The students became uneasy. Some of them realized that they had to compete against their friends. Some also were excited and itching for a fight. Kane was one of them. He was getting tired of sitting in the classroom all day without any physical activity. He was aware that defeating Calypso, the prodigy prince, didn’t mean that he would win easily, since this time he would not be allowed to use his ax. He needed a plan.

Vauren spoke again. “The fight will be one versus one with no gender restriction. There are several rules for this duel. First, no physical force is allowed; we are here to practice magic, not fists. Second, you must be within the arena or otherwise you’ll lose automatically. Last but not least, don’t go overboard. Once I declare the winner, the duel is over. Any questions?”

“Sir, may I ask a question,” one of the students asked.

“Go ahead.”

“What if we can only use support spells?”

Vauren rubbed his chin. “Hm, I suppose you could create [Mana Orb], correct? It is a literal ball made of mana. Any magic practitioner would know such a rudimentary spell.”

“But how can we win against—”

“Enough excuses! Even a support mage must know how to protect themselves when there are no allies nearby. It’s your fault for not learning such spells. Are we clear?”

“Y-yes, sir.” The student lowered his head.

“Due to your classroom placement, you might get expelled if you don’t perform well enough. This rule is exclusive for those who didn’t cast a support spell. That doesn’t mean you are allowed to relax, though. Do you understand?”

“Understand!”

“Excellent. I will call two names in no particular order. Now, the first two students are…” He proceeded to call two random students.

Finished listening, Kane pondered. He knew the school wouldn’t expel him for his talent. On the other hand, people would be suspicious if he performed badly yet did not get expelled. Not that Kane cared about them; the problem was that they would investigate and scrutinize his background which could lead him to being hunted down. He concluded that he would act as though he was concerned with getting expelled. That way, nobody would be suspicious if his performance matched his skill. Kane also understood that he would stand out matter what he did, and thus, he prepared himself for anything.

The two students wore a blue marine mage cape and put on one of many enchanted rings. The ring would create a weak barrier that would last for some time. When one of them was depleted, the duel was over, and the winner was the person who still had the barrier up. All of this equipment was required to ensure that nobody would be fatally injured.

The battles were quick due to the barrier that could only withstand two or three unranked spells. Before Kane noticed, only half of the students remained that were yet to be called.

“Calriss Layward and Allen Addison, please come forward.”

Calypso walked onto the platform, followed by a tall yet chubby boy. After wearing the required equipment, they faced each other, set apart by some distance. Calypso’s eyelids covered half of his eyes as he stood in a relaxed pose. On the other side, Allen entered a sort of a battle stance. His round eyes narrowed, giving him a piercing gaze.

“Begin!” shouted Vauren.

“I must admit that you are a little more talented than mine. But I, the son of Marquis Frederick Addison, am known for defeating many geniuses like yourself! Prepare to—”

“Unranked ice spell: [Ice Shard], full power.” Calypso was already finished chanting, and the magic circle manifested in an instant.

A sharp ice fragment flung out at high speed. It immediately shattered Allen’s barrier before he could react in time. His face turned pale, as though he had seen a ghost. He gave up on his knees, and fell on his bottom.

“The winner is Calriss Layward!”

“Hmph, I have no time to deal with trash.” Calypso turned his back, descended from the platform, and removed the equipment.

“That was quick,” said Kane. He wondered if Calypso became stronger than the last time he’d fought him. Curious, Kane approached him and whispered,

“You seem stronger than before. What happened?”

“All I can say is, I was not in my best form. In the future, do not bother me again in public,” said Calypso as he strode past the half-oni.

Kane simply stood there, pondering what Calypso meant. He did look rough before the fight between them began. Perhaps Zumi and Athera put up some resistance and managed to weaken him. He had another thing he wanted to say to Calypso.

“Thanks for defending me, prince,” said Kane.

Calypso halted his steps. “You misunderstood. I was merely reminded of my shameful defeat thanks to the pesky crowd.” He walked away before getting swarmed with people.

