6TH GEAR - ESCAPING THE EYE OF THE STORM

Have you ever been scared of a cute, kind girl?

I kind of am, and I am talking about the pink-haired idiot Fluonessia at this point. She said she is just a newbie mage with no experience in Speed Battles, and I don’t doubt that. She doesn’t just appear to be clueless, she is clueless.

But her growth in the duel is quite terrifying, not to mention her spectacular display of mana. She just copied Captain Tezza’s spell and made her version, for the very first time, and now she is nailing it!

Swoosh!

Green and blue streaks clash on the school grounds. The green wind contrails come from the inexperienced Fluonessia, while the blue lightning streaks come from Captain Tezza. Every time Fluonessia attempt to outspeed her opponent, Captain Tezza will intercept her and deflect her off!

One minute remaining, and Fluonessia has yet to score the point. Striking Captain Lightning’s back is not an option given her speed, experience, and overall stats, so our only hope is to touch the checkpoint tower!

“Try to outmaneuver her and use some feints!” I said through the mic.

“Yes!”

Fluonessia rushed towards the right, but Captain Tezza was there to intercept her! This time, she did not pursue her assault. She spun and went towards the left!

“You won’t beat me with an old-school technique like that!” Captain Tezza shouted as she immediately went in front of Fluonessia! With a single flick of her hand, the pink-haired girl was launched into the air!

“Gyah!” Fluonessia was sent backward because of the magical recoil.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

I heard several pants on my headphones before I received an answer from the pink-haired girl.

“I-I’m fine. This is challenging. She is not giving any openings.”

I looked at the clock. Ten seconds left before the opponent attacks. The time is too short to move, and Fluonessia is still catching her breath. Her movements are beginning to turn sluggish, so it will be wise for her to rest for a while. I did not give any orders to her until the ten seconds ran out.

“Beep beep. Your five minutes are up!” Captain Tezza smiled as she set to her running position. “Since you failed to reach the checkpoint tower, I will now attack!”

Lightning streaks sparked from Captain Tezza’s shoes as she surged towards the panting Fluonessia. But instead of going straight for the kill, Captain Tezza circled the pink-haired girl. The captain was spinning around so fast that only the lightning contrails are the only ones we can see on her!

“Behold my finishing move! Lightning Whirlpool!”

Lightning sparks shrouded Fluonessia. She is now cornered in the center of the eye of the storm, and there is no way to escape!

“J-Jonathan!? W-What should I do!?” Fluonessia asked with a hint of being scared in her voice.

I have seen Lightning Whirlpool several times on national TV. It was an intermediate spell for Speedmages to finish the fight by caging them inside the eye of the storm. But every spell has its weakness.

If I remember correctly, we just have to time it right. Escaping Lightning Whirlpool is hard, but not impossible. We just have to press on and move forward!

I counted the number of rotations Captain Tezza did in a mere second. Four rotations. That means every 0.25 seconds, she passes through Fluonessia’s front. It’s not a fast Lightning Whirlpool, but it’s not slow either.

“Fluonessia, listen. Once I say go, rush with your maximum speed straight forward.”

“R-Roger!” The pink-haired girl clenched her fists and curled her knees, ready to sprint on my mark. She channeled wind elemental energy on her shoes, ready to rush!

“One, two, three, four.”

I counted the fast rotation of the opponent. The best way for Fluonessia to escape the Lightning Whirlpool is when Captain Tezza is right in front of her. The quick rotation will compensate, and the moment Fluonessia reaches the edge of the eye of the storm, Captain Tezza will be in the farthest position!

“Go!” I shouted through my mic.

“Right!”

Fluonessia jumped forward with the help of her Wind Accel. Destroying the wind barrier due to the stored mana, she managed to reach the edge of the eye of the storm! She finally escaped the Lightning Whirlpool!

“You fell for it!” Captain Tezza announced. She pivoted her foot and spun to preserve her speed, then with her other foot, she kicked the ground to rush towards Fluonessia’s back!

