Reincarnated with an SSS-rank Tamer System: My Harem of Villainesses-Chapter 14 - The Duel - Part 1

Adam stepped into a combat stance in front of Dorian, already starting to feel the adrenaline coursing through his body after so much time. He had spent weeks training, preparing for this moment, and now he could finally put everything he had done to the test.

His family was several meters away from the combat area, far enough to be out of range of any attack, but close enough to intervene with intermediate or advanced level magic if things went wrong.

Dorian stood before him with a relaxed posture, almost as if this combat were nothing to him. He hadn’t even drawn his sword from his belt, let alone his staff to cast spells.

’He’s not even on guard,’ Adam thought as he analyzed every detail of his opponent. ’He’s completely underestimating me... it was to be expected.’

Several seconds passed in absolute silence where neither of them took the first step. Adam expected Dorian to attack first, as if wanting to end the combat quickly, but seeing that he didn’t, he decided to take the initiative.

He took a step forward and at that precise instant, a massive column of magical energy brushed past his left cheek with such speed that he could barely see the movement. The air felt dense for a second before he heard an explosion behind him, where the column had impacted the ground with enough force to leave a smoking crater.

Adam stood completely still, stunned.

’What the hell...?’ his mind tried to process what had just happened. ’At what moment did he move? At what moment did he cast the spell?’

He looked toward Dorian and that was when he saw it: the staff was floating beside him, glowing with a soft blue radiance as it slowly rotated on its own axis. Telekinesis magic.

Dorian hadn’t even moved a finger.

Faced with this, Adam could only swallow hard as he felt sweat begin to form on his forehead. ’This is going to be much more exciting than I thought.’

He took a couple of steps back, giving himself space to think of a strategy. Attacking directly was useless; Dorian could cast spells without even moving and clearly had mana control far above his own.

’I need to do something that forces him to move or at least distracts him...’ he thought while his eyes scanned the battlefield. ’If I could reduce his visibility...’

An idea crossed his mind. ’That could work.’

He raised his right hand and concentrated his mana in his palm, visualizing the basic fire spell he had been practicing during these weeks. A small fireball formed in his hand before he launched it directly at the ground in front of Dorian.

But it didn’t end there. Immediately after, he launched a water spell with his other hand, also aiming at the same spot.

Both spells collided against the ground, producing a massive column of steam that rose rapidly, covering the area where Dorian was in a matter of seconds.

Dorian didn’t even seem fazed. With a simple movement of his right hand, reinforced with mana, he dissipated all the steam in a single blow as if it were common smoke.

But when his vision cleared, Adam was no longer there.

Dorian glanced sideways to his left and there he saw him: Adam was barely a few meters away, moving at full speed toward him with his right fist ready to strike him in the stomach.

However, before he could even get close enough, several sharp rocks appeared in the air like spears heading directly toward Adam; one grazed his neck, another passed near his side, and a third nearly pierced his shoulder.

Adam had to retreat immediately to avoid being impaled.

’He’s even trying to kill me,’ he thought as a strange smile formed on his face. ’Perfect.’

That excited him even more. There was nothing like a real combat where your life was truly at risk. It reminded him of his fights in his previous world.

The smile on his face grew wider, almost disturbing.

Dorian sharpened his gaze upon seeing that expression. For the first time since the combat began, he seemed to be paying true attention to him.

Adam instantly performed the same attack as before, covering the area in steam.

At this, Dorian clicked his tongue in irritation.

"It’s useless. The same trick won’t work twice."

After saying that, he dissipated the steam with another sharp movement of his hand, expecting to see Adam running toward him again.

But this time he wasn’t there. Not to his right, not to his left, nor in front of him.

Dorian frowned and looked up just in time to see Adam falling from several meters in the air with a descending kick aimed directly at his head.

Time seemed to slow down for a second while Dorian processed what he was seeing. ’He jumped? At what moment...?’

Dorian reacted at the last instant, casting a cutting wind spell that tore through Adam’s body mid-air. The attack opened several cuts along his torso and arms; blood splattered slightly while the pain should have been enough to make anyone scream.

But Adam didn’t even seem fazed. What’s more, he seemed even more excited.

"Got you," he said as he twisted his body in the air and launched another kick with all his strength.

Dorian barely had time to unsheathe his sword and use it to block the kick. The blade dug into Adam’s leg at the moment of impact, piercing the flesh enough to make him bleed profusely.

But Adam didn’t back down; instead, he used that same leg as a pivot point and launched another kick with the other leg, forcing Dorian to retreat several steps to avoid the blow.

Adam landed on his feet, feeling his left leg burning from the open wound. Blood began to soak his pants, but he didn’t care.

Nox reacted within him, clearly agitated by the state of his body. Adam could feel how the small dragon wanted to use healing magic to help him like last time.

"Don’t get involved in the fight," Adam murmured in a low but firm voice. "This is my fight."

Nox stayed still after that, though Adam could feel he was still worried.

The combat continued without stopping after that.

Adam tried different methods: direct attacks combined with basic magic, feints to deceive Dorian, erratic movements to make it difficult for his spells to aim, but most didn’t work; Dorian blocked or dodged everything with an almost insulting ease.

But some attacks managed to force him to truly react to defend himself.

Adam lunged forward once more with sword in hand, slashing horizontally toward Dorian’s neck, who blocked it with his own sword in a clash that resonated throughout the courtyard.

Before they could separate, Adam launched a point-blank fire spell that Dorian had to dissipate with mana, giving Adam time to connect a low kick against his leg.

Dorian retreated and counterattacked with a flurry of cutting wind that Adam dodged by centimeters, rolling to one side. Upon standing up, he threw his sword directly at Dorian as if it were a spear while he himself ran along the side.

Dorian deflected the sword with a magic shield, but had to turn quickly when Adam appeared from the other side, throwing a mana-reinforced punch that grazed his cheek.

The fight was intense, a constant exchange of blows, magic, and movements that kept both in a state of constant alert.

Ten minutes later...

Adam was standing with cuts and stained with blood that covered a large part of his body. His clothes were torn in several places and he was breathing heavily due to the physical exertion. But on his face was that smile, that damn smile that seemed to say: "This is exactly what I wanted."

Dorian, on the other hand, barely had spots of dirt on his clothes. There wasn’t a single visible scratch on him. But his expression had completely changed; he no longer showed disdain or boredom. Now he was serious, concentrated on the fight.

***

From a distance, his family watched the combat with different reactions.

Seraphine had her arms crossed while looking at Adam with an expression that could be interpreted as simple interest, but with a slight... surprise? It was hard to say for sure given her nature.

Adam’s other siblings were clearly surprised that he had held out for more than ten minutes against Dorian. The two sisters whispered between themselves. In contrast, Kaelen watched in silence. He stood with his arms crossed and a serious expression bordering on disappointment. Not toward Adam, but toward Dorian. ’For an instructor to take this long against someone of such a low level...’

Liora, his mother, had her hands pressed against her chest as she watched her son’s deplorable state... all of it filled her with worry. She turned to her husband, Alden.

"Put an end to the combat, it’s been enough," she said with urgency in her voice.

But Alden did not look away from the duel. His expression was serious.

"No," he replied firmly. "He asked for this. With this, I will see if he is worthy of bearing the Shadowend name."

Liora tightened her lips but said nothing more.

In the center of the courtyard, Adam and Dorian stared at each other, both preparing to continue.