Showdown with an A-Class Mage

"The Water Formation Wall was broken again?"

Chiba's mouth twitched slightly. This was the second time his Water Formation Wall had been broken, and both times it had been broken in much the same way.

"My magic is water flow control. I am Manli, the Water Envoy. Playing with water magic in front of me is rather like teaching a master his own trade," the leader said with the air of an expert.

But at that moment, the Shadow Clone appeared in front of him in an instant and swung a powerful kick, sending him flying.

"Bam!"

Manli smashed through a wall and became embedded in it.

"Damn it, what the hell are you showing off for? You just broke my Water Formation Wall. What the hell are you so smug about?" The Shadow Clone flexed his wrists, a vicious look on his face.

Chiba was speechless. This Shadow Clone seemed to have the worst temper of them all.

"Damn it!"

Manli crawled out of the broken masonry, his mage's robe in tatters.

The sudden, powerful kick hadn't done him much harm, but it had left him in a sorry state.

This was the first time he had been so humiliated since becoming an A-Class mage.

And it had been at the hands of a boy like this.

"Damn demon, I have to kill you!" Manli roared. He pressed one hand to the ground, and a brown magic circle formed.

"Rumble!"

Amid the rumbling, rocks thrust up without warning, and sharp stone spikes came at them.

"Fire Style, Great Fireball Technique!"

It was the same Great Fireball again, but with its power tripled, it was enormous. It bore down on the stone spikes from above.

The scorching fireball slammed into the stone spikes, and cracks rang out one after another. But Manli was an A-Class mage, after all. The shattered spikes solidified again, coming without end.

"Water Flow Impact!"

A magic circle formed at his other hand, and a thick, fierce torrent surged forth, striking the Great Fireball with a hiss.

The water evaporated, but the Great Fireball kept shrinking as well. Before long, the stone spikes broke through it.

"Wood Release! Wood Locking Wall!"

The original and the Shadow Clones pressed one hand to the ground at the same time, forming five wooden walls in an instant. The stone spikes battered the Wood Locking Walls, but in the end, all five walls held them back.

"You do have quite a few tricks..."

A smile touched Manli's lips as he spoke with considerable approval.

Chiba hated that tone of his, as though everything were under his control and the three of them were already at his mercy.

"Take the two of them outside," Chiba told the Shadow Clones.

A Shadow Clone gave him a long look. "Take care!"

With that, two Shadow Clones each picked up a girl and jumped onto the eaves.

Chiba: "..."

Why are they making it look like I'm about to die?

"Stop them!" Manli barked.

"Yes!"

The mages formed magic circles again, and countless streams of water and blades of ice attacked the Shadow Clones.

Chiba had noticed that most of the mages in the guild called Frog in the Pond used ice or water. There were earth mages too, but they made up a very small proportion.

"Original!"

The two Shadow Clones shouted, signaling for him to block all the attacks.

"I know!"

Chiba looked at the other three Shadow Clones, then leaped into the air.

One Shadow Clone pointed both hands at him and used Gale Palm, blowing Chiba, the Shadow Clones, Wendy, and Ultear even higher.

"Wood Release! Wood Locking Wall!"

The other two Shadow Clones clapped their hands together and used Wood Locking Wall. But the attacks came too frequently, and the two walls lasted only a few seconds before the tidal wave of attacks broke through them.

Even so, they had bought Chiba some time.

Ram - Horse - Snake - Dragon - Rat - Ox - Tiger

"Fire Style, Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"

He rapidly formed Hand Seals, took a deep breath, and spat out scorching flames. They burst forward, left, and right, raging like a dancing flame dragon. The flames swept across the sky and swallowed the water and ice blades, wiping out the entire onslaught in an instant!

At that moment, Chiba's body fell back down.

Ram - Horse - Dragon - Tiger!

"Earth Release, Earth Dragon Bullet!"

A dragon's head made of earth rose from the floor. It opened its mouth and sprayed out countless clumps of earth. The tremendous force sent several mages flying, while those who hadn't been blasted away struggled to hold on, swaying on their feet.

"Damn brat!"

Although Manli hadn't been blasted away by the Earth Dragon Bullet, the earth had left him in a sorry state. He cursed, then shouted, "Kill this brat who's in league with a dark guild! Show him the power of Frog in the Pond!"

Manli charged straight at Chiba in the lead, water swirling around his hands. The others were smart enough not to follow close behind, instead using long-range magic from the rear.

Chiba looked calmly at the tidal wave of attacks as Chakra slowly spread over the outside of his body.

A vicious smile appeared on Manli's lips. In his eyes, Chiba had exhausted his tricks and was waiting to die.

After dealing with him, Manli would take the guild members to hunt down the person from the dark guild. Once they caught that person...

Tsk, tsk, tsk... I won't have to worry about food or drink in the future.

With that thought, Manli enveloped himself in surging water and swung a fist at Chiba.

"Lava Release, Lava Armor!"

The Chakra outside Chiba's body rapidly solidified, forming a layer of searing lava over his skin and taking shape as armor.

"Sizzle..."

The surging water struck the Lava Armor and evaporated into gas in an instant, rising into the air. Then, before Manli's horrified eyes, an arm wrapped in lava came howling toward his face.

"Rock Armor!"

In his panic, he formed a layer of hard rock over his arm and used it to block Chiba's lava-covered arm. With a dull thud, Manli was sent flying backward.

"Whoosh!"

The "lava monster" pursued him closely. Manli panicked and shouted, "Quick! Stop him!"

That clash just now had already scared him out of his wits.

"Water Flow Impact!"

Against this searing monster, they could only attack with water. But no matter how they blasted Chiba with it, the layer of Lava Armor on his body evaporated it all into steam.

"Lava Release! Earth Lava!"

The "lava monster" pressed one hand to the ground. Lava flowed down his arm as he poured Chakra into the earth. At once, a crimson light shone beneath the entire alley.

"Boom!"

The ground exploded, and searing lava erupted. The alley seemed to turn into a blazing lava volcano, and the people inside it all looked horrified.

A cold smile appeared on Chiba's lips. They wanted to kill him, so why should he hold back? At worst, he could kill them and join a dark guild.

Perhaps because his power was growing stronger by the day, Chiba's personality had also become more unrestrained and willful.