I found myself standing across from Toya Catreya, the third son of the Marquis Catreya House, ready to begin our mock battle.
It wasn't exactly a duel to the death—more like a bit of entertainment intended to foster camaraderie.
(Still... the atmosphere is a bit tense. I feel like I'm in the middle of a "Please let me marry your sister!" scene.)
"Hey, look! Toya’s about to fight!"
"Who’s his opponent? Who is that guy?"
"You don’t know? That’s Count Rest Clover! He’s the mage who took down the Subnock!"
Toya and I faced each other, separated by about three meters.
A crowd of knights and soldiers gathered around us, their voices rising in excitement. Most of them didn't seem particularly pressured or tense; for them, this was purely a social event.
(The only ones taking this seriously are us... or rather, just these overprotective brothers.)
"Alright then... here I come!" Toya shouted, a unilateral declaration of the start.
I expected him to charge immediately, but instead, he began casting.
"[Stone Wear]! [Hardening]!"
It was a duo-cast.
A layer of stone swept over Toya’s body, encasing him in armor. On top of that, he layered a hardening spell, giving the stone a defensive durability that likely rivaled steel.
"My beloved sister—my 'My Puppy'—broke this combo once before, but there’s no way an elder brother would fight his sister for real. In that regard, I don't have to show any mercy to a 'Divine Thief'—meaning you, the guy dating my sister—so this is much more relaxing!"
"It might just be my imagination... but I feel like that title had some really heavy implications."
Don’t use a fancy name like "Divine Thief" when you really mean "Sister’s Boyfriend."
I was genuinely exasperated by his sister-complex, but I couldn't help but be impressed by his skill.
(A prestigious knightly family... Based on his crude way of speaking, I figured he’d be more of a reckless brawler, but this magic is quite delicate. He’s the real deal.)
Many mages could coat themselves in stone, but usually, that just resulted in becoming an immobile statue. You’d be trapped inside the rock and, at worst, suffocate to death.
(But look at that stone armor... it has air holes, and the joints are designed to move perfectly. That level of mana manipulation is impressive. Not many professional mages could pull that off.)
"Here I come!"
Toya kicked off the ground.
He moved with a staggering speed that belied his massive frame, charging toward me like a runaway freight train.
"[Physical Enhancement]! [Accelerator]!"
I countered with my own duo-cast.
I ramped up my speed and slipped out of the way of his collision course.
(He’s using [Physical Enhancement] too... no, that alone can't explain that kind of speed!)
A human-sized stone statue would weigh several tons. There was no way to move an object that heavy through human strength alone.
(Is he using magic to lighten the weight? For a member of a knightly house, he’s certainly not shy about using magic!)
"Good reaction! Then try this on for size!"
A two-meter-long spear suddenly sprouted from Toya’s arm. Its tip was shaped like an axe, resembling a halberd.
Looking closely, the stone armor had thinned by the exact amount used to form the weapon. He was shaving off parts of his own defense to reshape them into an offense. He truly was a master of his craft.
"Hah! Yah! Haaah!"
Toya lunged again, twirling the stone spear with agile movements. With the added reach of the weapon, my space to maneuver was rapidly shrinking.
"[Fire Wall]!"
This time, I didn't dodge. Instead, I conjured a wall of blazing flames directly in Toya’s path.
"Whoa—!?"
"I'm a mage. I have no obligation to humor you in a close-quarters brawl."
Toya skidded to a halt just inches from the inferno. Had he kept going, he would have been roasted alive inside his stone shell.
"[Fireball]!"
I followed up with an elemental assault.
Dozens of fireballs manifested around me. I rained them down on Toya like a rapid-fire pitching machine, the heat soaking into his armor. I heard him groan through the stone.
"Guh... you...!"
Toya swung his spear, batting the fireballs away. As expected of a high-ranking knight, his spearwork was exceptional; he managed to deflect almost every projectile.
"That’s hot, dammit! Give it a rest!"
"If you want me to stop, why don't you try coming over here and making me... brother-in-law?"
"Don't... you dare... call me that!"
It worked. Toya flew into a rage and charged straight through the fire wall.
"RRAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
"Wow... he’s actually scary..."
He burst through the flames, spear raised to strike. It seemed he had pushed through the heat through sheer grit and momentum.
"I have no intention of ever being called brother-in-law by the likes of youuuuu!"
"So that really is what’s bothering you... [Ice Bolt]."
I leaped backward, narrowly avoiding the stone spear, and unleashed a burst of intense cold directly onto his heated armor.
"This is hardened stone! It’s as strong as steel! Your magic won’t—!"
"It’ll shatter, actually."
"Huh...?"
A series of sharp cracks echoed from Toya’s armor. Rapidly cooling the high-temperature stone had caused it to contract unevenly. The structural distortion from the thermal shock weakened the bonds, and the armor began to give way.
"[Stone Bullet]!"
To seal the deal, I fired a projectile of stone.
The armor covering Toya’s body shattered into a thousand pieces. Now that it was broken, I could see that the interior was hollow—a clever trick to keep the weight manageable.
"So you left gaps inside to keep it light?"
"Tch...!"
Toya clicked his tongue and swung what remained of his broken stone spear.
"[High Accelerator]!"
I activated my high-tier magic.
I slipped past his desperate thrust and placed my hand directly against his exposed abdomen.
"[Thunder Shock]!"
"Gwaah...!?"
A point-blank burst of lightning slammed into Toya, rattling his entire frame. While he didn't lose consciousness, the shock was enough to force him to his knees as he dropped his weapon.
"That’s the match."
"...Dammit."
As I declared my victory, Toya let out a frustrated growl.
Cheers erupted from the surrounding soldiers as I marked the end of the mock battle with a win.