The Master of Uradan

A man appeared before him. Plus exactly, a young man, or maybe even a boy. It was difficult to know as this warrior was soaked in blood. His black hair, tied by a purple-red ribbon in his back, was full of a disgusting red sticky liquid. His armor, badly damaged, felt as if a slight pinch would destroy it, while a sword, as red as his body, was held in his hand.

Jared, standing in the middle of the room, watched this man enter through the iron door. He thought that, this night, was probably the end of their group. He couldn't help but sigh at himself, for he had again made the worst choice. He could still be with his teacher, in the wizard's tower protecting the whole kingdom, but no, he had decided it wasn't fun enough and left only to fall on this group of bandits led by this rank 5 Beginner Warrior. What a stupid choice.

And now, the count ruling this city couldn't tolerate them anymore. The day where each warrior working for Bradley had come to discuss their future plan, an assault had been launched by the captain of the guard, and a team of powerful warriors. Their base was now being destroyed, countless warriors had been killed already, and those who were again alive and fighting to preserve these lives were the stronger ones. But Jared, the rank 2 Beginner Wizard, knew that it was only a question of time before they would all be exterminated.

In any case, the warrior in front of him made him feel strange. He seemed weak, but at the same time strong, it was really a strange feeling to have. At least, since he had come from these stairs, it meant that he had killed the rank 4 Beginner Warrior that was playing in there. The battle must have been a tough one, seeing this young man ready to lose consciousness at any time.

"What is your name, boy?" A stupid question, he reckoned. But right now, he felt like he wanted to talk. He didn't really expect an answer actually, as he was sure the enemy would charge at him.

"Rohan. Are you the wizard working with this band of bandits?" But Jared was surprised, as the young man in front of him still answered. Maybe it was just to recover or to wait for reinforcement before the fight, but even so, Jared wasn't in a mood to fight.

"That is correct, I am Jared, a rank 2 Beginner Wizard! It must be the first time you met a wizard, are you scared?" He couldn't help it, as a mighty wizard, boasting was second nature.

"Not really, I have already met an Intermediate Wizard once." It was with these words that Jared understood why the young man, or even the boy in front of him was this peculiar. There wasn't any expression on his face. No fear, no shock, nothing, even though he knew he was facing a wizard.

But even on this face with a mask of calmness on it, Jared could still feel that he was taking this situation seriously. And that was even more shocking to Jared. The warrior in front of him knew that he could die here at any time, but he was still calm. He wouldn't be so shocked if it was an old warrior fighting for decades, but it was a young man, with presumably no real experience.

"Do you think you can survive my encounter?" He couldn't prevent himself from asking this question which was burning his lips. He was truly curious.

"No." For the first time since the warrior had barged inside the room, a thin smile appeared on his face. "But I guess I still have a small chance, who knows."

These words entered directly inside Jared's head, strucking his mind. His own smile bloomed on his face. For a curious reason now, he was happy to have found this opponent.

"Then, " he raised his hand, his fingers stretched toward the sky hidden by the roof and the palm facing this warrior named Rohan, "I think we should begin."

The mighty mana resting on his mana stone inside his head began to boil. Jared compressed it with his will and made it exit the stone. He sent all the mana he controlled on his raised arm. As the intangible mana circled around his limb, he directed it toward a rune that he had drawn himself on his arm, which was hidden by the sleeve of his gray dress. The mana coiling around his arm snaked toward the rune at lighting speed before moving in a particular and precise dance, reproducing with exactitude the spell drawn by the rune.

The processus had only taken a few instant, and Jared looked ahead as the warrior was charging in his direction. The mana he had used, now corrupted with the wind element, made appeared a nearly meter long blade of an almost invisible wing in front of him.

It was the main difference between the mana resting inside the mana stone of the wizards and the one resting inside the mana core of the warriors. The last one was as pure as the mana outside their body, while the first one was transformed by the stone, giving it the ability to be tainted by the power of the element. That was why the Wizard were the most powerful of the world, as their mana was much more potent and malleable than the other mana users.

