[OP: ]
After their match started, Rein first used her personal (tier-1) water magic and spells that were super easy to prepare and even easier to explode.
They were normal water bubbles with a compressed fog of Mana inside them and when overcharged with more Mana, the bubbles would explode and the energy inside them would release in the form of a shockwave and burst of energy.
And there were many of these bubbles so her opponent, house captain Alpha was surprised. But his senses were sharp enough to pull him out of the area of the explosion and help him move through the safe places without the explosions.
And the reason he was avoiding those explosions wasn't that he can't endure the intensity of those little blasts but the knockback effect of those shockwaves contained within themselves.
If he was caught up in them even a little and lost his footing, he would give a fatal opening to a mage, one with water attribute at her command no less.
He knew from that opening act filled with sparking-blasting bubbles that there was more to her than he was expecting and there was also more to her water attribute mastery than he could see right now.
The spells she was using were something even he was seeing for the first time even after almost having read every single famous book available on magic in the libraries and markets of the western continent.
There was only one meaning if he was seeing a spell for the first time. They were a personal creation. Something the caster had made themselves. Meaning they have the highest level of mastery of that spell… or it could also mean she had learned it from someone that could utilize simple yet complex spells more efficiently than she was doing right now.
But that was less plausible sounding than the other hypothesis so he went with it and maneuvered through the explosions with his high agility and reached the caster on the other side, brandished his sword, and tried just slicing through the visible barrier covering her but…
-Sweeeeeeeshhh…
As soon as he sliced through her, or what it seems like her, his sword just passed through the air, as if there was nothing before him and what he was seeing was just an illusion.
-Swish!
And it was definitely an illusion as he soon looked at the image of his opponent vanishing like a fog, and when he heard a familiar sound of some water blades passing through the air from behind, his instincts kicked in and he used his [Side step] skill, avoiding the three (tier-1) water blades that were remade into spells baring power close to (tier-3) spells.
But they still had structural limitations like the (tier-1) spells. They still had the most basic 'lines' and only one 'boundary' to them, just the boundary was absurdly refined and the lines were highly complex.
He was surprised such spells could even exist but he was facing them, and those simple, the most basic of the basic magic spells were, as his senses screamed, deadly.
And yes he avoided those spells, but there was nothing to be happy about for him.
He had just discovered his opponent could not only use spells of Destruction, and Support series, but Illusion series too.
It was rare to see someone use three different series of magic at once in a fight like this but this wasn't that rare. The rare thing when talking about the series of magic was someone who can proficiently use magic from all six series. But the situation right now was manageable.
He had fought with people and beings with more than three elemental powers who used three to five spell series so this girl should also be manageable… or what he thought after avoiding the water blades and activating his [Magic detection] skill.
"…?!"
As soon as he activated the (Green) ranked skill, his Mana sensitivity increased and he was able to perceive even the hidden spells all through their arena. And what entered his mind surprised him, no, it shocked him so much that he almost stopped moving and just barely avoided the other water blade coming at him.
There, in the vast training ground they were standing on right now, were more than four prepared spell circles of water, blades, ice, spears, and freeze spells.
Aside from them, another batch was those explosive water bubbles getting ready in the air all around him.
And to make everything worse, his opponent, the caster that was standing just before him a while ago, was now nowhere to be seen.
Not even his magic detection or high senses were able to detect her right now and based on what he could tell, the skill she was using to deceive all his senses and magic was no small thing.
It was at least a (Blue) rank skill and that was absurd!
But he also had no time to think right now.
His opponent, even though he couldn't see, was still in the arena and was waiting for his wrong move.
He couldn't give her the chance she was looking for and there was no way he was going to accept his defeat with just this much.
This was a little intimidating, yes, but he had faced worse so he knew there were more than enough things he could do right now.
So, he again strategized the plan in a quick moment, covered his sword in a layer of fire and wind element Mana, used his magic to create two new shields all around him, and with a quick loss of his posture, he summoned not one or two but four (tier-2) magic circles of fire, ice, wind, and lightning elements around him.
His opponent gave him time and he used It to his advantage to prepare for what was to come and, the way he prepared himself, the way he prepared those spells, shocked the audience around their arena just as much as the students watching the duel of the vice captains on the other side who had witnessed something unprecedented.
Over there, the two of them had started with something amazing but just after a moment, most of them couldn't see them or what was happening. All they can see were swords and daggers and arrows that appeared out of nowhere and covered the ground.
