The prototypical and extremely abundant form of combat magic was always to simply give the mana inside of yourself a basic form to cast without needing any incantation or spell sign whatsoever.
This usually took the form of what was called a 'bolt', a spherical-ish collection of mana that zipped through the air with the hope of slamming against flesh and dealing whatever damage was tied to the element used; burns, cuts, and blunt force trauma to name a few, and that was what made it so abundant even today.
Why bother creating fancy spells if you can just whip a ball of flame at your enemy and burn them badly enough to give you time to cast a somewhat advanced spell to finish them off?
It was a conundrum that continued to fool most of the sedentary Witches of today who sought out complex reasons behind anything and everything, but I and many other combat tested Witches knew what the reason was; it was efficient and damn near perfect, and that was all that mattered in life and death scenarios.
That was why as Wynn sent four different bolts screeching at my face I was more impressed than I could ever convey, even more so when I noticed that each bolt was of a different element, ensuring I had no way to know which was her forte.
Of course I had a better grasp than she was anticipating and I could tell that the bluish flames were her most refined element while the others lagged behind a little, but to most people seeing four separate elements being blasted at them one after another was more than enough to win the opening bout.
Each one would need a different shield to defend yourself, and being able to either match or exceed the power behind those bolts was a rarity in most people, especially since defensive magic was always harder than offensive magic.
My wand rose and fell as I tapped at each bolt, matching their power as best I could and cancelling them out as I gestured for Wynn to continue, only to smile slightly when she did without needing that prompt.
Her planted feet and twisted body gave her the ability to put more oomph into each cast as she flourished her wand around with power, casting heavier bolts than what I considered average at a speed that was definitely adequate for someone of her level.
When these next bolts were zipping through the air towards me in a tight cluster, Wynn moved on from simple bolts to more structured magic, muttering under her breath as those blue flames crackled at the end of her wand, only for them to explode forth with a boom that shook the air around us both.
Canceling the remaining bolts, I studied the sparking lance that illuminated the plains between us and nodded, noticing that beneath the blue flames were sparks of electricity that promised an extremely bad time to any who misunderstood the spell that was arcing towards them.
A wonderful combination that only built off of one another in terms of power while adding a whole lot of impact power to an already potent spell, but there were definitely avenues to improvement for her.
"[Ward]"
A shimmering barrier of raw mana appeared in front of me, blocking the lance perfectly as that blue flame washed over me and blocked my vision all while the lightning crackled at the impact point, attempting to chew through my mana and reach me.
Sensing the imminent danger thanks to years of being in combat, I leapt back and then summoned another Ward before I could even see what was happening, and yet again Wynn surprised me as she displayed another basic yet usually forgotten thing from basic sparring.
Never let up and always press forwards, no matter how you think the battle is going; another array of bolts followed by a second lance slammed into my defenses, only to have the bluenette try something else as she pointed her wand at me and muttered something else.
Feeling the gravel beneath my feet shift around, I leapt up into the air and turned myself into the owl to avoid the earth spike that punched through the ground where I had been standing, only for me to have to dive back down right away as another storm of bolts flew at me.
However Wynn wasn't anticipating a dive straight for her, and as I reverted to my usual form she blinked a few times when she felt my wand press against her throat, the bluenette freezing as I suddenly appeared right before her.
She was about to stumble backwards from me after I landed almost on her feet, so I reached over and grabbed her waist to pull her back, surprising the young woman as I pulled her close and prevented her from falling, only to have us end up in a rather intimate position.
Staring down at her, for a moment I felt wistful that I wasn't as young as I used to be, only to gently release her and take a step back, saving her from turning multiple different shades of red and instead giving her the space she needed and deserved.
"That was excellent, Wynn. Most people tend to forget about pressing the advantage in a duel; honor and anxiety of messing up stays their hand, preventing them from truly learning. Your spells were simple yet effective, and those blue flames were laced with just enough lightning to ensure they packed one hell of a punch. Good job."
She blinked a few times at that, still somewhat red from before, but after another moment of realizing what had happened she put that behind her and grinned at me, showing clear signs of relief at what I had said.
"Oh thank GOD! I was stressin' about that for the last week!"
I noted that her tone changed a little after her relief set in, only to raise a brow when she stiffened and said "Thank you for that, Miss Corvina! I'll keep working on my technique, I promise!", her prior relief and relaxation fading away again as a thin blanket of anxiety was draped around yer shoulders for what felt like no reason.