I stare down my opponent, finding him to be matching my gaze. I draw out my sword, ready to begin as soon as our duel is initiated. He stands about fifty feet away, arms at his side. [I see that he is going to be fully focused on casting. Perhaps I should try the same, so long as I don't feel myself to be in imminent danger].
Without much warning, Lector calls out "Begin!"
Immediately, my opponent shouts "water slash," a straight magic spell that, well, sends forth a slashing water attack. An angular wave of water comes flying at me, tapered to a point. However, I merely take control over the water elemental particles constituting his attack before directing it back at him.
Taking control of straight magic spells that involve the elements is incredibly simple. With the way that straight magic operates, the mage has no control over the elemental particles in the spell, they are merely cast according to the spells specifications and the mage's will. This means that the elemental particles sent out are essentially ownerless, like those found in the atmosphere, so any elementalist of even slight ability can simply control the particles and thus hijack the spell.
"Shield!" he calls out, summoning a pinkish transparent shield that forms an ellipsoid plane in front of him that blocks the attack.
While he activates the spell, I direct a followup attack in his direction. Summoning a dozen or so fireballs, I direct them in his direction. He looks towards me smugly, clearly holding the errant belief that his shield will protect him from my attack. However, unlike the straight magic fireball spell, I have control over all of these attacks. I direct them around and over his shield, taking advantage of its inability to protect from more than one direction.
A look of panic crosses his face as he cries out "protection field!" This summons a shield that looks the same as the previous one, but puts him at the center of a hemispherical forcefield.
I smirk as I allow the flames to hit the shield, one after another. Even though they are not concentrated, the effort to protect himself from the attack leaves my opponent pale and shaking.
"I thought you would be able to defeat me with ease," I call out tauntingly.
An expression of pure rage contorts his face, and I determine my effort to be a success. That taunting my enemy is not within my nature should be obvious; however, if taunting may bring me advantage through weakening their focus, I will taunt.
"Rah!" he roars, continuing "You have yet to see anything of my power! Magic missile storm!"
Recognizing this spell from my previous preparations for an eventual duel with a straight magic practitioner, my eyes narrow. This attack utilizes pure mana to summon numerous bolts with which the enemy may be struck. As mana manipulation is a higher form of elemental manipulation, I am not at any level to counter the attack by usurping control over it; though, in all of history only a handful of humans have ever reached the ability to manipulate pure mana through the elemental manipulation route, I am hardly alone.
That straight magic allows direct manipulation of mana is its greatest asset. It can take something that only the most proficient of elementalists must devote their lives to even manipulate, and use it with ease. Of course, the level of control cannot compare, and I have read that the power is only a small fraction of a mana manipulator's direct influence, but it is still impressive.
Still, just because I cannot hijack the attack it does not mean that I have no method with which to counter it. Summoning a plate of metal, I block the attack of pure, solidified, and admittedly weakened, mana. The blows pummel into the plate, leaving dents in the thin metal; thankfully, my shield holds.
As I had not hyper compressed the metal elemental particles, when I release them they fade back into the atmosphere for future use. I do so just in time to witness my opponent's next attack, or, rather, series of attacks.
"Light ray! Heat slash! Death miasma! Blade storm!" he calls out before tumbling to the ground, nearly unconscious from his magical exertion. Watching the attacks materialize in front of him, I quickly begin to analyze the situation.
[It would seem that if I can only survive this barrage, victory shall be in my hands! But how may I do that? While light ray and death miasma both have corresponding elements, those being light and death, their manipulation is far beyond my current level. As for heat ray, I've read that, despite what one may assume, the attack doesn't use fire elemental particles, instead relying solely on mana to form the heat. So, that I also will not be able to control. And the same goes for blade storm. While I could replicate it in appearance by forming a handful of metal elemental swords and blowing them around with wind, it would fail to replicate the core function here. Blade strom relies upon blades formed of mana flying about of their own accord around the designated enemy. Seriously, pure mana is so overpowered! How is it that a mere god of magic could allow mortals easy, though indirect, access to it when the god who created mana and used it to form existence locks it behind a high-leveled skill in a system he had a hand in forming? Truly absurd!]
Noticing that my analysis has turned into a rant, I refocus my thoughts. [Now, how may I actually counter these attacks? I am already mostly out of time, so what is most dangerous? Yes, the death miasma. Without straight magic methods, I will likely die upon contact with that spell. Thankfully, it is rather slow moving and non-homing, I should simply be able to dodge it. First to arrive will be the light ray; if I move now, that will also miss. The heat slash is homing, but another metal shield should be sufficient. The sword storm will be the greatest threat, then. Not only is it homing, it will persist even if blocked, unlike the heat slash. So, I just need to leap away a handful of steps, form a shield to block the heat slash, and quickly use my sword to end this fool, thus dissipating his remaining spell. Simple enough, though it would be much more difficult if I had not read up on common straight magic methods. Still, it is a shame for you that I enjoy reading to such an extent!]
