A year and a half has passed since I joined the student council along with Richard.
There are many things that have happened, but to be honest they are not that much different from usual, nor are they important. It's just the normal eat sleep plays with friends and joining events.
It is the summer of the year, and we are now fourth graders, before I know it we are already at the second last year of our school period.
Large events are taking place as usual for summer, like the Truce Festival which me and Richard did not take part in because of our position.
Then, remember the sport festival of this world, the dueling contest that I talked about which every fourth and fifth grader have to join? We have to take part in the event as well, and as a group this time.
It is an elimination duo contest, which means that you might end up fighting your friends if they are good enough. And there's no alliance, which means that your classmates in another team would be your enemy.
It seems that tons of people want to join me or Richard because we are really good and experienced at using magic for combat.
That being said, it's not like I was really planning to win. That's why rather than teaming up with Richard to dominate the tournament, I instead teamed up with Gerd, while he teamed up with Mike. It's a girl's team vs boy's team of the friend group.
The tournament lasted for days. That's because there's a lot of people joining, the fourth and fifth grades all join this afterall. If each grade has about 125 students, this means there's 250 students who will fight, and only 2 of them will actually win.
I was fairly certain that we will not make it to the final match, because I'd have to fight a 1vs2 match if Gerd is out, and she's also kind of weak... no offense.
However, I came up with a genius plan. I call this the 'Duo Casting Fusion Magic', and just like it's name, it's just casting fusion magic with two person casting different spells rather than one person doing so.
While I say Gerd sucks at using magic, it's only when relative to us Ensurers. Among the normal students she's actually average. She can only cast some spells from the intermediate rank, which is already decent enough to perform Fused Magic with.
To enhance our team's firepower, using Fused Magic would achieve that goal. As such, no opponent would even get the chance to take out Gerd, because I'm planning to overwhelm them with just firepower alone, and for when their defense is the weakest, which is when they are attacking.
Right now it is our first duel, it's against a duo from the E classes. That is the least competitive class in school, from grades to combat. That's why I think that to test this tactic against them might be overkill.
However, I'm fairly certain that later on against better teams, we'd never get a chance to try this tactic out safely. So I mustn't show mercy to these two guys, at least not now.
Besides, this is actually a selfish request. I'm actually thinking of proving that my new fused magic combo of a fire magic and a mana ball could work as well as I theorised.
"Kyrie, will this work? I'm very nervous... "
Right now we are once again standing in the middle of the training field, both of us dressed in our sport uniform and having our hairs tied into a pony tail so that it doesn't get in the way.
"It's fine, I will be here to help you if you make mistakes. "
"Okay... I don't know how you can get use to being in the center of attention like this..."
She's getting crowd nervous. That's because during the Tournament, no classes are held, and students can spectate the tournament so that they can gain battle knowledge. Naturally, this means that the entire school is watching us right now.
125 students times 5 grades is about 600 students watching us now. Anyone who isn't used to this will get nervous. Even I, who is no stranger to duels like these is getting a little bit nervous as well. But it is important to maintain a clear head when fighting, that's why I'm about to tell Gerd to do this trick that I use for situations like this.
"I'll teach you a trick to keep calm. Close your eyes. "
"...what? The fight is about to begin though, the announcer is already doing his speech..."
"It's quick, just do it. "
"Right..."
"Now, picture your emotional state as a raging storm in the ocean."
"..."
"Now, take a deep breath and picture this storm slowly going slower and calmer, until the ocean become as peaceful and still as a lake. "
"Hoo.... Haaah..."
"How is it?"
"...I can't believe it actually worked. "
"Right? This trick is what I've been doing to calm myself under stressful situations like these. You'll get better at visualizing your magic as well if you do this a lot. "
"Is that so? This is a really useful trick though I must say. "
We stood there getting ready and discussing our plans. Finally, the MC started our fight with countdowns once we signalled him that we are ready.
"3!... 2!..."
"Remember, I'll cover you with my magic so you just focus on chanting ASAP. Use that fire spell that we discussed."
"Okay."
"...Begin!"
"Bring forth to me, a stream of fire and burn down-" Gerd immediately began chanting for Flame Gush.
I saw the opponents chanting as well, but they are too far for me to hear what they are chanting for.
Within the very lands lies an impenetrable wall.
I had already finished my chant for the earth wall on my right hand. As for my left hand, I started gathering Mana into it and forming a Mana Ball, but I held back a bit.
"-any who dares to oppose the all mighty fire!... Kyrie! " Gerd yelled my name to signal me that she's ready.
"Hold it!" I yelled back at her to make her wait for the right moment.... right when they fire their spells.
The two opponent finished chanting, one of them shot forth Flash Freeze, a ball of cold winds that can freeze water, while the other shot the same spell as well. I see they have indeed planned for their attack.
"Earth Wall!" I yelled out even though I don't need to chant loudly, this is so that Gerd knows my plan. A large wall appeared in front of those two, and immediately checked their spells.
'Boom!' A loud sound of impact was heard as the spells colided with the wwall This should activate their spell and make them eat some of the effects of their own ice magic.
