Chapter 296

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Nick noticed a sudden doubt cross Terry’s face. He might not have been the smartest mage in the Tower, not by a long shot, but even he could see it wasn’t exactly normal for a first-year apprentice to take on someone six to seven years his senior so easily.

Terry might have lacked the sensory skills needed to understand how he defeated Warren, but he clearly managed to either overpower his artifact—something so needlessly complex it could only mean he vastly outmatched him—or cast spells capable of disrupting its functions. Either way, it was bad news.

Still, Nick could see his gaze regain its firmness, and his shoulders relax, as he reached the conclusion he expected.

Such a humiliation wouldn't be met with open arms. No, the Archmage would probably cast them out to protect himself from the whispers that would follow.

A groan of pain pulled Nick back to his opponent, and he saw that Warren, though battered and beaten, was still alive. With a flick of his fingers, he levitated the large man off the ground and brought him close to where Eona and Bellamy stared in mute disbelief.

“Come on, I don’t have all day!” he called again, and it was true. He had a session with Lasazar tonight, and he still wanted to get a nap in before any further demon summoning.

That practice, unlike the child’s play here, actually required his full attention.

Despite the sudden doubt he was experiencing, Terry seemed to realize he didn’t truly have a choice in the matter and that he’d made his bed.

Glancing at his unconscious companion one last time, he stepped onto the protective lines of the dueling platform, slowly making his way to the opposite side from Nick.

“I can see where your arrogance comes from,” Terry said conversationally, now back in control of his emotions. “But I should warn you that you are playing a very dangerous game, one beyond your ability to control. Your own Archmage is merely using you as a pawn, and will discard you just as easily as ours will, should we fail.”

Nick’s lips quirked up. “I would like to point out that you are the ones who came seeking me out, and that it was those idiots in the docks who attacked me first. I only went there to ask questions.”

Terry shook his head, eyes hooded. “It doesn’t matter how it started. You are now involved in the power struggle within factions, and you chose the wrong side. The Tower Master is due back any day now, and when he does, balance will be restored forcefully. Tholm upset the equilibrium by stepping into the field, and people like you will have to face the consequences.”

“Oh, shut up!” Eona yelled from the sidelines. “Stop acting like you’re just a cog in the machine with no self-determination. You’re deliberately choosing to fight with Nick, despite your words. You’re responsible for what happens now.”

Shrugging, Nick had to give it to her. “You know she’s right,” he said, as carefree as ever.

Terry didn’t fall for the bait, showing more brains than he would have given him credit for at first, and simply settled into a stance with his right hand extended, as if beckoning something, and the left behind his back, hidden from sight.

“Let’s get this thing over with,” he said, and Nick acquiesced.

The platform’s magic flickered online, sensing the start of a new duel, and Nick began preparing several possible spells.

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It took just a few moments to unleash a heavy barrage of and , sending them screaming toward Terry, whose eyes widened at the sudden attack.

Silver lights danced around him, parrying spells when possible and taking them head-on when necessary. Nick eyed the new magic with interest, easing his barrage just enough to let it keep pace, but ultimately dismissed it as just a reactive shield variation. He then intensified the attack, quickly overwhelming its interception capabilities and hitting Terry multiple times, causing him to stagger back.

“It’s still not enough,” he muttered, flicking his fingers again and sending off a second hail.

Something flashed in Terry’s eyes, and Nick had just a second to cast before a powerful force slammed into it.

His defense held up, its anti-magic properties allowing it to absorb the direct blow without cracking, but the ground below him couldn’t say the same, and the platform’s magic flared intensely as it cratered, calling for extra aid from the Tower wards, which was soon granted, and Nick felt them get to work and repair the stone in a flash.

“Kinetic magic?” He asked aloud, amused and intrigued.

He hadn't expected to encounter that here. In his experience, only a particular type of obsessive person focused on developing kinetic magic beyond the basics, since it was often extremely iterative and didn’t provide as much satisfaction as other, flashier elements.

