Magic Kaisen!

Early the next morning, Paul took Radeus, Rudeus, and Sylphie to an open area far from the village.

Sylphie still had no idea what was about to happen. She gazed at the unobstructed scenery in the distance, her face full of excitement and joy.

"Wow, Rudeus, it's so beautiful here!"

Rudeus looked around at the scenery and immediately remembered the day Roxy had held their graduation exam.

"It is!"

"Rudeus?"

"Nothing. Well, let's get started!"

Rudeus looked at Radeus, who stood beside him holding a wooden sword.

"But before that, your dad has a couple of things to say."

"First, this is just a friendly match. Ideally, nobody gets hurt."

"Second, Sylphie's here too, so watch yourselves."

Paul addressed the two boys, who were rubbing their hands together, looking eager to get going.

The two glanced at Sylphie and nodded.

"We'll be careful!"

"Then let's get started without further ado!"

Radeus and Rudeus grinned.

They both believed they would win!

Seeing Rudeus wearing the same crazed grin as himself, Radeus's lips curled wildly upward.

"Let's get one thing straight first. You two are the challengers."

Radeus pointed a finger at Rudeus and Sylphie.

"So what? We're still going to win!"

Rudeus looked at Radeus with fire in his eyes.

Here was his chance to get revenge on Radeus fair and square.

How could he not be excited?

He had finally waited long enough to see this day!

"Hey, Rudeus? Rad?"

Looking at the two boys, with the tension crackling between them, Sylphie was a little confused. Wasn't this supposed to be practical combat training?

Did they need to be so murderous about it?

"You two, be careful!"

Paul reminded them too, still uneasy.

Radeus ignored Paul and Sylphie and pounded furiously on his chest over his heart.

With Battle Aura added to the blows, their force even cracked the ground beneath Radeus's feet.

Radeus wore a crazed expression, Battle Aura spilling out around him.

"Now that it's come to this, there's no need for words!"

Rudeus smiled as well.

"You're right!"

The two stood in place as mana began boiling relentlessly within their bodies.

"Cumulonimbus!"

In an instant, dark clouds filled the sky. Lightning spread through them, fierce winds howled, and raindrops began to fall.

"Huh? Rudeus? Rad?"

Sylphie, who had never seen Saint Rank magic before, was bewildered by the spectacle.

Now she knew why they had come to an open area far from the village.

Was it because they were afraid of wiping out the village?

"Hey, hey, hey! You're starting off with this?"

Paul was rather startled by the sight as well.

Indeed, Radeus and Rudeus had cast Saint Rank magic at the same time.

As the saying went, open with a super-tier spell to show respect.

"Looks like we had the same idea!"

Radeus spoke to Rudeus.

Two bolts of lightning struck simultaneously. Neither hit its opponent, but they were like the starting gun for the match.

Both moved instantly, Radeus charging toward Rudeus with his wooden sword in hand.

Seeing this, Rudeus cast earth magic beneath his feet and slid backward, rapidly putting distance between himself and Radeus.

Then a thick mist began swallowing their surroundings. Before long, Radeus could no longer see Rudeus.

"How stupid. You should know how my Six Eyes work. This little bit of mist can't hide you at all."

Radeus smiled disdainfully, mocking Rudeus's decision to spread the mist.

"Is that so?"

Rudeus's voice came from within the mist, but its direction was impossible to discern.

Immediately afterward, four or five Earth Spikes shot toward Radeus.

"What?"

Radeus was shocked. Until the Earth Spikes entered his field of vision, he hadn't detected the slightest disturbance. And what was more...

He couldn't pinpoint Rudeus's location.

This mist wasn't simply fog. It was made up of highly concentrated mana.

The traces of mana from the earth magic had been concealed by the mist's enormous quantity of mana, which was why Radeus hadn't noticed them.

"You really are something, Rudeus."

Radeus sliced the Earth Spikes apart with his wooden sword and praised Rudeus.

What a monster! He could cut them down with a wooden sword?

"If earth magic doesn't work, how about fire magic?"

Radeus was using a wooden sword. If he greatly strengthened his fire magic with mana, surely even Radeus wouldn't be able to block it.

Several intensely hot fireballs attacked Radeus from every direction.

Faced with fireballs at such a temperature, Radeus could only keep dodging. If he took them head-on, his wooden sword would most likely be damaged even if he coated it in Battle Aura.

"Don't think I'm out of tricks, Rudeus!"

Radeus looked into the depths of the mist. Then fierce winds blew outward from him, forming a tornado that swept the mist up within it.

Carried away by the gale, the mist vanished without a trace, and visibility returned to normal.

"How's that?"

Radeus looked at Rudeus, his eyes brimming with smug satisfaction.

He had expected to see surprise on Rudeus's face, but instead, Rudeus pointed at the sky and smiled as though his scheme had succeeded.

Lightning had gathered densely above Radeus. The instant he looked up, it struck faster than he could react.

Unable to dodge in time, Radeus was fried crisp on the outside and tender on the inside.

His entire body turned the color of charcoal.

"Rad!"

Paul and Sylphie shouted. Surely Rad hadn't died?

Just as the two were worrying, the charred Radeus suddenly began clapping.

"Amazing, amazing. That was really sweet!"

Red light flickered over Radeus's body, and then he returned to his original physical condition, as though the lightning had never struck him.

Seeing that Radeus was fine, both let out sighs of relief.

Rudeus wasn't worried in the slightest either. After all, he knew something of this level couldn't affect Radeus.

"Just what I'd expect from you. That healing magic is a little ridiculous."

Rudeus looked at Radeus's healthy, rosy face.

Radeus said nothing. His reply to Rudeus was a huge Ice Spike falling from the sky.

With a wave of his little hand, Rudeus imitated Radeus's wind magic and reversed the huge Ice Spike's direction, then poured fresh mana into it and sent it flying at Radeus.

The Ice Spike shot rapidly toward Radeus, but there wasn't the slightest trace of panic on his face.

Relying on his outstanding physical abilities, he rapidly closed in on Rudeus. He was so fast that the Ice Spike couldn't even hit him.

Seeing that Radeus was about to get right in his face, Rudeus activated his quagmire magic.

When Radeus was about three meters from Rudeus, he noticed that the ground beneath his feet had instantly turned into a swamp, preventing him from taking another step forward.

Watching the immobilized Radeus, Rudeus slowly approached, a fireball appearing in front of his hand.

This fireball had been formed from Rudeus's highly concentrated mana. The heat and power it produced were no less than those of a small artillery shell.

Even Radeus had no way to take it head-on.

Faced with this situation, Rudeus delivered his victory speech.

"This time, I win! Be good and admit defeat!"

Rudeus looked at Radeus smugly.

Radeus's expression darkened.

"Is that so?"

Then the wooden sword flew from Radeus's hand and struck Rudeus squarely in the forehead.

There was a bang.

Rudeus fell peacefully asleep. Being young really was great-he could fall asleep the moment his head hit the ground.

"That's the North God Style, kid! Let your guard down, didn't you!"

"What made you think you could get that close to me?"

Radeus broke free of the swamp's grip, planted a foot on Rudeus's back, and laughed heartily.

Watching from the sidelines, Paul clapped in praise as well.

"What a beautiful throwing technique, Rad!"

Meanwhile, Sylphie: What did I come here for?