Erik was pacing back and forth, talking to the newcomers, introducing himself, his class, and offering the history of their previous matches for those that were curious.

As many had not come before, including the Headmaster, Chef, and Church, it was accepted that there would be some interlude before the bigger matches - or what they presumed to be the bigger matches.

It was usually introduced beforehand to build up suspense, so they thought they may still be amateurs in that regard. However, the ones that saw the previous matches, like the healers, were more curious. The students never took breaks. However, if they were to be making it a little more 'official' on account of the Headmaster's presence, it wasn't unreasonable. If foolish since that was not the man's style.

And Mr. Shields' hands were tied as he was forced to accompany Watsan, Chef, and the Headmaster despite his irritation.

James dutifully staggered over to him. "I am terribly sorry, Mr. Shields, Headmaster, but I was wondering if it was possible to change the line-up?"

"... Change it? Why?" Mr. Shields asked irritably. "So long as you don't fight the same person."

"... That is the root of the issue. We do not want to cause problems with Wendi's brother and Mathias - he'll see it as an attack on Wendi... and it'll only breed more problems."

The Headmaster turned to look around. "Where is this student, I can talk to him if you'd like."

"Ah, it's-"

"Wendi, right? That means Wendi Aliel... brother being Church Aliel... hmm, I understand the situation. I'll ask for permission."

"Sir, you don't need t-" Mr. Shields comment was ignored as the Headmaster turned around.

"I want to see another fight with an earth mage that uses the same composition you did when you were young! If it is with that Synthy Rettih, I don't know if such a small arena works well with her. Watsan! I'll be over there! Ensure you bet on my behalf!"

"... Yes, sir."

The secretary took the coin purse, ascertained the previous bet amounts from Eldrich, and did his new job.

Mr. Shields grumbled at the head of a respected magic academy lowering himself so much to ask for a favour from a student.

"Pleeeeeeeease! Church, I know you want to see Wendi unharmed, but just think of how much she'll grow from this!"

Normally Church would have agreed to any demand from the Headmaster - any. However, when it involved his sister...

"No! I refuse to see her fight in such a shameless display of violence! There is no need to train Wendi in such a manner! I'll do it! If you won't let me train her, then I'll take her place!"

"Noooooo, that wouldn't be fair to the other boy! Don't you want to see her new magic?! It's beautiful, you know! Beautiful!"

"I know she is! Don't you dare make a move on her, too!" Church reached for his sword with blind rage in his eyes.

"Her magic - MAGIC! I tell you what! I tell you what! I'll give you a job protecting Wendi's area of the courtyard during the gallery - so you can be absolutely, positively, without-a-doubt sure that's she's safe!"

"T-that... the h-honour... of... p-protecting... We-Wendi...?! BUT I REFUSE TO SEE HER HURT JUST FOR A STUPID COMPETITION - AGAINST A GUY, NO LESS! IF THERE IS SO MUCH AS ONE SCRATCH ON HER BEAUTIFUL FACE I'LL KILL THE GUY!"

"Hah... fine, fine. Give me a moment." The Headmaster grumbled as he went to the other side of the arena.

Mathias was just stretching a little as he was preparing his staves. It was a strange break, but he'd be somewhat productive if nothing else.

"Mathias Vandiese, is it?" The Headmaster said, looking at the boy who fit the dossier he read earlier. He read all of them in preparation. "I have a favour to ask: it seems the match will end badly for you or another student there is damage to Wendi's face. As a parlour mage, a respectfully ask you to avoid damage and I will personally pay you for your services to remove any scars on Wendi's body for the exhibition such that I can use them as bargaining chips.

He shook his head.

"... I see. Is it not money? Hmm, I suspect you may be worried about issues with invited guests. I will hereby absolve any responsibility you have to ensure there to be no conflicts if you do this for me."

The Headmaster was not fazed as he read the reports submitted by the healers prior to record their condition. He knew of the fire demon grabbing Mathias' throat. As a chantless mage, it was of little consequence, normally, but many informally claimed such titles when they actually employed chanted attacks when necessary, like Synthy. More often than not, it was a label placed on them by others, however.

