"Begin!" The shout echoed in the arena as Mark sprung from the ground and propelled himself towards Clay.

Clay stood his ground, his eyes fixed on Mark as he slowly approached. When the distance between them closed, Clay unsheathed his katana with a swift and precise movement, holding it with both hands.

Mark swung his longsword towards Clay, but Clay expertly deflected it with his katana. However, Mark used his raw strength to push Clay back, leaving a slide mark from his shoes on the ground.

Clay bitterly thought about the power difference between their ranks as Mark closed in on him. "Hahaha! You see this?" Mark taunted as he slashed with his sword, pushing Clay even further back.

The two swordsman exchanged cuts and slashes, entering into a fierce and intense stalemate where no blood was shed.

Clay realized he was struggling to keep up with Mark's remarkable swordsmanship. Every move put pressure on him to move faster and quicker, forcing him to follow Mark's sword attacks. He knew he couldn't rely on raw strength alone to win this fight.

"Well, this should be enough," Mark suddenly spoke, breaking Clay's focus.

Clay warily stared at Mark, ready for any tricks. Seeing Clay's readiness, Mark clicked his tongue and quickly sent a slashing attack towards Clay's heart. But Clay was prepared and expertly parried the attack with his katana, changing its trajectory at the last moment.

Mark followed up with a cut towards Clay's waist, but because of the strong aftermath from parrying the first slash, Clay was sluggish and too late to deflect it. Blood flowed from his waist, and as Clay looked down at the long gash on his waist, a wave of disgust and horror washed over him. Though he was no stranger to injury or blood, the severity of this wound made his stomach churn. He forced himself to suppress the uncomfortable feeling and instead directed his gaze towards the cause of his injury.

Suppressing the uncomfortable feeling, Clay looked up at Mark, who was insulting him openly. "Shut up!" Clay cursed, trying to suppress the pain coursing across his waist.

"I thought you didn't know how to curse," Mark taunted.

"...The fun is over," Mark suddenly said, his voice low and commanding. He strode towards Clay, their swords clashing as they exchanged blows. With effortless grace, Mark gained the upper hand, using his longsword to disarm Clay of his katana.

"Kneel and surrender!" Mark taunted, plunging his sword into the ground. He kicked Clay's legs out from under him, causing him to fall to his knees.

Mark leaned in close, pushing Clay's head down to force him to bow. But as he did, he felt an icy chill emanating from beneath Clay. Before he could react, a sharp shard of ice flew at his face.

"What?" Mark cried out in surprise as the ice pierced his skin, leaving behind tiny shards and a small injury. He stumbled backwards, a look of shock and frustration etched on his face.

He touched his scarred face and looked towards the audience seats, specifically Amanda. "He is cheating! I already won!" Mark shouted with his injured face while pointing at Clay, who was trying to stand up.

Amanda shook her head and replied in a loud voice so he could hear. "No, the rules for winning are either when the opponent surrenders, knocked out or the subsituation magic tool activates, which your opponent clearly isn't."

"He doesn't even have a weapon!" Mark shouted back.

"But this isn't a sword fight, fists and magic also count," she added.

Meanwhile Clay inspected his hands, flexing and stretching his fingers, feeling the residual chill from using too much mana. Magicians were not immune to their own attacks, especially not the side-effects of overusing their powers.

The skill he had employed was , the same one he had been practicing earlier. Clay had used it when Mark had let his guard down, taking advantage of his overconfidence. The success of the attack had surprised him, as he had not expected Mark to be so careless as to throw away his only weapon.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

While Mark had been occupied arguing with Amanda, Clay had launched another attack, unconcerned with the accusation of unfairness for a surprise attack. The match was already unfair, to begin with.

Two shards of ice formed above Clay's outstretched palms, which he swiped towards Mark's unprotected body.

Swoosh!

Swoosh!

Mark reacted to the incoming shards by creating a small shield made of glistening ice around his chest area to deflect them.

"I can't believe you-" Mark began, enraged. How dare Clay launch a surprise attack, not once but twice? Even when he was in the middle of speaking!

Clay widened his eyes slightly at the sight of the Ice Shield, before groaning in pain again. "Damn, my waist really hurts," he thought to himself. "But I didn't expect him to also know Ice Magic."

