But regardless, what the students all had were assumptions based on what they had witnessed as spectators.

Whether their assumptions were correct or not was yet to be determined.

But the instant the blue translucent shield had intercepted his kick, Atticus's mind had worked rapidly and vigorously.

And by the second Atticus's form skidded to a stop at the edge of the earthen platform, he had already thought about multitudes of possibilities.

They were currently in the academy.

Atticus didn't really know much about how everything worked in the academy, but even then, Atticus was about 99% sure that when it came to matters involving their artifact and the rules, not even Jared, an instructor in the academy, could do anything to change them, not to even talk of cheating.

The spar had been completely official.

They weren't just sparring just like that in front of the students, their spar was being refereed by the AI it self. Jared had issued a challenge to him, so he was very sure about this.

Plus, apart from Jared not even looking like that kind of person, from the things he had seen, Atticus doubted that Jared would make all of that speech just for the big lesson to be about cheating.

If your mana was exhausted on the battlefield and you were unable to utilize your bloodline, were they supposed to cheat their way out of the situation?

That was just asking for a brutal death.

But at the same time, Atticus was 100% sure that the barrier that had blocked his kick had been completely made of mana. There was simply no mistaking it.

After coming up with a multitude of different reasons, Atticus narrowed the list and had eventually settled on one:

'Even though he couldn't utilize the mana contained in his mana core and body, the one in the atmosphere is a different story altogether.'

From the rules it was clearly stated, their ability to utilize their mana would be blocked during the duration of the spar.

But what about the mana in the air? It was free with no owners. Didn't that mean it was fair game?

Atticus, who was on all fours, stood up straight, his gaze never once leaving that of Jared, who simply stood while looking at him.

'But how?' Atticus wondered.

This was the first ever time Atticus had seen something like this.

Controlling and utilizing the mana in the air to do form barriers? It was the first time he was ever hearing about something like that in the human domain.

The only thing he could control that way was his bloodline, and during his 5 years of training, Magnus hadn't mentioned anything about manipulating the mana in the air.

The only scenario Atticus ever controls the mana in the air was when he was absorbing mana into his mana core.

And even then, that was only possible because his mana core had been acting like some kind of suction force that attracted the mana in the atmosphere to it.

But now, Jared had utilized the mana in the air to form a barrier. So the question was, how?

Atticus had no idea.

Atticus completely ignored the murmurs and chatter of the crowd of students as he stretched out both his arms, clenching them and trying to get rid of the trembling.

'That punch was strong,' Atticus thought.

He was currently a higher rank than Jared; the fact that blocking one punch from the latter made his hands shake this intensely was enough to raise another eyebrow.

'He's either aumenting his body with mana or he's just that strong,'

Atticus leaned in more on the latter part than the former. Although Atticus had no idea how Jared was currently doing what he was doing, he at the very least expected to notice some ques if the mana was augmenting his body.

Atticus gripped the air a few times, and seeing that everything was okay, he started walking towards Jared's form.

Atticus slowly circled around Jared with his piercing blue gaze completely locked onto him as though trying to unravel his secrets.

But despite staring for a whole one second, which was a lot of time considering his extremely high perception, Atticus didn't find anything noteworthy.

Jared was a completely blank slate.

Just as he was about to ponder his next move, Atticus' vision suddenly caught two blue translucent glows swiftly encompassing both of Jared's legs, and then, 'He's coming!'

Atticus' inward scream was accompanied by his form bending down backward, evading a sweeping airborne kick that struck where his head had been before.

'He's fast, way faster than before. Is it another technique?' Atticus thoughts raced.

He had clearly seen what had happened. A blue translucent glow had enveloped Jared's legs, and then in the next instant, he attacked at a speed that his body couldn't follow.

Atticus swiftly stood up straight from the bent position and turned his gaze towards Jared only to meet the bottom of Jared's feet inches away from his face.

An instinctual action once again took place as Atticus instantaneously crossed his hands over his face, intercepting the kick.

The kick landed on Atticus's crossed arms with brutal force, and Atticus could immediately feel his arms go numb and his bones threatening to break.

The force of the kick shot his form backward once again, his figure falling and landing at the edge of the earthen platform.

But this time around, Atticus wasn't given a breather. As soon as Atticus executed the backflip mid-air, Jared's figure suddenly materialized in the air above him, his legs descending from above, targeting Atticus's head.

Atticus weaved a defensive stance, crossing his hands above him; the impact of Jared's kick reverberated through his crossed arms, slamming him against the earthen platform.

A cloud of dust shrouded the scene, casting an air of uncertainty.

Just as spectators assumed Atticus was defeated, a kick burst forth from the dusty haze, honing in on Jared's chin.

But Jared's eye didn't even blink. A blue translucent barrier materialized beneath his chin, intending on intercepting the attack.

But the attack suddenly changed as Atticus adapted swiftly.

Rather than a direct assault, he utilized the barrier as a foothold, propelling himself with grace and finesse, creating a sudden and strategic distance from Jared.

"I see,"

Atticus muttered as he landed on one side of the stage.