Mavis and Matthis stared each other down. Mavis didn’t know if this was standard procedure for something like not filling out the Talent section of her Union registration form, but she was more than willing to throw down with Matthis. It wasn’t even for self-defence reasons. She just wanted to land at least one good blow to his bespectacled face. They stood there, sizing each other up, trying to predict who would make the first move. But the first move would belong to Mavis. She swung her left arm to the side, yelling out the name of her spell:
“ECLAIR: BOUNCE”
A small bolt of lighting shot from her fingertips, hitting the wall next to her and ricocheting off at an unusual angle. It was speeding towards Matthis’ right kneecap, but Matthis dodged to the left at the last second. The bolt of lightning bounced off the ground and into the air as if it was made of rubber.
“I’m starting to get the picture now”, Matthis said. “But I need more data. So would you kindly show me more?”
“OHHHH, I would be DELIGHTED too.” Mavis said in anger.
She removed what looked to be two very short metal rods about the length of her palms. There was a hole on each end of them and an additional hole on the bottom.
“FLAMME: IRON KNUCKLE”
Flames spewed out of the holes on the metal rods, the source being from Mavis’ palms. The flames arced into each other from both ends, connected, and then stopped, as if solidifying. The embers formed a jagged texture. Mavis charged at Matthis, something he didn’t expect from a mage. She took a swing at him, aiming for his face, but barely missing as he arched his back, feeling the heat from the rod’s flames as they came close to the bridge of his nose. However, it was only a feint. As Matthis was now off balance from dodging the sudden attack, Mavis used her other fist to try to land a blow to his gut. Ting Went the sound of the flames against Matthis’ mallet as he managed to block at the last second, sending him flying against the wall.
“I think I understand fully.” The look of surprise hadn’t left Matthis’ face yet. A mage getting into close quarters combat was incredibly rare. While there were spells like Reinforce that increased a mage’s physical prowess at the cost of lowering their magical abilities temporarily, that was only used in niche situations like if close quarters was unavoidable. Mavis, however, charged at him first. And he didn’t see her cast Reinforce. It was likely to catch him off guard, which worked to an extent, but also allowed him to fully analyse the situation and how she was using her spells. Eclair is a spell that creates a lightning bolt to shock and pierce a target. Used normally, it would have either pierce the wall Mavis aimed at or left a scorch mark. However, it ricocheted off instead. Flamme is the same way as it just creates a stream of fire from the caster’s palms. It wouldn’t solidify and become brass knuckles. But the sound it made when Mavis’ fiery fists hit his mallet was like steel hitting steel, plus it felt solid.
“You can change the physical properties of your spells, can’t you?”
Like the majority of adventurers and other combatants, Mavis has what is called a Talent; a special ability that is unique to the user. Some can simply replicate the effects of certain spells and magic items, while others have completely different effects. Her Talent was called Transmute, and it did exactly as Matthis described. Taking balls of pure destructive arcane energy and making them rubbery so they would be damaging, but not lethal. Solidifying flames and giving them the same hardness and density as metal to use as a weapon. That is what Transmute allows Mavis to do, making even the simplest of spells that even a novice mage can cast much more versatile. It was something Mavis had learned she could do when a bully in her class had tried to dump a bucket of tar on her. She was so angry she wanted to hit her with something but couldn’t find anything within reach, so she casted an Arcane Bolt to fire at her as a warning shot. She didn’t hate the bully enough to want to kill her, so in her subconscious mind she wished for the ball to become like rubber. When the bully looked back at the spot the Arcane Bolt had hit, it bounced back and hit her in the face, breaking her nose. Mavis had earned herself a two week suspension for the incident but had used that time to learn what her Talent is and how it worked.