The Headmaster was unsure of which one Mathias would be, pure or opportunistic. However, it was imperative to get his cooperation if he wanted to see a good fight - simply because Synthy's speed and agility is a poor match for Wendi who lacked both, inherently, and the issue was further exasperated by her attribute as an earth mage.

"..."

Mathias spent a long-while mulling it over in his head. Of course, he knew the strife between Fellstone and Rettih, but he also thought that Mr. Shields was not aware of his lineage. As such, he thought he could get away with it regardless.

He whispered into Lisanna's ear.

His voice couldn't carry well and he thought it would be strange to do that to the head of the academy.

Lisanna listened, nodded, and turned to the Headmaster somewhat nervously. "Uh, he, he says if it is just her. And that Church swears in front of him he will not target him afterwards."

The Headmaster cheered and ran to grab Church from the other side.

"What? The mute look-a-like?"

"Yes, yes. This is Mathias. He'll be your sister's opponent."

"What!? I warned you before - I'll kill you, you-"

The Headmaster stepped up. "Now, now. I have already talked to him. He agreed to avoid Wendi's face. Furthermore, have you seen her? That uniform? Those scars?"

"Th-that- I have! Don't remind me! It's your job to ensure the teachers are keeping my sister safe!"

"Ah, that's true, but mistakes happen. You have more than a few scars yourself, you know. Nevertheless, Mathias is one of the few water mages able to deal with scars... You know how many people there will be at the banquet, right?"

"Of course I know! I bought thirty tickets already!"

"Th-thirty?! What th-?! Whatever. I'll leave it to your imagination how embarrassed your beautiful sister will feel if she has to go out in a pretty dress... with those scars..."

"Th- I'll call a parlour mage right away! My Master's wife is one!"

"Ah, but that Miss does not deal with such wounds, does she?"

"Th... she'll make an exception - my sister's too cute!"

"And it's the weekend. I don't recall the last time she worked then. With Claude being in town...?"

"Th... it's still Friday! It'll be fine!"

"... But if it isn't...?"

"Hah?! What of it?! I doubt he's that competent - he might look like her, but there is no way he'll be able to handle something the Mistress has trouble with!"

"... Ah, about that." The Headmaster presented the conveniently placed Lisanna who was dressed in rags. "Look closely."

"What of it?" Church snorted disinterestly. "She's nowhere near as cute and beautiful as Wendi!"

"Even so, considering her state of dress, you'd think she'd have some cuts, right?"

"... T-that is true, but what of it?!"

"It was him. And if Wendi is in a cute dress without those scars...?"

"...!" Church gulped and looked at the concentration of men and women all around. "... It'd be dangerous! She's too cute already!"

"But what if she what's to feel special for just a day? You are going with her, I presume. So you should be able to defend her."

"That... is true, but to see her hurt...!"

"What if she is hurt going out like that on Sunday? Are you thinking more for yourself or herself here? She is a pretty girl after all."

Church nodded matter-of-factly and sank deep into thought.

At this point, the crowd was getting a little disgruntled, but he finally begrudgingly nodded his head.

"I understand. However, if you-"

"You must also swear to him - on your honour to your sister - that you'll not harm him if he fulfills his end of the bargain."

"Hmmph. Fine. I swear - if you fulfill your end of the bargain. If not, I will hunt you down, look-a-like."

"On the honour of your sister?"

"Yes! Now don't test me, sir!"

Church stomped away, clearly feeling torn, but Mathias was just watching curiously. He was starting to get the feeling that he recognized the strange male from earlier. However, the behaviourisms did not match so he pushed the thought out of his mind. It probably wasn't important, anyway.

Stolen novel; please report.

"Well, there you have it!" The Headmaster cheered and Mathias walked to the arena. "We'll be commencing this match shortly! Contestants, please approach the stage!"

Erik jumped forward with the call. He was running out of excuses and immediately began cheerfully announcing once he saw a nod from the Headmaster.

"Okay! We'll start the next match shortly! First and foremost we have - Ayla?"

"The ever-beautiful and adorable and super, super cute Wendi!"

