Chapter 234: Preliminaries Part 3

 

  Callum surveyed his surroundings, the arena was about two dozen paces long on each side, it was small, much smaller than the one in Undergrowth would be. In this situation, it might just serve in his favor.

  After the 3rd year’s evaluation exam, Nora Azol had become known as one of the most powerful students. Her abilities were equal to that of a powerful adept mage or so the rumors went.

  Fortunately, Callum knew more about Nora than simple rumors. She was a powerful mage, yes, talented beyond her peers, but she was not skilled in close-range combat. The fact that she had not brought a weapon to the stage only confirmed the fact.

  Callum gripped the handle of his sheathed longsword.

  Nora was also only human, if he could get close enough he could overwhelm her. She stood at the opposite side of the arena, her hands at her side, no doubt ready to cast at the slightest sign of danger.

  A pair of large water troughs sat to the right and left of the arena, for the use of any blue mage and their torrent spells. Creating water was very difficult and consuming for a blue mage, it was much easier to manipulate already existing sources of water. He would have to pay attention to any movement in the troughs, he would only have a few seconds to react.

  Still, Callum had witnessed firsthand Nora’s ability to create water. She had single-handedly overwhelmed an undead giant last spring. Nora didn’t need the troughs to mount an attack. Getting close to her would be difficult.

  Callum took a deep breath. He had one advantage however, novices and even adepts could not multicast. Barring the peculiarity of Kithina, every student here was limited to one spell.

  Nora would only be able to cast a single spell at a time, whether it would be for an attack or defense… Callum would force her to react. He couldn’t multicast like Kithina, but he had his own trick up his sleeve.

  Vayu cleared his throat, “Contestants, victory is simple, knock your opponent off the arena or render them unable to fight. Understood?”

  “Yes, Professor Glaz,” Callum said.

  “Mm,” Nora nodded without taking her eyes off Callum.

  Vayu raised his hand, “You may… BEGIN!”

  Nora raised her arms high, each hand moving in different motions. The water in troughs rippled. Callum wouldn’t give her the chance.

  House Veres were renowned for their talent in shadows spells, a gift he had never had. He wasn’t a black mage like the rest of his family, but he still had their talent.

  Callum channeled white mana into his fingertips and flicked his wrist. The bright spell flared to life in a powerful flash of light. Nora flinched back, blinded from the attack.

  Bright magic traveled much faster than torrent spells, the first strike advantage was always his.

  “Aagh! Motherfucker!” Stryg’s painful yell echoed dimly in Callum’s ears.

  He ignored the voice and dashed at Nora.

  Nora clenched her eyes shut, but threw her right hand in front of her, fingers outstretched. The troughs’ water surged onto the arena and formed a protective dome around her.

  As expected, even blinded you still managed to spell-cast, impressive, Callum thought, but he didn’t slow down.

  White’s bright magic had one overwhelming weakness compared to Blue’s torrent magic. It was impossible to cast a concentrated beam of light until one reached the rank of master, in other words, a novice and adept’s bright spells were very limited in combat.

  All Nora had to do was shield herself until she regained vision, he would be unable to harm her from within the water dome.

  But it won’t be enough.

  Callum casted another bright spell, a flash of white light. He wouldn’t let her open her eyes, no matter what.

  He had worked countless nights to perfect his Red skills for this moment. Callum reached into his jacket and pulled out a vial with a glowing pink liquid. He flicked the cork open with his thumb and threw the liquid over the dome. The pink substance flowed and mixed into the dome in the blink of an eye. The water dome began to bubble and evaporate at a rapid pace, its structure collapsing.

  Nora kept her eyes closed, but frowned. She flung her right hand down in a stiff motion. The dome fell apart at her sides, not a single drop of the polluted water touching her.

  Callum threw his hands up and casted another bright spell, he wouldn’t let Nora have a chance to react. Even with her eyes shut tight, the bright light pierced her eyes. She clenched her teeth and staggered back.

  Callum drew his sword and raised it high. Nora moved her stock-still left hand, she snapped her fingers.

  A massive torrent slammed into the stadium from above. Callum’s body crashed into the ground in a deluge of water. His face smashed into the stone tiles with a painful crunch. The longsword skittered out of his palm and out of reach.

