Winners and losers

It was the first time in three months that we could enjoy the sunlight without it being blocked by the windows of the Academy.

But I soon realised that something was wrong. It was way too warm to be in the middle of winter and I couldn't even feel a breeze blowing!

Perhaps this was also an elaborate illusion after all?

Skylark seemed to have noticed the confusion in my eyes and that of my classmates and explained with amusement:

«Did you really think we would take you out here without any precautions? A barrier, very similar to the one that regulates duels, surrounds the entire Academy, so don't even think about levitating off the roof!»

"Piece of human garbage..."

The fact that he had taken us up there was just a reminder of the fact that we were nothing more than birds in a cage, completely at his mercy.

But of course, the headmaster's sadism wasn't the only reason we were on the roof.

A huge arena had been set up in the large open space, complete with stands.

Some seats were already taken. Amongst the familiar faces of the various professors of the Academy, I immediately noticed an unfamiliar, extravagantly dressed person.

«That's the King's Advisor,» Celeste whispered in my ear.

"The King's Advisor..."

Not that I thought Skylark had lied to us, after all he would have no reason to, but to see tangible proof that the Crown was on the side of the Academy was disheartening to say the least.

The people who had trapped us here would never be brought to justice.

Not only that, but even if we had managed to escape, our lives would not have been easy: the King would have considered us an inconvenience and probably even hunted us down to cover everything up.

"I'll think about that when we're actually out of here..."

But why was that man here anyway? Could Skylark have organised this event just for him?

If the purpose of this sick game was to create a powerful mage like Aldric, maybe the Sovereign wanted to know how much progress the Academy had made in that direction.

In another words, he wanted to know how his new weapon was coming along.

But would the last survivor really agree to serve their captors?

I remembered the conversation I had with Celeste about Aldric. Perhaps he really didn't remember anything about his time here after all.

Skylark's voice brought me back to Earth as he ordered us to take our seats in the grandstand.

We could only obey.

I sat between Amy, who was still trembling with nervousness, and Celeste, who as usual seemed to have no care in the world.

The headmaster took the highest chair and addressed everyone.

«Welcome to the main stage of the Academy! This is the first time here for our students and hopefully won't be the last. If you're lucky enough to make it to the end, this is where you'll fight your final duels. But there is still a long way to go. Today, focus on doing your best and honouring both the Academy and the occasion we are celebrating!»

The other professors gave a muted applause. Of course, none of the students did the same.

«Now, before we begin, a small announcement. Since you are currently an odd number, the student who was paired with the one who left us this Sunday will automatically receive the promised 50 points.»

I saw a boy below me cheering.

It was a bit distasteful, but I couldn't blame him. If he was up against the bottom of the table, he probably wasn't very good. Those points would save his life for a few weeks.

«And now, without further ado, let the event begin!»

The first two students were called up.

Once out of the stands, they stood facing each other in the large arena.

Without waiting for them to speak, the usual magical barrier enveloped them. As I suspected, we had no choice: we had to fight.

After a few seconds, the battle began. And it was... quite boring.

Nothing extraordinary.

The two contenders were in good positions in the rankings, so they didn't put much effort into it.

Ten more duels of varying intensity followed.

Some, especially those between students with fewer points, were more fiercely fought, while others ended with the immediate surrender of one of the contenders, just as Sophia would have wanted.

Finally, it was the turn of one of us: Amy.

I gave her an encouraging pat on the shoulder as she stood up, with the same enthusiasm as if she were going to a funeral.

Celeste, on the other hand, shouted at her:

«Take care!»

Amy replied with a strange sound. Perhaps she was afraid she would vomit if she opened her mouth.

Slowly, my best friend descended into the arena, where she found an opponent who could not have been more different from her.

Owen Finch was a tall, muscular man. He reminded me very much of the late Carl Stuart.

He had a scabbard strapped to his back from which he drew a greatsword almost as tall as Amy.

«That guy's a battlemage, not something you see every day,» Celeste commented next to me.

By 'battlemage' she meant a fighter who preferred melee combat, combining their skill with the blade with enhancement and strengthening spells.

Celeste was right: it was rare for someone to choose that style.

After all, mages usually preferred to fight at a distance. But for that very reason, it could prove to be a surprisingly effective strategy.

When not expected, being attacked by an opponent with superhuman speed could lead to a quick defeat. Such an ultra-offensive strategy was ideal for challenging an inexperienced mage without giving them time to think.

I couldn't help but be a little worried. That guy looked like he could break Amy in two with his bare hands.

«Everything will be fine. Amy has worked just as hard as you have,» Celeste said confidently.

The countdown began.

Amy drew her wand and took her position.

Finch did the same, but pointed it at himself and muttered something. His body began to glow from the effects of his spells. Then he did the same with the sword, which also glowed with a bluish light.

I had no idea what enhancements he had used, it was a branch of magic I was unfamiliar with.

Amy seemed to have calmed down, I could see the determination in her face.

As the duel started, Finch immediately charged forward, lightning fast thanks to the spells he had used on himself.

But before he could reach her, Amy whispered something. A thick mist quickly spread around her, obscuring the entire arena.

"Ah, I should have known that Celeste would decide to make her fight like this..."

Normally, Amy wouldn't stand a chance in a duel against such an opponent. The spells needed to overcome a battlemage's enchantments were beyond her reach.

But with a little trickery she could maybe turn the situation around.

Unfortunately, this spell had the side effect of preventing me from seeing what the hell was going on. I strained my ears, but the chatter of my companions made it useless.

After a while, Owen Finch shouted:

«Windstream!»

