Hearing Tharnomath's order, the knight and Eli quickly leave the chamber to train somewhere else.

"Let's not delay any further. Follow me, and I'll introduce you to your sparring opponent." He says to me.

"Would teaching me or enhancing my magic not be more beneficial."

"It would, but close duels can be decided by the smallest difference in experience. That's why experienced duelists most of the time indicate a highly strong individual. Thus, we will focus on duels and afterward perform rituals to enhance or train to increase your magical capabilities."

"Alright, lead the way," I say, not willing to waste any time.

Tharnomath leads the way as I follow him to the training grounds. There I could see a familiar fallen angle, seemingly waiting for something.

"Argillis, there you are. I trust that there are no possible delays so that we can immediately begin?" He asks, but it seems more like a threat in my eyes.

"Of course, your lordship, I'm ready to begin whenever commanded." The fallen angel says in a respectful tone.

"You will be sparring with our new partner. Do not hold back, his future opponents won't either."

Tharnomath now turns to me to speak.

"I will be here looking for any deficiencies in your combat style. When you are able to beat him, we will start discussing some ways to improve your arcane knowledge." He explains.

"Very well, let's not waste any time," I exclaim, rather excited to be able to fight without the risk of dying.

Argillis and I now stand in front of each other. He wields a silver mace that seems to emanate a light red holy light. He looks like a rather straightforward opponent: physically powerful, boosted by some sort of "divine" energy.

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I in contrast summon my trusted Blood bound darkness spear that I've used so many times already. I tried other weapons, but I just like the reach the spear gives me. Looking at Argillis I could see that he was scanning me for any possible weaknesses.

Tharnomath who sees that we're both prepared quickly started a countdown.

"3,2,1 Begin!" He yells with a tinge of excitement in his voice.

Argillis noticing the reach I have on him immediately tries to close the distance between us. His speed is remarkable as I try to strike him while he rushes me. Using his wings, he makes use of my inexperience that I haven't fought any airborne opponents. Thus, I miss my first strike as he dodges while flying just off the ground.

The distance between us is now so small that his mace gives him more of an advantage than my spare gives. He strikes at me, but I block it using my right sleeves made of chains that I enhanced in the beginning of the duel with blood magic.

I immediately counter-attack, summoning weapons through the shadow in his back to try and pierce him. He nimbly dodges by flying up once more. However now I react quick enough as I manage to slash his chest with my spear while he tries to dodge.

He doesn't seem to be deterred by the fact that I manage to strike him, as his eyes turn from this dim gray to a light reddish color. He rushes me once more while flying purposefully, avoiding all shadows on the ground.

I block his downwards mace strike with my spear as I face him directly. Using my fire magic, I spew fire through my mouth as if I was a half-dragon. My tongue is cinched from my attack, but it doesn't matter as I can see Argillis's wings were heavily burned by my attack.

He looks visibly annoyed at my little tricks as he rushes me, not able to fly anymore. I quickly create a circle made of darkness, as it will constrict the movement of anyone it enters. He enters it and these black strings of darkness come out to restrict his movement. Seeing him paralyzed from my spell, I decide to go in for a strike with my spear.

A smile on his face appears as this light reddish shine around his mace suddenly becomes a bright red. This bright red engulfs his entire body as my shadows string on him quickly disperse. I try to move back, but Argillis is faster than me as he manages to strike my head with his mace. I could feel my body be sent flying as I crash 10 meters further on the ground.

'What a power.' Are the last words I think as I could feel my consciousness fade.