Cursed Explorer of the Arcana

Okay, what did I learn about dark magic today? Not much honestly. I saw how constructs of shadow are made… no, not even that, I only observed what they look like and never saw them actually forming. So… really not much for now. Shadows shouldn’t be able to form objects in the first place…

[Your class Skill [Arcane Arsenal] has reached lvl 20.]

[Your class Skill [Mana Vision] has reached lvl 12 ->14.]

[The general Skill [Premonition] has reached lvl 25.]

To be fair stealing someone’s techniques mid-fight isn’t an easy task. If my opponent had been even a little stronger or simply more decisive, leisurely inspecting her knife would’ve meant my end. Her constructs were fragile as hell, more like decoys with a slap than actual threats and let’s not forget the most severe miscalculation of hers… I’m not your average Mage either.

Fast targets are the bane of every spell-slinging, backline-camping, scaredy mage but not me. I don’t hit big, I’m fast, my magic forms fast, I react fast, and I adapt fast. This whole bad matchup thing works quite differently for me, I think heavily armored enemies would be the most difficult opponents for me to take down.

I know fighting someone isn’t the easiest or most logical way of learning about different types of magic but I don’t feel like walking up to people to ask. ‘Could you please show me one of your special moves or how you wield your magic?’ Yeah, no, really not my style. Even the thought of it irks me.

“It looks like you have your first win.” Bennett deactivates the dueling ring, the bubble pops, and returns everything to normal. “Go recharge and decide on who you want to fight next! If you’re not too tired that is.”

You need a lot more than that to taunt me, old man. Okay, it probably would’ve worked if wasn’t planning on staying in the ring anyway.

A quick recharge from the massive Hadron crystal and I’m back in the ring with all eyes on me.

My next prey… Honestly, I’d love to pick August and beat his ass again just because I don’t like his face, the way he moves or even breathes… Just for my own satisfaction. I want to learn something else today, however… the secret to wielding metals.

“Albert.” I call the name of the boy I’ve been observing for a day now and who’s a year older than me.

[Mage lvl 42]

Yeah, terrible odds I know, but not many people pick metal as their element of choice.

The gasps and not-so-hush discussions among the crowd seem to agree with my assessment, besides calling me an idiot. I can’t even be mad about it right now, I am doing something pretty stupid.

“Are you sure?” Bennett steps closer and whispers with a troubled face. “You probably haven’t learned everyone’s name yet-”

“No, I’m sure,” I repeat out loud putting my hands on my hip to look more… adulty? “I pick Albert.”

After a few seconds, a lanky boy with a bowl cut steps forth from the crowd, my next opponent. He slowly walks over to the ring with his head low and eyes staring at the ground. The angsty doormat type…

“H-hey?” How can someone phrase even a simple greeting as a question… “Can I ask something?” He scratches the back of his head.

I have to desperately fight to stop myself from saying something sarcastic like, You already did. or No, I’m not going out with you. Damn, am I the villain around here?

“I picked you because there’s something I want to learn.” I answer the question before it’s even asked. “I know what I’m signing up for.”

After a few long blinks, Albert lets out a relieved sigh. “That’s good then, thank you for the points.”

That catches me off guard I’m not gonna lie. The stun doesn’t last long though, my parents trained me well, but even so, my rebuke turns out pretty weak.

“Just don’t embarrass yourself by losing to your junior.” Now I definitely won’t feel bad for throwing everything I have at this meek dude.

“Both sides ready?” After we take our places Bennett’s usual question signals the imminent start of this round. “Fight!”

Neither of us moves.

Unlike my previous round, this time I won’t be able to both win and see how metal morphs under the ethereal hands of mana. Okay, I’d probably lose either way… Point is, reacting and observing are my goals.

After several seconds pass without any action I’m starting to suspect he’s either too careful or too nervous to make the first move. To check I make a small wisp of fire appear in my palm and send towards his face.

This will wake him up.

It does. The weapons and shields on the weapon racks closest to us tear through the wood keeping them in place and form a barrier of clutter in the path of the flames. Okay, so it’s all or nothing, he never heard of mild reaction or proportional response I guess.

With all the metal flying between us I activate Mana Vision again to observe and learn and… this is a lot more difficult than I imagined. I honestly don’t know how the hell I discovered even the slightest detail about lightning magic, let alone understand the damn thing. Maybe Savant needs a few more levels?

One way or another I need to make the most of this fight so let’s get to testing.

***

That was fucking sad man… What was even the point of me shooting anything at him if the wall of iron could just take anything? Fire, stones, high-pressure water, and lightning zaps… nothing made even a dent.

I tried to move around him and take the ground from under his feet but he was way faster than me and stood on a platform of shields after the first earth I sneakily sent under his defenses.

The difference in power was simply overwhelming. After Albert got used to my shenanigans he retaliated with a bunch of swords flying my way and following wherever I dodged.

