Rhena started. Elarah followed in turn. They nodded to each other and exchanged the necessary formalities before taking their places at opposite ends of the field. Quill’s eyes darted between both of them.

  “It’s the elf from before.” Rognor stood beside Quill, his giant shadow too hard for him to ignore. “Do you know her?”

  “I wouldn't say that,” Quill said. “Now stop talking, they're about to start.”

  Elarah was a long-range Caster. From Quill's previous battle with her, she primarily used fire and explosions in ranged fights. Her class of mages were usually competent in only the magical aspects of combat, requiring the tactical use of distance to cast spells.

  It was going to be an easy round for Rhena. She was a Rogue mage with a Black Aspect, her spells specializing in finding weaknesses and exploiting blindspots to the opponent’s defense. He had seen it before when she fought the Sporeghouls, but it was going to be much harder against a real mage like Elarah.

  All of this to say, Quill couldn't contain his excitement. He had never seen an isolated battle between a Rogue and a Caster before, especially one with this amount of tension.

  It was going to be an interesting match.

  When the bells finally rang, Rhena immediately drew her daggers before Elarah wrote Scripts, forgoing the mana-heavy Quickscripts in favor of traditional Scripting. She was on the slower side, but she understood her winning condition well. She needed to make ample use of distance in order to guarantee her win.

  Elarah sent a Fire Wisp zipping. Rhena dodged, sidestepping the fire butterfly before running in close. Closing the gap to favor her advantage was good, but she was too hasty and obvious. She swung her blades before another Fire Wisp stopped right in front of her, lingering in the air for a second before it then exploded into flames, knocking a wave over the air around.

  Quill gritted her teeth. Rhena was smarter than this, though she might not know that Elarah was capable of Quickscript. When her figure emerged from the smoke of the explosion, he could only spare a breath before Rhena continued piling on the pressure, driving closer to close the distance. Rhena baited another Quickscript Fire Wisp, using her own Quickscript to cast Shadow Veil, turning her body into immaterial shadows before she reemerged behind.

  At first, Quill thought that Rhena was only going in with no mind behind her movement, but it became obvious soon enough that she was trying to force Elarah’s hand. After all, Rhena didn't know Elarah's arsenal of spells, and she wanted to bait them out in order to plan ahead, essential to exploiting the Caster’s weakness.

  “Who do you think is going to win?” A stranger's voice shook Quill from his lull. He turned to his side, and there was the curly-haired human from before, standing right beside him with a fake smile. It was the same man in the foodhall, and it was the same man who was following Elarah.

  “What do you want?” A hint of annoyance churned in Quill's voice. The sound of explosions burned in the background. He was supposed to be watching Rhena fight, but instead, there was this man sitting right beside him with a fake smile.

  “I’m Gerald.” The man raised his hand, but Quill wasn't obligated to shake it. “I’ll be your opponent for the next fight.”

  Quill raised an eyebrow. “Get to the point.”

  “You don't talk much, do you?” Gerald only tittered a laugh, his robe shaking with the expensive magic staff right beside him. It contorted like a branch on his hand before topping with a crystal orb at the end. “I asked you a question. Would you indulge me in a bet?”

  “Depends.” Quill sighed before he turned to the field again. Rhena was on the offensive, swiping her daggers while countering the burning hands of Elarah in an exchange of physical blows.

  Quill remembered a month ago when he exchanged a brief melee with Elarah. As far as he could remember, she didn't have the ability to coat her arms in fire. She must've learned it after, but given this new spell, the entirety of his predicted outcome was thrown out of the window. Elarah was a Caster, but it seemed she had also been practicing as a Fighter.

  A Rogue mage had a high chance of winning against a Caster, but not when that Caster could also hold her own in close-range combat. Elarah was basically a mage with no obvious weakness now, far from the mage Quill had fought before.

  She had grown.

  Rogues had an innate disadvantage in this fight against a Caster-Fighter solely because of their fighting style. Disappearing in and out of battle was more than useful in a real battlefield against many individuals, but when it was a one-on-one fight against someone like Elarah, the chances were low for her.

  “A gold coin for Rhena, then.” Quill said. Despite the disadvantages piling on top of Rhena, Quill was willing to bet on her win. Elarah was not lacking in either power or skill, but she didn't have the experience and tactical nature Rhena had. All of her attacks were strong, but they were simple.

  Stolen story; please report.

  Compared to that, Rhena was able to use her spells to make the most of her arsenal. The clever use of her shadows was more than enough to bridge the gap between her and Elarah’s defense, and it was more than apparent with Elarah now on her back foot, countering and only countering against Rhena’s short and fast swipes.

