Flaming thunder.

"That energy I like! Let the punches begin!" Koma would say, eagerly watching for the fight to start. However, it would be Adel who calmly stood up to stop Koma and looked at the boys. It seemed he would be the guide for the two, acting as some kind of referee. Returning to his serious and precise demeanor, Adel pointed towards a door at the back of the library. Mori already seemed to know what it was, but Infinn looked at this door with curiosity. It was clear that there was something behind it that Adel wanted to emphasize.

"Infinn, that door you see over there is the training room. Follow me."

Infinn obeyed and followed Adel. It would be his first magical combat. He didn't know how things would turn out, but one thing was certain: he felt excited. This was more like the stories he read, a fierce confrontation against a strong rival. He couldn't help but think that the idea excited him, but he also felt some concern since he had no combat experience. He would have to rely on his wits and the knowledge he possessed to have a chance against Mori. It was clear to Infinn that the higher the mana reserves, the greater the potential power. It was simple logic that if you had a higher mana density, the transmutation into another energy would likely result in a greater quantity or quality. This could translate into higher degrees of temperature for his fire or a larger combustion size. If that was the case, his lightning wouldn't fall far behind. He was able to perceive the speed it possessed. So, in terms of speed, he had the advantage. Finally, the three arrived at the training area, which, like the library, was impossibly huge. It resembled a cleared training field, but Infinn noticed scorched areas and various craters around. He could assume that there had been previous training sessions, and these were the results.

"Alright, Mori, just follow the protocol while I explain it to Infinn."

"Haha, sure, maybe that'll give him some time to back down."

"Scared of fighting me, Mori?"

Infinn commented after hearing Mori's arrogant remark. This only made Mori show a more annoyed face as he positioned himself ready to fight. While Infinn was worried and hesitant about the fight, to the point of analyzing his rival, his arrogant side couldn't stay silent when direct comments were made against his ego. Essentially, he was showing strength even though he had doubts. On the other hand, Adel simply turned to look at Infinn calmly while analyzing his behavior. It seemed he understood what Infinn was going through, so he mentioned the following:

"It's okay to defend yourself in an argument, Infinn, but never try to push an opponent you don't know too far. Don't let your ego get the best of you; it could be detrimental."

"...I understand, Adel."

"Good, in that case, let me explain the protocol. There are two ways to win this fight: power and strategy. You can either render your opponent unable to continue fighting or accumulate enough points by hitting them. Of course, this is only in friendly matches. We usually use the strategy win when the fight is close or completely the opposite."

"I suppose that won't be very useful in a real fight."

"Of course not."

"I'll try to aim for the option closest to a real fight, then."

Adel didn't say anything else and let Infinn march towards the combat area, knowing that the result might not be as pleasant for Infinn as he imagined. He knew Infinn's latent potential, which is why he was giving him the benefit of the doubt. But he also knew his colleague Mori very well. Mori might not stand out much in terms of academic intellect, but there was one thing he excelled at intensely, and that was combat. Meanwhile, Koma sat beside him, holding his hand, while Kana calmly stood, wanting to see how quickly Infinn could develop his potential during a fight that pushed all the limits of his intelligence and wit.

Infinn stood in front of Mori while Adel began the count. A slow "1, 2, 3" could be heard by both competitors. Those seconds felt like minutes for both, as in their minds, the fight had already begun. Each of them planned their respective strategies for hypothetical scenarios. Now it was just a matter of seeing which would prevail, lightning or fire.

"Begin!"

