Chapter 11: Duel

Within the arena in the training area, Mikoto stood across from Mirabella, the two standing a good few meters apart within the large area. The latter had a grin on her face, while the former's expression was hidden by a grinning mask.

From atop the thirty-eight other students' watched from the vantage points, they watched the fight with Professor Fergus watching along.

"I can't believe the guy actually said that." One student murmured with slight disbelief laced within his tone.

"The guy's either brave or stupid." Another one stated.

"Definitely stupid. Does he even know how powerful the princess is?"

"He must've lived under a rock if he's this cocky and oblivious."

"Let us hope he has someone to go to his funeral."

Of course, everyone thought that this random masked boy would horribly lose to the princess. It was not that they were doubting him or his abilities; it was more that they were just aware of how powerful Mirabella was. This is the same woman who beat every man who wanted to court her half to death, the woman who was the spawn of the God of destruction and avarice, the woman who was a prodigy in both physical combat and magic. In simpler terms, she was a complete monster, and everyone knew it.

But among the crowd of doubtful students, one was slightly more appalled.

("I can't feel it.") Agatha stared at the boy in the arena. In this world so filled with magic, almost everything living had a mana signature or some kind of life signature. Any amateur could sense said signatures with just a little practice; of course, all humans have mana. Even those who did not make use of any kind of magic. Yet this masked boy had nothing; no, it would be more accurate to say that she could not sense an ounce of his mana. There was a simple reason for that; it could be that he was keeping his mana hidden actively or that he was using a magical object to hide it. It could be that mask he wore; it was definitely a magical object, and the much was obvious.

("No, if he kept it hidden, I should still be able to sense a sliver of it, unless... no"). She shook her head to clear herself of the absurd idea. There was no way; she was a spawn.

But putting that at the back of her mind, she glanced away from the area and toward someone else. Besides a short blue-haired girl stood her dearest brother, with a hint of worry in his eye. Right, he was friends with the masked boy; he had even stood up for him. Already on the first few days, he already had friends', while others merely avoided her like the plaque due to their fear. Her brother really did have it so much easier than her.

"Okay, you two maggots!" Professor Fergus spoke loudly and clearly for the two combatants to hear as he continued. "The fight starts right now!" No rules were given as they were put against each other.

Mirabella's grin grew increasingly wider as her right hand shot up and the air around her began to swirl with intense energy. A ball of fire formed in her hands, growing larger and hotter with each passing second. She thrust her hand forward, and the massive wave of hot fire shot towards him. The flames were so intense that they seemed to warp the very air around them, creating a ripple of heat that could be felt even from the far edges of the arena and all the way to the spectators.

But Mikoto was more than ready. He raised his own arm, and a pulsating, translucent red bubble shield of mana formed around him, just in time to deflect the searing wave of her fire. The shield shimmered with energy, and the flames seemed to ripple and dance around its edges, unable to penetrate its powerful magic.

"Tch! Chantless magic too? Big deal!" Mirabella rather crudely stated. With a flick of her wrist, she created a small wave of dirt that rippled across the arena floor. She crouched down, placing her hand on the ground, and began to channel her magic. The earth beneath her hand began to tremble.

And then suddenly, with a burst of energy, Mirabella released her magic, and from the ground around Mikoto's position, huge earth spikes surged up, sharp tips glinting in the sunlight. The spikes, each one as large as a tree trunk and much thicker and studier, loomed ominously over the arena, casting long shadows and causing the few students' to gasps in slight awe.

Though the sharp tips of the earth spikes seemed to snake down on him, his barrier held firm as it pulsed, while the large earth spikes shattered as they made contact.

("She's testing the waters with these parlor tricks first, eh?") Despite underestimating him, she was still cautious; it must have been her innate battle sense. Or her instincts.

"What? Gonna just stand there and take all the punishment!!" She taunted, but Mikoto just shrugged.

"Fine, fine. I'll attack." If she was going to stick with elemental magic, he might as well too. So the barrier around him broke down as he raised his right arm, his palm pointing at the idle girl. Suddenly, he unleashed a torrent of blazing white lightning from his outstretched palm. The girl to her credit reacted with lightning reflexes of her own, leaping to the side with cat-like grace as the bolts of energy scorched the ground where she had been standing only seconds ago. The noise was deafening as the crackle of electricity echoed throughout the arena, making it hard for anyone to focus on the fight.

("Dodging huh? No defense spells? Still gauging what I can do, no doubt, well, she'll regret that.")

From on high, the spectators watched the fight take place as Mikoto continued to target the girl relentlessly, unleashing rapid-fire bursts of electricity aimed at every inch of the arena. Despite the speed and power of his attacks, however, Mirabella managed to evade them all with impressive precision. She evaded with dodges, mid-air flips, and even occasional cartwheels. Her movements were so precise that even a centimeter mistake could have cost her dearly.

"Damn, he's actually holding his own."

"And he's not even using chants or glyphs!"

"Doesn't matter. The princess is still holding back. He'll be done soon."

"True, Mask Boy put up a good fight at least." Various comments flew out of the mouths of the watching students. But they were mere whelps when it came to real combat, and even with how much Mikoto showed, they still doubted him. Yet Fergus could not help but frown as he watched the fight.

