As Nevan was busy stressing about the measly destruction spell given to him, he noticed an abnormal amount of chatter coming from those around him.
"Look over there! Volan has been put up against the new guy."
"Ah shit, tough luck for the kid. Gonna be a painful lesson for him."
"Wasn't Volan supposed to have ascended already? Why is he still down here with us?"
Nevan looked up to find himself as the centre of attention. Almost all the students in the room had keen eyes on him.
But one student's gaze was most intense.
The man wore the same black Victorian-themed clothes that Nevan wore, and his hair was black and long. He sported a stubbly beard which made him look older than he most likely was.
Around the man's necklace was a red medallion with the emblem of a sun on it. Around his waist was a fencing sword, and his holster carried a grey revolver. His left hand wore a black glove, which had the same sun emblem imprinted onto its palm.
Most importantly, was the strange crystal orb that floated above the man's head.
His head, and no others.
My opponent.
Nevan noticed the menacing look that the man gave him. It was a nasty smile filled with confidence.
As he approached, Nevan tried his best to keep his nerves intact. After all, the professor had mentioned that they could not die.
However, that didn't mean he couldn't still feel pain.
And after seeing the measly destruction spell that he had been given, he was sure that pain couldn't be avoided.
The man stopped a few paces in front of him, standing half a header taller than Nevan was, but roughly the same weight.
"I've never seen you here before. Your name?" Volan spoke dismissively as if he spoke to cattle.
Nevan tried to muster up the same confidence, as he met the man's eyes through his golden monocle.
"Nevan Heart. And you probably haven't seen me here because it's my first day. Unless you knew me before I enrolled?"
Nevan, of course, knew that the man hadn't met him. The remark seemed to annoy Volan, as his face began to lose its smirk.
None of the others in the room had started training with their partners yet. They were more interested in Nevan and Volan's conversation.
"Never heard of you in my life, so you can't be that important," Volan said with a shrug, as he began to roll up the sleeves of his coat. "Let's get started then, no point wasting time."
Then, the man's eyes squinted at Nevan, as if he had something on his face.
"Might want to take off that monocle first though. It's fancy, but it ain't gonna help you in battle. In reality, I don't think anything could."
The sneaky insult earned laughter's around the room. Some seemed forced, as though they were trying to get in Volan's good books.
Nevan simply copied suit, rolling up his sleeves, but keeping his monocle on his face. He even tapped at its rim in a smug gesture.
"Nah. I think I'll keep it on."
Silence hung in the air for a few moments, as the students began to take a few steps back, giving the pair space.
"Well then," Volan said, shrugging his shoulders again. "Suit yourself."
Before even finishing the sentence, the man raised his gloved hand and pointed it towards his opponent.
Before Nevan could even react, an incredible gust of wind crashed into him. There was no point even trying to brace, as it broke through his guard with ease and sent him tumbling over onto his back.
Nevan felt a pain shoot through his spine, though as he tumbled, he used an acrobatic manoeuvre to do a backwards roll onto his feet.
It was a good recovery, but it didn't matter.
The crowd of students let out cheers at the spectacle of magic. Even the professor watched with a smile on his face.
Nevan looked over at his opponent, trying his best not to wince at the pain, though it was impossible to keep the shock from his face.
T-that force!
A cocky smirk began to tug at Volan's lip.
"Really Nevan? That fall was quite exaggerated. It was only a small gust of wind."
The watching students erupted into laughter once again, leaving Nevan to feel like a fool.
A gust of wind... So it's the same spell that I have.
Nevan felt annoyance rising inside of him at the laughter and lifted his right hand, palm facing towards Volan.
The man looked at him with a raised eyebrow before raising his gloved hand once again.
To use the spell was simple. All Nevan had to do was will it.
As he focused on using the spell, he felt a heated essence flow through his body like blood before reaching his palms with force.
A burst of wind shot from his hand, and the recoil sent his arm jolting backwards.
At the same time, Volan let out a gust of his own. One more refined. Controlled.
The two forces met, causing a wave of wind to wash over everybody, forcing them to step backwards.
But it only took a split second for Volan's spell to overpower Nevan's and come crashing towards him.
As the wind hit, it sent him tumbling backwards once again. That spell must have been more powerful, as Nevan was unable to roll to his feet that time.
His Golden Monocle fell loose and landed on the floor beside him.
As he lay on his back, sore with pain, he heard Volan's mocking voice.
"That will teach you not to be cocky." The man said hysterically. "Don't worry, it happens to all new students."
Nevan reached over to his monocle and placed it back over his eye. It was an important item, and he knew that he didn't want to lose it.
But as he did, he felt the powerful essence flow through him once again. The buff of the Golden Monocle.
GOLDEN MONOCLE
— Effect: Grants the wearer a +2 enhancement to the Illusion Vein
He was then reminded of the magic that had been granted to him after putting it on.
The illusion spells.
An idea suddenly popped into his mind as he painfully pushed himself to his feet.
Volan looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
"There's no way... You really want more?"
Nevan met the man's gaze, before suddenly letting out a laugh of his own.
The students must have thought he was some sort of masochist, or plain crazy.
But Nevan knew why he smiled.
"Let's try that again." He taunted, watching Volan's face twist with anger. "But this time, I'll actually go all out."