Dual-casting referred to the phenomenon where a Magus was able to cast two spells simultaneously. Keeping all three spell components in mind, dual casting was a very difficult process.
But it was still possible.
However, it was only possible after a Magus advanced to Rank 1 Neural Stage. At this stage, the brain and the nervous system received a massive upgrade by the nourishment of mana.
This allowed the magus to do things that they were mentally incapable of doing earlier.
But for a Flesh Stage magus to dual-cast was simply inconceivable!
Everyone in the audience was so shocked that they had forgotten to even make a sound. They were all watching things unfold with bated breaths.
Amidst the pervasive silence, Lisa slowly walked toward Adam step by step. Her back was straight as an arrow as she confidently moved forward.
She couldn't help but feel fortunate that she was able to end the match as early as she had. After all, she was already beginning to feel slightly dizzy from inhaling the slight bit of relaxant gas at the beginning of the fight.
But it all worked out for her in the end. Victory was hers!
She stood in front of Adam, her head held high. "You are a formidable opponent, Adam. I have learned much from this fight."
Adam remained motionless as he knelt on the ground with his head hung low. Seeing his defeated look, Lisa couldn't help but feel a little bad for him. She didn't wish to inflict more injuries upon an opponent who had already lost the will to fight.
Thus, she asked, "Do you yield?"
"Be..nd… u…" Adam remained motionless. He spouted some gibberish that Lisa couldn't understand.
"What was that?" Lisa frowned, wondering if her last spell had ended up heavily injuring Adam who wasn't even wearing the academy's uniform.
"Be…hind… you…" Adam replied, but this time his words were a little more comprehensible.
Lisa's eyes narrowed and she suddenly had a foreboding feeling. She wanted to retreat a few steps away from Adam but suddenly a figure appeared behind her!
This hazy figure quickly grabbed Lisa's arms, preventing her from casting any physical spell components. Then, the figure smashed Lisa on the floor.
BAM!
"Aghh!" Lisa grimaced in pain as her head slammed against the floor. She could feel someone tightly holding her hands behind her back. She struggled to free herself, but ultimately, she couldn't.
With great difficulty, she turned her head to look at this person. And when she did, her eyes widened in shock!
She hurriedly turned back around and looked in front of her, just in time to see 'Adam' dissipate into grey smoke like a fleeting mirage.
"An illusion!" She muttered in incredulity.
When she turned back around, she saw the real Adam winking at her. He asked her the same question she had asked him a while back.
"Do you yield?"
Lisa was filled with utter disbelief. She couldn't speak for a long time. Finally, she managed to spit out a word. "How?!"
Adam grinned and began explaining.
…
The entire arena was silent. They simply couldn't believe what had just happened. In the eyes of the audience, when Lisa broke free from the ice dome and cast Frost Ray, her spells had managed to hit nothing but thin air.
Then, they saw Lisa walk towards an empty spot on the platform and begin talking to, once again, nothing but thin air.
Meanwhile, Adam was silently standing behind Lisa all this while, covering his mouth and struggling to contain his laughter.
The crowd was dumbfounded.
Completely and utterly dumbfounded.
In the luxurious viewing area, the professors were also similarly shocked, but not because of the same reason as the students.
Professor Jock stuttered in astonishment, "D-Did Adam just now… also dual-cast?!"
"Hehehe." Berger chuckled as he exhaled a puff of smoke. "Indeed. He was able to cast two spells simultaneously just like the other kid. But to be more precise, he cast a total of three spells."
"Three?!" Another professor asked, "Lord Berger, could you please elaborate?"
Berger took yet another puff from his pipe and began explaining. "The boy dual-casted two Rank 1 Spells - Dingy Illusion and Hide. He first weaved an illusion of him kneeling on the ground.
"At the same time, he also cast Hide on himself to camouflage his presence and hide behind the girl. Finally, he cast Dingy Illusion once again in order to mimic his voice."
The professors understood everything now. The Rank 1 Spell, Dingy Illusion, was able to cast either an illusory image or an illusory sound. It was not able to cast an illusion of both image and sound at the same time. Moreover, the illusion would be stationary.
It was a Rank 1 Spell after all. Its effects were limited.
Another drawback of the spell was that the illusory image would only be limited to an area of 5x5 feet. That was why the illusion of Adam was of him kneeling, taking up very little space.
Furthermore, the illusion would only be visible to one target. That was why, while the entire audience saw Lisa interacting with thin air, the target of the spell, Lisa, thought that she was genuinely interacting with the real Adam!
…
"I see…" On the fighting platform, after listening to Adam's explanation, Lisa couldn't help but sigh dejectedly. Her face revealed a bitter smile as she asked,
"So the relaxant gas that you threw in the beginning was all so that my senses would eventually become dull and you'd be able to efficiently cast Hide on yourself."
Adam simply nodded. The Rank 1 Spell - Hide, although handy, would be ineffective if the target was keenly aware of their surroundings.
After a moment, Lisa breathed out a heavy sigh after realizing that she had been playing in Adam's palm since the beginning of the fight. Finally, she admitted defeat.
"I yield."
Adam loosened his grip on Lisa's wrists and got off of her back. He then stretched out his hand to help Lisa up to her feet.
Lisa looked at Adam's hand, and then at Adam. In the end, she faintly smiled and grabbed his hand to stand up.
Adam smiled brightly. "Good fight!"
The referee came to his senses after the conclusion of this spectacular fight and finally declared the result of the match.
"The winner of this duel is… Adam!"
"OHHHHH!!!" The crowd burst into cheers. This was the first time that most of the students present had seen someone utilize Illusion Magic so effectively and clench a victory. This was the most exciting fight they'd seen!
Moreover, after witnessing the spirit of sportsmanship between the two young Magi, they couldn't help but give a standing ovation as they continued to applaud.
"ADAM! ADAM! ADAM! ADAM!"
Seeing the crowd chant his name in such a lively manner, Adam couldn't help but blush a little. In the end, he placed his hand on his chest and bowed in all four directions.
The splendid theatrical piece he had crafted had finally come to an end.
In the audience, Berger looked at Adam's antics and faintly smiled. So you've chosen the path of the Illusionist after all...