Silence pervaded the atmosphere, but it was hardly stale.
Students and lecturers watched the stage fervently, with bated breaths.
Their eyes were locked on the two individuals who stood opposite themselves smiling at each other with pure confidence.
The Hero and Unofficial Ranker Of Ainzlark
And the Headmaster of the same institution.
Gulps and tense breaths spread across the audience.
Their thoughts all rang of the same thing.
Who is going to win?
*******************
How ignorant
I couldnt blame most of the people who were witnessing this, though.
None of them had ever seen Neron at full strength, which was why they could entertain the thought that I had a chance.
Well, maybe I could turn the tides with my Arcanas
But, I wasnt going to be using those in this match.
Based on what little information I knew about Neron, he surpassed me in Mana quantity, and even bested me in overall quality since he had too much.
I could close the gap with Spellcraft, but the second factor also came into play.
Experience!
Neron was as shrewd as me.
Even without reincarnating, he figured out so many things at such an age.
The fact that he had more Familiars than I had ever seen in my entire two lifetimes proved that he had lots of experience in the Magic department.
I bet hes older than he looks
Then there was his pesky Original Magic.
Who knows what else hes hiding
Out of ten, I could only see myself winning once and that was being generous.
Still, since I had just preached about making the impossible possible through Magic, I intended to lead by example.
I wont know unless I try!
Lets set some ground rules for the match, first.
I retorted, smiling at the grinning man.
How shameless could he be? Openly showing his excitement like this
Firstly, there will be no use of any Magic Items.
Secondly, there will be no use of Original Magic.
Thirdly, well limit the use of Magic to the Highest Tier for Advanced Magic.
Im afraid this place wont be able to handle anything higher.
We could use a barrier to shield the place.
That way, no one gets hurt.
Neron interjected.
Tch.
Sly guy!
Very well.
We can use Peak Level Magic but not Transcendental
Magic Spells had cadres, and usually, the highest one could achieve as a Mage was the Peak Level.
Even then, only a few ever arrived at this juncture.
However, one realm existed above it
The Transcendental Level!
Spells that defied logic and even bent the laws of nature were classified under this.
Nerons Original Magic could be classified under this.
The Arcanas were also Transcendental.
In essence, this Realm was so dangerous that even barriers would not be enough to contain their power.
I was certain Neron understood that.
Thats fine He murmured.
Good.
If its like this, then I can manage
I had long given up on fighting Neron at full strength at least, not unless I was ready to go all out.
But, I wasnt in a position to do that just yet.
Since were done with setting the rules, shall we begin?
Neron and I both erected respective barriers to encompass the stage.
Two translucent veils covered the stage, nearly transparent in nature.
This should work
The stage was large enough for even a thousand people to stand on with room to spare.
Certainly, it would be large enough to contain us, right?
Then let us begin
Neron and I stared at each other with excited expressions.
NOW!
>BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSHHHHHH!!!CHING!WHOOOOMMM!!!BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM!!!WHOOOOOOOOSSSHHHH!BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!VWUUUSHHH!