As soon as Adel shouted this, Mori was the first to react. His legs quickly started emitting smoke as spontaneous combustion took place. The toes of his feet pressed the ground with such force that they were able to sink it a few centimeters. Then he shot towards his opponent in the blink of an eye, moving with such speed that he seemed like a bullet flying through the air. It was like a great explosion of fire in Infinn's eyes, as the enormous combustion was the only visible thing he could perceive. Mori's figure had disappeared from his sight, as if he were a rocket. Mori was traveling at such high speed towards Infinn that the air around him became as hot as the hottest summer imaginable. Infinn, on the other hand, despite not being able to detect Mori, his instincts told him he had to move instantly from where he was standing. The sensation of every creature facing death could be felt in his body. As a result, his evasive action took place in a split second. He quickly launched himself to one side with all the speed his legs allowed, just to hear as if a meteor had passed through where he was standing. His shirt would be slightly singed from the mere heat radiating from Mori's body at that moment. Turning his head to see the path that formerly separated him from Mori, he saw that it was completely melted due to an intense wave of flames that emanated from the redhead. He barely had time to process what had happened since Mori's shooting speed was faster than what his ears could capture, and his eyes were in an even worse position. However, he was able to reconstruct the scene in his mind. When Mori was initially propelled by the intense flames, he had managed to embed himself into the ground, freeing one of his feet by releasing an explosive combustion that sent the piece of earth where his foot was trapped flying into the air. Infinn, on the other hand, while all this was happening, proceeded to reconstruct the events. His first action was to naturally propel himself with great power, keeping his weight in the air for a few moments. With his mana preparations previously seen through the smoke he emitted, he released an enormous amount of mana in the form of highly compressed combustion concentrated in a single point, which in this case was his legs. The highly condensed fire reached a temperature high enough to melt the ground composed of earth as Mori passed over it. Judging by the fact that his foot got stuck in the ground, the acceleration he must have achieved was enough to make his head explode upon impact.

"Really, you're not holding back at all..."

"Didn't I tell you I wasn't going to do it? Are you scared or something?"

The redhead sneered with a smirk as flames emanated from his body, walking towards Infinn carelessly. The boy would be lying if he said he wasn't intimidated by the immense destructive power Mori had demonstrated. But admitting it would render his taunts empty words, and his ego wouldn't allow that. Suppressing his fear as much as he could, Infinn stood his ground. He remembered the theory Kana had mentioned, along with his own ideas. He had been thinking since he managed to use his lightning ability based on the image of strings. The first basic idea he had was to use a spring to shoot a precise lightning bolt, but thanks to Mori, he decided to incorporate his own idea. What if he compressed his mana from that electric sphere and then released it? That would cause an unexpected electrical explosion, obliterating a whole area. He would concentrate mana in his hands for a moment, trying to focus. As he had learned before, he would direct the mana flow towards his finger. Due to his lack of control, electricity began to escape from his body, around him, slowly rising up his body. This would alert Mori that he was preparing another combustion impulse before Infinn launched his attack. Mori knew the speed one of his lightning bolts could reach, but it was too late. Infinn's gesture would simply involve moving his fingers after concentrating his mana, releasing the mana from his body in a straight line. It also produced a powerful thunderous sound accompanying the movement of the electric sphere. Mori had moved preemptively to barely avoid the first phase of Infinn's attack, a simple straight electric sphere. But due to its speed, you had to anticipate it or prepare a similar attack to avoid being hit. Mori could sense the unstable mana concentration in that sphere, which would prompt him to propel himself backward with spontaneous combustion. However, even this combustion would not be able to rival the expansion speed of the lightning bolt, which managed to hit Mori's shoulder in mere fractions of a second. Mori lost control of his combustion for a moment, resulting in him being propelled against the ground, impacting it with enough force to create a small crater around him.

Infinn noticed that his strategy worked, but he couldn't let his guard down after witnessing the devastating power that one of Mori's most basic attacks unleashed. Infinn initially thought that Mori wouldn't be so difficult to fight since he would likely rely on obvious attacks. However, he realized that wasn't an issue for Mori. He compensated for his lack of strategy with an unmatched power. Additionally, the words of Adel resonated in Infinn's mind, telling him, "Don't let your ego take over." Not to mention, Infinn had unleashed his best attack and could only achieve a slight impact, while even one of his opponent's most basic attacks seemed to guarantee his demise upon impact. Infinn had to continue seizing every opportunity to devise countermeasures against possible attacks. During the brief release of his mana in the form of a lightning bolt, he noticed that his mana was releasing sparks all over his body due to his inability to control it. Perhaps that could be a good strategy to counter an attack he physically couldn't avoid. So, he kept it in mind. As for his offensive, he realized it didn't work because it was too obvious. He practically telegraphed it with all the electricity emanating from his body and the prolonged charging time. He needed to improve the preparation process to make it as instantaneous as possible. However, his strategies were shattered the moment a massive combustion explosion was generated. A pillar of fire rose before his eyes in an imposing manner, and fireballs were launched towards Infinn at a notable speed. Without hesitation, using the newly named "Thunder Crossbow," Infinn launched different electric spheres that expanded. Upon contact with the fireballs, they exploded from within, resulting in enormous explosions due to the combination of elements. Each impact released more and more smoke, and Infinn noticed his hand was trembling slightly. Concentrating mana so frequently was wearing out the resilience of his hand. Like a balloon, his hand was subjected to spontaneous pressure rounds due to the accumulation of mana, which would likely cause severe damage. However, he couldn't worry too much about that because it was the only weapon he had at the moment. However, Infinn snapped out of his thoughts when he noticed something that left him frozen. The smoke was too thick; the fireballs had been strategically launched to create smoke screens, leaving him with no visibility of his opponent. He could only detect Mori at the moment he initiated a combustion, which would be too late since Infinn had already shown with his previous feat that sound reached Mori slightly later than his own actions. In this situation, Infinn would launch attacks in the direction of Mori's back or sides through the smoke screen. But if Infinn had studied Mori's personality well, that meant his next move would be...

