"...Maintain your mana shield, have an exchange, and whoever hits the opponent's mana shield first, will win."
Viola's duel with her classmate and friend, Marcha Kale was intense even for the onlookers, as their mastery over the magic they wielded made everyone watch in awe.
Marcha Kale's water element was pressuring and graceful while Viola's light magic was fast yet explosive.
It had begun as an equal bout, as neither one could completely overwhelm the other.
There were times where Viola's light magic would overpower Marcha Kale's water magic, yet on other times, the light would also lose and be deflected by the water.
Then with a cheeky smile, Marcha's mana bursted and highly pressurized water began disintegrating all the light magic that Viola was sending.
All of them sensed the change in her mana's strength, especially Viola who acted on impulse and summoned walls of light that brought back their equal exchange.
Cheers and praises were shouted as neither of the ladies were backing down.
Viola then decided to move the walls of light towards her opponent, restricting Marcha Kale's movement.
Feeling she was getting trapped, Marcha then quickly levitated away while continuously sending her highly pressurized water onto the walls of light.
Yet immediately upon landing, the shattered walls of light near her, began flying towards her, completely catching her off-guard.
Seeing her opponent shocked, gave Viola ample time to cast another wall of light, that quickly moved towards her opponent.
Sensing her blunder, Marcha Kale then quickly conjured a wall of water in front of her, absorbing the fast yet weak blades of light.
The onlookers were amazed at the two for displaying such a high level of complexity towards their magic.
Most of them were already discussing the immediate exchange that happened, including those who shouldn't as they were in the middle of their lecture.
"Viola's idea of sending the remnants of her light walls towards Marcha was remarkable." Rizaul said while truly praising his friend, yet his face still showed no sign of amusement.
"Yeah, that was s i c k, but that Marcha wasn't too bad either. Her mastery over her skills and her reflexes are top-notch!" Note replied loudly, earning them both a scolding from their teacher and laughter from their class.
Going back, Marcha's conjured water wall began heating up, as spiraling blades of steam gracefully, penetrated all the walls defending Viola.
Yet before Marcha's swirling blades could even get close to her opponent, Viola's sudden light blade stabbed her opponent's mana shield from above.
"You tricked me, Viola!" Said Marcha as she could not help but be amazed at her friend's trick and skill.
"I got lucky since the sun was up." Viola's reply and smile were warm just like her magic.
Due to their adventures, Viola had garnered experience and battle prowess that made that mock battle a bit of child's play for her.
As they walked back, some of the students were applauding, that even their friend Noveam, couldn't help but ask,
"Where did that even come from Viola?"
Yet the one who answered was their Professor Mony.
"The last wall of light that Viola summoned was actually much thinner than before. When Marcha's steam was closing in with the water wall, Viola control it so that the broken needle-like shards of the wall would rise and be masked by the sun."
"Yeah, that was so thin that I barely noticed it--- even when it was practically showering above me!" Declared Marcha, still super energetic with adrenaline.
"Big sister Andrea taught you well, Viola. And well done with the new use of your steam, Marcha." Said Mony as she was very impressed with the two.
"Thank you, professor." Viola was then happy, as being compared to her mentor was something she always looked forward to.
The lovey-dovey couple had always been kind to her. That was why, just like them, she was also not fond of using her magic to harm others.
Nevertheless, if it was to protect her loved ones, then she knew she would use her magic for them.
Other students had already competed for their assessment that day, leaving Naell and his opponent, Lesjon Star next.
As they both gathered in the center, Naell's opinions changed because at that moment, he could not help but be intimidated by the man in front him; black hair as deep as the history of the so-called martial artists of the old, and red eyes that much resembled his own.
Not to mention, the intimidating fame of Stars, being known for their physique and capabilities in magic.
"Hello, cousin." Lesjon was the one who spoke first. His voice was calm yet his eyes were suffocating.
Little did Naell know, it was the same thing for the people he himself encountered.
"Hello, Young master." Naell's greeting was considered polite, as Lesjon was from a higher family than he was. Yet the onlookers (Andrew and the rest who knew the past him) still felt awkward, as they knew the old Naell never backed down with his overly-arrogant attitude.
Nonetheless, the courtesy between Naell and Lesjon went without a hitch. Both red eyes were shining, making some onlookers tremble in anticipation of the fight.
Mony above all was thrilled knowing both had the potential to far exceed the already rare breed of mages.
"You may start!" Upon Mony's eager words, Lesjon was the one who initiated. His bright red flame, without even forming any hand incantation started circling around him, making his red eyes more frightening than before.
Just the heat alone could make anyone shudder in fear, as the flame became brighter and faster. Soon one of the bright dense flames launched onto his opponent.
Naell with his wimpy fast reflexes managed to counter with a water wall, yet the flames that were circling Lesjon continued firing onto him, gobbling up his defense.