It is as if time froze when Captain Tezza’s hand is about to reach Fluonessia’s rear shoulder. Captain Tezza is much faster than Fluonessia, so she is certainly going to strike her down at this rate. Even Fluonessia knows that she cannot outrun the lightning captain.

“Is this… the end?” I muttered to myself. I wanted to close my eyes as I do not want to see the poor pink-haired girl lose.

…

But…

“Not yet!” Fluonessia cried as she jumped and arched upward, like a dolphin making an awesome backflip! With such an acrobatic and elegant maneuver, she evaded the captain’s touch!

“Huh!?” The captain’s silver eyes widened in shock!

It was already late when she realized that Fluonessia was already upward. But that’s not the most shocking part.

With a swift swipe of her fingers in the thin air, Fluonessia materialized a red magical circle in midair! Then, her feet stomped on the magical circle and quickly charged momentum! With a swift release of the magical circle, the pink-haired girl was launched toward the back of Captain Tezza!

“I-Is that-!!!”

“Air Trampoline!?” I muttered.

Air Trampoline is a Rank A spell used by veteran Speedmages. It requires acrobatic precision where you manifest a magical circle acting like a trampoline to preserve your speed in midair while changing directions. It is an international-level spell that is used in the World Speedmage Tournament!

“I will… get you!” Fluonessia cried.

With a swift swipe using her hand, Fluonessia managed to strike Captain Tezza’s back, making the magical barrier react with a magical circle! That glowing magical circle was an indication that Fluonessia finally scored a point!

“I… I did it!” Fluonessia muttered.

Her grit turned into an adorable smile as her azure eyes sparkled.

“I did it! I scored a point!”

Fweeeeeeeeet!

The whistle was blown, signaling the end of the match. Captain Tezza and her club members were at a loss for words. They never would have thought that Fluonessia had that kind of ace on her sleeve!

It took a couple of seconds before the surprised referee announced the conclusion of the Speed Battle.

“T-The winner for this match is, um…”

“Fluonessia Asahime!” The pink-haired girl smiled.

“The winner of this match is Fluonessia Asahime!” The referee announced!

The crowd went wild upon hearing the conclusion of the match. It was a hard-fought victory for the rookie mage Fluonessia. The audience yelled for celebration, and some even approached the pink-haired girl to congratulate her.

Captain Tezza stood up and then calmly approached the victor. She slowly lifted her hand and offered a handshake.

“I will gladly admit that I lost. Good game. Congratulations!”

“Thank you, Captain Tezza!” Fluonessia shook the captain’s hands vigorously.

It took about ten fast handshakes before Captain Tezza released Fluonessia’s hand. “As we agreed, we will not file a complaint to the Students Affairs Office. You are now free to go.”

“R-Really!? Thank you again! Thank you! Thank you!” Fluonessia bowed over and over like an idiot. She reminds me of those underwater worms that kept jerking and jerking without running out of energy.

Welp, all is well that ends well. I am happy that Fluonessia was able to beat a Speedmage Captain on her very first Speed Battle. I can finally make my leave and go home.

I stretched my hands and did a silent moan, then I put my fingers on my pockets. I walked away having no care in the world. Having saved a girl from being delivered to the Students Affairs Office feels like I’m a hero from the shadows.

However…

“Oi, you there.”

It was Captain Tezza’s voice. When I looked back, I saw her round dark face and silver eyes. She even smiled at me and patted my shoulder.

“If I’m not mistaken, you’re Professor Wardenorth’s son. Am I correct?”

“Y-Yes,” I answered. “Why?”

“As I thought. You inherited his talent in coaching Speedmages. Are you going to join a Speedmage Club?” Captain Tezza asked.

“No. I’m not a mage, so I am not qualified to join any of the mages' clubs.” I said, then I turned my back and walked away.

Captain Tezza did not follow me. Instead, she held her hips and sighed.

“What a shame.”