The Cornflower Witch
Book 3: Chapter 117: The Alleyway Fight
"Which one of us goes?" Sylutia had already nodded, and the rest of them wanted to go down and try, but only one person could be chosen.
"Rock-paper-scissors." There was no faster way to decide this.
"Tsk."
Although it felt unreliable, they still gathered and quickly played rock-paper-scissors.
Before long, the winner was decided.
"Reginson sure has luck." Seeing Reginson, who ranked near the bottom in strength among them, win, the others felt fate had treated them unfairly.
"Such a fun thing has to be his turn."
"This guy's strength is the weakest among us. If he can't beat them, then there's no point in any of us going." Someone tried to comfort themselves with that reasoning.
"Let's see how he beats those three. He hasn't advanced yet, he's still Second Tier." Although they were all Second Tier, Tetis College Second Tier apprentices were worlds apart from ordinary people.
"Wait for my news, hehe." Reginson jumped off the rooftop, golden wings unfurling on his back to catch him and lift him, then he flew toward that alley.
The dark-gold short-haired youth descended from the sky with a ferocious expression. A thick copper-gold long chain appeared in his hand and lashed toward the three surrounding him.
[Construct Spell · Copper-Gold Chain]; a sturdy, heavy chain with both attack and control functions.
The heavy metal chain struck the three with a loud crack. One of them was even hit hard enough to spit blood.
"Reginson hit too hard. If he landed two more like that, the other side would probably be dead." The other apprentices on the rooftop commented.
"He at least used restraint. If he'd started with crossbow-firebombs or something, those guys would be nothing but minced meat now."
Stunned by Reginson's blow, the three staggered back. Only after putting some distance between themselves did they dare to turn and demand answers.
"Who the hell are you? Why did you suddenly interfere?"
"Who I am doesn't matter. You people are taking advantage, three on one, that's completely unfair," Reginson said righteously, even though he himself thought his words were obvious.
Still, saying it felt entertaining. He helped Rogers up from the ground and asked,
"How are you holding up? Can you manage?"
"Barely." Rogers didn't know who this person was, but his rescuer had saved him, so he assumed he couldn't be all bad.
He leaned against the wall to catch his breath, then looked toward the rooftop crowd. Only then did he realize the one who saved him probably belonged with those people.
"Thank you." Rogers felt his blood loss had been severe; he could barely walk.
Seeing Rogers's pale face, Reginson, even without checking, knew he was in bad shape. He waved his hand toward the back, and soon a silver little bird flew over, carrying a vial of potion to the two of them.
"Oh, looks like it came from the chief." He took the potion, uncorked it, and poured it into Rogers's mouth.
"Cough, cough." The rough method made Rogers cough again, and he felt like his body might fall apart.
Luckily, after swallowing the potion, he felt significantly better. The bleeding eased and his heartbeat slowed.
He should live this time, and he finally breathed out a sigh of relief.
Just as I wanted to ask for his name and background, the eight who had run away returned.
"Reginson, that money is still ours, don't think just because you found another dumb Second Tier to back you up you can stand up to us." The eight had figured out the golden-copper guy was only Second Tier, and they saw no reason to be afraid — eight against seven gave them the advantage.
"Bullshit, that was my money, you stole it from me before, forced a sale." Rogers fired back, trying to prevent his rescuer from misunderstanding.
"Oh, they robbed you? That's terrible." Reginson couldn't care less about their quarrel; he was just happy to have a reason to fight.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure justice is served." Reginson patted Rogers's shoulder, telling him to wait there as he stepped forward to take on three by himself.
"Be careful." Rogers wanted to go help, but after a few steps the pain flared and his face went pale, forcing him to stop.
"Are you alone? Which school are you from?"
"I'm from the... particularly Griffin School." Rogers waved his hand grandly, and a shield bearing a griffin emblem appeared in front of him, blocking a volley of flying stones from the other side.
"Griffin School? Never heard of it before..." the opponents strained to recall.
"Here they come." Reginson muttered.
This time the three opponents stopped launching stones and charged instead. One of them clenched his fist, and within seconds that fist turned to rock and slammed toward Reginson.
"Let me show you the power of Rock Fist!" he said with full confidence — he once killed a cow with this move.
"Is that so?" Reginson watched the incoming stone fist, sidestepped, and clenched both his fists as well.
"Then I'll show you my school's secret skill." Golden light gathered around his fists, coalescing into a bronze-gold gauntlet shaped like two golden lion heads.
"Lion Golden Fist!" (Construct Spell · Copper-Gold Battle Armor)
The bronze-gold fist collided head-on with the rock fist, producing a violent boom.
When the clash ended, the golden fist had a few scratches, while the rock fist shattered.
"Aaaaah—" The man who had been clenching his fist cried out in pain, clutching his hand. The rock faded and his hand returned to flesh, but the shape had changed — it looked fractured.
"Totally useless. Which school are you from? Is that all your strength?" Reginson wasn't in any rush to pursue, instead he waved his hand and stood his ground.
"This guy's getting addicted to showing off." The rooftop apprentices snickered.
"Damn, I should've cheated during rock-paper-scissors." One of them regretted.
"Actually, I already cheated, cough cough, but Reginson's techniques are just better; he didn't win because of luck." Someone burst the fantasy bubble.
"You lot are so dishonest." A girl walked over, unable to watch.
"Alright, watch how Reginson handles the rest. The two remaining guys are pulling out something powerful."
Seeing Reginson taunt them, the two glanced at each other and slowly retreated. They pulled out a pouch of sand and chanted; an invisible yellow rune extended beneath their feet and spread out.
"Finally using magic. I thought you only knew how to throw stones." Reginson taunted.
They didn't reply and instead concentrated on guiding the spell. After all, this kind of magic should normally require Third Tier to cast, and they were only able to use it by relying on materials and collaborative effort.
[Rock Heart School · Stone Pillar Hammer-Strike]
"Pale yellow stone pillars burst forth, destined to smash enemies into bone fragments."
Stone pillars erupted from the alleyway walls where Reginson stood, slamming toward him. At first there were only a sporadic few, which Reginson smashed with his golden lion fists, but more kept appearing, sealing off passages in front, behind, above, and below. The pillars squeezed the space inward, forcing Reginson to split his attention as several pillars struck his shoulders and chest.
Faced with this, Reginson stopped holding back and revealed his true skills.
[Construct Spell · Copper-Gold Framework]
A copper-gold frame materialized. It formed a supporting structure, a fundamental component for large machinery.
The bronze-gold squares opened space, but the stone pillars kept pounding. The framework couldn't hold forever, yet it was enough to let Reginson safely exit the stone pillar barrage zone.
Once he stepped out, he raised one hand and a golden spear appeared.
[Construct Spell · Copper-Gold Lance]
A sharp, sturdy triangular spear capable of piercing steel.
Grasping the lance, he inhaled deeply and hurled it with force. The spear whistled through the air, piercing the rock barrier the two had created, then flew on through the alley and smashed a house over a hundred meters away.
The crash of collapsing earth and stone echoed. The two looked back at the huge hole in the distance, shaken, and finally realized the enormous gap between them and Reginson.
"Just you wait." With that, the two dragged their companion with the fractured fist and fled, disappearing around the alley corner.
Seeing them run, Reginson didn't bother to chase. The fight ended there.