Chapter 7: Chapter 7 – First Duel

Following the details on their map, projected by their bracelets, it was easy to find the designated spot. It was an open field behind the Academy's main grounds, and there were 100 parcels, numbered up and separated for hosting duels between students. Every 'arena' was exactly 200 square meters, surrounded by a half-transparent, off-white colored energy field. Theirs the D12 arena was in the fourth row of the many parcels, and when arriving, their group had around 60 people, all trying to see how a duel is fought between the participants. 

"Now what?" Lia whispered, trying to get some tips from the girls, but they also just shrugged their shoulders.

"Just go in, I guess." The boy challenging her said, raising his hand, touching the energy shield that lit up, and the familiar, synthetic voice resonated from their bracelets.

"The challenger and the challenged are present. Please, proceed." After that, the boy simply walked through it, and Lia followed suit, not wanting to stay behind.

Yet whenever anybody else tried to do the same, the energy shield around the field rejected them. They could do nothing but spectate from the outside. It was not a proper way to watch a match as it was fuzzy, looking in through the veil, only seeing the two's blurry outlines. Not to mention, they were cut off from them in a way that they couldn't hear what they were saying. 

"The participants agreed to allow spectator mode." The female voice talked to every one of them from their artifacts as a popup appeared above all their bracelets. It was a simple window asking if they wanted to spectate, which had a cost of 3 CP.

"Hell yeah!" Koadriana said, tapping on it, and soon she had a clear projection before her, watching the fight through a perfectly clear screen. 

While everyone was tuning in from the outside, in the arena, the two were looking around, a bit surprised. At first, it was nothing but a slag field, but then the synthetic voice spoke to them.

"As the challenged, student Lia has the opportunity to determine the type of field the duel will commence in." 

"The type of field?" She asked, tilting her head to the right and rapidly blinking her mismatched eyes. 

"All fields are randomly generated after the challenged chooses one type from the eight elements." The voice explained patiently.

"What is your element?" Lia asked, looking up at the surprised boy, who raised an eyebrow.

"Are you looking down on me, girl?" He asked, scoffing, getting even angrier. "If you want to know, it is earth." He pointed at the rock-like emblem on his vest.

"Hmmm… I forgot..." Lia nodded, crossing her arms, thinking. "I choose an icefield!" 

"What?" Everyone asked simultaneously on the outside, too, as everyone knew she had fire as her element by now. Choosing something that was water-based was the worst possible outcome. 

"She is tenacious, isn't she…?" Koadriana chuckled while Aurora nodded. "She asked me to get grandpa's scepter because she is adamant about learning controlling ice… Not even Lady Reyra started learning a second element before the Adepti stage…."

"But she is not even capable of casting a water spell on the level of Intiati," Aurora added, sending a message over via her bracelet. "She is not even a Magi yet! I don't know what goes in on her head."

"When I asked her about it, she said nothing." Koadriana answered, "She either couldn't explain it, or she just doesn't know herself! Anyway, choosing an icefield is not that bad… It can be detrimental to her opponent too."

"We'll see." Aurora smacked her lips, watching the feed from the arena.

Their surroundings quickly changed, and soon they were in the middle of an icefield. They stood opposite sides to each other, balancing on a relatively small chunk of ice while they were surrounded by dangerously cold water. On its surface, multiple dozen different-sized ice platforms were floating and bobbing up and down. It was hard to tell if this was real or a simulation, but it sure felt real as both of them shivered, feeling the cold wind whistling by their faces. 

"Brrrr! Awesome!" Lia laughed, shaking herself, and a faint, reddish hue covered her, expelling the cold quickly. "What is your name?" She shouted towards the other side of the arena.

"Raufon!" He answered, shaking his body, and he quickly transformed. His body grew out a big patch of black fur, and his face also transformed into a mix between some rodent and a bear. His fingers turned into claws, and as he breathed out, it was like a dragon exhaling before spitting fire. 

