She simply sat there.

No excitement.

No embarrassment.

No anger.

Nothing.

At that moment, several staff members walked into the first-year section.

Their eyes moved between Vera and Selena before one of them spoke.

"Lady Vera Ashenlocke, Lady Selena Galehart, please get ready. Your match is next."

Vera’s eyes shifted slightly toward the staff member.

Selena lowered her fan.

The two girls began preparing for their upcoming match.

Back on the fight platform...

Cyrus looked at Maxwell again.

The boy’s training shirt was practically gone.

"Don’t you have another shirt to wear?"

Cyrus asked.

Maxwell looked down at himself.

His eyes moved over the remaining pieces of burned cloth hanging around his body.

"Well... I didn’t put any cloth in my Space Bag."

Maxwell simply replied.

He didn’t even feel nervous for the number of gazes that all locked on him, for someone who normally got nervous from much attention.

Maxwell was looking completely fine.

Cyrus stared at him plainly.

For a second, he wondered how someone could forget something as simple as bringing another shirt to a Combat Festival.

Maxwell, however, didn’t seem particularly bothered.

"But let’s forget that and get back to the fight... I’m pumped-up, Cyrus."

He said it excitedly.

Cyrus narrowed his eyes at Maxwell.

There was something about those words that bothered him.

Maxwell said he was pumped-up.

He said he wanted to continue.

Yet he still hadn’t used his Sun Alchemy.

Cyrus had only learned about that Alchemy Path from Ravenor.

And Ravenor had also told him about Maxwell’s connection to Andraver.

Now, after seeing Maxwell neutralize one of his strongest attacks with the Law of Magnetism, Cyrus couldn’t help but wonder how much Maxwell was still holding back.

He says that, but hasn’t even used any Sun Alchemy attack or defense till now.

And he even neutralized one of my strongest attacks easily, with the Law of Magnetism, which is still incredible on its own.

Boom!

Maxwell suddenly dashed forward.

His body shot toward Cyrus with immense speed.

The distance between them disappeared in an instant.

Cyrus’s eyes widened slightly.

I could go for Mass Alchemy, and draw this fight out, making him finally use the Sun Alchemy to win, but...

His thoughts stopped.

Cyrus raised both hands.

His posture relaxed.

His expression became calm.

"I surrender."

He said it without hesitation.

Whoosh!

Maxwell’s punch, fire wrapped around his hand, stopped.

His fist remained only inches away from Cyrus’s face.

The flames around Maxwell’s knuckles continued to burn, their heat brushing against Cyrus’s skin, but the punch itself had halted before making contact.

Maxwell’s eyes widened.

"Ehn?"

He looked at Cyrus in confusion.

The same confusion spread through the entire Arena.

The crowd had been expecting another exchange.

They had been watching Maxwell rush forward with his flaming fist already prepared to strike.

Instead, Cyrus had simply raised his hands and surrendered.

No final attack.

No Mass Alchemy.

No desperate counter.

Nothing.

For several seconds, the Arena seemed unable to process what had just happened.

Almost like how Kane Casper had surrendered against Maxwell.

Then the voices began to rise.

"Did he just surrender?"

"What?"

"Why?"

"He surrendered?!"

Even some of the people in the important guest seats looked toward one another.

Patrick stood behind his microphone, staring down at the two Young Alchemists on the platform.

Maxwell slowly lowered his flaming hand.

Cyrus, meanwhile, looked completely calm.

"Well, at least I tried my best..."

He said plainly.

His eyes moved toward Maxwell.

"Tsk, I wasted a lot of money for preparation, made you use a Law of Alchemy which is hard and also drains Cognis..."

Cyrus paused his listing out of things he achieved like that justified his forfeit.

His eyes briefly moved toward the fire and smoke still surrounding Maxwell’s hands.

"I wonder how your Cognis is still that much, but who cares."

He shrugged.

There was no bitterness in his voice.

If anything, Cyrus sounded tired.

He had fought.

He had used one of his strongest attacks.

He had forced Maxwell to reveal another powerful ability.

And he had decided that continuing would cost him more than he wanted to spend.

Cyrus reached into his space bag and took out his headset.

He placed it over his ears.

The moment the headset settled into place, the loud confused noise of the Arena became distant to him.

Calm music began playing.

Cyrus turned away from Maxwell.

He walked out of the platform without hurry, his hands relaxed at his sides as though he had simply finished an ordinary training session.

Behind him, Maxwell remained standing on the damaged platform, still trying to understand what had happened.

The entire Arena was shocked.

Then silence spread through the enormous structure.

Hundreds of thousands of people stared at Cyrus as he calmly walked away, while Maxwell stood behind him with the flames still burning around one hand and smoke curling around the other.

For a fight that had been expected to become even more dangerous...

It had ended with Cyrus simply deciding that he had done enough.