Under the noon Twins above the bleachers, Nos was having a conversation with his classmate, number Zero, Joachim Kerr. But he thought that maybe a 'conversation' was too far a stretch of a word.

“What is he saying?” Nos asked.

Ishumi Nato casually glanced over to them as Joachim's hands and fingers waved across the air in signs.

“He wants to fight you next,” she translated. “Full magic.”

“Me? Why?”

They were having their daily combat training. It wasn't an interclass session like the previous bouts. That day, the matches were strictly between the students of Class C. The training difficulty had intensified with the upcoming tourney in mind. Lua and her brother, Quinton, were taking their turn on the hologram field.

Joachim signed again and Nos watched as Ishumi's brows raised. “He... says he wants to train with someone he hasn't fought with.”

Joachim crossed his arms and glared at Ishumi. It did not take knowledge in sign language to understand that she had just mistranslated him. Brown shorts, grey shirt, black cap, and casual sandals, it's not often Nos sees Joachim agitated or with care in the world. The guy had such a carefree streak that he often misses the earlier lessons of school.

“It's okay,” Nos reassured her. He never liked Joachim much. The teen had talent, more so than perhaps the rest of the class, save Lua, combined. He rode on that natural skill to breeze through life, or so that's what Nos observed. “I understand. He thinks I got into the school through some dubious means. He doesn't think I have it in me, especially since I'm just a tier one mage. A Spellblade in name.”

Ishumi replied, “Not in those exact words.”

“But with similar meanings, I'm getting?” He crossed stares with Joachim. He could feel the electricity sparking between them. It seemed their dislike for each other was mutual.

She added, “Truth is, even I am wondering how you can be considered a Spellblade. It's in the name. Part magic, part sword. And your magic is lacking, to say the least. I've not seen you use any magic since you joined us.”

Everyone had magic circuits in them, but for most of the population, those circuits are inert, preventing them from using magic. Circuits are ranked by their tiers and quantity between zero and ten. For those who could use magic, a small portion of them were given twice the number of circuits. These individuals included Shichi and Lua who had two sets of circuits each. An even smaller group received magic that are considered 'unique'. But Nos was the rarest of them all. He technically had magical capabilities. However, he only had a single circuit of the lowest possible tier. In truth, if he used his circuits to execute basic spells, he would just barely be able to produce a spark of energy before being powerless for the rest of the hour.

When the Orniter twins ended their bout, Rehiy called for the last fight of the day and the two rivals stood up without hesitation. They proceeded down the stands and towards the field where the teacher and operators stood.

“Last fight of the day,” Rehiy announced. “We can use up all the remaining energy in the crystals if we want.”

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“If that's the case, Sik,” Nos said. “We request for full magic combat.”

“We?” Rehiy looked to Joachim who agreed with a nod. He turned back to Nos with a look of doubt. Even Rehiy had not yet seen Nos use his magic. With a sigh, the drakin approached the hologram operators. “Full magic combat! One-on-one!”

The two students took to the stage. The crystal projectors scanned them and reflected their respective mirror images on the other field. From under the back of his jacket, Nos pulled out his punch dagger. A simple weapon when compared to the mechanical and flavoured ones that his classmates used. Opposite, Joachim reached into a pouch at his belt and pulled out a yo-yo, slipping his middle finger into the ring attached to the string.

Nos had never fought Joachim and his yo-yo. But from what he had seen, the yo-yo had retractable blades built into the hubstacks that extended when the bearings is tensioned by the string. The metal was strong enough to face off against blades and the mechanism was built to withstand impacts, rewinding itself with the spin of the yo-yo. Were they not fighting in a hologram projection, Nos would go for the strings. However, Shichi once said that even the line was made from a rare spider silk that was hard to cut. He wondered how much money was spent into making such a customised equipment.

Joachim scoffed, bored at the waiting. Nos took the cue and charged in, blade to the front in a defensive rush.

His opponent shot the yo-yo out in repeating loops, blades spinning as the weapon extended, retracting as it retracted. Nos parried the attack but it did not seem to throw the deadly toy off course. He realised this was Joachim's magic. Wind that adjusts, enhance, and alter the spin of the yo-yo mid attacks.

The yo-yo retracted back to Joachim's hand and Nos took the opening to close the distance. But Joachim was quick, and the advantage in length between the punch dagger and thrown blades were great. The yo-yo was thrown groundwards where it sparked against the stone floor before ricocheting up towards Nos's face.

Nos tried to step aside but the bouncing attack would have cut him had he not added a last minute parry. He spun, stepped forward, and tried to rush his opponent again. Joachim flicked his finger and Nos jumped to the side as the yo-yo retracted back and slashed past where he stood.

Joachim was standing calm as Nos struggled to catch his breath. The boy with the toy casually rolled out a sleeper with his weapon, waiting for Nos to get back on his feet.

Nos stood up and surveyed the situation. He was out ranged and out sped. The random trajectory of the yo-yo made it hard to tell which direction the attacks were coming from, which meant he was also outmanoeuvred. But the attacks took time to traverse between Joachim and himself. There was a split second between the start of the trick and impact that gave Nos just enough time to react. If he could not cut the string given the blunt impact of the hologram, he decided the only course of action was to knock the yo-yo around enough to damage the fine-tuned mechanism.

Once again, he rushed Joachim, baiting the latter into attacking. It worked. The blade came downwards towards Nos. He could feel his singular magic circuit glow, heating up his right index finger in violet energy. His blood pumped harder, heart beat faster. His world zoned into his mind as his vision tunnelled and focused on the coming attack. Time seemed to slow as his mind raced and his circuit burnt out of fuel. With a sweep of his weapon, he parried the yo-yo away. As he did, the hologram around him flashed and his circuit lit up again.

Joachim began unleashing a series of attacks, blade spinning wildly with varied tricks, bouncing off the ground and slicing around through the air. Nos took the attacks head on, parrying each strike as they came. With each block, his mind grew more focused and his body moved faster. He could no longer hear anything outside of his field of battle save the swish of his blade. Each strike against the hologram electrified the air, flickering the image of the fight further.

A round the world strike with the yo-yo descended full force down upon him. Nos slapped his weapon through the air, snapping at the yo-yo. He heard a distant click and knew the toy was now just a toy, the mechanism damaged. The retracting blade had malfunctioned and Joachim could not retract the thing without risking cutting his own hand. With weapon gone, it was Nos's win. He knew it.

He took a stepped forward and was about to rush in to deal the finishing blow when from the corner of his eyes, he saw the yo-yo swinging straight for his head. He pulled his dagger up and deflected the projectile with a desperate block.

Nos turned and watched as Joachim stepped further, swinging the malfunction toy around like a bludgeon on a rope. Or more specifically, a hammer. A meteor hammer. The hologram crystals were on their last legs, flickering manically from millisecond to millisecond. Joachim swung the yo-yo wide and straight for Nos. That was it. If Nos parried successfully, he could step in and end the fight. He braced himself. The weapons clashed.

The holograms faded as the crystals' energy were emptied.

His magic finally faded. With no other source of power to drain from, his body and heart settled. Nos turned to Joachim on the other field who looked back, breathing heavily with a glint in his eyes. Nos knew that neither of them were satisfied with the outcome.

“Well,” Rehiy approached Nos, his face scrunched in an expression otherworldly to the teacher. “I don't think you're a Spellblade just in name any longer.”

Nos looked to the bleachers and saw his class on their feet.

The drakin let out a whistle. “Syphon magic Spellblading. I never thought I would see the day.”