If I forfeit this one, I'll need to win the next two battles. It would put me in a rough predicament Wilfred thought. But, truth be told, his odds of winning two were better than Lucius winning one. There were some students that were most researchers than battlemages like Lucius but would the luck of the draw hold for him? Or would he be matched against someone like Hovard.

Tsk. It was too risky, Wilfred accepted that he would have to lose this one. Suddenly, the teacher casted his spell and a loud bang echoed once more over the field. Lucius was looking with uncertainty at Wilfred but when he started casting [Barrier] and threw an [Ice Spike] at him, Lucius's mind went into combat mode. WIlfred had to be aggressive so Lucius would fight seriously. If it looked like he was forfeiting, they would most likely count it as cheating and not award Lucius the points.

Seeing how [Ice Spike] was already used in the last fight and not wanting to give extra information to the onlookers, even though they might [a.n.a.lyze] him, it wouldn't tell them the range or damage a spell did, Wilfred decided to fight using only [Ice Spike].

Lucius cast his [Barrier] and [Stone Fist], absorbing the [Ice Spike] with his [Barrier] and turning his hand into a weapon and a s.h.i.+eld with the [Stone Fist]. He knew he couldn't defeat Wilfred by hanging back with his weaker ranged spells and rushed to meet him. Running towards Wilfred, Lucius dodged another spike by rolling into it, the needle missing by going too high. Trying to regain some control of the fight, Lucius used an [Earth Spike] behind Wilfred, causing him to stop moving in that direction and adjust his trajectory.

Hmmm, how do I gracefully lose Wilfred thought. Circling around and trying to keep out of Lucius's melee range, an idea occurred to him. Knowing that Lucius would soon be out of mana the longer the fight lasted, he got into position.

Moving to where the [Ice Spike] had missed Lucius previously, Wilfred slipped and fell dramatically, unable to regain his footing and prayed that Lucius would utilize this moment.

Seeing the opportunity arise, Lucius bet everything he had on it, casting two [Earth Spike] on each side of Wilfred in rapid succession and launched himself forward, striking with his [Stone Fist]. The combination of spikes destroyed Wilfred's barrier and let him wide open to land a small blow on Wilfred's arm that he raised in a last minute defense, drawing some blood. The teacher quickly stepped in, separating the two of them.

"Alright! It's over, Lucius wins the round. The nurse is on site if you need to get patched up. Next up, s.h.i.+ro against William. Step on up."

Wilfred and Lucius headed off field, parting through the crowd forming a circle around the event. A few jeers and laughs came Wilfred's way as he was the favorite to win that one. Once away from the crowd and out of reach from prying ears, Lucius grabs Wilfred's arm.

"Hey! What happened? That didn't feel like I was fighting you."

Wilfred tapped Lucius playfully on the arm.

"I just got unlucky is all. Slipped on that water from the Ice spikes. Don't worry about me, I'll make sure to win the next two."

Lucius frowned, clearly not believing Wilfred but shrugged it off eventually. Even if he had let him win, he was thankful for it. Truth be told, winning 1 of 3 games stressed him out a bit.

"I reckon we have a bit before our names come back again, what do you want to do? "

Wilfred rubbed his chin thinking long and hard about it.

(Wait, this doesn't have the same effect with no facial hair. I just look stupid doing it. )

"Well, we should try and get more information out of these fights. See if we can't come up with some strategies while watching."

Wilfred headed back towards the crowd, he'd have to wrangle his way in somehow, when he stopped after remembering something.

"Speaking of information though, there is some we need to pry out of Lucy. Where did she go?"

"I think I saw her during our match. Must be close to front row. "

They headed back towards the fighting, weaving in and out of the crowd trying to move forward. A few more fights happened during the time they were away. Some students they knew but weren't very close to.

They found Lucy chatting with another student from her year, both excited about their matches but also nervous. Seeing her friends walk up to them, Lucy bid farewell to the other girl and walked to meet them halfway. Wilfred spoke first.

"Hey, we need to talk about what happened earlier."

"Uuuuh, I already told you I don't want to."

Wilfred sighed, facepalming.

"It's important. I have a feeling the matches are going to be rigged and you'll be up against that cousin of yours. Please, you're our friend, we want to help."

Lucy nervously shuffled in place, debating if it was worth telling them.

"I-I..guess I can tell you, I owe you that much for all the help these last few weeks."

Taking a deep breath, Lucy started telling her story.

"If we go from the beginning, my father is actually prince Nemar, third son of the King. Father fell in love with a commoner woman after she tended to his injuries because his unit was decimated in a fight against the dragon Ysern and they had a daughter. Naturally, when word got out about this, Grandfather was really upset. He forced them to separate and my mother kept me for some years. When they realized that I could use magic at 13 though, they came back for me. Meanwhile, Father had to marry a n.o.ble woman shortly after and they had a daughter as well."

Lucy took a moment to compose herself and wiped a small tear away.

"So my half-sister can also use magic but it came later for her. During the exams last year, I thought I pa.s.sed but after review, they deducted me some points from the trials and it made me fail. I am pretty sure it's her mother pulling some strings but I can't prove anything. This is my last chance, if I fail again they'll remove me from the academy. So how do you think they're going to cheat?"

"I don't know. But I'll keep an eye out. It's likely no coincidence that I ended up fighting Lucius in the first round, makes it much harder for either of us to pa.s.s now. "