Nicia was amazed by the combat ability displayed by both sides, especially Nathan.
Although she had been an instructor at the Imperial Academy for over a hundred years and took part in combat for nearly 300 years, she had still never seen such a textbook display of mystic and mage combat styles.
Nathan had used his body to its limit and pushed it as far as he could without using internal ki. Instead, he focused on martial techniques in order to ensure that his body was being used in the most efficient way possible.
Most beginner or younger mystics relied too much on their internal ki to compensate for their lack of skill and forgot that they needed techniques and styles to display their fullest potential. This is what made the difference between a third-rate and first-rate mystic.
'And the way he used his internal ki was even better.'
Most beginners would be unable to control their ki properly and would have to coat their entire bodies in order to imbue their weapons. With better control, less excess ki was used around the body.
And Nathan was able to perfectly use his ki only in his sword and even his hands had the external aura of ki around them. This meant that his control surpassed most imperial knights of various countries.
This not only saved one from using all their ki faster than needed but it was also useful to practice for the usage of external ki. The better control of internal ki one had, the easier it would be to control external ki.
Stella on the other hand showed off some of the best aspects of being a mage. She had a variety of spells under her belt and used them to attack from various angles as well as to overwhelm Nathan until he could barely fight back.
She then waited until he was tired out/ made an opening himself before she unleashed a powerful Mid-tier spell that got her, her victory. But the main aspect behind her victory was her dual casting.
Stella was the first dual caster in over 5,000 years, officially. Unofficially, there had never been another dual caster in the history of their entire continent besides a few deities or other mythological figures.
While Nicia was still in her thoughts, Nathan had already begun walking out of the dueling arena alongside Stella. The pair were returning to their rooms while whispering some words between them.
Anyone who saw the pair could tell that there were no hard feelings about the fight and that the pair even seemed to be close.
Several of Stella's admirers looked upset and jealous at this. Especially the 2nd years who considered Stella as their goddess.
All of them left the arena with bitter feelings in their hear while considering Nathan as their enemy or rival.
As for the senior teachers, they had appreciated the battle. Most members of the academy preferred research and studying over combat. Even the mystics of the academy only went into combat when they had to.
They enjoyed the battle the same way that many sports fans would enjoy a child doing a sport. After watching the battle, they each went back to continue their own research or whatever project they were working on.
There were no other major events that night. While some new or older students left the association to have fun during the night, many decided to stay in.
Whether this was to create better impressions on themselves to the members or just because they had no interest in what was going on, only they would know.
By the time morning came around, many students were present in front of the city gates. Many were whispering and talking to each other while they were being led by the seniors and teachers.
This was because many of them were teens and excited about their first visit to Imperial Academy. This was the beginning of the rest of their lives.
Soon, tens of carriages arrived that were being pulled by some powerful beasts call Million Mile Stallions. These large horses were powerful and had amazing endurance. While most countries would use them as war steeds, the Empire would have them as common steeds used by almost anyone.
Nicia stood at the front and made a gesture for the others to follow her as they boarded the various carriages. Black was for the teachers while red was for the students. Same as the uniforms of the Imperial Academy.
It was a tradition for the first years to go through first but many were nervous. The stallions were known for their bad tempers and hating of people they did not know going near them.
Of the few who were not nervous was the rider noble, Nathan, and one girl who seemed more ignorant and stupid than brave. They each went to their own carriage. Seeing that the stallions did not mind those 3, the others began mounting the carriages as well before they took off toward the Empire.