Chapter 21: Little Shanna's Snowball Fight (Edited)

As she headed to the training field, Shanna walked, admiring the garden landscape.

Last night, it had snowed heavily, and the entire garden was covered in a blanket of white snow.

Shanna loved the snow because she thought the scenery after a snowfall was beautiful. And also because every time it snowed, her brother used to engage in snowball fights, make snowmen, and have great fun.

Speaking of snowball fights, last winter there wasn't enough snow, so the last time she played in the snow with her brother was two years ago. Shanna couldn't help but recall the last time they played together in the snow.

...

"Shanna, you already have your own wand, so today, we're going to use wands for a snowball fight," her brother said with his characteristic kind smile.

"Use wands for a snowball fight? How do you do that?" Shanna asked curiously.

"It's not very different from playing without wands, actually," her brother explained. "But since we're using wands, we can access our magic more simply and quickly, which will increase the intensity of the game. Plus, we can use spells to aid us."

"Okay!"

Even though she didn't fully understand, if her brother said so, she had no reason to refuse.

"So, let me establish some rules. First, since we're having a snowball war, we can't use elements outside of the snow, like fire, wind, lightning, etc., but ice is allowed, as it's a variant of snow. Second, we can't use spells directly to attack; we can only use spells on the snow to aid us in the attack, such as using the Transfiguration charm to change the shape of the snow. However, we can use spells to defend ourselves directly, like the Shield Charm. Third, the snowball war zone is limited to the garden; we can't go beyond. Any questions?"

"No, brother!"

"Very well, let's start. Let's step back to a distance of 30 meters... Ready?... Begin!"

With her brother's command, Shanna first cast a Shield Charm.

The Shield Charm was a spell her brother always emphasized she should learn immediately. To be able to cast it skillfully, Shanna had practiced continuously for a month. Her brother said that to be a competent wizard, the first instinct should be to protect oneself with a shield; wizards who acted without shields were utterly reckless.

And Shanna had always fully trusted her brother's advice.

"Everything my brother says is right!"

Shanna waved her wand, controlling several snowballs that lifted and quickly hurled toward her brother.

"It's too predictable, Shanna. You should use spells more flexibly."

Her brother remained still in his place, and the snowballs changed direction. He waved his wand gently, and several snowbirds lifted from the ground, tracing erratic paths to evade Shanna's attempts to intercept them. Finally, they hit her shield.

"There's more," her brother said. Then, he cast spells on the snowbirds, which spat out ice spikes and shattered Shanna's shield.

Quickly, Shanna activated her flying boots and moved out of her position. After casting another Shield Charm, she cast several spells in succession and finally took down all the snowbirds.

But before she could counterattack, the snow beneath her feet transformed into snakes and entangled her. She had no choice but to release her magic to get rid of everything around her.

"Shanna, if you don't give your best, your brother will win," he warned her.

Shanna took a moment to catch her breath and then stood up, her face expressing determination.

She waved her wand, gathering all the snow around her on the wand's tip, and then took a deep breath.

"Engorgio!"

The large snowball quickly transformed into a giant snowball, and her brother had nowhere to escape. So, her brother gave up dodging and focused his magic to unleash an attack that shattered the giant snowball. In an instant, scattered snowflakes filled the entire garden, creating a completely white landscape.

"A rather good idea, but how do you plan to determine my location, Shanna?" her brother inquired.

Shanna quickly shot ice spikes in the direction of the voice, but there was nothing there.

She injected magic into her flying boots and leaped into the air, observing from above what was happening below. She then transformed the snow into ice spikes, ready to be launched.

Finally, the snow mist dissipated enough, and she clearly saw her brother's location. She unleashed waves of ice spikes in batches to block her brother's escape routes. However, her brother was too fast, and even the ones he couldn't avoid were shattered with a wave of his wand.

Seeing that the ice spikes posed no substantial threat, Shanna followed her brother's lead and transformed the ice into ice birds that circled around him, attacking.

As the ice birds were destroyed, new ones constantly replaced them. On the verge of entering a battle of attrition, her brother controlled the snow to form a net that wrapped around all the ice birds and hurled them towards his head.

"Bombarda!"

The ice birds above his head exploded entirely, and the resulting shockwave and ice fragments hit his shield, knocking her to the ground.

She landed safely thanks to her flying boots, but before she could breathe a sigh of relief, she quickly jumped again, as several ice spikes impaled the spot where she had just been.

"Do you need a break?" her brother asked with a smile.

Shanna pouted.

"Brother, why can't I catch up to you? I don't know what spell to use."

"Don't get impatient, Shanna. There are thousands of spells, but it's not about how many you know, but how well you use them. Battle is actually something very simple; all you need to do are three things: attack, defend, and move. If you do these three things well, you'll be able to win. Well, I'm about to attack."

With that said, her brother waved his wand, and a large number of snowflakes gathered at his feet, forming a snow dragon.

The snow dragon roared as it lunged at her, using bites, winged hits, tail lashes, and its icy breath to attack Shanna in a variety of ways.

Shanna responded to the snow dragon's attacks with a combination of counterattacks, defensive spells, and evasive moves. The battle waged both on the ground and in the air, with constant salvos of ice spikes and frosty breath. Despite its unruly appearance, Shanna didn't give up, acting like a brave challenger facing an evil dragon.

Finally, Shanna saw an opportunity and slid under the belly of the snow dragon. After a brief energy buildup, she cast a spell that pierced through the snow dragon.

Her brother, who had been standing on the back of the snow dragon all the while, was thrown by the spell and fell to the ground. Shanna immediately controlled the snow around her brother's landing point, transforming it into ropes that tied him in place. Then, she gathered a large snowball and hurled it at her brother.

"Boom!"

A large crater opened in the landscape, and her brother lay sprawled at the bottom of the hole.

"Brother..."

Shanna was scared. She hadn't thought much in that moment and had attacked instinctively. Now, she realized what she had done and hastily jumped into the hole.

"Brother, I'm sorry, are you okay? It wasn't my intention!"

(◕︵◕)

"Shanna, don't cry. Brother is fine," consoled her brother as he got up and patted Shanna's head. "Shanna is really talented. Brother surrenders, hahaha."

"What are you two doing?"

Their mother, Elena, shouted from a distance. Shanna looked at the garden that was once beautiful and now filled with craters, feeling embarrassed as her brother's laughter grew even louder.

...

Unaware, Shanna had arrived at the entrance of the training gym.

Inside one of the training rooms, constant sounds of "bang, bang" could be heard. Shanna knew it was the sound of her brother's training. She approached and gently opened the door to the training room.