The Fractured Mage

Chapter 24 - The Solaris Magic Guild(Part 2)

"Ah, good to see you, Rex. You seem to be full of energy this morning," Ifeus greeted him with a smile.

"So, this is guy you were talking about before, huh, Master? He sure doesn't look all that impressive...and what's with the dumb hair?" Frowned the redhead, narrowing his eyes at me as he peered at my face, "That's one girly face you've got there...tell me, you have any experience fighting Monsters or anything?"

Yeah, I already don't like this guy.

"Hey, there's no need to be such an asshole about it, Rex," Responded Lilac coldly.

"Stay out of this, Lilac. This is between me and the pretty boy," Replied Rex, continuing to glare at me.

"Hi, I'm Topaz Oriole, and I'm the guy not judging someone based on their appearance. Nice to meet you, dickhead," I responded dryly.

"Come on, Master, there's just no way this guy's strong enough to start off at the same rank as me! He's obviously got no experience whatsoever," Scoffed Rex dismissively.

"That may be true, but he's more than strong enough to qualify for a B-Rank. The other day, he landed a pretty brutal hit on me while we were sparring, there aren't a lot of people who can say they've done that," Pointed out Ifeus.

Way to subtly brag...

"Yeah, I don't believe that. Alright, Two-Toned Hair...I challenge you to a duel! Let's test it out, whether you're really B-Rank material!" He declared, pointing a finger at my face.

The hell is this guy's problem?

"Personally, I really don't care what rank I start off at...but, you know, what? The idea of beating the shit out of you is sounding real appealing right now, Tomato Head," I responded icily.

"Well, now, this has taken an interesting turn...alright, I approve of this duel! And I'll also be overseeing it to make sure things don't go too far, so-...," Began Ifeus with a gleam in his eyes.

"Hey, Ifeus, give me your gloves," I interrupted him, holding out my hand expectantly.

I can't use that supercharged punch without covering my fists, in order to hide the glow.

"Huh? Why would you-...oh. Uh, how about no...you absolutely can't use that in a friendly duel. You'll kill him," He shook his head immediately.

"That's the idea, yes. There's nothing friendly about this duel," I responded dryly.

"What are you talking about? Are you trying to scare me into backing off, Master? Because I won't," Chimed in Rex with a frown.

"Looks like you've made up your mind that Topaz isn't strong enough to make the cut for B-Rank. You do realize that I'd be committing a criminal offense if I falsified any of the details of a Guild member I'm in charge of, right?" Replied Ifeus in bemusement.

I mean, he is falsifying my Class, so...

"Hey, what's going on over there?" I heard one of the other Guild members remark.

"Looks like Rex wants to take on the new kid."

"Who's he? His hair is kinda cool."

"I think he's the one the Master mentioned a few days ago."

"This looks like it could be interesting, let's check it out!"

Fine by me...putting this obnoxious redhead in his place with an audience watching sounds even better than just beating him up with only Ifeus to witness it.

"So, are we doing this or what?" Inquired Rex with a raised eyebrow.

"You're so gonna regret this," I shot back with a glare.

"Save it for the duel, you two. Let's head down to the basement," Remarked Ifeus, leading the way.

"I'm gonna enjoy putting you in your place, Two-Toned Hair," Declared Rex cockily.

"You took the words right out of my mouth, Tomato Head."

"This is so not going to end well for you," Lilac said to Rex confidently.

Hey, come on, don't jinx me.

"Oh, please...he's a Martial Artist, right? Well, I'm an Inferno Mage, I can fight at any range, while he's restricted to close range! Even if he is on the same level as I am, I have the advantage," He pointed out in response, as Ifeus led us down a flight of stairs.

I see, so he possesses the Fire Class. The Basic Tier is called Fire Mage, and the Ascended Tier is called Inferno Mage. As for the Apex Tier, that's called Lightning Mage.

I hate to admit it, but he's right...without accessing my Ether Mage abilities, I'll be at a disadvantage. Not to mention, I have hardly any experience fighting against ranged attacks.

Iris, as a Saber, is a close-range fighter, Lilac uses some ranged attacks with her throwing weapons, but I haven't sparred against her all that much. And except for the last time I sparred against Ifeus, he'd previously only ever stayed on the defensive whenever we sparred.

Still, though...I have no intention of losing this fight. I'll have to focus on evading his attacks, try to close the gap, get within close range and then strike where the sun doesn't shine...

"Alright, here we are," Grinned Ifeus, as we reached the bottom of the stairs.

Holy-...this place is huge! It's like a stadium, with an arena in the middle, and rows of seating by the sides. This seems kinda excessive, why does Ifeus have a space like this down here?

"Dad likes to hold mock tournaments down here to keep the Guild members motivated when things are slow, in case you're wondering with the space is so large," Lilac informed me with a wry smile.

Did she read my mind or something?

"Alright, you two, make your way down to the arena. I'll countdown from ten, the duel begins when I get to zero. And when I say stop, that'll be the end of the fight. Are you both clear on the rules?" Inquired Ifeus, as he finished his explanation.

"Crystal," I responded with a nod, as I began making my way down towards the arena.

"Walk behind me, pretty boy," Huffed Rex, grabbing my shoulder as he stepped out in front of me and marched down the stairs...before suddenly tripping on something, letting out a yelp of alarm as he fell forward.

Right before his face could slam onto the edge of one of the stairs, Ifeus teleported in front of him and caught up, right in the nick of time.

"Tch," I clicked my tongue in disappointment.

"Come on, Sapphire, I've told you a million times not to sleep down here. Wake up, you lazy potato," Sighed Ifeus with a look of exasperation.

Huh, there's someone down there, sleeping on the stair that Rex tripped over. Good thing he went before me, I would've been the one who tripped if he hadn't gone ahead of me...