Our last meeting ended just in time for lunch. Many of us who had already perfected the mana gauge spell spread ourselves among those who were still struggling and helped them to synchronize their hand movements to the incantation.

I, of course, was in no rush to finish at all. Kai and I used to stay longer so that we could have our daily spell duel.

I had grown to like the boy even though his behavior was sometimes erratic and extremely competitive. His parents were superb spellcasters, and he had always had what he wanted.

That, in combination with the fact that they had showered him in constant praise so that he wouldn’t be jealous of his adopted sister, had made him somewhat spoiled.

However, I could definitely see the effect Myriam had had on him. When we first started our spell duels, he would come to me with everything he got and more often than not, fight dirty to the point where I wondered where he would have picked up tricks like that.

Of course, our duels were all play since we could only pretend casting divine spells without having mana and I would never use class skills on him. Still, his choice of spells and movements said a lot about his character.

As time passed, he came to see the value of fighting honorably and I couldn’t have been happier about it. There was even one time when he actually beat me like that and it was the most pleasant of surprises.

Most of the people who attended had now left so I approached Myriam. She was gathering some of the books she had brought to assist her in today’s lesson.

Her hair gleamed red under the sun and flowed straight down to her waist. Her attire was impeccable, as always, her long cyan robes perfectly complimenting her hair and her light blue eyes.

The garment itself looked heavy but flowed naturally, covering her body from just under her chin down to her feet, revealing just the tips of her polished black leather boots.

Myriam did not care much about what other people had to say about the clothes she wore but rather saw being immaculately dressed as an extension of being a dutiful student and that was what she ultimately wanted to pass along to everyone attending her classes.

“Thank you for your tutelage, Miss Myriam,” I said, teasingly.

“Funny, as always,” she replied, flashing me a smile, but not paying me too much heed.

“Are you ready for our last duel, Adel?” asked Kai, enthusiastically as he approached the two of us.

“Last? Are we stopping after this one? Have you finally realized that you can’t beat me?” I asked him, hoping to provoke him.

He gave me a forced smile and narrowed his brown eyes as he strapped his own Carta Magica to his back. It was a gift bestowed on him by my parents and even though it was not as large as the one I owned, it was enchanted with most of the same protections that mine had, making it virtually indestructible.

The leather straps holding his book pressed into the shoulders of his thin hazel leather robe while he had gathered his short brown hair on the top of his head, creating something more similar to a fountain than a bun.

“This is our last manaless duel,” he explained, a smirk lingering on his face. “Next time we face each other, you won’t stand a chance. Now, are you ready, Adel?”

I appreciated that he was at least trying to start the duel in an fair way by asking me. Not too long ago he would have waited to catch me by surprise, so he would get the upper hand.

What I liked most about him though was his superior sense of confidence and determination in besting me.

Myriam had already gathered her belongings and was leaning against the tree trunk between us. When I looked over at her, she simply raised her eyebrows and made a gesture that implied she wasn’t having anything to do with it.

“Okay, boy,” I goaded. “Show me your best spells boy. I am ready,” I steadied my stance to prepare for his attack.

It was only a friendly duel, and to the outsider, we looked like we were shouting incantations and moving our bodies, without any spells manifesting. However, this was not a duel of executing spells, but one of strategic thinking and spell interactions.

He started off with a rapid 4-word cantrip as he sent me the prompt for the spell he would have used if he had Divine mana.

Name : Sand Fall

School of Magic : Conjuration

Verbal Components : 4 words

Somatic Components : Simple

Material Component : None

HP Consumed : 0

MP Consumed : 0

Divine Mana Consumed : 40

Range : 700 inches

Casting Time : Instant

Precondition : None.

Description : The moment the last word of the spell is chanted, 25 gallons of sand will fall from a point that the caster has chosen within the spell’s range.

In the past, we had sometimes argued over the specifics of targeting and whether a spell would have affected me the way he intended it. This time, however, his eyes were focused perfectly three feet above my head.

The sand was supposed to act as a disruptor to my shield spell that required me looking upward with eyes open and hands pointing forward. Clearly, he’d also been listening to my advice about spell interaction.

Immediately after the cantrip, he started chanting what I thought was a spell that would send sharp gusts of wind to cut me from multiple directions. This, again, was not intended to inflict damage but rather to render me unable to concentrate on casting any spell that required precise body movements.

If I was correct, this was a 32-word incantation which meant that I could cast a 32-word shield instead of the 16-word one that was cancelled by his sand cantrip.