("The mask brats is missing on purpose.") He deduced as a bolt of white lighting cut through the air before Mirabella dodged once again with surprising agility. Fergus did not quite know why it was that he was missing on purpose, but he could tell Mikoto was planning something; what it was is currently unknown.

Back to the fight, Mikoto's hand crackled with energy as he aimed a direct lightning blast at Mirabella's head. With a burst of speed, the bolt of lightning blasted out of his palm and snaked towards her. The lighting blast neared her face, but at the last second, she pivoted on her heel and twisted her body to the side as the bolt of lighting whizzed past her and struck a wall with an intense explosion that rocked the ground.

Mirabella smirked confidently.

"That's all you got?" She mocked. "A little light show and a pathetic shield that could ward off my parlor tricks?" She was cautious originally due to not being able to detect his mana signature, but it seemed she worried about nothing. Though chantless and glyphless magic was impressive, it was hardly anything ground-breaking. She had used basic weak spells to gauge him, but it seems he really was nothing impressive, and he still needed an ass kicking. She did not need her high-tier spells here, and besides, she would probably end up destroying the whole area with any flashy spells. She would probably only beat him half to death. But as she prepared a spell...

("Why the hell am I short of breath!?") She attributed that fact to her constant dodging earlier, but she knew the extent of her own physical abilities. That little dodging would not exhaust her this much. But now she just felt exhausted and extremely out of breath.

"Say princess..." Mikoto suddenly started. "Ever heard of ozone?"

"Huh? What the hell are you blabbering about?"

"The oxygen in the air can be broken apart with electricity. Oxygen molecules are normally formed from two oxygen atoms, but once the two oxygen atoms break apart, they have a disposition toward connecting together in threes as ozone. Oxygen and ozone are two different things. Breathing it in would not satisfy one's lungs." Mikoto leisurely explained as if he were a teacher giving a lecture, and Mirabella, who was still short of breath, just looked at him incredulously. "Oh right, you probably don't have a clue as to what I'm saying; with your lot being so reliant on magic, it's natural you'd ignore science."

"What, do you think this little bullshit trick of yours is going to put me down?" She scoffed at the notion as her mana flared to increasing heights. Reality itself seemed to bend all around her as a silent chill enveloped all as her mana pulsed.

"Not really. But still, it seems like you're just a human who needs oxygen. But, oh well, I've seen enough. I forfeit." Mikoto bluntly stated.

"Huh?" That was all Mirabella could blurt out as she breathed heavily due to the lack of oxygen "Hell no! I'm still going to beat you to a pulp!"

"Nah."

"Nah!?"

"Quit it, princess; the lad gave up!" From on high, Professor Fergus announced "The fights over, get your ass back!"

"Well, I guess this outcome was expected."

"Man, it was getting so interesting too."

"I was kind of curious about the guy; it seems he wasn't anything special."

"But I mean, he did use magic without glyphs and chants."

"Yeah, that's kind of impressive."

"Impressive!? It's absurd, he's only a first-year like us!"

Various comments flew from the students as they discussed the short scuffle. But Agatha could just frown as she zeroed in on the masked boy; there was something off about him. Call it intuition, or maybe just her instincts, but she surmised that there was much more to this masked boy than meets the eye.

____________________

It was a spacious hall, filled with long wooden tables, benches, and high-backed chairs. The walls are adorned with ornate tapestries depicting a number of things, from animals to fantastical creatures, all to liven up the place. The intricate details of the ceiling, with gold leaf accents, were reminiscent of medieval castles. The floor beneath everyone's feet was made of stone and was notably cool to the touch. One could hear the clinking of silverware and the sounds of people laughing and chatting. The aromas of freshly baked bread, roasted meats, and spices fill the air, whetting one's appetite all the more.

At the food stations, one's eyes could not help but be drawn to the grand display of food on offer. Huge iron cauldrons filled with steaming stews and soups Glistening roasted meats on large platters. Communal bowls of hearty salads and freshly baked bread loaves. Between the food stations were large wooden casks filled with an assortment of draft beer, wine, and mead for the older students and staff.

"I still can't quite believe you fought the princess and got off without a scratch." William said, directing his words at Mikoto, who sat across from him on the long wooden table with Ruby beside him.

"C'mon, where's the faith? I thought we were suppose to be friends'." Mikoto jokingly shot back.

"Hmm, we were rather sure you were going to die." Ruby bluntly stated with a dull expression.

"Uhm, Ruby that's a bit harsh." William sheepishly told the girl, who just tilted her head in confusion. "But yeah, you lasted pretty long against the princess. I had no idea you were so skilled."

"Eh, it's nothing; I had a good teacher."

"Hmm, but still..." Ruby started as she slightly trailed off.

"Something wrong?" Mikoto questioned with a glance.

"When will you take the mask off?" She suddenly asked, so he merely shrugged.

"Dunno, probably when I feel like it." Which was going to be never.

But back to his battle with the princess. Originally, he was planning on making a big show by beating her, but it was more so that he could garner the attention of the headmaster. But he may not need to go through all of that trouble; if possible, the wards that protect the forbidden section could be broken. He had sampled them and analyzed them through the day to see if he could learn of any faults. It seemed a rather destructive spell could break it, but that option was out for obvious reasons. But there was something he was going to try out. At least when it was curfew and everyone was in their dorms.

Yes, that knowledge would be his.