"It's actually happening! A duel between Mages!"
"What's more, it's between Claude and Rain!"
"Huh? Who's the other person?" An ignorant observer asked.
"Now that you mentioned it, I haven't seen you here before. Claude, otherwise known as the Wise Sage of the Blue Leaf Library is an extremely smart individual. When people have questions they don't have answers to, they generally come to him to enlighten their mind."
A month after arriving here, Claude gained a small reputation for answering questions that muddled people's heads. Their questions range from why the sun disappears at night, to rather outlandish questions such as why fire is hot.
For Claude who came from the modern world, such questions are basically child's play. Not to mention, Claude graduated college while ranked in the Top 100's, so he could answer their questions with great ease.
Claude ignored the discussions of these people. Crossing his arms, he asked, "What's the duel about?!"
"As for the duel..." Realization suddenly flashed in Rain's eyes.
Truth be told, he never thought that far into it. He simply challenged the other party, in hopes that he'd give up. In other words, he challenged the other party to a duel recklessly.
"How about... Whoever casts a spell the fastest wins and takes the book."
"The spell we're going to be using is naturally the Fireball Spell. Even though it is the most simplest spell, it also requires years of practice in order to gain mastery."
Upon hearing this, Claude can't help but grin internally, "Of course I accept!"
This Rain guy seems to be a reasonable person. In order to avoid causing a fight whilst still getting what he wants, he proposed a challenge.
However, he was quite cruel as well. Knowing that Claude doesn't have any mana fluctuations and is most likely not a Mage, he decisively made the duel revolve around magic.
This is akin to a boxer trying to compete against an ordinary person with no background, whilst fully knowing that his opponent has no experience at all.
"H-He actually accepted it!"
"Even though Claude is known as the Wise Sage, the fact remains that he is not a Mage. It doesn't matter which spell they cast, Claude cannot do it regardless!"
"Exactly!"
The crowd was stunned by Claude's answer.
Virtually everyone who visits the library often knows that Claude is not a Mage at all. For such a smart person, they don't know what's going on in Claude's head to foolishly accept such a challenge.
"Perhaps... He has something in his sleeves. Otherwise, he wouldn't have such confidence when accepting a challenge that he knows he's at a disadvantage." A person who was rather familiar with Claude's style said.
"Okay then! Let's go outside." Rain flicked his sleeves and replied with a smile.
To ensure that they don't cause any disturbance in the surrounding area, the two went to a relatively open field to commence the challenge.
Naturally, the crowd followed suit. In fact, most people in the crowd shared this event with their friends, so when the challenge was about to start, the crowd grew significantly larger.
Of course, with the size of the crowd, some opportunists also appeared.
"Okay everyone, to those who want to make bets, come to me! The odds are 1.5x for Rain and 50x for Claude! This is your chance to make money!"
"I'll bet five silver taels for Rain!"
"I'll bet ten silver taels for Rain!"
"I'll bet ten silver taels for Claude!"
Obviously, since they already know that Rain's a Mage, it's a no-brainer that they betted on him. On the other hand, the number of people that betted on Claude can be counted on one's hands.
At this moment, a young girl dressed in dirty clothes squeezed into the crowd. She looked no more than nine to ten years old, yet she's in a pitiful state.
"A-Are you sure that I'd win fifty times my money if I betted on Claude?" She asked with a rather unconvinced voice.
Hearing the girl's question the man exclaimed, "Of course! Granted that he'd win, that is."
Looking at the girl, the man presumed that she didn't know a thing or two about odds and probability. Most likely, she was just tempted by the amount of money she will win.
The girl took out money in her pocket which totaled to five silver taels and muttered, "This is the money mom gave me to buy medicine for big brother..."
After a moment of hesitation, she gritted her teeth and handed over her five silver taels with her little hands, "Okay! I'll bet for him!"
The man simply took the money and grinned while shaking his head.
...
Soon, the duel finally commenced.
Both parties stood six feet apart from each other. Standing in between the two was a person who willingly volunteered to be the referee.
In order to avoid getting hit by the spells thrown by both parties, the crowd encircled them from behind and watched on with feverish enthusiasm.
"Ready?" The referee glanced at the both of them.
In response, the two nodded simultaneously.
"3..."
"2...
"1..."
"Go!"
The moment the referee said 'Go', Rain instantly manipulated his mana and began making a Mana Circle. After which, he started inscribing the first rune.
In the blink of an eye, he finished inscribing the first rune and smoothly transitioned to writing the second rune. Just as he was about to write the third one, a loud explosion suddenly sounded.
Boom!
"This..."
Gazing in the distance, he found thick smoke permeating in the air silently. His pupils instantly contracted and he looked at the person next to him with confusion.
"W-Was that yours?" Rain asked in an unconvinced tone.
Claude looked at him as though he was an idiot, "Yeah, why?"
A look of incredulousness spread across Rain's face as he staggered backwards. Even though he only studied for a year in the Art of Magic, he knows that such a feat is impossible in normal standards.
At the same time, the crowd was dumbfounded.
"Impossible! How could he cast that fast?"
"Right!? I didn't even have a chance to blink before he finished casting the spell!"
"He must have cheated!"