  He tried gasping for breath, but the water poured down on him with the might of a falling tree. He tried moving to no avail, the rushing water felt endless. His lungs burned for air, but there was none.

  Finally, the ferocious torrential downpour ended. Callum groaned in pain, his arms shook as he tried pushing himself up by the elbows. A pair of heel-boots crossed his vision. Callum slowly looked up with a grimace.

  Nora stared down at him, her blue eyes cold with indifference. “It’s over.”

  Callum panted and glanced around, the arena was doused, the water still pouring off the edges.

  “H-how…?” he muttered.

  Nora raised her left hand, “...The moment the match started I created countless droplets of water and began gathering them above the arena until I had a sphere of water larger than the arena itself. You were so focused on me, you never even once thought your own life was in danger.”

  Callum shook his head weakly, “That’s not possible. You casted a water dome.”

  “I did.”

  “But that would mean –”

  Nora crossed her arms, “Kithina’s not the only one who can multicast, not anymore.”

  Callum frowned, “How the hell…”

  “It’s over, Cal.”

  “I underestimated you,” he gritted his teeth and staggered to his feet. “Don’t make the same mistake.”

  Nora narrowed her eyes, “I said it’s over.”

  “I’m still standing.” Callum reached into his pocket for another bottle.

  “It. Is. Over.” Nora held her arm out to her side, electricity crackled over her fingers, and formed a ring of lightning over her hand.

  The crowd gasped in shock.

  Callum’s eyes widened. “How?” he mumbled numbly.

  “Stay down Callum Veres,” Nora said coldly. “I won’t hold back this time.”

  Callum fell to his knees and hung his head in defeat.

  Vayu clapped his hands, “Callum is unable to continue, I declare Nora the wi-”

  “I concede,” Nora said and released the storm spell.

  “What!?” Vayu almost fell off his chair.

  Callum looked up at Nora, confused.

  Nora wiped her hands with an exaggerated motion, “As per the rules, Callum wins.”

  “Well, this is unexpected,” Vayu muttered.

  “Such is life,” Nora shrugged.

  Loh burst into laughter, “This girl’s crazy, I love it.”

  “...Why?” Callum whispered weakly.

  Nora looked out past the arena and the crowd of students, her eyes stared at something beyond the academy’s buildings. “My life is no longer just my own. I have a duty to raise my son and keep him safe. I won’t risk my life needlessly in some stupid tournament to prove myself to a bunch of pompous lords and ladies.” She turned her back and walked away.

  Callum nursed his ribs and grimaced, “If you were planning on conceding from the start then why fight in the first place!”

  Nora stopped in her steps, “I wanted you to know.”

  “Know what?” he frowned.

  She looked back at him, “I wanted you to know that you are not worthy of the honor that is the name ‘House of Veres’ and you are certainly not worthy of the loyalty of the Shield of Veres.”

  Callum sat back, stunned. He swallowed the sudden lump in his throat, there were no words that came to his tongue.

~~~

  Stryg pushed through the crowd of students and ran over to Nora who was already at the edge of the grassy field.

  “You’re leaving already?” he asked.

  “Yeah, I –” Nora cocked her head to the side. “What happened to your eyes? Your irises are… huge?”

  “It happens,” Stryg shrugged.

  “You look like a cat,” she giggled.

  “So Feli tells me,” he scowled.

  “I bet. Well, I need to get going, Kamilo is waiting for me, or at least I hope he is,” she said wryly.

  “...Not a day goes by that I don’t think about Cly too, you know,” Stryg whispered. “My mind always goes back to that night.”

  She smiled sympathetically, “Try to think about the good days, those are the memories that will carry you through the bad days, trust me.”

  He nodded weakly, “...I’ll try.”

  “I know you will. Cly once told me you had endless conviction.” Nora patted his shoulder, “Don’t prove him wrong.”

  Stryg smiled, “I won’t.”

  “Oh! Before I forget, try not to go too hard on Kegrog in the next match. He’s a good friend and the backbone of our group. And he’s worked hard to get this far, there’s no way he’s just conceding.”

  Stryg’s smile only widened, the large lilac eyes made the smile seem eerie, almost sinister. He walked away without another word.

  “And there’s the other bit Cly always talked about,” Nora winced. “Stryg is fucking ruthless.”