章 8: A Dance With Magic

Time for my second match. This time, I was facing none other than Prince Garrick.

"Apologies, but I can't afford to lose," Garrick said, a confident smirk on his face. "I won't fall for the same trick twice."

"No offense, but I can't lose either. There's a princess depending on me."

"Both fighters ready? Begin!"

The prince brandished his sword, its edge shimmering with a layer of magical aura. From within the range of my Detection Scan, I could see the flow of mana clearly. His movements, his magic—they were all laid bare before me.

"Disruption Jammer!"

"Barrier." Garrick raised a shimmering wall of mana in response. "It won't work."

Of course, it worked. But pretending it didn't was far more entertaining.

"Fireball! Fireball! Fireball!" Garrick unleashed three orbs of blazing fire in quick succession, each tracking me like heat-seeking missiles. I could see the spells clearly through my Detection Scan—his manipulation was precise, bending the fireballs mid-flight to corner me. I dodged as best I could, but the fireballs pursued relentlessly.

Maybe I should just take the hit? I considered.

Then I remembered—if the spell hit me, my clothes would burn. That would be inconvenient, not to mention embarrassing.

I decided to employ one of the first techniques I'd learned: Magic Disassemble. With this, I could unravel spells almost entirely, leaving them harmless.

Still, having to strip away magic bit by bit was annoying. I activated my stun device and swiped it through the fireballs, extinguishing them one by one. The path was clear now—time to close the distance.

Garrick slashed at me as I approached, but within my detection field, his moves were as obvious as day. I dodged with ease, slipping past his blade, and jammed the stun device into his side. The prince jerked as the current surged through him, and with a low grunt, collapsed to the ground.

"Garrick is unable to continue! Victory goes to Rido!"

The crowd released a collective sigh, though a few scattered cheers for me echoed through the stands. Apparently, power is attractive.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Plink glaring at me with a face full of frustration, grinding his teeth as if I'd stolen something from him. Why he treated me like a rival, I had no idea. He was starting to look more like a clown than an actual threat.

I would crush him completely when our match came. Next up, though, was Crawford, the baron's son. According to Phantom, Crawford had a reputation as a notorious womanizer, though it was hard to gauge what he was really thinking. Phantom's instincts as a former thief suggested Crawford might be the most dangerous opponent I'd face—not that I was worried.

Crawford greeted me with a lazy smile. "I can't afford to lose. The girls are watching, after all. I need to win—gracefully."

The arena exploded with cheers from the female spectators. Ridiculous.

"Well, I can't lose either. There's a girl counting on me too."

"Hmm. Maybe we're more alike than I thought." His grin widened. "If that's the case, you must be a formidable foe."

Something about him clicked in that moment. He smells like someone who's grown up being stepped on, just like me.

"Fighters ready? Begin!"

"Disruption Jammer!"

"Barrier! Rose Field!" Crawford's spell filled the stone platform with blooming roses made of pure light, their petals shimmering in a mesmerizing dance.

I could have disassembled the magic with ease, but the idea of using my stun device to pick apart every rose was far too tedious. Instead, I let my mana flow freely, dissolving the rose petals one by one. The flowers withered, scattering into shimmering fragments. A beautiful, yet hollow display.

Crawford sighed, giving me an amused smile. "You've got me. I surrender."

"By surrender, victory goes to Rido!"

As I was declared the winner, Crawford gave me a curious look. "By the way, why didn't you use the Disruption Jammer to cancel those fireballs in your last fight?"

"Moving targets are tricky," I said with a shrug. "It's hard to disrupt something once it's in motion."

"Ah. So, in theory, if someone moved fast enough, they could resist your jammer?"

"Sure. If they moved faster than magic itself."

That was a lie, of course. But leaving a fake weakness dangling in front of him was more fun. Crawford didn't seem too invested in the match, though—this duel wasn't one of his battles that truly mattered. He wasn't bitter about the loss in the slightest.

Later, Phantom reported that Crawford's Rose Field was actually a classified magic—a secret spell passed down through his family. A domain-type magic at that. This gave me an idea: I could develop my own domain spell—something like a Jammer Field. Essentially, I was already injecting chaotic mana to disrupt spells; I just needed to package it as a formal technique.

But Jammer Field didn't sound cool enough. After a bit of brainstorming, I settled on Destroy Field. Yeah. That sounds much better.

"Phantom, I'm hungry. Go buy something," I said.

Phantom emerged from the shadows, grinning. "How do you always know where I am?"

"Just a feeling. Something in the flow of the air."

In truth, it was the flow of mana that gave him away, but there was no need to reveal that.

"So, is that how you dodge swords and magic too?" Phantom asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Pretty much."

"You move like a master, but your posture looks nothing like a warrior's. Honestly, you remind me of a con artist pulling tricks."

"Maybe I am. Now go get the food."

"On it, boss."

I decided to tidy up my list of techniques. From now on, the Destroy Field would absorb both Disruption Jammer and Magic Disassemble. Anytime I needed those effects, I'd just call it Destroy Field—simple and elegant.

Public Techniques:

Destroy FieldFluid Grasp (formerly Detection Scan)Mana Transference

Secret Techniques:

Death Whisper

Mana Absorption

Mana Parry

Mana Absorption wasn't exactly a forbidden spell, but it had a reputation as a favorite of assassins, especially when used to drain mana from the air or at range. That would draw too much attention if it became known. Mana Parry was another trick I wanted to keep under wraps. It could nullify any detection spell, and if the royal family's covert agents caught wind of it, things could get... complicated.

What I needed next was a long-range attack—something flashy—and a powerful close-range physical technique. I'd come up with the right moves while I was still at the academy. Until then, I'd keep refining what I had.

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