Mavis didn’t respond to Matthis’ statement. He was right on the money, but that didn’t matter to her. Though he had already acquired the information he needed, he wasn’t done playing his game. She knew he would keep attacking her until he was satisfied. The only thing she could do was to end things quickly. It would also be satisfying to her if she laid him out on the pavement before he could get a hit in. She rushed him again, keeping her guard up as her adoptive father had taught her, and went in for a jab with the fiery knuckles. But before she could land a blow, she could see something glint in Matthis’ sleeve as she got closer. A sharp object had started to jut out from the opening and stabbed at Mavis. She was able to dodge at the last second with it still grazing her cheek. Matthis then swung his large mallet, getting a direct hit on Mavis’ upper right arm, just below the shoulder. She was sent flying back, landing on the pavement with a dislocated shoulder. She held her shoulder in pain, looking at the wall opposite of the one Matthis had his back to. A dagger had lodged itself into the cobblestone. She looked back at Matthis, who was twirling the mallet with a smirk.
“Well, Miss Millwood, it seems you were all bark and no bite. Do you want to go another round? Or will you stay down like a dog?”
Paulie watched the spectacle in terror. Mavis had, at most, pushed Matthis back. And now she was on the ground with a major injury. Her right arm would be useless unless it was looked at by a healer, which none here was. Matthis didn’t have a scratch on him yet. He was losing hope. But then, Mavis slowly got up.
“I’m not done, asshole. If you think this is enough to keep me down, what kind of adventurer would I be?” The dislocated shoulder hurt. A lot. But it was nothing Mavis couldn’t manage. She still had her other arm and she was still conscious. “Besides, I haven’t gotten a hit on that stupid face of yours yet.”
Matthis flashed her a grin. “Then be my guest. And let's make this interesting while we’re at it.”
“I’m listening”
“If you can manage to actually land a blow to my face, I’ll give you… lets say… 200 gold pieces? Does that sound fair?”
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
That was more than enough motivation Mavis needed.
“YOU’RE ON FOUREYES!”
Four Arcane Bolts appeared in front of Mavis. She then kicked each on as hard as she could in a different direction and angle. The balls ricocheted off the walls as they moved towards Matthis. As his eyes darted back and forth to try to keep track of the rubber bolts of arcane energy, Mavis charged at him again. He had to keep up with four bouncing balls of pain as well as an angry and money motivated Mavis. He swung his mallet as one of the Arcane Bolts headed directly to him and knocked it upwards into the air. But as he was distracted with protecting himself from the spell, Mavis was able to close the gap. He didn’t have time to swing his mallet in the opposite direction, he would have to rely on the tricks that were literally up his sleeve. As he moved his other arm so there would be an opening between his wrist and the fabric, Mavis grabbed his wrist, closing the gap. From how he had been showing off pulling out things that logically would not fit in the sleeve of his suit, Mavis figured out that it must be because it’s either a magic item, or his Talent. It was the latter.
Matthis’ Talent, Pocket, allows him to store and retrieve items in openings that he has marked with his mana. The overall size of the item cannot exceed his own height or twice his width, but the number of items he can store has no limit. He can also jettison the items out at high velocities should he wish. This allows him to secretly carry any tool he needs for whichever job he’s on. However, if said opening was closed, he would not be able to retrieve anything from Pocket. It was just an educated guess that he wouldn’t be able to shoot any knives at her if she grabbed his wrist, but it was a gamble that she won. Matthis didn’t feel any worry however, as it also left Mavis’ only working hand occupied. That was until he saw a pellet in her teeth. While he was distracted with the bouncing orbs, Mavis had popped a healing pellet in her mouth, a more portable version of a healing potion with all the same effects and enchantments, while also working instantaneously. A single package of 5 pellets would cost a whole month of pay from the Adventurer’s Union, but Mavis was willing to use one just to win what amounts to a petty squabble. She crunched the pellet in her teeth, activating its healing effects. Matthis could hear the sound of the bones in her shoulder readjust back into place and the cut on her cheek disappeared. Mavis reeled her fist back, and with a loud war cry, punched Matthis across the face. His glasses flew off his face, landing near a nearby trash can. The only reason he didn’t go flying as well was because Mavis held his arm in a tight grip. Despite being a mage, she was also physically strong.
