"Gale Dragon's... Mist Snow Moon Flower!!"
Rumble!!
The storm struck with the force of a decaying tree being crushed, smashing the massive block of ice into countless scattered icicles.
"Sea King Dragon's... Square Water Formation!!"
A torrent swirled in the air, gathering the scattered icicles into its flow. In the blink of an eye, it formed a swimming dragon of mixed ice and water, lunging once more toward Descartes.
"My magic is 'flashy tricks'?"
Hearing Serena's previous comment, Descartes' face was clouded with annoyance. "Of all the people here, you're probably the last one qualified to say that to me!"
"Space-Make: Atmospheric Cube!!"
Bang!!
The ice-water dragon slammed into an invisible wall. The space trembled slightly, but no cracks appeared. Instead, under the reaction force of the powerful impact, the water dragon's form collapsed into a deluge, splashing in all directions.
However, the water didn't flow far. It soon struck another air barrier and, losing control, flowed down along the boundary. Only then did Serena realize that his water dragon had been trapped within a transparent, cubic space—unable to move forward or retreat.
"An air barrier? Watch me crush it!!"
"Diamond Dragon's... Stronghold Destruction!!"
With a violent roar, Serena unleashed yet another new type of Dragon Slayer Magic.
Boom—!
The Atmospheric Cube shattered on impact. The space in front of him looked as if a giant hole had been forcibly punched through it by some titanic power—a spectacular sight. With an outlet created, the ice-water previously stored in the cube surged out, flowing through the cracks in the ground and down beneath the arena.
Once the cube was cleared, everyone's vision finally opened up again.
Descartes looked around, clicking his tongue at Serena's endless variety of Dragon Slayer Magic. "To master so many types at once... even if it's power gained through implanted Lacrima, you truly are exceptionally gifted!"
"Surprised?" Serena's lips curled into a confident smile. "Sea, Purgatory, Gale, Cavern, Diamond, plus Lightning, Luminance, and Darkness—I have a total of eight Dragon Slayer Lacrimas implanted in my body. These magics can not only be used individually but can also be mixed in different quantities and attributes to form even greater power!"
On and off the field, the crowd was stunned by Serena's declaration.
"Are my ears playing tricks on me? Did you hear what he just said?"
"I heard it! He said he has eight Dragon Slayer Lacrimas in his body..."
"No way?! I heard that for an ordinary person, even implanting one is a life-or-death gamble, and he has eight?! And he acts like it's nothing?!"
"Eight attributes of Dragon Slayer Magic mixed in different combinations... how many powers is that?"
A sixth-grade elementary student raised his hand high and shouted, "I know this one! It should be calculated as: C81+C82+C83+C84+C85+C86+C87+C88! The final result is..."
Seeing him counting on his fingers and getting more confused, an upperclassman nearby couldn't take it anymore. "How long is it going to take you at that rate? Just calculate 28−1. It's 255 types!"
The young student froze, his pupils shrinking in shock. "Eh?! So cool! Is this how college students think? But why is it calculated that way?"
"Is now the time to discuss math?!"
The voices of the two reached the field. Serena straightened his back and smiled triumphantly. "Did you hear that? I have a total of 255 ways to attack! You said earlier you had nine ways to deal with me, right? I'll assume you were telling the truth. But how are you going to deal with my other 246 methods?!"
This guy is quite the talker...
Descartes glanced at him sideways and sneered, "You actually have no idea how to calculate that problem yourself, do you?"
What?! Being called out so accurately, Serena felt a pang of panic. He indeed didn't know how to solve the problem or why the formula was set up that way; he was just going along with what the people in the crowd said.
"Even if your strength is the highest among the exchange students, that 'academic failure' aura and the blank look in your eyes that knows nothing of knowledge... you can't hide it at all!"
I can't argue! I can't argue at all!!
"Hmph... so what if I can't do the math?! Is a battle won through arithmetic?" Serena clenched his fists. "A true victory depends not just on knowledge, but on a clash of power!"
Descartes watched Serena for several seconds before suddenly sighing. "That's true. But if you had a sufficient understanding of Maker Magic, or if you could see the clues in the two spells I just cast, you wouldn't be so confident."
Although this fight was called a "duel," it was essentially a contest between students of different academies—a demonstration of martial skill rather than a fight to the death. In a real life-or-death struggle, talking this much would be suicide. But in this context, introducing one's magic and explaining things for the audience was perfectly normal.
"My magic, Space-Make, allows me to select an area and create a space within it that is completely isolated from the surroundings. Within this space—gravity, air pressure, temperature, humidity, the concentration of magic particles... every variable is customized by me! Simply put, for that space, I am the god who sets the rules!"
Serena might be a poor student, but he wasn't an idiot. Hearing Descartes put it this way, he immediately understood the principle and realized what had happened during their exchange.
"I see, I get it now. You didn't freeze my flames with simple Ice Magic; you created a space where 'the temperature is low enough to instantly freeze fire' and placed it exactly where the flames were. And the barrier that stopped my water magic was the same—you created a space 'harder than steel, hollow inside, allowing entry but no exit, and shaped like a cube' to 'swallow' my magic."
Descartes nodded approvingly. "Exactly! It seems you aren't a total muscle-brain after all!"
"Hmph! I am God Serena! A little trick like that, I would have figured it out soon even without being told!"
So stubborn! Descartes laughed too. "Now that you understand the principle of my magic, you should realize that I can create any type of space I want!"
Serena: "..."
"Even if you are a man blessed by the Dragon Gods, capable of holding eight Lacrimas and combining them into 255 attributes... how do you plan to respond if I bring out 'infinite' (∞) variations of space?"