On Earth, there wasn’t much else to do but desperately eke out any improvement, but with the abundance of mana this world had, it was very rare to see it. As far as Nick knew, only one other apprentice focused on it in the entire Tower.

Terry hadn’t struck him as the type to have that much patience, but apparently, he was wrong because what had just hit him with the force of a dwarven battering ram was actually all the combined kinetic energy of his wind spells at once.

It was an ingenious tactic, and he suspected it worked very well against arrogant mages who thought they had the upper hand as they kept hitting him without him managing to cast a single spell.

If he’d been slower with his casting, or even if he had a weaker shield to call upon, he would have been hit with enough force to break every bone in his body.

Terry didn’t seem to like that he survived his attack, but he didn’t let the moment pass without action. He twisted his visible right hand, while a wisp of mana gathered around his hidden left.

Invisible spheres of force gathered in the hundreds, each only powerful enough to mimic a punch, but in such numbers that they risked overwhelming even Nick. They launched in the next second, aiming to keep him pinned.

Normally, Nick would respond to the barrage with his own, aiming to overwhelm it and disrupt whatever plan his opponent was devising, but in this case, he didn’t need to.

The kinetic blasts splashed on and just faded away, too weak on their own to break the spell’s natural disruption.

That gave Nick an open path to his opponent, and he seized the opportunity, clenching his fist to squeeze the air around him.

The move didn’t cause as much damage as it would have to a regular human, since mages, although not physically oriented, still had enough stat points to survive without air for several minutes at full strength. However, it was enough to shock Terry and break his concentration.

The gem he’d been feeding with his mana throughout the duel destabilized, forcing him to unleash it now or risk being hit himself.

Finally, Nick faced the trump card that gave Terry so much confidence, despite his companion’s fate.

It was a stunning sapphire, shining in the clear light much like the ocean beneath the summer sun.

Then, it cracked, and all hell broke loose.

The wards flashed, strengthening the platform’s defenses and making them visible, while containing the flood of water within, which unfortunately left only one outlet.

Nick watched as enough water to fill a small lake crashed down on him, more surprised that he hadn’t sensed it than by its deadliness.

The answer was not forthcoming, but the wave definitely was, and Nick still stayed in his spot.

He barely had time to hear his friends outside shout something, probably a warning or a request for him to move, but Nick wasn’t worried.

Then, it closed on him, and his vision faded to black.

Enough water to crush him like a bug churned all around him, trapped in place by the room’s magic, while Terry hovered above, watching with what seemed like regret and vindication.

His circumstances probably weren't very pleasant if this was what he was reduced to at his age, but Nick wasn’t feeling very charitable right now.

He knew he wasn’t going to die, but Terry didn’t, and he still went through with it.

The water, as tall as three men stacked together, started to settle once its excess kinetic energy was used up, but before it could fully do so, something began to churn in the middle, causing gasps of shock.

More and more, it roiled upon itself, as if gathering in one spot. Nick sensed the moment Terry realized he was not only still alive but fully capable of fighting—and worse, of using the water he had summoned for his own ends—and he grinned at the despair that spread through him.

Lifting his hand, he allowed the water to circle around him a few more times, much like an affectionate dog would, before asserting his will on it and taking full advantage of the affinity granted to him by .

What happened next could best be described as a cannon going off, as most of the summoned liquid exploded in a compressed burst toward Terry, slamming him against the far wall, right next to where Warren had been left as a twitching heap.

In this situation, the elemental fury wasn’t enough to secure victory, as Nick could sense Terry working desperately to absorb and redirect much of the energy. However, water had more than one way to be deadly, so he commanded it to enter any hole it could find.

A choked scream died inside the bubble of raging liquid, and Nick let it drop to the ground a moment later, watching in satisfaction as his opponent’s unconscious form was revealed.

CONGRATULATIONS!

You have defeated

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