Hey everyone, Ne here!
Just another thank you to all our patrons: alexis, Danielle, Mordie, Graeme, Bonobo, Evelyn, Brandon, Uyr, ghost750x, Payfortunate, Tyler H, Belduim, Jerry, blindtactic, quiscon, Konstantinos, JD, Conteur, Karan, Professor Akira, Jeffrey, Dennisse, and Zonker! They've stuck around for a while even after the hiatus and deserve some love.
If any of you wish to see the official downloadable arts, advanced and work in progress chapters, feel free to check it out at patreon.com/nezothecat
Every 100 patrons we upload a public glossary page for each TNBS character so that's something to look forward to >:3
Finally on behalf of NeZotheCat, we're really happy to see you all still popping up on notifications and reading this novel. The energetic comments somehow always make our day so much better.
Thank you to all of you and with that, we hope you guys enjoy this chapter!
*******
[ Did Naell just--- ]
[ Stardust was subdued! ]
"..."
What everyone within the arena had just witnessed was nothing short of incredible. In truth, even as the icy atmosphere began to slowly dissipate, Naell's control in his element and confidence in its ability to overpower [ Stardust ], lingered in everyone's minds.
Students and teachers alike were happy that the bout was in the sports festival.
Had it been a spar under the subject P.E, it would have already ended as Naell and Lesjon had already managed to hit each other.
Yet far from being a simple spar, all the snow that could seep its way into Lesjon's shield was melted before it could even dare fall.
On the other hand, his flames were also instantaneously extinguished just by being near the cold air Naell's snow emitted.
"That's a hefty improvement, cousin."
Lesjon was the one who spoke first. From that exchange, he knew Naell, like him, still had a lot of stamina.
"And you're as fierce as ever, young master." Replied Naell, earning him a smug smile from Lesjon.
Unlike their first bout where it was apparent that Naell was having a hard time, it was clear that his cousin could now go toe to toe with his spells.
That was why Lesjon couldn't help but be curious as to what his cousin's new limit was. He then thought to himself,
'Can't wait to test it out.'
Just from the escorting mission they had done before, he already figured that Naell had far more freedom in wielding his abundant mana.
Yet he did not at all expect it to be at that level, [ Stardust ] was afterall a spell that was quite possibly the epitome of complex magic.
Not to mention, the way in which Naell dealt with [ Stardust ] was unique to his own abilities.
It was always known that making the fearsome spell detonate elsewhere was the preferable course of action to many. On the other hand, this time its explosion was completely negated.
Only those who were either ignorant of the effects of [ Stardust ] or confident in their skill would be able to disregard such a thing.
That was why all who watched were impressed, as Naell was the latter.
"So Naell really knew he could overpower Stardust?" Asked Viola still shocked, to which Owly nodded in response,
• His detection's certainly one of a kind, HOOT. •
That only made the protagonist party all the more surprised, as even though they were known geniuses, they would never dare to belittle [ Stardust ].
• When did he manage to control all his mana? •
Asked Rizaul, whose detection was in fact a blessing of nature; tantamount to or even better than Naell's.
All of their interests were piqued, questioning as to when Naell fully had the capability to successfully manipulate all of his mana.
Yet it was then when Owly corrected them,
• That noob is still far from being a dragon, HOOT •
.
.
.
From the other corner of the arena, Utua and her usual circle of friends were also discussing the fight.
"This is getting exciting, stardust's no problem!" Exclaimed Septh who was favoring Naell to win.
Casper and Wendy could only smile dryly as they said,
[ You just want Lesjon to lose that badly don't you... ]
Hearing them, Septh responded without any hint of remorse, as he proudly proclaimed,
"I just want to erase the smug look on his face!"
"..."
Far from the lively chatter of the audience, Naell and Lesjon were still frozen in their positions.
It was evident that Lesjon's mana was still loudly roaring, while Naell's on the other hand was coldy piercing.
'Improved my butt... Just go point your fire somewhere else!' Naell thought. His expression had not changed, but he truly was really annoyed.
The young master of Berlydot in that moment was incredibly cranky, and not one could misunderstand.
