Chapter 90: The First Duel: Hellfire

The explanation was simple, and the first round began.

The competitors were the chieftain shaman of the Vine Swamp Tribe, Zenora, and the fire mage from the Snowflower Tower, Sophia, who was a candidate for elder.

“Magician. It’s been a long time since I’ve faced one. Tsk tsk.”

From beneath his mask, the sound of an old orc’s laugh could be heard, and he pulled a wooden fragment from his robes.

“At your age, as the future head of the Magic Tower, your skills must be quite remarkable. I’ll go all out from the start.”

Zenora, holding the wooden fragment, made a hand sign and threw it forward.

Then—
Kuuu-gugugu-
The earth began to rise, wrapping around the wooden fragment, and soon, a massive golem was created.

“Is that the shaman’s totem?”

Sophia, intrigued, asked, seemingly aware of what it was, and Zenora responded with a laugh and then threw two more totems in the same manner.
In an instant, three earthen golems stood in front of him, forming a tight defense around their master.

“They may not have the durability or power of a magically created golem, but their creation speed and ease of formation are an advantage. They are useful for quick responses.”

Sophia, having quickly analyzed the golems with her magical perception, noted the strengths and weaknesses, but Zenora, unbothered, grinned.

“Tsk tsk. Is that all you’ve got?”

This time, he pulled out a talisman from his robes, untied the prayer beads wrapped around his staff, and while holding one hand over the burning talisman, he plunged the staff into the ground and made another hand sign.

“That ominous energy—Is it a curse?”
“Tsk tsk, indeed. The talisman casts a curse of mana suppression. The prayer beads release spirits that follow my command to scramble your mind and senses. To block these, you’ll need to break through the golems and reach me directly. I will never let go of them.”

“That’s not all, is it?”

“Hm?”

“The staff you’ve planted in the ground is also a medium for your spell, isn’t it? If I reach it, will I fall under another curse? It’s suspicious that you haven’t mentioned that.”

Sophia’s keen analysis seemed to surprise Zenora, who briefly expressed admiration before speaking.

“You’re clever, human magician. But you won’t have time to analyze me now. The curse is already creeping closer to your neck.”

Already, the talisman was burning away at a rapid pace, and the three golems stood firm, forming a magical shield.
Even without Sophia’s level of magical perception, I could feel the strength of the barrier—complex and dangerous magic.

While warriors have weapons to support them, magicians lose their offensive capabilities without mana.
The mana suppression would be a serious debuff for Sophia.
The closer the prayer beads rolled, the more eerie the sense of dread spread, like the cold shiver of a horror movie. What kind of spirits would emerge from those beads? They were definitely not ordinary.

Additionally, there was the unknown curse within the staff.

If the curse was completed, Zenora’s flow would be fully in control, and to stop it, one would have to first break through the three enormous golems and destroy the three magical components in Zenora’s hands.
Had I been in Sophia’s place, I would have been overwhelmed with dizziness just thinking about how to counter it.

However, there was no sign of panic on Sophia’s face, so I watched to see what trick she would pull out next.

“During past battles, I learned something important,” Sophia said, her smile soft despite the looming completion of the curse.

“When facing unknown, unfathomable techniques, I wondered how I could respond and win.”

She gripped her staff with both hands, raising it high into the air.

“I had many ideas, but none of them seemed certain enough to guarantee a win. After much thought, I came to one conclusion.”

“?!”

At that moment, magical circles began to flare up behind Sophia—
One, two, three, four. Wait, why are there more and more?

“If the opponent uses an unfathomable technique, why not just overpower them with high firepower?”

As the seventh magical circle completed, a confident smirk appeared on Sophia’s face.

Whoosh.
Sophia swung her staff, and the seven magic circles blazed with light.

Roarrrrrr!
They simultaneously unleashed a barrage of fire magic—
Fireballs, flame jets, explosions, flaming beasts, fire-shaped spears, and even beams of compressed fire.

“Haha, let the fire magic festival begin!”

The various fire spells rushed toward Zenora from all directions.

“Oooh?!”

Startled by the terrifying sight, Zenora’s pupils dilated, and his three earthen golems stepped forward to shield their master.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The relentlessly crashing flames mercilessly destroyed the golems’ bodies, but as long as the totems remained intact, they were regenerated in an instant.

The problem was.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The raging flames didn’t care for the golems’ regeneration, continuing to destroy them like a hammer smashing a wall. When the totems, which had been hidden inside the golems, were exposed even slightly…

Swoosh!
Flames in the shape of spears stabbed the totems like a pirate’s roulette, tearing them apart.

The totems were cruelly split and torn, which looked somewhat terrifying.

The three golems were eventually engulfed in flames, leaving no trace behind.
The flames that had literally torn the golems apart now turned their attention toward Genora.

“Hehehe, amazing magic. But… the curse is complete!”

Thanks to the golems buying her time, Genora declared in a voice full of confidence.
At the same time, the beads scattered in all directions, and numerous translucent figures appeared, flying in the air.

“Banshee?”

Banshees, the monsters from fantasy lore, are ghosts that cause madness with their horrifying screams. When a dozen or so of them appeared, everyone watching stiffened in shock.

“Are they banshees? They’re nothing special.”

Sofia looked up at the sky, then rotated five of her seven magic circles into the air.
Then…

Boom. Pfft. Pffft.
The flames shot from the magic circles and exploded like fireworks.

Physical flames wouldn’t affect the ghostly banshees.
Having caught onto her strategy, I let out a small chuckle.

“That’s a clever trick.”

The medium through which the banshees’ abilities worked was sound, and Sofia was trying to erase it by using the sound of fireworks to make it inaudible.

However, with the curse of mana suppression already in effect, a portion of the firepower would likely be diverted to the banshees, making it harder to attack Genora.