PAM, The sound of combustion was heard by Infinn as he noticed how the smoke in front of his face twisted into a spiral, and the image of a fist approached his face at high speed, followed closely behind by a massive trail of fiery flames. It was a stunning and impactful sight. Infinn had staked everything on this precise moment. Mori was impulsive, and despite his combat genius, he had a tendency to charge straight ahead, making his attack pattern somewhat predictable if that were the case. However, Infinn didn't have solid grounds to ensure this; it was the closest deduction he could make based on Mori's personality. It was possible that Mori, despite his nature, followed logic and would attack from blind spots. In that case, Infinn would be at a loss, as his strategy was to directly confront Mori with his concentrated lightning, the only weapon in his arsenal that could contend with Mori's dense fire. He planned to take advantage of the surrounding smoke to execute a new type of attack he had conceived.

When electricity passes through gases, it typically electrically charges them by removing or providing electrons, creating plasma. Infinn would utilize the accumulated smoke right in front of him, caused by the crimson-flamed fist rushing toward him. He would unleash a Thunder Crossbow, condensing all the mana his hand could handle. He could feel the pressure as his hand's skin began to dissolve while his bones felt the internal strain. Then, he released it—a massive compressed sphere of electricity, the size of a head, propelled forward. Instead of dispersing in all directions like before, Infinn forced it to open up directly in front, using his imagination to contain the mana from escaping in any direction other than forward, like hundreds of threads closing off the exits, leaving only one possibility. This would maximize the power of the lightning, preventing it from dissipating in all directions. As a result, a wave of plasma generated right in front of Mori collided with his fire wave. The impact was so intense that the air grew warm, and small flashes of electric energy could be seen after the explosion caused by the clash of the two magics. A screen of smoke obscured the view for a few seconds, which, given the context of the battle for the spectators, made it impossible to observe anything. Eventually, Infinn's body would be thrown out of the smoke screen by the force of the explosion. His clothes were now incredibly singed, and his body bore burns, thanks to Mori's powerful fire, which had narrowly avoided third-degree severity due to Infinn's own attack.

Upon witnessing this scene, Adel quickly ran towards Infinn, taking him into his arms. He first checked for any fatal injuries but could easily see that Infinn was pushing his physical limits. The flames from Mori had left noticeable burns, which, thanks to Infinn's offensive, were not as severe. However, it was also due to this strategy that he had sustained such damage. It was undoubtedly an arrogant and, to some extent, ignorant strategy, as he could have perished during that magical confrontation. Still, Adel couldn't deny that he was impressed by the enormous progress Infinn had demonstrated throughout the entire fight. Not only had he pushed Mori to the edge, forcing him to resort to tactics, but he had also managed to avoid complete defeat against the direct impact of Mori's wave of flames in that final attack. Adel turned his gaze towards the screen of smoke, revealing the indistinguishable figure of Mori. However, he could see the fury in his expression and thought that perhaps the adrenaline and anger provoked by Infinn's unexpected resistance had driven him to continue attacking irrationally. Adel placed his hand in front, trying to reason with him.

"Wait, Mori! The battle is over!"

The dark-haired man shouted, but received no response. In fact, despite his expression, the red-haired man seemed to remain motionless in place. This puzzled Adel for a moment until the screen of smoke revealed something shocking. Mori had never managed to complete his strike. His arm, covered in burns worse than those on Infinn, was frozen with slight tremors. In addition to this, his shirt was completely charred from the direct impact of the plasma wave. Adel quickly realized that Mori had lost consciousness while standing, his eyes rolled back in surprise. The impact of the moment prevented Adel from taking immediate action in the face of this unexpected situation. It was a woman who snapped Adel out of his trance with a call.

