The Greatest Sinner

When everything was ready, Fane immediately called out the names of the following contestants: "Vinor Guillerm and Katlyn van Erden!"

Immediately after his words, a girl in a white robe with short black hair and a short young man with thick brown hair entered the arena.

They had no weapons in their hands, but both Vinor and Katlyn each had a Magic Artifact.

Not every mage used Catalysts. They were not a necessity, and without them the mage felt self-sufficient. "Catalysts" were only an addition to their fighting style. Sure, some Catalysts enhanced spells or made them require less mana. But, everything was strictly individual. Everyone had their own peculiarities and disadvantages.

So it was no surprise that mages were going to fight with their bare hands. It wasn't the Catalysts that were their weapons, it was the mana and spells.

Evan thought the second fight would be pretty boring compared to the first. But seeing that one of the contestants was a member of the Erden Family made him interested in this fight. He was sure of the outcome, but he was curious to see what Katlyn van Erden was all about.

It is worth noting that Katlyn was an unusual person for the mage world. She was strong enough to represent the Erden Family in this tournament, but that was not what was noteworthy.

Only a small number of mages were known to have children, because riches and rare artifacts could not help a person awaken a talent for magic.

Fien was Marcel's adopted daughter and bore the last name, Vierdag, though he never actually had children of his own. It was the same situation in the Families. Each member of a Family was not a blood relative, but a person whose talent the elders or head of the Family noticed and therefore offered to join them.

For example, only one person with a talent for magic was born in a Cross Family for several generations. This was very rare. The birth rate among mages was catastrophically low, so such a thing could be called a miracle.

In a large Family or Clan there could be tens, hundreds or even thousands of people, but even then the chances that a person with a talent for magic would be born were very small. During the time when one child is born in one Family, tens of thousands of ordinary people will be born.

Also, unlike nobles, magicians did not seek to maintain the purity of their blood, they never cared about such things. The family name or the name of the Clan was established by its founder, and most members of the Family hadn`t been related to each other before they joined it. They were not born at the Family, but became part of it in the course of their lives.

The birth of a child with a talent for magic in the Family was an incredibly rare event, but possible. That was exactly the kind of child Katlyn was. Not only was she the daughter of one of the elders of the Erden Family, but she was the best of the younger generation.

That was rare in the world of magicians, that`s why Katlyn was at the center of everyone`s attention right now.

Both participants were already in the arena, standing in front of each other and waiting for the signal from Fane. Unlike Koen, Fane liked to participate and lead such events. It was fascinating and funny for him.

Whoosh.

A green orb appeared high in the sky and a green blob immediately fell from it. Katlyn and Vinor quickly prepared for battle.

Drip.

The drop reached the ground and at the same moment their duel began. Katlyn was the first to attack, she was going to quickly overpower her opponent and dominate the battlefield.

Whoosh.

Her hands were enveloped in crimson flames and she instantly attacked Vinor. It was the Amplification Magic spell - "Scorching Palm".

To use such a spell you had to control it well, so as not to set yourself on fire.

Vinor wasn't about to miss Katlyn's swift attacks. His "Warp" spun, and in the next second, a tall wall of sand appeared between him and the girl.

His plan was to stop Katlyn, but the girl wasn't going to slow down. She struck into the wall for several times and easily destroyed it. At the same speed, she continued to attack Vinor.

Bam. Bam. Bam.

Soon the young man was missing several blows, and as a consequence, suffered severe burns. He could barely withstand the hail of blows Katlyn unleashed on him.

Vinor couldn't counterattack from that position, so he decided to change the course of the fight.

Whoosh.

Suddenly, two yellow magical circles appeared next to Katlyn, then two sand chains emerged from them in a flash. They enveloped the girl's arms and immobilized her.

This was the second Summoning Magic spell Vinor had used. It's worth noting that all zero-level spell of Summoning Magic had one fatal flaw - they couldn't summon living creatures, only tools or plants.

This was a serious limitation for "Summoners" who had only recently learned their Class or for newbie magicians like Vinor.

While the chains held Katlyn down, he cast another spell, namely "Sand Spear".

Whoosh.

A long spear of sand appeared in the air, and a second later, it was launched at Katlyn. Vinor thought the girl was about to get seriously wounded, but he underestimated her.

Boom.

Suddenly, there was a deafening explosion in the air. Vinor was stunned by what he saw.

His spear that he had hoped to pierce Katlyn with was blasted by a crimson fireball! As the sand spear was hurtling towards Katlyn, she also cast one of her spells in opposition.

A crimson fireball appeared in the air and crashed into the spear, tearing it apart. Vinor was shocked by this development. He hadn't expected Katlyn to be able to react so quickly.

Bam.

The girl raised her hands up and hit the ground with force. The fire tore the base of the chains apart and the spell was undone.

Whoosh.

Katlyn lashed out at Vinor and at the same time two fireballs appeared over her head. From the first minute, she dominated the battlefield and had no intention of stopping.

Vinor didn't know what to do anymore. Katlyn easily broke through his defenses and negated all of his attacks. He decided to use the last trump card he had left.

Whoosh.

The amulet around his neck glowed brightly and the next moment a giant and very strong wall of sand formed between him and Katlyn. Using the Magical Artifact required a lot of mana, but it greatly strengthened the spell in which the magician poured his mana.

The wall seemed impassable and moreover, it was slowly leaning down intending to fall and crush the girl with it, but...

Bam. Bam.

Unfortunately, for him, the two fireballs instantly changed their direction and crashed into the same point. There was a deafening explosion and then, a hole appeared in the wall through which Katlyn quickly ran. She was close to her victory and she wasn't going to let this chance pass her by.

Whoosh.

The silver bracelet with the big red crystal glowed brightly, and the flames on her arms began to burn even brighter. She used her Magic Artifact to strengthen her spell.

Whoosh.

Katlyn gathered all her strength into a single blow, her attack almost reaching Vinor.

Bam.

Suddenly a girl dressed in black appeared between Vinor and Katlyn. In her hands, there was a large blue glass shield, with which she easily blocked Katlyn's powerful blow.

Katlyn knew what that meant, so she cancelled her spell with a satisfied smile on her face.

The girl dressed in black walked over to Katlyn and, lifting her by the arm, announced the winner of the second round.