The boy has perfectly combed sweptback hair that reaches his shoulders, giving him an androgynous look. His eyes are a deep, striking green and his gaze is unmistakable, he's staring straight at us.
We three share a look and stop a few meters in front of him.
"Is there a problem?" I ask, warily.
"Where is your uniform?" Bastico asks, even his voice makes it hard to say whether he's male or female.
Ah shit, here we go again.
"We are not students. I'm Wolf Ryder, a scholar from Rabanara," I say and bow lightly.
He raises an eyebrow and his face slightly distorts in displeasure. "You don't look one bit like the scholars from Rabanara," he says.
I don't contain my annoyance at his words. "If you don't mind, I have other business more important than to convince you of that."
I hold the arms of the girls tighter and take a step forward and to the side.
He immediately moves to block us again and his tone turns stern and unmistakably male. "You will not escape the duels that easily." He crosses his arms and tries to look imposing.
I almost facepalm. Another fucker who thinks we belong to the academy.
These high-class clothes and jewelry are doing more harm than good since people think we are nobility or something. Our necklaces, Lina's jeweled leather slave collar, and my (recently) enchanted emerald sword also only serve to reinforce this image.
Even the shimmering from my [Ranbow Shield] and [Rainbow Crystal] could be interpreted as us being wealthy enough to pay for a Blessing mage to buff us every day.
"We aren't students and we can easily confirm this with an Inspection Crystal," I say through gritted teeth.
He scoffs and his nose wrinkles in disgust. "Do I look like I have a Crystal at hand? This isn't the first time I've heard that lie. All your Blessings are visible, you know. And don't think that I won't find out whose house you belong to." He takes a step forward and looks me in the eye. "I challenge you to a duel."
Alissa looks at him with flabbergasted while Lina grits her teeth and clenches her fist.
This isn't a cliche novel's battle academy where the strong walk all over the weak, but dueling with all kinds of warriors is still an integral part of it.
"You know what, fine, I accept. Even though I'm not a student, I'll fight you... BUT, after that I demand an Identification Crystal to be used to verify my identity," I say and finish with a smug smile.
He narrows his eyes in suspicion, slightly unsure of himself due to my confidence. "If you think that you can bully me after the duel using your family's influence, you'll know better soon enough."
He's so damn sure of himself...
I give him a phony smile. "You'll have to explain to me how these duels work. As you know, I'm not from here."
He groans in annoyance but complies. "What's your style of fighting?"
"I'm a magic swordsman."
He eyes the small red gem embedded at the hilt of my sword. "You look like a spell warrior."
"My wife enchanted this sword for me just today," I tilt my head towards Lina. She blushes slightly and swallows heavily, then nods.
Bastico looks at Lina with a little suspicion, but then he ignores her. "Well, then. Do you want to share which spells you are capable of casting and what enchantment your sword has?"
"Is there a reason to?"
"It would make the duel more fair. But if you don't, then I'll ask for a best out of three. This way, we won't lose the entire duel just by being hit by a surprise spell."
"And you will share yours?" I point to his longsword at his waist.
He rolls his eyes and says in a flat tone. "Yes."
"Are we going to wear armor?"
"Only protection for the heart and brain. Even I don't want to waste money ruining good enchanted armor in a mere duel."
"Can I change into spare clothes? I would rather not ruin these." I put a hand over my heliodor necklace.
His patience decreases another notch. "There's a changing room beside the arena."
"So, what are the rules for the duel?"
"I don't fight until first blood. If you get squeamish at the sight of blood then you shouldn't be here. We shall fight until one of us surrenders or passes out.
"A healer is present at all times and we defer to them for stopping the battle. If you try to continue the battle after the healer has already called for the end, then you will be instantly hit with a [Lightning Bolt] enchantment."
"Fine, let's do this. What spells can you cast?"
"[Fireball] and my sword is enchanted with [Double Strike], [Double Image], and [Extend]."
[Fireball] is such a common spell that someone would only mention it when they can deal some serious damage with it. His fighting style could be similar to Hana's new style with feints and successive strikes.
"Yours?" He smirks slightly, underestimating my ability.
All? Well, I need to show some consistency regarding which spells I can cast without chanting.
"My sword is enchanted with [Double Strike] and I can cast [Lightning Bolt], [Telekinesis], and [Heal], but I won't heal myself to make things more 'fair.'" I smirk.
Bastico is taken a little aback but says nothing. He motions to a dueling arena nearby and we follow him.
As we walk, I notice that we have the attention of most of the students around us. It makes sense since there's a portrait of Bastico on the castle's wall, and it's big enough for all the nobility and higher class citizens to be able to see it every day.
