Lurona city [southern shores of Fuminao Legacy Kingdom], local time [1794.01.12]

The contestants sprung to action at the arbiters’ signal.

Dorcas, the Lesser Landlord, sprinted to his left, firing two arrows in quick succession to probe Makani’s defenses. His birds flew away in two different directions, quickly gaining height.

At the same time, an explosion of air took place on Makani’s left side. He jumped with the shockwave to the right, drifting in the air as his robes caught the blow of the wind. A sphere of disturbed air sprung to life around him right before the first arrow struck. Both projectiles were deflected by the defensive Spell.

He was moving slower than the ranger, but it was playing into his hand. Dorcas was less inclined to change directions in this situation.

Makani was chasing Dorcas, trying to prevent him from gaining distance on the opposite side of the ravine. At least for now.

The ranger was already aiming with another arrow but wasn’t firing it just yet. He was waiting for something – probably for a Matrix Spell to finish constructing.

Makani’s Beam Spell fired before it could finish, though. An explosion of superheated air caused by the Heat Beam was strong enough to raise the dirt along the path of the stream of Magicules, culminating at Dorcas’s position. The man was spun around and violently thrown back.

Aisha whistled with admiration and Zeph couldn’t agree more. It was easily the fastest execution of Beam Spell he had ever seen, not to mention the power behind it. Even if Makani prepared the necessary parts of the construct beforehand, it meant he was close to mastering the Spell – something unheard of for Manacasters with such low Willpower and not specializing in combat. It was a Tier 1 Spell; mastering it should take years.

It seemed that Zeph’s Liquid Spell Medium—aka the Cube—seriously sped up Makani’s progress.

But the fight was far from the conclusion. Dorcas changed his fall into a roll and disappeared from Makani’s view behind the boulders dotting the rocky slope.

Similarly, Makani used the shockwave of his Beam Spell to hover backwards to find cover.

The two combatants hunkered down, using the terrain to stay out of sight while searching for new positions.

The cliff area was almost flat but dotted with gorges, deep scars, and big boulders. Hiding was easy, finding your opponent not so much.

Makani was, obviously, using his Sound-group Spells. Zeph already knew how uncannily precise the man could be while using them. But even then, Dorcas had much better surveillance – his Soul-bonded avians were already high in the sky of the stadium, near the barrier covering the giant pit of the arena. Both looked like predatory birds and Zeph had no doubts that they could easily spot Makani’s green silhouette a mere dozen floors below.

If Dorcas was proficient enough to share the senses with the animals, spotting Makani would be trivial.

But even if they could locate their opponent, the terrain still posed an issue. Straight-line attacks couldn’t be executed. Most of Makani’s Spells would become useless, and Dorcas would have to use weak, parabolic shots.

Seeing that, Zeph expected some sort of a positional war to take place, so he was surprised by what started transpiring down below.

Both combatants were still on the move, not even trying to fire at their opponent. Dorcas was moving erratically, changing directions every time Makani did something unexpectedly. The Manacaster, on the other hand, tried to be as unpredictable as possible, oftentimes stopping mid-step and randomly changing directions. All the while, he was closely observing the movements of the birds above.

This lasted for a good seven minutes. Like two swordmasters measuring the ability of their opponent by simply changing their stances, without swinging the swords even once, the two combatants continued to chase the invisible enemies all through the field.

Zeph understood, intellectually, that they were searching for a good position to strike. An oversight made by their opponents maybe, or a hidden gap in the terrain that would allow them to snipe them. But for the love of all intellectual games, he couldn’t understand the logic behind their movements. It was like observing a match between chess masters who saw at least seven steps ahead.

Dorcas was slowly ‘pushing’ Makani closer to the border of the area, near the grassy hills, but the Manacaster finally decided to break the status quo.

He stopped for a few seconds behind a big boulder, closing his eyes. Then, suddenly, he took out a metal contraption resembling a thin grenade launcher from under the folds of his floaty robes. He fired it immediately, compressed air sending a slow projectile into the sky.

The image on the window panel instantly started zooming out to keep the flying sphere in the field of view.

Soon, it became clear what Makani was doing for the last seven minutes. The spherical bullet started veering unnaturally, aiming right between the two birds. Makani had built some kind of Mana construct reaching all the way up to the height of the flying avians which, once again, stumped Zeph. Constructing something like that without an advanced Mana Manipulation was too difficult to execute for most people.

The animals tried to fly away and gain distance, but they were too late. It took only a second or two for the bullet to reach its destination. It didn’t explode, not immediately. Instead, it slowed down considerably and started vibrating violently.

