The morning sun feel like rose too fast, casting long shadows over the training grounds of Vermillion Academy. The grass was still damp with dew, glistening like silver under the light. The arena had been cleared no students training, no instructors giving drills only rows of benches circling the dueling field, filled with spectators eager for blood, for spectacle, for victory.
Their eyes were on us.
On me.
And on Lyria.
She stood across the field, her stance calm, almost serene, with the wind tugging at her long hair. Her hand rested lightly on the hilt of her sword.
She looked composed.
I wasn't.
Not because of fear. Not because I thought I'd lose.
But because something from last night still clung to me, like a second skin.
That voice.
Its words echoed faintly in my ears even now, a whisper threading through my thoughts.
You could be more...
I clenched my fists.
No. Not now. Not today.
A blast of sound from the overhead bell signaled the start of the exam. Murmurs swept the crowd. The instructors took their places along the perimeter, cloaked in enchanted robes that flared with protective wards.
Professor Lyndra raised her staff, the tip gleaming with stored magic. Her voice rang out across the field, sharp and commanding.
"Tristan Altrhrone, Lyria, step forward"
We did.
The ground beneath my boots felt too solid, too real, as if daring me to stumble.
She glanced at me, her expression unreadable.
"Hope you can actually fight this time"
She said
I smirked.
"This won't be like last time"
Professor Lyndra's staff sparked, releasing a pulse of mana that surged between us like a barrier, this barrier is for keeping students from getting hurt too seriously and provides a healing effect when exiting the barriers.
"The duel begins… now!"
I moved first fire roaring to life in my palm as I surged forward, closing the gap between us with a burst of speed. My arm snapped out, releasing a torrent of flame, aimed low to force her off balance.
Lyria didn't flinch. Her sword flashed, slicing through the fire with a burst of wind magic that dispersed the flames before they could touch her. She leapt back, her boots barely skimming the ground, and retaliated with a swift thrust.
I ducked, feeling the rush of air as her blade missed my head by inches.
Fast.
Too fast to play it safe.
I slid to the side, casting again this time a wave of flame arced along the ground, like a serpent twisting toward her. She didn't dodge. Instead, she raised her sword, and she used ice magic, concentrated and precise.
With a flick, she sent a spear of frost crashing into my fire, the two elements clashing in a violent explosion of steam and sparks.
I raised my arm to shield my eyes, barely seeing her dash through the smoke.
She was close.
Too close.
Her sword swung at my ribs. I twisted, deflecting the blow with a hastily conjured flame shield, the heat scorching my own arm as I blocked.
Pain bloomed, but I gritted my teeth and grabbed her wrist with my free hand.
She didn't expect that.
Her eyes widened a fraction and I grinned.
"Gotcha"
I unleashed a burst of fire directly at her, point-blank. She yanked her arm free, stumbling back as flames singed her sleeve, but her footwork held. She didn't fall.
Damn.
Lyria spun, resetting her stance. Her expression was sharp now, no longer composed, but focused. Determined.
She use magic again, this time with Electric sparks sprung up around Lyria, she used lightning magic this time, covering her sword with lightning.
I tensed, bracing myself.
Damn it, how many magic she can use?
She dashed forward in a blur of motion, the air crackling around her. Her sword hummed, electricity arcing off the blade.
I barely had time to block.
Her strike hit my flame shield with the force of a hammer, the shield shattering like glass under the impact. The shockwave threw me back, skidding across the dirt.
I coughed, spitting out dust, my body aching from the force.
Alright.
I can't win by defense.
Time to go all in.
I pushed myself to my feet, mana burning hotter now, coiling through my limbs, begging to be unleashed.
I raised my hands, flames spiraling up my arms like living serpents.
"You wanted a real fight?"
I called across the field.
"Then stop holding back!"
Lyria's gaze sharpened, and for the first time i saw her smile.
Not a mocking smile.
Not smug.
But genuine.
"As you wish."
I don't know why i find it scarry.
She charged, sword raised, lightning trailing her like a storm.
I didn't back down.
Flames surged forward, crashing against her like a tidal wave. She cut through it, the blade glowing like a star.
We collided in a clash of fire and steel, the ground shaking beneath us.
Neither of us giving an inch.
The clash echoed through the entire training ground, flames and lightning, steel and smoke. Every spectator held their breath as the shockwaves rippled outward, shaking even the reinforced wards surrounding the arena.
My muscles screamed, mana coursing wildly through my veins like a wildfire barely contained. Lyria's sword pressed against my flaming gauntlet, the heat distorting the air between us. Sparks flew from our locked weapons, crackling like thunder.
She stared at me no longer with the composed calm from earlier, but with something fiercer in her eyes. Determination. Resolve. A fire of her own.
I broke the clash first, pushing her back with a blast of raw force, the ground beneath me cracking. Lyria leapt away, landing lightly, her sword spinning in her grip before it settled at her side.