The light rain turns into a drizzle and we remove our cloaks, then Gify pops onto my shoulder.
"Gih?"
"Good timing, yeah, we are going to duel."
"Gih."
"Thanks."
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Alissa asks, worried.
"It's not a duel to the death," I say and squeeze her hand. "Even as the Lord's son, he would get branded as a Wicked if he tried anything deliberate. So for me, it's a good opportunity to learn something."
"Hm..." She pouts and grumbles through the [Bind].
"Give him a lesson," Lina whispers with fierce determination.
"For you, I will," I say and she hugs my arm tighter with a cute smile on her face.
The arena is a pit in the floor and its wooden walls remind me that we are high above ground level.
We go down a set of stairs carved in the ground and enter the pit, then Bastico activates an enchantment and a [Gate] opens. A temple priestess comes out of it and looks at us inquisitively.
"Are you two going to duel?" The priestess asks.
"Yes. Traditional faint-or-surrender. We are two spell warriors who use swords," Bastico responds.
We recite the spells we know and the priestess nods in understanding. She gives each of us a metal helmet with a stripe of metal that touches the spine to protect you from decapitation, and a breastplate that's tied on the shoulder and only protects the heart.
Bastico shows me the way to the changing room where I put casual clothing. Even though it's casual clothing, it's still one of my more comfortable sets, which makes it quite annoying to think that it might get damaged. I decide to go shirtless, both to show off my scars and to save this comfy shirt from being ruined.
I come out and we both stretch a little to warm our muscles. Then I motion for the two girls to come over and they each give me a good luck kiss, making Bastico even more annoyed.
Gify is taken by Alissa and gets a privileged seat by being hugged against her chest.
We draw our swords and stare at each other.
The priestess walks to the corner and clears her throat, grabbing our attention. "REMEMBER! IF I SAY IT IS OVER, THEN IT IS OVER! ANY FURTHER ACTION WILL BE INTERRUPTED WITH EXTREME PREJUDICE! UNDERSTOOD?"
We turn to her and nod. I glance at the border of the pit and see a good audience around us. Benches were laid out so that rows of people could watch. This is definitely a bigger audience than I saw around the other dueling pits when we came in.
"STATE YOUR NAMES!" The priestess orders.
"BASTICO RINCIPIO! FIRST SPELL WARRIOR OF THE FIFTH YEAR!"
"WOLF RYDER! LEADER OF THE HELIOS FELLOWSHIP, SUMMONER, GOLEMANCER, AND SCHOLAR OF RABANARA!"
Murmuring starts at full blast and Bastico now looks completely uncertain about my identity for the first time.
The priestess looks at me oddly then turns to Bastico, waiting for his decision.
"It changes nothing! We are going to duel!" Bastico announces and the priestess sighs.
"PREPARE YOURSELVES! THE DUEL SHALL COMMENCE... NOW!" She hits a gong and we act.
I immediately cast [Lighting Bolt] and his skin glows like a rainbow as his [Rainbow Shield] activates. He grunts, but the spell only makes him flinch. His Blessing is really strong.
Our swords meet and slide off one another as we measure the other's skill level. We strike each other a few times and I realize that his skill with the sword is much higher than mine.
Without using a single spell, he painfully nicks my cheek with the tip of his sword and draws blood, even though his strike was slowed by my [Wind Armor].
"Hmph," he scoffs.
Well, I would never win in a pure sword duel anyway.
Without moving my legs, I glide forward with [Telekinesis] and strike. Bastico gets surprised and desperately tries to defend himself.
His eyes are drawn to my feet and I take the opportunity to strike from above and activate [Double Strike]. I manage to nick his head and the tip of my sword scrapes his skull. I also feel my strike being slowed by his [Wind Armor].
From my shoulder, an ethereal arm appears and strikes down again.
Bastico is fully forced on the defensive and has to activate his own [Double Strike] to meet mine, yet he starts smiling like a maniac.
His arm suddenly splits in two as he activates [Double Image]. I counter with [Telekinesis] on his shoulder and one arm visibly slows, that's the real one. An Illusion enchantment is limited in how life-like it can truly appear.
I move my sword to parry his strike and cast [Telekinesis] on my own, bringing his guard down and allowing me to give him a cut on his belly.
Mana leaves his body and his sword extends, allowing him to give a cut on my shin on the way out.
We each back off slightly and prepare for another bout. He wipes away the blood dripping onto his eye and lunges.
His reach is annoying, but [Extend] makes his longsword more awkward to use.
I parry his lunge and cast [Telekinesis] on the tip of his [Extend]ed sword. Physics makes it so that the longer his sword is, the more force he feels when I cast [Telekinesis] on its tip.
