“[Aqua Bolt], [Aqua Lance].”
I launched two water-elemental projectiles in his direction.
Kael smirked, “water? That’s cute.”
He easily deflected my spells, but while I was observing and trying to understand how his powers of ice worked exactly, I didn’t remain stationary.
I used my high speed to attack him from different angles while keeping my distance. Until I understood his powers, I didn’t feel comfortable with going into melee range. For all I knew, he could cause an icy explosion and beat me instantly.
We danced as such for a minute. I would throw spells from all four of my elements and he would defend against them, after which he would begin verbally mocking me.
He was only playing around with me, enjoying his evident supremacy in the duel, but every second allowed me to gain a better understanding of who my opponent was exactly.
“[Airwalk]” I started running up into the sky and stood so I was in between Kael and the brightly burning sun. Perhaps this would obscure his vision a bit. I truly needed all the advantages I could gain. Explore more at empire
I sent three [Air Slashes] at him in quick succession, followed up by a [Fireball] and a [Boulder Throw]. My barrage was finished by the summoning of a mighty tidal wave in the form of [Tsunami Surge].
I watched as all four elements were thrown at him with curious eyes.
“[Frozen Aegis]” Kael intoned while raising his staff towards the incoming projectiles, and from its orb, a large shield made of ice emerged. It was so large that he was completely hidden behind it from my point of view.
The Air Slashes and Fireball were completely negated by it, but it seemed that Kael didn’t feel confident in his chances of deflecting the large ball of earth as he instead summoned a giant lance and sent it in its direction.
The collision of the two forces was, to put it gently, not ending in my favor. The boulder was torn apart into smithereens and the spear didn’t even lose its momentum. I was in its direct path, and I barely had enough time to jump away before I was impaled by it. Perhaps due to him investing much more mana into it than he did with his simpler javelins, this lance was not only more destructive but it also moved faster.
By the time I regained my bearings, I was forced to glance at the sight of my tsunami being frozen still.
Holy hell. This Kael might be an arrogant prick, but I had to give it to him. He was good.
The oldest adversary I fought was Kai, but he was a loser. The closest comparison I could make was Blackjack, but he was only half of Kael’s age and below him by 6 levels at that.
He also didn’t have a similarly luxurious gear as to what Kael sports, and just to make the situation worse, Kael had been part of this age-old organization, getting access to their resources, while Blackjack was doing… I don’t know, Blackjack things.
Kael glanced up at me with an annoyingly wide smirk, “You Elemental Sovereigns are not the only ones who can summon elemental pets. Greet my adorable bird, [Anivia]! Let’s see if you can retain your aerial supremacy, Devil!”
From his ornately decorated mage’s staff, a shiny glyph spun into existence, and from the glowing glyph emerged a majestic bird-shaped construct, its translucent body was seemingly made of pure, crystallized ice.
Sharp, icy talons hung below its sleek, aerodynamic form and its piercing blue eyes glowed with sentient malice.
Anivia let out a guttural cry that was a haunting, resonant sound that sent chills through the air. Its voice carried the weight of a blizzard just as its wings unfurled, spanning over ten meters (~33 feet) from tip to tip.
The bird circled Kael protectively once before flapping its wings harder and quickly ascending to a higher point than where I stood.
Its agility in the air was simply breathtaking; it moved with the grace of an aerial predator despite its ginormous size.
I was greatly surprised when Anivia paused mid-flight all of a sudden and started hovering in place.
Its crystalline body shimmered as it curled inward, pulling its wings and legs tightly against its body.
The air around it grew still like the calm before the storm. Frost condensed in the space around it, forming a swirling vortex of icy energy.
Then, with a deafening screech, Anivia unfurled its wings in an explosive motion. A howling storm burst forth with ice shards and cutting winds spiraling outward in a deadly tempest. The gale roared in my direction.
I braced myself as I watched the storm rush toward me, but Kael wasn’t satisfied with sitting this one out.
“A little distraction for my dear bird’s prey. [Ice Barrage]!” Kael’s staff glowed once again, summoning another wave of javelins. This time, the projectiles were larger, sharper, and imbued with an unnatural sheen that hinted at enhanced lethality.
His ability to strengthen his previously used [Ice Barrage] spell hinted at the validity of his previously stated words. He was at the advanced stage where he had much greater control over his spells. When he first used [Ice Barrage], he was likely very conservative with his mana investment, which resulted in him only summoning small javelins. Now, mighty lances shot forward with terrifying precision, homing in on my position.
Kael instantly disabled my two summons once the match started, only to now summon one for himself. The duel suddenly became a 1v2. The storm threatened to disorient and encase me in frost, while I had to pay attention to the bird’s next move, and that was only made worse due to the rapidly approaching lances.
Anivia surged forward, carried by the storm it had unleashed, its icy talons extended as it shrieked another war cry. The bird was more than just a summoned beast; it was a manifestation of Kael’s mastery over the ice element, and its every movement screamed of years of refinement and control.
Constant projectile barrage, terraforming the battlefield to fit his preferences, great control, high firepower, summons…
So this is how a master of the ice fights.
I was forced to admit.
He’s amazing.