The Second Duel

Leus started by activating one of his favorite Third Tier spells, Blizzard.

Within moments, A snowstorm covered the area around Leus.

Leus noticed the flames on Blaze's sword flicker for a second

'Does it get affected by the temperature?'

He added even more mana into Blizzard, Causing the temperature to plummet further

Blaze's sword was indeed facing difficulties in maintaining its fire, however, Blaze just added more mana to his sword and it instantly became stable again

Leus cast Grim Storm, filling the Barrier with Darkness and Wind Mana, But he realized something

'It's affecting my visibility'

So he quickly activated Advanced Mana Vision and saw Blaze rapidly approaching him.

He immediately stepped forward and blocked the incoming attack with his sword.

'Why is it not affecting him at all ...'

He decided to cast more direct attacks, so he released multiple Lasers

But Blaze wouldn't fall for the same attack twice, He blocked every Laser coming his way

Leus felt that the situation was rapidly turning in Blaze's favor, So he activated Shield, placed a wall between him and Blaze, and stepped back.

Both Blaze and Arno muttered

'Finally'

For the first time, Leus tried to put distance between himself and Blaze, Something he should've been focused on doing since the very beginning

Blaze clenched his fist, added mana into his hand, And started punching the wall

BOOM

BOOM

The stone wall cracked

BOOM

The stone wall shattered into pieces

As soon as the wall shattered Leus exploded forward,

He added Light Mana to his sword, making it very fast.

At the same time, he attacked with various spells, Laser, Hydraulic, And darkness daggers

Leus reached Blaze and raised his sword up, But instead of attacking Blaze, He used Boost and ran past him, At the same time he cast Meteor

Leus' plan was simple

Bombard Blaze with attacks from different directions, spells from the front, and Meteor from above his back

'He won't be able to block everything'

Leus stood a bit of distance away from Blaze, far enough that Blaze's sword wouldn't reach him instantly.

Blaze closed his eyes and time seemed to slow down for him

The attacks were too many, But he didn't need to block all of them

'His Fire spell isn't that strong, I can just tank the fire beams, I only have to block the water bullets and deflect the daggers'

Blaze's movement was so fast that Leus was having a hard time tracking it, But he could clearly him blocking most of his attacks most of his attacks, and simultaneously, Blaze's body was releasing smoke.

Leus was confused by Blaze's behavior

'Is he just letting all my Lasers hit him'

It took only a couple of moments for Blaze to block most of the attacks,

His torso was covered in small burns and his shirt was full of holes, But he didn't seem affected in the slightest

Only Meteor was left, A big burning rock aimed directly at Blaze, Yet he didn't move to dodge it, He simply stood there

Blaze outstretched his hand, put all his focus and mana into his sword, then said

"BLAZE"

The length of his sword almost tripled, and the flames became even more incandescent, The fire was blazing, Its light was dazzling.

Leus was very close to it he felt his skin getting scorched, He was almost blinded by the light, But more than anything, He was impressed

'What the hell is that'

Blaze swung his sword, Or should it be called a whip? Whatever it was, It cleanly cut through the rock like butter and stopped right in front of Leus

The rock shattered into tiny pieces, Scattering on the floor like dust, It was such a surreal scene that Leus never expected.

Leus' body was covered in superficial burns

When he tried to breathe, the heat was so overwhelming that he felt like his lungs were burning, which made him cough.

Leus immediately cast Water and washed his body with it, which lessened the pain, then he drank it, trying to cool his chest and lungs.

Blaze stepped forward

"You lose"

Leus didn't reply for a couple of seconds and just kept drinking water, Then he took a deep breath and said

"Of course, What the hell was that? How did you elongate your sword like that? Was that magic? I didn't know you were able to use magic, And what type of magic is that that extends swords? I want to learn it .. Teach me"

Blaze chuckled a bit

"That's not magic, It's my skill, Blaze"

"Your skill is so cool"

Leus was genuinely excited

'The fire was abnormal, Shattering Meteor, That's crazy'

Arno walked inside the barrier and gave Leus the potion

"Don't worry, You'll unlock your skill in time, Let's treat these burns for now, You both are very ... Hot

Drink it."

Although Blaze suffered injuries as well, His body has almost fully regenerated, So there was no need to give him a potion.

Leus drank the potion and asked

"How did I do?"

"You did well, Forcing an Elite Knight to use his skill is the maximum you can achieve now.

However, You must get used to feints and surprise attacks, Expect the unexpected, and stop getting surprised by every fancy move your opponent makes.

But overall, you did well."

Arno genuinely praised Leus' efforts, Then he said

"How about you take two or three days off and spend them with your family? Learning Abstracts should be your next goal, and what I'm preparing will need a couple more days to be ready anyway"

Leus nodded

"Yes Master, Thanks for everything"

Then Leus looked at himself and Blaze

"We can't really leave like that can we?"

Both their clothes were tattered, Blaze's shirt was full of holes, and Leus' shirt was entirely gone

Both Leus and Blaze chuckled at the situation then Arno said

"Wait a minute here, there should be something in the storage"

"Oh? There's a storage here?"

"Of course, It has swords, Clothes, and magical items, along with some other things. The library has many secret rooms,"

After saying that, Arno left the room, leaving Leus and Blaze alone

Blaze suddenly spoke in a serious tone

"I'm proud of you Leus"

"Ah -- Thanks"

Leus felt embarrassed

"Your mother told me that you always came back home every few days like you promised, Not only do you train with dedication, but you put family first as well."

He put his hand on Leus' shoulder and said

"Don't change Leus, stay the way you are.

Power is enticing, but it's not everything, Remember that."

Leus replied in a solemn tone as well

"I understand, Don't worry, Family is always first."