The tip flies up to the sky, opening him up to a counterattack. I lunge and cast [Lightning Bolt] at the same time that I thrust at his chest.
He grunts in pain but deflects my lunge with the hilt of his sword, then points a finger at me. A [Fireball] forms and I dodge backward.
As I glide with [Telekinesis], I pivot my sword and slice his shoulder as the blade comes back.
With my free hand, I protect the side of my face as I use [Muscle Explosion] to dodge the [Fireball]. I feel my hand burn just a little and the skin shines like a rainbow for a moment as my [Rainbow Shield] takes effect.
"Your fighting style is odd. Where did you learn it?" Bastico asks with a manic smile on his face. He's just like Hana, a blood-thirsty muscle-brain.
I merely smile and return to focusing on the battle, annoying Bastico greatly.
"Fine, we can still talk after the duel."
Yes, please.
By waiting, I gave him an opening and he took it. He strikes repeatedly and uses [Double Strike] with every attack. This puts him into a sort of rhythm, a very predictable rhythm.
I focus on defending and staying away with [Telekinesis]. It's a good thing that my style involves gliding, otherwise my wounded leg would have messed with my footwork.
"Come on, attack me!" He taunts.
I would rather not. Just waste your mana, please.
He stops using [Double Strike] and we stare at each other while catching our breaths.
"Thought you for a fool for going against my longsword with your short sword," he says.
I smile and say, "I knew I had a way to negate your reach advantage."
"Can you cast [Telekinesis] during the entire fight?" He smirks as if he knows the answer.
"Yes, actually. I told you I was a summoner; my mana is high."
He narrows his eyes and considers my words.
"You are the oddest warrior I have ever fought," he says with a snort.
I smile again and start chanting [Rush], prompting him to attack.
I use [Telekinesis] to glide out of his reach and hear the crowd gasp in surprise. Then I finish my shortened chant and dash like lightning. Using the chant version hurts my head much less than using instant double-casting.
I cast [Telekinesis] again on my sword when I meet his sword to force his guard down, then I jump and cast [Telekinesis] again to make myself fly. I release [Rush] and the pain in my head instantly clears.
I let my feet go high above my head and turn myself upside-down. I enter his guard and he moves his hilt upwards to parry my slice.
I let my sword slide past his. He twists his wrist to try and slice me, but I fly past his head, where he can't reach. He fires an instant and small [Fireball] and I defend with my free hand, then I slash with my sword.
I cut his neck and slice across the metal guard at his spine.
"STOP!" The priestess yells.
Feeling a little dizzy and grimacing from the very painful burn on my hand, I will myself to spin upright and land graciously on the ground.
I think I need to add [Acrobatics] to my build.
The priestess rushes to [Heal] him and I instantly [Heal] myself. I see a glint of envy on the priestess' eyes.
She touches the scar on the spine guard of Bastico's helmet and yells, "I DECLARE WOLF RYDER THE VICTOR!"
"I ACCEPT HIS VICTORY!" Bastico yells immediately after.
The crowd cheers and claps.
With his face still bloodied (the priestess didn't bother [Clean]ing him) he approaches me with an extended hand. "I believe I owe you an apology," he says while smirking.
"Hm?" I'm taken aback at his action, so I freeze on the spot.
"If you were a student, I would have known about you and your fighting style."
"Oh, I see. Apology accepted," I say with a slightly strained smile and accept his handshake.
"Are you employed somewhere?"
Alissa and Lina come down and dress me in a spare shirt.
"Our fellowship is currently working as a freelance escort for Este Escort Company."
He raises his eyebrows in pleasant surprise. "Oh, so Rande is still leading the company?"
"He is, along with his mother."
"How long are you staying in Goloria?"
"We leave in the morning on the next day of An."
"Great. I'll pay Rande a visit, then," he smiles so softly he looks like a cute girl. "Anyway, if you ever come back to Goloria, I would like you to meet my father. Unfortunately, he's currently in that new 'Legado' dungeon, so he won't be back for a while."
Hm? How convenient.
"I see. I might come back after this job is done."
"I'll be waiting, then. Goodbye."
"Goodbye."
We all share a slightly awkward nod and he turns around.
The crowd is dispersing and he quickly mingles with them. Bloody face and all.
"Awkward..." Lina whispers.
"Yeah. It went well for us, though," I say with a wry smile.
"Even the elves aren't free from the manly brotherhood," Alissa says.
"What?" I ask with a frown.
"Beating each other up as a good way of making friends."
I chuckle and Lina nods. "True," she says.
