n

n

n

"Level Two Sky Magic - Hurricane!

" Ming Hao chanted, signaling the start of our duel.

nOf the Sky element, there were two main spell families: Kaze, specializing in spells that used wind and air, and Raijin, specializing in spells that used lightning and electricity. Most Sky Magic users were proficient in only one of the two, since apparently learning both of them caused conflict in the mana of the practitioner. Ming Hao seemed to be a mage that practiced the Kaze family of spells.

nI quickly dodged out of the way. If this had not been a tournament fight with thousands of people watching, I would've simply just sucked in the attack, but many powerful characters were watching from the crowds, including Liu Jian. From the corner of my eye, I could see him gazing at me intently from the speaker room, while Song Qian Long stood next to him uncomfortably.

nIt didn't seem Liu Jian knew that I had already recognized him, which was good. That meant my act would appear more natural. Still, Ming Hao was no normal opponent. Even as I was dodging his previous attack, he would already be launching another barrage of projectiles at me. He was mainly using Sky Magic, Kaze Magic in particular, to pin me down. The reason I wasn't firing back was because I still did not know his full capabilities. Judging from the strength of his teammates and his position as the student council vice-president, he definitely was not a weak opponent. Therefore, I decided to carefully observe him as he continued to fire magic at me.

nAfter a while, I grew irritated of his constant attacks, and decided I had gathered enough information. I skid to a stop from running around in circles, and chanted even though I didn't need to, just to avoid any suspicion.

n

"Level Two Fire Magic - Twin Dragons.

"

nTwo obsidian-colored dragons shot out from the ground and headed straight for Ming Hao who was hovering in the air. They ate and demolished any projectiles that stood in their way. Although anyone could tell my spell was abnormal due to the black and red color scheme, there was nothing I could do about that. Should anyone ask, I could just pass it off as an illusion to make my magic look cooler.

n

"Wha-!

"

nMing Hao was forced to back away at top speed, swiftly moving through the air with Kaze Magic. However, that wouldn't be enough to stop my Twin Dragons. The two bestial disasters were homing - they continued to chase Ming Hao, no matter where he went. I smirked as I watched him getting chased all across the arena.

n

"What the hell is this thing...?!

" Ming Hao yelled, frantically trying to get away.

"None of my attacks work against it?!

"

n

"Have fun with my little pet!

" I shouted.

n

"Damn it...to think I would have to use this move...

" Ming Hao muttered angrily.

"Hah, you got me good, Xuan Kai! But I'm not quite done yet...!

"

nI narrowed my eyes. He didn't seem to be bluffing when he said that.

n

"Level Two Void Magic - Phasewalk!

"

nMy eyes widened in shock as Ming Hao vanished into thin air. To be more accurate, he opened up a rift that led to the void and entered it. As I scrambled to locate him, I could feel sweat forming on my forehead. I never expected Ming Hao to have Void Element, one of the three Dark Magic elements. I didn't have any preparation. My twin dragons, looked around, confused about where its target went. However, it then stared directly at me-

n

"Level One Fire Magic - Flame Lotus!

" I chanted, extending my hand behind me.

n

"Wha-

" Ming Hao's surprised voice rang out from the same direction I fired my attack at.

n

"Ugh!

" The fire lotus slammed directly into Ming Hao's stomach with a loud explosion, and he was blasted away.

n

"Leader!

" the boy from before, lil' Nan, cried in worry. He looked like he was about to run to Ming Hao, but was stopped by a taller boy clad in golden armor.

n

"Stop, lil' Nan...going now would be violating the rules of their duel,

" the taller boy said in a gentle tone.

n

"B-But, leader is-

"

n

"I'm fine...

" Ming Hao managed to croak out, and slowly got to his feet once more.

n

"Oh? You're still conscious?

" I asked, eyeing him with genuine surprise.

n

"Hah...yeah, barely,

" Ming Hao replied while panting heavily.

"How did you know I was there...?

"

nI grinned and pointed upwards at my twin dragons, still circling around in the sky while eyeing Ming Hao with hostility. I had it stop attacking Ming Hao since I thought he would already be knocked unconscious from the flame lotus. We agreed before the match not to injure each other more than needed, after all. However...it seems that I have underestimated Ming Hao's durability.

n

"Damn it, that thing can track me even in the void?

" Ming Hao muttered.

"I've never seen a spell that can do that before, where did you get your hands on it?

"

n

"The Yu family, of course,

" I answered truthfully.

n

"Hah...makes sense,

" Ming Hao murmured to himself.

"The two Yu family sisters are on your team, yeah?

"

nI nodded, then steered the conversation back on course.

"So, do you want to keep fighting, or will you admit defeat?

"

n

"Defeat? Never heard of that word,

" Ming Hao laughed.

"Bring it on!

"

nI smiled.

"As you wish.

"

nSaying this, I snapped my fingers, signaling the Twin Dragons to start attacking once more. Ming Hao quickly shot into the air and the game of cat and mouse began once more. Honestly, I was pretty shocked. Despite him being covered in wounds and blood, he showed no sign of slowing down or getting any weaker from before.

n

"It's time to end this...

"I murmured after a while of watching him being chased around to no end. But then he did something that shocked me once more-

n

"Tch! Level Two Gravity Magic - Binding Order!

"

n

"Ngh!

" I felt an invisible force weighing down on me, binding my movements. It wasn't powerful enough to outright crush me, but I couldn't move either.

"Gah...you can use Gravity Magic too...?!

