Chapter 104 - Just another day part 2 (Patreon)

Mana: 803/955

Arien launched the first Fireball toward Will.

His friend stood almost a hundred feet away. The moment the spell left Arien’s hand, Will broke into a run across the Sands, sword drawn in his right hand.

The sun was already sinking toward the horizon, and the temperature had dropped enough for Arien to switch to the winter version of the Academy robes. A cool wind swept across the open training grounds, pushing scattered clouds slowly across the darkening sky.

Arien had enough time to summon a Fire Whip before Will began to glow in his Mana Sense. Without slowing, he swung his sword through the approaching Fireball. The spell split apart and vanished.

Stupid Negation. He could have dodged that. He probably used the ability just because he knows I hate it.

Arien felt a smile forming on his face.

Let’s see how he likes this.

He fired a stream of Fire Arrows at Will.

Will dodged the first five without breaking stride, but the next few finally forced him to stop and destroy them with Negation.

Arien had been waiting for that.

Three Earthen Spears shot toward him.

Will had admitted himself that Earth Magic was much harder for him to destroy. He avoided the first spear and cut through the second with Negation, grimacing slightly from the effort.

The third was aimed directly at his chest. For an instant, Will’s figure blurred.

The spear passed through the space he had occupied a moment earlier as Acceleration sent him surging forward.

Another use of an ability. Maybe I can drain him before he reaches me.

Will was already charging toward him when Arien began raising a series of earthen obstacles in his path, simultaneously firing off Fire Arrows.

His friend barely slowed. He pushed off the walls and ridges as they appeared, sometimes using them to change direction and avoid the incoming spells. After landing behind another Earth Wall, he twisted sharply to the side and triggered Acceleration, narrowly avoiding the Fire Whip that snapped through the space beside him.

Will covered several more steps and was nearly on top of him when Arien finished another incantation.

Two Fireballs shot forward one after another and exploded together directly in front of him.

For a moment, concern flickered through Arien, wondering if he might have overdone it. He was not entirely sure Will’s protective amulet would be enough to stop the Fire Bomb.

The thought lasted only until the flames began to clear.

Will was already running around the edge of the blast, his expression set in concentration and his entire body glowing brightly in Arien’s Mana Sense from the Skills he had activated.

Mana: 443/955

“Enough!” Arien called, raising one hand.

Will stopped immediately and sheathed his sword, taking a deep breath. “That spell is interesting,” he said as he approached at an even pace, barely winded. “But its energy seems to spread in every direction.”

Arien grimaced slightly. “I know. I was hoping even part of it would be enough to break through Negation and Reinforcement.”

“I used Acceleration first to increase the distance. You might also want to trigger it closer to the ground. It felt like most of the force passed over me anyway,” Will suggested.

Arien appreciated that about him. Every time they sparred, Will calmly explained exactly how Arien could make it easier to beat him next time.

“Then I’m not sure the blast would still be strong enough. Acrobats like you might just jump over it,” Arien replied thoughtfully. “I don’t know. I’ll think about it.”

Will merely nodded. “One more?”

Arien shook his head. “I’d like to, but I need to save mana for training tonight. I’m going to watch Magnus fight Edras first. Want to come?”

Will looked across the Sands at several people sparring in the distance. Eventually, he sighed and nodded.

“You know they’d probably let you join if you asked,” Arien told him quietly.

Will looked away and shook his head.

“Up to you Will, but you need to try talking to people other than me, Sari, and Malbek.”

“I talk to Ut, Belia, and Hoyt,” Will muttered.

“You know that doesn’t count. I mean normal conversations. Like the ones you have with me.”

Will looked at him for a moment, then gave a slow nod. “I’ll try.”

Arien sighed but decided not to push any further. He knew Will really would try. He just had no idea whether it would help.

Sometimes Arien was annoyed with himself for noticing so late how much trouble his friend had speaking to people outside his closest circle. He wasn’t even sure if simply dragging Will into more social situations would make things any easier for him.

By the time they reached the Arena, a sizable line had already formed outside the entrance. Arien silently cursed his own stupidity as they took their place at the end, directly behind three excited girls from the sixth or seventh year, all wearing the colors of House Harp.

At least Will had the decency not to comment on, or even look at, the enormous roll stuffed with shredded beef that Arien had bought for lunch after making a special stop at the Port.

“I heard Edras has a new girlfriend,” one of the girls said to her friends, absently twisting a strand of blond hair around one finger. “Some younger girl from fifth year.”