Brian then approached Kane from his side. “Kane, what did you say to him? Did he say anything to you?”

“Nothing too important. Just a casual exchange.”

Vauren coughed twice and spoke once more, “Next is Kane Foxsnove and Lucrais Habborleigh.”

“It’s my turn.” Kane stretched his arms.

Brian tapped his shoulder. “Be careful. You may fight against a girl, but I think she’s quite talented due to her mage ancestry, albeit not as talented as Calriss. She also uses fire spells just like you.”

“Thanks for the info, Brian. How did you get this information?”

“I got that from the girl herself. I talked to her while we were heading to the classroom. She’s surprisingly nice despite her appearance. Anyway, good luck.”

While Kane was heading towards where the equipment was stored, Vauren asked him, “Kane, I regret to inform you that despite your condition, you must participate in this test. Unlike others, I will be more lenient to you, although there is still a chance that you will be expelled if you immediately forfeit.”

“Fine, then. This injury doesn’t hinder me much if I’m just using magic.”

“Excellent. I will inform others regarding this matter.” He then told everyone about his special scoring toward Kane.

Vauren helped Kane wearing the equipment. He felt a constricting sensation that wrapped around his head. It had been a long time since he wore something on his head like a helmet. He could not fully wear the helmet due to his horns, so he only wore it halfway through.

Remember, Kane, don't be too flashy. You must fight for the sake of experimenting, not winning, he reminded himself. He had several ideas that he wanted to experiment with [Lesser Firebomb].

Kane stood facing Lucrais. A serious girl, judging from her stern face. Her eyes darted up and down as if she was watching a bouncing ball. She then fixed her eyes on the white cast, which prompted her expression to turn more mellow.

When Vauren opened his mouth to speak, Lucrais raised her pale hand, interrupting him. “Before we begin, I’d like to request something to you, Kane Foxsnove.”

Kane folded his arm. “What is it?”

“Please forfeit this match. I do not want you to be embarrassed much further. With that injury and having [Lesser Firebomb] as your best spell,” she swept aside her black bangs, “Regrettably, you have no chance to win.”

“That’s a nice sentiment, however-” Kane put a half-grin. “-you’re the one who should forfeit. If you lost against me, it would be much more embarrassing than if I lost to you.”

Lucrais’s plump face darkened. “As I expected. Your foolishness and naivety matches your appearance. I intended to go easy on you since you’re a friend of Brian, but… Oh well, it seems like I must teach you a lesson or two.”

Kane stayed silent as he felt somewhat bad for taunting her. She had good intentions behind the arrogance, unlike Calypso, who looked down on everyone. Though in the end, it did not matter as long as he got to fight. He wanted to try some things out after all.

“Have you two finished talking?” Vauren looked at Kane and Lucrais. They both gave a nod. “The duel is now live!”

Lucrais stepped back while chanting a spell. “Unranked fire spell: [Flame Wisp]!”

A tiny winged light traveled toward Kane in an erratic pattern. It was almost impossible to predict where it would hi,t and it seemed to follow the opponent’s movement, though he simply side-stepped the projectile at the right moment. The stray wisp combusted into a sizable ball of flame; the heat reached Kane’s vicinity in spite of it being far from him. He then made a throwing motion while casting [Lesser Firebomb] as a counter-attack. The magic circle followed the movement and when the spell was launched, it traveled at a higher speed than usual.

Despite Lucrais’s effort to dodge by leaning to the side, it hit the barrier before exploding. The surface vibrated upon the blast, still maintaining its form. A visible small crack formed. Her previous empty eyes were set aflame with a hint of harmful intent while Kane remained solemn. A single landed hit was not worth celebrating over.

Everyone who was watching the fight could not believe their eyes. The main reason was Kane’s spell.

“How can the [Lesser Firebomb] spell be so fast!? The speed should’ve stayed the same no matter how fast the movement of the magic circle was.” one of the students exclaimed.

