A Power Beyond Magic

"Tempest Step!"

A small cyclone whipped up around my legs, tense with power. I leapt into the air, and the winds exploded, launching me skyward in sync with my jump. The chain whip struck the ground beneath me, and Hagen glowered at me. I ignored him and searched for my dagger.

There.

It was all the way on the other side of the Arena. I angled my body towards it, then kicked in the air behind me, creating another blast of wind that shot me forward. Currently, when I use Tempest Step, I can only perform a total of eight jumps, so that's already a quarter of it gone. Sometimes I wish I were a green-eye; I've heard that the most powerful green-eyes can do a hundred jumps with a single invocation of this spell, so they can pretty much fly wherever they want.

I landed at a shallow angle and rolled to disperse the impact, but I still got some nasty bruises, not to mention soaking my whole body in the icy water. I managed to get to my feet, though, and just a few meters away from my dagger. I quickly stepped over, picked it up, and faced my opponent again.

Hagen was slowly approaching me from the other edge of the Arena. He still had a scowl on his face, but his body language exuded confidence, and he didn't seem worn out at all. On the other hand, my own breath was coming out ragged; expending so much of my mana at once was taking its toll. I felt like I had about 10% left, which was barely enough for a low-tier spell, but I couldn't think of any such spells that would turn the tables here.

I'll have to use my remaining Tempest Step jumps to deal a finishing blow somehow.

Hagen raised his left hand, and a cluster of six icicles appeared in the air above him, each about a meter long. This spell was something I had seen him use before: Frost Shot, a mid-tier spell. The icicles fly extremely fast towards their target, but only in a straight line. What makes it tricky is that he can launch each one individually, so it's dangerous to commit to any big movements when dodging that leave me off balance.

He didn't launch any right away, however; instead, he broke into a run, flicking the chain whip in his right hand back in preparation for an attack.

He's aiming to hem me in with the icicles, so my choices are either getting impaled or sliced up by the whip. I could escape with my remaining jumps, but then he'll just hold on to the icicles and I'll be back at square one again. Guess there's no choice— I gotta attack, all or nothing.

I locked on a spot above and behind Hagen to my left, and jumped. His whip arm began the motion of an attack, but before I was even halfway there I jumped again, this time to the right. Less than a second later, I jumped once more towards a spot about ten meters directly behind him.

Three left...

I thought I saw his mouth move, but I was completely deafened by the roar of wind in my ears. I burst past him, then, right as I hit the ground, I jumped straight towards him, dagger drawn back for a killing strike. He was still turning his body, and his whip was still stuck in the motion of his earlier attack, so he launched his icicles in a simultaneous barrage at me, forming a screen for me to impale myself on. It was a panicked reaction, and was just what I had hoped for. I jumped again, up and to the back, so that my forward momentum was canceled and I shot straight up, sailing cleanly over the five razor-sharp icicles, preparing to throw my dagger at his—

Wait, shit!

I brought my arms forward just in time to block the sixth icicle, which he had hidden behind himself when he launched the others at me. It pierced my left forearm, the force of the impact knocking me away from him, all the way to the edge of the Arena where I crashed against the barrier, then fell into the water.

I gasped in pain as I forced myself up on my right arm into a kneeling position. My dagger was long gone, dropped somewhere, not that it mattered since my dominant arm was useless now. I suddenly shivered, and I realized the iciness of the water soaking my clothes was finally setting in. I could also feel that my Deep Shadow spell was close to ending. 

All I had left was a single jump from the winds still enveloping my legs, and my grit.

"Yield, Faulk!" Hagen shouted. I saw that he had created another set of icicles with Frost Shot, which he could do because he hadn't wasted his mana before the match like an idiot. I didn't say anything, and just stared him down as I struggled to figure out a winning play. Off to the side, I noticed Instructor Telle watching intently. He hadn't ended the match yet, which meant that from his point of view I could still fight, but I felt like I could see his expression wavering. Maybe it was my imagination.

I know if I were in his place, I'd have called this match already...

"Pst, Tione. Don't look, just listen."

Levin's whispered voice suddenly appeared from behind me. That second part was unnecessary; I didn't feel like I even had the strength to turn my head.

"I have a deal for you: if you admit that you lost our bet, I'll help you win this match."

"What? You mean like cheating?"

"Nah, don't think of it as cheating. You gave yourself a handicap, so this is just evening the playing field, right?"

The logic of someone with a lot of experience in cheating... but damn was it tempting.

"You know this barrier blocks all magic, right? You can't interfere even if you wanted to."

"Oh, no, I won't interfere. I'm just going to give you a little boost, is all. With your permission, of course."

Hagen had started walking towards me again, a confident smile on his face, his whip drawing little patterns in the air. This was a weapon he clearly had years of experience with, yet the whole time he was at this school he deceived everyone into thinking he was just a crappy swordsman. He outplayed me, plain and simple. Even if I had more mana, I don't think this would've gone any differently. What I should do is just accept my loss.

... but that being said.

"That smug face of his just pisses me the hell off. Do it, Levin."

What happened next was something I could only describe as "otherworldly." I felt a rush of knowledge being inserted directly into my brain, like I was simultaneously recalling an old memory but also experiencing it for the first time. The sensation sent me reeling, and I almost crashed face-first into the water, but I managed to hold my balance.

"W-What... what the hell was that?" I stammered out, my head hanging low.

"I just taught you a new way to use that bit of mana you have left. Better hurry, by the way; he's getting closer."

I glanced up, and saw that Hagen was only about thirty meters away now. He had stopped, probably deciding whether he could finish me off with a barrage without having to get closer.

I focused my mind inward, looking at the new information I had been given. It was like a set of instructions... but not for a spell. It wasn't like anything I've seen before, in fact. But I knew what it did, and began following those instructions naturally, like my body had already learned it by heart.

I focused my mana in my hand. This was raw mana, not attuned to any attribute. Normally, mana in that state is inert; it has no magical properties, and can't really be used for anything. But my new knowledge threw that out of the window. I manipulated my mana with precise control, restructuring and refining it, and then—

"Well, this is the end, Faulk. Time to— hrk!?"

Hagen looked down in disbelief at the small hole that had appeared in his chest.