I put up a good fight, or so I’d like to believe, but victory wasn’t really my goal from the start. Okay, that’s not true, I would’ve loved to win and learn as much as I can but I’m not that delulu.

“What was the big idea?” Martha approaches me after my defeat, finding me next to the Hadron crystal even though I recharged my mana already minutes ago. “And did you move those swords with lightning magic back then?”

Hehe, she noticed.

That was one of the main things I wanted to test out against an actual metal mage, the way the coiling lightning snake disturbs iron. It’s common knowledge that wrestling for control over let’s say fire or earth between mages with similar elemental alignments always ends up won by the one with superior control. Well, I have no idea how to move metals and Albert outclasses me quite a bit so I tried something else.

Needless to say, it wasn’t a great success, his hold on the weapons and shield was a lot stronger than anything my little trick was capable of but it was enough to catch him off guard. That was the closest I ever got to getting a proper hit in on him.

“It’s a little trick I stumbled upon.” It’s something I only partially understand. Something about currents, magnetic field, and some dude named Ampere… “Give it a try.”

Wait hold up, am I actively sharing knowledge from Savant right now? Actually, shouldn’t the restriction prevent me from using any magic whatsoever? I mean, people could catch a glimpse of any of my tricks and learn from them so how is any of this different… I mean, I’m fine with this, I don’t want to be restricted to only using magic in absolute solitude.

“Something like this?” She asks and perfectly replicates my own special lightning trick.

“No!” I yell the second electricity escapes her finger with a lot more oomph than I can ever hope for.

Anything metal all around is instantly pulled towards Martha as the lightning serpent dances, entire weapon racks, windows, people wearing armor… it’s devastating. Most people have taken cover on the ground the moment things turned chaotic and only a few of us are left standing. I hid behind Martha, Bennett just looked unbothered and the rest were simply too slow to react.

“You can’t teach this to anyone Elyssia.” Martha mutters as people gather themselves.

That was the plan from the start with you being part of the anyone. That’s what I’d like to yell at least… Just how strong did she make the-

“Don’t try to reverse it!” I quickly yell even though Martha has already made the magic stop.

That’s the last thing we need, waving all the dangerous stuff fly in every direction with the force of a proper throw.

“Martha?” Bennett asks for an explanation, understandably.

“Just a little accident, nothing to worry about, it was my fault.” Her reassurance sounds… not too reassuring. “Just what the hell is this?” She quickly switches and hisses at me as if any of this was my fault.

“Who told you to use a hundred times more power than I did?” I hiss back, standing my ground in the face of injustice. “You act just like me when-”

“Hey,” Martha’s eyes narrow and there’s a dangerous undertone to her voice. “Tone down the sass little devil, we’re not the same age and I am your superior. Keep that in mind!”

I don’t look away, I’m not in the wrong here and I don’t recognize the old-person privilege of shit-talking protection. Last but not least, I’m not a bitch.

“Do you have any more tricks like-”

“No,” I cross my arms and quickly shoot down the old woman’s shameless attempt. “It’s not that simple.”

It actually is, I just don’t feel like sharing anything more right now. And I still don’t understand how Savant allowed this one to slip. Maybe she already had the slightest idea about electric currents and magnetism or... it’s more likely that unintentional slips like these are overlooked since it’s not my fault. I need to be careful of any spying eyes.

Lightning magic aside… the duel wasn’t exactly fruitless either, I think I have a clue but I’m still missing a few pieces. Sadly that means I’ll need to challenge Albert a few more times and probably lose…

Think big Eli, think big.

***

About five weeks later I find myself in the same ring again, at the same time of day, and facing the same metal mage who has humbled me four times already. Martha already caught on to my plan, although initially, she thought I was simply too stubborn and unwilling to accept defeat. Not entirely wrong to be fair.

Elyssia

Age: 9

Celestial Elf

Mana: 1040/1040

Free Points: 12

+126/hour

Might: 7

Intelligence: 86

Mana: 104

Speed: 23

Focus: 126(+11)

Willpower: 126

Endurance: 8

Dexterity: 10

Fortitude: 8

General Skills:

Savant lvl 29

Identify lvl 30

Running lvl 25

Dodging lvl 24

Pain Tolerance lvl 7

Premonition lvl 28

Stamina lvl 21

Quick Witted lvl 27

Serne Spellcrafting lvl 27

I. Class: Wielder of the Arcane - Arcane lvl 30

Arcane Mastery lvl 27

Arcane Armory lvl 24

Mana Vision lvl 22

Versatile Weapon Proficiency lvl 3

II. Class: *Locked*

III. Class: *Locked*

Yeah, I kept Versatile Weapon Proficiency because nothing else showed up yet although it hasn’t seen much use. Martha was right, any melee combatant can and will make me a laughingstock both in terms of speed and power if I ever try to meet them with a weapon in my hand.

The outings twice a week helped tremendously with leveling although with the four of us sharing both the burden and the danger the Journey Guide clearly valued my efforts less. I only had maybe one close call even remotely close to the scary locust walking through the fire to eat me alive. Even then we weren’t on the losing end but rather overconfident and careless.

