Third person POV
Later, at 10 in the morning, Robert and Colt arrived back at the Lightningheart estate, and they are entering the courtyard when they saw William, Emma, and Peter having a sparring session.
"I'm back," Robert greeted.
William, Emma, and Peter then looked at him upon hearing that.
"Oh, welcome back, Robert-kun," Peter greeted back. "How's the new cloak?"
"It's now being made," Robert answered back. "Are you guys sparring or something?"
"Yes, just for fun because we're bored this winter break," Emma responded back.
"Yeah, me too as well," Robert replied as he sits on one of the wooden benches. "I literally had nothing to do this winter break."
"How about doing some duels?" Colt suggested in response. "That'll sharpen your skills, and make you prepared for the next semester."
"Sure, that sounds fun," William agreed with him.
"Yes, but not here," Colt gave them a reminder. "It's too small and in proximity to the other buildings. Just do it at our battle arena."
"Battle arena?" Robert raised a question.
"Come with me," Colt responded, before leaving the courtyard, causing Robert and the others to follow him.
Not long after, they arrived at the estate's main battle arena, which was a stone round building located northwest of the courtyard, and it was a big building. There are seats for the people to watch fights and duels. It was primarily used for duels and training at any time of the year. Robert heard from Colt that the arena was even open for night training, too.
Walking to the battling part of the arena, Colt explained to them about the history of the building itself, stating that it was commissioned by the clan's founder. Robert and the others are listening to him very attentively.
Then, they stopped at the center of the arena, and Colt turned towards them. "So, which two of you go first? I'll watch."
To that Robert and his friends exchanged glances at one another for a couple of seconds, before Robert would respond with, "Emma-chan and Peter-kun will go first."
"Okay! Let's climb to the seats to watch," Colt agreed with him.
And so, he, Robert, and William went to the seats to watch the upcoming duel while Peter and Emma went to their positions for their duel.
"I'll surpass you, big brother," Emma said to Peter as she enjoys the duel, "for being such a weakling. No wonder you are perfect as the student coordinator."
"Whatever, sis," Peter replied back as he summons fire magic in his right hand. "That's my duty to either win or lose during entrance exams."
He then tossed it as a Fire Bomb towards Emma.
Emma then dodged it quickly and she used her magic to summon a dozen swords of various kinds, before sending them to attack Peter.
Peter then used Barrier of Flames, a tier-5 magical ability, to block Emma's attacks.
Emma tried to budge in, but it failed, and her summoned swords shattered into pieces.
"Woah, what is that?" Robert asked upon noticing the Barriers of Flames.
"That's called Barrier of Flames," William explained in response. "It's a tier-5 magical ability. This allows the user to summon walls of flames to block any attack, whether physical or magical."
"Oh, okay," Robert replied back.
He then thought, "I wished I could learn a tier-5 magical ability. But I had to study more about my clan's elemental magic still."
Back at the duel, Peter dissipated his barrier of fire. "Is that all you got, sis?"
Determining not to give up, Emma summoned fire on her two hands using magic and tossed them towards Peter in quick succession.
Peter then dodged them quickly and smoothly.
This continued on until Emma's mana almost ran out, in which she became exhausted.
Peter was still up, and he asked, "Give up?"
Looking at her older brother seriously while panting, Emma responded, "I will…never…ever…."
She then collapsed to the ground, producing a loud thud.
This alerts everyone in the arena, and Colt, Robert, and William went down to help her out. Robert and Colt carried her by the arms, and they, alongside Peter and Colt, went all the way back to the main house so Emma would recover her mana.
Not long after, at one of the guest rooms of the main house, Emma was laying on the bed. Aaron was examining her current state, before asking, "What happened to her?"
"We just having a duel and…," Peter answered back as much as he could, "…she became exhausted and collapsed to the ground."
"I see," Aaron replied back. "It seems that she used almost all of her mana."
"Is she gonna be okay?"
"Yes, all she needs to do is to rest up in order to recover her mana."
"Oh, okay then. I'll wait."
Robert, who was waiting outside of the room alongside William and Colt, then said to William, "I would say that Emma-chan had lost against her own older brother."
"Yeah, she had pushed to her limits," William agreed with him. "So, wanna a duel with me?"
"Sure thing, I want to sharpen my skills."
"Okay, but don't use up all your mana," Colt gave them a reminder. "Otherwise, you'll end up like her."
"I know," Robert responded.
"We'll be careful," William added.