Ep 30. I Tend To Pick Favorites. (6)

Ep 30. I Tend To Pick Favorites. (6)

Ep 30. I Tend To Pick Favorites. (6)

A series of relieved sighs and surprised gasps coursed throughout the spectating crowd. A few instructors that were present grimaced at the sight of the headmaster emerging from the pool of shadows, while students only marvelled at the archmage’s escape.

“Hey...what spell was that just now?”

“...Nocturne.”

A 7th circle spell that temporarily transformed the user into a mass of shadows, rendering them impervious to most attacks for a short period of time.

At the same time, it was a spell that saw most of its use in war – in a situation that would threaten one’s life.

However, the archmage was neither angered, nor ashamed that he had to use such a spell. It was he who had insisted that his challenger attack him to their heart’s content; morals and ethics no longer had a place in this duel after the assurance Gio had given about keeping himself safe.

But now, it was becoming all too clear that he shouldn’t have given such ridiculous assurance.

When the headmaster emerged from the shadows, not even the slightest hint of confidence remained in his expression. His sweat betrayed the faint smile he was struggling to hold, as did his trembling cane in hand.

The archmage slowly raised his eyes to meet the dragonlord’s. His challenger was still standing in place, arms crossed behind their back, watching him with their disappointed gaze.

Serenis threw a soft remark, just barely loud enough for the archmage to hear across the stage.

“Rest. I will wait until you recover your focus.”

“...”

Arguably, the correct course of action would’ve been to take the offer. Gio knew better than anyone in the institute that having a level head was one of the most important qualities of a mage; an upset mind tended to cause mistakes, and mistakes tended to lead to even worse outcomes when using magic.

Unfortunately, his pride as an archmage was shadowing even that simple rule.

“...No need.”

The headmaster raised his cane, pointing its tip towards the student up ahead. In mere seconds, it exploded in a torrent of water, launching straight towards the dragonlord.

In response, a pillar of fire blasted forth from Serenis’ side to answer the oncoming deluge. The two spells crashed into each other as an explosive sizzling sound filled the stage, filling it with heaps of steam.

‘...This shouldn’t be happening.’

The archmage’s sweating worsened, both from unnerve and the heat of the clashing spells. His cane began to shudder, struggling to maintain the torrent holding the flames at bay.

Water puts out fire; it was a natural rule that even toddlers knew. Water spells had unquestionable advantage when contesting against fire spells. And yet somehow, this junior student’s fire was on par with the archmage’s water – and little by little, Gio’s torrent was losing ground. Struggle as he might, the archmage couldn’t bring his spell to overwhelm the opposing flames as it normally should.

He had every opportunity to escape if he’d wanted, but once again, the archmage’s pride didn’t let him drop this contest of strength. Avoiding the onslaught of fire – admitting defeat to a mere junior student’s spell where he even held elemental advantage – was not an option to him. The water continued to give away, but Gio still refused to budge.

Soon, an alien sensation wrapped around both his ankles, interrupting the headmaster’s focus. His spell prematurely terminated as Gio looked to his feet.

A pair of tree roots had sprouted from the ground, binding both his ankles. They then jerked the mage backwards, making Gio fall face-first onto the arena.

Immediately after, the pillar of fire harmlessly blasted past the archmage on the floor.

In his daze, the headmaster raised his eyes once again. Serenis hadn’t moved a single step. She didn’t seem to find it odd that her fire had overwhelmed an archmage’s water spell, nor did she seem surprised by the pair of tree roots that had suddenly tripped Gio into forcibly dodging her spell.

‘Did that student just...?’

The headmaster shifted his gaze back towards his ankles. The coiling roots had released him from their binding, retreating back into the ground before disappearing altogether.

Gio gripped his hands into a fist. Waves of humiliation set his mind into a frenzy of anger as the mage slowly raised himself again.

In the beginning, the archmage could blame his arrogance for not properly discerning his opponent’s aptitude. But after that last exchange, he no longer could – he’d lost in a contest of pure strength, and nothing else. His opponent had even gone the length to save him from his own stupidity in trying to contest a losing fight.

The archmage’s mind was cluttering further and further. His focus was nowhere to be found.

Against other students, Gio had opted to weave in secondary spells to block his own attacks, just in case they would connect too harshly against the students. Everything had been accounted for, and the duels had been fully under his control.

