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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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Sepia stepped onto the stage and glared at Tia, who stood calmly, her usual serene expression firmly in place. She didn’t look the least bit nervous.
A match against Tia.
It was something Sepia had always wanted.
They were constantly competing for Ethan’s attention.
Sepia had developed a complicated relationship with Tia, a mix of affection and animosity. But more than anything, she wanted to beat her.
‘Sorry, Tia, but I’m not holding back.’
She would fight Tia with everything she had. And she would win.
She wanted to see that smug look wiped off Tia’s face, replaced by humiliation.
Sepia was confident. She didn’t have much experience fighting Spirit Summoners.
But ever since she started learning magic properly, she had never lost a duel against another mage.
She couldn’t even remember the last time she had lost.
And she had trained hard during the summer, mastering new spells.
And she had the Lemegeton.
“Contestants, please place your hands on the pillars…”
Sepia and Tia placed their hands on the magic pillars.
Their physical bodies remained on the stage, but their consciousness was transported to a virtual arena.
Their avatars appeared on the stadium’s large screen.
“Tia, how are you feeling?”
“I’m wondering what I should have for lunch.”
Tia replied with a relaxed smile.
Sepia’s eye twitched. She hated that smug smile. And Tia was doing it right in front of her? It was a blatant provocation.
“Begin!”
The referee’s voice echoed through the arena.
They could fight without holding back. There was no risk of injury in this virtual environment.
Sepia drew eight daggers from her waist and threw them, imbuing them with mana.
The daggers, under her control, flew towards Tia.
—Whoosh!
Tia raised her hand, creating a translucent barrier that blocked several of the daggers.
—Clang!
The daggers ricocheted off the barrier, scattering in different directions.
Sepia, with a flick of her wrist, brought the daggers back under her control.
They flew towards Tia again.
“Silbert—!”
Tia summoned her wind spirit. Sepia recognized him.
But he was different now. He had become a high-level wind spirit.
Dark clouds gathered in the arena, and a powerful wind swept through the virtual space, just like during a storm.
It was the power of a high-level spirit, the ability to control the weather.
The daggers were swept away by the wind.
“Unbert, Norbert, Sylbert!”
Three intermediate-level spirits materialized: a water spirit, an earth spirit, and a fire spirit.
Controlling that many intermediate-level spirits was a risky move. It would drain her mana quickly.
Time was on Sepia’s side.
But she wasn’t planning to wait.
“Double Casting—Mana Release, Gravity Reversal!”
Sepia took a deep breath and extended her hand. Blue mana surged outwards.
Tia and her four spirits floated into the air.
Sepia was going to slam Tia into the ground.
Tia plummeted towards the ground.
“Silbert!”
A powerful gust of wind counteracted the gravity spell, and Tia landed softly.
“Norbert!”
Tia shouted, running forward.
The ground beneath Sepia cracked, and a giant hand made of earth emerged.
It slammed down towards Sepia.
‘Double Casting—Haste, Dispel Magic.’
Sepia leaped back, covering a significant distance in a single bound.
She smirked.
Dispel Magic, also known as “Cast Cancel,” was a spell that nullified other spells.
—Snap!
Sepia snapped her fingers. The three intermediate-level spirits vanished.
The giant earth hand disappeared as well.
“Impressive, Sepia.”
Tia called out, but Norbert didn’t respond. He had been dispelled.
“Plan B!”
The fire spirit unleashed a barrage of fireballs, enhanced by Silbert’s wind magic. They shot towards Sepia like flaming arrows.
‘Double Casting—Mana Absorption, Ice Shards.’
Gaps appeared in the air around Sepia, swirling vortexes that sucked in the fireballs.
She absorbed the mana from the fireballs, converting it into her own.
‘She… she knows so many new spells…’
Tia had never seen Sepia use these spells before. She had learned them from the Lemegeton.
Dozens of ice shards shot towards Tia.
“Silbert!”
The fire spirit intercepted the ice shards. Fire and ice clashed, creating explosions in the air.
