Peter observed River carefully. One may expect a young man such as him to charge in boldly. Instead he backed up to create a bit more distance. This was a new opponent Lee had never seen fight. He wanted to be sure no matter what attack came he had enough time and space to react. Peter realizing the situation decided if River was so kind as to let him set the pace; he would take the invitation.

Peter summoned fire magic in one hand and wind in the other. River knew what this meant. It was a skill he had seen his teacher use before but one he had never attempted himself. He was told to stick with wind magic until he truly mastered it so combining magics wasn't in his skill set. Peter was aware of the fact River only used wind and decided on this spell as it was likely too big to dodge and impossible to block with wind unless he wanted to use up all his mana.

He fired the giant spell at River to see how he would react. He expected River to run away or dodge. Instead he saw through the thick flames River running toward the fire. He used wind magic behind himself to gain even more speed. Peter thought of trying to pull back the spell but it was too late. “Stop you damn fool, you'll kill yourself!”

Once only 10 paces from the flames Lee put both hands in front of him and unleashed a large, concentrated form of wind magic into the fire. It caused a small hole to appear in the giant wall of fire. As quickly as it formed the whole started to close. Lee ran at full speed and used wind magic behind him to get through the hole before it closed. The bottoms of his shoes had a slight burn. He rolled as he fell to the ground to mitigate the momentum of his impact and sprung to his feet. He dashed towards Peter.

“You crazy son of a bitch” was all Peter could get out before he blocked the punch. He saw Lee tried to sweep his leg but he managed to jump back. He hadn't fought hand to hand for a long time, but wood guides were a rough lot. Though not highly skilled, he was familiar with combat. He tried to strike at Lee. Peter was a large man who stood about 6'2 and 225lbs of muscle. While not highly skilled the force pushed Lee back.

Lee shot a few wind spells at Peter which he blocked with his own wind magic. Lee shot more and more at a frantic pace but Peter managed to block them all. A few even missed their mark entirely. Clearly this was him testing Peter's speed. Peter grinned “did you really believe you could overwhelm me with just pure number of attacks young wizard?”

“No, I didn't” Peter sensed several spells coming at him from behind. When did they get there? Wait, some of Lee's spells missed entirely... Was it on purpose? Did he really managed to mix in spells he could control with straight spells built for speed? To change from one spell to another and back so quick and seamlessly... That tricky bastard.

Peter quickly built multiple earth walls around him. It used a lot of mana but he was able to block the spells from all 4 directions. 2 of the spells hit him before he could finishing casting the walls and raise his defenses. He felt a stinging pain in his rib and leg. It didn't feel like anything was broken but the damage would slow him down if he didn't heal it. He focused on doing that quickly while he thought he had a chance.

He felt magic above his head. Lee sent a few spells above the walls and straight down. Peter blocked with wind magic but the blast of colliding magics in a small space forced him to his knees. He smiled to himself. He expected River to be strong but this was totally beyond his expectations. Lee may already be an A ranked level wizard. Probably on the lower end of A but at worst a very Strong B.

Peter used wind to explode the walls around him. He saw River had slide to the ground to dodge the earth debris in the air. Peter shot a number of small fire attacks at him. He knew River would need to be careful with how he dealt with fire attacks as a wind user. Lee was strong but still was a one trick pony when it came to magic. How would he deal with this?

If a wizard tried to block fire magic by shooting wind magic into it that could turn into a very bad situation. He would have to shoot a large enough amount of wind to blow the spell away and make it disperse. If you used to little you would only make the spell larger and double your damage. It put the wizard into a bad situation.

Either you had to use a lot of mana to block or you could try to use just enough to block the spell. If you were wrong and didn't use enough you would regret it dearly. This is why wizards who used wind were taught to be excessive if such a situation even if it put them at a disadvantage for long fights.

Lee dodged the first spell but the 2nd was too accurate. He would have to block. He'd been working on this skill for a while. He hadn't had the chance to try it out in real life when he first read about it in one of the old man's books. The old man refused to train him in it saying his mana control was still not good enough. Now was as good a time as ever. He gathered a fairly meager wind spell that used just about as much mana as Peter's fire spell.

He bent his knee slightly and lowered his hand containing the ball of wind as low as he could while not changing his posture. When the fire ball was just about to hit him he stood straight up as quick as he could using all his muscles and speed born from his martial arts training. He raised his hand open palm towards the ceiling. At about chest level he released the spell and shot it upwards. This created a large vertical gust in the air.

