"Ready!?"
Back on the main stage, though, the vice headmaster raised his hand and called out as both opponents faced each other from opposite sides of the field.
There was one change... Despite claiming that he will be using swordsmanship, the first-year student tossed aside his wooden sword… although he still assumed a swordsmanship stance…
"Remember, Young Master, you asked for this."
"...pffft…!"
Before anything started, the first-year student spat through his teeth, but Rotsard only found it funny.
"BEGIN!"
Syon's hand dropped, and his shout marked the start of the duel.
"MIE!"
The vice headmaster's voice didn't even properly fade when the first-year student roared over it, and with a flash of grayish light, an impressive sword with a blade segmented like the body of a centipede appeared within his grasp.
An extremely rare fae in the form of not just an item, but a weapon.
A metal element sword fae, Mie.
The ice puppet and the fae-wielding youngster charged at each other, the human shining with strengthening spells being obviously faster.
On top of the fae's blade getting enveloped in white light, a second layer appeared on top of it, this one slightly greenish gray, swirling and letting out a distinct howl…
A wind spell, adding to the cutting power.
There was no doubt that the first-year student wanted the duel done in one hit!
But then, the two of them clashed.
The fae-sword sank into the puppet's head…!
…and it stopped a third way in…!
"!!!"
What didn't stop, though, was the ice puppet's fists, forcing the youngster to let go of his fae and hurriedly jump back out of the puppet's range.
"Mie!"
At the youngster's call, his contracted fae disappeared from the puppet's head and then reappeared in his hand, resummoned by his command.
But he did that rushing backwards, and despite not chanting anything out loud, two water spears with their tips swirling like whirlpools appeared at his sides and launched at the oncoming ice puppet.
*CRACK*
The spears flew at the same time targeting two separate points but that didn't stop the puppet from swapping its arms to the side, freezing and shattering both by merely coming in contact with the water composing them.
"...~!"
The failure didn't seem to bother the first-year student, who only smirked…
With the next step the puppet took, several stone spikes erupted from the ground beneath it, forcing it to spin around and dodge, finally stunting its charge and allowing the youngster time to regain proper footing and launch a counterattack.
The close combat that ensued was a sight to behold!
The sword-fae was digging into the puppet's ice, but despite clearly getting stuck, it simply disappeared and reappeared in the hands of its master without ever breaking the flow of his movement!
The ice puppet's body was beginning to fall apart with large cracks starting to connect the crevices left by the sword-fae's blade… but that didn't mean that the first-year student was winning.
Despite doing a great job with adjusting his tactic to the opponent, who did not even flinch when receiving a wound that would be fatal for any living being, the very pressure that an opponent like that was exerting onto him was starting to take its toll.
Close combat got so demanding that the youngster could not allow himself time to cast additional spells as the moment he even thought of chanting in his mind, his movement would slow down, and the ice puppets' fists, elbows, or knees would nick his body…
…and each, even the slightest, contact brought a numbing sensation that honestly filled the youngster's heart with fear…!
The breaking point for the youth was when he had to dodge the puppet's fist after the ice puppet anticipated his fae's next disappearance.
The attack missed, but the puppet's knuckle lightly brushed against the youngster's hand, which he didn't manage to move in time, instantly causing his skin to sting and turn red, clearly showing signs of frostbite.
"Mie! Buy me some time!"
The youngster cried out while kicking off the ground and jumping to the side, while his contracted fae reappeared… and began attacking the ice puppet independently!
But as it quickly turned out that the fae alone couldn't replicate the movements of its master, proving that the unrestricted movement it could perform without him wasn't the solution for the stalemate.
…but at the same time, it wasn't supposed to be…
The very next moment, an overwhelming barrage of 4th and 5th tier earth spells rained upon the ice puppet!
A feat not only unthinkable for a first-year student but straight-up impossible for any magician below the 7th tier.
"Tsk… With this win, I will be taking my leave."
The supposed first-year student clicked his tongue and declared, stopping the cast.
From his perspective, only his contracted fae remained on the field, stuck into the ground like a legendary weapon waiting for the chosen one…
"Odd… did we agree on giving you the win if your fairy faints? It wasn't attacked, you did it to it."
"...!?"
In response, Rotsard raised his brow and mocked, causing his opponent to tense up.
*thump*
As if taking it as a signal, Rotsard's ice puppet stood up, knocking over the sword fae that it was using as both a shield and a cover.
The puppet itself has been sheared off quite badly, its body decreased in size by at least three-fourths, and one of its arms was missing… but still, it was very much functional!
…and judging by the stance it took, quite spunky and ready to continue the skirmish…
"..."
The supposed first-year student's jaw dropped and he needed a good few seconds to compose himself and close his mouth.
Especially since it was also enough for a layer of frost to cover the ice puppet and partially restore the damage that it suffered, all thanks to the abundant ice mana emanating from the circle of light at Rotsard's feet.
"I won't lose to YOU!"
That seemed to enrage the supposed first-year student enough to lose himself in anger.
Interestingly enough, he didn't charge at the ice puppet, but rather to the side, stopping right when the puppet started running at him.
"FORTRESS BUSTER!"
This time around, the youngster not only chanted out loud, but he even went ahead and added a gesture, putting his hands together and aiming at the ice puppet aligned perfectly with Rotsard with his extended index and middle fingers.
At his command, mana from his body influenced the mana of the surroundings and materialized a metal core in the form of a needle-like spear then grew a layer of stone over it and then added one of mud coiling around like a whirlpool.
Not just any spell, but a compounded layered spell mixing water, earth, and metal element spells…
Also known as the heavy warfare magic that was rarely seen outside large-scale conflicts and definitely unsuitable for something like a duel.
"NOT ON MY WA-ighuegh…?!"
"You stay out of it."
Syon was already rushing to Rotsard, intending to protect him as he was fully aware what the supposed first-year student's spell would do, but the bleached-blond-haired youngster shook his head, and a pillar of ice grew straight out of the ground in the vice headmaster's way, intercepting and pushing him out of the way with a baffled whimper.
"DIE!"
The obviously fake first-year student howled with a maniacal grin distorting his face as his spell launched with a physical recoil that pushed his arms back and caused him to stagger!