As the forces finally ripped it apart in an explosion of white smoke, the birds were already falling, their wings stiff and unmoving.

Whatever sound he used, it was enough to stun them completely.

The flow of the match changed right then. Makani finally started his offensive by throwing explosive beads and smoke bombs. The latter also served as a smokescreen when he jumped the main ravine separating him from Dorcas.

The ranger was visibly panicking. He was left blind in the maze of rocks while his opponent knew his position. The only saving grace was his gas mask, allowing him to ignore the smoke. Despite the expected distance fight, he was against a Manacaster specialized in Air Magicules – he naturally had to use the equipment.

In his panic, he decided to take a more aggressive stance. As so, he climbed the high rocks in the hope of spotting Makani from above.

He jumped around, arrow at the ready, trying to find the Manacaster as fast as possible.

The man forgot—or maybe wasn’t fully aware from the beginning—that Makani could constantly and precisely determine his location without looking. Two Heat Beams constructed in Makani’s Veil were the only thing he saw as a consequence of his actions. The Manacaster himself was, of course, hidden behind a big boulder.

The fight quickly escalated from that point. Without a clear line of sight, Dorcas was helpless. Makani easily cornered him near another ravine. He finished the job from a safe distance, using smoke from the bombs to his advantage. One disorienting sound effect and a few more Beam Spells later, and the man’s unresponsive body was smoldering all over.

Dorcas’s bonds probably weren’t dead but they didn’t return for the rest of the fight.

“Anticlimactic conclusion,” Kwan said with a frown. Aisha nodded vehemently at that.

“Still better than suffering from an unknown, crippling attack,” Zeph said, shaking his head.

“But they didn’t use even one hidden ability!” Aisha started protesting but flinched after seeing Zeph’s glare. “Well… except for that spellwork, of course. But that doesn’t count.”

“No new information,” Ghrughah started slowly, “but a safe victory. I am with Zeph on this one.”

“And he still didn’t have to use that gadget. Tomorrow’s fight will be so much easier for him,” P’pfel the professor added.

“You guys are boring,” Aisha said, crossing her arms. “This is the first occasion in ages—or rather, a first in the lives of most of you—to show off during a Duel, but you all just decided to ignore the fun part altogether.”

“Repeat that after Kwan’s arm regrows,” Zeph countered.

“Regenerates,” the woman in question corrected him. “Zora has a point here,” she stated, turning to them. “This is, probably, the safest opportunity to test the effectiveness of our abilities in a battle. A real battle. Every fight that doesn’t require us to use our advanced techniques is a waste.”

The contemplative silence that ensued lasted only a few seconds before the discussion started anew. P’pfel and Ghrughah were craftsmen first and foremost. They preferred a quick and efficient resolution that wouldn’t uncover their—oftentimes very costly—tricks. Worse, showing the technology that they painfully worked out was risky for many other reasons.

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Aisha and Kwan preferred self-development in the most straightforward meaning of the word. Showing their abilities was a given, they were much more preoccupied with the techniques used by their opponents. Each fighting style was a puzzle for them. A puzzle that they worked hard to solve with their existing arsenal of equipment, abilities, and skills.

Zeph was in the middle, not speaking much. He couldn’t commit to either side fully, as his hidden identity stood in the way. Whatever he did, he couldn’t clue the audience that he was a Terrien. He didn’t want to deal with the consequences of such information leaking just yet. A reasonable technological level of his gear, reasonable Mana skills – that was what he had to use.

The real showdown wouldn’t happen until the next day, either way, so the discussion was more philosophical than practical in his eyes.

The participants of the Tournament would bring the big guns on the final day. The stance of the Heads of their Guild would only matter then; assuming they would even have an opportunity to apply anything advanced during their fight.

Naturally, the opponents on that day would stem from the industrial group. That group had the best means when it came to the hi-tech equipment, and they weren’t as scared of the possibly deadly encounter as the Landlords themselves were. It would be the most dangerous part of the Tournament – those people chose to be there themselves. This position guaranteed more rewards, but was also required to solidify their demands, as those weren’t exactly rational – as asking for production schematics tended to be.

Makani returned after a few minutes. He was smug as never for achieving a perfect win – without receiving even one hit from the opponent. Of course, he didn’t hesitate to smear that fact all over their faces.

And they couldn’t even refute him.

Zeph evacuated quickly, finding an attendant to bring him to the auditorium hall.

He was a little early, but that was all right. After his equipment was examined, he simply sat on a provided chair and revised his plans for the fight.

