[He's an extremely skilled fire magic user,] Lucius said, [With ultimate skill faint, any contact with you once activated will faint you for a moment.
[Weaknesses, unknown. No one knows how long his faint lasts.
[How are we countering him?]
"It took the guard an hour from when we arrived to become conscious," Ajax said, relaxed on his bed.
"It's safe to say once he touches me with faint; it is game over."
Ajax and Steve's duel takes place in three days. Everyone in the academy spoke of their duel and how much they were looking forward to it.
To Ajax's terror, his parents visited him a while back with Arrow. They will be coming to watch the duel alongside the Romanov family.
The duel had gotten more attention than anyone anticipated.
With his parents and his family being around, losing wasn't an option. He had to utilize everything he's got.
[I'm afraid, you will have to reveal the other elements,] Lucius said, [Else we don't stand a chance of winning.]
Before every duel, a gear is designed for each participant using their opponent's affinity to measure the amount of damage dealt.
A limit is set on the gear; once exceeded, you lose.
The academy only knew of Ajax's fire magic. To use his other affinities in the duel, he must report his affinities to the authorities for him to be registered as an Omega and make suitable gear for Steve.
[You must register Earth and Water,] Lucius said.
The morning swoops in like the wind.
"Are you trying to say the mana core works like the heart?" A student asked.
"That is exactly what I said," Ajax answered, "Think about it, there will be no circulation of blood without the heart.
"So, if mana circulates in our bodies, there has to be a place where it gathers, correct?"
"How does that make sense?" a student murmured within the crowd.
"In my opinion, the mana core is the heart of our magical selves." Ajax continued.
Before long, Ajax's lectures came to an end, and he hurried to the principal's office to register his affinities.
"Can you announce this after the duel?" Ajax asked the professor.
"Unfortunately, no. The duel must be fair, so I'm afraid I will have to announce this tomorrow," the professor responded.
Ajax strolled to the cafeteria from the principal's office.
Storm approached him midway with a snack.
"Let's head to the quarters," he said.
Ajax was confused, but he obeyed.
A few students weren't okay with nine-year-olds being allowed to lecture, just because they have a better understanding of mana.
They believed, that once they proved that understanding mana didn't necessarily make you strong, they could get Ajax and Storm withdrawn from their position as Professor Rashford's disciples.
Storm had gotten into an argument with them in the cafeteria, and he decided not to get Ajax involved in their baseless quarrels.
"It had come to my attention that Ajax Romanov is an Omega," Professor Rashford announced, "I'd like to urge you all to treat him with respect."
Ajax left the lectern to take his seat with people taking glances at him and whispering beneath their breath.
Immediately he got seated, and Storm leaned over, "You've got more than one element?" He asked furiously, "Why didn't you tell me?"
Ajax forced a smile. "Sorry."
"Class dismissed," Professor Rashford announced.
Before Ajax and Storm could head out, a girl suddenly hurried to Ajax, barely meeting Ajax's eyes.
"Good…Good luck," she said and ran off.
Ajax, surprised and confused, asked Storm, "Who is she?"
"Huh? You don't know who she is?" Storm asked, surprised.
Ajax shook his head in disapproval.
"Dude…What? Are you serious?" Storm asked, his eyes wide open, "She always sits behind you and cleans your seat every day before class."
Ajax was unconcerned but felt the need to appreciate her effort. "Really? I guess I have to thank her then."
Storm shook his head in disbelief.
The rest of the day went by in a blur.
Everyone gathered at the arena to witness the duel. Before Ajax could step into the arena, Arrow rushed to him and hugged him, "Do your best, okay?" She whispered.
Ajax nodded and grinned.
Steve Celestine and Ajax Romanov faced each other at the corner of Ajax's eyes were his parents and grandparents.
The expression on their faces said it all. His parents weren't expecting a win; they just wanted to see their son try his best, but his grandparents expected an easy win.
The duel was said to end when one of them remained unconscious on the tenth count, or they exceeded the limit set on their gear. The limit was set to 800.
"At long last, I got into a serious duel," Ajax said, smirking and taking his stance.
"Fight!" The referee yelled.
Faint—Steve activated and raced towards Ajax.
"Shit!" Ajax said, infusing Art with fire magic, and sliced it across the field like a blade.
Steve blocked it with his staff, but the force pushed him back. Without enough time to react, Ajax hurried in and blew him off with water magic.
Steve broke his fall.
[Good, let him keep his distance] Lucius said.
Steve clenched his teeth, conjured dozens of fireballs, and fired them simultaneously at Ajax.
Ajax kept evading, but the heat of the fire was overwhelming.
Ajax got a small opening to attack; he used earth to boost his speed, jumped, and attempted to blow him off with water magic.
Steve grinned.
"What?" Ajax asked as a fireball floated towards him.
Steve had intentionally given him the opening.
Ajax sliced the fireball with Ax and broke his fall with water magic.
The fireballs kept coming, but faster and larger.
Ajax used water as a barrier to reduce the heat of the fire as he evaded the balls.
In the heat of the moment, Ajax conjured a water ball and swung it at Steve.
Steve knew better; he decided to swerve the ball than to block it with fire. Immediately he got to a safe land; Ajax conjured stones of earth at him.
Steve was able to see the stones but couldn't react.
"Damn you, Ajax," he murmured beneath his breath. He raised his head to see Ajax looking down on him.
He started to murmur something as he got up slowly; suddenly, fire began to conjure at the tip of his staff. The louder the murmurs became, the bigger the fire.
The crowd panicked, "Incantation spell?" They asked in fear.
Steve fired it at Ajax. Ajax immediately conjured earth to block the fire, but it broke the barrier, knocking Ajax unconscious.
Ajax's gear raised to 690; his family panicked, and mixed feelings spread among the crowd.
The referee immediately started to count on Ajax.
ten, nine, eight, seven,…