Chapter 41: 40. The Duel at Night
At the dinner table in the Feilon Mansion at night, only Fisher and Raphael were enjoying dinner. Nana and Feilon seemed to have other matters to attend to and were not in the house.
“Did anything strange happen today?”
Fisher looked at Raphael and asked. The latter wore a puzzled expression and then shook her head.
“Nothing strange, just us, those kids, and the maid in the house.”
“That’s good. If anything happens, suppress it with the magic I gave you.”
Raphael chewed her food and nodded.
“I understand.”
“What magic? Ral wants it too!”
Ral wobbled her short legs and shouted, prompting Fisher to reach out and pat her head, saying,
“You don’t need it.”
Since they bore the slave mark, they could sense their location and condition at any time, so there was no need for extra magic to be used.
Ral squinted her eyes and then said somewhat dejectedly,
“But I have never used magic. Mom said using magic would burn my tail, just like roasting a lizard, and I would never see her again.”
As Fisher listened, he suddenly remembered something and asked them,
“Do you know a companion named Nal?”
He had mentioned before that his information about the dragon race came from a dragon named Nal.
“Yes, it’s Nal! Ral’s brother!”
“Nal is Ral’s brother. He should have been captured not far from us, but he was taken away by other humans, and we don’t know where he is now.”
Mill glanced at the excited Ral and then turned back to explain to Fisher.
“I see. I understand now.”
Fisher nodded and, seeing that they had almost finished eating, said to Raphael,
“Are you done? If you are done, let’s prepare to leave.”
Raphael wiped her lips and then smiled, her eyes full of confidence.
“Hmph, I’m ready.”
Fisher took her confidence in stride and picked up his staff and hat. “Let’s hope so. Stay here, Mill. If anything happens, I’ll sense it.”
The night in Feilon City was filled with a peaceful tranquility. Since the training grounds required passing through the living area of the subhumans, Fisher and the others saw the leisurely and contented subhumans happily sitting at the doorways of their homes, curiously watching the passing humans and the red dragon race.
The environment here was truly relaxing. At least Raphael hadn’t seen such an environment in a long time. She could see something similar in her tribe before, but to have so many different races coexist so quietly was an unrealistic dream for her.
Even so, she was captivated by this moment of tranquility, unable to pull herself away for a long time.
Fisher, however, did not stop for the scenery. After casually glancing around, he quickened his pace, and the stationary Raphael could only see his back.
By the time she noticed, he had already gone quite far, causing her to pout and quickly follow.
The training grounds described by Feilon resembled an open and spacious circular plaza, resting against the wall of the inner city. Faint signs of blackened and uncleanable marks could still be seen on the ground, presumably left by some steam machinery.
“It’s spacious enough; we’ll do it here.”
Fisher walked to the edge of the area, took off his coat, folded it, and placed it on the ground.
He wore a brownish-gray vest over a white shirt and, tall and upright, walked far away while holding his staff before turning to look at Raphael.
So far, he had left no traces of his skills in front of Raphael; she already knew about his physical strength and the magic inscribed on his staff. If she really thought about how to duel, she had to anticipate that he would make countermeasures based on the information he had already provided.
However, what Fisher said about giving his all in every battle against her wasn’t a lie. After all, an adult dragon was on a completely different level than before, and seeing her single-handedly handle an army demonstrated her formidable strength.
Thus, Fisher also prepared a reserve measure: the modified dragon magic.
Traditional pure dragon magic was crude and powerful, but Fisher felt that the application of such magic was too limited. For the past few days, he had been attempting to use human magic theories to improve their dragon magic, which had yielded some preliminary results.
So he raised his staff towards the distant Raphael and said,
“Come on.”
“Hmph, be careful!”
Raphael took a deep breath with her eyes closed and then slowly opened them. Her emerald eyes seemed to glow under the moonlight, and her body began to emit steam, indicating she was fully engaged in battle mode.
“Boom!”
In the next moment, with a loud bang, the ground beneath her feet instantly cracked open, and she shot up like a red meteor, spinning through the air as she charged towards Fisher.
Fisher had anticipated her attack. Given his current physical strength, he certainly could not engage in close-range combat like he did with her when she was still a minor; that would be as foolish as putting his hand into a meat grinder.
So the first step for Fisher was to create distance.
He suddenly leaped backward, and his staff lit up with a radiant glow. The familiar “Dance of the Bees” magic activated. The magic rune on the staff dimmed slightly this time, and the humming light blade intercepted her movements in mid-air.
“This move won’t work anymore!”
Raphael surged forward, enveloped in a torrent of steam, and spun at high speed like a top. The light blade couldn’t hit her at all.
But Fisher’s aim wasn’t to determine the outcome of the battle with a simple light blade; this technique had only served to delay her offensive stance.
The white glow of magic around him flared up again, and the four-ring magic “Gravity Magic” was most suitable for dealing with an opponent like Raphael, who moved at incredible speed. That familiar sense of weight reappeared around her, causing her spinning body to be slammed down to the ground.
“Hah, this move…”
Raphael clenched her teeth, slowly exhaling the breath she had been holding. The next moment, all the scales on her body shone like the sun.
