Magical Duels.

  A tradition that was as old as magic itself, inally it was meant as a way to test who was in the right by using the knowledge of spell casting.

  Eventually, it turned into something noblemen would use to fight over the most meaningless squabbles one could think of.

  And then it evolved into something akin to a sport in colosseums.

  Or at least that's what Mother told me in that particur css at home while rambling about no one wanting to duel her nowadays.

  And I mean, why would you duel one of the most powerful and dangerous magical girls in the world?

  No one is dumb enough.

  Besides father, but as a powered that is a moot point anyway.

  Why is this relevant you ask?

  "You both know the rules for a duel?" Asked the teacher to the blonde girl and the blue-haired smart-ass.

  "Yes." Said Michael Shepherd, the [Sage].

  "I guess." Answered the blonde girl, [Elemental Weaver].

  "Good enough." And on that he teacher flew to the stands aed a force field around the arena.

  "This is a demonstration, both students don't have nearly enough power to kill uhey aim at vitals. But we will use the [Shield] geors to protect your body." Said the teacher.

  "Even if you do get a vital hit, at best your transformation might end. We don't want to get into the habit of that happening sihat will also forcibly end all your [Security Nodes] exposing your identity to the world at rge." Fihe teacher activating a magic circle embedded into her stand.

  After that anical circle showed in the feet of both students and so a warm light embraced them.

  It was only visible for a few seds before fading.

  "That will shine red when it detects fatal damage to your [Shifted Body] and so it will mark your defeat." Added Agatha to her expnation.

  "So anything goes so long it isn't aimed at a vital spot but we o defeat the enemy." Asked Michael.

  Elizabeth was almost sure that if she was the one asking that then she would get reprimanded.

  "Exactly, we aren't here to torture each other though. So don't go too hard and try to finish the bat. You also make your oppo Yield "... Finished saying the teacher.

  She somehow got the feeling that the teacher had given too much emphasis on that word.

  "Want to make a bet?" Asked Michael to the blonde girl.

  "Nope ★" Answered without wasting a single instant the blonde girl.

  "What?" Said astohe [Sage].

  "Why did you think I would accept?" tinued saying the blonde girl "I earn nothing, you have nothing I want." finished saying the blonde girl.

  "Prepare yourselves!" Came the thunderous voice of the teacher from a magical circle that worked as a voice amplificator.

  Sinside the barrier was isoted from the outside world this was necessary.

  Even if Elizabeth found it somewhat wasteful. Couldn't they use wireless tiech for that?

  "START!" But she didn't have time to think about that.

  First was to dodge!

  Mother always told her, in a magical fight. Always dodge first and think ter.

  So she dodged, she jured a couple of wind streams from the sole of her shoes to unch herself backward without even attempting to trol the power behind the spell.

  A couple of magic circles could be seen shining in the heel of her shoes signifying the wind spell she had cast.

  It proved right the advice her Mother had given her since a stone bullet hit where her leg was before.

  " No pity for a cute girl huh?" Said the blonde girl while in the middle of her jump and while materializing a couple of magic circles in both hands. "Unless you are into that...Ugh..."

  Also, some psychological warfare, not that it would work...

  "I'M NOT INTO THAT!" Screamed the blue-haired [Sage] while for some reason he was taking off the hoodie.

  That settled it, he was one of the bad guys. Who would ever take off their hoodie?

  "( [Wind Manipution] + [Earth Manipution] + [Merge] ) + [Amp] = [Earth Needle]" And then she fused the magical energy from the earth & wind spells into a spike made of earth.

  After she shot that earth spike into anic Circle that not only boosted its speed but also made it look somewhat more sturdy.

  For his part, the blue-haired man just raised his right hand while taking off something from one of his pouches and spreading some dust while murmuring something under his breath.

  "[Disperse]." And so the dust settled into some kind of are glyph, upon which her earth spike disied into their basipos.

  That would be good and all if her spell was cast the normal way.

  But hers wasn't cast the normal way. Her was a pounding spell.

  What does this mean?

  Well, for Elizabeth it meatack wasn't meaningless.

  For Michael though?

  It meant his defense wasn't...quite enough.