As much as it hurts to admit I’m not the most valuable member of the team and neither is it Kayla because whenever we have no potent beasts nearby for her to control she’s pretty useless. August is… okay, his performance is mid but consistent and Victor… as proven many times already, a good plan is much more valuable than a few levels or even superior numbers.

Then what about me, what can I do? Everything.

And now it’s time for Albert to learn why I’ve challenged him and why I endured defeat at his hands four times already. FOUR GOD DAMN TIMES! I hate losing and running headfirst into a wall over and over again like some utter moron so why? Well, mostly because I refuse to ask for his help… but more importantly to achieve what I was promised by Librea.

“Both sides ready?” The now super familiar question leaves Bennett’s mouth yet again.

“Are you not tired of this yet?” Albert quietly asks the question. So quietly actually as if the question wasn’t meant for me in the first place.

“I am,” I answer with a sad smile. “nobody likes losing.” Then my smile grows vicious. “But winning is not everything.”

“Fight!”

Just like previous times, I bolt forward with melon-sized chunks of earth torn out from the ground and flying right at my opponent. His response is a wall of metal gathering and taking the hits as expected, nothing new there.

Only this time I have a plan… to win. The pieces of the puzzle that is metal magic are mostly in my hand now and today I’ll reveal that in the most spectacular way. By beating the odds.

As his wall of iron gets in my range of control I command the earth to rise and grab the flimsy weapons. As dirt and metal clash I quickly change directions with a burst of wind and try going for his flank where he’s less defended. The earth isn’t meant to take the iron wall down, it only needs to make sure I have free rein even if just for a few seconds.

Albert seems annoyed rather than troubled at my approach and soon a swarm of daggers flying after me shows just how annoyed he is. Ignoring the danger, I unleash a wall of fire right into his face, diving right after the flames to hide my approach. In the face of danger, Albert employs his ultimate move, a small tornado of iron swirling around him to face any kind of danger. A nigh impenetrable defense.

I’ve tried everything in my arsenal the last time to break through but my efforts turned out to be futile. For the most part.

As the flames are swatted by the storm of iron and I’m revealed my next trick is already set in motion. A sturdy column of earth springs up in the path of the many weapons and shields holding them back for a second. The last time I tried to break through after getting this far only for the earth to buckle and the blades to swarm me like piranhas. Thank the Gods for the protective bubble, that shit was scary.

Right now I’ve got a different plan though.

A few seconds is all I have to do my thing but that is more than enough to create the lightning coil and thus the magnetic field. It seems idiotic from my point of view to pull all the weapons my way but my opponent doesn’t know that. Someone contesting his control over the weapons all around us, that’s all Albert notices and right away he concentrates his efforts on pulling his weapons back to form yet another barrier.

Know your enemy and know yourself blah blah blah… one of the countless vague wisdoms Martha so wholeheartedly spews towards the end of her lectures. This one isn’t that pointless though, Albert is cowardly at heart so it was obvious he’d turtle up the moment he felt threatened.

I take my chance and close my distance even further.

Metal… many books described it as the sibling of earth magic and Savant also gave some hints about its structure and properties. I’ve been missing something, something from the orderly grid… the stuff in between the connections. Lightning was the key all along. A cloud of charges fills the gap in the grid, the broth to the soup.

[The general Skill [Savant] has reached lvl 30.]

I keep blasting fire into the wall while running headfirst towards it in what seems like a suicidal attempt.

Sadly it turns out my opponent is also capable of learning as only steps away from his wall under the cloak of my flames a swarm of swords breaks through the fiery wall leaving me no time to react.

He got me.

I raise my arm and close my eyes on instinct as the pointy tips draw ever closer only for the familiar plink of something bouncing off the ring’s barrier to sound the end of this duel.

The fire dissipates and every flying piece of metal falls to the ground as the crowd is relieved. That’s not what I’m curious about though.

With a flat look and slight frown, Bennett opens his mouth. “Good duel, winner…” His frown morphs into the slightest of smiles. “Elyssia.”

There’s a collective gasp from the crowd and every eye snaps toward Albert standing in his own little bubble of protection with a dagger driving itself into the ethereal blue wall relentlessly.

A huge immensely arrogant smile. That’s the best I can do to stop myself from laughing out loud with relief and smugness. Another risky plan bearing fruits.

I had to distract Albert and make him panic in order for him to drop some of his tools and pay attention elsewhere. He probably has a perception Skill and there was no way I could wrestle one of the weapons conveniently all around him from his grip without him noticing. I wasn’t even sure I could move the metal in the first place.

Just to flaunt my new ability I command the dagger to fly over to me and do some happy dancing with everyone watching.

That’s right, I got even scarier today. I still have a few years to beat all of you and take the top spot in the rankings so best do your homework because I’m coming for you all.

Why am I enjoying myself this much?