The glow, distinct from when she was a juvenile, was dazzling and almost blinding in the night, warping the very air around her with heat.
The unique way that dragon race enhances their physical attributes was on full display to Fisher in such an exaggerated manner. The ground around Raphael cracked completely, a consequence of her forcefully enduring the gravity magic while moving rapidly.
The cement floor, under the intensified gravity, twisted as if it were air, scorched by the extreme temperatures around her. Her body transformed again into a meteor and surged towards Fisher.
Her strategy was straightforward: she wanted to engage Fisher in close combat.
Fisher’s human body enhancement was nothing compared to hers. The only thing that troubled her was that countless spells could be cast, and casting magic required time and distance. Once they engaged in close quarters, Fisher would have no opportunity to release magic, and at that point, he would have to accept defeat.
Fisher’s gaze flickered, and as he abruptly retreated, he tore off the sleeve from his left arm. If anyone had keen eyesight, they would see a transparent dragon-tooth-shaped magic rune inscribed on the inside of that sleeve.
After Fisher adjusted the input and output of magic, the dragon magic no longer stood out as it used to; now it only emitted light when activated, resembling human magic closely.
The instant the sleeve was thrown out, the inner magic rune ignited, unleashing a massive blue fire wall from the void linked to that magic rune.
“Roar!”
With a roar reminiscent of a dragon’s, the fire wall erupted, putting a distance between Raphael and Fisher. Perhaps due to modifications, this fire was far less extravagant than during the previous night’s testing. Still, the dozens of meters high fire wall was sufficient to block Raphael.
“Ahhhhh!”
She roared, and her glowing dragon claws suddenly pierced through the massive fire wall. Then, her claws hooked onto the flames, and with sheer force, she rent the fire wall apart, her crimson horns shimmering in the night sky as if enveloped by some invisible force.
So that’s how it was—apparently, the manifest magical circuit could provide the dragon race with a semi-magical form, allowing her to touch the very essence of magic.
To Fisher’s eyes, he saw that the inscribed magic rune was grasped by Raphael’s hands in a way that wasn’t visible. With her movements, the magic’s power also became unstable and teetered on the brink of collapse.
Anti-magic combined with tremendously strong physicality—that’s what the adult dragon race was like; no ordinary dragon could be that powerful; only Raphael was that exceptional.
Fisher’s expression remained unchanged, but his body retreated wildly.
In his vision, the scales surrounding Raphael no longer gleamed as they had before; they gradually dimmed.
As Raphael attempted to chase after him, he used some magic to hold her back, maintaining a distance throughout.
As time passed, the fatigue in her body began to rise to her mind. She gritted her teeth as all her strength concentrated in her legs and then, with a powerful push against the ground, appeared in front of Fisher in an instant.
“You can’t escape!”
Her claws formed into knife-like shapes, targeting those fox-like dark eyes of his.
Oh…
No, why did he not look panicked at all!
Seeing the composed Fisher, Raphael, now up close, realized something wasn’t right; yet she still did not want to give up this rare opportunity for a close attack and swiped at him.
However, in the next moment, countless glowing threads wrapped around her body tightly as if they were steel wires—binding her feet, torso, and arms all at once, causing her final strike to barely miss Fisher.
Four-ring magic, “Thread Weaver.”
Even so, despite the attack remaining just a distance away from Fisher, it still sent a gust of wind his way, pushing the air towards his face and causing his hair to fly wildly, disrupting his calm expression.
Then the entire training ground fell silent. Raphael was tightly bound in place, unable to move, her scales dulling in exhaustion.
Raphael lost.
After a second of astonishment at the power of the dragon race, he clapped his hands and summarized,
“Outstanding fight. At least you’ve become aware of your strengths and weaknesses and are leveraging your advantages in battle.”
“But you made two mistakes: you ignited your scales too early to exert your power, and since I hadn’t shown my trump card, you unleashed everything, shortening the overall battle time and reducing your margin for error; secondly, you failed to judge the situation—during your last blow, you realized something was off, yet stubbornly attacked me, coveting that rare opportunity to strike, which ultimately led you into the magic trap I set.”
Raphael puffed up her cheeks and avoided Fisher’s chastising gaze as though that gaze could burn her.
But she felt no resentment because all of what Fisher said was true; reflecting on it simply revealed all the flaws she had made.
“But,” the threads binding her disappeared, and a large hand rested on her head, “other than that, there were no obvious flaws. You did well.”
“Ugh…”
Fisher walked towards where he had placed his suit jacket while casually saying,
“You owe me two chances for punishment. Tonight, I’m going to use one.”
Raphael froze for a moment, her lips trembling as she reached up to rub her red hair.
No. Don’t touch me!
Such a thing…
Her face flushed a deep cherry color, and her armor sagged from his touch, her tail wagging excitedly, causing her heart to race.
Was it because of the battle or because of his touch? She didn’t dare to think further.
Moreover, regarding the punishment, for some reason, it reminded her of the voices of Nana and the City Lord she’d heard last night.
What if Fisher’s punishment was like that?
Please continue reading and voting. Thank you, everyone.
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(End of Chapter)