As it continued moving towards him, Naell really did want to end it by having his mana shield touch the flame. Yet when it came close, the heat was able to change his mind, as he quickly evaded and levitated away from the scorching heat.
Naell at first, thought he saw Lesjon smiling, yet before he could even confirm it, the flames were already chasing him once more.
The flames then began circling around Naell making it hard for him to breathe in. As it launched onto him, he immediately casted [ Fortress ] making the onlookers gasp in surprise.
Layers of snow gathered around Naell, his white mana shined as it hovered around his magical appearance that went above his often villainous face.
As the snow and flames collided against each other, Naell's snow and his use of complex magic was by far superior to the magic Lesjon had casted, enabling him to devour the flame bit by bit.
Yet before he could even celebrate, Naell felt the combustion of heat trying to expand from the snow covering him.
'I guess you don't remember.'
With a snap of Lesjon's finger, the flame that was devoured by the snow, started leaking out. The feeling it gave off was more menacing especially when they heard the young master of Star's incantation.
"Burst forth--- [ STARDUST ] ."
Mony, with a [ poof ] summoned her wand and started casting a large mana shield that covered the entirety of the dueling ground.
Students also activated their shields in fear of the might of Lesjon's magic. They all knew of STARDUST, as the former Duke of Star, was well-known for his star-like power, hence the name of its origin.
Naell also knew that STARDUST was not ordinary magic as well. Just like in the novel, that magic was introduced as something even the demons had once feared. Sarah Star often used it to turn the tide into her favor.
Fearing for his life, Naell's pure white mana grew blindingly bright, completely engulfing his body in light.
As he clenched his right fist, the erupting bombs of the so-called STARDUST were once again being devoured by snow as it circulated around the flames.
Opposed to Naell's icy mana, Lesjon's mana blared fiercely, as he was continuously supplying STARDUST in an attempt to free it from the snow.
Little by little, both of their magic were being formed into a circular structure, with the flames still trapped inside the snow, yet all of them could still feel how STARDUST, erupting in the FORTRESS.
Realizing he was reaching the limit of his control, Naell casted his wind magic, forcefully blasting the circular structure of snow up in the air, erupting STARDUST from a safe distance.
Still, the explosion brought forth shockwaves of flames that were seemingly ordered to attack Naell, and the same was the case for the snow that rained down on everyone in the field.
The shockwave forced Naell to be seated as it scared the life out of him. Still, he had an alibi, as the flames were not lethal--- or more like it would not hurt him a bit, he chose not to run as it hit his mana shield, happily giving Lesjon the win to their duel.
It could also be said that STARDUST was too powerful. Naell knew he needed more mana to deal with it, yet at the moment it was sealed by Owly as it was still too risky for him to use. That was why he knew it was time to forfeit the match.
As the flame settled in while the snow was still falling down, gaping mouths were now noticeable scattered across the field. Even Mony was perturbed a while ago, as that duel was far from what she had anticipated.
Yet most of them were shocked knowing that the young master of Beryldot, truly was a mystery not just to Mony, but even to Andrew and the rest, as they saw to some extent, Naell's newfound power.
Soon the silence turned into applause making Naell a bit dispirited as he thought,
'Huh... I almost died and you're all celebrating...'
Little did he know, as he was inept socially, those applauds stemmed from the bout they just had. The skills and magic prowess Naell and Lesjon showed was a sight to behold.
Even if Naell all those times looked cornered, the battle displayed both of them as capable mages.
As they were all waiting for the professor to proclaim Lesjon as the winner, the young master of Star stood in front of the sitting Naell. His red eyes were still hostile, similar to his words as he said,
"Next time, the match won't be a draw. Consider this as your punishment for disgracing the Star Family."
He then added on softly, seemingly sounding calmer,
"It is nice to meet you again Naell."
Upon speaking, the dark-haired young master then walked away, brushing off bits of snow from his shoulder in the process.
Can naell actually stop running and try to win something for once?
He didn't run it is just that with his constricted mana, he can only go as far with hits usage.
he didn't lose this one tho
@Nezothecat you stressed in multiple chapters that he has superb control where does that come in this match?
Either control is useless and all that matters is power at the end of the day or he just panicked all the time and didn't use any of his advantages because he is a wimp...
@Fuxy he knew so much control that he knew the exact amount of mana needed to defeat him, which is above the Safe range.
MC need 250 mana of total 1000 mana inside his body to defeat this opponent, or at least destroy his star attack.
But MC's body only capable of handling 170-180 and any amount above that is sealed by the owl.
So he can barely deflect and hold his opponent attack and once he can't hold out and keep up, MC just forfeit.
Can naell make snow golem? Can naell eventually make snow / ice fortress? ?
