The End of the First Battle

Whoosh.

A green magic circle instantly appeared beneath Fien, and the next moment a thorny ivy coiled around her body. It was the spell of Summoning Magic, which Evan decided to use as his trump card.

Unlike "Magic Missile" and "Ice Veil", the "Summon Thorny Ivy" could immobilize a victim for a while. It did little or no damage, just a few scratches at most. But that wasn't its main purpose.

Fien hadn't expected this to happen, and she didn't have enough strength to break free of the plant's grip quickly.

Whoosh.

Evan was instantly in front of the girl and swung his icy sword at her.

The blow was powerful and lightning fast. It could have easily killed Fien, and in theory, Marcel and Zak should have stopped Evan, but they did nothing.

Swing.

Evan inflicted her a terrible wound. The blood quickly gushed out, and Fien's face contorted in great pain. But, even then, their fight continued as if nothing had happened, and the next moment Evan understood why.

While he was attacking Fien, he didn't even notice a green magic circle very similar to his had appeared on the ground behind him. It was Fien's spell, which she had cast with the last of her strength.

Whoosh.

After Evan struck, a thick, sharp tree root emerged from the magic circle. It instantly pierced Evan's chest.

The young man felt incredible pain, and his mouth was already filled with blood.

<Damn, I didn't expect her to dare do that.>

However, he had no intention of giving up. Clenching his teeth firmly, he turned around and chopped the root in two.

He was in real agony, but that didn't stop him from doing the next thing.

Despite the pain, he pulled the remaining piece of root out of himself, grabbed it tightly and attacked Fien with it. The girl had no more aces up her sleeve: she had no strength or mana left.

At that moment, Evan didn't think that his blow could kill Fien, he just intended to pierce her neck with that root. The sharp end of the root had already reached Fien's neck and it was only at that moment that Evan realized that he was about to kill her.

Whoosh.

Suddenly he felt like he was trying to move a whole mountain. Evan couldn't move his arm. It was as if he faced an insurmountable obstacle.

"That's enough, boy, you`ve won, AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA." It was Zak, who appeared beside Evan in a split second and gripped his arm tightly. Crimson flames were burning brightly around his feet.

Evan smiled slightly, tossed the root and sword aside, and fell to the floor without effort. The Thorny Ivy, immobilizing Fien, was gone, and their battle was finally over.

Zak went back to Marcel to make fun of him.

Marcel was not upset that Fien had lost. On the contrary, he was glad that she had come face to face with such an unusual opponent. Thanks to this encounter, she was able to learn a lot.

"Marcel, stop hovering in the clouds. They're bleeding and dying right here, AHAHA."

Zak was right. Evan had inflicted a terrible wound on Fien, and Evan's own chest was pierced and the blood wouldn't stop pouring out.

However, Zak wasn't worried about their condition at all.

Hearing his voice, Marcel emerged from his musings.

"Yes, you're right," Marcel said quietly.

He slowly stood up and spread his hands apart, palms up.

Whoosh.

Two small pale green magic circles appeared next to Evan and Fien.

Unlike Zak, who was the "Amplifier", Marcel was the "Summoner". For him, healing Fien and Evan's wounds was a piece of cake.

Two creatures slowly emerged from the magical circles, namely lettuce-colored slimes. They looked very cute and even a little clumsy.

The two slimes slowly crawled towards Evan and Fien. After that, they began to increase dramatically in size until they were large enough to completely engulf the young people.

These slimes were not combatants, they could do nothing but heal, and they were excellent at that task. Their slime had excellent healing properties, and Evan and Fien's wounds healed right before their eyes.

It was no problem for Marcel to cast such a spell. And given Evan and Fien`s level with, he could even sew them together piece by piece if he wanted to.

"I`m looking at these cuties and it makes me want to be a "Summoner" myself." Zak said slowly, looking at the wonderful work of the slimes.

"AHAHAHAHA, I could say the same about you." Marcel finished his spell and left the slimes to mend Evan and Fien`s wounds.

...

Ten minutes later, not a single wound, scratch, or bruise remained on Evan and Fien's bodies. It was as if the terrible duel had never happened.

<Has Marcel done this?> Thought Evan. His wide chest wound was gone without a trace, and he felt just fine.

Evan was both right and wrong. Marcel could, indeed, practically resurrect Evan and Fien, if he wanted to. But, if a wound like Evan's had been inflicted on Zak, Marcel would have had to use a much more powerful spell to heal him.

Zak was stronger than Evan, which meant it would have taken more effort to heal him.

"I`ve lost, I admit you were stronger than me." Fien walked over to Evan and held out her hand for a handshake.

Evan smiled and was about to shake her hand. But suddenly he saw that his entire palm was covered in blood.

Cough. Cough. Cough.

Suddenly Fien began to cough up a lot of blood. Her condition was clearly not a good one.

"А? Has she any wounds left? Haven't the slimes been enough?"

Marcel didn't understand why Fien suddenly got worse, but then he remembered something.

"AHAHAHA, Zak, your boy has rightfully won. I hadn't even noticed that his awareness of "Ice Veil" is at the first stage."

When a magician's awareness of the spell increases, it becomes stronger. Damage, area, duration, and other increase. Some spells change all at once, while others may only increase one parameter.

In this case, the freezing effect of "Ice Veil" went to a new level.

Whoosh.

Marcel appeared next to Fien and calmly said: "Calm down, and open your mouth wide, honey. This is going to get nasty, but there's no other choice, I'm sorry."

Fien did as Marcel said and one of the slimes instantly flew into her mouth.

Because of Evan's blow, a small part of her organs was frozen, so the external effects of the slimes were not enough to heal such a wound.

Feeling a slime inside her wasn`t the best feeling, of course. After a minute, the slime came back out, and Fien sighed in relief.

Looking at Evan and at his daughter, Marcel involuntarily thought: <Hmm, if she wants to outdo this guy, she'll have try very hard. His skills are good, and his unwavering spirit inspires respect>.

During the sparring, both Evan and Fien had been injured. Moreover, the girl even had a slight advantage because of the Catalyst. Her attack with the root caused Evan a truly frightening wound. Still, that didn't stop the young man, nor did it cause him to give up.

While Marcel was pondering his thoughts, Zak came up to him and said loudly: "Marcel, stop hovering in the clouds. It's time to give out the winner's reward, don't you think?"

Hearing his friend's words, Marcel came out of his musings.

"The reward, of course, of course, I have it with me."

Marcel pulled out of his pocket a square carved, wooden case that looked very exquisite. With a slight smile on his face, he handed it to Evan.

...

And while Evan was receiving his prize, many people in black robes appeared around Zak's estate.