The Spar (2)
The sparring arena where the match was taking place was nothing like a regular gymnasium. This facility had been built exclusively for one-on-one duels. It stood right beside the main gymnasium located outside the academy grounds. Thanks to the direct connection, every amenity in the gymnasium was fully accessible from here.
The walls of this linked building were reinforced with special barriers designed to prevent structural damage from sparring. Unless someone fired high-powered upper-tier magic in rapid succession, the barriers would never break. In emergencies, this place also served as an evacuation shelter.
Getting back to the point, the sparring arena was enormous. A massive central ring dominated the space, surrounded by spectator seating. One might wonder if having stands so close to the arena was dangerous, but another all-purpose barrier protected the audience, so safety wasn’t an issue. In other words, we could cut loose with powerful spells without worry.
Following the instructor’s guidance, I stepped into the arena.
“Before we begin the spar, I will explain the rules. First—”
It was an explanation I had heard over a hundred times. The academy had plenty of specialized priests and healing teachers on standby to treat injuries, but the message was clear: avoid causing excessively severe wounds. That was the general tone.
The total time limit for the match was five minutes. However, if the opponent surrendered or became unable to fight, the spar would end immediately. Only non-lethal practice weapons were permitted, and the use of any other items was forbidden. That meant no potions, so careful management of stamina and mana was essential. Was there anything else? I didn’t think so.
“Then we will begin the spar immediately. It starts in ten seconds!”
— 10
— 9
— 8
I steadied my breathing. I adjusted my grip on the sword and settled into a proper stance.
— 7
— 6
— 5
— 4
Lucy was a fire-attribute mage, just like me. She would probably start off strong right from the beginning.
Her Mana Core had quite a large capacity. So she would likely test the waters at first and save her big moves for the end.
— 3
— 2
— 1
“Begin!”
“Fire Ball.”
The moment the spar started, Lucy chanted a short incantation and cast her spell. A small sphere of flame formed around her and shot straight toward me. Fire Ball had a narrow area of effect but traveled at high speed. It was the perfect spell for keeping a swordsman-mage hybrid like me in check.
I still hadn’t learned all the fire-attribute spells. The ones I had used so far were crude, makeshift versions rather than proper magic. I raised my sword to block the incoming Fire Ball. But it had already closed the distance; there was no time to dodge. The only option was to minimize the damage.
I wrapped my blade in mana and intercepted her spell. But that wasn’t the end. More attacks flew in succession. This time, spears and arrows made of flame hurtled toward me. Since they came right after the first Fire Ball, I couldn’t block them all. My left arm took the hit.
To be injured right at the start… It wasn’t a serious wound, but if things continued like this, I would definitely lose. In that case, the answer was to close the distance and end it quickly.
I set my stance and charged toward her at full speed. Yet Lucy stubbornly kept me at bay. A relentless barrage of magic poured down. I circulated what little mana I had left through my body to strengthen it, then used that enhanced physique to dodge her spells. Finally, I reached her.
But she didn’t look flustered at all. If anything, her expression said she had me right where she wanted me.
Oh no.
It was too late to escape.
“Burst.”
It was a trap spell she had secretly planted on the ground. Once the caster reactivated the embedded magic, the trap would trigger. The individual spells were low-tier and weak, but with several of them layered together, this could be dangerous.
I had walked right into it.
Only the sound of explosions echoed quietly throughout the arena.
…
“Huh? Is… is it over?”
“Her name was Lucy, right? She deliberately created gaps between her attacks to set up those traps.”
“Wait, look! It’s not over yet!”
As the smoke from the explosions cleared, a human silhouette began to emerge. Vern Flame—the black-haired man known as the family’s good-for-nothing—remained standing on the arena floor.
How can he still be standing?
The man called Vern should have been greatly slowed down by the continuous barrage of magic I had fired at him. On top of that, he had taken the Burst completely defenseless. Yet he was still on his feet!
The power of each individual spell was low, but being hit by several at once should have knocked him down. Still, he refused to fall.
What the hell is this guy?
He could have attacked at the same time or deployed defensive magic from the start. Or was he doing this on purpose? Could he not handle mana properly? Or maybe he was deliberately refusing to use magic?
