Simon and Gunter remained in the centre of the arena as they watched their companions return to the back rooms through the central tunnel.

“Now contestants!!!” The announcer shouted, breaking the pair's focus on their friends and returning it to the arena.

“Mr Lincoln, here is the referee for these matches. He will be the one to declare when a victor has been found… Isn’t that right?” Lincoln could only scowl at his loud compatriot and nod in response.

“A man of few words?!!! I LOVE IT ALL THE MORE FOR ME GACK-GACK-GACK-GACK,” The Announcer broke down in a fit of laughter as the trio of people near him all grimaced. At least, they hoped it was laughter.

“I know you two are teenagers…” The Announce paused as he looked up at Gunter in his full plate mail. “You are a teenager, right? Eh, probably a titan…” He responded to his own question before pressing on.

“Mr Lincoln will also step in if you crazy kids take your fight too far. These matches are only till a knock-out. Not a knock-off this mortal coil,” both contestants nodded, acknowledging this rule.

“Next up, we have a baffle-field covering the entire arena grounds. So use any super secret powers you want; the crowd won’t know what you did unless you tell ‘em,” he explained, giving a smug expression as he slapped Lincoln on the back.

“Now, most importantly, the healing array for these swanky digs can heal any injury so long as you survive. A thing to remember though the array only covers up to right there,” he explained, gesturing to the rim of the safety wall just in front of the front row of seats.

“You kids take the fight to the sky; any injuries won’t be healed. The array only recognises the state in which you arrived as the state you should be in. So you fly up, lose a leg and fly down; you won’t be getting a new leg. Heh, a three-legged giant… GACK-GACK-GACK-GACK!!!!!” The announcer broke down in a fresh fit of laughter as Lincoln rolled his eyes, already exhausted with his presence.

“Now I’ve gotten the opening bits for you, and the crowd explained, do you kids have anything to say to your opponent before we skedaddle?” He asked, putting the noise-amplifying device up to Gunter’s face.

“My name is Gunter… I am in an unbreakable set of armour named ‘Invincible’. I would like to see Sir Simon best it when it is unrivalled,” Gunter declared, staring down the mage who seemed none too bothered by Gunter’s provocation.

“Wow, such boastful words… but can he back it up? WHAT SAY YOU, CROWD?!!!” The audience responded to his question with cheers or boos.

“They seem rather split… What about you, young Simon?” He asked, holding the device in Simon’s face.

“I have a question for my titanic friend over there.”

“Oh?? What is it?” The Announcer eagerly asked, as excited as a child on winter’s gifting eve.

“If you made a ship, would you name it ‘The Unsinkable’? Because I will show you the folly of declaring something un-anything!” At his words, the audience went truly wild, cheering Simon far louder than they had following Gunter’s words.

“Wow, he sounds confident, doesn’t he, Mr Lincoln?” The Announcer asked, slapping Lincoln's back repeatedly till he finally gave a slight nod.

“Ok, with their words exchanged, we will now retreat to the referee’s booth and let them trade blows rather than barbs!!!” The pair that verbally was all-too-lopsided retreated up a small set of steps next to the arena, settling into a small booth directly beneath the VIP booth.

“So you bringing your A-game?” Simon asked as they watched the pair walk off.

“I am chief,” Gunter replied.

“Good, I don’t want you complaining you weren’t at your best when I defeat you… I can’t afford to lose this…” Gunter cocked his head at this statement. Recognising the unspoken question, Simon explained.

“If I lose, the support for my sister may be revoked. The scholarship has a support program for the family of the student, and me and Ironsides are the sole breadwinners for our families. We lose our scholarships; we lose that financial help, and our loved ones will starve.”

Gunter had to stop himself from retreating a step as an overwhelming wave of hesitation washed away his confidence. He was fighting for a mix of pride and to keep Alex as their teacher. But this boy before him was fighting for a far more noble cause.

“Of course, I’m sure to an upper-crust sort like you; this is all drivel from a lowborn commoner. Regardless I will fight till I mana-out or die,” Simon declared, staring down the hesitating Gunter. “Hopefully, the former rather than the latter,” he added with a light chuckle.

Seeing Simon’s resolve but being unwilling to concede without a fight, Gunter decided to end the fight as quickly as possible to spare Simon as much pain as possible. Preferably with a single blow from one of his tower shields.

“COMBATANTS!!! WHEN YOU ARE READY, YOU MAY BEGIN!!!” The Announcer's voice said, echoing around the arena as a loud gong noise followed.

Gunter tensed his body, ready to charge, only to pause when he looked at Simon, who was standing still with both his eyes closed. His arms were stretched out in front of him as he held his staff with both hands about an inch off the ground.

The staff itself was nearly as ornate as Gunter’s armour. It had an octagonal shaft with the head of the staff looking like a hollow mace head in the centre of which sat a focusing manastone. While down each face of the shaft were countless runes. Some Gunter recognised, and others he did not.

Cautiously approaching Simon, ready to end this, he kept a close eye on his mouth only to see he was not chanting any spells. Gunter could only suspect he was an enhancer-type mage, and his garb was to conceal light armour and weapons.

