I dodged the slow-moving fireballs that he sent at me. I made an effort to show off how he couldn't even touch me.
That's right, Prince. You may be royalty in the capital, but here? I'M YOUR KING!!! HELLFIRE SERPENT OF HELL!!!!!
I raised my hands and unleashed a great fire basilisk. Or, it was supposed to be. The area in front of me just burst into inaccurate flames that completely missed the target.
"That's what you get for trying to be fancy. Your opponent is taking it seriously, and you're treating the duel like a joke? That's kind of embarrassing for you... where is your honor?" Alwyn rolled his eyes.
Why does he sound so condescending!? I was just trying something new!
A fireball slammed into my chest, knocking me off my feet.
"Take that!" Prince shouted.
Seriously?
I stood up and brushed off my robes. Out of nowhere, I was knocked off my feet again. As I was standing up, I was hit again.
Give me a second to breathe, won't you!?
To his shock, as the last fireball came at me, I swiped at it, dispelling the mana. To be fair, I was the only one out of the four of us who was able to dispel mana just like Alwyn.
Time to end this...! CRUSHING HAMMER OF HELLFIRE'S EMBRACE!!!
A massive ball of fire appeared in the air. I was also the only one out of the four of us to successfully cast a spell from the air instead of my hands. I learned that trick secretly to impress them all...
"Alright, that's enough," Alwyn laughed. "Are you trying to kill him?"
The fire dissipated from the air and Prince stumbled to the ground. I struck a calm pose and waited for my applause.
"Wooow... you're total scum..." Mari sighed.
"What!? What'd I do!?"
"You're completely cheating. You aren't even good at mana application, you're just abusing your massive pool..."
Alwyn kicked Mari in the back, causing her to fall into the dirt.
"Ow!"
"Wrong! Did I ask you to be the judge!? Lin did perfectly, it's not his fault he's talented! Now go get Liora so you can fight her and get abused by her mana pool too!"
Mari gritted her teeth and stomped to where Liora was idling.
I was excited to see this fight. I wasn't actually sure who'd win. Liora was actually the worst at using mana out of all of us. She was completely talentless when it came to casting. But she was carried. Completely carried by her overwhelming mana output. She could turn a simple fireball into a cataclysm.
"One, two, three, go!"
Mari blinked in front of Liora, holding her sword to her neck. Mari was allowed to use her sword in the magic duel since it was technically her 'staff.' Though... that in itself was an unfair advantage, considering Liora was bare-handed.
Liora appeared on top of Mari's sword and drop kicked her in the face. She rolled in the dirt and threw a handful into Mari's eyes.
"Ow—hold on!?"
Mari swung her sword blindly but Liora avoided it.
"Stop swinging your sword like an idiot! This is a wizard's duel!" Alwyn complained.
Liora jumped at Mari's face, but she was slammed into the ground by the pommel of Mari's blade. Mari had clearly assumed she'd have the close-quarters advantage, but Liora fought like a wild animal.
I knew that the best. Countless times Liora and I had wrestled and countless times she beat me into the dirt. Despite her frail disposition, she was actually the largest out of all of us thanks to her height.
Mari leapt back and a fireball appeared at the tip of her sword. It enveloped Liora, causing her to burst into flames. Mari stopped and looked at Alwyn with concern.
"Aren't you going to call it? I—"
Liora, still on fire, jumped at her like a raging demon. She hadn't said a single word the entire time, and was now growling like a beast. She clawed at Mari and the smell of burning filled the air.
Mari wrapped a fire whip around Liora's legs and swung her around in a circle. Liora flew, still on fire, and turned her body midair. She sent a massive, speeding, fire missile at Mari.
It's over, isn't it?
Mari, thinking quickly, readied her sword and struck downwards. She split the fire in half, dispersing the mana like I had against Prince. Liora fell to the ground with a thud and stopped moving.
"What are you doing!? She's on fire, help!?"
"Oh relax, girl. She's fine. You're lucky you got an opponent you could really beat up," Alwyn said, walking over to Liora.
He doused the flames with water, and Liora was lying on the ground.
"That's not fair...! She has a sword!" she cried out.
True... though, I didn't think Liora would lose. Mari really is a tough opponent, isn't she?
"That was sad, Liora... why are you fighting like a brute? You're a witch! Cast spells! Are you stupid!? How could I call you my apprentice!?"
"Stop hitting me!"
"Now it's me versus you, Linnie."
It wasn't the first time Mari and I seriously fought. This time though, it was completely different. And she had an actual sword...!
We high-fived each other and got ready to fight. She raised her sword in the air and got into a cool knight-like stance. The sword glimmered in the evening sun.
