His brows twitched in frustration as he chased Gaston like a mad hound. The air whistled, and cracking sounds echoed as he blocked and deflected the dark bullet shot by his nemesis.


    Yet, amidst the storm raging in his mind, a few clear thoughts manifested.


    Gaston clearly never attended any magic academy, and no sane mage would have shared their knowledge with him. After all, Lucius told them that sharing anything above the first tier was a heavy crime and refused to teach the boy. Left with no choice, he patiently waited for Julius to grow up and enrol.


    So, how could Gaston wield mana with such proficiency?


    As ludicrous as it seemed, he believed he had reached thete stage of the first tier as a mage beside his tier-two body, making him more of a monster than he thought.


    In the meantime, Gaston''s mockingughter kept echoing in his ears, asserting his self-confidence and dominance in this battle.


    ''This guy is even more annoying than me!''


    His blood boiled, making him feel like magma coursed through his veins as his usual gentle face shifted in a furious grimace.


    However, Gaston wasn''t done ying yet.


    The wind blew his ethereal red hair as he focused on his fingers. Shockingly, a mana bullet condensed above each of them, pulsing with tendrils of dark energy. In a show of incredible control, he forcefully kept them hovering in the air without letting the mana dissipate.


    Then, he did it again.


    Adam watched the mana bullets appear one after the other, impressed at first, then scared. When he counted five, icy sweat formed between his brows... And when he counted ten, pure horror gripped his heart.


    ''Is he going to fire them all at the same time?!''


    He knew he couldn''t protect himself against so many rapid projectiles. Blocking, or cutting, one would only allow two to hit him squarely, bringing the battle to an end... an end in which he lost.


    Mana hummed in the air, creating an attractive yet deadly atmosphere as he halted his chase. He had to find a way to survive this attack. If he did, Gaston would most likely be out of mana, giving him a chance to turn the tables.


    Speaking about tables, his desk entered his vision the next moment, sparking an idea. He dashed towards it, toppling it over and taking cover behind the wood. Hidden from Gaston''s view, he crouched low, hoping the evil ghost would miss most of his shots. And if he dared approach to locate him, he would jump out and cut him in halves!


    "Is that all you got? Pathetic! Without your spear''s enchantments, you can only hide from me."


    Gaston''s voice echoed, sarcastic and filled with mockery as always. After all, he had figured out Adam''s personality, reactions, and thought process. He knew exactly what he hoped for... and would shatter that hope in thousands of shards.


    His smile uncontrobly widened as he imagined Adam''s desperate cries after witnessing his calction error.


    He would still have enough mana to shoot five more bullets.


    ''Keep talking, you idiot! I''ll show you soon how to flex and provoke others properly.''


    Adam gritted his teeth, resisting the urge to bulldoze his way through to cut the pest down. Unbeknownst to Gaston, he had been analysing his character, too, albeit superficially. Yet, one ring trait stood out like a clear pond in his mind. From the beginning, Gaston aimed to humiliate and shame him, escting his anger, and the reason was evident.


    He had warned Julius repetitively about the consequences, yet he almost fell for it.


    Thus, he exhaled, calming his raging blood a little and remained hidden behind the table''s shadow.


    Not obtaining the expected reaction, Gaston snorted, aiming his bullets to pierce the table''s every corner. A secondter, he shot them simultaneously.


    The wind whistled furiously as the projectiles travelled at breakneck speed.


    CRACK


    The wood splintered, pierced like a sheet of paper as long cracks covered its surface.


    Behind it, Adam stood motionless, his arms and legs raised before his torso and head to protect his most critical organs in a desperate attempt at survival.


    "Argh!"


    His visceral growl of pain escaped his lips. Four bullets had pierced him, letting the metallic fragrance of blood fill the room and the thick liquid flow fromfour horrid holes.


    Fortunately, the bullets didn''t pierce through his limbs, dissipating inside his tensed muscles and sparing his torso.