“Hehe, gotcha.”

Just as I suspected, Genora had pulled out a new talisman and was about to cast another spell.

“Ah.”

I quickly realized that I was worrying needlessly.
If another mage were here, this would have been a serious problem. But with Sofia here, it was fine.
I should have noticed when she activated seven magic circles.

“Any missing magic circles can just be filled.”

Whirr… Whirr… Whirr…

“What?”

“Sorry, but I won’t let you use new curses. You said you’d go all out from the beginning, right? I agree with that. However, it seems that your ‘all-out’ and mine differ.”

The newly generated magic circles were even bigger and burning more intensely than before.

“I prefer overwhelming bombardment over childish tricks.”

Boom!
Once again, the seven fire magic circles unleashed a merciless barrage of flames toward Genora.

“Grrr!”

Genora quickly tore up a talisman and activated a defensive spell, but her expression was grim.
Even after living so long, this must have been a first for her.
A mage who could activate twelve magic circles at once.

‘The reason she lost to Low wasn’t due to lack of firepower, was it?’

Sofia was no ordinary mage.
She was a mage with mana sight, and the amount of mana she possessed was several times greater than that of an average mage.
The firepower she could unleash was already in the realm of war, not a duel.

Unable to find a moment to use other spells due to the endless onslaught of flames, Genora attempted to turn the situation around by using the banshees.
Since the banshees were ghosts, the flames wouldn’t affect them, so it seemed she planned to send them to Sofia’s ears and deliver their screams directly to her eardrums.

“Come to think of it, curses are also ultimately magic-based techniques, right?”
“What?”
“Then, all I need to do is burn the very structure of the spell.”
“What?”

The five magic circles that were firing off fireworks combined, releasing flames in all directions. Surprisingly, the banshees touched by the flames began to vanish like smoke. It wasn’t that the ghosts themselves were burned, so what could it possibly be?

“These banshees are just your curse, aren’t they? In that case, if we burn the connection between the banshees and you, that should be enough.”
“What do you mean?”
“If you can see the flow of mana precisely and unleash enough firepower to burn it, it’s possible.”

It sounded simple, but in reality, only Sofia—no, only someone with mana sight—could perform such a feat.

“If you can do this, no matter what technique your opponent uses, if it’s based on mana, you can burn it all.”

It seemed the fight with Low had had a significant impact on her.

As the banshees vanished in real-time, Genora flinched, so much so that even through her mask, her expression was visible in her shock.

“This proves my theory can work with techniques beyond magic. Thank you for that.”
“What… kind of mage are you…? I don’t even have a chance to cast my spells.”
“As a reward, let me show you my trump card.”

With the joy of proving her theory, Sofia’s eyes gleamed, and she ignored Genora, who stood there with her mouth agape. She overlapped the seven flame magic circles she had been using to attack Genora, and the color of the flames changed.

“Blue flames?”
“This is my new flame magic, designed to burn an opponent’s abilities with extreme firepower. I think I’ll call it Flame of Parma.”

The blue flames twisted like a serpent and soared high into the air. Seeing the terrifying spectacle, Genora snapped out of her stupor and pulled out her staff.

“This is the Curse of Distortion! Anything that approaches… will have its form twisted!”

Originally a trap to eliminate Sofia’s approach, the secret curse was now deployed to block the blue flames. But Sofia, undeterred, let the blue flames fall.

Boom!
The blue flames engulfed Genora entirely.

It was a deadly scene, but there was no scream or loud explosion. Instead…

“Ugh…”

As the flames dissipated, the only sound was Genora’s dazed groan as his curses burned away around him, and talismans fell from his body as ash. Sofia had truly only burned his abilities.

“Hehe, don’t worry. Lord Luke had a plan, so I didn’t kill him.”

Sofia smiled lightly, and Genora, still dazed, sat down and gave up on the duel.

“The winner of the first duel is Sofia of the Northern Army!”

Glaka swallowed his bitterness and declared Sofia the victor. Cheers erupted from the Northern Army, while sighs were heard from the Orcs.

I had expected Sofia’s victory, but seeing it play out, I couldn’t help but feel dumbfounded. Honestly, when all the curses were activated, and the banshees appeared, I was worried about how Sofia would manage. But she just overwhelmed them with pure firepower. It seemed the wisdom of my past ancestors, who said to overwhelm challenges with strong artillery, was spot on.

“Good job.”
“Phew, I’m exhausted.”

Looking at the duel, it seemed Sofia had won overwhelmingly, but that was only because she had poured so much firepower into it. After returning, I left Sofia to catch her breath while I stepped forward before the next duel began.

“Glaka, Chief.”

When Glaka turned to look at me.

“It was your sudden proposal to have four participants, and we agreed. We also respected the Orc tradition in the selection of contestants.”
“I acknowledge that.”
“Now, you agreed to accept one of our requests. I’d like to discuss that.”
“What request are you proposing?”
“Out of the four duels, two could be conducted in your way, and two could be conducted in ours. That would be fair, wouldn’t it? From what I saw, there doesn’t seem to be any complex traditions regarding the duels.”
“Hmm…”

Glaka groaned in thought before responding.

“I understand. I accept your suggestion.”
“Glaka! Are you really going to let humans interfere with our tradition?”

An Orc, likely the next contestant, approached angrily.

“Mas, this duel was proposed by humans. It is only right to respect their wishes.”
“Grk.”
“If you win, it’s over, right?”

The Orc, a twisted figure with sturdy legs but a frail upper body, shook his head like a stubborn beast, his pride obviously hurt.

“Heh, human! Send the next opponent out! Is it you?”
“No. Our next contestant is.”

Finishing my sentence, I looked to our team.

“Rigrid, it’s your turn.”
“!”

It was time for our second victory.