It was a serene moment inside the third terminal of the Radiance Arena. Word was spreading and students kept pouring over from the other three terminals as well. With time, the bustle kept dying down giving way to a totally silent atmosphere.
Even the last duel happening in one corner of the ground had come to a stop. "Ma'am, is it possible to increase our allocated area? If possible, we would like to use this entire arena. Aron was the first to break the silence.
The lady instructor turned around to find themselves all alone. "Sure. Do as you wish." She had seen the ease with which this boy blasted his last opponent off the field. He certainly has not revealed all his strength.
*Tap* *Tap* Christina turned around and without saying a word, put a good distance between herself and Aron. The black-haired boy did the same, choosing to rip off the sleeve of his shirt and use it to tie down his long locks in a single knot.
Aron knew he can't actually rely on his spell much. He was naturally at a disadvantage from the start. Not being able to summon his skeleton was a major detriment to beginner necromancers.
*BaDUM* *BaDUM* The heart in his chest was beating like a drum because of the sheer excitement. Everything about Christina right now was screaming danger.
Being a user of Divine magic, it made her almost immune to the handful of magic spells he knew. Blight will probably just go to waste. Energy sap might help him, but the probability of a successful casting was dismally low.
While Aron's mind was rapidly calculating the scenarios that could end up developing. Christina's mind was clear of any thoughts at all. All she knew right now was to win this. Even after coming from a position of confidence, she can't help but tremble.
Faced with the boy she can't help but breathe heavily. Was it because of their polar opposite mana types? Whatever may be the case, both of them can feel a repelling force acting between them.
Over the viewing terrace, Tina and Chris had come forward, both their hands clutching the rails. "So you two are Saintess Rhine's disciples. Hm.. now I know." She murmured, having made the connection just now.
Once she discerned that, it wasn't hard for her to realize the identity of the third boy as well. Her eyes shined brightly. There was not a single student in the Academy who had not heard of the news about this kid. 'There is no way he can be a slave.. can he?'
On the other side, Chris didn't respond to her remarks. His attention is totally in the arena. Scoring in a simulated environment was a different ball game than a real fight. No matter who won, all he wanted was a satisfying match.
Beside him, Ben wasn't sure why he was sweating for no reason at all. Considering both the participants were friendly, they could not possibly hurt each other, can they? Then again, the glaring looks in their eyes told a different story altogether. 'Dammit.. why does it look like they are after each other's blood?'
"Begin!!" The female instructor had provided enough preparation time for both the duelers. *BOOOM* Even before her words can reach the ears of the audience, Aron charged.
The tiles under his feet cracked like spider webs due to the absolute pressure his mad rush generated. Everyone off the stage gasped as the boy charged the unmoving girl like a beast.
"Unsurprising." Christina had anticipated this for a long. Apart from his extremely powerful ability to stack up physical strengthing spells, she could virtually ignore his other spells.
"Magic Resistance!" "Physical Enhancement.." "Divine magic: Blessing of the mother goddess!!" Within the time it took Aron to travel the distance of hundred meters, Christina had recited a volley of spells.
Her aura surged massively like a phoenix rising from its slumber. "Disperse..!" A single finger rose up, pointing in the direction of her opponent. While her actions seemed slow and meticulous, it wasn't actually the case.
*BANG* Aron felt like a truck hit him in the chest. All the momentum he had built up was destroyed as his body was forced back multiple steps. "Blight!!" Not wasting any time, even while he was being pushed back by the surge of mana, he managed to cast his spell.
"It will not work." With bright white mana surrounding her, Christina looked akin to an angel. Without a single change in her expression, she swiftly pointed another finger at Aron who was once again trying to close the distance between them.
"Divine magic: Protection against the cursed." The blight spell Aron had struck her with, was suppressed multiple times over. Both the boy and the girl were having a monumental amount of concentration.
Not a single millisecond was being wasted by them. The magnitude of every blast from Christina's finger can be measured by the ease with which it peeled away the hardy floor tiles.
And yet, it was doing little to keep the boy away. Despite being forced back multiple times over, truth was that Aron was only getting closer with each charge. In the moments his body will be thrown back, he will counter it by stacking up his Blight spell.
Aron shivered in excitement. The blood in his veins going crazy. This was the fight he had been looking for all along. This was a real person who was able to not only survive but rather challenge his onslaught.
"Hahahahaha... I love it..!!" Christina's face fell. This guy.. he was literally like a beast transformed into a human. It was like her attacks until now had only stipulated his lust for an all-in brawl.
"Good.. looks like I don't need to hold back." "Haha.. Believe me, it will be stupid to hold back." Aron's abyssal eyes tracked Christina, filling her heart with a strange dread. Her momentary lapse in concentration caused the boy to almost reach up to her.