Erik was not bold enough to say it with the company around but felt it would appease Church.

He continued, "who has since tied with Fara, the winner of the second bout! Her specialty is rapidly becoming crystal magic, a beautiful and rare composition that she had immediately taken to once she was exposed to it! Those of you may or may not know, but she is also an accomplished artist and is the reason behind our upcoming exhibition! I highly recommend you all come to check her and the rest of our works out on Sunday!

"On the other side, we have Mathias! He is my biggest rival for the guys' crown and a good friend of mine. In his time fighting, using his chantless water magic, he has tied me and Lisanna, beaten Synthy and Jennifer. He was the second behind me to clear the weather gauntlet! The first with Lisanna to clear the citadel! And he was one of the founding members of the arena itself! Err, rather he is a veteran that has been with us since the beginning!"

Mathias' shaking head might dissuade some from believing the other, unembellished claims, so Erik amended the last part to make it truthful.

"We'll be taking bets now!"

There was some chatter and it seemed like a good match so the irritation was washed away from the crowd.

After two minutes, will all the bets called and collected, Erik got the signal. "Perfect! Annnd betting is over! We'll be starting the match! Mathias! Wendi! Are the two of you ready?"

"Yes!"

"..."

Mathias nodded and lowered himself into position.

"Okay! In that case... we'll be starting in... everyone with me! Three!"

"Two!"

"One!"

"Go!"

Mathias just carried the spear in his hands as he heard the start signal.

"Crystal Storm!"

Mathias had no idea what the spell would be, but the second he saw the jagged, foggy quartz forming rough gems, he paled.

There were hundreds.

And it shot directly towards him as his wrists started moving.

While he spun the staff as quickly as he could to form a shield, smaller gems slipped through and jabbed into his chest. Their velocity was minor, but the needle-like pricks slowly wore on him as the sound of ice chipping away was heard.

He bolstered the ice he gathered in the countdown, and the gathering of crystals finally ceased.

Just as he jumped forward, he heard, "Rose Bush!"

Tangled vines and thistles of quartz appeared in front, and he jumped off the top-most segment of the quartz structure and drove the spear towards Wendi.

"Capture!"

The quartz moved fluidly and grabbed his leg - and the thorns bit down.

He scowled when he was pulled back with the retreating vines as flower petals began to emerge on the quartz structure.

She was clearly researching new spells in her spare time - or had already set her sights on this one before she even arrived.

Mathias swept the spear below his feet and shattered the crystals.

It was weaker than the spear he spent a lot of time reinforcing before the match - but not by much.

Darting away, Mathias gave up the offensive edge to her. He did not want it to become like the match with Synthy.

"Oh! Yay! In that case, I'll try this one!" Wendi cheered and shouted a longer incantation that ended with, "-and blossom, Crystal Mandrake!"

'Like the man-eating plant?' He thought.

There was a crash in the center of the arena. Wendi was breathing roughly as an elegant, two-meter tall quartz sunflower burst from the soil. It waved left and right fluidly, before finally using the two leaves on its stem to push itself uproot itself off the ground - to reach five meters tall.

'... What in the actual hell? I-if only...'

There was a reason why mages were so sought-after. Her spells were already specialized. And she clearly did not learn this overnight. Unless writing poetry translated to near-perfect comprehension of reciting spells. Mathias' glare at the base of the spear-tip was stifling. He could, but should he?

The Mandrake looked around, lowered the flowering head, and quartz branches appeared as Wendi guided it with her sword.

Mathias groaned. Azure ice was already on the head of the spear, but he did not want to waste too much it. It was extremely hard to do right, after being so used to normal, reinforced ice before.

Even so, he scrapped off two slivers, each the size of his pinky, and ensured they were well-charged.

Then he reattached it to a sleeve of ice around his wrist.

"Ready? I am! Attack, Mandrake!"

The Mandrake received the order and its vines struck forward. They were still a foot from his face, even at maximum reach. And then they grew longer. He was out of their range originally, but they grew longer with their second-swipe. And longer still as he hurriedly jumped back.

