"Well, well, look at her! Rector, did you see that?! Has Vivi awakened the gift of magic?" Vina happily celebrated the end of the match.
"No-no, it was your Assistant-GM's doing," the old man peacefully stroked his beard. "Such well-crafted enchanted weapons are rarely seen. I've seen many, but those that can absorb the enemy's magic and return it amplified are the most complex. Although it's obvious he utilized the properties of mithril, without a crystal, creating such a weapon is almost impossible."
"You mean it was the weapon's power?" Vina asked.
"No, not just the weapon, but also the girl herself. The way she understands her weapon, how she blends with it, and how it helped her handle unfamiliar magic so effortlessly. This is the best weapon you can come up with against mages. However..."
"What's wrong?"
"In the next round, she'll fight against Katrina. Even if the spear can absorb her magic, can Vivien deal with the residual effects of lightning spells?"
"Well, we'll find out later. For now, let's welcome our victor! Huh? Something's not right; get a healer onto the arena."
Vivien won, but she looked much worse than her opponent. Plunging her spear into the ground, she slowly knelt down and leaned on the hilt. She no longer had the strength to stand up and leave the arena. All she wanted was to fall asleep.
We rushed to the arena to help her get up, and a group of healing mages, led by Feris, joined us on the stairs. When we reached the spearwoman, she had already lost consciousness.
"Multiple burns and internal injuries. We need to take her to the hospital urgently," Feris quickly commanded the medics, and they put the girl on a stretcher.
"Will my sister be okay?"
"Don't worry; we'll get her back on her feet. But with these injuries, she could still continue the fight. It's simply remarkable," they lifted the spearwoman on the stretcher and carried her towards the exit. Feris followed them, enveloping the girl in a golden light.
"Well, Vivi's not a weakling to give up after a fight like that," I patted my twin's shoulder and headed towards the stairs when a soft voice called out to me.
"Krito! Don't hurry to leave the arena," Vina informed me from the control room. "Your fight with Algo is next; you don't have to go anywhere. Rector, what about you? Rector?"
At that moment, the Rector stood up from his seat and headed towards the exit.
"Excuse me, I believe my assistance is needed in the infirmary. I leave the conduct of this battle to you. Besides, my commentary won't be required for it," he said.
"The Rector? Well, he ran away... Teacher Rumy, what do you think about the next match?"
"It will be the battle I'm looking forward to the most. Your magical tricks don't interest me much, but a confrontation of raw power and swordsmanship mastery, that's what I love."
"And who do you think will win?"
"Hmm, it's not yet clear to me. Krito has certainly excelled in his style, but Algo has been training for the past few months with the sole purpose of defeating his strongest opponent. Isn't it fantastic to witness the clash of such fighters?"
"Hmm, it seems the battle will be interesting. Contestants, please step into the center of the arena!"
Now it was my turn to fight. Algo drew his sword and assumed a combat stance, holding his sword back and bending down closer to the ground.
"Krito, since you defeated me, I've had a goal. I no longer wanted to live to protect Liri; I wanted to surpass you."
"A worthy goal. I think it's time to test the fruits of your training," I drew my blades and positioned them with the edge facing down, one behind my back and the other covering my torso.
"Begin!" Vina's command initiated the match.
Algo quickly closed the distance between us and struck powerfully from behind. I blocked his attack with the larger blade, then turned around and executed a circular strike with the smaller one. Algo slipped under the sword and spun around, delivering an even more powerful strike. I crossed my blades and blocked the attack.
"You have become stronger; it won't be easy to defeat you now," I pushed the sword's hilt with my knee, pushing Algo back. Then I leaned forward and made a double-blade lunge. Algo used his free hand to support himself on the ground, performed a backflip, evading my attack.
"You always underestimated me!" He suddenly leaped towards me, delivering a strike from the right. Somehow, he managed to push off me with one hand just before the attack, jumping almost five meters away.
"I don't know what that was, but I feel much lighter now," Algo easily got back on his feet and, with a speed exceeding his normal capabilities, leaped towards me. He struck from above, and as I parried, he jumped up nearly three meters, executing a somersault and delivering a powerful downward strike. I crossed my blades and managed to block the attack, but the pressure forced me to drop to one knee. Without finishing the strike, Algo pushed off my blades with his feet and made a huge leap back, landing about ten meters away from me.
"Now I feel like I can win!" he declared.
As soon as he touched the ground, the swordsman disappeared from sight and reappeared right in front of me a second later. Blocking such powerful strikes was futile, so I turned my body and moved along the blade's trajectory, grabbing the guy's hand. With a quick motion, I pulled him towards me and sent him flying with a knee strike. As I suspected, he gained tremendous speed and strength, but at the same time, his body felt as light as a plush toy.