Can naell make comfy ice chair? Can naell turn snow into water so he can make cofee/Tea/chocolate?
Can Naell sit back, Relax, Drink cup of tea while his minion fight like a true Villian?
I believe he can do it with effort! something he lacks atm. Thank you for reading. ^^
I think naell could have won if he used wind to take away the heat when his fortres sealed the stardust
That would be impossible atm since his mana was sealed by Owly. Doing so will also put harm on his body. But soon we promise to bring a tougher Naell
Honestly, I think this novel would have much greater potential if the protagonist has retained Neall's memories and feelings and then "remembered" his previous life's memories, instead of how it was handled where the current MC's soul just possessed his body (i don't even remember the current Neall's original name) with absolutely no memories.
Like, it was so obvious that previous Neall was a complicated character that was really affected by his mother's death, and probably really hated the people that she sacrificed herself for since, because of them, she couldn't spend any more time with her son, but at this point, this will never be explained if that was the reason why he hated his fiancee and stuff (his mother sacrificed herself to protect the royal family right? so that includes his previous fiancee).
This could have given the current Neall a purpose, like maybe ending the royal family for essentially killing his mother and maybe creating the first democratic state (like, why the f*ck would someone from 21st century think the absolute monarchy is OK?). You could also give him some kind of a different goal that is connected with his mother. Anything that would make Neall either get over his feeling of hate towards the world for killing his mother or go the standard revenge route would be good, or at least better than the current protagonist that doesn't really have a goal, doesn't really seem to care about his mother's sacrifice in the new world.
I guess this is my biggest problem for the current Neall, he doesn't really have a goal or purpose in this new world, he doesn't really care about his new family, he doesn't really have any friends, for some reason sometimes he is shown as an absolute genius that figured out how to awaken his core or whatever to become a powerful mage, and in the previous chapter, he is shown as an absolute f*cking idiot for not knowing that this class was mandatory, like wut, what is the point in this? Even this current battle, the MC doesn't really care, and yet instead of just coming on stage and saying "I forfeit" or something, he decided to battle it out, and at the end he is like, "I guess it's time to lose" after very obviously trying rather hard to win.
So yeah, this is my little rant on the novel, TLDR: current Neall doesn't really have a purpose, I think it would have been better if it was previous Neall that gained the memories of his previous life since he was much more invested into the characters of this world, current Neall is sometimes shown as an absolute genius and at other times as the biggest f*cking brick (not even talking about the "social misunderstandings", as that's a given for all MCs at the moment)
Thank you for the advice. Actually that is why the main genre of this novel is slice of life and his goal atm is actually be rich to not have a problem with money, to survive the world from devastation, and inherit the Baron title from his father.
I know we have been getting alot complain about his wimpy attitude but that is because the encounter of Naell and the main protagonist at vol. 2 is were we thought that it would be a good idea to have some kind of development.
yet sorry but that would still remain at maybe start of vol. 3
@Nezothecat it's not really about his wimpy attitude, but because of the contradictions, for example: earlier he was fighting with monsters in a live or die situations, now he is scared of fighting a friendly match, earlier he created a method for becoming a magician and developed his own spells (snowflake shield or whatever it was, didn't even use it in this fight btw), now he doesn't even know that some of his classes are mandatory, apparently he is a wimp, but instead of forfeiting the match or losing the match as quickly as possible, he decided to fight it and when he "lost", everything is blamed on him being a wimp. This one especially, since you would assume that if someone is a wimp, they would have a mindset of disengaging from a fight as quickly as possible, whereas Neall somehow came to a conclusion that the best way to do that is to engage an opponent into a serious fight? doesn't really make sense does it.
@ZaTrox that's right. You can tell that his wimpy attitude comes from his interaction with people or beings then battle became that way whenever he is intimidated.
While he could have use alot of skills, he hadn't a time for that and if you remember the dialogue he got scared because the flame was hot.
And truth be told, both of them were not serious. No wands even. Just a friendly yet heated fight.
@ZaTrox oh and he didn't lose btw but really thank you for the advice.
@Nezothecat most ignore the tags smh, i enjoy almost everything about the story, the unique abilities everyone has but i kinda think Naells fight was a tad to short compared to the rest. I mean he hadnt even demonstrated his fine control with limited mana ? it basically came down to Fortress vs stardust and i honestly think that Naell could come up with something less flashy than Fortress that'd get him better recognition whilst not putting him in he spotlight for using a op move ?
@JDeSilver Thank you and yeah sometimes it is hard if the tags are ignored. xD Actually when we wrote this chapter both fight scenes were very short but when we edited it out, we put so much effort in the first one that after Viola's bout, the fuse in our brain stopped working,
but another reason was the fact Naell couldn't really outperform all of them until his body could control his mana or he could do something about (which we will reveal on vol 3.)