Name : Minor Mana Shield

School of Magic : Abjuration

Verbal Components : 32 words

Somatic Components : None

Material Component : None

HP Consumed : 0

MP Consumed : 0

Divine Mana Consumed : 160

Range : Self

Casting Time : Instant

Precondition : None.

Description : Creates a protective dome around the caster that can absorb weak magical attacks as well as weak projectiles.

I barely managed to end the spell casting before he had finished chanting his, but I still had the upper hand. I was shielded while he was not.

I began casting another 16-word spell that would severely limit the spells Kai would be able to cast.

Name : Binding Words

School of Magic : Abjuration

Verbal Components : 16 words

Somatic Components : Simple

Material Component : None

HP Consumed : 0

MP Consumed : 0

Divine Mana Consumed : 20

Range : 700 inches

Casting Time : Instant

Precondition : None.

Description : The spell goes against the target’s Magic Defense. In the chance that the spell lands successfully, magic bounds constrain the target’s hands.

It seemed that he recognized the spell from the first two words of my incantation, as he immediately moved on to cast the shield spell that he had previously prevented me from casting.

This spell did not require independent hand movements, as long as they were facing forward.

In the middle of his spellcasting, right when he turned his head up with eyes wide open, I stopped my binding spell and uttered a 2-word cantrip of my own.

Name : Flash

School of Magic : Evocation

Verbal Components : 2 words

Somatic Components : None

Material Component : None

HP Consumed : 0

MP Consumed : 0

Divine Mana Consumed : 10

Range : 700 inches

Casting Time : Instant

Precondition : None.

Description : Summon a bright light for an brief instant on a point of space in the spell’s range.

I was also looking above his head and without wasting any time, I chanted another cantrip, four words this time.

Name : Grounded

School of Magic : Abjuration

Verbal Components : 4 words

Somatic Components : Simple

Material Component : None

HP Consumed : 0

MP Consumed : 0

Divine Mana Consumed : 20

Range : 700 inches

Casting Time : Instant

Precondition : None.

Description : Keep the target’s feet to the ground for 3 seconds.

This one would not allow him to complete the somatic components for the spell he had started until he dispelled it and the dispel chant counted sixteen more words.

“I yield,” he said, suddenly.

“But you’ve neither taken lethal damage nor been pinned down yet!”

“I have dueled with you enough times to understand when there is little hope of turning a battle around,” he replied, and I dropped my stance.

“Little hope is more than no hope, kid,” I started to explain, trying my hardest not to sound condescending. “Never give up.”

He smiled, and raised his right hand to shake mine. Regardless of having ended the duel prematurely, I was happy that he had fought cleanly and accepted defeat so graciously so I shook his hand firmly and smiled back.

“Our next duel will be so much fun, Adel,” he said.

“Let’s hope that we receive enough mana to be able to spend it on dueling,” I joked, and turned toward Myriam.

She was still leaning on the tree trunk, and was reading from a small book. She was not reading out loud but I could see her lips moving as if she was concentrating intensely on the task.

After a second or two, she noticed me looking at her and raised her index finger to keep me from interrupting her. Eventually, she closed the book with a snap, lowered her finger and looked at me inquisitively.

“You weren’t watching our duel?” I asked, acting as if I was insulted.

“I’ve watched scores of your make-belief duels, so I thought I’d catch up on some reading instead this time,” she replied, and put the book she was holding in the backpack with the rest of them.

“You missed an interesting one. Kai yielded within seconds.” I was teasing, but Kai didn’t look like he appreciated the joke so I stopped myself from saying any more.

“Do you have any plans for today?” Myriam asked. “I might stop by your home to talk with your mother later.”

“I plan to study some more, but I’m free after that,” I replied.

My parents kept reducing my chores the closer the liturgy was coming. I had spent the early part of the day doing my physical training, so I was going to be free later on.

“Well, in that case, I’ll see you later, Adel,” Myriam said, and turned to Kai. “What do you say we head back home and have some lunch?”

“Yeah, let’s go,” came Kai’s eager reply. “Bye, Adel. It was good dueling with you.”

“Always an honor to duel with you too, Kai,” I replied and gave a slight bow toward him. “See you later, Myriam.”

Her short answer came from a slight distance, as she was already marching back toward the village.

I really did hope that we would all have enough mana to continue fighting. My duels with Kai were great practice. They kept me on my toes.

Especially in the last months, I had to focus hard in order to beat him. Still, I’d never really demonstrated my full spell repertoire and duels were something that rarely happened in real life, if ever.