"Whoa, did he just--?" Gunnar grabbed the Angel Sphere, but hesitated to just fly away. He grimaced even as he tightened his hand on the golden sphere. The way Albie had eaten that attack and then fallen, it appeared as if he'd suppressed his own mana entirely.
That would be crazy--he could've died even though I was holding back! No matter one's elemental attribute, all mages used mana to reinforce their bodies and protect themselves. The fire mage looked down, and his face blanched when he couldn't see Albie somewhere down in that wriggling safety net. Where was--?
The Magic Bullet hit him square between the shoulder blades, knocking the breath out of him as it sent Gunnar wildly spinning. He lost the Angel Sphere, flailed at it and missed, then turned back to see Albie once more. A pained grin spread across his features.
"Alright, tough guy! Try this one! Hellhound's Jaws!" As he punched towards Albie with his fist, a large conflagration of flame took the shape of a snarling dog's head. Its fangs aimed to envelop both the commoner and the Angel Sphere between the two mages--!
Albie knew that getting this close was dangerous for him but he hoped that Gunnar would also have trouble controlling his broom. Judging from the way he spun around the hope wasn't entirely false but Gunnar recovered much faster than Albie liked. Albie didn't even have time to grab the Angel Sphere before a fire boosted punch was thrown in his direction. Judging by the size of the jaws if hit Albie would be out of the fight ands maybe even badly hurt as well.
Having no way to block or counter a close ranged attack like that Albie went for the only option he could think. He pumped as mana as he could into his broom to reverse it. He shot backwards away from the Angel Sphere for a good 5 seconds until he managed to stop. "Crap, crap, crap!" The instant he managed to stop his broom he fired a basic mana bullet without spending any time to charge it, hoping to either stop Hellhound's Jaws or at least hit Gunnar again.
The Hellhound's Jaws snapped closed and open again as it chased Albie backwards through the air. However, the large projectile was much slower than most magical projectiles, and certainly slower than Albie's bullets. As he fired his next shot, it went right between the flame construct's fangs and shot out the other side!
Gunnar was in the midst of reaching for the Angel Sphere when the magic bullet struck it like a billiard ball. The brawny man let out a pained grunt as the winged ball was propelled into his face, leaving a bruise right on the bridge of his nose as it bounced off.
"Gah! G-good shot!" He shook his head as his spell continued to chase Albie, but before he could make another grab at the sphere, a barrage of clear, fist sized glass marbles slammed into him! As Gunnar fell from his broom, his spell dissipated in front of Albie. And at that moment, he saw a smirking young man with a purple bobcut and large, round glasses rocketing towards the sphere. A fancy, maroon shirt with brass buttons and white ruffles marked him as a noble, and he laughed to himself in a nasal voice...
While Albie was glad his bullet managed to stop Gunnar from getting the Angel Sphere he didn't have have any way of dealing with the Hellhound's Jaws left, slow as the spell was. In fact he barely managed to block his face with his arms before the fiery teeth clamped down on them leaving his arms bleeding and covered in small minor burns. "Ow!"
By the time the fiery construct was no longer blocking Albie's sight he saw Gunnar being attacked by glass marbles. Something about the use of glass magic was familiar too, but it was only by the time that the noble who used raced towards the Angel Sphere that Albie remembered the old man's warning. He couldn't remember what the old man called the glass magic user but if the guy really was sadistic he would make a terrible choice for a magic knight.
Deciding he couldn't risk Snyder Glassard pass even if it meant failing himself Albie stopped trying to conserve his mana and took out his grimoire to cast his most destructive spell. "Arrow Magic: Spinning Mana Arrow!" Still he didn't want to risk killing or seriously injuring anyone so he didn't charge it as long as he could and he aimed at Snyder's broom instead of Snyder himself. "Hey fire guy, get that ball away from him!"
"Wha--?" Gunnar barely managed to recall his broom, and now hung from it by one muscular arm. While it had been Albie that bruised his nose, he also sported a bloody lip and a purple welt over one of his eyes thanks to the glass magic user's attack.