Their opposition should still think that he was under the influence of Arslancle’s Magicules. Those should cause issues when constructing Spells manually, cripple his Willpower, and decrease the effectiveness of his implants. He could use that to fake an opening during the fight, although it depended mostly on his opponent’s actions. He knew that his opponent would specialize in analyzing, so the question was – could he fake the crippling effect good enough to sell it?

Going purely physical on a Spellwielder doesn’t sound like a good idea, he sighed internally. Maybe If I use only one Spell, like Telekinesis… he continued to ponder.

His musings were interrupted by the opening doors. An older woman in heavy, brown robes entered unhurriedly.

She looked to be past her fifties. A tightly tied bun on her head was already decorated with white strips of hair. Her face looked stern even when relaxed.

The woman didn’t say a word. She simply walked up to them and stopped at the ready, waiting for the introductions and the procedure to start.

Somehow, Zeph had a bad feeling about her.

Her gear was checked in quick order and the declarations were stated. The woman didn’t spare many words even then, simply stating her name, position, and the goal of winning in the name of the merchant group she was a part of.

Danette Gildafi, the Guild Master of General Apprising and Accounting Guild. She was the first combatant without the Landlord title, but that didn’t mean she was in any way weaker or less prepared than the previous contestants. Quite the opposite, actually. She operated with more wealth than some of the Lesser Landlords while keeping close ties with all of the most promising groups in the city. The name of her Guild, simple and bland as it was, was a testament to how successful they had become. There was no other apprising Guild in the city – besides individuals and government facilities, they didn’t have competition on the market. They were probably the first, and now the last, Guild of this type that formed in Lurona.

Zeph made sure to keep his Veil as loose as possible. It flailed around him to the rhythm of the moving air, stripped of purpose and direction. His Ambient Mana Channeling was disabled long ago. He left no indicator as to his level of control over his Mana.

At the same time, he was focusing on the information his dispersing Mana was returning, keeping a close eye on the reaction of his Will-Magicules. This woman was a specialist in information gathering, she had to have means to analyze her target. He wanted to see when that happened, and how it happened.

As he walked to the elevator platform, a long while after the woman disappeared in another hallway, he started consulting with his main adviser.

Gru? he sent to his companion.

Gre, came the silent negation.

His companion didn’t see anything unusual in the Soulscape. Of course, Gru was merely ‘peeping’ through the newly-formed pseudo-Soul-bond with his Will. Without touching, tasting, or otherwise interacting with the woman’s Soul, not much could be said for sure. But, most importantly, she didn’t try to interact with Zeph’s Soul at all.

Time to hide then.

Gra! he sent back, shifting his Soul. He would stay vigilant, informing Zeph of any attempt at analyzing his Soul.

Zeph arrived at the elevator and instantly started preparing his Spells. He decided to keep them in reserve, so all of them were Stabilized by the Mana-L. Also, the woman wouldn’t be able to tell what was enclosed in the Mana-L conglomerating near a few of the sacks on his belt.

He had a lot of consumables on himself this time. More than during the first fight. He was loaded with explosive plates masterfully enchanted by P’pfel – his three bandoliers were full of the stuff. This time, he didn’t take any of the nasty chemicals that P’pfel and Pavail produced. With only one working arm, his maneuverability was compromised and he was going to fight with a Spellwielder. It was better to not present an obvious target for the woman.

He still had his spear. If he gripped it near the center of mass and used it like a bamboo staff, it would be still functional. Though, it was already unsheathed and loosely affixed to his back. The scabbard was pinned to his belt, and in his hand was the crossbow. The bolt wasn’t anything special – just a drilling one with a simple, air-thinning enchantment.

What I wouldn’t do to have my pistol here… he thought, jumping from the elevator to the grassy arena floor.

The plains were their playing field. Zeph was quite surprised by Danette’s decision, but he couldn’t complain. The woman seemed to be a straightforward and honest person.

So why do I feel so anxious? he asked himself, seeing the woman standing fifty meters away.

The announcements were made – a Spellwielders Duel declared and their names given. Then the countdown started, and he prepared.

The plan was simple, but he would have to focus for it to work.

As the timer hit zero, he pushed his Mana to activate all disruptive enchantments while completing the construction of Force Weave behind his back.

Magnetic Field, Mass Fog, Electrify, Mass Heat, Force Expulsion, Gas-thinning, Fluid-thickening – the sequence of enchantments fired within a second, producing a foggy haze around his body. The modified and advanced versions of Spells created by P’pfel worked extremely fast.