"Hmmm… I don't recognize your kind! What clan of beasts are you from?" Lia asked curiously as his opponent twitched his short whiskers at the end of his now elongated mouth. "Kamarian Devil." He answered in the end, fulfilling his opponent's curiosity. 

"Nope~ Don't know! I will read up on it, though! And… truly sorry about it previously! It was an accident!"

"We will settle it with this duel!" Raufon answered, already having enough chit-chat, making his first move. With his claws on his feet, he easily found his footing, rushing forward through the chunks of ice, quickly closing the distance between him and Lia. 

Lia grinned happily as it reminded her of the way her father fought. Kawu was not just a bear, but a short-faced bear, his favorite form of fighting was to ram into his enemies and wrestle them. Including her daughter when it came to their sparring sessions. 

"Nyah!" She exclaimed with a cute voice as she shot out, blasting forward as if she were wearing jet-powered boots. She flew in an arc, vaulting over his head, tapping on the bald spot she left on him, still visible in her beast-like form. "You are it!" 

Raufon's only answer was a fully enraged cry, sounding like an ear-splitting roar, screeching to a halt, carving up the ice chunk he was on, rushing after her. Lia was laughing like a kid on the playground, being chased by him, and when it looked like she was cornered, she propelled herself up into the air, boosted by a trail of fire, doing a ballerina-like pirouette, landing behind Raufon. 

"Can't catch me!" She shouted, once again on the run, skidding on the ice like a skater.

"Haaahhh…" Koadriana sighed on the outside, followed by an echo of a dozen others sighing and then laughing. 

Lia was among the few young kids in the Academy, as most of them came when they turned 16, right at the edge of being recognized as adults in the outside world. Graduating from the Institute of Eight Elements guaranteed they stepped into their adult life with many doors already open for them in the outside world. Seeing her reducing the supposed duel into a game of tag made them realize she was still just a kid. The only ones who did not think it that way were few and far between, one of them being Aurora. She wore a small smile, watching not how Lia was running circles around Raufon but instead, Aurora focused on the state of their arena. The chunks of ice were getting constantly smaller and thinner as she rushed over them with her fiery steps, melting them away bit by bit. Lia was counting on sinking the guy; at least, that was her guess.

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When Raufon felt it was enough playing, realizing he won't catch her, he lowered his hand, letting his claws dig into the ice below him. With a flick and a roar, he broke off a massive chunk of it, reinforced by suddenly appearing hard rocks, and flung it forward with all his might. It was as if a boulder was tossed into the water, blowing a 3-meter-tall water curtain into the air, generating violent waves around Lia.

"Wooaaaah!" She shouted, trying to find her balance as everything bobbed up and down, and she was almost washed off from her platform. The already too thin and weakened chunks broke apart around them, quickly sinking into the cold depth while Raufon summoned a platform, jumping onto it before his own was gobbled up by the water. 

Lia was not expecting it at all, but she was not flustered. Focusing on her known spells taught to her by Reyra, her hands lit up in red light. Wearing the bracelet made it much easier to focus her mind, sending her energies forward as she threw out two spinning discs made out of the blazingly hot flames. 

"Hmf!" Raufon snorted, placing his hands before him, raised up as it was covered in rocks, letting the spells hit him. The resulting explosion threw him off his platform, sending him underwater, leaving behind a white trail of smoke expanding outwards, filling the arena with mist. The cold water extinguished Lia's fire immediately, and visibility went down to zero instantly as the fog covered everything. 

"Oh?!" The young girl flinched as she felt her thinning platform of ice crack and a rocky hand reach out, grabbing onto her. "Coooooooold!" She cried out, not because of Raufon's strength but because his hand was freezing her.

He was also not feeling well; the water was way too cold, even as his body was covered in complete armor of rocks, looking like some kind of golem. He was losing stamina fast; it took a lot out of him to get back to the surface and not sink… well, like a rock. 

"I don't want to bathe yet!" Lia cried out, knowing he was trying to drag her down, so with all of her might, she flew up, propelled by her flames, dragging Raufon into the sky. "Don't look under my skirt!" She screamed after looking down at him and simply stomped right into his face to get him off her. 

