FALLEN ORACLE

**Chapter 4: The Special Competition (4)**

Seeing the Elementalist who had fired the light sphere also emerge, Liv quickly cast Rapid Growth.Vines stretched out from the ground and soon formed a high wall—the terrain of the White Sand Rainforest was well suited to this kind of plant-based Elemental magic.But the wall didn't last long. The enemy Elementalist used a Small Flame spell from his staff to burn the vines to ash.Now Liv had a sword swinging toward her on one side and a light sphere about to shoot from the enemy Elementalist's ring on the other.She knew she was done for. The ascendant's rings were destined not to be hers.At that critical moment, the shield deployed again just in time. The enemy's greatsword stopped in midair, unable to cut any further."How is this shield so tough? Even a magic-draining enchanted sword can't cut it?" the man said in frustration.That was the power of Mendes, now a junior professor.On the other side, the expected light sphere didn't come. Liv steadied her gaze and saw something bizarre:A thin vine had pried the magic ring right off the enemy Elementalist's finger! Without his ring, he couldn't cast light spheres anymore. He flailed clumsily, trying to grab the ring back from the vine.Liv turned her head and saw Chen Yi holding his staff in one hand, while the Elemental ring on his other hand glowed green.*He's casting Rapid Growth too!* Liv thought in astonishment. *He can actually control vines to pluck a tiny ring off someone's finger!*The same spell, in different hands—worlds apart.Only now did Liv understand what her brother had meant by "I want you to learn from Chen Yi about magical control."The enemy Healer, seeing his team losing ground, hurriedly cast a shield to protect his teammates—only to find himself frozen in place. He, too, had been hit by Telekinetic Control.And the one controlling him was his own Psionic teammate.Looking at his teammate's exasperated expression and the blue glow on Phil's ring, he instantly understood: Phil had controlled his teammate to cast Telekinetic Control on him.That was the gap between Psionicists!The sword-wielding Strengthener tried to turn the tide. Skilled in physical combat, he attempted to circle around to the side without the shield.But with a loud crash, the ground shook violently.From the farthest position, Carl's ring glowed with an increasingly intense black light. A clay giant, as tall as five or six men, burst out of the ground.With a single punch, the giant sent the Strengthener—sword and all—flying backward into a tree.The clay giant charged forward and punched again. The Strengthener's robe immediately flashed red.Seeing their team turn defeat into victory, having already eliminated one enemy, Liv's spirits soared.She quickly raised her staff and launched a volley of fireballs, taking out the Elementalist who was still fighting the vine for his ring.The remaining Psionicist and Healer, already under control, naturally fell quickly under the four's assault.Once all four enemy robes had turned red, Chen Yi collected their staves according to the rules and put them into his storage ring.The four eliminated contestants trudged back to the starting point, heads hung low."Don't you think this year, without Mendes, we actually fought more easily than before?" Carl said after the battle.Chen Yi smiled. "Mendes isn't here, but his staff is. And we had an excellent bait to draw all the enemy's fire—that's how we won so easily."Liv knew Chen Yi was making fun of her. She wanted to retort but couldn't find a good excuse. She just turned red and stayed silent in protest.Chen Yi wasn't trying to pick on a bad-tempered girl. He had a nagging feeling that Liv's personality would one day cause big trouble. If he didn't use this chance to teach her a lesson so she might change, she could end up hurting Phil or even the entire Tros family.Phil had clearly noticed this too. He comforted his sister, "Your magic is actually very strong. You just didn't perform well just now. But I believe you understand why now."By evening, the four encountered another squad. With exquisite coordination, they defeated their opponents again without losing anyone.During the battle, Liv once again ignored orders and got hit by an enemy spell. Fortunately, she only lost some durability—her robe didn't turn red.In the latter half of the fight, though Liv still wouldn't admit defeat verbally, she increasingly followed Chen Yi's commands. The temptation of the ascendant's rings was too great, and deep down she knew what was good for her.---At night, they set up tents and sat around a campfire. Chen Yi took out some bread from his storage ring and handed it out."My dad sent this last week. He calls it 'Sweetness and Bitterness.' Family's new recipe. Want to try?"Phil said, "To give bread such a beautiful name, your father must be a very thoughtful man."Chen Yi explained, "It's just a marketing gimmick to sell more. It's actually chocolate durian bread."Liv asked, "Sweetness must be the chocolate. So your father thinks the bitterness is the durian?""I suppose."Liv protested, "That's discrimination against durian, and against those of us who love durian. One day I'll go to your town to protest.""Then I'll be waiting for you, my lady."Phil and the others, though born into noble families, ate happily. Carl, ravenous, wolfed his down without speaking, his face soon smeared with chocolate."Chen Yi, I'm sure a respectable man like you has a more respectable way of eating," Carl said, realizing how messy he looked."Nope. If it's messy, it means there's plenty of chocolate. Our family's bread has always been made with generous ingredients," Chen Yi boasted.They ate, chatted, and laughed. The awkwardness caused by Liv's presence gradually eased.When Chen Yi was little, his father had told him, "Food is a catalyst for relationships. But only a catalyst."Chen Yi understood. The bread wasn't the key; sincerity was. He believed that with enough sincerity, even someone like Liv could become a friend.After dinner, Phil set up detection spells—though the chance was low, some might try a night attack on their classmates.With defensive measures in place, the four split into tents and went to sleep.