A long and shiny blade made of water caressed the air in front of me, reflecting the light of the forest flames behind me. It was accompanied by the scent of the ocean as Kyle filled the surroundings with water. Kyle had created dozens of blades, each swirling across his body threateningly, like ferrets coiled and ready to hunt. They shimmered with mana and the complexity of each construct was far beyond that of my spears.

If they weren't aimed at my throat, they would be beautiful.

"[Flash Grass].” I said. “It's a useful ingredient for making concoctions, but not much else.”

“Strength potions, specifically.” Kyle glanced at the ground beside him and smiled.

He'd been digging through it only moments before, and now that he'd stopped, I could see the signs of the ingredient. Smoke that trailed with glitter rose from the ground, and I saw hints of silver and gold sparkles that shimmered like being across the small sections of grass that had transformed thanks to the mana in the air.

Ingredients for concoctions were the most common type of material found in the holy lands. Attuned plants were rare, and so were regent materials, but potion ingredients like the ones William’s family used to accelerate his growth were always in supply for those with the right amount of coin. Fortunately, the demand for concoctions meant that ingredients always high in demand.

“This is a little too valuable for us to give up, isn't it?” I asked.

My words fluttered upward toward Amanda, but the instant they left my lips there was a shift in the mana around me. The blades of water swept toward my body, each one aiming for a vital point. Kyle struck without hesitation.

I was ready for him.

[Earth Creation] activated and a dozen stone blocks appeared in mid-air, shielding me from the incoming attacks. They were torn asunder as water met stone, but in the instant they were pierced I created more to replace them. It was an infinite shield that circled me and deflected every attack.

Now that I didn't have to hide my identity, I didn't have to stick to only using earth magic.

There was a swirl of movement beside me as the [Heart Silver] that William had gifted me moved on its own accord, transforming into a metal glaive that shot toward Kyle. The third year student had a moment to be surprised before he was stabbed through the chest. Except when the spear reached him, he wasn't there.

"Be careful, he’s got some kind of teleportation.” I said

I'd seen him use the teleportation spell before to move in the arena, but even when I was looking out for the spell, I'd missed its activation. It was like my eyes had been forced away from him at the exact moment he'd moved.

A pair of piercing blue eyes emerged from thin air as Kyle appeared in front of me.

“Don't you know it's rude to share someone's skills.” He said.

His hand reached out towards me, droplets of water peeling away from his skin and turning into tiny knives that threatened to slice through my forehead. Each one was greeted by a small stone that appeared to shield me, but he didn't stop.

My stones faltered as the assault grew in intensity and I grimaced. In seconds my metal spear would return to stab through him, and I was already forming stone ones around him. Unfortunately, they wouldn't be created in time to stop him finishing me off.

Then the world lit up in an orange blaze around me and Kyle hesitated.

The orange glow was a shield. Dozens of water knives froze in place as they touched the shield’s surface and there was a chirp of amusement from above as Gold swooped down toward Kyle. He carried a twig in his beak as he landed on my shoulder. It was of the many shielding regents that he had made in his spare time.

A moment later I saw why the puffer was coming in so close. Gold hadn't come alone.

Six fire-red beads dropped from the sky and surrounded Kyle from every angle. Above me Amanda and Agni oscillated with magic as they wove a spell, already bringing it to its conclusion. The red beads grew white-hot and before Kyle or I could react, a blinding flash of light crashed through our vision, and I heard him growl in pain.

When my vision cleared, he was gone. It took me a moment to spot him regrouping near the sanctuary wall, rubbing his eyes with water, and creating a veil of transparent liquid around his body as a shield.

Then he disappeared in a wave of fire.

Amanda’s claws tore through the ground and air to get to him, ignoring the shield and bringing the water’s outer shell to a boiling point as they assaulted him.

"Take your focus off the platform and use it to fight.” Amanda said. “I can take care of myself.”

For a voice called down to me from above and I looked up to see her stepping off the stone platform. Waves of golden flames rippled down from the skies as Agni glowed bright and transformed into a pair of golden wings. The two of them were confident in their ability to fight in the air, and they were keeping Kyle busy.