"Now!" I yelled out to signal Gerd.
"Flame Gush!"
"And Mana Ball!"
We shot our very own attack forward as I disintegrated the Earth Wall at the same time.
The Flame Gush that Gerd shoot was aimed diagonally forward, while I shot my Mana Ball right into the middle of it. The target is the ground between the two opponents.
The Mana Ball sucked up all the flames as it flew forward with a cannonball's speed. It immediately flew right into the ground onto it's intended target, before the sand from the Earth Wall even drops to the ground.
'Boom!'
As soon as it hit the ground immediately blast open just like a fireball would, exploding with the flames inside and blew up into an explosion.
The two opponents was knocked back by my magic immediately even though it wasn't a direct hit. The Barrier magic from the training field's defensive mechanism already activated on their body, but they were knocked off balanced by the magic and almost fell.
Naturally, we won the fight.
"Wow.... That was a bigger explosion than I thought..."
"Kyrie! That was dangerous! Why did you made us use such a powerful attack on them?! Couldn't you at least hold back a little?"
"I'm sorry! I didn't think it would be that effective!"
"Geez... Your tactics is just as destructive as your magic... "
"Haha... "
And this was me holding back... Theorically I could pull off an even stronger version of this attack, by myself, and faster than this. This attack might even be my strongest attack for now.
As for why this works, Mana Ball itself isn't a wind magic even though it doesn't seem like it. The Mana from the Ball itself sucks wind right into and make the winds instead accelerate in a vortex really really fast.
This meant that the extra mana could serve as the fuel, while the extra oxygen and hydrogem from the winds in the air would increase the rate of combustion for fire.
I figured that Mana Ball would also suck in other elements, since the reason it sucked wind into it is because wind is literally the first elemnt present. With the extremely pressurized winds, that means the rate of combustiom will be insanely high that it turns explosive instead of burning. This is what was taught in my chemistry class anyway.
This means that the Mana Ball is a natural combustion agent for fire spells, and when coupled with an already destructive spell like Fireball it'd become ridiculously strong.
But I can't really use it at anything at all since it's so destructive that I'm pretty sure that I could actually kill someone, even with he defense mechanism of the Training Field. Like Gondur, my tutor has said, I must be really careful as to not cause a manslaughter case.
...Hold on the dome barrier of this training field should be at least Master ranked. If I could crack this barrier does that Mana my attack is master ranked as well?
....maybe I'll write this fused magic as a thesis to be my research, and then turn it in to the school to receive my Master certificate, like Principal Jack did before.
I think I'll name this.... Forbidden Sun. Before all that though, I must first compete in this competition.
(3 days later)
As I had expected, I'd meet Richard again at the battlegrounds. No one here in this school, not even anyone from the fifth grades could actually match Richard, or me.
This time, I'm planning on trying to fight him seriously. But obviously I won't use Forbidden Sun. But Combustion, Incineration, and then some magic combos are all game. I think Fireball might be a bit too dangerous though, especially coming from me.
Right now, the announcer is once again introducing us.
"Girls and boys, this is the fight that we have all been excited about and have waited for! To my left side is Team GeKi, who has dominated every fight with advanced magic combos and teamwork. To my right is Team MaRi, a team that frequented advanced tactics and strategic plays other than pure aggression like their opponent!"
"And as the audience may already know, Richard and Kyrielle are long time rivals! This is the first rematch that they will have since 2 years ago, where contestant Kyrielle humiliated contestant Richard. Right now, who will prove to be the better one?"
"So far from what the student council members have saw, they are about equally as good even though both of them may still be holding back. Contestant Kyrielle never used any advanced magic combos that involves Fusion theory, nor does contestant Richard. The two teams have also ended their fights nearly as soon as it beguns. "
"Besides these two, let's not forget their team mates! Gerdur on Kyrielle's team is the main attacker of the team even though she might be weaker. So far she has demonstrated that she has the ability to cooperate well and cast magic fluently. While not as good as her teammate, she is still a force to be reckoned with!"
"And Michael on Richard's team is actually responsible for the defense of the team by casting support magic and timing up his attack magic with Richard, all while simultaneously flanking the opponent! These two teams have their unique fighting styles, but they are all equally formidable. Now, I will officially sing the countdown!"
"Gerdur, this time I will go serious. Mike will try to flank us whenever we attack Rick, so immediately as the fight begins we will attack him, no matter what I do it is just to trick them!"
"Right! Leave it to me! I won't go easy on him just because he's one of my best friend!"
"3... 2... 1... Begin!"
I took off running diagonally towards Richard, while Mike also flanked to my other side but he has to face Gerdur first.
Richard immediately begun chanting. He can now chant silently, just like me. I know that because I am the one who taught him how to chant silently.
A crest immediately forms on his hand, as well as mine simultaneously. I'm not going defense first this time, I will be going full offense.
I gathered up Mana on the two of my hands, creating two Mana Balls simultaneously.
"Now!"
