Leo returned to his starting position, eagerly looking around. Zeke knew this gaze; he was waiting for the next challenge. Somehow, he had completely forgotten about the cut on his left forearm.
Vanessa walked over. She grabbed his arm, inspecting the injury. Leo let her do as she pleased as she lightly probed the skin around the injury. "Don't fight back," was all she said.
Zeke nodded at the questioning gaze his brother sent him. Whatever she was trying to do, it would most likely not be anything harmful. After a moment of nothing happening, Zeke noticed the blood beginning to move. It was slow at first but picked up speed rapidly. It separated into dozens of strands, each no wider than a hair. Like being guided by invisible needles, the fine threads began to stitch the wound closed.
From the expression on Leo's face, the process did not seem to be very painful. And after a few short moments, the cut was completely sealed. Leo waved his hand around, flexing his muscles and making a fist. However, no matter what he tried, the stitches held.
"How did she do that?" Zeke asked.
"It's a spell called [Blood Stitches]," Mina explained. "It is used to patch up wounds mid-battle to prevent them from opening further. Usually, our own regeneration will be enough to properly heal any normal injury with just that, but that wouldn't work for your friend…"
Zeke nodded. As a Blood Mage, a properly dressed injury could heal in a matter of minutes. This spell was a brilliant way of making use of that ability. However, there was one problem. "It's not a spell for True Mages, is it?"
"No," Mina said. "It requires a high amount of control. Even if it was possible to perform the spell as a True Mage, it would defy the point. If it takes you minutes to close a wound, you would be better off just finding a healer."
Although he was reluctant to do so, Zeke had to agree. He had observed Vanessa as she cast the spell and knew with utmost certainty that he could not do this. With his current abilities, it would probably be more effective to hold the wound closed with his hands and focus on his regeneration.
This was the first time Zeke truly felt jealous of someone's talent. Not only had she used an advanced spell like it was nothing, she had even used Leo's blood. Up to this point, Zeke had not even been aware that it was possible to do that. To take control of another person's blood was a devastating ability.
A person's body was so steeped in their own mana, that it became resistant to outside influences. However, Zeke had been shocked to see how easy it had been for her to overpower that protection just now.
This was partly because the blood had been outside Leo's body, but that was not all of it. She had overpowered his Mana with brute force and taken control. If this was already possible as a Grand Mage, then Zeke shuttered at the thought of what an Arch Mage could do…
While the two of them had been talking, another fight had started. Zeke checked the boy's core and found that he had a different engraving than Philip. According to Mina's explanation, this was [Blood Generation]. From the way the battle progressed, Zeke was beginning to understand how proper Blood mages fought.
The two types had a fundamentally different approach. [Blood Compression] gave the mages a much larger reserve. From what Zeke had seen, Philip's body contained over double the amount of blood as his own. This allowed him to be more liberal in his use of the precious resource. Zeke would never use his blood as a projectile weapon, for example.
The [Blood Generation] Mages were even more ridiculous in that regard, as seen in the fight that was currently unfolding. The boy named James was letting loose a hailstorm of needles. Zeke recognized it as the same spell Philip had used: [Blood Armament]. However, his choice of weapon didn't even have a grip. James clearly had no intention of fighting in hand-to-hand combat. Instead, he used his weapons exclusively as projectiles.
Inside his body, Zeke saw the engraved spell at work. The blood he was using was replaced right away. From the look of it, James would be able to continue his barrage for a long time. The only limiting factor was how long his core was able to keep up with the massive mana expenditure.
At first glance, this method seemed to be the superior approach to Blood Magic. However, Zeke knew this to be false. In fact, he had nothing but disdain for this practice. It wasn't because he looked down on long-range spells. No, it was the fact that the way they used their affinity stood in direct opposition to the core strength of blood magic. At least, to the core strength as Zeke understood it.
Still, at the moment, Leo was struggling. He tried to dodge as many of the projectiles as possible, but he had already been wounded more than once. The blood needles were shot out like arrows, unnerving in their aim. The constant onslaught made it impossible for Leo to even get close. He had not yet used his fire Magic, but if the fight continued like this, then he would have to stop holding back.
"Leo," Zeke yelled over the voices of the excited spectators. "You don't have to fear the needles. They are nothing like the daggers from earlier."
Leo reacted immediately. He vaulted to the side, turning his landing into a roll. At the end of his movement, half his body was already covered in earth. Leo didn't often use his [Earthen Armor] on his entire body. It restricted his mobility and against Zeke's whip, it offered next to no protection. Even Philip's daggers would have been able to penetrate the layers of stone and dirt. As for the blood needles…
Zeke noticed with satisfaction that the needles only penetrated a finger's width into the quickly thickening layer of earth and stone. Leo was now completely encased, the [Earth armor] adapting to the shape of his body. He towered at least a step over everyone present. It reminded Zeke of a miniature version of Maximilian's [Stone Form] from when they had attacked the Feuerkranz mansion.
However, the stone statue didn't move. It merely looked down to where the numerous needles impacted its chest. It then tilted its head and looked toward Zeke. Even without words, he completely understood what Leo wanted to know.
"I'll tell you after the fight," Zeke yelled.