But just now, he’d been on the receiving end of that treatment; as soon as he was about to fall victim to the dragonlord’s spell, Serenis had protected him from her own firestorm.

This challenger was far, far surpassing the headmaster’s expectations. Their spells were unorthodox, unexpected, and most of all, lethal. If it continued like this, he just might be the first archmage ever to lose in a contest of magic against a fifteen-year-old.

“...It seems I shouldn’t be holding back after all.”

“Uh...walking?”

“I can see that! Why?”

“Hell if I know!”

In this moment, Gio wanted nothing more than to parrot the spectating students’ questions.

A mage must always look ten steps ahead. In other words, if a mage could not correctly predict their opponent, then they were failing as a mage – and there was simply no way to predict an opponent one could not understand.

The headmaster watched the approaching dragonlord in fear. His mind rapidly calculated dozens of spell formulas, preparing to counter whatever magic the student was about to unleash.

Despite the field spell that would normally guarantee his opponent’s silence, a cloud of doubt shadowed the archmage’s certainty; if it was this student, there just might be such a spell, one that would completely circumvent his expectations.

Any moment now. Any moment, he’d tell himself. But despite the passing seconds, the dragonlord only continued walking towards him.

‘What’s he planning? What is he-’

In that moment, Gio could feel something odd.

An overwhelming sensation flooded his mana sensory, as if several natural disasters were suddenly afoot at once – but all of them were resonating from the same centrepiece, closing the distance from directly up ahead.

‘...What is this?’

What is that?

The headmaster’s trembling body refused to respond to the approaching threat. No spells were cast, and his body refused to even turn and run. Nothing in the myriad of strategies he’d devised seemed to carry meaning.

For the first time, Gio was properly reading his opponent’s mana.

A brilliant flood of light filled his perception, glowing from all corners of the star. If the archmage could but close his physical eyes, this student would fill the entire world he perceived.

A colossal monstrosity was approaching him. With each and every step, their presence flooded his world more and more.

‘...This cannot be. This is...’

There was no way Gio wouldn’t have noticed a presence so large for so long. The only possible conclusion was that his opponent had kept themselves hidden all along up until this point.

Then, the reason why they’d choose to reveal themselves now, was...

‘...An invitation.’

Even Serenis had no means of directly countering an intricate field spell specifically designed to counter magic. She could, but not without destroying a lot more than what it would warrant.

So instead, she’d given the archmage a silent invitation. With her eyes gleaming in ominous lights, her every step shaking the atmosphere’s air, the dragonlord was pressuring Gio directly with her mere presence.

It was perhaps the harshest way to show another mage the difference that separated them. Or perhaps it was kindness, to give the archmage a reason to stop struggling in vain.

‘...Futile, was it not?’

An ordinary man abided by the laws of nature. A genius could strain those laws at will.

But in the rarest of occasions, individuals will be born with the power to rewrite those laws.

What meaning did his field spell have? What meaning did his archmage title hold? This individual could likely level the entire city with no more effort than stepping on a wet sandcastle. The only reason his opponent wasn’t doing so, was probably because it’d be a hassle to protect everyone in the vicinity while demolishing his spell.

Constructs only held meaning against beings of relatively equal footing.

When Serenis finally came to a stop when she was barely any distance away from the frozen headmaster, he let out an empty laughter. His tension loosened, and Gio could practically feel the energy leaving his body.

Slowly, the archmage used his free hand to undo the pendant around his neck. He then gripped the stone as tight as he could, crunching it in his palm.

When he unfolded his hand, its broken fragments fell like dust unto the darkened arena floor. His field spell likewise shattered apart, breaking into violet lights that would soon fade into the air.

No words were exchanged. None needed to be. The dragonlord had spoken with her actions, and the headmaster had replied in kind. As both of them withdrew their mana, this challenge would reach its conclusion.

‘...It would be awfully rude to decline such a kind invitation.’

The archmage bowed in respect of the entity he could only hope to reach.

“I concede. Congratulations on your victory, Zion.”

...An amused smile curved the lips of a peculiar spectator watching the duel’s conclusion. Having seen its end, the figure rose to her feet and quietly disappeared into a soundless spell, returning to their usual duty.