I'm scared.
"GO!"
Just like she'd done with Liora, she dashed at me and held her sword to my neck. I cast a small explosion in my hand and she pulled her hand back from the flames.
"Why're you smiling like that!?" she yelled.
I started to run away to gain distance, but she chased me down. I flipped over and sent a fireball at her as I rolled through the air. She cut it in half and lunged at me. I narrowly avoided the blade and kicked at her ankles, tripping her.
I cast a large magic bullet, but she rolled from it, dodging. I cast a new spell I was working on, 'magic missile,' which was functionally a magic bullet but tracked the target. I was pretty proud of it, actually...
"Woooow, a tracking spell? Have you been practicing at night, Lin?" Alwyn clapped. "I'm surprised, that's quite impressive!"
I cast it over and over, and Mari was starting to struggle to cut down all the missiles. I quickly lost momentum, though, since I had to manually manipulate each missile to follow her, so the more I cast the more I was becoming overstimulated.
THAT'S IT! FALL INTO MY TRAP!
A massive flame pillar inspired by the very first and greatest spell I ever witnessed tore through the ground. Mari flew into the air, spinning around in the vortex.
"Are you gonna call it or do I have to?" I asked Alwyn, smug.
"Call it? Why would I?"
Huh?
I looked back at Mari but instead I saw a sword flying at my face. I violently ducked backwards, swinging my arms in the air to not lose balance. A ball of mana, a magic 'bubble,' slammed me into the ground.
Mari jumped into the air and stomped on my stomach, jumping at her sword. I stumbled back up and she cast a wave of fire from her sword. I poorly dispelled it and could feel the heat reach my face.
Suddenly, a fire whip wrapped around my legs, just like she'd done to Liora. She swung me around in the same way and I flew into the air. A fireball shot from her sword, hitting me midair.
I guess I have to end it before I crunch into the ground, don't I? HELLFIRE SERPENT OF HELL!!!!
A large basilisk of fire actually manifested to my surprise. Its shape was uncertain and you probably wouldn't know what it was unless I told you. Nonetheless, I was proud, and Mari was certainly shocked.
It charged at her, and she tried to cut it down but her sword flew into the air instead. Suddenly, I was stopped midair and the serpent was dispelled.
"Why'd you stop it again? I'm sure she could've taken it!" I whined.
Unlike Prince...
"Tch. So who won?" Mari asked.
"Are you seriously asking that?" Alwyn laughed. "Of course Lin won!"
"But his legs would've broken even if his spell landed!?"
"Okay? But he made an awesome creative spell, like a true wizard. You just threw him into the air and swung your sword around."
"What!? This is clearly biased!"
"Then you should've beaten him before he knocked your sword out of your hand..." he shrugged.
Wow... that's definitely unfair! But I'm not complaining! I won!
I looked over to Liora and Prince who were both sulking, lying around the fire and probably complaining to Aliza while she treated their wounds.
"So this means I finally get one, right? A staff!?" I asked, excited.
When I said that, the other two perked up.
"That's right," Alwyn said. "Or a wand, if you'd like."
"A wand? Aren't those for witches...?"
"Yes, but a wand wouldn't be so bad. It's so portable... sometimes I wish I had a wand... it's just society, anyway."
Hell no! I want a cool wooden staff!
"What's the point in just getting Linnie a staff? Wouldn't it be better if we all had one?" Liora complained.
"You don't deserve it! Also, it's kind of a one-by-one type of thing... it's not like we can just buy one."
"What? We can't?"
"Of course not! A real wizard crafts his own staff. If you don't, your synergy will be terrible, and the staff won't work as well. Remember, the only purpose of a staff is amplifying your mana output, there's no point in having one if it doesn't do the best job it can possibly do!"
"...Okay? How do I make a staff?"
"You have to forage! Here, I have a list somewhere here..." He started to rummage through his pockets. "Ah! Here, get the items on this list and you'll be able to create a staff. I even made illustrations."
You call these illustrations? They're terrible...!
"You want me to go out and find... what are these things!? I've never even heard of them!"
"You seriously don't know what wyrdroot is?" he asked as if I was an idiot.
"No! I don't! And what the hell is 'veilspun thread'!?"
"Seriously? It's the gossamer binding from the moths that nest between the worlds."
"How the hell am I supposed to find one of those!?"
"I'm not supposed to tell you everything! That would defeat the purpose! Grow up!"
"And... 'starfire obsidian'? There aren't any volcanoes anywhere near us!"
"You're seriously annoying me, all you do is complain. See you soon," he waved.
I blinked and the entire camp disappeared. Or rather, I was in completely new surroundings.
That asshole...! He's completely stranded me!