"Adel! Bring Infinn and Mori right away. We need to attend to them!"

"Yes, Boss!"

Upon Kana's call, the man didn't hesitate to grab both men and swiftly carry them to where the women were. The redhead girl quickly used her mana to mold it into the shape of stretchers, giving them solid properties. It was a different manipulation of mana, more than transmutation into elements. However, it was a very useful skill for providing support. Once both men were placed on the stretchers, Koma couldn't help but be surprised at Mori's dire condition and his fainting in the middle of the battle. But it wasn't the time to be surprised. If she wanted to save their lives, she needed to proceed with treating them quickly. She gently placed her hand on the heads of both men and swiftly infused her mana into them. Koma specialized in producing effects with her mana, transforming its structure into things like nutrients or similar substances that helped accelerate the natural process of regeneration and fortified the immune system. In short, she was an indispensable element of the team for immediate recovery. Once her mana was infused, the charred skin slowly started regaining its natural tone, and the open wounds began to close. Faint internal sounds could be heard, likely the result of broken bones rejoining and producing that distinct sound. Upon realizing that both men had stabilized, Koma could only let out a sigh.

"They are stable, Boss."

"That's a relief..."

"But I don't understand. I can't believe Infinn managed to bring the battle to a draw. The attack seemed heavily in Mori's favor during the clash of magics."

"I don't think Infinn's magic is like Mori's. Its power and damage don't always show externally. When I saw him standing there, he seemed completely still, and his muscles didn't seem able to relax despite being unconscious, causing those constant small tremors."

"Are those... symptoms similar to people who have experienced electric shocks?"

"Yes. I suppose what happened is that when Mori received massive electric shocks, it caused an overload in his nerves, leading to unconsciousness. We're lucky he didn't suffer cardiac arrest or worse."

"That's terrifying."

Koma responded to Kana's explanation. So Mori's condition wasn't dangerous externally but internally. Infinn's magic had caused more internal damage, even though his decision to use the plasma wave as a barrier to slow down the fist's advancement, combined with Mori being paralyzed from the electric shocks, prevented more significant harm. However, even with an unfinished attack merely grazing him, Infinn was in terrible physical condition. The full impact would have likely carbonized him. Despite Kana's assurance that it was supposed to be a friendly training, these guys had gone all out to the point of nearly killing each other. Koma wanted to smack them both on the head and scold them thoroughly, but they were injured, so she would withhold her desire until they fully recovered. Her gaze would once again shift to Infinn. He was an arrogant idiot despite his serene demeanor, but she had to admit that his potential seemed limitless. The fact that he could adapt his mana and generate so many improvised techniques and tactics in just one battle proved that with proper training, he might elevate them to a highly renowned group of gatherers. However, overshadowing that thought was the image of someone she had known before, perhaps why she was so kind to him. She didn't really know, but she didn't have time to dwell on it. She would have to take each man to their respective rooms. They hadn't explained it because they didn't expect both of them to end up unconscious. With Adel's help, she was able to carry both men effortlessly. Once back in the library area, they approached a door nearby the training area. Opening it revealed a long hallway with various rooms. Adel would easily carry the redhead man to a room with his name on a metal plaque. Meanwhile, Kana walked until she reached a room with a metal plaque without a name. She placed her hand on it for a few moments, and the name of the brown-haired man started forming, just like it had been done with the document. She opened the door, revealing a fairly simple room that combined the aesthetic customary in the society of wizards with various technologies such as clocks and even a television. Although it was still a mystery what would be displayed on it, considering the wizard society was isolated from the outside world. The woman effortlessly carried the man's body as if he were a princess and walked to the bed, gently placing him down. Then she grabbed some clothes from the room's wardrobe, consisting of the same uniform they wore, along with a brown trench coat placed on top of the ensemble. She finished by leaving it neatly next to the table.

The woman would look at him one last time before leaving the room. So many things had happened in just a couple of hours since she had met this boy. She felt they had encountered a strange stroke of luck, one that she couldn't determine whether it was good or bad, that an anomaly within the wizard society appeared right at her doorstep. Without giving it much more thought than necessary, she simply walked out of the room, gently closing the door. In the tranquility of silence, it seemed that Infinn's path, blazing like fire, produced a sound as audible as thunder. How far will his curiosity's lightning reach?