They had decently also seen the deep cracks on the ground that seemed like made out of a cut from some sharp sword but even that was hard to believe as the power needed to do so would be absurd!
But it was true, and still, after all that fight, when the two of them reappeared, the one on the ground was their Lady Carla and her opponent was holding her own sword, pointing it towards her with the same calm expression that he had when their fight hadn't even started.
Almost none of them knew what had actually happened and maybe they will only know it when they see the thing that they had recorded, probably.
But still, when their fight ended and they took a closer look at the two of their vice-captain, some could see that Carla still had somewhat of a surprised look while all of them could see there was a dagger right in his chest and blood was staining his cloths now, something they didn't think they would see at all!
They were surprised and there was silence on this side, and though there had been gasps of surprise within the silence on the other side, the silence also turned into something similar to theirs when their captain Uriel reappeared on the other side of their captain Alpha with a smile on her pretty face.
A kind of smile that her opponent was never expecting after preparing those spells, shields, and strategies…
"You lose, Alpha."
-Snap!
-Oooooooooooong!
-Swiiiiiiiiiin-Booooooooooooooooom.
She had a smile that went from her ear to ear, a creepy smile that gave him instinctive chills, and then she snapped her finger, summoning the ultimatum she was preparing during the moment her opponent was doing his futile preparations.
And what happened after her snap was unreal in the eyes of the spectating students.
First, a magic barrier strong enough to restrict his movements appeared, then the bubbles that she had summoned previously appeared out of nowhere, and after that, six magic circles, four that her opponent had already noticed and two new ones revealed themselves, glowed with new power, and moved exactly above the shield covering her opponent.
Everyone knew something was going to happen now, but everything was happening too quickly for them to focus on one thing, but still, her opponent, Captain Alpha knew this was dangerous and he had underestimated his opponent too much.
She was far more than just a (tier-3) water mage. She was dangerous!
The barrier covering him was sturdy enough to be unscratched even after he used all four of the spells he had prepared!
He could use his sword but a strange cold from the bubbles was freezing him inside this barrier and there was no freaking way this barrier was a (tier-2) spell!
And there was also no way the threatening power he was feeling right now from above was from some mere (tier-2) spells!
It was at least high (tier-3), no, it was a power only possible from almost highest grade (tier-4) magic!
But she was only a (tier-3) mage! And even if that wasn't the truth, she wasn't above (tier-4)! He knew she wasn't, he was certain.
And he was certain it was impossible for someone lower than (tier-5) to cast such a terrifying spell in that short of a time!
He knew what he was seeing was true, there were six magic circles above him, and all of them were about to activate right now.
And he didn't think it was possible before but he could certainly tell from his insight of magic and his senses, and his other skills that…
Of these six magic circles, the first one was a simple water spell that would create a lot of water, then the water would pass through the second magic circle that would crystalize it, then after passing through the third one it would freeze, then become small chunks of ice, then these chunks would become bigger as they pass through the fifth one, and as soon as they touch the sixth one, all the energy generated by going through that perfect refinement process would concentrate, condense, and release all of it from a single burst point, ultimately making this spell no less than a (tier-5) destruction spell.
There were only three ways to escape this situation, and he chose the most logical one.
-Ooooooong!
And it wasn't forfeiting the match. It would be dangerous if he did that and she tried canceling this spell and got hurt.
He had lost fair and square, there was no forfeiting, and to mark his defeat, he also had to disobey the warning from their teacher and use spells higher than (tier-2) to defend himself… and he did just that.
As the spell took the form of a burst of powerful energy, he covered himself with three (tier-4) fire-wind attribute shields, two of which broke down by the end of this spell.
[Announcing the end of the duel in Arena 9. Winner: Uriel.]
[Scanning for the damage…]
[Ground damage: 15%. Primary shield damage: 9%. Secondary shield damage: None. Tertiary shield damage: 3.12%.]
[Assessing damage to the participants.]
The same phenomenon of a green light covering everything happened again but this time, both of the participants were on the ground, one gasping for breath while the other laying still on the frozen floor.
[…!]
[Emergency! Internal injuries were found in one participant, and signs of Mana depletion were found in the other participant!]
[Emergency treatment required!]
He had used most of his Mana in this little fight and was breathing heavily, trying to calm his heart and replenish his Mana, while she was on the ground, with internal injuries after doing something so foolish that even her fiancé and his younger brother watching her from the audience below their arena could only sigh in disbelief at that smiling dumb girl happily laying on the ground.
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