187 Sparring with Willim (1/2)
With a big smile, Willim replied. ”Yes, lets. Follow me.”
Willim parted the crowd and led Jack to the very center of the town square, where it was the most open. With help from his party on horseback, the foot traffic was redirected and there was plenty of room for the match.
”I'll warn you beforehand, be careful with my ice. I don't want to turn you into a hero icicle.”
”Just try your best, your highness, and we'll see how it goes. I think I'll surprise you even more.”
As they shared some friendly banter, both of them took their positions about ten meters away from each other.
Of the men on horseback, one had a more imperial uniform, showing his higher rank. At the edge of the battle area, he dismounted and looked at the two young men. ”This is a sparring match to test your skills and not a match to the death. The victor will purchase the frost pearl and that'll be the end of it. Please, take care of each other. Fight!”
Frosty air whirled around Willim, growing with each passing second. Hail and icicles formed inside that wind but stayed airborne, guided wherever the wind went.
”Icicle Storm!” Willim yelled as the winds were directed towards Jack.
At the same time, a heatwave was coming from Jack. Flames were gathering at his fingertips and coalescing in his palms. Launching the flames forward, Jack shouted, ”Fireball!”
Half a dozen small fireballs flew from Jack's hands and collided with the cold wind filled with shards of ice. A small explosion of steam sounded out, alerting everyone in the nearest kilometer of the duel taking place.
For the crowd, the steam seemed to heat up their blood, riling them up for a good show. They all thought their prince as nigh unbeatable, yet here was another young man matching him.
”Good! If you couldn't handle that much, your reputation as a hero would have been undeserved. Now, try this one.”
The warm air vanished in an instant. Cold, blue energy gathered in Willim's palms, appearing frozen yet still agile. Growing without end, the wind was blowing together with that blue energy to form a sphere. As Willim opened his arms with a smile, that ball of cold wind expanded drastically, becoming two meters in size.
”Blizzard Orb!”
That condensed ball of raging winds and frost was launched at Jack with incredible speed.
Luckily for Jack, he wasn't just wasting time, watching the prince cast spells without preparing a counter. More fire was condensing into a ball, this time becoming lighter in color as it condensed more and more. All of Jack's flame energy was forced into a palm-sized ball before threw it toward the Blizzard Orb.
”Flame Burst!”
That royal guard who was judging the match was surprised. He was unmoved by the shockwave, but he was excited to know that his young master had finally found a worthy rival.
”Amazing!” Willim was getting more excited with every exchange. The more power that Jack showed, the more enthused he was. ”How about this? We'll see who has the most powerful spells and the first to run out loses.”
”I like the way you think, but I'm not just a mage.”
Willim was about to say something in response when Jack suddenly vanished without a trace. He has a sinking feeling all of a sudden and turned around as quick as his body would let him. But he was too slow.
A fist drilled into the prince's side, knocking the wind out of him and launching him a meter in the air.
Everyone's jaws dropped as they witnessed the undefeated prince crash into the cold hard ground. There was no blood or harsh words, but it was clear that Jack had the upper hand. With an ability that let him vanish so suddenly, Jack could've easily dodged all the prince's spells and punched him much sooner.
Knowing that he was being played with, the crown prince tried to laugh but couldn't with his aching chest. Soon he was up on his feet but he didn't gather any energy or start any spells. Willim knew that he had lost.
”That was great! If it was that easy for you, you should've said so. I would've just let you take the pearl in the first place.”