Though my thoughts are rather extensive, they occupy only the time it takes for his attacks to launch out towards me. Simultaneously forming a shield and using air to push myself out of the way, I avoid the first two attacks and counter the third. As planned, a light ray blasts through the spot I had just occupied. I do not have time to see where it hit, as only a moment later the heat slash hits my shield.
As soon as my shield begins to grow in temperature, I allow it to dissipate, taking the mana with it. The way that heat slash works is that it continues imparting heat into its target for some time, meaning that the shield would have eventually melted in my hands.
A moment thereafter, the death miasma, a sickly green with black mixed in, passes over where I had been previously standing, a trail of withered grass left in its wake. [Three attacks averted, now I just need to dodge the sword storm and kill him to forcibly dissipate it. It is a shame, I did not intend to actually take his life, but if I am to assure my own victory I have no choice. And after all, it is not as though there is any real chance of me getting in significant trouble; he initiated the duel, and I have Lector to shield me from anything unscrupulous his family and its master may try to do in revenge. And it's not like I haven't killed before. Even that one homeless man who asked for money in that alleyway before I was sold to the auction house… while I could perhaps plead insanity, he was as innocent as any other in this world, and far more innocent than the one before me. If I can kill him, even in an altered state of mind, I can surely kill this foolish noble before me!]
My resolve strengthened, I charge forward, straight through the storm of swords. My training with Reinhart coming in handy, I dodge the numerous slow-moving attacks with relative ease. [Pff. Reinhart alone puts on more pressure than these five blades combined! What is there to worry about here?] Perhaps that pride in my own ability leads me to make the small errors that soon find me riddled in cuts. Still, the cuts are shallow, certainly something I will survive.
I reach the noble brat with no further complications. He looks up at me from the ground, not a hint of his prior arrogance on his face. No, his face is one of both terror and pleading.
His pleading makes its way to his mouth, as he begs "Plea-." He is abruptly cut off, replaced with a gurgling noise as my sword stabs into his neck. And there, his last terror still upon his face, he dies.
After glancing around to assure that the sword storm has fully dissipated, I coldly pull my blade from his neck, before wiping it off and sheathing it. Though I say nothing as I walk back to Lector, passing in front of the crowd of soldiers, my face devoid of anything, the students look at me with a degree of fear. I half expect them to break out into complaints at my actions; but, like when Lector killed that noble on the first day, nothing happens.
[Haaa] I sigh internally. [Nothing as usual. No feeling of guilt, no sadness, certainly no remorse. No mental response to the death of another at my hand at all. Even on Earth, I had not felt anything; here, it seems, it has continued on. I hoped that my lack of guilt upon taking the life of another would be done away with here, in a new and different world. Clearly, that was foolish of me. While I reasoned away my lack of guilt at the murder of an innocent homeless man earlier, it was hardly out of guilt; rather, it was to rationalize my actions to myself, to convince myself that I would normally never do such things. But no, it seems as though my ability to kill with absolute frigidity has persisted across the boundary of worlds. Perhaps some would imagine this to be a blessing, especially considering my profession. However, I would posit it as a curse. If I had felt guilt the way normal people do when taking a life, I would likely still be alive right now. Wealthy off of the ludicrous sum from the assassination, never to be caught. I wasn't caught for fifteen years after committing it, not even close. I could have happily lived all my life on the money, my wife as well. However, the lack of guilt over my actions combined with my neverending greed and my boundless pride; such were my downfall. Had even one of those aspects not been there… and the guilt would have been most clearly beneficial in preventing future assassinations. No, it is certainly a curse to not be able to feel guilt over murder. Of course, I did, once, but turning myself over due to it ended my life. So, perhaps guilt is a curse as well. Well, whatever the case, this curse of mine certainly has its benefits, and I would be remiss not to take advantage of them].
Reaching my master, I bow before him. My face still expressionless, I say to him "Perhaps that demonstration may provide motivation?" softly enough that only he may hear.
Seemingly unaffected by another of his students dying, he says rather loudly "Motivation indeed! See, my students, this is the power of elemental manipulation, with some skill with the sword admittedly thrown in as well. Still, it remains the case that any of you could reach such a level through adequate training."
No further dissent arises at this, the other soldiers apparently having been reminded of the costs of standing against this commander.
"Now," Lector continues, "it is time for us to be done for the day. Tonight, I want you to practice everything I have thus far shown you. If we are to at least go over the basics of varied elemental multicasting before we leave in two weeks, we must start tomorrow. Dismissed."