Wendi remained behind the stationary Mandrake as she collected her breaths and guided its actions.

Mathias struck down the first vine - and shattered it. And the second. It, too, shattered. However, just as he was about to move, four more appeared.

"...?!"

He parried the first thrashing limb, trying to slash another, as he dodged a third. The sound breaking ice and crystals deafened him as he tried to read the next attack.

The fourth he tried to block, but it bent around the staff like a fulcrum and still whipped across his chest, cutting the now-spent training uniform.

"Advance!"

He was forced to step back as he saw the tendrils grow closer.

And he finally noticed it. The two on the extreme right and left did not attack even as he parried another and quickly smashed it.

Four more grew the place of the two he broke.

And there were the two long tendrils that kept extending to his side. They were trying to force him out of the arena.

He had to chance it.

While the four were thrashing around and Wendi was still trying to regain control over the newly born limbs, he bolted to his right, smashing the reacting crystal limb and seeing a clear path.

Going for it, he quickly ducked under a hasty swipe and rolled to gain distance from the mandrake as he bit his lip and formed reinforced ice at the head of the spear.

Once he had a clear line-of-sight towards Wendi, he swung the spear horizontally.

A tendril clipped the bottom and launched the spear in an upward trajectory.

The shards punctured a hole through the mandrake's petals, the flowering head, and angled up into the barrier. It pierced through. Three others were released and fell far away from their target - but he was glad they did as he froze.

A pressure appeared around his waist.

He was hefted into the air by the other.

The Mandrake took a quick step forward and grabbed him after clearing some of the distance. It even raised the four tendrils up threateningly as Mathias felt the grip lock around his waist.

"Do you surrender?"

His wrist was already dropping before she started speaking. Mathias was acting without thinking; however, it was much safer than the alternative.

Seeing the two tiny shards being launched to the side of the tall mandrake did not concern her much, but since he acted, she shouted, "fine!"

And the tendrils descended from above.

'Erupt.'

He split the spear and crossed them both - locking them with ice, using the quartz guards a catalyst. The force of the four tendrils smashed into the staff, transferred through Mathias' body, and two tendrils on the end slipped off and broke the grip of the tendril holding him.

A wave of frigid air assaulted him as he felt himself pressed down - and falling.

They cut deep divets in the ground before he even landed.

Water sublimated in the air.

Frost covered the entire ground with snow and ice forming a thick fog that was nearly impenetrable by sight as a deathly silence overtook the arena.

It took a few seconds for the fog to disperse enough to see Mathias at the edge, unconscious. All around him, frost covered the ashen soil.

"... Match! Mathias is down-"

The fog dispersed a little more.

"Weeeeendi! I'm coming!" Church ran into the fog.

The Mandrake did not move; rather, it was crumbling, two tendrils already shattered and the others were locked in a strange position.

And then Wendi could be seen standing.

"Match! Wendi is the winner!"

"Wait. You," Mr. Shields said pointing to the remaining healer as his friend's eyes reopened. "Go make sure she's fine."

"What? I'll just-"

Erik stepped into the barrier and howled.

Frost formed on his entire arm.

"O'Clair, deal with it."

Lisanna looked at the scene nervously, seeing both still bodies. She stepped inside and screamed.

"C-Cold?! Since her hand was numb already, she impulsively warmed herself up.

Finally, the fog dispersed a short while later and the healer went to the lock-jawed Wendi - adorned with blue skin and white frost from head-to-toe.

"O'Clair. Warm her up."

"Y-yes... owe! Owe!"

She cried as she tried to do something, anything to keep her body from shaking the biting frost into his skin.

Fara looked at the side and sighed. "... Even I'm not that stupid."

She looked at the ice on her blade. She knew it's capabilities much more than he did; conversely, he was more aware of the capabilities of the spear tip, but that worried him even more.

Lisanna had a weakness to the cold, but she managed to warm-up Wendi enough for her limbs to begin to function again. The healers dealt with the severe, severe frost-bite that barely touched all the up to her neck.

He was careful to keep it far enough away from her face.

"Uh, I suppose the only call here would be a tie?"