How does a mage have this much physical strength? Matthis thought to himself. Mages typically spend their time training their mage and knowledge of the arcane arts, neglecting to train their bodies. But Mavis’ athleticism would suggest she hadn’t neglected her body. Then it hit him. But before he could say it out loud, Mavis beat him to the punch.
“The old man trained me well. I simultaneously studied magic while he taught me hand to hand combat. I even used to read spell books while I ran laps.” She looked Matthis in the eye, as if boring a hole right into his soul. “This was something I couldn’t afford to slack on. I worked hard for this strength because I NEEDED it.”
Matthis smiled, understanding. He felt something from those words. Not respect, annoyance, or even any kind of emotion. He felt something else. Something… there. He couldn’t describe it but he knew it to be true.
“I getcha. But you know, if this was a real fight, you would be dead right about now.” The moment he said that, Mavis felt her limbs go numb. She got a closer look at the dagger that was embedded into the wall. There was a liquid dripping from it. She couldn’t maintain her grip on Matthis and fell to the ground, limp as a stuffed doll.
“There was a slow-acting numbing agent in that dagger. I thought it would be a fun surprise for later but all that physical activity you had must have circulated through your bloodstream faster. You won’t be able to move for about another hour or so.”
While Mavis couldn’t move her limbs, she could still move her mouth and speak.
“Just give me my money, you dick.” That was really all she cared about right now. She had successfully managed to land a punch to Matthis’ face. She won the bet. Now he had to pay up.
“My, my. Are you always this profane?” Matthis said, smugly. He reached into his sleeve and retrieved a pouch full of coins, tossing it at Mavis. “Is this really all you care about?”
Mavis grinned as the coin pouch landed next to her face. “Money makes the world go round, Matty my boy.”
“You know, it was fun messing with you at first, but now you’re just starting to get on my ner-” Matthis didn’t finish his sentence before a woman’s loud voice was shouting at him.
“MATTHIS EDENZ WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?”
Mavis saw Matthis’ face drop as he heard a voice that was all too familiar to him. He turned to see a human woman in her mid thirties with long blonde hair, wearing a blue sundress with a white apron overtop. If it wasn’t evident in her voice, her face would give away how furious she was at him. He looked past the woman and saw that Paulie was nowhere to be seen. He must have fled while he and Mavis were both distracted by the fight to get help, and of course, he had to have found her of all people.
Matthis let out an audible “Oh shit.”
Mavis looked at the two confused. Obviously she was someone Matthis knew, but it seemed like he was afraid. For some reason, she looked familiar to Mavis, but she couldn’t quite place where or even if she’s seen her before. The woman angrily walked past Matthis, not even looking at him, and towards Mavis. She bent down and checked her over.
“Are you alright? You’re not hurt are you?” The woman spoke in a soft and worried tone to Mavis.
“Nah I’m fine.” Mavis said playfully. “I just can’t move right now, thanks to Matty and that drugged dagger he flung at me.”
The woman looked angry as she turned her head back to glare at Matthis. Mavis shot him a wide smirk. When the woman looked back to her, she went back to a neutral expression.
“On behalf of my colleague , I am very sorry. I’ll get you to a doctor or priest to have you looked at.” She gently lifted Mavis off the ground, gracefully positioning her onto her own back to carry her out of the alley.
“Wait a minute… colleague?” Hearing that, the gears started to turn in Mavis’ head. This was someone she thinks she’s seen before, but they didn’t know each other. Otherwise the woman would have said something. Matthis seemed afraid of her, or more precisely, her knowing he was fighting someone in a back alley. And now, she called him his ‘colleague’. Then she realized who it was that was carrying her on her back. She recognized her because she saw a collectable figure of her in a toy shop, except it was wearing armour..
“Aren’t you?”
“Charlotte Freyan,” the woman introduced herself. “Number Two of the Twelve Roundtable Knights. Once again I am very sorry for what happened.”