A little bit off the camping site, Fela finally took away the last of my binds. She dispelled them, with another snap of her fingers, and winked at me. She probably suspected I would try to make a run, which I might try to if not for that scheme of mine. And if I was an idiot, I suppose.

All of her men, some still holding the reigns of their raptors surrounded us in a while circle. To guard, make sure I don’t try anything I would regret. And to spectate as well. Even Gael was there, giving me thumbs up, making silly faces, and looking stupid in general. It makes me wonder how the original Reyc could stand him.

“Did you ever actually duel someone?” Fela asked me, and after my short answer continued with her arrogant smile. “I’m glad to be your first then. Each one can ban one of the types of magic - neither will be permitted to use it during the fight. It’s a friendly spar, so let's go only to “the first blood” or till one of us yields.”

I nodded slowly, trying to make it look like I'm deliberating anything. However, I already knew what’s Fela’s specialty and what exactly would clip her wings. If only temporarily.

“No fire, then.”

“Sure.” There was a shadow of disappointment on her face, but it passed quickly. She grabbed a magic staff - no fancy ornament’s on it, or carvings, just a simple wooden quarterstaff - something she was proficient at using. “Then I don’t want you to use entropy.”

An odd choice. It wasn’t something often favored by mages, borderline obscure and dangerous, but it made sense in a way. Fela knew she was going against a Gate. Even if I didn’t know how to exactly use my powers, anything could come out of me. I would be happy if she picked another type, one of the elements, then it would be easier not to cast it by accident. But I always considered magic to be boring at best, so now I would have to guess and pray that none of my spells were entropy ones.

“Fine by me” I just shrugged.

“You guys should ban lightning as well,” Gael added from the side.

“And why is that?” Fela eyed him skeptically.

“Reyc has piercings,” with a grin he nodded in my direction. “Would be a shame if the electric current were to leave burns.”

How did he even know about my piercings?! It was weird enough for me that this body had them as well.

Fela turned to me, cocking her head with interest. “I guess I can’t say ‘no’ to that..”

“Don’t,” I whispered.

“... If you show me them later.”

Did Gael spy on me during one of the stops? Or maybe he just felt it while we hugged? Or sneaked a peek at some other point, since actually, I was still only in my pajamas and hastily put on boots? Is this something he simply knew about Reyc?

Either way, I just sighed. “Can we get on with this duel?”

Fela snorted with laughter but moved back to her position, and so did I. I could have asked for some sort of weapon, but I decided against it. I just needed to show off how powerful my Gate was.

One of Fela’s men whistled giving us the sight to start.

Immediately Fela rushed towards me, not even bothering to cast anything, just wanting to smack me with the staff. I managed to dodge once or twice, but obviously, she was faster than me. The hardwood connected with my knees, stomach, and even my back, painfully, but I could still stand on my own.

For now. It seemed that this whole duel will end faster than I expected…

Fela switched her grasp on the staff, leaving one hand free, and in it, I saw her preparing some spell. I tried to block her with my arms, but she just moved them away with the staff and brought the palm with a spell to my chest.

Immediately I felt something moving inside of me. I folded in half on the grass and heaved, spitting and vomiting clear water, tears rolling from my eyes and my nose clogged. If we fought for real she could make me extract all the water from my body with just this single spell. She would have a perfectly preserved mummy in just a minute.

I blinked the water from my eyes, and as I expected the list of spells appeared in front of me. I didn’t have too much time to peruse through all my options, but I did some homework while still on the cart, and picked spell name that was familiar to me.

「 Binding Grasp

Cost Level: low

Conditions: Unobscured line of sight with the target 」

It seemed fair to use the very same spell Fela cast to put binds on me.

I turned her way, catching the sight of the blond hair in disarray and her manic grin, and snapped my fingers. As if on cue I felt massive power within myself. Something expanded from my chest with every shaky breath I took.

Fela however was faster. Her eyes narrowed and with a swipe of her arm, she deflected the spell to the side. It hit one of the trees on the edge of the clearing and its trunk creaked and busted under the force of magical binds.

“Damn…” Fela murmured.

I was so glad she managed to dodge it. Even though right after that she again smacked me with her staff, this time aiming for the head.

I dropped to the ground and rolled out of the way. The staff landed in the place my face was seconds ago. Being on my back, I could now clearly see Fela taking another swing at me, and crossing my arms I picked another simple spell from my list.

「 Shield

Cost Level: low

Conditions: Shields only from physical threats 」

The staff never connected with my body. Once again I felt that power. It hurt a lot as if something was grabbing at my ribs, bending them outwards.

I suppose that’s what they meant by calling it a Gate within the person - my ribs were two sides of the door that wanted to be pried open. To let something out, something bigger than myself.

The Gate was open, and the protective shield was cast over me. When Fela’s staff came close to this invisible protective layer it was as if the bomb was detonated. There was a big flash of light and immense power grinding me to the ground, and sending Fela afloat.

It was as if I ended up crushed under a mountain. And the last thing I saw was Fela screaming, thrown across the clearing.