The mist Amy had created soon cleared and I could see what had happened.

Finch was kneeling, his broadsword on the ground at his feet. He was clutching his ankle, a pained expression on his face.

I understood immediately why.

Where Amy had stood at the start of the duel, there was now a small stone spike. Finch must have stumbled over it in his reckless charge.

The girl was now on the other side of the arena, a safe distance away.

"Come on, girl!"

But it wasn't going to be easy.

Amy began to bombard her opponent with a barrage of fireballs, but they didn't even seem to tickle him.

Finch got to his feet, picked up his weapon and charged again.

But before he could reach Amy, something unexpected happened. Suddenly, the ground beneath his feet lit up and a powerful explosion sent him tumbling.

"A magic seal!"

Seals were a special type of magic. By drawing precise shapes, it was possible to inscribe a spell on a surface and then activate it at a later time.

The table in the dining room and the teleportation that had taken us to the roof were examples of this.

The advantages were many. First of all they could be used repeatedly as long as there was a source of mana to draw from.

They were also ideal for casting more complex spells, as they could be drawn at leisure. However, the time it took to create them made them difficult to use in a duel.

The opponent would not just stand by and watch.

"But if they can't see..."

The wall of fog had given Amy the cover she needed. When Finch stood up, he was probably thinking the same thing as me:

"I wonder how many seals Amy managed to draw...".

«Am I a genius or not?» Celeste chirped, pleased with herself.

She really was. Now that the arena had become a minefield, Finch could no longer attack at will. The spells in the seals were far more dangerous than the ones Amy used to attack him directly.

The boy seemed to realise this and, after sheathing his sword, began to counterattack with his own spells.

The duel had turned into a normal battle between mages.

But... still, Amy had no chance.

Finch's defensive enhancements made him practically immune to her attacks. At this rate, she would run out of mana before she could defeat him.

"There must be something else going on..."

She had forced his opponent to change his approach, but what was the point if the result was the same?

I soon had the answer.

After blocking one of Finch's fireballs, Amy shouted:

«Rain of fire!»

A barrage of fiery projectiles began pelting the area where her opponent stood. Predictably, he summoned a dome of water to protect himself.

«NOW!» Celeste shouted as she leapt to her feet.

Amy, continuing to summon the rain of fire, immediately drew her sword and hurled it at Finch.

"What the...?!"

As the weapon hit the ground, a magical seal began to glow. And it wasn't the only one.

Two, three, no... four seals, connected by a bright line, lit up around Finch! And then...

With a deafening roar, lightning descended from the sky. As it passed through the dome of water, the electrical discharge increased in intensity, electrocuting the poor boy.

Amy rushed to his side to check on his condition.

He certainly wouldn't get up for a while. If it weren't for his magical defences, he would have been fried.

She had won.

As I jumped up and down to applaud Amy's victory, I couldn't help but whisper in Celeste's ear:

«And you have the nerve to say I'm mean?»

The girl giggled wickedly.

When Amy returned to the stands, visibly exhausted but with a huge smile on her face, I immediately hugged her.

«You were amazing!»

«But it's all thanks to Celeste!»

«That's not true. She may have planned the strategy, but you executed it perfectly. Drawing all those seals in such a short time and making sure he stopped right there.... I'm proud of you!»

«I agree wholeheartedly!» Celeste echoed, giving her an enthusiastic high five.

Enthusiasm that quickly disappeared a few minutes later when it was her turn to fight.

«I hate dueling Phil!» she muttered as she walked down the stairs to the arena.

It didn't take me long to understand why.

If Celeste's fighting style was cunning and creative, Phil's was the opposite, rigorous and by the book.

Each of Celeste's attacks was relentlessly neutralised by his elemental shields.

Soon the girl seemed to lose her patience and began to use doublecasting, attacking Phil with combinations of spells. But it was not enough, for her fiancé also adopted this approach, defending himself with barrier pairs.

I could understand why Celeste found this suffocating ultrar-defensive strategy frustrating, but I couldn't help but be fascinated by this duel.

"This is a fight between two mages who know what they are doing..."

Unfortunately, it did not last long. After one of her attacks failed for the umpteenth time against Phil's impenetrable defences, a visibly annoyed Celeste put her wand back in its sheat and announced her surrender.

«I hate him, I hate him, I hate him!» the girl exclaimed as she sat down next to me.

I never imagined she would react like this, like a child throwing a tantrum over the theft of her favourite toy.

«It's always the same! Shields over shields over shields and never anything interesting... What pleasure does it give him to fight a duel like this?» she asked pouting.

«Well, if we ever face each other, I know what to do now!» I teased her.

«Don't even try it... Anyway, I would have won if I really wanted to, I just didn't feel like standing there for twenty minutes being bored!»

«If you say so...»

«And what exactly do you mean by that?»

I continued to tease her for a bit.

In reality, I was just trying to distract myself. Soon it would be my turn to duel.

Now that that moment was approaching, I began to feel a little anxious.

And so the moment arrived.

Leaving Celeste and Amy's words of encouragement behind me, I walked down the stairs.

Sophia was already there, waiting for me.

Deep down, I had been waiting for this.

She and I.

We would face each other for the first time.

The slender black-haired girl in front of me was impassive as she unsheathed her sword.

I wondered what was going through her mind. Perhaps she still didn't take me seriously.

But I would soon change her mind.

I pulled out my wand and gave her a defiant smile.

As the countdown was about to end, I took a deep breath. I tapped into the mana bubbling inside me.

I concentrated, ready to cast the spell I had worked so hard to learn...

...3

2

1

Our first duel had begun.