11 Chapter 11. Mage? No! Fighter!

Was a person consumed by madness, terrifying? I am sure for most people it is. But looking at Emmanuel now, I didn't feel anything remotely resembling fear. To be honest, at that moment it was difficult for me to recognize myself, because I was calm and pragmatic.

"Ryan Romano," Emmanuel gritted my name through his teeth with anger. "This will be my strongest attack, so try not to die a pitiful death, turning into ashes at my feet!"

"Tsk, that's why children of noble families are so annoying."

The offspring of the famous Tueze family clearly did not understand the nonsense he was spouting. Even if we don't take into account the fact that killing a mage in a normal duel, let alone in a magical academy, will result in strict punishment under the "Grauzauberer" law, regardless of whose son you are. But the words of this guy sound like the ravings of a lunatic... Put a straitjacket on him - and here he is, a typical patient of "Alcatraz", a prison of mentally ill wizards.

I didn't even bother to answer this sick person and turned my gaze to Professor Vince, who was only waiting for me to retreat to stop the duel. But instead, I just nodded, indicating that I would continue. To which the professor smiled strangely and stepped back.

So, here it is, the most interesting part. Turning my attention back to my opponent, I licked my lips in anticipation.

A mage gone mad from humiliation? Such a foolish reason won't make me back down. Rather, I watched Emmanuel's magical power with a piercing cold gaze. I was so fiercely concentrated that an illusion appeared before me, as if I were on a battlefield.

And so began the last round of our duel.

"Blue light piercing through the sky," a strange voice sounded from Emmanuel's mouth.

The "hot" magical power heated the air in the arena. My intuition, gained from absorbing the wisdom of the Thousand Master, screamed about the seriousness of what was happening. Although I only needed basic knowledge to understand what was happening. These were activation words for a magical spell, in which a completely different power could be guessed even from the first two words. Even when using the same amount of magical power, the attack's strength increased several times. Since this was high-level magic, it could be used as a real tactical weapon.

In addition, there was another function hidden in the activation words.

*Wu-um*

At that moment, I noticed a pendant hidden under Emmanuel's shirt that began to resonate in response to its owner's call, glowing bright red. For a moment, my whole body froze. The perception inherited from Nagi recorded the sudden increase in the enemy's magical power. I suddenly realized that a 4th Circle spell had been used against me.

What a bastard! To protect his humiliated pride, this guy decided to use everything he has... Maybe he wasn't joking in his threatening speech.

I was well aware that such anomalous increase in magical power was linked to the use of an artifact. Of course, I could have accused this insolent brat of violating the rules of the duel, but did I want to do that? No! For the first time in my life, I was in a training battle, and I didn't want to give up!

Therefore, instead of refusing the duel, I began to prepare to confront this attack. Thanks to Emmanuel's complete lack of control at that moment, I was able to read the magic formula and find an effective way to stop the spell, namely, something very destructive and epic.

As they say, a wedge drives out a wedge... Although, in reality, I just want to explode something and at the same time repeat that scene from Naruto.

Yes! I am so confident in my calculations and abilities that I decided to confront this attack with my own attack.

Soon Emmanuel completed the creation of a magic circle, which spun behind his back, casting a crimson light on its creator.

"How about surrendering?" asked Emmanuel, smirking.

While other students were quite nervous as they didn't know what would happen, the expressions of Vince, Rossweisse, and Mephisto became colder than usual. As for Odin... What about Odin? This old man was just glad to have such an amusing battle.

"Shoot," nevertheless, I calmly replied,

"What?" Emmanuel asked, puzzled.

"The lesson will soon be over," my voice didn't tremble at all.

If Emmanuel had been a frying pan with boiling oil before, my last words were like a glass of water... That is, he exploded. And, stretching his left hand forward, he shouted.

"Giant Flame!"

It was a high-ranking fireball - one of the most powerful spells in 4th Circle fire magic, which was most effective against humans. It was slow but extremely destructive and had a penetrating effect, making it suitable for use in military applications.

In response, I instantly cast my own spell:

"Lazarus Arrow!"

A huge amount of magical power rushed out of my Circles and, like a raging hurricane, began to circulate through my bloodstream. At that moment, my body became as sharp as an onion.

[Lazarus Arrow] - the strongest magic of the 3rd Circle in my arsenal. It directs a powerful electric discharge in the form of an arrow the size of a lamppost towards the enemy. The peculiarity of this spell is that it must be used after a small delay of 0.25 seconds. And since I aimed not at Emmanuel but at the fireball, I had to perfectly calculate the time when our attacks would reach each other so that I wouldn't be accidentally killed by the explosion. Could I do it? Of course!