On Gerd's signal, I immediately switched my target from Rick to Mike, and shot one Mana Ball at him. Simultaneously, Gerd shot her Rock Sling at him as well. I expected Mike to summon an Earth Wall directly on Rick, and instead forgo his own defense and gets punished.
'Boom!' (2x)
What surprised me was that Mike instead summoned an Earth Wall on himself and blocked the two of our attack.
Richard aimed for Gerdur, who wasn't paying attention to him, and shot a Rock Sling directly at her head.
"Wah!" She screamed in response to being hit in the head.
In response I shot my other Mana Ball at Rick, whom dodged to the sides and avoided it.
"...Shit." I cursed as I realized that I'm in a really bad position.
Mike would now be chanting for Rock Sling, as he does in his duels before this. And as he does so, Richard would coordinate his attack with a Mud Puddle.
For now I'll ready two Mana Balls and instead attack Rick! I charged the Mana Balls and then as soon as I saw Rick chanting, Mike also chanted as well.
I shot a single Mana Ball at Rick, he interrupts his silent chanting side stepped to avoid my attack. And then immediately after I shot at him, I back stepped to avoid the attack of Mike.
And just as I had predicted, a rock bullet had immediately flies by in front of my face, barely scratching my bangs... damn it, you ruined my hair!
As he shot me, I brought my other arm towards him and fired off my second Mana Ball at him. He drops his body to the ground and barely avoided it...
...At this rate I wouldn't be able to win, as I already have my hands full dealing with one of them. And sure enough, the two of them had begun chanting for spells again... I'll have to get in close to use my stronger spells!
Within these very lands lies an impenetrable wall, Earth Wall!
I conjured up an Earth Wall directly underneath Mike's arm and interrupted his spell as the Wall slams onto his hand.
"Ouch!" I could hear his groan of pain even at this 9 meters range.
And immediately, I sprinted towards Rick to get into 5 meters range, enough to use my 'Incinerate'.
However, what is surprising is what happened when I pushed myself forward. I had stepped right into a mud puddle and it trapped my feet!
And simultaneously I saw his other arm that was hiding behind his body, there's a magic crest that was forming! Richard could do double chants just like me, and he had actually hid this from me, what a clever trick!
He who sour the skies, drive away this one's enemy.
Richard is halfway across his chant but I wasn't planning to lose, as I had already finished my chant for Wind Gush, which combos into Incineration!
"Jetstream!" Rick yelled out the name of his magic as he finished chanting, and following him...
"Incinerate!" I also yelled out my spell's name.
He used 'Jetstream' this time, which is a high pressure water stream, continuous type of attack magic similar to 'Flame Gush'. He anticipated me to use fire spells and countered with a water spell, how clever!
But his clever tactics is useless against my attack power! Like it or not, Incinerate is a pseudo Master ranked magic, his adept ranked water spell still stands no chance!
The plasma stream collides with the water stream and splashes hot plasma, water and steam everywhere. It was a rush battle with two continuous spell, like when two dragons breath at each other can try to overpower each other.
The plasma stream quickly overpowered the water stream and then hit through the crest that was casting the spell. A small explosion happened because of this, and it knocked up dust and steam out in the the air, but I can still confirm that Richard is out!
I quickly turned towards the direction of Mike, and then charged a Mana Ball anticipating him to appear out of the Earth Wall. And sure enough he did. He is also rather close, as he is now about 6 meters away, since he needed to flank around the wall.
Within these very lands lies an impenetrable wall!
"Rock Sling!"
Earth Wall!
I heard him yell that and then I immediately summoned a pillar shaped earth wall right under his arm that was casting the magic. Just like last time, I summoned a small Earth Wall which slammed into his arm interrupting his spell yet again.
"What?! Not agai-"
'Boom!'
I had charged a Mana Ball with my other arm and shot it at his body. He tried to dodge it but he's too close and had a bad posture, which made his feet slip. It hit him right in the body, which caused the barrier to activate, bringing him out of the fight.
I won this match.... It was hard but I had won this match through sheer luck... I can't believ-
'Boom!'
A sharp pain hit the back of my head.
...
I woke up with my face in the hard ground of the school's training field.
I can't see clearly from all the dust and smoke screen that is still here. I couldn't see anyone.
I feel extremely dizzy and nauseous, and just touching where I was hit in the head sends a sharp pain.
I sat myself up, still confused as to what just happened. I looked at the floor, and I could see burnt marks on the floor, and I inspected my body.
Some parts of my clothes were torn and burned, my legs and elbows are scratched.
It seemed that the defense mechanism of the training field activated and protected me from a fire spell, but the spell sent me sliding on the ground which explained my scratches. But just the force alone from a spell knocked me out for a second. But how? Why... who?
Then I heard the announcer's speech which explained everything.
"The winner of this contest is... Team RiMe! "
...what? I thought I had KO'ed Richard with my Incineration from our exchange of spell... How did this happened? I was just really confused...
"Oh god Kyrielle! Kyrielle, are you fine?!"
I looked to my right... towards the direction of that voice. Richard ran towards me, with a worried face full of guilt...
(Chapter 32 end)