Bab 39: First Duel - Part 2

The first thing Kir did was raise his shields.

There were about a hundred meters between the starting points, but Kir wasn't about to go hiding, so he walked calmly toward the center of the stage, starting with a magic shield.

Bjab also closed the distance opening up with a set of spells that rapidly sent magically created fire roaring towards Kir.

Since the fire was pure magic, it broke against his shield, not even affecting the lattice as it parted around Kir.

"Oh, was that supposed to be the best you've got?" Kir challenged as soon as the flames finished flowing. "At this rate, I won't even need to attack."

"Oh, that was just me warming up. You think you're ready for three against one? Think again!" Bjab muttered a spell under his breath and then bellowed, sending out his next spell as a wall of magically enhanced sound.

At the same time, the smarter of his two cronies shot a blast of energy into Kir's back. The fact that Kir hadn't heard him cast a spell meant he was capable of silent casting, which already put him above his boss.

Both spells impacted against Kir's shield and failed to scratch the surface, the magic sound merely sending a puff of wind through Kir's shield, its noise unable to harm him without the magic behind it, which he sensed may have been some sort of illusion, perhaps to provoke his fear or anger.

Suddenly Kir felt something hot crash into his back, knocking him forward a couple of steps. A movement near his foot caught his eyes and he saw a round ball of metal, its surface heated to a red glow.

Kir put up an anti-physical spell just in time to stop a second shot of the same device and a third, before muscle-minion took the hint to stop throwing his ammo. Kir spotted a satchel on the guy's side, and knew that he must have brought them with him. The fact that he was putting actual heat into the metal meant they could penetrate anti-magic shields and still do damage, though if he'd thought to add speed instead...

Wait, that would have made them potentially fatal, which would have disqualified him, if not the whole team.

These bullies, or at least Bjab, were professionals.

Kir tsked. The shot had hurt, but most of the damage was confined to a round circle in Kir's uniform, a circle that had burned all the way to his undershirt.

Now that he had full shielding, the clock was ticking on how long his air supply would last. The types of spells he could cast from within his shields were limited, but Kir could still generate effects that used his shields as lenses.

"What's the matter? Too scared to fight back?" Bjab taunted.

"No. I was just thinking I'd wait until you got tired, then throw you out by hand," Kir replied. "Of course, if you can figure out how to break just one of my shields, I'll take you seriously..."

Outside the arena, the crowd booed Kir, though they also made many sounds that signaled they were enjoying the drama. Many shouted at Kir to fight, and some even threw foodstuffs at the arena, only to have them caught and then repelled at a return vector. The offenders, who were all first years, learned very quickly that their fellow students did not take kindly to being pelted.

Bjab bellowed in fury at Kir's taunt, charging at Kir and lowering his horns for a goring rush. Kir's mana sight showed him that Bjab was very rapidly circulating his mana into his muscles, no doubt intending to brute force his way into Kir's shield.

A ripping sound also drew Kir's attention, and a shadow appeared over Kir's head as strong-minion showed up with a tree and smashed its trunk into the top of Kir's shield. He got in two hits before the magically generated tree broke against Kir's anti-magic shield.

Bjab closed the distance in that time, smashing into Kir's shields and managing to bend the physical shield's lattice just a bit with the tips of his horns.

Kir watched this with his mana sight, noting that it seemed a person's bodily attacks while laced with mana still cut through the anti-magic shield. It was a valuable bit of knowledge he might need to use in the future.

Bjab continued to push at Kir's shield, scraping the ground with his boots as he pushed and pushed, a grimace of effort on his sweating face. He still had plenty of mana left, and Kir was determined to make him waste every bit of it, just to teach him a lesson.

Smart-minion held off on his attacks, not wanting to hit his boss.

"Why... can't... I... break... through?!" Bjab shouted, finally lifting his head and pulling back.

"I could tell you why, but I'm sure the sheer mechanics of it all would be mind-boggling to you," Kir sneered.

"Still not going to fight?" He looked over at his cronies. "Jasta! Gron! Let's do that!"

Kir yawned as the three of them took up triangle positions

Together, they started chanting, finding harmony after just a few moments. The spell started to take effect, a ball of pure mana appearing above Kir, coalescing into a white light that made the crowd gasp.

The Host suddenly spoke, their voice coming from everywhere. "Caution. Spell power approaching fatal potential. Further empowerment will result in disqualification."

At that exact moment, Bjab shouted "Now!" and the three of them unleashed the spell.

A fountain of lightning struck Kir's shields, consuming him in a pillar of light that made the crowd cry out until, almost a full minute later, the light finally dissipated.

Kir stood there, his hands in his pockets, and yawned.

The crowd erupted in disbelief.

A spell like that would have sizzled an unshielded person to within an inch of their life. Having three casters also multiplied the effect, since prime number circles were the most stable and could generate very long-lasting spells the higher one went.

A prime of three meant the spell had either lasted twice as long or had been thrice as powerful, and Kir guessed it was the former.

It also meant that his opponents were mostly spent of their mana.

"No... how?" Bjab said in disbelief.

Kir finished his yawn and started over his shoulder at his would-be bully. "I guess I don't have to take you seriously after all." Kir snapped his fingers, making a show of letting his shields dissipate. He unsheathed his claws and walked over to Bjab, who hastily pushed himself up to stand.

Bjab still had mana left, enough to move his body and apparently prevent him from suffering the effects of mana deficiency. Strong-minion, Gron, by what Kir remembered of where Bjab had looked when calling out their names, wasn't so lucky, and he was finding it hard to remain in a crouch.

As Kir finished his walk, Bjab threw a punch. His massive arm passed Kir's face as he turned his body, and Kir dodged his follow-up punch as well. His steps were fluid as he made sure Bjab missed every punch and kick, walking him backward toward the edge of the stage.

One turn gave him a quick view of Jasta, who had more than a little mana left but was acting like he was tired.

"So much for loyal friends," Kir muttered, forgetting that his words were being amplified out to the crowd. He'd had enough of this.

Picking up the pace, he backed Bjab up with every strike, always moving to stay in front of him so he couldn't slip sideways.

At last, Bjab came to the edge, and it was then that Kir dodged forward at last, and his next step took him back too far. Kir grabbed him by the necktie so that he dangled off the edge of the arena, his fall just barely arrested.

"You said you were going to throw me out..." Bjab gasped around the noose-like knot in his throat.

"Are you calling me a liar?" Kir replied, then tugged him back into the arena, only to punch him with fist of mana-compressed air that sent him flying into the magic shield before slipping down, unconscious.

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