Without wasting more time, Jared threw his spell Wind Blade toward Rohan at a mighty speed. This one, sensing the attack and the strange mana heading his way, used Charge to get out from where he was. But the wind spells were known to be fast, and as he dashed on the left, the invisible blade still managed to hit him.

Some of his black hair fell on the floor along with the blood coming from his cheek. He sighed of relief, this blow had nearly killed him. But before he could even breath, he sensed another blade coming his way. A wizard. This was his first time fighting such a strong foe, and his life was already hanging by a thread.

He threw himself out of the way, before charging toward Jared. He wouldn't let him at such a distance from him. He took out a potion from his bag and gulped it in a second before using two Charges in a row. He dodge each and every Wind Blades while drinking all his potions one after the other. But as he thought that the wizard in front of him would be with no more mana, Jared took out a mana potion from his bag and drank it before throwing another spell, making Rohan shout of frustration.

The Wind Blades kept crashing on the room, scratching the walls and the floor as Rohan was still trying to shorten the distance. He had nearly died in more than one instance, his already banged up armor was now more a hindrance than anything, and long scratches filled his limbs, making each one of his movements as painful as ever.

But after a few minutes, he finally arrived in front of the wizard with a Charge, before he slashed with all his strength at this physically weak wizard. But the wound expected never came. With a loud bang, his sword hit a wall. A wall made of ice which had appeared from nothing. The ice cracked and shards flew around the two fighters under the vigorous blow made by Rohan.

Jared smiled to himself, as he activated another Wind Blade. He had let this youngster approach him, making him believe he could do it. But which wizard only learned one spell? A defensive spell was an obligatory one against a warrior or any melee fighter. That was what made the wizard feared. And the Ice Wall was the most basic one. Defensives spell along the offensive one, protecting themselves while killing their enemies with powerful elemental mana. That was the way of the wizards.

The distance between Jared and Rohan was minimal, and the last one saw his face fall when he felt the invisible spell being formed another time. He let himself drop on the ground, under a wooden table, before rolling on himself to get out of there. The moment he rolled away from this place, the table was cut clean in two halves, crashing on the floor.

The young man stood up, and for no reason, he took out an utensil from the ground, startling Jared. What was he doing? Then, Rohan turned on himself and threw the object toward the wizard with all his strength. Jared hid behind the icy wall in horror as the item flew only a centimeter or two above his head.

Rohan, as he saw the result of his ridiculous plan, smiled like a demon, and ran around the room to pick up some items here and there. Each time the wizard was trying to launch a spell, a random item would fly in his direction, interrupting him.

Suddenly, Rohan, armed with a sword on his right hand and a plate on the left one, rushed for a second time in the direction of Jared, protected by his ice wall. This time was much smoother, as each time he saw the head of the wizard leaving his protection, he would throw the item he was holding before picking up another one from his collection inside his bag.

This way, he arrived in no time in front of the wall measuring two meters long, one meter and a half high and a thickness of almost the length of his arm. In front of this wall, Rohan stomped his foot on the floor and leaped above the cold wall. While he was in the air, he threw the last object he had kept to prevent his opponent from shooting at him like a poor bird.

But the wizard didn't try to launch a spell, and seeing the warriors nearing him dangerously, he ran away without hesitation. He jumped on a table and glided on it, bumping in the way on countless plates he used everyday for his experiments. As his foot touched the ground, he turned on himself, compressed his mana and sent it all toward his rune representing the Wind Blade spell. The rune lightened a bit under his sleeves, and a Wind blade appeared in front of him. But he didn't stop here.

As Rohan fell on the floor, he straightened up and used Charge to propel himself in the direction the wizard had taken. But what he saw nearly made him scared to death. Two weak mana potions fell on the floor at the feet of the wizard, empty.

Jared smiled at his opponent. For a young warrior, he was really a good fighter, and above all, he knew how to use his head. But now was the end. Before him, ten Wind Blades were floating in the air. It was the maximum he could do, as a rank 2 Beginner Wizard had only as much mana as a rank 2 Beginner Warrior.

But still, it was enough.