Keeping his shields up and at the ready to block any attack he may launch, Gunter began to pick up the pace till he was at a full sprint. To anyone else, it’d look like a wall was charging towards you. But the moment Gunter was a couple of strides away, the ground gave out beneath him.

Falling into Simon’s pit trap, Gunter cursed his recklessness as he should’ve been prepared for a trap with how open Simon had been.

“Yo, big guy, that armour is tough, right?” Simon asked as he approached Gunter. Gunter, in response, wriggled in the hole only to find himself sinking in deeper, so he was now buried up to his chest height.

“I asked if that armour is as tough as you suggested it was… The next part of this attack can tear iron and steel to shreds. So if it is just a fancy-looking suit of armour, you may get seriously hurt. I honestly don’t want to hurt you too much, so I plan to end this quickly.”

“Heh,” Gunter found he was unable to suppress the chuckle that escaped his lips. He couldn’t help but find it amusing that his opponent had the same idea he had.

“Sorry, you will find my armour truly is unbreakable. It was no boast, chief…”

“Ah, good, then I can use the next step of the spell… Don’t worry, I usually have fine control, but with heavily armoured types, the metal can turn into shrapnel,” Simon explained as he shifted his grip on his staff. Looking at the staff, Gunter realised this was how he had made the pit trap without chanting. Gunter was genuinely curious to see what would happen.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

The moment Simon pressed his staff against the ground, that’s when he began to hear it. Ding-ding-ding-ding. Countless strikes were whirring away against his armour. Wriggling himself a little, he looked down and could see stone blades had protruded from the pit's walls and were spinning, attempting to shred him.

“Wow, you weren’t kidding; that armour is some tough stuff; never seen a suit survive my ‘Bandit Blender’ attack. Usually, they are left either as a fleshy stew or a very hurt, tough guy. Even armoured skin is broken by this baby.”

“Sorry to disappoint, chief,” Gunter said with a smug grin that was concealed by his helmet.

“Oh no, don’t be… I am glad I got to see it… It just means it has more room to grow; I must thank you for opening my eyes,” Simon said as he gave a nod of acknowledgement.

His behaviour so far had only been increasing Gunter’s hesitation to fight. He had expected him to be like Professor Michael and his more lackey-like students. Being a mean-spirited brat. Only he seemed genuinely nice and reasonable. Bandit blender aside, that is.

“Forgive me, but I must at least show my own strength, chief,” Gunter said as he glanced at a little vial stored in his helmet. It was an idea he had added, and Yuu had wholeheartedly praised it. It contained Manarite, a material when mixed with a fluid, could be used to measure a person’s manastores.

He, however, had linked it to his shields, and right now, he could see they had nearly reached a full charge. Readying his hands, he pressed down on the trigger and released all the charged-up energy blasting the hole to pieces and sending Simon flying backwards.

“RAGGGHHHH!!!” Gunter roared as he clambered out of the pit and back to the arena floor.

“Wow!!! What a hit!!!! Such an enchantment is a thing of masters!!! Tell me who made it!!!” Simon asked excitedly as if forgetting he was currently in a fight.

“These specific pieces are of my own creation… Though the enchantment was shown to me by my instructor,” Gunter answered as he channelled mana through his armour to keep up its durable nature.

“Tell me does your instructor have a makers-mark like this?” Simon asked, lowering his staff so Gunter could see the top of it. Gunter’s eyes narrowed to pinpricks at the sight of a makers-mark he recognised all too well. A skull with a magic circle being fed through the eye sockets.

“That is not my instructor makers-mark. Her’s is an anvil enveloped in flames. But I do recognise the mark you have,” Gunter replied.

“You know Inferno Anvil as well as Death Circle?!!!”

“They are my teachers,” Gunter replied.

“Makes me almost want to concede just to have a chance to learn from them… But alas, I have obligations higher than my own whims. Please do at least introduce me when I have defeated you.”

“Don’t worry, chief… I will introduce you after I win,” Gunter replied, to which the pair both had an ear-to-ear grin. Simon even began to laugh.

“If anything, if you think about it, this is not just a duel between us but the enchanted gear. Mine from Death Circle and yours based on Inferno Anvil’s designs.”

Gunter himself couldn’t help but chuckle at how his pairing had been someone who specialised in using enchanted equipment rather than chants of enhancer skills.

“Well then, let me try this next spell,” Simon said as a whole line of runes down the side of his staff lit up. Preparing his dual tower shields, he readied to intercept any attack Simon could launch.

When the runes finished glowing, a crystal javelin appeared over Simon’s head. With a thrust of his staff, the javelin launched towards Gunter. Bracing for the impact, Gunter was surprised to find himself being shifted backwards by the sheer level of force.

He remembered Yuu explaining the enchantment had an upper limit to the force it could negate, and Simon was clearly surpassing that limit. As he continued to press against the force, he felt it all vanish as he felt a stabbing pain in his left wrist.