The wind was only there for a moment but it came right as the the fireball was in front of Lee. It followed the strong gust up and dispersed in the air. Lee found he had to duck a bit to keep from getting his head burnt. He smelled a little of his hair burning and quickly patted it out.

“What the hell was that?” Peter was shocked. He had never seen or heard of such a thing. As if it would answer his question he shot another fire ball at Lee and watched closely. Lee did the exact same move to block. Only this time, he managed to not get his hair burnt. Where did he learn that skill?

Peter had used more mana than Lee to this point. He didn't know who had more mana between the two but he didn't want to walk down that path in the hopes he had more. So far none of his attacks worked. He would need to try something else. These straight forward attacks in an attempt to over power him were not working.

Lee was honestly surprised that spell worked so well. He expected to have to deal with a few burns the first time but it worked out well. He felt like he could say he just about had truly mastered wind magic. He would need to force the old man to finally teach him some other form when he next saw him. He could probably teach himself if he had no other choice but it would definitely be better to learn from the old man.

What was he thinking? He was in the middle of a fight and this wasn't an opponent he could afford to relax around. So far Lee was the only one who had landed any attacks but he also escaped his opponent's by only a hair. In some cases that was literally true. He hadn't managed to land a good shot yet. He hoped to find a way to get close to him again, but this opponent was bigger and stronger than 'The Shame' and knew how to handle himself. He would need to be careful if he got close. A quick in and out attack would be best.

It was time to go on the offensive. He spent too much time sitting back and reacting. Before he could attack Peter knelled and placed his palm on the ground. Various earth walls sprung up all over the stage. 5? No 10. Now 20? What the hell was he planning? This no doubt used a fair amount of mana.

Peter went behind one of the walls and out of Lee's view. He felt a shaking and magic being used underneath the stage. What the hell was Peter planning? Before he could think any more he saw Peter run out from behind the wall and shoot water magic at him. River blocked and dodged when possible. There were numerous and quick attacks. Some even missed and hit walls to the side of him.

While the walls blocked some of Peters attacks they also made it hard for River to land anything. These obstacles would make it easier to get close to each other. Is that really what he wanted? Did he think he was so much stronger than Lee he would have the advantage in close combat? Peter ran from wall to wall closing the distance bit by bit. Soon he was a mere 15 feet away.

He hid behind a wall and shot a few spells at Lee. Lee did the same. More and more spells were shot at the wall Peter was behind. Lee decided he would pin him down and close the distance. If Peter wanted to get into a close fight with him then so be it. Lee was confident in his skills and knew he would be more than a match for his teacher.

Lee slowly closed the distance using his spells to keep him pinned behind the wall. He was happy with the job he was doing. Peter had not been able to return a single attack for a while now. When Lee was 5 feet away he heard foot steps behind him and felt magic.

“What the hell?” He turned and saw Peter running at him and shooting water magic. How did he get behind me? There's no way. He was hit by the water magic and knocked off his feet. He managed to stand but Peter kept running and closed the distance completely. With Lee Just being hurt by the water magic he was a sitting duck. Peter pulled his arm back for a right hook.

Lee saw it coming but his body felt stiff around his ribs where the water spell hit him which limited his movement He dodged the punch partly and tried to roll with the rest as best he could. He avoided getting knocked out but it still hurt and blood was running down his mouth. His roll created distance and he used wind magic to create more. He passed the wall peter was hiding behind. He saw right behind the wall was a hole.

He went through that hole to get behind me? Perhaps he used water magic to make it more slick and a little wind to help push himself through.... Was it created with the magic he felt underneath him? He had no more time to consider. Peter used wind magic to close the distance with Lee. He could tell Lee was hurt and wanted to finish it before he could recover. He had used a great deal of mana and wanted to end it here.

Lee used wind attack after wind attack to try to push him back. Peter matched all his wind attacks. The 2 were at a stand still. Lee thought this was just fine. He probably had more mana at this point. Just then Peter after casting so many wind attacks cast a fire spell. A wind attack of Lee's was already in the air and hit it. It grew larger and much more powerful. With Lee's injured rib there was no way to dodge.

The trick he had used before wouldn't stop a spell this strong. He had no choice. He gathered wind in both hands. As Lee bent down his hurt ribs ached but he saw no other option. He quickly sprung up from the position and using wind magic from both his hands he shot a massive amount of wind magic upwards while raising his hands toward the ceiling. This was a much stronger version of his spell and managed to force it up and away. He felt a burn on the tips of a few fingers.

