Pro Mages

Asher said his goodbyes to Mirr, who promised to stop by the town if he was in the area again. Asher liked being able to relax around him. However, further interaction would only put him in the crosshairs. Asher left feeling uneasy as he left the company of the knights that kept giving the side eye.

Asher did not think that it would affect him much. Asher hoped that it would not affect him too much and that he would be written off as a useless mercenary by the soldiers there. He could get his bearings and head back to the city with the sunup. The guard welcomes him back without even checking him out.

"Varas, is that the guy?"

"I think so."

"You mean that shrimp was able to scratch the captain."

As Asher walked past, he could easily hear soldier gossip. News of a red-headed mercenary scratching up Captain Regard has gotten around. "Well, that is going to cause some trouble, and hopefully, they won't try to get me to join the army."

Asher headed to the mercenary guild before anything else. He planned to turn in the smaller male boars while keeping he would keep the female boars for himself, and he would have too much trouble explaining how he got two by himself. Considering he stole them from Thorn-in-the-ass, the boars would only serve as proof that he was the one that stole them.

When Asher approached the guild, crowds overflowed from the guild and some in the street. "Woah, there are far too many people out here." Asher was still small so that he could slip underneath the crowds.

The crowd surrounded the magi-screens. They all seem pretty excited. "The Vijey Festival tournament was supposed to be today. It feels like a sports bar during a world championship, and I guess that is to be expected."

Asher reached the desk, where a frantic Talan was darting everywhere. "Hey, Talan, I must turn in some job items."

"Oh, Varas, a job...That was the drill-horned boar meat. Just put the items on the counter, and I will be back to check it." Talan hurried away while Asher pulled the four male boars out of his spatial pocket. Fighting them was not hard. Even with the earth element, the male ones were not discernable from a normal boar.

Asher had gotten the drop on them, and a few shots were enough to bring them down. "I am glad. I didn't ruin the pellet too badly, and it might drop the value if I put too many holes in it." Asher waited for Talan to return. He looked around and didn't see William anywhere. Most likely, he was still in the mountains trying to get the most enormous boar he could find.

When Talan came back, he looked over the boar corpses before letting out a sigh. "There. Sign here, and here is your reward." Talan handed over the clipboard and a sack of money for Asher to sign.

"You seem exhausted," Asher commented as he returned the clipboard to Talan.

"You have no idea. We put up flyers to advertise that we would be viewing the Vijey Festival. Half the city must have come. Everyone either wants food or beer, and we are in no way prepared for so many." Talan looked like he was about to cry. "I have been running around all morning, yet the finals haven't started."

Asher felt bad for Talan. The dude could not keep up, but at the same time, Asher could not think he had brought this nightmare on himself. Magi-screen were rare even though they were a year old. Advertising the fact that you have one during such a big event was pretty much-asking people to overrun the guild to see it.

'This is your grave, not mine.' Asher left the counter and found a clear spot with a nice view of one of the screens. The screen came to life, and a petite woman appeared. Asher stared blankly at the screen. 'Is that an idol?'

The woman on the screen was cute and young, wearing a frilly dress. She was going through her introduction, but Asher was questioning his sanity. 'What is with this world? An idol. What anime bs is this?'

"We have seen all manner of amazing skills."

'No, we haven't.' Asher thought to himself.

"So many amazing and skilled mages. Every mage should feel proud of their accomplishments. I am sure everyone wants this could have lasted forever."

'No one wants that.'

"As much as amazing this Vijay Festival was, it is finally coming to a close. This year has been amazing. So many ups and down. Laughs and tears." The announcer was famous as some men would hoot and shout as she made exaggerated expressions.

'Get to the point.' Asher became increasingly annoyed at the announcer's long-winded speech.

"Now, to meet our final mages." Asher resisted the urge to shout 'finally.' "The handsome stranger from the eastern content is in the blue corner: Jing Yu." The screen panned to show a man with long black hair and black eyes. He wore a robe that looked like he had stepped out of a wuxia novel. His hair was tied back with a white headband that matched his long white robes.

He held a Jain sword in his left hand by the sheath. The man was calm and collected, with an air of ferociousness. Even though he was on the other side of the screen, Asher felt the man could see into his soul with his focused gaze. "That man gives off the air of someone who has trained most of his life. Bet he is an amazing martial artist."

