Conflict

Their conflict quickly escalated into a fight between two students.

"[Blue Fireball]"

The Cleanland woman said as a ball of blue fire was conjured from her hands and shot towards Lina.

"[Glacier Wall]"

Lina said as a wall of ice blocked the [Blue Fireball]'s path. The Blue fire managed to melt the ice wall but it couldn't penetrate through.

"[Ice Spear]"

"[Blue Fireball]"

The two exchanged spells once again as a spear of ice collided with the [Blue Fireball].

"Is that all you've got?" Lina said with a provoking tone as her lips curled up to a grin.

"Alright, that's it! You asked for it!" the woman yelled.

"Blue Fire Fists!"

The woman then rushed forward as she clenched her fists. Blue fire appeared on her fists.

"[Frozen land]"

"[Glacier Wall]"

Lina touched the ground with her hands as the ground froze. She then conjured a wall of ice to block the woman's view.

When Lina froze the ground, the woman lost her balance for a moment but she quickly stabilized her footing. She then punched the ground and melted the ice on the ground.

She once again rushed forward and broke the ice wall in front of her with a punch. However, as soon as the wall broke, she was greeted with sharp ice shards, threatening to cut her into pieces.

"[Fire Wall]"

Her reaction was superb, she quickly created a wall of blue fire to block the ice shards. The Ice shards melted when they came into contact with the blue fire wall.

"[Blue Fireball]"

The woman punched out as a blue fireball came out from her fist and shot forward at breakneck speed. It's even faster than before.

"[Ice Sword]"

Lina conjured an ice sword but this time, it didn't shoot forward. She held the sword with her hands and swung it as she cut the [Blue Fireball].

The onlookers surrounded the two while maintaining distance as all eyes were glued to the scene in front of them.

"Go girls, you can do it!"

"Beat her up!"

"50 copper coins, I bet on the black-haired girl"

"My money is on the Fire Mage, that's one silver"

Some onlookers started betting with each other as they cheered for the girls.

At this time, the trio stood among the crowd and watched their fight attentively. This is a battle between two unranked mages.

"Wow, I haven't even joined the Golden Gate Academy but I already hate Cleanland students." Carla said as she watched the battle between the two.

As the only two academies of the city, Golden Gate and Cleanland academies are known for being rivals. When their students meet, it would usually end up in a conflict of words. Sometimes, it would escalate into a fight.

The teachers actually encouraged these behaviors for the students to develop rivalry and sense of urgency in order to hasten their growth.

The Teachers from both academies didn't bother to stop these scuffles in order to increase their sense of urgency to grow stronger, hastening their development as mages and as a person.

In fact, it's not only the students that would engage in these fights. Even teachers and staff of both academies would sometimes come into conflict.

However, these fights usually end in the academies. When their students graduate, they would then proceed to join the guilds.

When the graduates of these two academies join the same guild, they would retain their sense of rivalry but their conflicts would die down as their attention would be shifted to other guilds.

Naturally, there are some students who go to extreme lengths, especially the vengeful ones who would always remember those who crossed their way.

While Lina and the woman from Cleanland academy fought, their fight attracted the attention of some nearby mages who came to join in on the fun.

Meanwhile, on a nearby street, a black-haired man in black uniform stood with a sheathed sword on his belt. He had a cut scar beneath his right eye.

"A fight? Don't tell me-" the man muttered as he rushed forward and slipped through the crowd.

'Ellaine! I told her not to cause trouble!' the man inwardly exclaimed as he grit his teeth in frustration.

Slash! Bang!

Sounds of their clash spread through the area as the crowd cheered for the two girls.

Lina gripped an ice sword with both her hands as she slashed forward. The woman from Cleanland punched through Lina's sword with a blue flaming fist as their attacks collided.

The two then leaped backwards to gain distance as they looked at each other warily.

"Let's settle this with one move." Lina said with a grin.

"I agree." the woman replied with a similar grin.

"[Blast Blue]"

A blue fire shot forward like water as it threatened to burn Lina's figure.

"[Ice Wall]"

A wall of ice emerged but this time, it headed straight towards the woman in black uniform.

Right at that moment, their spells were about to collide once more when suddenly, a man in black uniform rushed to the center with his sword and swung it in 360 degrees.

Their spells were cut through as they disappeared. The two women were dumbfounded in shock as they looked at the man in front of them.

'This guy is strong.. Furthermore, he's from Cleanland too' Lina thought to herself as he looked at the man with a wary gaze.

'Castro!?' the woman exclaimed internally as a hint of respect mixed with fear can be seen from her eyes as she looked at the man.

"Let's just stop this here, shall we?" the man loudly said as his voice carried a hint of authoritative tone.

"Aw, come on. Things were just getting fun"

"Hey, what about the bets?"

The onlookers complained as they cursed the young man in their minds, particularly those who made bets.

"What did I tell you?" Castro said as he glared at Ellaine.

"It was just a minor scuffle, don't mind it hehe" Ellaine said as she was sweating bullets.

Veins popped up from Castro's forehead as his glare intensified. Seeing that Castro wasn't having her bullshit, she said "Alright. I'm sorry. I won't cause trouble anymore."

"I don't know what she did but I apologize on her behalf, Miss.... you are?" Castro said with an apologetic expression.

"Lina is my name." Lina answered.

"Are you alright? Were you harmed? As a token of apology, please accept this " Castro said as he eyed her with a worried look. He then handed her a red rose with a smile on his face, to which she accepted.

"I'm.. alright. Thank you" Lina replied as her cheeks showed a faint blush.

'Oh, that was smooth' Rick thought to himself as he chuckled.

"Shouldn't you be more worried about me? And where did that rose come from!?" Ellaine said as her eyes twitched.