Now that I think about it, this is my first time witnessing a fight between two mages.
Usually, in one-on-one fights, casting spells is more of a disadvantage because of the incantations. If a spell ends up being used, it'll most likely be a quick-cast form — the longer ones are too slow for real combat.
Neutral or strong incantations are only practical when someone else is there to distract the opponent.
And this fight seems to follow the same principle.
As much as they're both mages first and regular fighters second, they can't rely on spells with slow incantations if they want to win.
If they wanted to use stronger spells, the fight would have to turn into a ranged battle, where neither side closes the gap. But that would just lead to a stalemate — one side trying to cast a big spell while the other uses quick incantations to interrupt it.
If it turned into a waiting game for the perfect moment, that might actually help Atro...
One thing that worries me is the lack of an actual weapon in Tarian's hands. She only has a small buckler-type shield on her left arm.
Those kinds of shields aren't bad — they definitely have their uses. But as your main defense, with no offense? I would have chosen something bigger, something that covered more of my body.
It's even stranger since Tarian wasn't a gimmicky character in the game. She could use regular short swords just fine.
Sure, she couldn't wield daggers or greatswords. But most standard sword-wielding characters are like that. To use the other two sword subtypes, a character usually needs to belong to a specific class or have some kind of background with that weapon.
Take me, for example. I'm a thief, so I have instant access to daggers but can't use larger swords. Knights and warriors can wield greatswords if they have a lore reason for it.
So Tarian coming into this fight with only a small shield has to be part of a plan.
"How are the predictions for this match based on student bets?" I asked, watching Tarian create some distance with her shield up, covering her torso.
"It's seventy to forty in favor of the elf girl," Yani told me.
"After Herdon lost to you, no one believes he can pull out a win," Tirino explained while checking his small ticket with the name of his bet written on it. "But some people excused his loss as a bad match-up, saying anyone who fought you would lose without putting up a fight."
"People put me on a pedestal I don't really deserve." I let out a long sigh and crossed my arms.
"And why wouldn't they think so highly of you?" Yani asked, looking genuinely confused, as if my doubt went against something everyone else accepted.
"She's right, Alen," Kaida said softly. "You've only shown m— the academy reasons to think you're strong." Kaida blushed, correcting herself before she said too much.
"Because... I just got lucky," I explained, even though what they said made perfect sense.
"Luck is important to win, don't get me wrong. But someone who's just lucky doesn't win tough fights and do what you've done," Cole said, pausing his notes to look at me.
"I just hope I can keep up..." I muttered under my breath.
I know all this strength is only because the world is still in the early stages of the story. If I had to compare it to a game, I'm like a character who's way over-leveled for this point in the plot.
The problem with characters like that is... they fall off. The ones who start strong always get caught up by characters who had more time to grow. What made them powerful in the beginning becomes irrelevant later on.
High level compared to other units the player and their enemies have? Every character eventually reaches that point. Stats that stand out just because of a head start? The low-level characters will surpass them sooner or later.
These characters aren't bad — quite the opposite. They make the early game easier and introduce the player to core mechanics. But why keep them around once they've done their job as early-game carries?
They lose steam and become dead weight. If they do manage to get kills, it just wastes experience that could have gone to a more useful unit. They're the kind of units you sacrifice for a bigger plan, like saving someone important.
If I'm one of those characters right now... then I'll hit my ceiling eventually.
Kaida, Yani, Fran, Cecil, even Theo... they'll all surpass me. Because Alen... I'm inherently less talented and weaker than them without my incantationless trick.
Right then, a sudden twist in my gut made a terrifying thought crawl into my mind.
If it came to that point — would I sacrifice myself to make sure a better path is possible? Could I really just throw myself in front of someone to save them?
The question filled me with dread. On one hand, if my death meant the world would get a better ending, I'd be the first to step forward. On the other hand... I want to live. I don't want to die. I want to go back to my family, the [Crescent Moon]... I want to spend time with Fran...
"[Wind Infusion]!"
The elven girl shouted the spell's name, coating her shield in a thin layer of rapidly swirling wind currents.
She only had enough time to chant the quick version because Herdon kept his distance too.
"Slither and burn."
"[Fire Serpent]!"
Flames engulfed Herdon's hand as he cast the tier-two spell.
Immediately, he slammed his palm into the ground, and a blinding flash exploded on contact.
From the floor, a patch of erupting fire sizzled and sparked before beginning its advance.
Just as the name suggested, the fire slithered across the ground like a snake. The perfect spell for uneven terrain like this arena, covered in trees whose roots make footwork tricky.
The fire slipped through roots and rocks until it neared the elf girl.
Tarian timed it perfectly — she slammed her wind-infused shield down on the fire, smothering the spell.
"Five seconds..." Herdon whispered, kneeling behind a tree stump for cover.
Seeing him take cover, Tarian immediately began circling him to catch him off guard.
"Herdon can use tier-two spells — he's in S Class, after all. But what about Ebenly?" Atro asked, completely absorbed in the fight.
"She has a second circle too. I don't know if she actually knows any tier-two spells, but she's a top student in A Class. She must have at least one or two up her sleeve," I explained, remembering that she'd helped me unlock my second circle.
Having the circle doesn't mean you automatically have the spells it allows.
I have a second circle, but not a single tier-two spell yet.
I should learn at least one. But if it takes me this long to learn tier-one spells, tier-two will take even more time.
Oh well. There's nothing I can do about it now. Complaining won't help. I'll just have to dedicate a day — or more — to learning at least one tier-two spell.
Once Tarian got behind Herdon, she raised her hand.
"Flora of the desert, attack."
"[Cactus Spike]!"
The tier-one nature spell manifested, launching multiple small spikes like missiles from Tarian's palm.
"Stones of the earth, rise beneath me as a pillar, shielding me with your ancient strength."
"[Helping Pillar]!"
Even though he managed to cast the spell, Herdon's torso still got struck by several of the small spikes.
"Gkh!" Herdon flinched as his uniform stained with his own blood. "Less than five seconds of distance. Doesn't matter... I still had enough time to cast the neutral form..." Despite the pain, his face held a triumphant grin.
Why wouldn't he smile? He'd managed to cast a powerful supportive spell.
From the ground, a mossy, cracked stone pillar emerged. At its center, an engraving glowed bright orange.
A faint orange light surrounded Herdon's body.
For now, his physical shield had become obsolete — the spell's protection was far stronger.
"That's a really big advantage to have." I said, looking at Tarian, who understood that the best course of action was to run away.
"Atro... more than spell chains or damaging spells. The most important spells in a one on one fight are the ones that make you stronger." I said, making sure Atro and Kaida heard me.
"Tarian's choice to start with the spell she started with wasn't bad. She just got unlucky with his opponent's magic."
"Does that mean that she could be winning if not for the fire affinity of Teriri?"
"Yes... and no. There's never only a single weakness or a single answer to deal with a spell. If he'd had wind affinity instead of fire, the outcome would've been the same."
"What's the plan now... fo her, I mean" Atro asked, wanting to use this as a possibility for his fight against Ximuss.
"Destroy the pillar. Preventing the enemy to be stronger than you is on eof the most important things"