Another week had passed since Mia officially began her magic studies.
After these few days of study and training, she had finally mastered the application of magic and learned several types of Basic Magic and Elemental Magic. However, her understanding of magic remained superficial.
Roland knew this wasn’t an easy problem to solve, so she didn’t plan to address it for the time being. As long as Mia could use magic, it was enough.
Not only did she have to study magic and teach Mia, but Roland also had to find time to make shoes with Cheryl. Because she was starting from scratch, Roland didn’t know how many bloody holes the needle had poked into her index finger.
Fortunately, she managed to finish them in the end. The final product was decent, and she planned to find a good time to give them to Mia.
Abundant knowledge makes one strong, and increased strength brings confidence.
Having learned more magic and gained combat experience, Roland prepared to find Isaiah for a rematch today. She was confident she could take down this lightbulb priest.
“Isaiah, the days of you praying to the Goddess of Hope are over. Accept my challenge!”
This time, Roland deliberately chose a time when few people would be at the church to avoid standing around for ages like last time.
“No problem. Let me see how much you’ve grown.”
The battle took place at the Dueling Arena in the center of the village once again. A dense crowd of onlookers surrounded the venue once more. Mia held up a massive wooden sign with both hands, which was carved with the words, “Go Mom!”
With the Golem swinging its sword as the signal, the battle between the two officially began.
Isaiah made the first move. Holy Light erupted from his book and reached Roland in an instant. She was completely unfazed, deploying a Mana Barrier to block the strike. She immediately raised her wand, and mana converged into a perfect sphere that shot toward Isaiah like a cannonball, only to be blocked by a shield formed from Holy Light.
“Let’s stop testing each other and get serious.”
“Fine.” Roland gladly accepted the request. Maintaining her wand-raised stance, dozens of Mana Bolts appeared in succession and pelted Isaiah’s shield. Occasional fireballs also emerged from among the Mana Bolts, causing explosions.
Although they caused no substantial damage, visible cracks appeared on the shield. It was clear that if the attack continued, Isaiah would inevitably lose.
While astonished by Roland’s vast amount of mana, Isaiah was also thinking of a way to escape the predicament.
While Roland was immersed in her assault, she was completely unaware of the anomaly beneath her feet. A Magic Circuit suddenly appeared, and filaments made of light reached out from it to bind her ankles. Her attention was diverted, creating a gap in her attack.
Isaiah seized the opportunity, immediately using the same move from their last battle—using the blinding effect produced by an eruption of Holy Light to weave in an attack.
A blinding radiance illuminated the entire Dueling Arena, forcing everyone to close their eyes. But just as Isaiah thought the strike would work and was about to move, a Mana Bolt flew straight at him, giving him a fright. Fortunately, his reflexes were fast enough to dodge in time, and the Mana Bolt only hit his right arm, which wasn’t enough to incapacitate him.
The flash of light vanished, and the arena fell quiet shortly after.
When the crowd could see clearly again, they found that the one at a disadvantage was actually Isaiah.
Looking at his fractured right arm, Isaiah asked, “How did you do that?”
Roland replied calmly, “It’s simple. I slightly modified the physical properties of the Mana Barrier to reach the critical value for total reflection. This way, it reflects most of the light without leaving me completely blind.”
“You can actually manipulate mana to this extent… It seems your magical talent far exceeds my imagination. If that’s the case, telling you the truth of the matter isn’t out of the question.”
“Thinking of giving up?”
“Not at all. Having talent without being able to convert it into strength means knowing the truth might not be a good thing.”
“Then let’s keep fighting.”
Isaiah stopped holding back and summoned two Angel Servants in succession.
Last time, hindered by the flash, Roland didn’t know how he summoned them. Now, she finally saw it.
Strands of Holy Light flowed from the book in Isaiah’s hand, quickly forming human shapes and weapon outlines in front of him. Before long, they turned into pure white angels with wings.
But it wasn’t over yet. Isaiah mumbled something, and his right arm suddenly recovered, while the injury appeared on Roland instead.
The sudden burning sensation and pain almost made Roland drop her wand. Seeing the two angels charging toward her, she hastily retreated while using Healing Magic to treat the injury.
A sharp spear lunged forward. Roland dodged the thrust by tilting her body, but the other angel swung its sword down. Ignoring the pain, she ducked and rolled, narrowly avoiding the blow.
After healing the injury on her right hand, she immediately raised her wand. Fireballs and Mana Bolts rained down on the nearest angel as if they cost nothing.
Poor thing—the angel had just appeared and hadn’t even had the chance to move much before being blown into a shower of golden light.
The remaining angel seized the opportunity and lunged at Roland with its spear again. The spear tip collided with the Mana Barrier, creating a crack where it struck.
Roland squeezed out the last of her mana. She didn’t release a fireball or form a Mana Bolt; instead, she used the most primal release of mana, letting a torrent of mana swallow her opponent.
After a brief rest, she stood up and brushed the dust off her clothes.
“Your mana must be out, aren’t you?” Isaiah could see that Roland couldn’t maintain such a high-intensity offense indefinitely.
Roland knew this well herself. For a mage, losing mana was no different from a tiger losing its teeth and claws.
Despite the seemingly losing situation, the corners of Roland’s mouth curled up slightly.
“I am indeed out of mana, but that doesn’t mean I can’t use magic.” She pointed her wand toward her feet.
Isaiah looked down and realized that a Magic Circuit had appeared on the ground at some point. The circuit emitted a bright light, like a pulse filled with power.
He recognized it at once as Convergence Magic. No wonder Roland had dared to release her mana so recklessly just now.
Isaiah immediately prepared to summon his Angel Servants again. He knew that Convergence Magic couldn’t be used indefinitely. As long as he survived the final assault, he would be the victor.
“‘She’s almost out of mana; if I just hold on a bit longer, I’ll win.’ That’s what you’re thinking, isn’t it?” Roland said with a faint smile.
Isaiah didn’t answer. He simply summoned the angels in silence, because he had a premonition that if he didn’t move faster, it would be over for him.
Roland’s smile vanished, and her expression became calm again. She spoke two words slowly: “Explosion Magic.”
Immediately, a fiery-red Magic Circuit appeared in the sky above the Dueling Arena. Dark red spots of light, like a dying sun, made Isaiah’s heart skip a beat. The onlookers watched the object overhead in terror. Many didn’t dare look any longer and fled, fearing they would be caught in the magic’s range.
“You lose,” Roland delivered her final verdict.