*Bang* In the nick of time, Christina was able to direct her mana-based attack onto him, throwing him back. 'What was that?' She could not see him chant any spells. Can it be another silent casting?
Aron's gaze had managed to throw her mind into disarray by injecting fear into her conscious. 'It was too close.' Realizing how close she had been to defeat, Christina came to a decision.
"You are right." Aron was less than ten meters away from her, casually circling her with a grin and looking for the opportunity to pounce at her from a blind spot. "I must not hold back." Christina replied with a contriving look in her eyes.
"Yep.. holding back is disrespectful for your opponent." Aron acted like he was having a walk in the park. Christina didn't know, but he could have ended this bout with the last attack itself.
She assumed herself to be lucky and be able to pull in with her attack right before he touched her. But truth was, with such proximity, Aron could have slapped her hand away.
Still, he chose not to and allowed himself to be struck away. He himself didn't know what had caused the lapse in her attention, but it could have easily proved fatal for her.
"I know you can do better. What are you waiting for? Go ahead, call on your best shot. I won't take another step if you want." He teased the girl, obviously aiming to distract her from the spell preparation she was making.
"You don't need to patronize me. Why don't you try coming closer? I was wasting a lot of mana hitting you from so far away." Christina was not ready to give up an inch, neither physically nor mentally.
"Hehe.. you think I can't tell? You have been preparing this one spell since the very beginning. All this facade.. only to create a meaningless diversion." Christina's expression finally changed. This guy.. despite acting all clumsy most of the time, he can be quite crafty if the situation demands.
"Let's hope it's worth the wait." Aron smiled handsomely. Right at that moment a lot of females felt their hearts race. Combined with his flawless skin, a tall and lean build, and a face that could not be any more refined, he practically looked like a young demigod.
Added to his physical attractiveness, his disposition played an active role in turning more than half of the audience to his side. "Someone please tell his name." A voice called out but no one knew who started it, a commotion broke out with many girls actively trying to search for anyone who knew the boy on the stage.
Who among them was not from a rich background? Having gotten everything they had ever asked for in their lives, how can this person remain unattainable?
"Damn you girls.. come on boys.. let's support the miss!!" "Yeah.. whatever your name is young lady.. we are rooting for you!!" Male students from the group began shouting, showing their support for the girl on the stage.
This was not the regular scene at the Radiance Arena. Usually, the sexes remained loyal to their community. Boys will root for boys and girls for the girls while inside the arena. Especially after the girls won themselves a brand new hostel, the chasm between them had grown deeper than ever. As such, it was truly a rare display to see girls cheering for Aron while boys chose to support Christina.
Unaffected by the banter going on below, Chris was narrowing his eyes. "Don't do it, sis... you can't control it." For the first time in the whole day, Chris found himself sweating.
Though they were identical twins, for most of the time Chris was the one acing the challenges their master threw at them. Be it completing a difficult task in unforgiving terrains or a face-off against a vicious beast in the jungle, Christina will rarely win against him.
And yet, if they were talking about raw talent, his sister was the one with an upper hand. She was the one learning spells faster. She never had to struggle like him.
Then again, Chris had a disposition that craved competition and constant improvement. As such, even when it takes him longer to learn something, the fact that he had practiced it for twice as long as Christina, always gave him the edge.
Compared to him, Christina was not at all self-motivated. She couldn't care less about struggles, upgrading her skills, or wasting all her free time practicing spell casting.
The only thing that affected Christina was her rivalry with Chris. She didn't like losing against him. That's practically half the reason why she was as good as she is right now. And now, Chris can see the same spirit in her eyes.
Over on the stage, Christina seems to have conjured her spell. Like Aron mentioned, he didn't bother attacking. A dense mana flare went off, creating a swirling vortex all around the angelic girl.
A white light so bright that everyone was forced to look away, manifested on the stage. Aron had to hide his eyes as well. All his senses were tingling, like warning him against the approaching danger. And yet, all he could feel was a surging excitement that was only increasing in intensity.
"That's what you were holding onto? Haha.. let's see if...??" Midway through the sentence, his gaze fluctuated. A blazing shadow seems to have walked out of the pillar of light, attacking him without any delay.
A white sword fell on top of Aron, making the boy defend against it with his arms. *Bang* Aron's feet sunk to the ground and pain pulsated through his forearms that had taken the full burst of the attack.
*Bang* He could not see what happened. Because the next time his eyes registered anything was the incoming sword of light hitting his from the other side.
"Dangg.." Aron's planted feet were uprooted, his body thrown across the perimeter. He was able to shield himself once again, nevertheless, his bones were probably not as undamaged as they had been when he entered the arena.
Laying on the ground, he spat the blood clots that had collected in his mouth. "Aahh.. that surely hurts?!" A figure stood in front of him. The pillar of light had vanquished, leaving behind a girl in knight-like armor, complete with two wings on her back.
< Kudos!!>>