Geometric Mage: First Spell, Circle

"And why the hell do I have to learn how to use a sword if I am a damn Mage!" she shouted while another strike from her opponent landed cleanly on her.

"The monsters will try to get close to you," the woman replied, preparing to deliver the painful blow against Pixie. She was not focusing, so she would punish her. "You cannot let yourself be caught unprepared."

Her sword spun with grace, striking Pixie's exposed side with the flat edge, bringing the sparring match to an end. "The event is not made only for the Bronzes," she added, "but also for us Silvers."

"Ahh!" a cry of pain echoed in the air, making Albert worry. "Did you not say you would go easy on her, Gin?" he protested, rubbing his sore side.

The woman who had just won the sparring, Gin, opened her mouth to reply when the sound of an explosion shattered the calm atmosphere that hung heavily over the place.

A faint tremor shook the ground for an instant.

"What the hell was that?" Albert looked around, trying to figure out where the sound had come from.

The place where they were was filled with other students, each one whispering and murmuring about it.

"I have no idea, but it seems to be coming from that side—" Pixie's eyes were fixed in a particular direction, her senses sharpened to the maximum.

"Shall we take a look?" Gin made a semi-circular movement with her blade, flicking away some imaginary crimson drops before she slid it into the sheath tied at her waist.

The two nodded with a tilt of their heads, sprinting toward the zone of interest, swallowed by a cloud of black smoke.

However, they were not the only ones. The other students in the area had also heard the explosion and were heading toward the same place.

---

"Geometric Spell: Circle!"

Lian closed his eyes. The usual and wonderful transparent circle appeared in his mind. He only had to draw over it.

No variants, just a normal circle, he thought, his right hand stretched forward, elbow slightly bent.

A second later, the system notification appeared in his mind, as always.

[Accuracy: 97%]

In front of Lian's open palm, a fireball of normal size, but radiating a significant energy, made its appearance.

Swoosh—

A moment later, the fireball flew directly toward the borders of the garden barrier, causing an explosion.

A faint smoke rose from the ground, but nothing had been destroyed. "The barrier works," Lian murmured.

His spell had not even caused a ripple on its surface.

"Well, now let us try to add the magic formula." Taking position, Lian once again extended his hand forward.

"Geometric Spell: Circle."

"Ignis Arde, Ignis Globus."

[Accuracy: 95%]

A moment later, a fireball slightly larger than the previous one, with far greater power, appeared before Lian, before darting forward at great speed toward the barrier.

Boom—

This time, the explosion was much more pronounced than before.

"Tsk, I do not understand the meaning of this…" His hand opened and closed while he reflected.

"Why does speaking the magic formula create such a different effect? The accuracy of my circle was even slightly lower than the previous attack… there is something I am missing."

Lian thought about it for a few seconds before shaking his head. "Perhaps it only has to do with the fact that I must reach 100% accuracy…" he sighed helplessly.

"But it is too difficult, despite all my efforts it seems impossible to reach 100%."

Taking a few steps back, Lian prepared to truly test his power.

"They could have put a training dummy here. I could have measured my damage better."

From the explosion he had just witnessed, Lian could tell that no Bronze 5 Mage would have been a match. Or almost.

The memory of a certain wind mage resurfaced in his mind.

Patrick.

Of course, back then he had been using a particular artifact that boosted his attack power, but still, the power and size of that wind spear gave him chills.

And then there was Bibo Pegasus.

He had not seen him attack, but only his intention to do so had frightened him. But he was an authentic Silver 1.

"Well, I guess I am somewhere between a Bronze 5 and a Silver 1… but I am only Bronze 4. So no problem, I will surpass them all!"

Lian's confidence came from nothing else but his system.

"Geometric Spell: Circle."

"This time we will do it for real!" a mischievous smile formed on his lips. This time, Lian raised both arms, his mind imagining the most powerful variant he had access to.

Five concentric circles.

Since it was a very particular design, Lian could not rush it. It did not take just a moment like the normal circle, but a full four seconds to draw them all.

And just as the last one was completed—

Let us see if I am stronger than you, Patrick or Bibo! he thought as the magic formula slipped from his mouth.

"Ignis Arde, Ignis Globus!"

Mana surged through Lian's body like a raging torrent.

The usual fireball appeared before Lian, but the heat it emanated and its energy had nothing to do with the previous attacks.

Before Lian could even focus on the fireball in his hands, it launched itself furiously at the barrier before him.

BOOM—

The fireball assailed the barrier like a furious dragon, the sound of the explosion so powerful that Lian went deaf for a moment.

The earth seemed to tremble slightly, as did the barrier that covered the garden.

"What the he—"

Lian had just enough time to close his mouth before the smoke cloud assaulted him.

The smoke surpassed the barrier effortlessly, crossing the sky for dozens and dozens of meters before slowly vanishing with the air.

Lian fled toward the house, coughing as he tried to clear the smoke from his lungs. "This makes no sense—" he hissed, coughing repeatedly.

The mana used for this attack had burned at least a third of his reserves, causing him a sensation of heaviness without precedent.