Elias stood within the glowing dueling circle, his gauntlet humming with restrained energy. Across from him, Darian Velcroft adjusted the cuffs of his dueling robes, radiating the effortless confidence of someone who had never lost a fight in his life.
The crowd had grown. Word traveled fast in the Academy, and now dozens of students had gathered around the training field, eager to see how this clash between magic and machine would unfold.
Lira stood at the edge of the ring, arms crossed. "Elias, I hope you know what you're doing."
Elias flexed his fingers inside the gauntlet. "Nope."
Lira groaned. "Fantastic."
Darian smirked, raising a single hand. "Let's begin."
The air crackled as magical sigils flared to life around him.
Elias barely had time to react before three shimmering spears of fire materialized and launched toward him.
He moved instinctively, raising his gauntlet. The absorption function activated, and the first fire spear vanished into the device, its energy dispersing through the regulator.
But the second and third?
Too fast.
Elias dove to the side, narrowly avoiding the second as it seared past his shoulder. The third clipped his arm, heat flaring against his sleeve before he rolled back to his feet.
Darian chuckled. "Not bad. But you can't dodge forever."
Elias exhaled, shaking out his wrist. The stored energy from the first attack pulsed within the gauntlet, waiting to be released.
Fine.
He'd return the favor.
Twisting his wrist, he triggered the mana redirection circuit, sending the absorbed energy back in a controlled pulse. A concentrated bolt of blue light shot toward Darian, aimed straight at his chest.
Darian's smirk vanished.
He raised his hand, forming a shimmering barrier sigil just in time to block the attack. The force of the impact made him stumble back slightly, his eyes narrowing.
The crowd murmured in surprise.
Lira grinned. "Okay, that actually worked."
Darian's gaze flickered with something new. Interest.
Then, without warning, he thrust his hand forward, summoning a wave of crackling golden lightning that streaked across the air.
Elias had zero time to react.
The bolt slammed into him, sending a shock through his body. The impact threw him backward, his vision flashing white for a split second before he hit the ground hard.
Lira took a step forward. "Elias—"
Elias coughed, shaking off the static crawling through his muscles. His gauntlet smoked, the regulator barely keeping up with the sudden surge of energy.
Darian tilted his head. "Still think your little gadget is enough to fight real magic?"
Elias exhaled sharply. He couldn't just keep absorbing damage and hoping for an opening. Darian was stronger, faster, and had far more experience.
But magic had rules. Rules that Elias could break.
He clenched his fist, feeling the unstable charge still lingering inside the gauntlet. If he couldn't match Darian's speed, he'd have to control the pace of the fight.
Which meant it was time to test his newest upgrade.
Darian moved to cast another spell—
But Elias slammed his palm against the ground first.
The mana barrier prototype activated, releasing the stored energy in a sudden pulse. A shimmering blue field burst outward, momentarily distorting the air around him.
Darian's lightning collided against the barrier—and instead of breaking through, it bounced off at an angle, dispersing into the sky.
The crowd gasped.
Darian took a step back, his eyes flickering with surprise. "What?"
Elias grinned, pushing himself to his feet. "Huh. That actually worked."
Lira facepalmed. "You didn't even know if it would?"
Elias shrugged. "Testing under pressure builds character."
Darian's smirk returned, sharper than before. "Interesting. You really are trying to turn magic into a machine."
Elias rolled his shoulder. "Not trying. Succeeding."
Darian chuckled. "Then let's see how much further you can take it."
With that, the real duel began.