    "Just give up. Considering how uneven the odds were, you fought well... but you can''t beat me. I believe it is clear enough. I mean, even a blind man could have seen it."


    Gaston''s annoying voice echoed in the room once again. Yet, he knew his intentions were elsewhere. He wanted to find out how hurt he was through his answer. Thus, he remained silent, focusing on scanning his body.


    His left forearm was broken... unusable. His right... pierced, but he could still move it. Finally, his left shin was broken as well, causing a stinging pain to assault him each time he tried to move.


    ''I can''t win... I did my best, but he is too monstrous.''


    A sense of defeat washed over him as he lowered his head.


    He tried every strategy he could think of in the short time he was given. But nothing worked. Gaston was too well-rounded. He was... the bear in human form. Only much smarter and with mana.


    The image of his first enemy, the one that had given him nightmares for years, shed in his mind, superimposing over the face of the evil bastard before him.


    ''AS IF I WOULD EVER THINK THAT!''


    The blooming madness hiding in a crack of his mind surged like a torrent, engulfing his analytical thoughts to rece them with something simpler, more primitive... and more dangerous.


    ''If I''m sure to die, I''ll make you regret ever killing me!''


    That''s how he survived his first trial. That''s what he would survive again.


    If a storm raged in his mind before, a consuming beast of monstrous proportions now engulfed it, threatening to devour everything in its path. His vision blurred at the edges, a haze of crimson creeping in. Every cell in his body roared for vengeance, a primal urge wing its way to the surface.


    Eyes glinting with unbridled madness, he rose on his right leg. His left arm''s muscles bulged, and his veins crisscrossed like snakes beneath the skin. He clenched his fingers tightly around the smooth shaft of his crystalline spear.


    "You want to devour my soul? Try harder, fucker! Let''s see if I won''t blow you up before. HAHAHA."


    His frenziedughter echoed grimly in the room as he hurled the spear towards his nemesis.


    SWOOSH


    The wind roared behind the spear as it buzzedtowards Gaston''s sparkling eyes. However, his smirk erged. Without the spear''s aura weakening him, he could charge and end this cockroach using his speciality: closebat. He just had to dodge Adam''s attack... hisst.


    With a graceful sidestep, he evaded the spear effortlessly.


    "I''ll put our potential to good use. Well, at least I would let it rot like you did."


    He said, raising his leg to end this farce.


    However, the spear lodged itself violently against the wall behind him, activating its ability.


    BOOM


    Unfortunately, the explosion didn''t reach him. However, the st did, making him lose bnce and stumble a few steps forward.


    He steadied himself, restoring his bnce in the next second, and raised his head. Then, his pupils constricted as he saw Adam''s figure... a few centimeters above his head.


    "RAAAH!"


    Adam''s swing was already descending, and he gripped his burning dagger. His blue eyes sparkled, shaking for the first time. He would be hit. He had no time to react, less than half a second.


    The instant the spear left his hands, Adam leapt to follow up with his dagger. The timing was perfect.


    ''I can''t lose to a bug!''


    Gaston''s voice thundered in his mind. He indeed could not avoid the strike. However, he could mitigate the damage!


    Gritting his teeth, he jerked his neck back with inhuman reflexes. Instead of piercing his skull, the dagger slid across his face, leaving a long gash behind and gouging his right eye out.


    "Argh!" Gaston yelled in pain after losing his eye for the second time and feeling the burning sensation the dagger left behind. But he had no time to suffer.


    Amidst his harrowing agony, he raised his hand to deliver a devastating blow. However, a stream of light condensed in Adam''s hand, taking the shape of a spear.


    The second the explosion started, Adam had dismissed and started to re-summon it instantly.


    Caught off guard by the spear''s early reappearance, Gaston hesitated for a breath.


    However, in a fight of such intensity, one second was the difference between life and death.


    In that second, Adam threw himself at Gaston, pressing his spear against his neck to force him to the ground.