No more games.
No more tests.
Just battle.
Her mana flared with each breath she took, no longer restrained. Lightning licked across the arena floor around her, turning the grass to ash.
I grinned, heart pounding in rhythm with the magic surging through me.
Finally.
I spread my arms, fire pouring from my body in a storm of crimson and gold. The temperature in the arena spiked instantly, and the audience gasped as the heat washed over them like a tidal wave, despite the protective barriers.
My cloak ignited.
I didn't care.
All the time learning magic theory with Iris really help me a lot, i should remember to treat her later.
The flames wrapped around me, shaping into wings of fire that flared high into the sky.
"Let's stop pretending"
I said, voice distorted by the roar of the inferno.
"No more holding back."
Lyria raised her blade, pointing it toward me, her voice steady even as the lightning around her intensifie.
"Agreed. Come at me with everything."
I did.
I shot forward like a comet, the ground behind me erupting in flames with each step. My fist cocked back, wrapped in a gauntlet of molten fire. I swung, aiming for her midsection with explosive force.
She sidestepped, graceful and precise, her blade slicing at my side.
I twisted mid-strike, blocking with my forearm, the steel of her sword searing against the flames but she didn't stop there. Lyria flowed into the next attack, a flurry of strikes, each one empowered with lightning-fast precision.
I blocked the first.
Parried the second.
The third cut into my shoulder, pain flaring white-hot—but I retaliated with a backhand blast of fire that forced her back.
Our battle became a blur.
Flame and lightning collided in the center of the arena, again and again, each strike shaking the earth. The audience couldn't keep up our movements had passed the level of what normal students could follow. Only the instructors watched with narrowed eyes, ready to intervene if things went too far.
But I wasn't going to stop.
Neither was she.
Lyria raised her sword high, her stance firm as mana gathered above her in a shimmering circle, etched with faint runes that spun at a steady pace. It wasn't overwhelming, but focused, controlled.
I narrowed my eyes. I knew this spell.
Not a grand invocation, but a refined lightning strike, sharp and precise. Enough to break through defenses, not fatal, but strong enough to end the duel in one clean blow.
Sparks danced along her blade, the air crackling with tension as she prepared to release it.
She wasn't holding back.
Not anymore.
I thrust both hands forward, conjuring a wall of flame that erupted before me like a blazing shield, roaring as it stretched wide, protecting me from whatever came next. The heat shimmered in the air, distorting Lyria's figure through the fire, but I could still see her clearly, calm and unwavering, lightning crackling fiercely around her form.
She didn't retreat. She didn't hesitate.
Instead, Lyria raised her sword high, sparks dancing up the blade, her eyes focused solely on me. Mana surged around her, and with a sharp breath, she swung her sword down in a clean arc not wild, not reckless, but precise.
From the blade, a compressed surge of lightning shot forward, not massive like a divine punishment, but controlled, focused a burst of electric force meant to pierce through defenses, not obliterate them.
It slammed into my fire wall with a loud crack, the flames flaring violently as the two elements clashed. For a moment, the world lit up with flickers of gold and orange, the smell of ozone and smoke thick in the air.
But then something shifted.
The lightning didn't stop. It cut through the weakened flame wall like a knife through cloth, racing straight for me.
I moved without thinking.
Mana surged in my legs as I tried to dodge but my timing was off. The bolt was too fast.
Too close.
My heart stopped.
Then everything twisted.
Shadows rose from the ground, swirling around my body. I felt a pull, like my very being was yanked sideways and suddenly I was gone.
The lightning struck the ground where I'd just stood, kicking up dirt and fire, but I was no longer there.
I reappeared behind her, breath caught in my throat.
What the hell just happened?
No time to think. She was still off balance from her attack, her body tense, not expecting me there.
I clenched my fist, flames igniting, and with a sharp breath, drove my punch into her back, not lethal, just enough force to send her out of arena.
She hit the ground with a grunt, sliding across the dirt, her sword tumbling from her hand.
Silence followed, broken only by the flicker of dying flames.
I stared at my hands, shadowy wisps flickering around my fingers before vanishing.
That movement… I didn't cast it.
It triggered on its own.
What the hell was that?
That move… Was that teleportation? No, it didn't feel like any spell I knew.
One second I was about to be hit and the next, I was behind her, like reality had skipped a frame.
There was no incantation. No surge of mana. No casting.
I stared at my hands, half-expecting something, anything to explain what just happened. But there was nothing. No magic residue. No sign of a spell. Just the faint warmth of mana circulating as usual.
Did I just… move? Without using any spell at all?
Did i unconsciously using my skill?
Across the arena, Lyria groaned, slowly pushing herself to her feet. Her hair clung to her face, and her sword was still on the ground behind her. She turned, eyes wide not in fear, but in shock.
And maybe respect? Or so i hope.
We stared at each other in silence.
The duel was over.
I had won.
Somehow.