Wait… No. Others might be fooled, but I wasn’t. That man had instantly wrapped his body in mana to protect himself. If my guess was correct, he wasn’t choosing not to use magic. He simply couldn’t.
The mana he had used to block my spells, strengthen his body, and shield himself had been everything he possessed. His total mana reserves must have been too low to cast any proper spells. Most fire-attribute magic consumed a massive amount of mana, after all.
Lucy had always been confident in her ability to sense mana, so she could clearly feel that Vern’s reserves were almost completely depleted. Although he hadn’t blocked everything perfectly, burns covered various parts of his body. They weren’t severe injuries, but he probably couldn’t move properly anymore. With his mana exhausted, there was nothing left for him to do.
If I was going to finish this, I had to do it now. I felt a little sorry, but I would end it cleanly with something powerful.
…
That had been dangerous. If I hadn’t wrapped my body in mana the instant the traps detonated, I might have been knocked out cold. As it was, I hadn’t blocked it perfectly; burns now marked several places on my body. The damage wasn’t critical, but my body refused to move as I wanted. Was this the aftershock from the impact?
Even low-tier magic could vary wildly in power and utility depending on the caster. Lucy had already put some distance between us and was watching me from farther away. She must have noticed that I had used mana to protect myself. That meant a big attack was coming next.
This was a bad situation. My opponent really was the worst possible matchup. Why did it have to be Lucy of all people?
“…”
The situation had never been good. I had simply chosen the best possible answer within those unfavorable conditions every single time. Thinking about it now, it was almost funny. Since when had I started fighting while carefully calculating my opponent’s strength?
That’s right. What mattered was my resolve. The game wasn’t over yet.
As I reset my stance once more, Lucy raised the staff in her hand and began chanting.
“The colossal flame shall even burn blessings themselves—”
She was clearly planning to end it with this. She must have judged that I couldn’t move properly in my current state. Ha, to think I would get to witness this in person. What an honor.
The spell she was casting right now was most likely Inferno. Its firepower rivaled that of upper-tier magic. However, it consumed an enormous amount of mana, making it a high-cost skill that could only be used a few times. Being a mid-tier spell, it also required a full incantation.
Incantation—the process one had to go through to cast magic. It was a form of image training to perfectly manifest the spell. Self-suggestion. Yes, it could even be called a matter of resolve.
Anyway. Starting from mid-tier magic, the casting difficulty rose sharply compared to lower spells. High concentration and vivid imagery became extremely important. Since the degree of completion varied according to one’s understanding of magic, everyone chanted incantations to help realize their mental image.
Lucy was using one of the stronger mid-tier spells in order to finish me off completely. Inferno was like her ultimate technique, something she had honed for a long time. She was truly intent on ending me.
In that case, I would prepare my own final strike with everything I had.
Red and blue energy began swirling around my body. The skill that could only be used once per day—Grit. It fully restored both my stamina and mana. As expected, it didn’t heal my injuries, but that didn’t matter. The important thing was that I could use magic again.
“—O burning flames, consume my enemy. Inferno.”
A massive flame, burning crimson, surged out from the magic circle engraved in the air and rushed straight toward me. A straight-line inferno. If it hit me, it would be over.
But the game isn’t over until it’s over.
I steadied my breathing and thrust forward my uninjured right arm. Lucy’s eyes widened in shock as she stared at me. Well, she probably hadn’t expected me to be able to cast magic in this condition.
I quickly activated the Mana Amplification trait. Instantly, the mana inside my body went into a violent frenzy. A heavy burden slammed into me. The dizziness and pain were so intense I felt like I would collapse at any moment. But I could endure it. No—I had to endure it.
Yet that wasn’t what mattered right now. Mana Amplification doubled the damage output. On top of that, the mana stat I had raised with my remaining points further increased the power. And then there was the basic spell I had trained relentlessly—Ignition.
A blue flame sparked at my fingertips and began devouring all of my mana. The blue fire grew larger and larger until it formed a small orb that flew toward her.
The flame I had created by compressing amplified mana advanced forward to incinerate its target. When Lucy’s flames and my own collided, the entire arena began to shake violently.