In order to efficiently learn Ice Magic, one needed to have an affinity for it, like Clay and his mother did.

Mark scowled at Clay. "You will pay back a hundred-fold!" He sprinted towards Clay with an incredible speed, picking up the longsword that was stuck in the ground along the way.

Clay quickly unsheathed his katana to deflect the attack, but he felt an overwhelming power emanating from Mark.

Mark's longsword was surrounded by a blue-red aura, while his body was enveloped in a light-red aura.

"!!!" Clay's body warned him of the impending danger. He felt fear, despair, and terror...

Before he knew it, the attack was already in front of him. He blinked rapidly, but the fear persisted. Small beads of sweat trickled down his face.

It felt like he was facing death itself, but he refused to accept that... Or at least he tried to.

"Hahaha! How do you like my skill, ?" Mark laughed triumphantly, relishing in his own power in front of the struggling Clay.

-Shing!

Mark landed a heavy blow onto Clay's katana, causing his hands to tremble with a force that felt above grade, possibly even grade!

-Shing!

Another blow followed, nearly breaking his hands. "You sneaky bastard! You're not the emotional weakling I thought you were!''

-Shing!

''Beatrice never told me you were like that!"

-Shing!

Clay's katana slipped from his grasp from the impact, but his focus was on something else entirely. "What did you say?" Clay demanded.

Mark halted his attack before bursting into laughter. "Oops, but who cares anymore. Beatrice and I..." He gestured to himself. "Are together.''

His once-focused eyes became hazy and confused before transforming into cold, sea-blue orbs. Clay glared straight into Mark's eyes with icy emotionless ones.

Mark's body trembled with fear as he gazed upon Clay's cold, abyssal eyes. He quickly averted his gaze, but the memory of those haunting eyes lingered. He glanced at Amanda and the other students behind Clay, but they didn't seem to share his unease.

[You have entered—]

Suddenly, a system window popped up, but Clay ignored it. He drew his katana, sheathed it oddly, and began approaching Mark with an air of superiority. Each step sent a chill down Mark's spine, and he blinked rapidly to shake off his fear.

Mark tightened his grip on his longsword, feeling the weight of the weapon in his hand as he warily eyed Clay. Something about Clay seemed different now, for some reason he could feel him radiating a cold, otherworldly energy that made Mark deeply uneasy. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, his senses on high alert as he tried to discern what was happening.

"What the hell was that?" Mark thought, his mind racing as he tried to make sense of the situation. "Is this some sort of skill? Some kind of trick?" Despite his fear, he refused to show any sign of weakness. He was determined to prove himself and emerge victorious.

"You dare use a fear-inducing skill on me!" Mark yelled, swinging his longsword with lightning-fast speed and force towards Clay. He was determined to catch Clay off-guard and gain the upper hand.

But Clay was ready for him. He blocked Mark's attack with his katana, leaving Mark stunned. "When did he-" Before he could even finish his thought, he felt a sudden chill in the air.

Suddenly, a bone-chilling cold enveloped Clay's katana, and he unleashed an unfamiliar skill that left a trail of frozen snowflakes in its wake.

Mark cursed under his breath, his eyes widening in surprise and disbelief. He had never seen anything like this before. Clay was a force to be reckoned with, and he was not to be underestimated.

But Mark was not one to back down. He took a deep breath and charged forward, his longsword gleaming in the dim light of the room. Clay was quick, but Mark was quicker. He pressed forward with an even more aggressive attack, determined to catch Clay off-guard.

Clay dodged each of Mark's blows with ease, his movements graceful and effortless. Mark's frustration grew with each passing moment. He couldn't understand how Clay was able to move so quickly and dodge every attack with such precision.

"Got you!" Mark shouted as he lunged towards Clay's shoulder with his longsword.

The blade made contact with Clay's shoulder, and blood spurted from the wound. But Clay's expression remained stoic, not changing in the slightest from the pain.

Mark was taken aback by Clay's lack of reaction. He couldn't understand how someone could be so calm after being wounded.

Clay used the moment of surprise to his advantage, closing the distance between them and raising his katana in a swift, fluid motion. His blade was aimed straight at Mark's heart.

However, as Clay's katana sliced through the air towards Mark's chest, it suddenly lost its color in the middle of the swing.