"

n

"This is my final trump card...

" Ming Hao muttered, drifting down to the ground gently, now free from his pursuer since I lost focus from the sudden impact causing the two dragons to disperse into thin air.

"Well? You can't move, right? I guess this is my win, then?

"

n

"Kuku...don't get cocky, bastard...

" I smirked devilishly, despite being pinned down by an overwhelming gravitational force.

nMing Hao either really didn't hear what I said or just chose not to. Regardless, he walked closer to me, stopping about a foot away.

"Man...this was a tough fight, even for me. Xuan Kai, you have my respect.

"

n

"Don't talk like you've already won...

" I sneered, but this time he definitely chose to ignore my words.

n

"Admit it, you lost,

" Ming Hao said, eyeing me condescendingly.

n

"Heh...is that really true?

" I said, mustering just enough strength to raise my head and glare at him in contempt.

nMing Hao, finally acknowledging my words, narrowed his eyes.

"You're completely immobilized. What do you hope to do to me in this state? Just admit defeat, I don't want to keep hurting you.

"

n

"Immobilized, huh...?

" I muttered quietly.

"But y'know...a mage doesn't need to be able to move to cast spells.

"

nI didn't want to have to reveal a 4th element, but...in order to face my brother, I must win this.

nLevel One Earth Magic - Stalagmite.

nMing Hao's eyes then widened in shock - whether it was at my words or at the sudden rumbling of the earth below him, no one knew.

n

"What the hell?!

"

nThose were the last words he said before getting brutally knocked into the air by the rock spike I created, now emerged from the ground.

n*****

n- After the Duel, Infirmary -

n(Ming Hao's Perspective)

nWhere the hell am I...?

nI opened my eyes, and all I saw was white. The ceiling looked familiar, and yet distant. Since I was staring straight at the top of the room, I assumed I was lying down. And so, I sat up groggily, looking around at my surroundings. I shook my head violently and clapped my own face to get any remaining sleepiness out of my system.

nWhat happened...?

nThe last thing I remembered was-

nThat's right - the duel. The fight with Xuan Kai, the fate of both our teams resting on our shoulders. That was at the outdoor Arena...so where the hell was this?

n

"Finally awake?

" a mature female voice asked.

nI whipped my head around to look in the direction of the door, and there stood a mature-looking lady dressed in a white coat holding a teacup. Someone I knew.

n

"The school nurse...?

" I murmured quietly.

n

"I have a name, you know? Mrs. Fang,

" she replied exasperatedly.

"Goodness, kids nowadays are so impolite...

"

n

"A-Ah, s-sorry,

" I hurriedly apologized, having regained control of my consciousness.

"Mrs. Fang, where exactly am I?

"

n

"Hm? What a dumb question,

" she said with a raised eyebrow.

"If you can tell I'm the school nurse, then you're obviously in...

"

n

"...The school infirmary,

" I finished.

n

"Bingo! Took you long enough...

"

n

"W-Wait, this still doesn't sound right. This is the school infirmary, sure, but why am I in here?

" I scratched my head nervously, trying to recall what had happened in the duel with Xuan Kai.

nFor some reason, I only remembered up to me pinning him down with my most powerful spell and final trump card, the Level Two Gravity Element spell, Binding Order. What had happened after that...I couldn't remember, no matter how hard I tried.

n

"Oh? Don't tell my you forgot,

" Mrs. Fang said as she came closer and placed her cup of tea on my nightstand.

n

"Forgot...?

"

n

"You sure you didn't hit your head?

"

n

"Ah...I don't think so?

"

n

"...

"

n

"C-Can you please tell me what happened, and how did I get sent here?

"

nMrs. Fang sighed.

"Fine...from what I was told, this is what occurred...

"

n*****

n- 5 Minutes Later -

n

"So, in short, I was defeated by Xuan Kai in the duel, and suffered a huge injury as a by-product?

" I said, somewhat dejected.

n

"Yep,

" Mrs. Fang confirmed, nodding her head while taking a sip from her tea.

n

"No way...that can't be, from what I remember, I had him pinned down with my Gravity Magic, how was I the one to lose?

" I asked no one in particular.

n

"How am I supposed to know?

" Mrs. Fang shrugged her shoulders.

"In any case, your injury was pretty nasty. Apparently you were sent flying into the air by a huge stalagmite that rose out of the ground. Luckily, the tip of the rock was blunt, otherwise you would probably be dead by now.

"

n

"Wow...

" I sighed both in awe and exasperation. Xuan Kai must've purposely made his attack blunt to hurt me as least as possible. And to think he could use Earth Magic as well...just how many more secrets are you hiding, Xuan Kai?

nStill...just how did he turn that situation around? My memories were a mess, but I remember very clearly that I had him at the edge of defeat. But anything past that...I couldn't recall a thing. Not only was this weird, it was also suspicious. If I really just hit my head somewhere and lost some memories, why were my memories so conveniently cut off right before Xuan Kai turned things around? It couldn't be just a coincidence. Someone must've altered my memories.

nI glanced at Mrs. Fang, but she didn't seem like the type to do that. Memory manipulation required high level Curse or Psychic Magic, and while Mrs. Fang does have an affinity for the Psychic Element, if I remember correctly she isn't very proficient at it.

nThis was a mystery I had to solve, and I am determined to investigate to the bitter end. But before that...this was the first time I have been bested by someone of my own age, and he had even held back against me while I was forced to use my trump card.

nXuan Kai...just who are you?

n