With the flames now gone Lee could see Peter running towards him with his arm back ready to punch and a wind spell in his other hand. He managed to get only a few feet away while Lee was focused on that fire spell. Lee's hands where high above him and useless. He continued his upwards motion and used it to bend backwards while bringing his leg up in a straight kick. Peter was committed to his attack. His punched missed by just an inch and the kick landed on his chin making his mouth fill with blood.

'Go down you bastard! ' Lee thought. Peter would have been knocked out for sure if he was the same height as Lee. But being taller took a little off the kick. It still knocked his head back. As Peter fell backward he shot the wind spell in his hand. It hit Lee and knocked him to the floor. Both fell down in great pain. And then stood up in just as much pain.

Lee unleashed a lot of mana in that sequence. The water attack that hit him before and the wind attack now were a bigger problem. His body no longer moved how he wanted it to. Peter wouldn't give him time to heal. He was in a real pickle. He knew he had no chance to dodge even a slow spell. He had lost all his precious mobility. He had to finish it with the next attack before his opponent knew he couldn't move. He'd bait him to come at him and use an all or nothing attack.

Peter felt his head spinning. He had bet a lot on those attacks. He barely had 1/10th his mana left. He knew Lee had a lot more left than him. If this went on it would be unfavorable. He knew he had to end it here if he had any hopes to win. He was sure his attacks had an effect but Lee managed to stand up. What a tough bastard. He would need to use a spell that would knock him on his ass for good. Lee probably couldn't move all that well anymore so he'd try to get close and end it before he ran out of mana.

“What are you waiting for teacher? Unless you feel like giving up that is. If you wanna run with your tail between your legs I won't stop you.”

“You damn brat, I'm going to take that arrogant smile off your face once and for all. It's still too early for you to talk down to the likes of me. Let's end it.”

Lee smiled “Well, don't let me wait forever teacher. Old men who make me wait around forever cause they move so slow are one of my dislikes!” Lee gave a big laugh at his comment.

Peter dashed at him with great anger burning in his eyes. He ran straight in with a large magical attack in hand. Lee stood in his spot building his own attack in both hands ready to bet it all on this one moment. Before their attacks met Mary used her wind magic to ran between them.

“What the hell are you two doing? Are you trying to kill each other!?” Both were committed to using their magic so were forced to shot it upwards in different directions just avoiding hitting Mary.

Peter yelled “What the hell do you think you're doing Mary?”

“That's what I wanna ask you two!”

“We were just about to decide the winner! Why did you interrupt?” Lee shook his head in disbelief.

“Why? Did you both forget this was a match that's main purpose was to see if Lee had a chance to beat. Vladimir? You two were about to put each other in the hospital for weeks or maybe even kill each other. What would that have accomplished?” Mary couldn't believe they would take this so far.

As if they awoke from a dream both seemed to snap out of it. They had gotten caught up in their fight and lost themselves in it. Lee can never remember this happening to him. He saw Peter had great shame in his eyes. He knew what he was thinking. How could I come at once of my students with such determination to crush him? What kind of teacher would do that?

“You're right Mary, we both lost our head and forgot the purpose of the match. To make it worse, I did everything I could to antagonize Mr. Leaf. The fault should clearly fall mostly on me. I know better than this. I was trained to be better than this.”

Leaf shook his head “I'm at fault the most. As the adult I should have taken a step back and realized the situation. I apologize Lee.”

Lee was about to say it was okay and reassure him. But when he tried he coughed up blood and fell to his knee. He was hurt worse than he thought. He quickly used healing magic on his injured ribs and body. He spit the blood out of his mouth and onto the stage.

“Lee are you okay?” Mary rushed to his side as did Mr. Leaf. Soon Tom, David, Amanda and Derrick were there too.

“I'll be okay. I just got my ass kicked is all. These injuries are ones I can heal. It's your win Peter. I was in worst shape than I realized. There is no way I would have been able to keep standing if our attacks collided now that I think about it. The impact would have knocked me down and I doubt I would have gotten up again after taking a fall like that.”

Peter shook his head “I was running on fumes. I don't know if I would have had enough power to do that”.

“I can feel how much mana you have left. I know you had enough. It's my loss.” Lee smiled and shook his head at himself. Getting himself in such a sorry state. So this is an A ranked wizard. Vladimir may even be stronger and that match probably won't end up being fair like this one was. He would need to be sure to improve before the match. As he was now victory was unlikely. But he had time.