“The half-oni did not simply make a throwing motion. At the very moment the [Lesser Firebomb] manifested, he grasped and flung it toward his opponent,” explained Calypso who was standing beside him.

“Such a crude method. Wouldn’t it burn his hand?”

“It appears so.” He pointed. “Look. He convulsed his hand to cool it down.”

Despite the searing pain, Kane kept casting the same spell. He threw it once more toward Lucrais. Standing still, she chanted a spell called [Stone Pillar], an unranked earth spell. A tall spiky rock quickly erected in front of her. It easily blocked the incoming firebomb.

Earth magic? I suppose a mage doesn’t have to be restricted with one element. Kane changed his position to find a better spot to attack. The pillar obstructed his vision on the opponent.

Lucrais extended both of her arms forward. “You’ve exceeded my expectations, Kane Foxsnove. But it’s all futile. [Flame Wisp] times ten!” The magic circles appeared one by one behind her.

A swarm of the smaller version of [Flame Wisp] rushed toward Kane. He turned back and ran as fast as he could. Dodging all of them would be easy if the barrier had been surrounding his body rather than making a plain sphere around him. Fortunately, all of the wisps missed Kane’s barrier except one that managed to crash against his barrier, burning.

“You have nowhere to run!” Lucrais chanted another spell. “[Blazing Fence]!”

A red glowing line appeared beneath Kane’s feet; he immediately stepped backward. The line ignited into a wall of flame—or more accurately—a fence, based on its height and name. It surrounded Kane, trapping him in the corner. Behind him was the edge of the arena. Rather than standing around and doing nothing, he cast [Lesser Firebomb] to disrupt her.

So she used that spell to lure me into this spot? How clever.

Lucrais evaded the spell with ease due to the distance. Once more, she cast a group of [Flame Wisp] at the same time. There were only five of them but bigger this time; they were coming toward Kane, swooping down like an eagle to catch its prey.

“Checkmate.” Her mouth formed a grin.

Kane felt cornered. There was no space left for him to dodge. He could push through the fire, but there was a risk of destroying the barrier upon crossing. It was nigh impossible to jump through without getting hit. Tanking the wisps was also out of the question either.

---

Everyone watching the match expected it to end soon. The battle was not what they had predicted, yet they were not completely incorrect either.

“It’s over,” one of the students said.

“I guess it was too much for the half-oni. Nice try, though.”

“Yeah, I probably would lose to her quicker than he is. She’s a Habborleigh, after all.”

“Fools… Underestimating him is a mistake,” Calypso muttered. His words reached nobody.

Brian had his eyes set on the arena since the fight began. He clenched his fists and said, “Come on, Kane! Cast another [Lesser Firebomb] or something!”

As soon as he said that, Kane chanted the spell. The magic circle, however, was facing the ground.

“Yeah, just like… wait, not like that. Is he nuts?” Brian grabbed his hair. Others too were perplexed with Kane’s decision. Why would anyone cast an offensive spell on themselves?

On the other hand, Calypso put a tiny smile on his mouth. “A suicidal move, just like that time. I wonder what he’s going to do now without the ax.”

---

The firebomb was aimed toward the ground. When it bounced off in a medium arc, Kane crouched down. The flame wisps were an arm’s length away from hitting him. At this moment, he jumped off the ground, similar to what he did when he had fought the riese.

“Jumping is useless! My [Flame Wisp] will hit you regardless,” shouted Lucrais. Indeed, the wisps followed his movement, almost guaranteed that they would hit Kane.

Then, an explosion occurred beneath Kane’s feet. It was the firebomb. The windblast propelled him further above. While in the air, Kane flipped upside down—causing the wisps to miss him by a hair—cast [Lesser Firebomb], then flung it toward Lucrais.

Lucrais was looking up with her mouth agape. She stood frozen despite the incoming [Lesser Firebomb]. It crashed down then exploded beside her.

Kane safely landed on both feet and his left hand behind the [Blazing Fence]. As he walked toward the middle, he looked at her in the eye.

“Hm? What did you say again?”