Rising Against Fate

Both Itsuki and Kosuke had their hands in their pockets, which meant that they were going to start this match with a magic battle.

"Freeze."

"Hall of flame."

As the two of them used their spells, the entire stage was divided into two equal halves. The floor on Itsuki's side was covered in ice, while the floor on Kosuke's side was covered in flames.

"There you have it, folks! Clash between two advanced class magic from the start. Who can think of a better way to start a match?"

"Showing off as usual I see," Kosuke said.

"Honestly, I thought you wouldn't show up after losing to me twice."

"Enough talk! Burning orbs."

"Ice Arsenal."

Several floating fireballs appeared above Kosuke, while several floating longswords appeared over Itsuki.

Announcing the name of the spell before the attack was one way to make it non-lethal. Though even with that, one would still need to be careful about the aim and scale of their spells.

Both pulled their hands out of their pockets as they unleashed the spells.

When their spells collided at the center, the entire stage was covered in water vapor. And when that happened, both charged towards one another.

Kosuke covered his legs in flames, while Itsuki created claws of ice in both of his hands.

When they were at each other's reach, Kosuke made the first move and attacked Itsuki with a high kick.

Itsuki blocked the high kick using both of his claws and pushed Kosuke backward.

Kosuke lost his balance for a second there, but he quickly moved his right foot backward and used the friction to regain his balance.

A loud cheer echoed throughout the arena. But the audience soon became quiet as Kosuke regained his balance and charged forward again.

This time he again attacked him with a high kick, but unlike last time, he aimed for Itsuki's shoulder.

Itsuki blocked the attack by freezing his forearm, but Kosuke used this opportunity to thrust a Burning orb towards him.

Itsuki tried blocking the orb using his right claw, but the blast sent him flying backward.

As soon as he landed, Itsuki grabbed the ice on the floor to regain his balance. But by the time he was able to, there was almost 2 meters long claw mark in front of him.

Itsuki smiled as he stood back up and started walking forward. His light-blue hair froze as he created an ice sword in his right claw.

"So, you are finally getting serious. It's about time I get started as well."

After Kosuke said that an aura of flames appeared around him. This aura was proof that the temperature around him had increased significantly.

When the distance between them decreased, the two of them used Grade 1 physical enhancement to jump in the air. This time, Itsuki was on the offensive, while Kosuke kept on dodging his sword and looking for the openings. This continued for almost 15 more minutes.

"Folks, now it's time to hear what our judges have to say about this match."

This was an important part of the overall announcement that served two important purposes. Along with the judge's opinion, this part was also meant to explain a few things that normal people may find confusing.

"So, Mister Hira, in this match, we observed that the two didn't follow up with consecutive attacks even when they had opportunity. Can you explain, why?"

"Hmm… That's a simple question. Both Freeze and Hall of flames are still active, so it would be foolish to step in each other's territory. Not only will their opponent get an advantage, but in this specific match, their own abilities will also decrease by 10-20%."

"Thank you, Mister Hira. Now Mister Ongaku, who do you think is winning here?"

"It is rather difficult to say. Both have remarkable mastery over their magic for someone at their age. If this was a real battle, I would have been able to answer your question. But since this is a tournament, neither of them is winning or losing."

"And what do you think about that, Doctor Abe?"

"Oh, if we look at it scientifically, Itsuki is losing. If you zoom in and take a closer look, you can see that Itsuki's sword is melting because of the heat. As for Kosuke, he is using those flames to support his movement. If you look closer, you can see a small burst of flames in his feet as he moves."

"Thank you, judges. Now that we know what our judges think, let's concentrate back on the match."

----

Both Itsuki and Kosuke were breathing heavily, but at this point, it was clear that Itsuki had taken more damage than Kosuke.

Both of them were using several spells at the same time, and in that regard, Itsuki was at the advantage. Kosuke was using four spells at the same time, while Itsuki was keeping up with only three.

Itsuki looked at the timer behind Kosuke, and at this point, there were only 10 minutes left.

"I guess it's time to finish this," Itsuki said as he jumped backward.

Kosuke just stood there and looked towards Itsuki in confusion. Till now, it was clear that he was winning. And if he was able to maintain this for 10 more minutes, the judges would obviously make a decision on his side.

"Ice Arsenal."

At this point, Kosuke wasn't capable of using another large-scale spell. But it was also true that Itsuki wasn't able to control all those swords well. So, he could still use those bursts and dodge the swords with his movement. But as far as he knew, Itsuki wasn't someone who would make a meaningless move at a time like this.

Itsuki released the Arsenal, but none of those swords were aimed at Kosuke. It was at that moment, Kosuke understood what he was aiming for.

Because of all the spells he was using at the same time, his Hall of flames had grown weak. And this gave Itsuki the opportunity he needed.

His Ice Arsenal made the Hall of flames even weaker. And at this point, it was weak enough that Itsuki was able to expand the range of his Freeze.

In just two minutes, he froze the entire stage, and with that, the spells that Kosuke was already using also got weaker.

"If I were you, I would surrender now. There are 6 more minutes left, and I can still use Arsenal once more. I think you are smart enough to understand your position now."

"Yeah, I guess I lost again."

"There you have it, folks! The winner of this match is… Itsuki."