  If Rhena could only keep up and ride her own momentum, using her head to think about the battle perfectly, then there was no arguing that she was going to win.

  “My bet is on Elarah, then.” Gerald made himself comfortable as he sat on the grass. “She seems to be doing badly, but I trust in her strength.”

  “And why is that?” Quill continued to watch. Another explosion reverberated through the air, but like before, Rhena was able to dodge by disappearing into her shadows.

  “Between the mind and body, what do you think is more important for a mage?” Gerald's question caught him off guard.

  “You can't answer a question with another question.” Quill said.

  “Humor me.”

  “The mind.” Quill sat beside Gerald. His question came from an old poem, and Quill happened to read it in the past. It was meant to be an open-ended question that tethered between the two extremes of tactics and power, written in a way for the reader to interpret the answer anyway they wanted it to be.

  Quill believed that nothing would be attained without plans or tactics. All the more so when strength would be nothing when given to someone incapable of handling it. The body was a slave to the mind, and power without direction was just mindless explosions, just like Elarah's spells.

  And that was why she was going to lose to Rhena. She may be stronger, but Rhena was smarter.

  “I think it's the body.” Gerald smiled.

  “Is that so?”

  An explosion redirected Quill's eyes back to the fight. The battlefield spilled back to view, the air now marred by black clouds before settling.

  Elarah was standing in the middle of the clouds. Rhena’s shadows wrapped around her figure, sliding off her outline like a ghost attempting to swallow her. The shadows then coalesced behind, forming a mass clinging to her back before Rhena materialized in that mass.

  Rhena swung. Elarah countered. She guided the blade away before burning fists returned the assault. Rhena bent down low, prowling like a cat to dodge the strike before she then swept Elarah's feet, catching her balance and toppling Elarah to the ground.

  Rhena took the chance. She shouldn't have. As she whirled and whipped her blade to strike, she was oblivious to the bright red butterfly appearing right beside her.

  The air burned around her.

  The crowd hushed in the absence of an outcome. The dust cloud obscured most of what could be seen, and there was nothing but whispers rising from the watchers as they clung in anticipation. Quill wanted Rhena to win… but she had made a mistake.

  Quill had seen it for centuries as a lich. A cornered animal will do anything to survive. When a prey is backed into a corner, you should always expect a last-resort attempt at attack.

  Rhena failed to see that.

  The dust clouds settled to reveal Rhena on the floor, her chest heaving with her face and body covered in soot. The veil of Protection had broken, but thankfully, she didn't seem to have sustained any burns from the explosion.

  The fight ended with Elarah left standing, her golden eyes drifting to Quill like sharpened daggers. He didn't know whether it was a declaration, but her fight had shown her newfound strength. She turned and started back towards the crowd, and when she did, Gerald stood up beside Quill.

  “I told you.” Gerald leaned on his staff before bending and patting Quill's shoulder. “That's a gold coin for me.”

  Quill fished a coin from his Holder before he dropped it to Gerald. “You were lucky.”

  “I was right.”

  Gerald smiled and started back, pushing through the crowd before meeting up with Elarah. Rhena was still on the field with the Healer mending her wounds. It didn't take long before the treatment was done, and she then started back to Quill.

  “That was a good match.” Rognor said. He stepped up before patting Rhena's shoulder, offering his sympathy as Narrah nodded in agreement behind him.

  “You should've been more careful, you know. Your arrogance cost you the match.” Quill sighed and offered to carry her shoulder, but Rhena turned him down with a hand.

  “I’m not taking that from you.” Rhena tittered a laugh.

  The match had been settled. The panel's judges were talking of the aftermath, and it was eventually settled after a few minutes. There were four out of four hands for Elarah and three out of four hands for Rhena. In the end, the result was all that mattered, and Rhena had still passed the final exam.

  But Rhena was anything but happy. Quill could feel it in her voice despite the fake smile plastered on her face. He understood the sentiment: no competent mage wanted to lose. It was the same for Rhena, and it was the same for everyone here. The final exam wasn't just a way to show off combat ability.

  “Settle down.” The overseer over the stage, waiting for the crowd to hush, before he then announced the next mages called to the field. “Gerald Steelarm and Fenith Cranfether.”

  Quill sighed before Rhena tapped his shoulder. Rognor and Narrah stood with her. “Don't let us down now.”

  “Who are you talking to?” Quill reassured them before he started for the field.

  He had lost a gold coin from their bet, and he had to regain his pride the only way he knew how.

  It was about time to show off.

  Thanks for reading!