He was running out of mana but his injuries were not fully healed. He wouldn't sleep well tonight. He certainly couldn't go down to the school infirmary. He would need to explain how he got in such a state. Peter placed his hand on him and used his mana to help heal his injuries. “Peter, you shouldn't do that. You don't have much mana left and you don't want to drain yourself.”

“It's fine. You're my student and I'm responsible for your safety. It's the least I can do.”

Between his and Peter's mana they barely managed to completely heal his injuries. Sadly there was nothing they could do about Peter's injuries. He would just need to sleep and heal them in the morning. The good news was compared to River they were pretty mild.

“You're right River” Peter put a hand on his back.

“What do you mean?”

“Those Star bastards are the ones who should be shacking in their boots. Not us. By the time the tournament comes around they won't know what hit them till it's too late.

He looked at the others. Hope and determination returned to their faces. It had been stupid what Lee and Peter did, but seeing Lee able to hold his own head to head with an A ranked wizard like Peter and come off a well as he did gave them hope. Maybe he could beat Vladimir. Could they get strong enough to do their part? Lee saw them questioning themselves.

“So Peter, as far as you know, will they have any other wizards in the tournament besides me and Vladimir who are around A rank in our match against them?”

“I doubt it. If there was another A ranked student it would likely be one from the Sun house. I haven't heard of such a wizard and even if there was one they would certainly take no part in this fight. I think they will just sit back and wait to see who comes out on top then make their move as they see fit.”

“So you're saying the rest are B rank at most?” Lee asked him.

“I think that's true. I would expect they would have enough resources to not need to rely on any C rank wizards.”

“Then there's no problem. By the years end I think everyone here can be at least B rank.”

“Lee, I might believe maybe Mary, but the rest?”

“Tell me, how you see them? Be brutally honest. As far as you know how strong are Mary, Tom, David, Amanda and Derrick?”

Peter exhaled “to be brutally honest and to use plus or minus as a way to be more accurate... Mary D-, Tom E+, David E, Amanda F, Derrick F-.”

Derrick looked fairly down... The general rule was 1st years are generally in the F range, 2nd years were generally in the E range and 3rd years were generally in the D range. If you were C rank it meant you were considered strong enough to graduate and become a true wizard. Even though some wizards made C and even B rank before ending their 3rd year they always stayed until the 3 years were over unless there was a national emergency that needed them.

“So that was your impression of each when they entered the school a few weeks ago correct?”

“Yes, that's when I got to see their rankings and got a feel for their current magical power.”

“And you think it takes about a year for a 1st year student to get from F to E generally?”

“Usually that is the case, yes.” Peter answered.

“I want you to feel Derrick's mana and tell me what you think his level is.” Lee smiled.

“Fine, if you insist I suppose.” Peter put his hand on Derrick's shoulder and closed his eyes as he felt for his mana center... they shot open.

“How is that possible?” Peter looked at Derrick in amazement.

“What did you sense Mr. Leaf?” Derrick asked looking a bit concerned now.

“You've gone from F- to F+ in a few weeks... That's not possible.”

Lee knew Derrick has had the most drastic change of any other them so far. Part of that was cause he was the weakest of all of them but still his work ethic had been very good.

“I can promise you the rest of them are growing fast too. It will slow down as they start to hit C rank I'd guess but I think B rank isn't the lofty unattainable goal you think it is. Just wait and see. They will grow so fast you won't even believe it.”

Peter shook his head. He didn't become B rank until he was out of school for 2 years. It took him 7 more to attain A rank. The blood, sweat and tireless work to gain those elite ranked in front of this progress appeared like a sick joke. He turned to River “I have no idea the kind of training you are doing but if it's okay with you I'd sure like to try it.”

“Sure, I only ask you don't share it with anyone else.” Lee was willing to teach Peter just as much as the others. He knew he was a trustworthy fellow. But he worried about his age. Peter was already 28. The results would likely not be good or perhaps there would be no results at all. His mana system may already be firmly set in place and not able to change. However, there was no reason not to at least try.

Peter seemed to have some interesting attacks and strategies as well. With his help the training of his friends could likely improve. Having another wizard to divide the work between could only help. Lee had made a big boast, but making the rest of his friends at least B rank by years end was a race against time. He knew if he was to succeed in that goal there was no other way. He would need the old man's help to train them.