“Lucky her,” the second replied with a sigh. “Apparently no one in Edras’s family has ever died of old age or disease. Can you imagine? Generations of fighting the oppressor? I could write a wonderful poem about it.”

“And I could compose a song. Do you think if I invited him for coffee at the Port and told him it was for research, he’d agree?”

The third girl, who had been listening in silence until then, snorted. “We all know what you’d like to research.”

Neither of her friends looked particularly offended.

Arien pretended not to be listening.

The line moved slowly, but eventually they made it inside and found two of the few remaining seats, almost at the very top of the stands.

The Arena felt different from being on the grounds. Most of the spectators were talking, laughing, or passing food between one another while they waited. Small groups argued over who would win, and Arien caught more than one mention of bets being placed before the fight began. 

“Who do you think will win?” Arien asked Will while searching the crowd for familiar faces.

“I hope Edras does,” Will replied, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.

“You’re only saying that to annoy me.” Arien rolled his eyes. “Fine. Who would you bet on?”

Will shook his head. “Gambling is a sin.”

“I’m not asking you to gamble. I’m asking who you would choose.”

“I’m not telling you, because you’ll find whoever’s taking bets and make me help you sin.”

“Ugh. Fine. I could use some extra money, though. I hate spending points on potions.”

“You know I’d gladly buy them for you with mine,” Will offered.

Arien shook his head. “And you know you need those points yourself if you want to compete for Champion of House Sword this year.”

“Helping a friend brings greater honor than titles or wealth.”

“I know, Will. If I ever really need the points, I promise I’ll ask you,” Arien said.

He looked back toward the Arena floor.

“Oh, they’re coming out. It’s about to start.”

Two mages emerged onto the Sands below. At their level, there were no separate fighting fields or other duels taking place around them. The entire Arena belonged to Magnus and Edras.

Magnus walked with an easy step, grinning broadly and waving to people in the stands. He looked younger than most students at his level, with a slim build and long blond hair that fell past his shoulders.

Edras, by comparison, was built like a bear. He had broad shoulders, powerful legs, a thick growth of beard across his jaw, and a grim expression. He did not so much as glance at the stands as he walked onto the Sands.

The two men took their positions and exchanged brief nods while they waited for the signal from a young assistant standing near one of the walls. The noise in the stands gradually faded as more people turned their attention toward the Arena.

Finally, the referee reached for one of the knobs mounted on a brass panel. A protective barrier shimmered into place around the Arena.

A moment later, a trumpet sounded.

Arien watched in fascination as both fighters lit up in his Mana Sense at once.

Magnus opened by bombarding Edras with Metal Spears that tore through the air with a sharp whir. Edras answered by raising massive earthen ramparts in their path, reinforced, as far as Arien could tell, with the Stone Aspect.

Magnus's projectiles eventually punched through the barrier, but by then Edras was already running in a wide arc and sending Wind Blades toward his opponent. Each spell stretched more than a dozen feet across, shaped vaguely like a boomerang and almost invisible to normal sight.

Magnus caught them on his Half Shield and continued firing, trying to cut off Edras's path.

Edras never stopped moving. He raised Earth Walls when he had time and took other attacks directly on his Half Shield. Arien found that almost as impressive as the spells themselves. Fighting while moving at that pace had to require an enormous amount of experience. There was a reason most students either remained in one place during a duel or advanced only at a careful walk.

Edras had covered almost half the distance when he suddenly stopped beside one of the walls he had raised earlier.

Arien felt a surge of mana as the man brought both hands together in front of him and gathered power.

A flicker of concern crossed Magnus's face just as he released another Metal Spear.

The ground rumbled.

Earth rose on both sides of Magnus, forming two enormous slabs of stone. Before they could slam together, a Mana Shield formed around him, reinforced at several critical points with metal plates.

The stone slabs crashed down with a deafening impact, but the defense held.

Magnus cast again. Two metal pillars burst from the ground and smashed through Edras's spell just as the larger man resumed his advance, covering the distance in long strides.

The stands erupted around them. Students shouted encouragement from every direction, while others cheered each successful defense or near hit. Someone several rows below Arien was yelling Edras's name over and over, only to be answered by a group of Magnus supporters on the opposite side of the Arena.

This time Magnus changed tactics.

Metal stakes began rising from the ground in front of him, one after another, forming an obstacle course that quickly became a nearly solid barrier.

Edras did not slow down.

He kept charging toward it as if he expected his sheer mass to carry him straight through to the other side. He was only a step from the first stake when he gathered another surge of mana, brought his hands together, and jumped.