"What the hell? How did you throw me so easily?" Algo still hadn't grasped the source of his newfound strength.
"I figured out where your power comes from, and if you stop attacking for a minute, I'll tell you," I smiled, concealing my emotions, but I needed a short break to prepare for facing Algo at his best.
"And what can you tell me?"
"You're using wind magic, that's the answer. Thanks to it, your body has become so light that you can move with incredible speed and jump so high. The flaw in this technique is that your body has become too lightweight to stand firmly on the ground, making you more vulnerable to throws and heavy strikes."
"All this is interesting, but you know I'm not a mage!"
"That's what I noticed too, but your 'little wife' fits perfectly into the scheme."
"What does Liri have to do with this?"
"She's a wind and lightning mage, although lately, she mainly uses lightning magic. However, mana is constantly produced in a mage's body, regardless of whether they use it or not. So, if she's spending only on lightning, then the wind needs an outlet too, and that's where Liri's wind mana found a worthy haven. Tell me, do you often part ways with Liri?"
"Well, of course, we're not always together. Sometimes she goes to the store or the restroom, and we often separate during missions."
"But you still sleep in her room, and you always carry your sword with you?"
"Why not? Shouldn't I do that?"
"See, anyone would say that you spend the whole day together! As a result, your sword is affected too. Mithril absorbs magic well; you saw that with Vivien. It absorbed all the excess wind mana from Liri. You know that quite well; if she couldn't release the wind, the body of a noblewoman could have given in at one horrific moment."
"Are you saying my sword is wind magic?"
"Well, almost," I shrugged. "It became something between an enchanted and sentient blade. It accumulates Liri's mana, and in moments of special fury, it can transfer it to you. Your desire to defeat me awakened this power, but keep in mind it won't last long."
"I don't need it for long. If it's wind magic, everything will be much simpler. I trained a lot with Liri in the past when she hated lightning magic, so I know what techniques to use. Now you won't win."
"Yes, I'm not very familiar with wind magic, but while I was chatting with you, I managed to prepare for the fight. Acceleration doesn't only come from wind," I grinned maliciously and vanished into the air. A moment later, I appeared behind Algo and delivered a straight strike to his torso, but he instantly blocked it. Lightning occasionally flickered over my body as Algo and I stood with crossed blades. "Fighting with lightning magic feels more familiar to me."
"Shouldn't have wasted time listening to you," a ball of wind formed between us, tearing us apart and throwing us to the sides.
Algo leaped and descended upon me with a mighty strike, but I gathered lightning mana in my hand and forcefully parried his sword, sending the guy flying five meters into the air. While infused with lightning mana, Algo's airborne strikes worked more in my favor. He gripped the sword with both hands, resting it on his left shoulder, and attacked again. Prepared to block the strike, I found him right in front of me, propelled by the air. He spun around me in an arc and delivered a powerful circular strike to my back. Reacting quickly, I crossed the blades behind my back, and the broadsword crashed into them. Using my back muscles as a lever, I pushed away Algo's heavier sword and retaliated with a kick to his side.
After receiving the powerful blow, Algo was sent flying into the nearest wall, but he regrouped mid-air and created an air cushion before the impact. Bouncing off it, Algo jumped at me with his sword thrust forward. I sidestepped, and Algo's sword plunged into the ground, just missing me. Using the impulse to compensate for the lack of mass, Algo struck at me with a kick. Receiving the blow, I tried to counterattack, but Algo effortlessly pushed off my sword and leaped backward.
"You're getting better at controlling your body, but the magic in your blade is running out," I observed, noticing the diminishing wind aura with each strike.
"You say it as if lightning mana isn't damaging your muscles!" Algo knew about the reverse effect of my acceleration, which meant we were both approaching our limits.
I gathered all the mana in my blades and leaped forward, creating a cross-shaped wave of two lightning bolts and hurling it towards the swordsman. In response, Algo conjured a gust of wind in front of him and sliced through the lightning strike. Upon collision, the lightning discharge exploded between us, and capitalizing on the moment of bewilderment, I closed the distance to my opponent.
From a low stance, I struck Algo's head with a spinning kick, but he managed to lean backward. Before he could realize that his last attack had exhausted the last bit of wind mana in him, the warrior began falling to the ground. Seizing the opportunity, I stepped forward and hit him in the abdomen with the hilt of my sword.
"And I've won again," I announced while Algo struggled to rise to his feet. I held my sword against his neck.
"Damn," the guy lowered his head, "I lost."
With these words, the outcome of the battle was decided.