Chapter Seventy-Five: A Duel Between Cousins

Alex and Amelie stood across from each other, neither of them letting the other find an opening. This went on for a full minute, with neither of the two speaking verbally. The two watched every movement the other made, looking for an opening to take.

Alex was the first to break the silence between them "So Amelie we never dueled before but here's some advice don't rely too much on Aunt Lyanna and my mother's lessons.

Amelie was curious about what he meant, so she asked "What do you mean?"

"Fight me, and you'll figure it out." Alex said with a devilish smile on his face.

Amelie charged at Alex. Her strongest weapon was her ability to manipulate mana, but the best way for her to use her ability was by making physical contact with whoever her target was.

Alex knew this was what she had planned, so immediately he used his fire magic to spread his purple flames all around him, almost as if he were creating a wall against Amelie.

"Now, Amelie, what will you do? Your strongest power is mana manipulation, but you need to touch me in order to use it to its highest effect, but now I've cut you off...so what's your next strategy?" Alex asked.

Alex didn't just want to win this battle he himself created; he wanted to teach Amelie, and what better way than by forcing her to think outside the box.

Amelie was now in a tough position. Her go-to strategy was now dead in the water, at least for now. She also knew that Alex had range attacks with his lightning and could unleash hell on her at anytime...yet he didn't.

"He has something else planned..." Amelie thought to herself.

"C'mon, Amelie, show me something." Alex taunted Amelie.

Alex started to generate lightning in his palms and started firing lightning shots at Amelie, who was struggling to dodge them. She didn't know what to do here; she had never had to fight someone who possessed two different types of magic.

She sprinted around trying to dodge Alex's attacks; her idea was to keep dodging until he ran out of mana, but

"If you're waiting for me to tire out, we're going to be here all day, Amelie." Alex said.

Alex's origin had a massive supply of mana, meaning if he kept to simple spells like he's doing, he would almost never run out.

Amelie then decided to try a different move; she jumped up into the trees around them and hid from Alex, but Alex had another counter to that.

He then unleased flames into the trees, setting them ablaze, meaning Amelie's hiding spots wouldn't work; she would have to stay mobile in order not to get caught in Alex's purple flames.

Amelie knew her goal just got that much harder; she jumped from tree to tree, hoping Alex wouldn't see her. Eventually, she worked her way onto some trees behind him.

Realizing this was her only chance, she leaped from the tree, her jump clearing the wall of fire Alex had made to defend himself. All she needed was contact with him, and she could start to fight back.

However, during her leap, she saw Alex turn around with a smile on his face.

"Not bad..." he said before he threw a lightning bolt at her, knocking her to the ground. "But not enough..."

Amelie was knocked out on the ground, meaning Alex had single-handedly defeated the entire class.

Alex, however, did feel a little bad; after all, Amelie was family. He didn't care about the others, but he picked Amelie up, carried her like a princess, and walked back to the teacher.

Austin was treating the injured students, and he was able to recover with help from the nurses.

The injured students who managed to regain consciousness looked at Alex with disdain; they knew he beat them all, but none of them wanted to accept it.

"Mr. Austin, my cousin needs treatment; there's also some other guys in the woods." Alex said.

"Oh, so that means you're done?" Austin asked.

"Nobody is left to face me so..." Alex said.

"Alright, fine, Nurse Jane! We have another injured student!" Austin yelled out to one of the nurses.

Austin then looked at Alex and asked "Did you have to go so far?"

"If you don't show them what fighting is like without rules, what will happen to them in the future?" Alex asked a rhetorical question.

"What do you mean?" Austin asked.

"Let's say everyone in this class graduates. What will they do next? Some of the firstborn nobles will more than likely go to lead their families, but others will join the military or even the adventurers and mercenary guilds throughout the Empire. They will be unprepared to face life-or-death scenarios. You know that. How many rookies to the mercenary guild do you see die in their first dangerous job?" Alex asked.

"Too many..." Austin said.

"Exactly; it's a waste of life and potential. Why not teach them what we know? We have both fought monsters and people alike. You never know what dangers you will face on the battlefield." Alex explained.

"Your argument makes sense, but we can't rush them either. Like you said, most of these students have only fought in controlled environments. I think we will slowly prepare them; you will also have to learn how to hold back, Alex." Austin said.

"Hold back?" Alex asked.

"You have significant power, but you don't have the control you need. You need to know when to go all out and when to hold back." Austin explained.

"Maybe..." Alex said sighing.

He knew he hadn't been able to fully control his magic since what happened at the village all those weeks ago. He hasn't gained the control he needed with his fire magic, and his lightning is also becoming more difficult to control.

Alex took a deep breath and thought to himself "Should I ask her for help?"

*Somewhere in the Empire*

"Brother, what is it that you need?" Adelia asked her brother, who was sitting on a log.

"It's almost time, sister; we found one of the locations of the enemy." Percival said.

"We have? Who found them?" Adelia asked.

"Ophelia." Percival answered.

"So she's back in the Empire?" Adelia asked.

"Seems so; it's been awhile since I've seen her, but I want you, Ophelia, and someone else to go after this enemy. They always attack us with multiple people; I think it's time we show them the same courtesy." Percival said.

"Who else?" Adelia asked.

"Alex would do nicely." Percival said.

"Alex? Are you sure?" Adelia asked.

"He is ready; he needs some help with his new power, but he's ready for this, plus, don't you want to see him again?" Percival asked, smiling at the end of his sentence.

Adelia blushed upon hearing his words "It's not like Percival."

"Sure, sister, sure...." Percival said while teasing his sister.

Percival sat in silence and thought to himself "It's time; we can finally strike back...avenge our fallen comrades."

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