"Gah!" the glass mage barely saw Albie's spell coming in time, but as a testament to his magical prowess he was able to speed up his broom. It whipped so fast that a few pieces of straw were left behind, which Albie's arrow passed through with a flash of light. The projectile went further on, eliciting a cry of pain from somewhere else in the maelstrom of applicants. "You dare!? Filthy peasant, get out of my sight! Glass Magic: Aggie Shooters!"
As he threw his hand out towards Albie, five spheres of glass took shape from a translucent, rainbow-reflecting aura! Like bullets thrown from a slingshot they hurtled at the commoner, far faster than Gunnar's hellhound--
"March of the Wisps!"
The faerie flames darted out in another volley, intercepting each glass projectile and knocking them out of the air! Gunnar's broom pulled up alongside Albie's as he glared at the noble.
"A team-up, huh? Well, so long as we hurry, I'm game!" Gunnar's flames played in his palm as he smirked confidently--but, several strands of his hair had pulled free of his pony tail, giving his bruised face an even more haggard look. "I've got a restraint spell that might keep him outta the air for a while, but you'll have to pin him down for me!"
Albie couldn't believe that Snyder Glassard managed to dodge his spell, even if it was close. He did feel a little bad for whoever he hit instead but didn't worry about it too much as everyone knew the risks.
Before Albie could even think of anything else the Glass mage went of the offensive and launched five glass spheres at him, and at high speed too. Albie saw only option to evade and that was basically suicide so he was relieved when Gunnar came to his rescue before he could try suppressing his mana again.
Seeing how he helped just now Albie wasn't surprised Gunnar agreed to the team-up, especially given the way he looked. The plan Gunnar came up with was more than a little disappointing as he could think of only one spell that might have a chance to pin Snyder down and it would cost him most of his mana. Albie wasn't going to admit that little fact though. He held his hand above his grimoire and began charging. "Arrow Magic: Manifold Missiles!"
Six arrows formed around Albie and launched themselves at Snyder. Albie was panting and had trouble keeping his broom straight due to how low on mana he was.
The bespectacled noble looked down on Albie, both literally and figuratively as his broom rose in the air. He raised both hands to cast another spell as the arrows whipped towards him---
"Aegis Palantir!"
A huge, dense crystal sphere---like a fortune-teller's ball or a snowglobe---sprang into being around Snyder! The first arrow to strike him deflected off its curved surface, and the next simply bounced off! Thrice, four times, five and six; only the barest of cracks split the sphere's leaded shell as Albie's barrage harassed him. He smirked evilly inside the magical orb---
"Fairy Ring of Fire!" Gunnar's spell, a number of rings made of dancing sparks, enclosed the entire sphere and began to squeeze down. As the glass began to glow red hot, Snyder's smirk turned into a snarl.
"Release me, or you'll RUE this day, I say! RUE IT!" He yelled, raising his nasally volume to the point it echoed inside the glass. Then, the fairy rings melted their way through the glass, causing it to fall apart in pieces as the binding magic snapped shut on the angry noble. He struggled this way and that, unable to get his hands or his grimoire out of the binds---but while Gunnar focused on maintaining his spell, Albie would have a perfect shot at the Angel Sphere still flitting around...
The look on Snyder's face as Albie's arrows futilely hit the glass orb protecting him didn't fill the commoner with much confidence. Luckily Snyder had been ignoring Gunnar long enough for him to use his spell and fiery rings appeared around the glass.
The sphere that easily blocked Albie's most mana intensive spell turned red from heat until it broke and the rings went on to contain Snyder who didn't seem to be affected by the heat in any way. Despite the fire rings helping him Albie couldn't help but feel jealous of the power nobles had.
Seeing that Snyder couldn't move and Gunnar was focused on restraining him Albie realized the Angel Sphere was just up for grabs. Feeling guilty about betraying his temporary ally Albie nonetheless didn't want to let the chance go to waste. He forced most of his remaining mana into his broom and while not superfast he went straight for the Angel Sphere, ready to grab it and hopefully keep it until the test was over.