Advanced magic spells cost massive mana, have huge openings, overkill damage, and their overall effectiveness is mediocre at best.
They only truly shine when fighting sluggish, gigantic magical beasts. That’s why most mages opt to refine and enhance low-level spells—it’s a smart choice.
But today, at the Millennia Magic Academy, a cleric who had perfected defensive spellcraft showed up and shattered that common belief.
Low-level offensive spells were completely ineffective against the Penitent Nun’s Thorn Magic. They couldn’t even scratch her dual-layered mana shields.
And yet—Samimi hadn’t activated her mana barrier.
She just stood there, exposed like a flagpole, full of visible openings.
But if Leo dared attack her, he’d fall into her trap.
Respected Red Lion had already demonstrated what happened when someone tried to charge at the Penitent Nun head-on—he got slammed into an impenetrable mana wall as thick as a fortress.
Targeting the beastkin nun instead? She had been fully buffed with defense and mana shielding, and on top of that, was fast and agile.
Leo’s Thunder Spear spell was already incredibly swift—but even with that, he had no confidence he could land a hit on her.
So beating this orc nun wasn’t simple either. He’d have to go all out to even have a shot.
“No way out…”
Cold sweat dripped down Leo’s forehead as he searched desperately for a breakthrough.
It felt like he was fighting two mages: one close-combat magic-warrior hybrid, the other a pure support-type fortress mage.
Yeah, this wasn’t fair. Two versus one is not fair.
Thank goodness he had framed this as a friendly sparring match beforehand and acted magnanimous. Even if he lost, at least he wouldn’t end up like Red Lion—utterly humiliated.
So now, his choice was clear. Forget winning or losing—go all out, show what he’s got, and preserve some dignity.
“Hah! Take this!”
Decision made, Leo snorted and unleashed his strongest spell—draining two-thirds of his total mana in a single cast.
To be honest, mage duels were pretty dull from an outsider’s perspective—basically a contest of gear and numbers. Spear versus shield. Raw power versus raw defense. No fancy footwork or clever tricks.
Because no matter how skilled a low-level mage might be, their spells simply couldn’t break through a high-level mage’s mana shield.
And that’s why people kept praising mana shields as god-tier skills.
“Thunder Soul Torrent!”
Lightning flickered from Leo’s eyes. Electricity wrapped his entire body as he thrust his hand forward, hurling his lightning-branch-shaped white staff.
From it blasted a surging beam of electric plasma, like a river of lightning.
In the end, the Thunder Torrent was still aimed directly at Samimi, not Niubao—going straight for the source of mana.
He knew it was a trap—but he had no choice but to charge in.
“Niubao, follow the plan.”
Samimi’s face was deadly serious as she issued her command.
She noticed Niubao instinctively wanted to shield her—but this time, she didn’t want protection.
She needed Niubao to go on the offensive.
The moment Niubao heard her real name called, she froze and obeyed without hesitation, circling around to flank Leo from the side.
PseudorandomContentGeneratedByCustomAlgorithm“Thorn Wall!”
(Technically just another version of a mana shield.)
Samimi finally pulled her hands from her pockets and clapped them together to cast.
Was the gesture necessary? Not really—but magic was all about emotion, so anything that helped focus was fair game.
Dark red thorny vines burst from the ground, thrashing wildly like some eldritch horror emerging from the underworld.
A massive thorn-covered wall rose in front of her, shielding her completely. Cool visuals aside, it was still a mana shield in principle.
PseudorandomContentGeneratedByCustomAlgorithm“BOOM!”
The electric torrent slammed into the Thorn Wall—mana splashing, arena quaking, shockwaves rippling outward.
Even though opposing magic effects tended to cancel each other out on impact, the leftover shockwaves still had violent force. The audience staggered from the blast.
Then—the thorny vines lashed forward, wrapping around the electric beam and absorbing it, unraveling it strand by strand until the torrent fizzled out.
The ultimate plasma attack that cost Leo two-thirds of his mana—collapsed halfway through the blast.
On Samimi’s end, her wall of thorns was merely bent out of shape a little, distorted by the pressure.
This proved that her mana shield wasn’t just tough—it had flexibility. It could absorb and buffer incoming magical force.
“It’s like punching a sponge…”
Leo’s face went pale watching this. Cold sweat poured down like rain.
That was his strongest move?
Mage duels really did boil down to spear versus shield.
People used to say the defender was at a disadvantage—but here he was, having his spear snap on her shield, while her shield barely got scuffed.
It meant his overall ability was far beneath hers.
What stung even more—Leo knew his total mana pool was larger than Samimi’s.
And even with that upper hand, he still lost this badly. The difference wasn’t mana—it was spellcraft.
“I lost.”
Leo wiped his brow and formally conceded with a cupped-hands salute.
Because by now, Niubao had circled to his blind spot—her enchanted golden sword poised to skewer him at any second.
“Thank you for the match.”
Samimi smiled and returned the salute politely. “Your Thunder Cannon was nearly on par with a dragon’s breath.”
“And your mana shield is honed to perfection. Truly admirable.”
Leo returned the flattery with equal courtesy.
A moment later, the crowd erupted into applause.
The gathered magic apprentices gave both sides their due respect—everyone had witnessed a dazzling magic battle.
Even if most of them now looked like windblown beggars, hair a mess and robes in tatters from the blast aftermath.
The duel ended peacefully. Everyone walked away with valuable experience. Win-win.
Well—not everyone.
In the shadows, watching silently, the Fire Magic School was fuming.
Seeing the Healing and Lightning schools exchange friendly blows only made their vice president—the Red Lion—look more like a fool. The Fire School’s reputation was sinking lower by the day.
“Leo just wanted to embarrass me! Damn those Thunder mages!”
At a castle window, the Red Lion seethed. No one dared go near him. He was a walking powder keg, glaring murderously at everything in sight.
“That damned bug… actually has some skills.”
Also trembling was Bémore, the white-haired witch who had been observing from the frontlines.
From up close, she had seen Samimi’s spellwork—and found no weak spots at all.
She had to admit it: Samimi’s magical foundation was flawless.
Bémore was stunned.
But all she could do was silently watch as Samimi took the spotlight again—alone, unnoticed, in the corner where no one cared.