"Just like you are able to master skills derived from all abilities except the royal-type ones thanks to your Jack of All Trades, I can simply take advantage of my ability and brute-force my way through all obstacles. As my thanks, I will teach you the lesson you were so eager for."
"You're all talk! You have too much mana to control it properly! I only need to force you to lose control over it! BLADE FLURRY!"
Lazurii pointed out, stopping right in front of Ester, causing the younger boy to jump back and sheath his sword for a second, resetting his stance before unleashing his next skill.
Just like the name he shouted suggested, his blade flew and struck its target with such speed that there were not one or two but several afterimages, making it seem like a storm of metal.
"!!!"
Alas, despite each strike reaching its target, the moment the sword was about to cut into Lazurii's flesh, a thin veil of translucent blue matter appeared and intercepted the path of the blade, making it slide off of its surface without hurting the blue-haired young man in the slightest.
"That's why I am grateful to you, Ester. As I said, because of the handicap I picked for our duel, it became clear to me that the basic level spells are basic because they bypass their caster's mana control and simply source the mana directly from the their mana pool. I cannot lose control over something that controls itself."
"Wh-wha…!?"
*ching*
Lazuri explained patiently and as Ester was gasping in shock over the realisation what that meant, the blue-haired young man reached out his hand, having the one-sided straightsword hit his palm and break in half…
*shing*
"HNFGH!?"
As the broken blade stabbed into the floor a few steps to their right, Lazuri grabbed Ester's face, making him let out a loud grunt and try to smack his opponent's wrists with his sword's flat pommel.
"Quiz time. Do you remember what the second most basic spell is besides mana shield?"
"!?!?!"
Lazurii smiled for only a moment - just enough for fear to show in the crown prince's eyes - and as his expression turned cold once more, the blue-haired young man tossed the red-haired boy straight up towards the ceiling…
"It is magic missile."
"!!!"
Lazurii revealed while raising his hand, and at his command, a single bluish-white magic missile coiled around his forearm and shot up at the defenseless prince.
And then the second one…
…then a dozen others…
…followed by several more dozens…
The red-haired prince's back hit the ceiling at the same time the first magic missile hit his stomach, pushing out all the air out of his lungs.
All the other missiles were hitting with just the perfect timing for keeping Ester pinned there unable to scream for help or admit defeat.
"Student Fenrioette! That's enough! The duel is ov-ghhh…!?"
The light-brown-haired teacher stepped up and called out, but all of a sudden, he stopped mid-step as translucent blue vines wrapped tightly around his body, completely immobilizing him.
"Instructor. Mana binding isn't considered as the most basic spell like mana shield or mana missile, but it is still a rank one spell."
"!!!"
Lazurii glanced over his shoulder at the immobilized teacher, who could only grunt as one of the translucent vines was wrapped around his head, blocking his jaw and mouth.
"WE TOLD YOU CAN'T STOP HIM!"
One of the third-year students called out in desperation while the magic missile onslaught continued.
"Relax. I'm simply giving the crown prince what he wants. He said it himself. The pain is the best teacher… This is his lesson."
Lazurii scoffed, lightly shrugging his shoulders while continuing to create an unceasing barrage of magic missiles.
"Enough of this! Who do you think you are?!"
One of the younger students waiting for their turn for the opportunity to duel - a brown-haired, well-build boy, one of the crown prince's friends - called out, pulling up a large kite shield and unleashing a charge at Lazurii's side.
"..."
"Wha…!?"
This time, the blue-haired young man actually frowned, and when the brown-haired youngster was about to slam into him, he reached out his hand and simply pushed back against his shield, sending the boy flying back with a look of utter confusion on his face.
"GU-HYAGH! FGH-gghghg…!"
The brown-haired youngster then slammed against the wall of the gymnasium, with neither the push nor the impact seemed to affect him - at least not until his head bounced back and he broke his nose and a few teeth against the upper rim of his own shield.
"Who do I think I am? The audacity. There seem to be a few who don't remember the age-old Diamondium kingdom's saying. The members of the Fenrioette family are…"
"LAZURII FENRIOETTE!"
The blue-haired young man breathed out and began speaking but was interrupted by an extremely strict female voice.
"...!"
"UMFGH!"
As soon as his name was called, Lazurii stopped his spells and straightened his back - although that also meant that nothing was keeping the prince up by the ceiling, so the red-haired boy slammed against the floor with a pitiful sound only a second later.
"Hurry! Start healing both of them while the duel is still in effect!"
"Teacher! Come help us!"
The third-year students weren't wasting any time and began the rescue operation the very next moment, clearly used to similar situations.
"Lazurii Fenrioette! What in the world do you think you are doing?! Look at me this instant!"
"...haaaaaaaaaaa…"
Meanwhile, the owner of the strict voice continued the scolding and demanded, to which the blue-haired young man let out a terribly long sigh before reluctantly turning around…
"What are you doing, bullying your juniors and openly defying the teacher!? Why don't you try to fix your behavior and stop causing trouble in your last year in the Academy!?"
…to face a very feisty young girl with big light-blue eyes and dark-brown hair tied up in a high ponytail by a large ribbon matching the color of her irises.
If judging by her height and overall petiteness alone, it was barely believable that she was old enough to attend the Brylant Academy…
…much less being a second-year student as the number of diamonds lined up on the golden plate above her uniform's shirt's right pocket suggested…
"What do you have to say in your defense?! I'm listening!"
"..."
The fuming girl stomped her foot and called out, but the blue-haired young man not only didn't answer but even looked the other way as if not wanting to make eye contact.
"What in the…? Hey, who is she…? How come she can stop Lord Lazurii's rampage!?"
One of the younger students approached the group of third-years and asked, looking in particular at a young man with similar face.
"How do you not know that?! She's Tarkuazi Bavantirona. Her mother was Lazurii's tutor when he was a child, and he had a huge crush on her. He grew out of it since she's married and with a kid, of course, but he still doesn't want to look bad in front of her."
"Ohhh…! So he listens to her because he likes her mother?"
The third-year explained in a hushed voice, and the younger student breathed in with understanding.
"Yeah, that's ri… Nngh…!"
"..."
"!!!"
The older strudent nodded but suddenly froze and lowered his head, and when the younger one looked over to see what scared him, he almost choked on his own spit at the sight of the glare Lazurii was senidng their way.
"Lazurii! Look at me when I am talking to you!"
"..."
Tarkuazi stomped her foot again, and the blue-haired young man stopped glaring at others - but he still didn't look straight at the light-blue-eyed girl, merely lowering his head and staring at his own feet.
"Why would you do something like that?! Do you want to get held back and repeat a year to be in the same class as me? You better stop then because bullying other students might get you expelled instead!"
The petite girl scoffed, proudly puffing out her chest while her expression remained strict.
"...don't get ahead of yourself…"
"!!!"
Lazurii whispered under his breath, but Tarkuazi heard him and flinched, clenching her fists and biting her lips with a very upset expression.
"...!"
Seeing the petite girl make a face like that made Lazurii tense up to the point that his muscles made the second button of his uniform shirt pop off.
"Yo! How are they? Can I leave already?!"
"Both are all good! Thank you for your cooperation!"
The blue-haired young man called out and one of the other third-years called back, waving her hand approvingly, after which Lazurii left the gymnasium.