The giant nodded, and with deceivingly fast steps, approached his opponent. James' face was getting more pale by the second. Even so, he didn't stop the torrent of needles, desperate to find some kind of weakness. However, when Leo towered over him, he had no choice but to accept his fate.
"I surrender," he said in a weak voice.
"Victor of the second match: Leo."
One after the other, the layers of stone crumbled away. Moments later, a happily grinning Leo stood on a pile of rubble. "This was close," Leo said. "I almost had to go all out."
James sniffed, misunderstanding Leo's praise as an insult. Leo took no notice of his reaction as he made his way over to Zeke. "The hell, Zeke? Why was his Blood Magic so weak?"
James, who was already in the process of walking away, stopped mid-step. He turned and glared at the two. Zeke smiled awkwardly as he began to explain his theory in the most tactful way possible. "It's not that his Blood Magic is weak, Leo. It just doesn't have the usual advantage."
"What usual advantage?" Leo asked. Many of the surrounding youngsters were listening in as well. Zeke doubted that any Blood Mage wouldn't know about this, but he still explained.
"Just think about it. What makes Blood spells stronger than Water spells?"
Leo thought about the question for a moment. "Isn't it because your blood gets nourished by your core? I think you said it gets stronger the longer it stays within your body?"
Zeke nodded approvingly. "That's exactly right. Now think about it, how much blood did James use during your fight?"
Leo's eyes widened. He looked at the red-tinted ground all around them. "Much more than would have fit inside his body… did he conjure that blood during the fight?"
"Smart," Zeke praised. "Instead of relying on his reserves, he was creating fresh blood right away. It's a decent strategy for a battle of attrition. However, there is a massive downside as well. Without being nourished by your core, your blood magic is only marginally stronger than an equivalent Water spell."
James' glare had shifted to Mina. "How much did you tell him, wench? Why don't you just teach him all our spells while you're at it!"
"I-I didn't," Mina tried to defend herself, but many of the surrounding people were now glaring at her.
Zeke immediately stepped in front of the girl, shielding her from their glares. "Please refrain from making baseless accusations, James," he said harshly. "All Mina told me was the name of the spell. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what [Blood Generation] does. Don't forget, compared to all of you, I had to research Blood Magic on my own. It is only natural that I would have a firm grasp of the theory behind it."
James clearly wanted to argue, but Mordred spoke up first. "I can vouch for that," he said. "I was only a step away, and Mina didn't reveal anything more than the names of the spells. The blame for your pitiful display lies solely with yourself, James."
With a huff, the boy turned and stormed off. However, Zeke didn't miss the red that had crept into his cheeks. He was clearly more embarrassed than angry. Meanwhile, Mordred made his way to the center of the makeshift arena.
He swept his gaze around. "You all have seen Leo's skill," he yelled. "From what I can tell, no generation Mage his age can overpower his [Earthen Armor]. What do you guys think?"
Discontent mumblings could be heard from around half the youngsters. However, nobody opposed the statement in the end. Mordred nodded. "Similarly, our best compression Mages are only marginally better than Philip. Even if someone managed to win in the end, it would be because we've whittled him down, not because we were better."
"This sounds like you are suggesting we surrender," somebody yelled.
Mordred chuckled. "No way! But Leo will not be able to fight forever. We have to select a candidate that actually has a chance, wouldn't you all agree?"
"And who would that be?" Vanessa questioned, a knowing glint in her eyes.
"Me, of course," Mordred answered right away. "Unless Leo doesn't dare fight somebody a year older?"
Leo's eyes burned with expectation. He was clearly itching for the challenge. But he didn't accept right away. Today, he was merely the gatekeeper. He looked toward Zeke, the question clear in his eyes.
Zeke thought about it for a moment, then nodded. He wasn't sure if he could actually beat Mordred, but it didn't matter. Despite his earlier words, Zeke cared little for his reputation. What good would it do to be considered the best among his peers if everyone a couple of years his senior could wipe the floor with him? Relative strength was meaningless. Real life was seldom kind enough to match him against people his age.
Zeke watched with bated breath as Leo entered the arena. Unlike in the previous bouts, he did not charge, even after Vanessa announced the fight. Without taking his eyes off his opponent, he began encasing his right hand in stone. However, this didn't look like his typical [Earthen Armor]. The stone was completely black in color.
Leo was infusing the stone with Fire and Earth mana at the same time, creating a black material with sharp edges. Zeke momentarily realized what was happening. His brother was creating obsidian. It was a natural stone that formed when lava was extruded from a volcano with minimal crystal growth. He could only guess at how Leo had figured out how to create something like that.
After his hand was completely encased, five knife-like claws extended from it. The talons looked like a cross between an eagle and a bear, each twice a finger in length. After Leo was satisfied with his weapon, he conjured a [Flame Spear] with his left hand. Apparently, he had decided to go all out from the beginning.
There were surprised exclamations from the spectators. Most only realized at this moment how much Leo had held back in his previous fights. None of his last two opponents had even been strong enough to force out his second affinity.
Even Mordred's face changed slightly, not to one of shock, but to one of excitement. Zeke knew this expression. It was similar to the one Leo would get when fighting a strong opponent. And indeed, at this very moment, both had the same look of excitement in their eyes.
Leo hunched forward, getting ready to pounce. "Ready or not… here I come!"