“Moisture, increase. Increase, increase, becoming unseen. More is far better than less.”
Arcus chanted his spell in the loudest, clearest voice he could, to make sure Claudia would hear each word.
“What...” Naturally, she was blindsided.
He hadn’t used more water to put out the fire; the spell’s effect was to increase the humidity around them. But it would seem a nonsensical choice considering that the water had already evaporated. From the incantation, Claudia realized that it was supporting magic—that Arcus was confident enough not to panic. And that realization made her lower her guard. What if she was misinterpreting the situation? For just a moment, she held back.
Ignoring her lack of reaction, Arcus threw himself to the ground. He would have to endure the heat for a little bit longer. Just then, there was a tiny explosion in front of him. Water sprayed outwards like a broken wave, then came together and surged forward. The image was like the water’s edge on a stormy day; like the crests that formed on the waves after they battered against the shore. His spell rose up at once, eventually dissipating the mist.
Claudia was still standing. It should have been no mean feat to endure that spell, but then, she was a future duchess.
“What curious magic,” she said after a cough.
“I was hoping that would end this...”
To think that a mini phreatic eruption hadn’t been enough to knock her out. She should have taken a hard blow, but all it had done was leave her with a bit of a cough. The humans of this world were tough.
“Be noble. Be a prancing breeze. A high-minded wind must not be ignored.
Noble Wind.”
“Structural change. Structural amendment. A honeycomb, a turtle shell, a repeating pattern. Disperse your power. Turn your durable shell into a wall.
Tessellating Barrier.”
Claudia’s sonorous wind buffeted against Arcus’s honeycomb barrier. His spell was inspired by the defensive magic used by the Empire’s troops. As he recalled, Aluas, the woman in the white mask, had called it Three-Walled Altar. It was markedly efficient in its aether consumption.
But Claudia was incanting again.
“One point focus. One piercing thrust. Penetrate the wall, penetrate the length, penetrate the enemy, a single hole of black. If the enemy’s protection is sound, use but your own hand to open and break through. Use your honed body to pierce the shield.
Shield Piercer.”
Her first spell was still in effect; she was combining her spells.
“It will take more than a shield like that to defend against my magic!”
Arcus’s defensive spell might have been strong, but in the end all it was worth was the aether it had saved him. Claudia was unloading her own plentiful aether onto it, and sure enough, it was weakening. Arcus had misjudged his spell and the power he was willing to sacrifice. His shield was cracking, and he was overcome by immense pressure. He quickly made to jump back before her Noble Wind hit, but he was just a little too late. It battered his body, making him grunt.
As he thought, he would have little chance of winning if he let their contest be one of pure strength. He needed to devise a way in which his paltry aether could defend him against Claudia’s bountiful supply. His magic was never going to overwhelm hers, so his only option was to find an opening and catch her off guard with a short spell.
Arcus was confident in his spellcraft. Having said that, Claudia was in her third year at the Institute and set to inherit one of the most distinguished magic houses in the kingdom. The moment he underestimated her was the moment she tripped him up. The haughty smile had already returned to her face.
“I admit you caught me off guard before, but now you have shown that a lack of aether truly does put a magician at a disadvantage. I wouldn’t want you to suffer any further, so I shall bring this duel to a swift end.” Claudia prepared to cast another spell.
Right now, Arcus had no choice but to wait and see what would happen. If he had the aether to match hers, he could cast something in return. As it was, the risk of wasting his limited resources was too great. He would try and outmaneuver her spell, rather than counter it, and hoped it wouldn’t run him afoul of the rules.
“My, how cunning.
An inconvenient truth. A midsummer heat haze. The moon on the water’s surface. An afternoon campfire. Render the gold worthless and disintegrate it into fragments. May your glimmer diminish...”
The spell was unlike any other she’d cast so far. Its words and syntax were unusual, as was its relative length. There was something about it that made Arcus want to prevent its release. He started to incant before she had finished.
“An opera of gentle insects. The student’s strongest enemy. An endless ring.
Embedded Earworm.”
“Throw a pebble. Throw and throw. Your stones are as grain; nevertheless, they hurt.
Goblin Rock.”
He cast the weaker spells one after the other, but they were too petty to deter Claudia. She ignored the music playing in her ears and covered her face with her arms to ward off the pebbles.
“Suppress.”
All of a sudden, Claudia’s gorgeous golden hair lost its shimmer.
“Arcus!” came Sue’s cry. “That’s Saifice magic!”
It couldn’t have been a spell that targeted the opponent’s, or she would have waited for him to cast first.
“With this, your fate is sealed,” Claudia said.
“I’m not going to just sit back and accept that,” Arcus said, casting flames in her direction. “Wh...”
His spell lacked its usual power. The flames were close to fizzling out by the time they reached her, and when they did, they bounced ineffectually off her aetheric aura.
Does that spell of hers have an area of effect, then? Or is it something more direct?
It was difficult to tell, and it didn’t help that they were in a fixed space. Any area of effect should have been marked out by a magic circle. If that wasn’t the case, and her magic hadn’t targeted a spell either, then...
What exactly has she cast it on?
The only thing he knew for certain was that it was a troublesome spell indeed.
Claudia cast again. Arcus reacted with a magical barrier, but it immediately began to fade visibly. Right before his shield broke, he kicked off the ground and took a huge leap backward.
It’s got to be interfering with my magic somehow. Unless...
It would make sense if it acted like a curse that rendered his counterspells ineffectual, but that didn’t seem to be the case. Plus, when he had used Chaotic Air, Claudia had acted surprised that he could target her spell directly. Assuming that wasn’t an act, her spell just now had to work differently.
While he struggled to work it out, Claudia held herself with an air of fearlessness, like her victory was already assured. She didn’t try to do anything, obviously feeling he wasn’t worth her best efforts. Annoyed as he was, Arcus had to recognize that she had the upper hand in this fight.
“I think that’s enough of a break.” She cast again, her own spell not suffering any ill effects.
Somehow, Arcus managed to dodge it.
How come her spells still work fine?
It was more evidence that her earlier magic hadn’t been an area-of-effect spell. But whatever it was, it felt grossly unfair.
Arcus cast another defensive spell to protect himself, this time choosing something longer that consumed more aether. The next moment, he grunted—the weakening effect on his magic was more intense than he’d realized, and Claudia’s attack stronger. Its power fell within the rules, but it would probably have knocked him out if he’d taken its full brunt. She had tuned it well.
Scoring a hit seemed to have pleased her. “Oh dear, what’s the matter? You know you’ll have to attack if you want to beat me, don’t you?”