A flute. Yep. You heard me.

I mean, it’s cute.

But it doesn’t exactly scream ‘deathmatch.’

“I challenge you to a duel to the death, you worm!”

“You sure, Atticus? I have nothing against you, really. I mean, you are a douche, but I’d rather not kill you just for that. Can’t we just have a normal duel?”

“You killed an innocent Elf, worm!” he shouts with veins popping from his neck.

“Innocent? The murderer guy that some [Archmage] had placed there to kill me? Were you actually there?”

Man, how are people this dumb? Like, how can a person be so blind? Has he been riled up by someone else? Is he just a puppet?

“Atticus, listen to me,” I go on, “if you die, that’s it. You have your whole life in front of you. But I’m also not going to let someone trying to kill me off the hook. If you want a match to the death, I’m killing you. But, if I can, I’d rather avoid that. So, please, can’t we have a normal duel? If you defeat me, then I’ll concede a match to the death. What about that?”

“Are you mocking me, worm?”

This ‘worm’ thing is slowly getting under my skin.

“Okay,” I go up to him and extend my hand. For a second, he looks confused. “Let’s shake hands before I kill you, Atticus. To the death it is.”

I grab his hand and feel the cool but strong armor on my skin. Shaking my head, I start heading back to put some distance between us. This time, there’s no shield-breaking – kill or get killed.

It’s really frustrating. Why can’t people be more reasonable? Why does he think he can win just like that?

“To the death!” the [Archmage] – whose name I still don’t know – shouts. “Atticus is wearing the famed Thousand Trees Armor! It’s one of the few national treasures not owned by the Royal Family!”

Well, that’s why he thinks he can kill me.

Aim for the armpits. The enchantment on the armor doesn’t cover that part.

Thanks.

Now, Atticus also takes out a massive staff taller than him.

“Oh! That’s [Archmage] Titus’s personal staff! A mighty relic!”

The audience is a bit stumped now. There’s some cheering, but most people are just talking among themselves.

That staff augments his spellcasting but does not contain any preformed spell.

Yeah, yeah. I know. They think I’m a fluke. So, parry the smaller spells, disrupt the big one at the start, and go straight for the kill.

Lord Juler has explained a thousand times what the best fighting strategies are. He’s obsessed with fighting. And I’m grateful, to be honest. When it comes to magical theory, few advance faster than me. But my fighting experience is still lacking.

As Atticus leans his body on the massive staff, he chants, and a big translucent shield envelops his body.

You better prepare your shield—

A flute note goes off, and I find myself slightly distracted by Lord Juler’s words when something hits my side.

It doesn’t just hurt like a bitch, but it’s also cold as fuck. As I lower my eyes, I see a relatively small ice spike piercing my side. I groan in pain, but the cheering is deafening. Everyone seems to rejoice that I have been hit without even putting up my shield.

“How is that, worm?! Do you regret murdering Cassius, now?!” Atticus shouts, entirely red on his face and already panting. “This is how a true [Mage] fights!”

Who?

The pain is terrible, and I’m also losing abundant amounts of blood, but something trumps every single sensation assailing my body.

Anger.

[Single-Minded Focus]

[Aura Lucis]

Suddenly, my body explodes in a feast of lights, illuminating the entire arena. While I usually keep my aura suppressed, I let out the beast this time. It feels hot, as if the typically cool energy inside a [Light] was finally erupting in a world-ending storm of lava.

[Greater Chain-Flash]

I cover the field in [Flashes], blinding everyone. Atticus, as I had thought, doesn’t seem fazed by that. He has some artifact that grants him at least partial immunity. [Flashes] are great as utility spells, but they lose efficacy once your adversary knows what to expect.

Or that’s what I want him to think.

[Light Overcharge]

[Overcharged Polarization Field]

[Light Acceleration]

[Light-Bended Reality]

[Overcharged, Accelerated: Advanced Light Lance]

Usually, I would play it safer and be more lenient. But this bastard basically sneak-attacked me as soon as he was legally allowed to. So, it’s time to dance.

As the lance shoots, I can see him sneering at the flashes, but his eyes are partially narrowed. He can’t really see, can he?

[Advanced Mana Sense]

The spell matrix is not finished yet, but I’m not done casting. Instead, I take a good look at his shield and do something that’s usually very taxing on my mind. Almost too much. Almost.

I cast [Light] ten times. And then ten times again. And again. And again. The strain is almost too much, and I can feel blood spilling from my nose and eyes. The shard of ice lodged in my side puts me in a universe of pain, but my mind is focused. It’s single-mindedly focused on the bastard’s shield, on his hubris. He could have attacked again right after instead of mocking me. But he didn’t. And it’s going to cost him his life.

I can feel the insane pressure multi-casting is putting on my brain, but I don’t care. Breaking an already formed spell is hard but not impossible. Not technically.

I push and push, creating more and more [Lights]. I’ll need a Mana potion after this, but who the fuck cares. I can feel the spell matrix of the shield starting to crumble, to dissolve into nothingness.

It’s almost done.

With a simple pop, the elaborate shield that Atticus has cast disappears. But he’s too busy laughing at me to notice.