"That's... a... okay, at least," the Headmaster gruffed. "It's not what I wanted, but at least there was an improvement for us earth mages!"

Mr. Shields huffed, "it's fine, isn't it? Mr. Huntis. I'm going to break the barrier temporarily. So it'll warm up faster."

The man just extended a palm to the transparent edge, severed a full circular ring from the middle, and the partially treated winter-blast assaulted the crowd.

Once everyone was shivering liberally, he reclosed it, and saw Lisanna gave him a thankful nod as the azure flames burned stronger in the ring.

"... Oi, what the hell is the meaning to this?" Church stalked forward, gripped the handle of his blade, and glared at the headmaster. "Why didn't my sister win?! And after that?! A cut or two, maybe, a bruise, perhaps; but this-?! What the hell is this?!"

Church howled. His nostrils were filled with ice, his eyelashes were frozen stiff, and frost-covered his hair - his arms were shaking violently, but it was impossible to tell if it was from the cold or rage.

Wendi was being carried out.

Appearance-wise, her previously frost-bitten black-and-blue skin was restored to a ghostly white - not unlike the frost that hid the blackened skin before.

"There is no internal damage; her lungs are fine, as is her throat, mouth, eyes, and nose. No sign of permanent issues."

"The promise was nothing on the face and he did not even strike her. There is no mark I can see. Any lingering physical signs will be dealt with; unless, of course, you intend to say that your word regarding your sister's honour is not good after all?"

The Headmaster was amused to see her use a summoned, specialized spell that made full use out of the contained arena. It was a spell that required a great deal of knowledge regarding crystalline structures, and, of course, took much longer for a novice mage to use. However, considering she used it, it was impressive in-and-of-itself.

Of course, he noted hesitation as the boy looked at the spear-head. However, he opted to use the more stable, azure ice who risk involved was lessen in regards to losing too much control. It would be easier to control in time, but he snickered as he saw Mr. Shields' expression twitch.

"What is it, Edward? Mad he didn't use your-"

"Fara, what are you doing?!" Ayla shouted - at a loss as to what to do.

Fara saw the remaining section of the barrier and took the still-frozen crossed staves from the ground.

"... Hmmm, Ice Bullet."

The disc span rapidly, immediately condensing into cyan ice, and roved around the entire outer perimeter, sending rainbow sparks everywhere as it passed forward deftly.

She looked at her own blade. More particularly, the spot that was lacking a guard.

"Hmm... interesting."

She brought the cross-staves out of the arena and put it back on Mathias' body. Afterwards, Fara began playing with her sword.

"... Edward, you'll need to give them better barriers in the future," the Headmaster said with a laugh and cast a stronger barrier for the last match.

"I can see that now. I figured it was just that Miss Ghast and a few chance happenings."

"Well, shall we start the next match? I can restore it to its original state, but that seems less fun. Erik Huntis, was it?"

Ayla took the stage, hesitantly stepping inside the spot and shivering a little. "Okay! We'll be getting on with the next match. The official verdict is a tie!"

A few newcomers grumbled but a couple of the others that happened across the matches before came out with massive payouts. They simply did not know that they could bet for ties, but since they came partway, they couldn't complain. People like Chef and the Headmaster did not care that much anyway.

"Woah! I got thirty gold just from this!"

"Sixty for me!"

"Ha-ha! I got just got ten, but it was worth it!"

"Okay! Our new match will between Erik and Synthy! With regards to pure, sanctioned wins of the veterans, Erik now has a chance to take Mathias' place as the boys' leader! Of course, he's still behind the undefeated me! But he's also the one who tied Mathias - the one who you just saw, and the one who beat his current opponent, Synthy! Her record doesn't take into account all the skulls she's crushed since she was ten, so I won't go into it! She's a semi-chantless fire mage with - get this! - golden flames! Isn't that cool?!

"Speaking of which, Erik's winds have manifested into dark winds! They're no match for my winds of light, but it's close! Now will the angel with golden flames, Synthy, be the one to stand at the end of the match? Or will be the devil with dark winds, Erik! Place your bets and stay tuned!"