I sigh, following behind Professor Trew, as I walk side by side with my team into the battlegrounds.

It is a massive stone arena. Sunlight pours down into the oval amphitheatre illuminating the rows of stone seating. The centre of the arena has an oval shape, inside of which is a large flat stone square thirty metres wide and long raised five feet off the ground.

We walk up the small stairs and onto the central square ahead of us our first opponents do the same. Professor Trew leaves and takes a seat in the front row and I ponder our dilemma.

The Giant Fist. A multi-species group we can easily handle.

"Welcome!" booms a deep voice to my right off the arena and I turn my head to Professor Tenace.

"I’m glad you could all be here this morning and hope you learn a great deal about the art of magical combat." he asserts from his position near the arena's edge. "I am the referee for this match of the Block C contest. For first years, it is the third block of the A-Z battle block tournament unique to second-year graduation at our academy. If you survive the maze of your first-year graduation this is what you will have to look forward to."

Subdued clapping met his explantation, as a few of the first years grew paler at the mention of the maze.

The price of joining perhaps the best magical academy in all of Poram is these assessments. Pass them all and you become a Mage on route to become a High Mage or at the top an Archmage. Only the best of each year gets to move up.

The rest are are compelled to twenty five years of conscription to the Miltar Magick. The magic faction of vast miltary that supplies the magical might and fodder for the Athfens army. Lucky ones escape to join back into the nobility. Commoners and petty nobility have no escape but to make ends meet however they can. The latter being my fate if we should lose.

I really should start paying attention now.

The professor continues addressing the scattering of an audience sitting all over the arena numbering no more than a dozen. The audience stands behind the erected wards.

The wards themselves are an impressive feat of enchantment. They can stop nearly any magical effect. Their complex and masterful design is a testament to the might of the Masters of the Academy and a glimpse at the possibilities of power I might wield should we win.

However, like all magical barriers they are nought but paper to a material object, a steel arrow could fly through and kill unhindered by the barrier.

"Now competitors you all know the stakes and the rules. No lethal or permeant injuries, this is a test of magical application in warfare so no martial combat." He discloses. "Yes, I am addressing you Gareth and August." He adds with a glance to us, his voice intruding in my thoughts.

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His lips are still for a moment.

"Further, do we understand the stakes of these Trials? Win, and you can become top of your block and make it to the third year. Fail, and you are graduating in your second year. You will leave the academy as inferior magi to serve Athfens not as Mages, but magi in the Miltar Magick." he explains.

After a pause, he shouts. "Are you still Magi?"

"Yes." All the competitors including myself answer back with a shout. Flushing red shame dye our cheeks. A magi might be worth a dozen mundanes. But a Mage was worth hundreds.

"Then without further ado, you have ten seconds to prepare." He declares and with a flick of his wand, a giant hourglass appears with large grains of sand ten in total with a grain falling with each second.

Years of learning spells and the right gestures prepared us for this fight. To win.

Years of training instils both teams to start forming barriers to encase their skin. Those with the more precise and responsive gestures cast their barriers quicker, and then begin a second spell half forming them before…

"Begin!"

Borei leaps in front of Rina covering her from any possible interference with her spell formation.

Gareth and I move forward and start firing off mana bolts with a flick of our wrists.

The bolt is transparent blue and is shaped like crossbow bolts.

We mostly hit the enemy magi but they deflect harmlessly off their barriers. However, two well-aimed shots of Gareth's hit between the eyes block the eyesight and interfere with the human and the dwarf's spell casting.

One of my mana bolts mixes with the mana formation of the Ingen, creating a chain reaction that causes their fire spell to explode in their hands. The impact knocks them on their ass and shatters their barrier.

They slam their fist on the ground in frustration.

Seeing the opportunity I concentrate a few seconds longer. I stretch out my left hand and I pull the pinched forefinger and thumb of my right hand back to below my eye. In the space between I form a mana arrow.

I release it.

The blue energy flies through the air slamming into a horned head. She topples and falls unconscious.

One of their friends rushes to help.

Just like me, Gareth breaks through their barrier with a mana arrow. They fall face first and break their nose on the concrete.

Rina and the one the members of the Giants Fist, a Scaled one, shout out "Now!" and unleash their barrier buster scale spells.

Rina true to her passions casts an Earth Moving Spell. The ground erupts beneath our feet as she splits the arena in half on our opponent's side only.

The earth parts so what was once whole is now divided and then crumbles into rubble. Members of Giant’s fist fall they all drop and land on the ground. Technically out of bounds.

At the same time, the Scaled one summons a tidal wave of water as tall and wide as a stampede of horses, the audience's gasping is clear over the clash of magic.

The wave pushes me back.

My eyes sting, and I choke on the water as the force of the wave hurls me out of the arena.

I feel a hand grabbing mine and see that Gareth has caught me. His feet dig into the arena. His veins bulge under the strain as he resists the force of the tidal wave.

The wave passes...

"Augmented strength is always fun". He mutters. I notice Borei and Rina are fine and assume they cast Root or some other variation of the spell.

All four of us remain in the arena. However, all of them are out of bounds.

"The winner is Goblin Tooth!" calls out Professor Tenace.