The most surprising thing was that it worked. Raufon had no mind to even peek at her underwear as he was focused totally on their fight but could do nothing but let her go when she kicked his head. He felt his nose being broken, the armor covering his body shattered as he was shot back into the water like a meteor. Everyone else was surprised on the outside as it was not boosted by magic. It was simply her physical strength. 

"Kawu?" Koadriana asked, and Aurora just nodded before sending a message over.

"Master is insanely strong." She smiled, remembering seeing him demonstrating his full physical strength once. It was only one slap in his bestial form… yet what remained of an undead warrior was nothing. No bones, no gore, no blood, nothing. His one slap simply exterminated the undead from reality, leaving behind only a lingering aura and the stench of unnatural origin that they possessed. "Lia still has his blood in her; she is stronger than the average human. And some average beasts."

Back in the arena, the waves that were left behind by his violent impact reached up to Lia, washing her out of the sky and dragging her down underwater in an instant. Her move helped Raufon as he managed to ride the raging waves, forming another platform to stand on quickly, balancing on it like a surfer. He was breathing heavily, his face was disfigured, and his nose and jaw were clearly broken, with some of his teeth missing. He was watching the water, trying to stay on his feet as his platform was rocking back and forth until the cold, blue water finally settled.

"Duel has been won by the challenger." The synthetic voice finally cut in, surprising everyone. The arena lit up in a blinding light, expelling the two instantly and making them appear amongst the spectators.

"Lia!" Koadriana hurried next to the unconscious girl tapping on her chest, which immediately woke her up. She sat up hurriedly, coughing up a great amount of water. Her teeth were clattering together as his hair stuck to her face. 

“C-c-c-c-c-cooooooold!” She moaned, looking around, a bit confused about what had happened. “T-t-t-that was a b-b-b-bad idea… hauh!” 

"It was… Silly!" Koa rubbed her wet head, relieved as Aurora also dispelled her summoned sword, watching Raufon from the crowd and planning multiple ways to assassinate him right there. "You were doing so well, yet it backfired on you in the end!" She flicked Lia's forehead. "Don't lose your composure that easily! What if he saw your bunny-themed panties?"

"Noooooooo~! Kooaaaaaaaa! Not faaaaiiiiir!" Lia cried out, letting thick columns of steam rise from her head as others laughed out hearing it.

"Come, stand up, you silly girl!" Koadriana laughed, pulling her up.

"Winner: Raufon." The synthetic voice spoke up from his and Lia's bracelet at that moment. "As no special condition was stated when issuing or accepting the challenge, the duel defaults to the basic 'Rules of Dueling.' Transferring 10 CP over from the Loser side: Lia."

"Eh… why does it have to rub it in?" Lia grumbled, still feeling extremely cold, turning around and watching Raufon, who was still aligning his nose back to place. "G-goood fight!" She laughed, waving at him. "We are good now?"

"Yeah…" He nodded, wiping his bloody mess of a face into his uniform. "We are." 

"Teehee~!" Lia grinned happily before Koadriana started to push her away. "Let's go! You need a hot bath before catching something!"

"Ah! A bath does sound good, Koa! Let's go in together!" She exclaimed happily, totally unbothered by the fact she had just lost a duel. "Acho!" She sneezed, making everyone flinch and return to reality.

"Watch yourself." Aurora wrote while walking past Raufon, but the boy just looked into her eyes without fear.

"My kind knows no fear. If you want to challenge me, do it. I won't refuse." He shot back, turning around and leaving. He had already brought up the map from his bracelet, intending to visit the nearest clinic it showed for him, holding his broken face. 

"What did you say to him?" Koadriana asked as Aurora caught up to them.

"Nothing. He is an okay guy." She wrote, smiling a little. "Being hot-headed is not a sin, plus… Lia did burn his head."

"And then I even kicked his teeth in!" She added proudly, laughing, then sneezing once again. "Acho! Hauh! I'm freeeeeeeezing!"

"And that too!" Koa laughed, looking at her grinning cousin as they returned to their dorm room.