A column of earth erupted beneath him. Edras landed on its rising top and immediately pushed off again, launching himself high above Magnus’s barricade.

“He won’t make it,” Will muttered.

Arien thought the same.

Then mana flared around Edras again. A powerful gust of wind caught him in midair and hurled him even higher.

The stands went almost completely silent.

Magnus was the only one who did not hesitate. Two Metal Spears shot toward the airborne mage, Lightning crackling along their surfaces. The first missed Edras by inches. The second was about to hit when another earthen column burst from the ground on the far side of the barricade. Its rising tip clipped the spear and knocked it off course, sending it into the protective barrier.

Edras dropped toward the new column and landed squarely on its rising surface without breaking stride.

A moment later, he was barely seven feet from Magnus.

He caught another Lightning reinforced Metal Spear on his Half Shield with a grimace and threw a punch at Magnus’s face. Just before Edras’s hand struck the shield, a thick layer of stone formed around his fist.

“Stone Fist,” someone beside Arien commented.

The impact visibly shook Magnus and forced him back a step. He retaliated with a Lightning Bolt, but Edras caught the spell on his other arm as stone spread over it as well.

Then another heavy punch slammed into Magnus’s shield.

“Looks like Edras has this,” Arien said. Will nodded.

Magnus refused to give up. He kept retreating while firing Metal Spears directly at Edras, several of them managing to shatter the stone covering his fists. Each time, however, the armor formed again within moments, and another punch followed.

By the time Magnus had been driven almost to the edge of the barrier, a long trail of metal projectiles marked the ground behind Edras.

The larger mage moved like a machine, striking at steady intervals as he tried to batter Magnus’s defense apart. Eventually, Magnus had nowhere left to retreat.

He had to know the duel was almost over.

Suddenly, his Mana Shield vanished. A Half Shield took its place as he fired one final Metal Spear and began gathering mana. Edras only increased the pace of his attacks.

Lightning spread around Magnus in a growing web of arcs. More and more gathered around him until the discharges compressed into a sphere of concentrated electricity.

When the spell seemed to reach its limit, Magnus hurled it forward.

Edras’s expression did not change. He raised a Half Shield reinforced with the Stone Aspect, then surrounded it with a Mana Shield.

Magnus’s spell struck. Edras disappeared behind a wall of lightning that spread across nearly half the Arena. Arien could still see the larger mage’s defenses through his Mana Sense. They were holding. At last, the spell burned itself out.

For a moment, the entire Arena seemed to hold its breath.

A heavy impact echoed across the Sands. 

Another stone covered fist slammed into Magnus’s shield. 

Edras had endured the spell and was still standing. He resumed his assault immediately, hammering at Magnus’s defense with one heavy blow after another.

The stands erupted in cheers. Arien found himself on his feet as well, applauding the display of magic along with everyone around him.

Magnus was breathing heavily now, grimacing each time another punch struck his shield, but he did not look defeated. He said something to Edras, and a small smile appeared on his face.

Then Arien felt him gather another large amount of mana. This time, however, the power was not gathering around Magnus. It was forming somewhere farther away.

“Watch the spears,” Arien said to Will as he realized what was happening.

Edras, still focused on battering Magnus’s shield, started to turn.

Too late.

Mana surged through the Metal Spears scattered along the path of their fight. One after another, they tore free from the ground and flew back toward their creator, Lightning crackling across their surfaces.

They struck the rear of Edras’s Mana Shield almost at once. The barrier shattered before he could react.

A golden dome immediately formed around the larger mage.

Edras lowered his hands and gave Magnus a brief nod before leaving the Arena with the same grim expression he had entered with. The stands answered with applause and cheers for both fighters.

“You have a lot of training ahead of you,” Will observed, looking at Arien with complete seriousness.

Arien kept watching the Arena. The ruined ground, the scattered Metal Spears, the broken stone walls...

He had known the gap was large. 

Still, the goal was worth the effort.

A grin slowly pulled at the corner of his mouth.

“I know.”

By the time Arien returned to his room after a quick supper with Will, it was already dark outside. They had spent most of the meal discussing the duel.

He lit several candles and took another shower, once again staying beneath the hot water far longer than necessary. After changing into his pajamas, he settled into the armchair and stretched out comfortably.

More than anything, he wanted to close his eyes and go to sleep.

Mana: 901/955

Arien let out a long sigh and looked at the pen lying nearby.

Vizimir’s class was waiting for him again tomorrow.

With another sigh, he lifted the pen into the air.