Gold joined them, flying toward Amanda and conjuring another shield as he did so. Fire rained down on our opponent from above, and with Gold there I knew that my teammates would be safe. That gave me the time I needed to do what I did best.

With a flick of my wrist the stone platform disassembled, its parts floating in the sky waiting to be commanded.

“[Earthen Spear].” I said.

All around me the stones that had been my shields shed their excess pieces and formed an army of spears that pointed toward Kyle. One by one they shot toward him, aiming for the weak spots that Amanda created in his shield. Coursing out from inside my inventory were blades of silver that joined the spears, glimmering bright in the light of the flaming forest.

Silver and stone assaulted my opponent in a never-ending assault. Sweat poured down my neck as my concentration was stretched to its limits.

[Earthen Spear (II) has reached level 8.]

Then something tugged at my chest.

I frowned and focused on the sensation within me. It was coming from one of the symbols inside my mind. My water attunement. It was trying to tell me something. I listened closely and its emotions trickled through me, coalescing into a tangible thought.

It sensed water mana’s presence from behind me.

“[Stone Grasp].”

The earth behind me rose up and formed a hand. For a moment it stayed still, waiting for a command, and I turned around to guide it. The moment I turned I spotted what I hadn't been able to sense. There was a tangle of threads approaching me, each one made of water and sneaking closer as I continued my assault on Kyle.

That was when I noticed that the spell wasn't alone. There was a shimmer in the air behind it, and I narrowed my eyes as I tried to pierce through the veil.

It looked like Gerial when he went invisible.

My stone hand shattered as it came into contact with the tangled mess, each thread of water slicing through the stone flesh as though they were lasers. I staggered as I felt my connection to the earth being destroyed. If I had noticed the enemy spell a few seconds later then it would have been too late.

"Kyle.” I said.

There was a chuckle from the invisible shimmer and a curtain of water shifted and fell onto the ground as the spell was disabled. In its place was Kyle. A quick look behind me showed that Amanda was still focusing on her fight against the Kyle that was inside the water shield.

“A golem?” I asked.

“It's my [Mirage].” Kyle said. “I'm impressed. I only know six others that can spot me. And none so quickly.”

I wouldn't have been able to if my water attunement hadn't helped me at that moment, but I didn't let him know that.

His words were filled with praise, but I could see that he didn't look surprised or afraid that I'd spotted him. A moment later I looked at his hands and saw why. He’d dug out the [Flash Grass] while we were fighting his mirage. It sat in his hand and emitted puffs of glittery smoke as he gazed at it gently.

“Is this ingredient worth so much to you?" He asked. “You're using a lot of mana for a fight this early in the game.”

“I could ask you the same thing.” I said. “Why haven't you put it in your inventory yet?”

It wasn't possible for me to grab the ingredient once it was in his inventory, not unless I stole it from him. And that was something I wasn't willing to do so early in the game. Kyle wasn't the kind of person I wanted to turn into an enemy. Not yet.

Kyle raised the [Flash Grass] up to his chest and smiled.

“That'd be boring.” He said. “As your senior I should be teaching you how the world works. And outside of the academy people will always consider us rivals, so let me show you what that means.”

He raised his hand and the threads of water spread wide, cross-crossing into the trees as they formed a large ring around me. There was a groan in the air, and I saw a dozen trunks falling onto the ground, each one causing a mighty crash that reverberated through the air. The threads of water had cut right through them.

Then his finger twitched and the ring encircling me began to close in.

With a quick step I flung myself into the air, creating stairs of stone underneath my feet as I rose higher and higher. I could feel his magic cutting through them as I moved, but after the fifth step the threads broke and the water fell to the ground. I'd dodged the threads, but the battle wasn't over. Beneath me the ground trembled in anger and Kyle fell through the earth as a crevice opened up underneath him.

At least, that was what was supposed to happen. The reality was a bit different.

The moment the ground opened up underneath Kyle, he stepped into the air, mimicking my movements perfectly as he glided over a sheet of water that rose to my level. In seconds he was beside me once again, water pelting me from all sides and stones rising to meet the attacks.

"Fancy seeing you here." He said.

I shot my [Heart Silver] spear at his face.

