The first and most important factor for any Mage when it comes to a fight is the Familiar—or rather, its Grade.
Spirits are graded according to their Magia Quality and overall power.
Lesser
Low
Medium
High
Greater
Supreme
The difference between a single Grade and one above it is immense—and this difference only gets wider the higher up the Grade is. Hence, the difference between Lesser and Low is incomparable to the difference between High and Greater.
As for Greater and Supreme… the gap is considered inconceivable.
When fighting a Mage with similar Grade Familiar, what matters most is the skill of the Mage.
However, this all changes when going up against higher forces.
Facing off against someone with a Familiar that is one Grade higher is the limit for most Mages, and even then… victory is not assured.
This is why various Mage Squads are created—so that, depending on the level of the threat, a particular caliber of Mages can be sent to extinguish the problem.
Using this rationale, it is easy to see why Elma would be increasingly puzzled by the suggestion of her Beta counterpart—Ashfelt Zephyr.
His proposal made absolutely no sense.
Still, she wasn't planning on arguing with him about it.
'I already know I'm stronger than him, and I also have more potential than he does.' The Selection Ceremony already proved that. 'So there really is no point in trying to compete fairly with him.'
They belonged to different worlds, after all.
'I'll simply use this opportunity to crush him once and for all, so he won't be able to approach me next time!'
Elma grinned widely as she had this thought, preparing herself for the fight.
"Let us begin."
VWUUUSH!
The moment the match started, both sides used their respective Spirit Arts to summon the power of their Familiars.
A powerful storm of blazing heat encircled Elma in an instant, the inferno scorching the ground with not even a single cinder burning her skin. As her skin reflected the glow of the flames, she smiled and kept her gaze on the boy before her.
Unlike her, the effects of his Familiar's power was barely visible.
A small gust of wind encircled him, causing his white hair to dance in the air as his crimson eyes turned bright green—a sign that one was using the power of their Familiar.
Even her violet eyes became crimson due to her use of Spirit Arts.
"I hope you're ready, Ash!" She yelled out, her voice barely echoing out due to the roars of her powerful flames. "I won't hold back!"
"Fine by me!" He said back, both hands in his pockets.
'Tch! You…!'
Spirit Arts were the primary weapon of Mages, since it featured using the power of their Familiars and commanding them with Spells. Basic Spells were typically obsolete in the presence of Spirit Arts, so Mages hardly resorted to them.
There were also other facets of Spirit Arts such as [Externalization] and [Fusion], but since they were merely Apprentices who recently got a hold of their Familiars, neither Alpha or Beta students could use such an advanced form of power.
Well, most of them couldn't…
"[Salamander's Breath]!" Elma yelled out, both hands in front of her.
Instantly, a blazing inferno gathered at her fingertips and swirled around to create a blast of pure flames—similar to the breath of a fiery beast. The flames created a torrent that danced and rushed to the target with frightening speed.
Despite this, the boy kept both hands in his pockets.
Then, the flames made contact.
"Dodge, idiot!"
VWUUUUM!!!
In what appeared to Elma as a fraction of a moment, the fiery explosion consumed Ashfelt, casting nothing but a dark silhouette amidst the crimson orange flames as it burned bright and surrounded his immediate vicinity.
It didn't even take a minute, and the fight was already over.
'Why was I so worked up?' She had to ask herself. 'Oh well, he had it comi—'
Before she could conclude her thoughts, Ashfelt appeared from within the burning inferno perfectly unscathed.
His hands were still in his pocket as he coolly stepped forward, allowing his white hair to dance even more as the blazing flames behind him began to sizzle out into nothing.
"An impressive Spelll… what a good way to start the fight." He muttered, speaking in a nearly patronizing tone.
Just hearing his voice annoyed Elma to no end.
She didn't even bother questioning how he managed to tank such a hit and come out unscathed.
Instead, she let her irritation take control and move on to the next Spell she would use—this time, destroying Ash for good.
"[Roar Of The Salamander]!"
VWUUUUUSSSHHHHH!!!
This time, flames rushed from all sides of the room and surrounded Ash in an instant.
"Burn!"
The fiery storm converged around Ash, nearly drowning him in its immense wave of unbridled heat.
Then—
"Haa… I've seen enough."
WUUUM!
In one single wave from him, the roaring tempest sizzled out.
"E-eh…?" Elma's eyes widened as soon as she witnessed this. 'What just happened?'
She couldn't believe her eyes.
Her brain tried its best to process the occurrence, but it couldn't come up with an answer to the impossible sight that had just occurred.
"My turn."
DUUUUUUM!
A sudden burst of wind rushed from Ash, creating a crater on the ground that he stood upon.
It was as if a powerful pressure was pummeling the floor, causing a violent quake and an ever-widening crater beneath him.
Then… he began to move forward.
RUMBLE!
The entire room began to tremble as he took another step towards the shaking girl.
'T-this… what is happening right now?!'
Her body was vibrating despite her best attempts to make it stop, and she didn't fully understand why. The ground was shaking, the very air was trembling, and her body naturally followed suit… all according to the whim of one person.
One Beta Student.
"Just what did you do…" Elma growled, her glare intensifying. "... Ashfelt Zephyr!!!"
VWUUUUUUUUUUM!!!
A blazing torrent rose all around her, as she screamed, sending an exploding noise to erupt all around the hall.
"Silence." Ash snapped.
Instantly, the torrents sizzled into smoke, and they vanished entirely.
"W-what…?" By the time Elma realized what happened, sweat forming all over her face, the boy she wanted to destroy was standing right in front of her.
"A-ahh… haaa….ahhh…"
Elma couldn't move, neither could she say any word to him.
She couldn't even look at his face.
Her head was facing the ground as she watched it quake in his presence. She felt her body tremble even more as he raised his hand and dropped it on her shoulder.
"Keuk!"
Instantly, she went to her knees, feeling the crushing effect of a pressure unlike anything she had ever experienced before.
It was an absolute dominating effect that she stood no chance against.
—An invincible power!
"[Spiri—]"
"I surrender…" Elma whispered, her body still trembling.
A mix of tears and sweat descended from her face as she faced the ground in utter shame and humiliation. Before Ash could even resort to a single assault Spell, she had surrendered.
It was a disgraceful, complete defeat.
"It's… my loss."
Once she said those words, Ash removed his hand from her shoulder and ceased his overwhelming pressure. He was silent as he stared at her, not speaking a single word as he listened to her heavy breathing.
Surely, this much had broken her to the appropriate point that he needed.
Still, he was impressed.
'We just started learning about Spirit Arts, yet she's gotten such a good hang of it.' Ash smiled to himself as he watched her groan in silence.
'What a monster.'