Trials: Page 2

I threw up a shield and her lightning infused fist slammed into it.

"Woah, thanks for the warning!"

She glared at me.

"They don't call this the Trial of Friendly Sparring."

I whipped my hand out, sending a ray of green magic in her direction. She leaned to the side, and it flew right past her.

I dropped the shield and threw another blast, which she again dodged. It was like she was waiting, reserving power until she was ready to strike. I readied a shield spell in my mind. Just like I suspected, she attacked.

She sent a bolt of lightning at me, and though it managed to shatter my shield, it left me unharmed.

For a moment, neither of us moved. My breathing was heavy, as was hers. Neither of us was used to casting this many spells in such rapid succession. We circled around each other, both ready to attack or defend if prompted. Around we went, tension building until, finally, she moved.

She rushed towards me, a blue cloud of cold magic around her hand. I wasn't expecting her to use a touch spell, and before I could do anything, she slapped me, leaving a bunch of ice all over the left half of my body. I stumbled back, and she threw a fist-sized ball of fire at me. Had I been a normal mage, that would have been the end of the trial. But I had a devilish patron, and immunity to fire came with that. Now it was my turn.

Taking advantage of her moment of confusion, I used Mage Hand to sweep her legs out from under her, then batter her shield with beams of green magic. For some reason, casting these didn't make me as tired as the other spells I used. I paused for just a moment to see if her shield was still up, and she quickly sent me flying across the room.

I stood, glaring at her, as we both caught our breath.

"What's that spell you keep throwing around?"

"Uh, none of your business?"

"Fine, be that way."

I just shrugged in response. Not something I felt I should worry about at the time.

Instead, I listened to her breathing. It had lost its more ragged sound. She wasn't just catching her breath, she was preparing something. If she was bothering to prepare it at this point, my shield wasn't likely to help.

She flung her hand towards me, conjuring a sword and sending it flying in my direction. I had guessed right. Something like that would have sailed right through my magical shield. I dove to the side, avoiding the blade, then shot to my feet just as it turned back towards me. I couldn't avoid the sword forever. I needed to break her concentration. When the sword slashed at me, I leaped out of the way, and while she took a moment to re-aim it, I fired a beam of magic at her. The blast knocked her down, and more importantly, dispelled her sword conjuration.

She responded with an icy blast, which I blocked with a shield. It was going on for too long. If it went on much longer, it'll just be a battle of endurance, and I did not want that.

As if sensing my desire to end the fight, she ran towards me, a ball of concentrated fire in her palm. And that was her mistake. I dropped my shield and prepared to cast a spell of my own. She thrust her hand towards me, and the huge blast of fire washed over me. But it didn't hurt. If anything, it slightly tickled. I reached through the fire, and my hand wrapped around her wrist. It only took a small pulse of electricity, and her legs spasmed then collapsed beneath her. While she was down, I snatched the red cloth from her hand. It was over.

I had won the Trial of Combat.