  You see his [Distortion] spell is meant to disrupt a spell into his base pos, if you use the method he uses that means turning the spell bato a po and mana.

  For more normal spellcasters that means that the spell would turn bato basia and he would get showered in a wave of pure mana.

  Nothing one 't get over if he is ready for it.

  But in this case?

  Several things happened in a row. First, he got showered in the mana of the st spell cast.

  He got over that quite easily, even if the wave of mana was dehan he expected sihe spell Elizabeth was using was somewhat advanced.

  He still weathered it quite well all things said.

  The problem was that his step was stopped.

  "Hah, you will have to do..." That was all he could say before the seana wave hit him.

  He almost choked on the mana wave.

  So when the pos of the spell surged forth he was caught unaware of his bearings and got pelted by a rain of rocks propelled by a gust of wind.

  Gra wasn't enough to mark red damage on his shield so in the grand scheme of things it ointless as an attack.

  But he still got caught by surprise and panicked creating a seore powerful shield than needed.

  "[Great Shield]!" Was the spell the [Sage] invoked ing a shield neckce of his.

  Of course, the great attack that he was expeg never came to bear.

  Not that the blonde girl allowed that to pass "( [Fire Manipution] + [Earth Manipution] + [Merge] ) + [Amp] = [Shooting Star Bolt]!" and so she carried along while running in the arena with her Wind boosted shoes.

  She tried to pce herself in the back of the blue-haired kid while the magical circles on her hand created the required materials.

  She even made the effort to make it look nice by makira fanfare.

  As the magical energy coalesced in her hands before fusing and creating a fming rock that...Didn't quite look like a shooting star.

  She still pced her hands together ahe fming rock fly toward its intearget. A few timeters away from her ara magic circle was formed and once again propulsing and increasing the size of the rock.

  Of course this time the [Sage] was more than ready and he already uood the gimmick of the blonde girl.

  "[Shield]" So he just raised a hand and intoned his spell. He didn't waste ments and just weathered the attack with his shield.

  This one didn't have a plex effect as the distortion shield, nor was it was magnifit work of art like the Great Shield.

  It was a normal energy-looking shield, it did his work quite well though.

  Even if it looked like it could break after blog the attack.

  "Are you mog me?" Asked the blue-haired [Sage].

  "I uand if the first was a deception inteo test the grounds." Said while several magic circles started f behind him.

  "I even respect the fact that you made me waste one of my biggest shields in vain." At this, he poi his neckce which was just a single without any decoration on it.

  "But this attack..." He said pointing at the fming rock that now was stu his test shield.

  "It isn't something worth the fanfare nor dedication you put." He even grabbed the fming rod extinguished it with his gloved hand.

  "This is a mockery." And in a swift motion, the [Sage] broke the no longer fming rock.

  "If this is your best...You are disappointing [Elizabeth Starbright]." And then the magic circles around him started materializing Spikes made of earth. Like the one, Elizabeth had used.

  Just on more quantity.

  "It is your fault if for some reason you had other expectations Michael ★." Answered the blonde girl while frowning her face.

  She was... Surprised, not by the fact that he could summon that mah Neddle].

  She already khat this man had a better [in] in the magic department, and also he had higher [Wisdom] and [Intelligehan her.

  So she wasn't hoping to have an easy time.

  No, she was surprised by the fact that he knew her name.

  Granted she did [Shift] with everyone looking at her.

  "No ao name-calling? At least you are smarter than the brain-dead friend you carry along." Mocked the blue-haired man.

  "...You are treading dangerous ground [The Promised Sage]." Answered the girl no longer keeping the bright starry facade she had going.

  Just for a sed, the blue-haired man could feel a shiver go along his spine.

  But only for a sed, because after that, the blonde girl in front of him returo normal.

  "If you are rude like this no girl will like you ★" She acted as if nothing had happened. "Even if you have that much firepower, if it's for show then it's meaningless★." Smiled the girl pointing at the dozen or so Earth Needles floating behind the blue-haired man.

  "[Shot]." To which the blue-haired man just pointed in her dire and said the trigger word.

  If this was a real-life battle, that might be enough to kill the blonde girl, and if not her [Shift] was most than likely getting celed.

  So here was the moment where she had power up and her friend(s) would start calling for her to rise!