In the middle of the arena, fire and lightning touched each other. For a moment, there was a dead silence, followed by a loud roar.

*Bo-o-o-o-m*

Fire against lightning, magic of the 4th Circle against magic of the 3rd Circle, destruction against controlled chaos. Flames and blue sparks scattered in all directions. The world around us constantly spun in indescribable colors, as if space distorted from this magical battle. This was the total climax of the fight, when two fighters entered into the most intense and exciting struggle. Fighting with all our might, we used the strongest magic we knew. But in the end, one of the wizards had to fall.

But as quickly as it began, it ended, leaving behind a chaos of dust, debris, wind, and magical sounds. And if you looked closely, on both sides of the arena, right in front of the stands, a wall of Runes grew, which starts from a certain spectator seat, namely from the point of contact of Odin's wand with the floor.

Soon after that, the dust settled, and all the spectators saw the following picture. Burnt tiles, a nearly completely destroyed arena with numerous craters and trenches. But the most interesting thing is who won after all?

Emmanuel Laz Tuse sat with a pale face, slumped on all fours on the floor, muttering something to himself:

"No, no, no! Damn it! This can't be! It just can't be!"

As for me, I asked myself the question, why all this bravado with using magic of the mind, if in the end, I still acted like a fighter - rushing into a head-on collision. One day this could play a cruel joke on me, but now... Now I was as happy as a clam.

"Damn it, I spent so much magical power that my Circles will hurt for a couple of days."

What about the audience? I'm sure that apart from a small group of people, no one really understood what happened. But one thing everyone understood perfectly: a 3rd Circle mage decided to take on the destructive magic of the 4th Circle head-on and came out as the winner. From their point of view, I had put everything on the line and become a millionaire in a single moment. But that's not what happened. I didn't lose my mind or get caught up in the thrill of battle. I just knew I could do it.

The experience of the Thousands Master had told me that I would win this confrontation. And my magical power was like a calming presence that gave me confidence.

"Okay, that's it," Professor Vince clapped his hands, finishing tidying up the training battlefield.

The students, huddled in a corner as per his instructions, looked around in disbelief. Just five minutes ago, almost the entire arena, including the floor and foundation, had been destroyed. However, five minutes later, Professor Vince had reversed the destruction, restoring order as usual.

A 5th Circle mage... His skills are truly amazing. I sincerely admired the head combat magic teacher at the academy. Although I understood the formula and how the [Regression] spell was applied, I wasn't sure if I could achieve the same result. Perhaps Vince had his own tricks that allowed him to control magic so exquisitely. Or maybe it was just a matter of experience or honed technique.

Professor Vince turned to the students and, frowning, called out the name of one of them.

"Emmanuel Lazz Tueze, stand up."

"A-ah?"

Emmanuel, who was still stunned by his defeat, got up from his seat. He didn't understand why he was called, but the answer came not with words.

Vince's fist hit Emmanuel's chin.

"Ouch, Professor?"

The former combat mage also knew hand-to-hand combat. As proof of this fact, there were calluses on Professor Vince's hands, and blood on Emmanuel's lips.

Grabbing his chin, the son of the Tueze family trembled with pain and shock.

"You idiot! Did you think I wouldn't find out?"

"W-what are you talking about?"

"The Blue Light of the Great Flame, you fool!"

Emmanuel's face immediately turned red as he secretly used the artifact.

This was a serious violation of university rules. There was a possibility that he could be left behind for the second year or even expelled because of this. He had done nothing but attack another student with an unregistered artifact, so he was due for punishment.

Then Vince briefly explained how he found out about this artifact:

"When I was working in the field group 'Grauzauberer' I served in the same unit as your father. I thought he would raise his child better. What a shame."

"P-Professor! This is not..." Emmanuel desperately stammered upon hearing the reason.

"Shut up!" Vince barked, causing even other students to flinch. "After the lesson, you will come with me. I will review your behavior at the faculty meeting. Understood?"

"Yes..."

"And, Ryan Romano."

Upon hearing my name, I raised my head.

"After class, you should go to Director Mephisto's office," Vince looked at me with some pride...

"Understood."

Director Mephisto, that old demon, will surely ask tricky questions... Maybe I should find a devil's advocate?

*****

A bit of post-chapter coddling:

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