Alex casted Water Spear once again while retreating into the trees.
He aimed the spell at the martial artist, but the man dodged quickly, leaping sideways.
Instead of releasing the spell immediately, Alex redirected it toward the mage, catching him off guard. The mage hurriedly raised a Water Shield, thick and spinning fast.
Still, the Water Spear was an offensive novice spell, so it carried far greater power. It pierced through the barrier, losing some of its momentum, but still dangerous. Unfortunately, the shield's rotation deflected it slightly, and the spear only grazed the mage's side.
Even so, it forced the mage to retreat.
The entire sequence — from the first attack, the dodge, and the redirection — happened in seconds. The fighter barely had time to react and make a counterattack since he had just landed from his jump.
Alex used that brief opening to unleash a Wind Slicer Barrage at him.
He knew he'd never land a Water Spear against a martial artist without the element of surprise, so he opted for an area attack instead.
He poured extra mana into the spell, compressing the amount of time he could cast it in exchange for power, so a short yet devastating burst of wind blades was shooted.
The fighter raised his defenses, channeling energy into a martial art that looked far from basic. Alex couldn't tell the difference visually, but it seemed to be an advanced element.
Still, the windslicer barrage broke through it. Shallow cuts began to appear on the man's arms and shoulders, bloodying his clothes as he jumped back to regroup with the mage.
"Cael, protect me! I'll take a potion — I'm out of mana!" the fighter shouted.
"Kay, but Toric, be careful," the mage replied. "His spells are as treacherous as he is. He redirected the Water Spear aimed at you to me after you dodged it!"
"Fuck…" Toric muttered. He had been so focused on Alex that he hadn't noticed the spell's change in trajectory earlier.
Alex watched as Toric took a bluish potion from his sub-dimensional ring and drank it.
"Hahaha! That's the benefit of power, you lowlife! What can you do now?!" Cael laughed maniacally, mocking the fact that nobles could bring potions while commoners couldn't.
"Well, shitt—" Alex mocked, then pulled out a potion of his own and drank it in plain view.
"What the hell?! How did you even get that in?! You cheating bastard!" Cael shouted.
"I won't bother explaining to someone with a room-temperature IQ," Alex sneered. "Let's just say, unlike you, I'm not mentally challenged."
He kept taunting, hoping to alter Cael's state of mind. Using his venomous tongue as a weapon, trying to anger him into provoking mistakes while buying time.
For now, all he needed was to stall — the real surprise was yet to come.
After both sides downed their health and mana potions, the battle was about to resume.
"Wait!" Alex shouted suddenly, streching his arm forwards.
"Too late for mercy!" Toric roared, charging forward.
"Don't you at least want to put your pants on first?" Alex blurted out. "How long do you plan to fight with your sausage out and the wind cooling your ballsack?"
The two men froze, then glanced down.
They had completely forgotten they were still naked from the waist down.
"I'll wait," Alex said coolly — but he secretly cast another Water Spear, hiding it beneath the undergrowth.
As the two idiots hurriedly dressed, never taking their eyes off him, Alex readied himself.
The moment Toric finished tying his belt, he lunged forward. "Now prepare to die!" he shouted.
Alex assumed a mock defensive stance. "How cliché," he muttered.
When Toric got close enough, Alex triggered the hidden spear.
The projectile shot out from the brush. Toric barely had time to react — he activated his defensive art, while Cael, unable to attack without hitting his ally, threw up a Water Shield to help.
The spear smashed through the shield with ease, striking Toric square in the chest, penetrating even his martial arts. Though its momentum had diminished, the impact flung him backward into the rock formation.
He grunted in pain, clutching his chest as his bracelet began to tremble — close to triggering his forced teleportation to the academy.
"That bastard… using underhanded tricks!" Toric hissed through clenched teeth.
"Using treachery! Do you have no shame?!" Cael shouted.
Alex gave him a look that screamed, Are you stupid?
"Aren't you the ones fighting two versus one? Did you fall out of the cradle headfirst as a baby? Talking about shame… tsk, tsk," Alex said mockingly.
"I truly can't measure the level of stupid you are — and that's saying something."
Toric snarled, drinking yet another health potion before standing up again.
Meanwhile, Cael, enraged by Alex's words, began rage-casting.
He unleashed Lightning Sparrows, a novice spell that summoned six crackling birds of pure electricity, all darting toward Alex from different angles.
Alex saw them coming and quickly cast Water Shield with all his remaining mana, diving behind a thick tree for cover.
Four of the sparrows struck the trunk, charring it black. The remaining two hit Alex's shield, which shattered under the combined force — even though water normally countered lightning defensively.
A surge of electricity burned his skin, leaving his limbs numb.
Toric seized the moment and charged.
"Haha! Now you're done for! I'll kill you in one blow so you won't even have a chance to teleport back!" he laughed.
"Haha—ugh, that's nice and all," Alex said, grimacing, "but shouldn't you be more on guard?"
"What?" Toric frowned, glancing around.
"Tell me, asshole," Alex smirked, "when's a mage most vulnerable?"
Toric's eyes widened. He turned toward Cael — who was just uncorking another mana potion.
"Hey! Watch out!" Toric shouted.
"Wha—?" Cael started, but froze as a sharp pain erupted in his chest. He looked down to see a hand covered in ice piercing through his body, his faintly beating heart clenched in its grip.
His eyes grew lifeless, then, in a flash of light, he vanished — leaving only the heart behind.