Chapter 103: Leo vs Felix

Chapter 103: Leo vs Felix

Zeke watched the colosseum intently from the private viewing area, flanked by Sophia and Viola. Edmund had returned to his own familys area. Zekes heart was pounding in his chest as he watched Leo and Felix enter.

The two strode confidently into the arena. Leo didnt seem to be worried in the slightest. However, Zeke didnt share his friends confidence. Leo would have to forgo his Fire Magic completely and fight with nothing but his Earth Magic and physical prowess. He wasnt certain how well his friend would fare under those circumstances.

Leo had used his Earth Magic mostly for defense and support as of late. Zeke was worried and excited in equal parts about the fight. He wanted to witness how Leo would cope. His friend was nothing if not versatile.

Ladies and gentlemen! In our first match of the Semi-Final we have Leo vs Felix Feuerkranz, Jorgel began. Both of these young men have proven to be among the strongest and most resourceful Mages of their grade. Who is going to advance and compete for the champion spot? Lets find out!

A moment later, the gong sounded and the two mages began their showdown. Zeke was on the edge of his seat as he watched Felix start the fight by summoning his [Crown of Fire]. He apparently didnt want to take any risks with Leo. Beads of sweat were running down the Fire Mages face. The spell apparently took a lot out of him if performed in such a hurry.

Leo also didnt remain idle. He started to alter the terrain using his [Earth Manipulation]. Zeke was astounded by his friends proficiency with the spell. Leo was by far the most adept in those spells out of every Mage in their year and there was a reason for that.

Pure manipulation spells such as [Fire Manipulation] and [Earth Manipulation] were able to take on almost every form that a mage could think of. But there were two downsides to this method: cost and speed. The spell would need a lot more mana than a specialized spell and it would also need a lot more time to be deployed. The disparity between this and a proper spell was years of refining and research.

Leo had no other choice but to heavily rely on his manipulation. The school only taught the most basic spells for every element. Fire Mages were taught the [Fire Ball] and [Fire Lance] spells. Earth Mages were taught the [Earthen Armor] and [Earth spike] spells. Every other spell they would need to acquire on their own. This was also one of the reasons why there were never any commoners in the finals of the tournament. It was incredibly hard to compete with only those basic spells.

Leo had been lucky and had received another fire spell [Inner Fire] as a present. A particularly eager family had gifted him the spell in order to curry favor. Leo had been very clear in his refusal, but the man apparently didnt want to hear it. He basically forced the scroll on Leo before departing, at least that was how Leo told the story. Those 5 spells made up the entirety of Leos repertoire.

Zeke ran a bunch of simulations in his head. There was no way that Leo could win with Fire Magic. According to all of Zekes calculations, Leo would be best served by avoiding Fire Magic completely. One way Zeke saw a chance of victory for Leo was by hiding with the help of his Earth Magic and then launching a surprise attack. This was what he had done in his last fight against Emil.

Zeke considered how Leo would fare in a straight-up Magic duel. Earth against Fire. It didnt seem that promising. Leo would strain his core long before Felix would run out. Before Zeke could consider any more scenarios, there was a change in the arena.N0v3lRealm was the platform where this chapter was initially revealed on N0v3l.B1n.

Felix took one look at the earthen fortifications and decided to stay away. Instead, he started a long-distance bombardment on the fortress. Leo had erected several walls between his position and Felix. The Fire Mage didnt want to take any chances of Leo getting close. He was aware that Leos only real chance of victory was by overpowering him in melee combat.

Felix was known for his lacking physical prowess after all. He had never tried to fix this flaw as it was not considered a grave shortcoming for an elemental Mage. Their combat tactics would shift more and more from a physical confrontation with each level of advancement.

Felix used the [Fire Lance] spell, known for its penetrative power to punch right through the fortifications. Leos hastily constructed walls of dirt were no match against the penetrative Fire spell. He had chosen to use the surrounding dirt to form his fort instead of stone.

Elemental Mages had the ability to summon the physical representations of their element using their manipulation spells. A Fire Mage could summon Fire and a Water Mage could summon water. Leo, as an Earth Mage, had the ability to create dirt and stone from mana alone. However, the process was not very efficient, especially so for Earth Mages. That was the reason why they liked to work with what they had available if possible.

Leos defenses were similarly created from the dirt the arena floor was made up of. If he had used his [Earth Manipulation] to create stone, he wouldnt be able to sustain the mana output for more than a couple of minutes.

Leo only had a couple of meters left to go. He would arrive in a second at most. Felix had time for one more spell, and he would have to make it count. The good thing was that Leo had no way of dodging the spell at this range either.

Felix brought his arms in front of his chest. He took aim with his overlapping palms, as he jumped backward to gain as much distance as he could. He focused all of his mana into one last [Fire Lance]. He looked straight ahead and focused on his opponent. Their eyes met. Leo was already in midair, leaping at him. His saber was poised to strike. It would all be decided at this moment.

Just before Leo reached him, Felix released all the mana he had gathered. He had executed the maneuver perfectly, and a smile spread across Felix's face. This was his victory.

Leo was also aware that he had no chance of dodging. Instead, he brought forward his charred left arm to use as a shield once more. Felix sneered inwardly. What would that stump of an arm be able to do in its condition? But what he saw next shocked him to his core. The bones on Leos entire left arm were covered with the same stone his shield had been made from.

Was he insane? How did he expect the healers to fix his arm if he had encased the wounds in stone? The spell collided with Leos left arm. He didnt just block the spear head-on but whipped his arm outwards to deflect the spear away from his body. The maneuver worked partially, as the spear slid past his body. Even so, the impact caused splintered stone, bone, and charred flesh to go flying.

Felix gagged at the sight. He had a hard time coming to terms with the tremendous amount of damage he was causing. He searched his opponents eyes. He was looking for condemnation. Looking for the blame he knew he deserved. What he found was something completely different.

He saw a predatory smile on Leos face. His eyes shone with the same indomitable will that they always did. There was no resentment, only intense focus. As the saber came down on Felixs unprotected form, he felt something else from Leos gaze. He had been measured, judged, and found wanting. Felix could not even disagree with the assessment. Compared to Leos resolve, he had been like a kid playing around.

His opponent had put everything on the line for this victory. He had risked permanent damage to his arm just for a small chance at victory. Felix could not measure up to that kind of determination, not yet. He closed his eyes and waited for the strike to reach him.

The pain Felix had expected didnt arrive. A moment passed, then another. Nothing happened, until the voice of the announcer boomed, The winner has been decided! We have our first contestant for the finals!

Felix opened his eyes and saw that Leo had stopped his saber just before his neck. He had left nothing but a minuscule cut on his throat before retracting the blade.

I wouldnt have minded a bit of revenge, Felix said quietly. I think I would feel better if you had slashed me at least once.

With a small smile, Leo collapsed backward. He was unable to stay on his feet any longer. His limp body was caught by one of the healers that were already on the scene. They laid him on a stretcher before carrying him away. However, before he was out of earshot, he responded in a quiet but strong voice.

It is not me that should hold a grudge, Leo said. If we had met as genuine enemies, it would be your corpse on the ground, not mine.

In the next instant, the healers carried him out of sight.

The completely uninjured but entirely defeated Feuerkranz was left alone in the arena, lost in thought. Hearing Leos words conjured the image of Leos intense gaze in those last moments. Leos strength of will could not be overlooked.

From the deepest part of his soul, he hoped that he would never meet Leo as an enemy.