As they stepped forward, Mira and Erick prepared their magic circles. Erick released his immediately. A fallen branch from a nearby tree flew toward his hand.
"Unlucky." He tested the weight of the branch, swinging it once. "I was hoping for her sword."
Vera barely glanced up from her notebook. Corruption began spreading from her body, devouring the spell that held her frozen in place.
Erick noticed the seal breaking faster than expected and advanced, drawing a circle mid-stride. Mira drew a second circle with her other hand while maintaining the first, her movements practiced and precise.
"Okay!" Vera closed her notebook with a snap. Corruption rose around her like smoke. "This shouldn't take long."
As Erick's strike reached her, she blocked it with the notebook, now wrapped in corruption. The branch stopped dead against it. From behind, a stone bench lurched into motion, flying toward Erick at dangerous speed.
Mira activated her first circle without even looking. The bench hit an invisible barrier and hung suspended in midair, inches from Erick's back.
Erick activated his own circle. A magical explosion erupted toward Vera, but she was already moving. The corruption launched her backward toward safety, the seal that had trapped her completely dissolved.
Or it would have, if Mira's second circle hadn't activated. Vera slammed back-first into another barrier.
The explosion caught her against it, and for the first time, Vera's expression flickered with something other than curiosity. She hadn't taken major damage, but the raw power behind Erick's magic had been unexpected.
She recomposed herself quickly. Mira had two circles ready. Erick hadn't started drawing his next one yet.
"Amazing." Vera's smile was genuine. "You're so talented. So coordinated." She swept her arm forward. Erick dodged backward, and she used the opening to retrieve her sword from the ground with a tendril of corruption. "I think I understand why Greystar sent you to me."
"Pretty sure she didn't send us anywhere." Erick started weaving his next spell.
"Really? You think so?" Vera looked genuinely concerned by this.
"Erick!" Mira's warning came sharp as dozens of stone fragments lifted from the courtyard and flew at them from all directions.
Erick didn't dodge. He went on the offensive, another explosion aimed directly at Vera. Mira activated her first circle, a barrier snapping into place around herself.
Vera tried to dodge again. Mira's second circle activated again, blocking her retreat. This time Erick's spell was weaker, more controlled.
Vera grunted as it hit, pulling back. "How did you—" She looked up at the barrier around Erick that had stopped every single projectile. It shattered as she watched, fragmenting into light. Just in time for Mira to draw a replacement.
Vera started laughing. "You knew it would hold? And that I'd target you?"
"I'm usually the target." Mira didn't look away from her next circle. "You took longer than I expected, honestly."
Vera's whole expression lit up. "You guys are incredible! Want to be friends?"
"Sure, as long as you drop the whole corruption thing." Erick shrugged.
Mira shot him a look that could have melted steel.
"Sorry!" Vera's smile didn't waver. "I'm not interested in being average. I'm going to be a great mage, just like Greystar!"
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
Mira's expression shifted to something that might have been relief.
"Can we focus?" she complained.
"Yeah." Vera's demeanor changed. "I guess I need to take you more seriously." She pointed her sword at Erick, glancing back at the doorway she'd entered through. She tossed her notebook toward it. "Let's start."
The notebook landed just inside the entrance, corruption spreading from it across the threshold.
She burst forward.
The tempo shifted immediately. Now she fought like a proper battle mage: sword in one hand, magic flowing from the other. The corruption didn't need circles. It just followed her commands.
Her first strike was blocked by Erick's branch. The magic reinforcement kept it from being cut in half. Erick tried to counter with an explosion, but Vera matched his movement perfectly. Corruption surrounded the forming magic and crushed it before he could release it.
Her second strike missed by a hair. Erick had to throw himself off-balance to dodge.
The third would have been lethal, but magical energy surged around Erick, creating distance. Vera was fast enough to touch the barrier with her free hand. Corruption spread across its surface like cracks in ice. Mira had to dispel it before it shattered.
Mira looked exhausted already. Erick looked worried.
Vera didn't give them time to breathe.
Objects around the courtyard began flying at Mira, forcing her to keep renewing her defensive barrier. Meanwhile, Vera pressed Erick, denying every attempt to cast.
"What's your ratio?" Vera asked, grinning. "One in three? One in ten?" She struck again, and Erick barely parried. "Doesn't matter. You won't hit me again."
She didn't know exactly how Erick's magic worked, but she didn't need to. If he couldn't cast, it was irrelevant.
Erick's inexperience was showing now. Every misstep forced Mira to cover for him, splitting her attention between offense and defense. The gap in their coordination was starting to tell.
Things got worse with every exchange. It was clear Mira wouldn't hold much longer.
But Vera had other plans. Winning by exhaustion wasn't satisfying.
"You're really good, you know." She addressed Mira now, still pressuring Erick. "Experienced. Talented. Smart." Her smile was sharp-edged. "I bet you're really popular."
The hatred in her eyes didn't match her tone.
"You would never understand."
Mira opened her mouth to respond. Corruption surged behind her from the opposite doorway, the entrance behind them. It had traveled through the corridors from where Vera's notebook lay, rising from the ground and spreading through Mira's legs like roots.
"What?!" Mira looked down.
"Hard to keep track of your surroundings when you're burning all your mana on barriers." Vera's smile widened. She turned to Erick, who stood without protection now. "You can run if you want. I don't mind."
"You don't want to kill us." Erick met her eyes. "I get it now."
Vera stopped. Her mouth opened. Whatever speech she'd prepared seemed inadequate suddenly. "Well... I don't think Greystar wants me to kill you, you know?" The excuse was weak and they all knew it.
"So what now?" Erick dropped the branch and took a step back. "You know I won't run."
"I guess I can settle for giving you both a bit of corruption. It'll bring you to a whole new level!"
"Hard pass," Erick said.
"Don't you dare!" Mira tried to pull against the corruption holding her.
"Don't worry, it won't hurt!" Vera took a step forward, then her eyes snapped to something behind them. She jumped backward. "And you are?"
"Vaelor." The professor entered the courtyard, completely ignoring the corruption spreading around him. He wore the same deep crimson robes as always, but they were tied back for movement now, the geometric patterns along the hems glowing faintly with active magic. His silver-streaked hair was pulled back, and his expression carried the calm focus of someone who'd interrupted a hundred student fights before. "Greystar mentioned there was a student misbehaving."
"I'm not a student," Vera corrected immediately, evaluating him. Fighting corruption-enhanced was one thing. Fighting a professor was risky regardless.
"Aren't you?" Vaelor's sharp eyes tracked the corruption around Mira, which was retreating from his presence. "You seem to be wearing a uniform."
Vera glanced down at the stolen jacket. "That's just a coincidence!"
"I see." He considered this for a moment. "In that case, I suppose I should arrest you."
A magic circle began forming in front of him. No hand movements. No gestures. Just pure, practiced efficiency.
Vera moved fast, dashing forward to disrupt it before it could complete. As she closed the distance, she looked up at him and grinned.
"Nice bait."
Three more circles were forming behind him.