"Jing Yu is a master at mana manipulation and conversion. Despite being a tridecmage, it has not stopped him from taking out all his opponent with skill and grace. He hails from the Laosengong sect of the Honghui Dynasty in the eastern Continent. He likes tea, long walks, and yes, ladies; he is single." That last comment seems unnecessary.

Asher observed the man. The man did not lack anything in the way of confidence. Even with his clothes covering most of his body, Asher could tell he was well-toned from years of training. The man walked as if he was taking a casual stroll through a garden rather than walking onto the stage of a massive tournament. He was fair-skinned and had a feeling of purity like untouched snow.

"Guess Sects are a thing in this world? Maybe they are specific to the eastern Continent rather than being widespread. That would make sense why I have never heard of any sects. Much less the Laosengong sect." Asher murmured to himself. "I need to visit the eastern Continent one day, and learning more about these sects would prove beneficial. Wander if Cynthia knows something."

"And the Red corner, the beautiful temptress that has captured every man's heart: Carmon Galli-Marie. This rose comes here from the White Rose Masquerade Theater Troupe based in the Droeso Republic on the Southern Continent. Don't let her appearance fool you. She has proven that there is a sharp thorn on even the most beautiful rose." A woman stepped on the stage.

She contrasted sharply with the gentlemen standing firm on the other side. She was beautifully tan with long black hair that rolled down in waves. She was not dressed for a fight but rather a ball. She wore a sizeable Victorian dress that bellowed outwarded with frills. Black lace gloves were wrapped around the parasol handle.

The man was the picture of pure youth, while this woman was developed and mature. Her low-cut bodice gave everyone a clear view of her bouncy caramel breast. Everything about her was to draw the eye to her. Her pouty lips were red and full, and her eyes were a hypnotic shade of green. Her hair was decorated with a bright red rose.

"Now, without a due, let's begin." A lime-colored light emanated from the ground and crept up to form a large dome before disappearing.

"The barrier element." Asher supposed that using a barrier element to protect the audience made sense, but how much mana was needed to fuel such a barrier? The two opponents stood for a time, watching each other unmoving.

Carmon was the first to speak. "Mr. Jing, how could I convince you to step down? I would feel most distressed if we were to fight, and surely a gentleman like yourself would not feel right trying to harm a flower such as myself." Her voice was silky and sweet, like honey, with a mature tone. She batted her eyes seductively.

The man looked the woman up and down. "Anyone that could rise to this level is someone with great ability. Whether that person is male, or female is none of my concerns, and I will face you with all I am."

The woman carefully closed the parasol and sighed. "Here I was hoping to avoid this unpleasantness." The parasol broke into fragments of light and disappeared. "Well, as they say, the show must go on." Carmon gave Jing Yu a formal curtsy. "Then let us raise the curtain on the show."

Jing Yu drew his sword and aimed it at Carmon. He waved the sword, and eight magic circles formed around him. Copies of his sword created out of ice and launched themselves toward Carmon.

The woman twirled around like she was dancing. Every sword narrowly missed her, but the distance might have well been a mile. Jing Yu drew a symbol in the air with his fingers, and the blades flipped and changed direction, heading back to Carmon.

Again, the same result. A twirl of satin and the sword would narrowly and harmlessly breeze by. The sword came about for another run at the dancing woman, but she opened her mouth and a high-pitched note reverberated from her throat.

The note was pleasant and clear like an opera. The swords trembled and shattered as the note reverberated through the stage. the fragments of the ice swords showered Carmon beautifully. Her empty hand had a small folding fan appear in it. She waved the fan around and wind whipped up the fragments and launched them back at Jing Yu like shrapnel.

In a flash, the sharp icicle projectiles were cleaved in two by Jing Yu's sword. The ground cracked as Jing Yu lunched forward to close the gap between the two fighters. Carmon danced pasted each strike and, when she couldn't, she would use the unfolded fan to bat the sword away. The whole time she was singing.

Each swing of the sword was met with a resounding shockwave of lightning. The azure lightning crackled and dance through the air. One strike hit the ground resulting in a black crevasse to form right where the sword pointed.

It was like watching a scripted fight on a stage. When Carmon's aria reached a high point, the wind to whip around her into a tornado. The wind was strong enough that it picked up Jing Yu sending him flying through the air.

After a few twirls and tumbling, Jing Yu stopped spinning and floated gracefully through the air. "So, this is a fight between two pro-mages." Asher questioned. The sight of these two behemoths were fighting at such a caliber that even one mistake would result in death.