Today on the Menu: Roasted elf.

"Gather! Gather up people, come see the battle of Mages!" A random level 2 adventurer from the Loki familia yelled and attracted the crowd.

While the people of Rivira gathered around the two combatants, the two people in question…well, it's quite funny…the Riveria simp was glaring at Bell, and Bell himself not caring at all about the elf or the crowd was sitting on the ground and reading the fire mage notebook.

'So that's why!' Bell thought as he read a certain part of the text about air-boosted fire magic.

"Alright, both participants prepare yourself!" The announcer said, making Bell close the notebook and stand up. He eyed the elf lazily.

"On my right, we have the golden boy of our familia! At just 14 years old this boy was able to assist a party of adventurers right up to floor 18, and won a 1v1 against an infant dragon! A magic prodigy so great that even the famous 9 hells Riveria studies under him!-" OOF, that certainly made Bell's opponent more pissed off. "- Bell Cranel!"

Other elves either shared the same hate-filled eyes of Bell's opponent or frowned.

There was a certain small group, however…

"10.000 valis on Lord Bell" a young level2 elf Archer from the Loki familia said, while his friends made familiar bets in other areas of the crowd.

This elf, alongside 99% of other elves from the Loki familia already recognized Bell as a genius mage once they saw him toy with an infant dragon as a newbie level one. The remaining 1% were fools that refused to acknowledge that an inferior race can be better than them. In other words, the 1% were racist.

"On my left we have-" the announcer suddenly stopped, his forehead gaining a couple of drops of sweat as he stammered out "umm…who are you again?"

…

"PFF-!" Bell wheezed and laughed. He laughed so hard that he started to clutch his belly and lean forward so much that he nearly fell.

The majority of the audience found this situation funny too, and they also let out a couple of laughs.

'Damn, I need to buy that guy a beer later' Bell thought as he thought about the announcer.

The mage elf was so pissed that a blood vessel in one of his eyes pop making the white of that eye partly red.

"ENOUGH OF THIS!" He screamed in absolute fury. Unfortunately for him, his voice cracked at the end, so it didn't bring the menacing effect it would normally have.

"Yeah, I agree. Let's get this over with." Bell spoke as he got a hold of himself and stopped laughing. "Bell Cranell, Level 1 mage of the Loki familia." He introduced himself.

The elf did the same but Bell forgot everything that the elf said after he said it, the only exception being him saying that he is level 2.

'I think I can handle a level 2 without immediately using Eldritch magic. But just to be safe…' Bell grabbed his palismen staff and poked flapjack causing the realistic carving of the bird to open its eyes.

"When im gonna use {lesser shield} use your magic too to strengthen it." The bird chirped and nodded.

Unlike the staffs in danmachi that at worst serve as a magic conductor to better guide magic, and at best boost the spell being used by the owner. The staffs made out of palistrom wood have their own source of regenerating magic power for its owner to tap into. Hell, even those who can't cast magic can use a palismen staff to do magic as long as they have the approval of the owner or the palismen itself.

And two magic sources mean that there is more magic to use. More magic to use means that there is more energy to push into spells without worrying about magic running out!

"How about a bet?" Bell said while staring at his opponent. "I'll win with just a {Fire Bolt}." the audience and his opponent went into a stunned silence.

Someone in the audience let out a low whistle. "The balls on that kid…" 

Bell could hear the elf breathe, he could see the veins bulging out on his face, and…is he growling? "I'll kill you…" The threat was taken seriously. What happens in the dungeon, stays in the dungeon.

The only revenge he could hope to get if he dies here would be the members of the Loki familia telling what happen to Loki or the familia superiors and declaring a war game on the elf's familia. Or maybe the Loki familia Killing the elf when he was still in the dungeon? What happens in the dungeon, stays in the dungeon after all.

"Okay," Bell whispered. "I'm not gonna hold back my punches too."

"Ready?" The announcer said and raised his hand. "GO!" He brought his hand down, making both Bell and his opponent raise their staffs.

Bell heard his opponent chant a spell. 'LOL, imagine needing to say chants to use magic!' The fact that he uses chants too, when he wants an extra OOMPH! to his spell was ignored by him.

"[Twin Magic] [Boost Magic]: {Lesser Shield}." Bell murmured. After all, he doesn't need to scream out the name of his spell to make it work.

Flapjack, still in his staff form, opened his eyes. Everyone noticed that the eyes of the bird totem on the newbie adventurer staff were glowing with a purple light.

A sign that the palismen is using its own magic. Not that they would know about it.

The spell was boosted both by Bell skill, and being overcharged with magical energy created a shield that was far beyond a simple tier-2 spell.

[You failed to evolve your skill]

'I'll ignore that for now.'

When the first shield formed, Bell "cloaked" it with the second one, thus "merging" them together creating an even stronger shield.

[The Dick Wizard Extraordinaire praises your ingenuity]

[The Dick Wizard Extraordinaire is laughing at his new username]

[Bone Daddy is staring blankly at your shield and thinks about the implications it brings]

"Once more" Bell whispered to Flapjack and did the same thing again, creating a thick shield from 4 {Lesser Shields}.

Right at that time, his opponent finished his chant and declared the name of his spell. 

"{Aqua shield}!" He declared proudly as if the magic he performed was something special. "What do you think fraud! Surprised at my spirit magic?!" 

