“Alright, first, let’s start by seeing what the two of you are capable of.”
“Are we going to do a magic battle outside?”
“Fine, I’ll crush you.”
A magic battle is a kind of exercise held between mages to test each other’s skills. They evaluate each other’s abilities through exercises like target practice and testing the precision of magic. But when I heard Mel’s next words, my expectations were turned on their head.
“Since magic that can’t be used in battle is pointless, let’s have a mock duel between you two… as a start.”
With an air of mystery, she strode toward the garden. Alisa, who was about to follow, gave me a sideways glance.
She wore a sly smile, showing no signs of surprise. She was clearly underestimating me, which irked me.
…No, I shouldn’t let it get to me. Including my previous life’s age, I’m much older than her, so I need to show some maturity.
“I’ll show you the dignity of an elder.”
Despite my calm thoughts, the words that left my mouth were full of confidence. Ever since I reincarnated, I feel like I’ve been saying childish things more often. Maybe my physical body is affecting my mind?
“We’re not even that different in age!”
Alisa stomped ahead, her face bright red. She didn’t seem to be swooning over me, so I must have ticked her off.
A child’s appearance, a child’s mind—that’s me, Kuhn!
…No time for silly thoughts; I should follow them.
When we reached the backyard, Mel clapped her hands and chanted, conjuring a transparent dome around the garden.
“This is the Absolute Domain of Holy-Class Magic. No matter how wildly you go at it, nothing will escape outside, so feel free to give it your all. I’ll heal you as long as you don’t die.”
Whether her words were reassuring or unsettling, we both nodded.
Alisa and I stood across from each other on a white cloth spread out on the ground.
The distance between us was about five meters—a bit short for a magic duel, likely to simulate real combat conditions.
“…”
“…”
We didn’t say a word, just gazing at each other. Alisa looked like she was daydreaming, probably running through a battle simulation in her head.
Come to think of it, I don’t know how strong Alisa is. According to Kamui, her talent for combat might surpass his. She’s supposed to be a year younger than me, yet she’s already able to use body enhancement.
But Alisa probably doesn’t know how capable I am either. I doubt she even knows I can use chantless magic.
Ideally, I would’ve settled this peacefully, but given the circumstances, there’s no helping it. I’ll prove myself through strength and let that lead to reconciliation.
As long as it ends in mutual agreement, it’s like a consensual duel. Or something like that.
“Swords, magic, magic items—you may use anything. Just make sure not to deal a fatal blow.”
It’s a free-for-all, practically a death match. Will I be able to win against Alisa in this no-holds-barred match? I decided to give it everything I had.
Alisa picked up a wooden sword leaning nearby. She might be using Kamui’s Zanshin Style, but I’ve seen it in action, so I should be able to handle it.
“Then, begin!”
“Body Enhancement!”
At the signal to start, Alisa activated body enhancement and charged. Not as fast as Kamui, but still quick. With that speed, she could catch me in this barrier if I tried to evade.
But there’s no need to engage in close combat on her terms. I quickly retreated and launched a Rock Cannon.
“―?!”
Maybe she didn’t expect an attack so soon. Alisa took the Rock Cannon head-on. Though I held back a bit, it was still mid-level magic. Alisa was blown back, and the rock ricocheted off the barrier, kicking up dust inside.
I worried I might have killed her… but since Mel didn’t intervene, I guess she’s fine.
“Breath of ice that halts all things to the world’s end, the end of creation…”
From within the dust cloud, I heard Alisa chanting. If it’s something I don’t recognize, it must be advanced magic.
A magic duel, huh? Bring it on. The strongest spell I have is the High-Pressure Water Blade. I envision it as an ultra-high-pressure water cutter, slicing through diamonds and thick steel.
I felt the mana draining as I poured more power into the spell, ramping up its strength.
“Eternal Frost (Conal Mokaris)!”
At the same time Alisa cast her spell, I prepared to release mine at any moment.
As her spell activated, frost spread across the barrier’s interior. The dust that had been swirling around settled, the ground frosted over, and my feet were frozen up to my ankles.
A spell to restrict movement… that’s unexpected. Alisa zigzagged as she approached. I released the Water Blade, but she dodged it.
The Water Blade has speed, but its drawback is that it only moves in a straight line.
Alisa was using body enhancement.
There was no time before she’d reach me.
I had two options: melt the ice or block her approach.
After some thought, I decided to go for both.
Though the success rate of a dual-cast isn’t very high, pulling it off at this moment could give me a huge advantage.
The result… success.
Using earth magic, I generated a mass of mud around us, while also raising the temperature around my feet with fire magic.
There’s a fire spell called Heat Metal. It’s a nasty spell developed to heat up an opponent’s metal weapon, making it impossible for them to hold.
I adapted this spell to also heat non-metallic objects.
I call it Heat Material. Whenever I use it, my inner fan of “Negi○!” starts to stir with excitement.
The air around my feet rapidly heated up, melting the ice.
Naturally, the residual heat around my feet was intense—in fact, it was hot enough to cause burns.
“Ow…!”
But I could still move.
Despite the tears in my eyes, I retreated while using light magic to heal myself. I’d left the escape path behind me clear of mud, allowing for a smooth retreat.
Even with her feet stuck in the mud, Alisa was trying to close the distance.
I had no intention of letting a swordswoman trained in Kamui-style techniques get close.
From our earlier exchange, I’d realized she had plenty of tricks I wasn’t aware of.
Meanwhile, the only ace I had at the moment was chantless casting. Using the full power of my customized spells might end up injuring her too severely, so I couldn’t go all-out.
The advantage of chantless casting is its high adaptability and the sheer speed of magic activation.
With this, at the very least, I could force a draw.
Alisa continued her approach.
I kept creating mud, freezing the ground, and casting spells to stop her. With my large pool of magic power—enough to break measurement crystals—I opted to keep attacking Alisa from a distance, preventing her from closing in.
“Come on… Fight me head-on! Aren’t you ashamed to fight like this?”
“I don’t love fighting! I love winning!”
This villain act was strangely fun.
I kept up the pressure, making sure not to make any mistakes, and kept Alisa from getting close.
If we fought head-to-head, I probably couldn’t beat her.
But the reverse was also true—if I didn’t fight head-on, I still had a chance to win.
So I continued to chip away at Alisa, aiming to wear her down.
It seemed that she wasn’t very skilled in light magic, as she couldn’t heal without chanting.
If she tried to heal, I would immediately disrupt her with a chantless attack.
With each interruption, her frustration grew, and her movements became more erratic.
This made it even easier to counter her.
Thus, I continued the war of attrition… and after over twenty minutes of intense battle, I finally emerged victorious over Alisa.