Just before the Force Weave finished forming, but right after the cloud of the superheated, electrocuted fog, saturated with five different Magicule groups, surrounded him, he felt it.

An intrusive wave of Mana hit his loose Veil like a wall of bricks. It almost felt like a shockwave from an air vortex cannon. His Veil almost disintegrated under the pressure while the fog cloud was pushed back.

But before the cloud could disperse entirely, the Force Weave finished forming. Its function was somewhat complex – to push him forward while a substructure would keep a part of the disruptive cloud intact behind his back as he ran. That substructure was, of course, Stabilized and could be reconfigured to push him again, although with less force.

With an explosion of air, the Spell propelled him forward. In the next moment, he was sprinting right at the woman as fast as he could move.

Her shocked face was delightful to behold. That initial probe she sent should only return a mess of information back to her. But he had to give it to the woman – she practically weaponized the Spell. It had enough strength to disrupt Spell construction. Moreover, it was way too close to rupturing his Veil for comfort.

Zeph didn’t have any means of detecting the incoming attack or probe. Sending Mana tendril ahead would not only be wasteful but would reveal his health state and abilities. A condensed and undetectable mesh of Mana wouldn’t last long enough while he sprinted, or would be too close to his body for him to react in time.

As so, he defaulted to observing her body language. She may be stone-faced like a professional poker player, but after being flustered by the failure of her previous Spell it became clear she wasn’t accustomed to surprises. Her body should give him a hint, and he knew where to look.

His wild run only put more pressure. He had his crossbow in hand, yet he didn’t even try to aim and shoot – he was just running at her with all he had.

Only fifteen meters were left before he noticed it. Her hands moved slightly as if pushing something. He lunged forward to make a roll; the Force Weave construct moving above and forward, keeping the remnants of the fog.

The Spell hit him when he was still in the air. It was even stronger than before, almost breaking the Stabilized Force Weave. But thankfully it wasn’t enough.

As he finished the roll, he forced the Stabilized Spell to recombine and explode to push him as he dived forward once again.

He stretched out his arm to bring the crossbow as close as possible to the woman’s body. He wasn’t aiming, merely pointing it at her torso. He was close enough to do that.

She understood what he was doing too late.

A protective Spell or enchantment activated, but his arm was already beyond its default perimeter.

As expected, she wasn’t experienced in combat.

The bolt flew true. After penetrating the layers of protective fabric. It embedded itself deeply in her chest, right by her right shoulder.

That’s when the introductions finished and a true fight started.

The grass bent down in an expanding circle around the woman. Zeph’s Veil was pushed back in its entirety before, finally, the wave reached his body.

His hand bent under the stress; the crossbow almost breaking in the process. His head bounced back after hitting an invisible wall and his body straightened midair as an invisible force pushed him back.

The experience was very familiar. So familiar actually, that he immediately recognized the Spell.

Telekinesis, but one of a much higher Tier than his own.

Before he was flung away, he let go of his weapon and flung one of the explosive plates into the air. From the very beginning, he kept it at the brink of activation, just in case. His aim wasn’t the best because of the circumstances, but by a stroke of luck, it soared upwards.

Reflexively, he tried to orient himself to land on his healthy, right side. He crashed down with mixed success, leaving a deep scar in the soft soil before barreling to a stop. He didn’t fall directly on his back, but his shoulder met the ground first. If not for his Flexibility, it would end up dislodged at the very least.

He fought against the dizziness and immediately raised his head, already trying to push his body upward. Locating the woman, he glared at her in frustration. He was a good 20 meters away from her and could see that she was already preparing another Spell.

Fortunately, the plate finally fell next to her. Hearing the soft thump, she turned her head in that direction.

The confusion visible on her face quickly transformed into fear. But before she could do anything, the plate flashed with an angry-red light and sent its load into the surroundings.

The explosion wasn’t spectacular or overly loud – as it tends to happen with enchantment explosives – but the effectiveness of the load was probably better than that of a hand grenade. High-velocity shrapnel was what really mattered, after all.

The woman screeched horribly as she fell. Zeph saw as her leg shot back from under her, and he was sure that at least one fragment hit her torso.

He was spared from taking any hits. At this distance, he was relatively safe when lying on the ground.

Seeing the woman in action, he discarded his initial plan of burring her in the explosives. If she was aware enough, she could easily fling them all back at him. Instead, he raised to his feet and reached for his spear.

Time for round two, he thought as the woman started floating midair, her furious glare drilling a hole in his helmet…