  She robably getting out of that with grievous wounds too.

  She could see the [Tropes] going around.

  "I surrender." Yeah no.

  She wasn't a [Shonnen Mo point in doing that.

  ...Why aren't those spells stopping etting celed?

  The blonde girl could see them still going and the blue-haired man noanig.

  Does...Does he not know how to cel his own spells?

  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?

  WHAT KIND OF SAGE IS THIS?!?!?

  At least the teacher was watg and she could stop this right?

  This was still a css even if that teacher hates her...

  ....

  WHY IS SHE JUST LECTURING THE CLASS WITHOUT PAYING ATTENTION?!?

  ...Right, the barrier prevented sound from passing.

  Right...

  At least they didn't hear the smart-ass using her name. So that was something.

  ....Welp, now she had to deal with this.

  "I hate you all." First, get that out of the way. " ( [Lighting Manipution] + [Wind Manipution] + [Merge] ) * [Amp] + [Amp] =

  [Fsh Speed] " Ihe blonde girl while several magical circles started f in a fsh all around her.

  The first was the thunder alighat formed below her feet, the sed was the wind-attuned ohat formed above her head.

  Then a couple of booster oarted orbiting arouhe extra special thing was that her body started showing yellow nes shining all over her body. And a couple of runic characters also started shining all over her body.

  They looked simir to the runic characters her magical circles had...

  Finally, a magic circle materialized above her that instantly after showing up smashed down into the blonde girl.

  This all happened in a few seds during which the teacher stopped pretending to not paying attention.

  Now Elizabeth Starbright glowed with ahereal glow. The skin that showed in her outfit had that shifted between yellow and green. A few runic characters occasionally moved along her skin. And if one paid close attention, one could almost see the faint glow below her white shirt and under her white stogs.

  Her attire in trast looked... Strained, as if the mana that should keep it materialized was being tugged in another dire but somethi it in trol.

  But her the blue-haired man nor the other students had time to pohat.

  "Star Time ★," Said the blonde before disappearing from sight.

  The earth spikes impacted where she was standing a few seds before and raised a dust cloud.

  And after that, an arm signaling the end of the match sounded.

  Surprised the students searched for the testants.

  Only to find the blonde girl panting while trying to stay standing, her figure was a sorry sight.

  Her pristine hair now was a mess and she had lost the ribbons in her head at some point. Her white pristiogs were ripped in a few spots and her left sleeveless gloves were missing while the right one was ripped.

  Her left arm also unctured and was bleeding, profusely.

  Her oppo?

  He was on the floor ial position, almost as if he was in incredible amounts of pain.

  No visible wound could be seen in him, one could only wonder what happened in that instant.

  If anything he somehow was almost 20 meters away from his inal position.

  "BOUT END, BOTH TESTANTS STOP THE FIGHT!" Came the thunderous voice of the teacher.

  "So, here is where you decre the wieach ★?" Said the blonde girl while smirking, she now also had a line of blood leaving her mouth.

  But even so, she stood proud!

  "... It's a tie, only because the [Sage] does not look like he stand, you are lucky girl, that wouldn't work on a seasoned [Mage]. They know better." Said the witch while looking irked for some reason.

  "Oh, I know that, trust me. But sihe match didn't end when I surrendered... Might as well try. While this might not work in a [Duel]... I'm sure it would have better ces to work in [Real Fights] at least against males... ★" Ehe girl while slowly walking towards the benches.

  After the witded the match the barrier separating the arena from the rest dissipated. So while the rest of the students were fbbergasted by the end...

  A pink-haired girl jumped down to help the blonde girl.

  "[HEAL!]" was shrieking the pink-haired girl while slowly but surely treating the wounds of the blonde girl.

  The blue-haired kid you ask?

  He was still groveling in the ground for help without actually saying what was wrong.

  Elizabeth had no mercy for him though.

  Who shoots that much firepower without a way to cel the spell?!?

  He khe right spell to stop others, why not his own!?!?

  Rossie?

  She was too busy treating the wounds of Elizabeth, not that she would heal someohat left her in that dition, to begin with.

  The teacher?

  She did cast a floating board to carry the blue-haired [Sage] into the stands.

  She did not cast any type of healing magi him though.