I change into my higher quality clothing and we go to the academy's restaurant to have our snack. The architecture is not grand, for once. This way there are enough tables for all the students and the waiters can come to us in a reasonable time.
We order the usual tea with sweets. This time we get some wet not-lemon cupcakes that are very sweet.
Lina happily goes over her notes and shows us a page about [Double Strike] as an enchantment.
"It was quite a nice idea to use your [Telekinesis] against his enchantment," she comments while brimming with pride in me.
"I thought that they couldn't have made a perfect Illusion enchantment. For Hana to use it that way it took her quite a lot of mental effort."
Lina nods. "It might work for a normal duelist, but [Illusion Magic] is quite easy to unveil with magic."
We return to the library without a problem and I resume my research.
[Alteration Magic] can be used to create appendages that never existed, like a malformed limb.
It is possible to recreate these appendages without creating an "organ" for it inside the soul of the person. With time, the appendage is "assimilated" by the soul due to the mana of the person mixing with the appendage. It can be accomplished even faster when blood flows through it. The downside is that magic is disrupted while the appendage is being "assimilated" and there could be problems controlling the appendage if the assimilation is not done "correctly."
Another way to recreate appendages is to "pull" the soul of the person out of their bodies and force it to create solidified mana. This is used for appendages like Roxanne's horns and tail.
The basis for this solidified mana is elemental fake matter. Specifically, a nature elemental's fake matter is the most versatile due to its putty-like properties. It's easily moldable, soft, squishy, texturable, and colorable.
I have everything I want here, I just need to learn [Alteration Magic] then.
I go back to the index and search for a book on that. I can easily put points in Alteration, but I fear what could happen if I went about it too carelessly.
I find a book called "Basics of [Alteration Magic]" and start compiling anything I deem useful.
It's strikingly similar to using [Godly Language] to alter reality, though it is much more mentally intensive than simply talking to inanimate objects.
Meditation, mantra, visualization, and motivation. These four ingredients are what comprise the basis of this magic school. First, you need to close your senses off from everything except what you desire to change; then you recite a mantra that's related to what you want to change, similar to a chant; then you visualize exactly how you want the thing you want to change to become, down to its most minute details; then you have to get yourself pumped up because matter resists change, so you need to use your "Willpower" to aid in your change. It's all or nothing, you either succeed or you fail horrifically.
This is rather dangerous... To think that I'm going to do this to myself...
The changes are also permanent. I want something more temporary.
Gih.
I see. Fuse Alteration with [Materialization]. I'll have to look deeper into that spell first before I can alter it.
Gih.
Look at that, you are useful for something.
Giih.
His cute eyes narrow in annoyance, though they don't lose their cuteness.
Gih!
Haha.
We return to our inn when dusk starts to come. The drizzle of the rain is still ongoing.
Hana and Klein came back before us. They had a nice talk about the good ol' times. Although, Hana still thinks the best is yet to come.
Aoi is managing to hover and slightly gain altitude with much effort, though that doesn't diminish her happiness.
"Kweh!" She tackles my stomach and crawls up to my face to give me a deep tongue kiss.
"Where's mine?" Alissa asks and receives it.
Roxanne and Ciel managed to teach the golems how to cast [Fireball] without burning themselves. Their [Mana Control] coaching is paying off as they can more safely try out new spells.
Surprisingly, they can also cast [Heal]. It's not a good idea to have them use it on themselves, though. Their souls are based on elementals, so [Heal] just destroys their bodies. They learned that after Ted undid Lina's stitches on his arm.
"Awn..." The cute girl moans while Roxanne and Ciel give her strained apologetic smiles.
"Well, at least now I have an idea on how to properly change their bodies and strengthen them," I say and pat her head. "I will have to alter their soul organs to represent that of a doll and then cast [Heal]."
"Well, how are those organs supposed to look like?" Alissa questions.
"No idea, but I'm sure that this is the correct way."
Maybe those books on Alteration could help me with that.
Just as we start thinking about taking a bath, a messenger delivers a note to us.
"Lord Ricardo wants to have dinner with us tonight," I say.
Hall of Fame of Patrons
The patrons who support Rupegia shall have their names sung by the bards for they deserve the glory and honor. Their names are:
Oracle Maximillian Hübner.
Prince Bradly.
Prince PreownedFIN.
Lord Andrew Meyers.
Lord Hope.
Lord Samuel Lim.
Lord Cody Weigel.
Lord Bill.
Lord Novgarod.
Lord DJ.
Lord Ashadun.
Lord D4rk Sheep.
Lord Michale Erwin.
Lord Cidant.
Noble Salty Panda.