He laughed and raised his hand. The silver paused mid-stride as tendrils of water surrounded it from all angles. Each sliver of liquid pushed against my will as I forced the metal spear to move forward, and Kyle frowned as his control began to slip.

“What are you doing?” He asked.

I didn't answer him. I couldn't. The [Heart Silver] could be manipulated with minimal effort, so all of my concentration was focused on one thing.

Taking control of his water with my [Water Manipulation].

A moment later Kyle’s control slipped, and his eyes widened in surprise as several tendrils of water dropped from the sky, his spell disrupted. I couldn't take over full control, but I could break off part of his spell. I would have to thank William again for the gift. Being able to fight with minimal interrupted between metal and my other elements was perfect.

With a push I sent my newly freed spear straight into his chest.

There was a jolt as it hit something solid. I expected to see a mark shooting into the air to alert the teachers that Kyle’s shield regent had been broken. Or maybe a flash of magic as the symbols activated. Instead, a chill blew over me, and the flames of the forest dimmed as a new force entered my vision.

I saw the cause of the intrusion immediately. Something crept along the metal spear, freezing it in place without hesitation.

It was ice.

"Rude.” Kyle said.

I withdrew my spear, the metal dislodging from its ice shackles without issue. Earth and metal floated around me, protecting me as best it could. Kyle had ceased his attack, and across his body a flood of water rippled through the air, threatening to transform into a sea of blades with every shiver.

Heat washed over us, and a chirp reached my ear as Amanda and Gold flew up next to me. Agni was still in the form of Amanda's golden wings, and I was proud to see that my friend wasn't sweating or twitching uncontrollably. It had taken a lot of practice to synchronise with Agni’s thoughts, but now she was reaping the rewards.

“I wasted my time fighting a puddle of water.” Amanda’s flames flickered dangerously.

She was embarrassed. And very, very angry.

“To be fair, it was a very realistic puddle.” I said. “It got me too.”

That eased her emotions slightly, and she glanced at Kyle. Six claws of fire surrounded Amanda and gnashed and scraped at the air as they waited for her to unleash them. Underneath us I could see the ground had been gouged out entirely, with large swathes of tree trunks and earth burnt to ashes. The landscape was hardly recognisable, though I could see that the sanctuary wall was unharmed.

If Kyle had been down there instead of with me then he would have had a harder time.

“I think I gave away more than I got here.” Kyle said.

“You got the ingredient.” I said. “Call it even?”

Kyle looked down at his hand and the [Flash Grass] disappeared.

“Not bad, Crijik.” He said. "Or should I call you Andross?”

There was a crack in the air as something whipped against my ears before I could reply to him. My eyes shot toward the disturbance, and I saw Amanda and Kyle doing the same. It wasn't difficult to spot what had happened.

A giant tree had crashed into the forest floor, sending flames and dust flying high into the air. It was far away, but the sheer force of the impact sent a shockwave through the surroundings. Several clouds of dust smacked against the sanctuary’s walls and rode over them into the buildings beyond.

I narrowed my eyes as I tried to get a proper look at the giant tree. From what I could see it didn't have any flames along its body, and instead it emitted a low green-blue glow onto its surroundings. Either somebody had brought a tree into the holy land and was controlling it, or the tree was a magically attuned plant.

“Well now.” Kyle’s eyes flashed and a beaming smile broke out on his face. “That looks interesting.”

Amanda and I looked at each other and without hesitation she fired her claws at Kyle. The water magician reacted immediately, sending spires of ice out of his robes. The two elements clashed and the sky around us filled with steam.

When the air cleared Kyle was gone.

“That guy is good.” Amanda grumbled.

She didn't release her transformation and kept her guard up. Golden flames circled her robes, providing protection and scouring the area for any potential threats.

I looked toward the giant tree. Its blue glow tinged the atmosphere around it, and now that the dust had cleared I could see the flames in the surrounding trees had also turned blue, mimicking the tree. For the first time since he'd entered the holy land, the light shifted and darkened. A storm was forming in the sky above the tree, faint signs of rain already present.

"Should we go?" She asked. “There's going to be others there.”

I nodded and formed a stone platform below us. With a smooth motion it flew toward the tree. I couldn't see Kyle anywhere around us, but I knew he'd be there.

“Life's no fun without taking a few risks.”