The resulting shockwave ruffled their hair.
“You’re strong, Sepia.”
Sepia had the advantage. She was absorbing Tia’s magic and converting it into her own mana. It was difficult to attack her directly.
“Tia, can you block this?”
And Sepia could use Double Casting. She could cast two spells simultaneously.
‘Double Casting—Haste, Explosion.’
A magic circle appeared beneath Tia’s feet. It was a large hexagram, at least five meters in diameter.
A wave of heat rose from the ground.
“Silbert!”
Wind magic swirled around Tia’s ankles, making her movements lighter, faster. She leaped.
—Boom!
She narrowly avoided the explosion, a pillar of fire erupting from the magic circle.
‘Double Casting—Haste, Chain Casting.’
More magic circles appeared on the ground, one after another, even beneath Tia’s feet as she moved.
‘She’s amazing… Sepia…’
Tia darted across the arena, dodging the explosions. Pillars of fire erupted from the magic circles, chasing after her.
But she was too fast.
‘Damn it! She’s so annoying!’
The fire pillars struck the ice spirit, dispelling it. Tia only had two spirits left: the wind spirit and the water spirit.
“Huff… huff…”
They glared at each other, catching their breath.
Tia was tired from running, and Sepia was exhausted from casting so many spells.
“Sepia, you look tired.”
“No, I’m fine. You’re the one who looks exhausted.”
“If we run out of time, it’s a draw.”
She was planning to stall.
The time limit was twenty minutes. It was a good strategy for the losing side.
“Running away is pathetic.”
“Is it? I don’t think so.”
Tia shrugged, her every action a deliberate provocation.
“You know, Sepia, the professors thought we were sisters. They thought I was the older sister.”
Sepia had reddish-pink hair, and Tia had red hair.
And they both had a similar cold and aloof demeanor.
“That’s a good one.”
“But I hated it. I would never have a little sister like you.”
Tia grinned, then closed her eyes.
“If I did, I would have beaten her up. Rapier!”
A blinding flash of light filled the arena, like a flashbang exploding.
Sepia squeezed her eyes shut. A ringing sound filled her ears. Even after opening her eyes, her vision was blurry.
‘Double Casting—Haste, Reflect Magic.’
She extended her hand, her vision still impaired. She would reflect Tia’s magic back at her.
A sharp pain shot through her stomach.
—Thump!
Sepia gasped, unable to suppress a moan. Tia whispered in her ear.
“You should have practiced your hand-to-hand combat. You’re too slow.”
Sepia had neglected her close-combat training.
She had thought it was more beneficial to spend that time learning magic. And it had been, until now.
“Ow… that hurts…”
“That’s the point.”
Their voices were low, almost whispers. The audience couldn’t hear them.
—Thwack!
Tia’s kick swept Sepia’s legs out from under her. Sepia, caught off guard, was thrown into the air.
“Aaah!”
“It’s over, Flat-Chested Sepia.”
Tia’s mana-infused palm, enhanced by wind magic, struck Sepia in the chest.
—Bam!
Sepia went flying, rolling across the ground.
She landed outside the arena.
A ring-out.
Sepia’s eyes were still closed. When she opened them, it was over.
She was back in the real world, her body covered in sweat.
The words “Tia Wins!” appeared on the screen.
The audience was stunned into silence. The referee, recovering from his shock, shouted,
“We have a winner! Tia Erze!”
Sepia bit her lip, her clenched fists trembling.
‘I… I lost? To Tia Erze?’
She was furious.
Using a spirit like that was a dirty trick.
It was like throwing sand in someone’s eyes during a fight.
And it was a Light Spirit. When had Tia formed a contract with a Light Spirit?
Sepia had been dominating the match.
But she hadn’t anticipated the Light Spirit or Tia’s surprise attack.
If Tia had used magic, she could have reflected it.
Sepia stormed out of the arena, her lips pressed into a thin line, her face burning with humiliation.
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