The cause was Lesjon's strength. Not only did it force Naell to make use of 70% of his mana, he was also reaching the peak of his seal.
"Let's get serious then." When Lesjon said that, Naell could only sigh and prepare himself.
With a [ poof ] a weapon that had a curved blade 2 meters long was summoned into Lesjon's hand.
The flame-like hues that surrounded Lesjon became even brighter than before.
"Here I go, cousin."
Finally, the loud roaring of his mana expressed itself and with the casual swing of his scythe, what seemed to be a bright red flame erupted from it.
Its power was akin to a smaller [ Stardust ] yet the most alarming thing about it was the sound it produced; long rumbles and loud crackles as it shot across in Naell's direction.
Quickly the remnants of the [ Snow Palace ] immediately reformed itself and shielded Naell.
However, it failed to do anything substantial as it got decimated just by coming into contact with the vibration of the loud sound waves.
In response, instead of creating the so-called [ Ice Palace ], a better version of the former spell, Naell hurriedly levitated away from the wave, much to everyone's bewilderment.
Truth be told, only a few including Naell knew the abnormality of that magic.
'That's no fire...'
With a distracted mind, the tremors that the wave brought forth, hit him. Had it not been for his wind magic catching him in the nick of time, the match would have ended with Naell's unprecedented defeat.
Immediately, Naell then began countering using [ Icy blade ] with a propulsive [ Wind Boost ].
Nonetheless, it was all parried by Lesjon's skillful handling of his scythe, and with the momentum of his movement his magic waves were continuously attacking Naell.
Naell could only try and negate the waves using [ Levitation ] and attacking spells, yet the power of the "flame-like" waves were beginning to get ahold of him.
"He can't use water, ice and snow as well." Andrew said with hints of wariness in his voice.
The rest agreed as those elements would only be destroyed. Yet some members of the audience were still ignorant of what was actually behind Lesjon's wave.
[ Why doesn't he just use water on fire? ]
[ Can't he just bury the fire in snow? ]
Naell wanted to take a breather but he couldn't do so, all those waves were getting stronger by the minute especially when Lesjon spoke, further confusing everyone.
" [ Thunderstorm ] "
That alone amplified its speed and mostly its raw power. The surge had even caused static to linger on their surroundings.
[ The element of thunder!!!? ]
[ Then the red is--- ]
Multiple waves shooting in all directions blocked Naell's path of retreat. Appearance wise, with its flame-like color, it didn't look like thunder at all. Yet the sound confirmed its authenticity.
[ That's his mana! ]
[ Young master Lesjon has bright red mana, how could we forget! ]
Shockwave upon shockwave was released, and seemingly their audience mimicked this with thunderous cheers.
Now, all of them knew that those "red flames" weren't Lesjon's primary element, but the color of his mana.
"Look at this guy... Using his special element against his own cousin!" Septh begrudgingly said.
Casper and Wendy nodded as they clasped each other's hands.
Aive however was bitter towards both scenarios; to the battle that made her remember her defeat and to the couple's romance.
Utua however was smiling as she thought,
"How scary... The purest of red versus white. "
[ Why won't he attack? ]
[ Perhaps he lacks mana for summoning snow palace. ]
[ You dunce! The vibrations would just destroy it. ]
The conversations throughout the arena were mostly in favor of Lesjon, but in the vicinity of the principal and the school guest, they knew it was still far from over.
"Truly befitting a magic knight!" Said one of the teachers.
"And yet his victory isn't secured... Naell is really smart." Responded one of the guests who pushed his glasses up.
"But Naell from the beginning had already been using his ice and staff."
"It'd be a shame if he has nothing left in his arsenal."
"Perhaps it was even a shock to see his cousin have a separate weapon of his own."
"Well, I'm certain Naell knew. They were in the same mission awhile back."
"Ahh still, things aren't looking good for him..."
Earlteria on the other hand, was just smiling. It appeared to her that both participants were already beyond their peers.
"What do you think, young miss?"
Upon being asked, Sarah Star smirked and said,
"I don't really care, they're both my brilliant nephews afterall."