A memory of Riveria teaching him about this world magic system came to Bell's mind. "In the Age of Heroes, people used spirits to fight. The ones made By Gods were unbiased and chose everyone that suit their fancy. But spirits that were born out of nature preferred elves, and it was rare for a non-elf to gain their blessing. Even to this day, the entire elven race has the potential to perform spirit magic, but only 10% can do it due to the hard-to comprehend meaning behind the Aria that spirit magic uses."

Alright, maybe the elf's magic was a little impressive. But it won't stop Bell from kicking his arse!

"So, do you wanna attack first, or should I?" Bell asked with a poker face and a monotone tone that didn't sound even remotely impressed.

If this was a cultivation world, Bell would already master the Dao of pissing people off.

Taking deep breaths, the elf started to murmur something under his nose and aimed his staff at Bell. It took ten seconds and when he finished, he spoke the name of the spell, but louder so people could hear it. 

"{Terra spike}" 

Bell felt the earth under him vibrate and instinctively jumped to the side. A large spike made out of earth rose from the ground, it would have impaled him if he didn't move.

Since his shield didn't protect the ground he was standing on, his defensive spell was useless against magic that takes advantage of earth.

"{Fly}" Bell thought process was simple if he is in the air, he has better chances of evading earth attacks.

Murmurs could be heard in the crowd. 

"He really can fly! I thought it was a rumor!" 

"Is that some form of wind magic?"

"Didn't you guys see him fly already? It's not like he tries to hide that ability."

"O' flames, devour the air and strike my foes. {Fire Bolt}." Unlike the Chant altered by Bell, this one caused the flames to burn in bright orange. Very bright light orange. He could feel the warmth on his palm, not a burning sensation, but warmth. "[Maximize Magic]" once his skill took effect, one could argue that the color of the fire became almost yellow.

Noting that his palm is now uncomfortably hot, Bell aimed his spell and released it toward the smirking elf behind the water shield.

The two spells collided and erupted in a mix of flames, water, and steam. People began to murmur again.

"Wasn't that too powerful for a Level1 {Fire Bolt} spell?"

"Are we sure that wasn't a {Fire Ball}?"

"I would argue that it's ALMOST as powerful as a Level1 {Fire Orb}."

"Eh? No way, the kid is good but I doubt that he is THAT good."

"And who are you to say this? A magic expert?"

"Oh yeah? And who are YOU to tell me otherwise?"

"...a Level2 Mage, you idiot. Don't you see the staff?"

"..."

While the crowd was talking, Bell and his opponent were having a staring contest. The elf looking up at the floating Bell, and Bell looking down at the elf.

The elf clicked his tongue. "I'll admit, you do seem to have some skill." He said and raised his staff. "But it's still far too low to teach our lady Riveria!" The simp is simping again. Who here has a NO HORNY stick I can bonk him with?

The elf began to whisper, his staff aimed at Bell. Since his {Aqua Shield} creates an obvious effect, he didn't try and hide the Aria of that spell, instead, he shouted it out for the people and his opponent to hear. To show off his spirit magic.

But attack spells are different. Since the words used in an Aria can give away the effect and type of the spell, it's common sense to whisper it and not allow your enemy to hear and prepare for the attack.

"{Ventus Slashes}" 

Arcs of compressed air formed and shot out toward the airborne Bell, it came from all directions, there was no way to dodge them all. 

But there is a way to block them.

"{Shock Wave}"

As the name suggests, a shockwave of energy exploded from around Bell and nullified the air projectiles coming his way.

Think of something similar to the "Force" miracle from dark souls. 

'Should I skip straight to the [Maximize Magic] altered chant?' Bell thought. He looked at his opponent. 'His face would definitely look better with severe burns on it.' Agreed! It's like "arrogant" is the default setting for that elf face!

"O' flames, devour oxygen and strike my foes." Blue-colored flames came to life, and the skin on his palm started to burn.

A maniacal, very crazy-sounding laughter came from the elf. Seriously, even Light Yagami couldn't pull off such a laugh.

"Look!" The elf began and pointed an accusing finger toward the floating boy. "A mere novice spell and he burns himself with it! A magical genius my ass, he is a fraud! Lady Riveria is being scammed!"

The words of a wise internet user came to Bell's mind. Words that other MC characters used at some point in their story.

'There's no kill like overkill.'

"[Twin Magic]" his other hand disregarded his staff, flapjack activating his flight mode so he wouldn't fall down. His other hand began to burn just like the first one. "The reason these flames burn me…" Bell began, loud and clear for everyone to hear him. "Is because the magic output and density of the flames are too much for a level 1 body to handle."

His hands felt like he stuck them into a campfire, but compared to the pain of having your shit beaten out by level 4 and 5 adventurers, this was pretty much nothing. 

"[Maximize Magic]: {Fire Bolt}" Once the two bolts of Oxygen fed flames launched toward their target, Bell immediately activated his next skill. 

"[Fusion]!" The two identical spells merged into one, their powers combining and creating a brilliant blue flame that even princess Azula would be proud of. And for some reason, there were even some sparks of lightning dancing around the flames?

[You succeeded in evolving your skill.]

The crowd hastily took multiple steps back once the overcharged firebolt detonated upon coming to contact with the {Aqua Shield} of the elf. It was not the flames, it was the heat alone that made them uncomfortable. It felt as if they sat too close to a campfire.

After the steam…smoke(?) Cleared away, the only thing left in the aftermath of the spell was a crater and a very severely burned elf who passed out…or he is simply dead. Who knows? Actually, I do you one better. 

Who cares?

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next chapter is about RUBY!

Also, do you guys want me to publish this story on another website now that Webnovel is forcing website users to download the app?

it's already on Wattpad but I don't mind posting it somewhere else too.