Looking at the appendage, he was surprised to see the javelin had only just pierced the shield and grazed his wrist through the armour. Glancing with surprise at the cut, he watched as the crystalline javelin dissipated into nothing. With its enchanted circuits now broken, he could feel the mana flow in the shield started to become erratic.

Throwing the now useless shield at Simon, he retreated a few steps. Simon himself retreated even further from the shield that had been thrown his way.

““AEGIS!!”” The moment the enchantment reached its cascade level, it blew up, and both combatants summoned up a flash shield to block the damage flying their way. The crowd watching this all were cheering like crazy, only pausing the moment the shards of the shield impacted the barrier keeping the audience safe.

“Wheew, that could’ve been real bad,” Simon commented as he wiped a sheen of sweat off his brow.

“Agreed, I did not expect that to detonate like that,” Gunter said with a nod as he shifted to holding his last shield with both hands, hoping to conceal his injury from Simon’s gaze.

“My robe even got damaged,” Simon said, gesturing to his robe that was torn up. “This is Arachne steel silk, you know. Tough stuff, and that shield bomb actually cut through it.”

Gunter, though didn’t respond as he began to feel it. The warning fatigue when a mage begins to near going mana-out. He could tell running his armour's durability enchantments through a battle was pushing him to his limit. Looking over at Simon, he could see he wasn’t looking too great either.

“Seems my second-best attack couldn’t hurt you either,” Simon bemoaned.

“Tell you what, I will use my absolute strongest attack. You endure it; I will forfeit the fight.”

“You will?” Gunter asked, surprise evident in his voice.

“Oh yeah, no point continuing to fight if my best can’t beat you,” Simon replied with a shrug. “So what do you say?”

“Very well, I shall endure any attack you can launch,” Gunter said, trying his best to keep the trepidation from his voice.

“Cool, though I will warn you this attack is what I used to kill a dragon. I will also add that it was done in a single strike… If you aren’t confident, you may as well forfeit now and save yourself the hurt.”

“I am confident I will endure it, chief,” Gunter replied, bracing himself behind his shield.

“I DON’T CARE IF HE ENDURES THE ATTACK; I DO NOT PERMIT YOU TO FORFEIT!!!” Professor Michael shouted from the VIP box.

“REFEREE, DOES PROFESSOR MICHAEL HAVE THE RIGHT TO STOP HIS REPRESENTATIVE FROM FORFEITING?!!!” The Announcer asked through his device.

“Hrmmm,” Lincoln replied with a grunt that was heard through the same device.

“FOLKS, HE SHOOK HIS HEAD NO… IF SIMON FORFEITS OF HIS OWN VOLITION, PROFESSOR MICHAEL CANNOT INTERFEER!!!”

The crowd at this announcement went crazy with cheers and whoops, with crowds each chanting either Gunter’s or Simon’s name in support.

“Ok, here we go,” Simon said as he thrust his staff forward, as a little mote of light began to manifest. It eventually solidified into what looked like a dandelion head. With a little shove, the small ball of light-fluffball began to waft over to Gunter.

Knowing better than to underestimate an attack based on its appearance Gunter fully braced and channelled what mana he could through his armour to maximise its durability.

The moment the light-fluffball touched his shield, he felt an extreme force trying to twist it and wrench it from his hands. Channelling all the mana he now had into protecting his armour and last remaining shield, but despite this, the force only continued to increase.

“You see, dear Gunter, I am a blessed. That means I have a god’s blessing to access a school of magic usually barred to mortals. Much like chronomancy, the more famous one. I, however, have been gifted the power to access gravity magic.”

“GRAVITY MAGIC?!!” Gunter grunted through gritted teeth as he focused all his energy on keeping his shield in one piece.

“Yes, and that little ball you so beautifully recognised as a real threat is a condensed ball of pure gravity swirling around. If anything, I’m shocked your shield is still in one piece.”

As he said this, Gunter’s grip failed him, and he let go of the shield and watched in horror as it began to compress into a tight ball of solid metal. Much to his further horror, the ball of what he now knew was condensed gravity was still proceeding towards him. The second before it touched him, everything went black for Gunter.

The audience watching from the stands were left speechless by the sight they had just bore witness to. Simon had used gravity magic which was a divine school. That alone was something that stretched belief. But what was just as shocking was that Gunter had endured the strike for so long.

But right now, they looked down into the arena where both combatants were lying flat on the floor, unmoving. Seeing this, Lincoln stepped out of his booth with the announcer in tow as he checked both boys. Finally, he said something inaudible to the announcer.

“Ladies and Gentlemen… I can’t believe I am about to say this… the result of the first round… of this trial of champions….IS A DRAW!!!!!!”

A wave of murmurs had spread across the audience at this announcement before a mix of cheers, and angry shouts began to rain down on Lincoln and the Announcer.

“Hang on, let me explain, people!!! Yes, he did offer to forfeit, but it may have been a bluff. As they both went mana-out at the same time and no one officially forfeited, the referee has declared it a draw!!!”

At his explanation, the crowd seemed mollified, if not still unhappy. Regardless the first round was something none of them would ever forget.