Somehow... No, I know how I got into this mess...
Because of Lawliela-sama's whims and that broccoli messing up, I ended up having to "fight" (read as "magical combat practice") Valerie's supposed capture target...
Lawliela-sama, Valerie-chan, the broccoli and I are now standing in one of the many training grounds in the palace. But, unlike the regular training grounds used by the royal knights and palace guards, it is a specialized facility specifically used for magical experiments.
The pure white walls here are all enchanted to decrease the damage done by magic as well as built specially to withstand explosions caused by magic, at least to a certain extent. The earthen grounds were also enchanted for extra protection. Though, if Lawliela-sama wanted to, she could probably blow this place up easily. After all, the enchantment technology right now isn't that advanced. But, it is still better than nothing.
I am now standing on the grounds, a few meters away from where the broccoli, no, Wilhelm was standing.
Unlike the stinky, boisterous brat from before, his expression was now that of a mage. Calm, cold, and calculative.
Now that he's quiet, I could see why he has fans supporting even though he's a pain most of the time.
Lawliela-sama and Valerie-chan were standing quite a distance away from us as I observed him silently.
I could hear Valerie-chan cheering for me (I swear I heard her say "You can beat that loner guy easily!!!), but I couldn't hear most of it as I fall deeper and deeper into thoughts.
As I concentrated on my mana flow and spells, I tried to remember his strengths.
Wilhelm was a prodigious young mage with a mana capacity on par with Alexus, meaning his mana capacity is only slightly lower than Valerie and mine.
He also has affinity to three elements, earth, wind, and shadow! He hasn't awakened his second and third element now, but I'm still at a disadvantage here.
The biggest problem for me is the element he has affinity with the most, earth. Though my ice could stand against it, it was a direct counter to my water, which practically halved my strength. I mean, everything I throw at him can be block by a stupid earth wall, and I wouldn't be able to defend against the rocks he threw at me with a wall of water.
That is simply common sense in magic, at least in a head-on fight.
Elemental affinity isn't everything. In reality, there would always be ways for water to break earth walls.
Like a landslide.
Buuuut, that'd be too dangerous so I wouldn't do that no matter how much he pissed me off.
Well... Maybe if he crossed some line. Kekeke~
Either way! Though I'm at a disadvantage, I have a way to use my ice and water magic against him.
I've practiced it before, but I've never actually tried it in a real duel. I've only shown it to Lu-nii as well, and when I asked him to practice fighting me, he refused. He said it'd be too much of a pain to deal with.
I know this will be the only way I would be able to fight against a magic nerd like this broccoli on equal grounds, and I don't want to lose!! I also don't want to disappoint my cute little friend who's cheering for me.
Besides, it'd look so cool! No, not the ice. Me. I'm excited to use it for a real battle too for the first time!!!
Seeing both of us concentrating, Lawliela-sama nodded in satisfaction and announced in a loud voice.
"We shall start the first mock duel between Alterisa-kun and Orythium-kun. The rules will be simple. No life-threatening attacks and no spells above intermediate rank. Physical attacks are permitted. The time limit will be 20 minutes. The winner shall be decided when one of you surrenders or I have judged that you have lost. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Lawliela-sama."
"Yes."
Hearing both of our acknowledgement, Lawliela-sama nodded and raised her hand towards us.
A light blue magic circle appeared on her hands and three spheres of ice appeared above us.
"You may start when the last ice sphere is destroyed."
I raised my head and looked at the spheres of ice for a moment.
As expected of Lawliela-sama... They're all so masterfully made. All of them were perfectly spherical and unblemished. It might seem completely normal or not noteworthy, but I knew how amazing her control over her magic was just from this alone. To create such a smooth and perfectly spherical ice spheres was something I don't think anyone aside from lawliela-sama could do so quickly.
I turned my attention back to Wilhelm and readied myself. I bent my knees slightly and lowered my center of gravity.
Wilhelm seemed to also be getting ready as he moved his arms slightly to the side and stretched his palms open as we waited for the start of the duel.
*Shatter!*
The first ice sphere shattered.
I gathered my mana and prepared my opening move.
*Shatter!*
I simulated my opening moves over and over as I readied my body. Though I've practiced it before, it has been a while since I've done this. The last time I did it was perhaps during the winter vacation in my last year of middle school. It was when Hana, Kazuto, and I went to Hokkaido with our families for the vacation. We played a lot back then.
I recalled those fond memories and smiled. I will get to enjoy that activity again in this world. Maybe Lily, Lu-nii, Alexus, and all my friends can enjoy it again together.
I concentrated once again and all unnecessary thoughts disappeared from my mind. My mind feels clear and I feel like I could do anything right now.
Finally, the last ice sphere shattered with a piercing sound.
*Shatter!*
[Lawliela's POV]
As the last ice sphere shattered, a dark brown magic circle appeared on each of Orythium-kun's hands.
As expected of the child prodigy. Although an elementary level spell, he was able to cast it so quickly without any incantation.
I knew of his talent and strength, which is why I am very excited to see how Alterisa-kun would hold against this boy.
As expected, my attention was stolen completely by Alterisa-kun as she jumped suddenly right at the start of the match. I didn't see any magic circles on her hands, and while I knew that she was also practicing martial arts and weapon mastery, I didn't know why she would jump so suddenly.
Right after that instant, my question was answered, and it was something beyond any of my expectations.
A large ice element magic circle appeared beneath the ground she jumped from. It activated much faster than Orythium-kun's spell and shined brilliantly.
"Field of Ice!!"
Almost instantly, the entire training ground was covered in a thick layer of ice that spread out extremely quickly from the magic circle.
It was a spell I've never taught her before, and judging by the name she gave this spell, I am sure she thought of it herself.
This was an intermediate-ranked spell called "Frozen Field", a spell that envelopes a wide area of land in thick ice used to immobilize multiple enemies at once. It is an extremely powerful spell that a young girl like her shouldn't be able to cast so quickly. She casted an intermediate-ranked spell faster than Orythium-kun could cast an elementary-ranked spell...
That said, I wonder why she chose to cast this spell right at the beginning of battle. This spell has has two obvious drawbacks. One was that it would also affect allies, including the caster himself. This drawback didn't seem to be that detrimental since she had jumped previously and she had no ally she needed to worry about in this duel. I, myself, am able to immediately prevent the ice from freezing my and Valerie's feet.
But the second would be much more detrimental to her. It was the fact that it would be very difficult for anyone to move on the slippery ice.
However, as she fell back to the ground, a pair of shoes made of ice with what seemed to be a blade on its sole appeared on her feet. And the moment she landed, she began gliding through the slippery ice.
"Wow! Alterisa-chan, amazing!!! She's gliding through the ice!!! She's like an ice fairy!!!"
Valerie cheered from my side.
This... Ufufufu, this is certainly amazing.
I let out a smile as I watched her glide with her bladed shoes. I never would've thought that attaching a blade onto the sole of a shoe would allow someone to glide through ice so perfectly.
Ufufufu. She's truly very interesting. I also couldn't help but agree with Valerie. In addition to her fairy-like appearance and beauty, the way she glides through the ice was reminiscent of how a fairy would fly.
Umu. Perhaps I should think of how I could have Lisa let me "borrow" her daughter and have her stay overnight with me.
I mused as I continued to watch over this cute little disciple of mine. Her each and every move created a smile on my face.