Cyril unhurriedly exited the cave, leaving the old, withered tree alone.
When he got outside, the first thing Cyril did was look in all directions to see if anything interesting was happening nearby.
He knew for certain that this test would not go on for too long. The professor from the beginning mentioned that it will not go beyond four hours.
So Cyril wanted to make the most of this time.
Luckily it seemed that not far away there was smoke rising up in the air, along with sounds of spells being activated.
Some kind of battle was clearly happening there.
In a hurry, Cyril ran toward that place, reaching it in minutes, before slowing down to assess the situation.
He expected there to be Cedric or Myra fighting someone, but it turned out to be two groups of students each fighting the other in the clearing.
They appeared to be fighting over a plant placed conspicuously under a particularly strong ray of light.
Cyril recognized it. It was a popular ingredient for many enhancing potions. A single stalk could get you rich in an instant.
However, isn't it fake?
He could clearly feel the same sensation as when he looked at anything else in this forest.
Don't they know this place is an illusion?
Cyril, with confusion, stared at this weird scuffle within the same team.
"How stupid can they be..."
At this moment Cyril managed to hear a somewhat familiar manner of speech.
"Give up, you imbeciles! I am the only one worthy of this bounty; any who dare go against my vision shall taste my poison!" A flamboyant voice called out, louder than any other around.
It was Bonzo, the self-proclaimed 'Poison Hand.'
Cyril had a memorable duel with this guy back at the competition.
So his spirits that were low when he saw this sorry scene were rising again.
After so long, Bonzo should have a lot of new tricks, right?
Cyril sprang out from his hiding and attacked a student standing with his back towards him.
In a single blow the student was thrown to the ground, attracting the attention of everyone else.
For a moment the students forgot they were in the middle of a fight. Everyone stared at the sudden intruder in surprise.
"Felling! How are you here? Shouldn't you be the area boss!?" Someone exclaimed.
What did he call me?
"He must be insulting you! Let's get back at him!"
Just then, a student suddenly noticed the disc in Cyril's hands.
"Wait... That crystal in his hands! If we break it, we'll get full marks and a special reward!" the student exclaimed.
Cyril didn't know what reward the professors had promised, but it must be something great.
The same greedy look flashed in the eyes of the surrounding students.
Even Bonzo stopped staring at the plant and edged closer.
"Thank you for saving me back then, Cyril, but this is a competition," he said in a somewhat solemn voice.
Cyril calmly looked around him at the greedy students and threw the crystal to Morpho in the air.
"I'll leave it to you," said Cyril.
Morpho grabbed the disc reluctantly. She'd rather be fighting right now, but she knew this was necessary.
Under everyone's surprised gaze, the butterfly, holding their target, flew high into the sky, farther and farther from them.
"Don't just stand there, hit it!" Someone exclaimed.
Everyone immediately started casting spells in a hurry, afraid of Morpho going away.
Unfortunately, Cyril wasn't going to wait for their slow cast speed.
He immediately dashed to the nearest human, knocking them out in a single hit.
Those who succeeded in casting their spells quickly learned the true extent of a butterfly's agility.
Skilled in quick maneuvers in the air, Morpho effortlessly dodged the sluggish energy bolts coming her way.
In the meantime, Cyril managed to reach another student.
Cyril briefly used the student as a shield, deflecting the few spells sent his way, before hurling him at the others.
The remaining students were now all grouped together, so using this opportunity, Cyril cast a particularly potent fireball their way.
An explosion engulfed all of them. With each day, Cyril's spells grew more and more powerful.
A small crowd of students was now reduced to just one.
Upon seeing that the coast was basically clear, Morpho confidently returned to Cyril's side.
Bonzo, the only one who remained, happened to be standing further away from everyone.
He now had a nervous face, alternating between human and insect in front of him.
"Are you really the same age as us?" asked Bonzo with a few beads of sweat rolling down his face.
The spell Cyril threw before had power completely unlike that of a simple fireball, but Cyril undoubtedly used the regular magic circle they were all taught in class.
This meant that the quality of his mana was substantial enough to significantly improve the power of his spells.
A person's mana quality would usually improve over the course of their lives; that's why older mages tended to be more powerful, but Cyril's growth was clearly beyond normal.
If he wasn't apprehensive of using too much mana, perhaps he could overwhelm just about anyone with pure firepower among their grade.
"Well? Do you have any new tricks?" asked Cyril with interest.
Bonzo's face contorted a bit, but he quickly reined himself in.
Suddenly Cyril twisted his body and quickly grabbed at the air behind him.
Between his fingers was now a thin crystal needle.
Bonzo tried to mask it in all the mayhem happening earlier, but Cyril was still able to detect it.
But as he was holding it, suddenly the crystal needle shined with light, and a green fog erupted from it.
Cyril didn't panic but held his breath and familiarly moved his hand in a circular fashion in front of him.
A shock wave went off from his body, clearing the air around him.
This was the only special move from Selene's technique that Cyril knew right now, but it was quite convenient.
With this plan failed, Bonzo bit his lip and cast another spell.
Below Cyril, the ground took on a black, gooey form; it felt quite slippery, but Cyril managed to keep his balance.
Soon a hand reached out from the goo attempting to catch him, but Cyril destroyed it, though it required a bit of focus as to not lose his footing.
This is good training... Cyril caught himself thinking as more hands stretched out from the goo.
He felt this activity helped improve the coordination of his body.
But as he was absorbed in this sort of training, a bolt of energy suddenly flew from the side.
It didn't go for Cyril, instead aiming at the crystal.
Bonzo knew that he was no match for Cyril in a direct duel, so this was his only hope of victory.
Unfortunately for him, Morpho was always ready; she effortlessly dodged the bolt, and in one smooth motion threw the crystal towards Cyril.
With no more hands appearing to distract him, Cyril reflexively grabbed the crystal, almost losing his balance in the process.
While Morpho flew like a cannonball at her attacker.
Bonzo wasn't even able to react in time, as Morpho flew into him with all her strength, knocking the frail student to the ground.
With this, the whole area around was finally peaceful, if one didn't count the groans coming from the bodies of students.
But that too soon started to go away, as the students disappeared bit by bit from Cyril's cognition.
"Damn it... How can you grow so strong so fast...?" Bonzo whispered to himself, despair palpable in his voice.
As he disappeared, his eyes carried great unwillingness; this was not how he wanted this fight to go.
Soon he was gone as well, leaving only the victors in place.
Morpho triumphantly flapped her wings as a habit now. It was like she was declaring her superiority to the world, eager to prove her strength.
Cyril was left with a slightly bitter feeling, however.
Bonzo didn't grow as he thought he would.
He learned a few spells, yes, but they were weak and ineffective. This was a tension-less fight.
Cyril felt like he could've ended it even faster if he so wished.
"That's just how it is. These inferior beings could never match you; in the future, they would only stray further from your strength," Rhamn said, as though stating the obvious.
Why are you so dramatic? Isn't it embarrassing for you to speak this way?
"No" Rhamn's expression didn't waver.
Getting rid of any distracting thoughts, Cyril turned his attention to the plant the students were fighting for.
Just now, he felt a certain change in this area.
Sure enough, the moment he got close, this particular place started to glow.