Jace the Elemental

"A draw, interesting," the authoritative voice mused, its tone neutral, yet laced with an underlying intensity.

"Her mother isn't going to be happy about this," the timid voice replied, a tremor of apprehension evident in the words. "You know she doesn't accept anything except victory."

The authoritative man waved a dismissive hand, his voice calm but firm. "I've already told you, I'll handle her. Besides, she doesn't have any power here." He sounded entirely unconcerned.

"Sir… she might not have any power here, but that doesn't mean other members of the Dusk family don't. She could request their assistance," the timid voice countered, a note of caution creeping in.

"Enough of this," the authoritative man said, his patience running thin. "Having someone who can actually challenge her will be good for Aurora. And Jace being the one to do it? That'll be better for both of them. So, let me deal with the outside forces. I'll give them the best chance to grow, as difficult as it might be for them."

The timid voice hesitated, clearly still uncertain. "But, sir…"

"No more buts." The authority in his voice cut off any further objection. "It's done. I've made my decision."

Back in the training building, Jace and Aurora were both taken aback by the sheer number of students who had gathered to watch their duel. It looked as if the entirety of Rank 1 was present, along with a surprising number of students from higher ranks.

Ethan crossed his arms, giving them both a deadpan look. "You guys are gross."

Jace blinked. "Uh… what?"

"Your ability to adjust and react is ridiculous," Ethan clarified, shaking his head. "It's like you both see into the future or something."

"And your mana reserves must be insane," Astra added, still processing what she had seen. "That storm Jace summoned had to be a massive drain… and Aurora's Void magic? The level of precision you had was unreal."

"It felt like we both threw everything we had at each other there." Aurora pointed out.

"Yeah I'm definitely tapped out here," Jace agreed, stretching his arms with an exhausted sigh.

"Oh no I'm Jace," Orion mocked, putting on an exaggerated voice. I can only use dual elements, massive wide range magic for a whole minute before getting tired." 

The group burst into laughter

"Don't forget all the other large scale spells he threw out before that," Selene said through laughs.

"And don't think you're innocent either," Orion said, turning to Aurora. "Void magic is the most mana intensive magic, and here you are, spamming it like it's nothing." 

Aurora blinked, a thoughtful expression crossing her face, like she had never really considered that before.

That only made everyone laugh even harder.

"As fun as this is, I think that I'm about two seconds away from passing out," Jace said, still laughing. 

"Honestly, it makes sense," Ethan said, still laughing, wiping a tear from his eye. "I'd be wiped after that."

"Oh I definitely am," Jace said, waving as he left. "I'll catch you guys later."

As he made his way back to the dorms, the exhaustion really started to hit him, but so did something else. A nagging sense of disappointment.

He knew Aurora was strong, but even then… he expected to win.

His mind replayed the duel over and over. Was there something he could've done better? A spell he could've cast faster? More precise? 

One thing was certain, he needed to train harder.

When Jace finally made it back to his dorm, the first thing he did was take a cold shower, letting the water wash away the sweat and help cool him down. After drying off, he sat on his bed, closing his eyes and focusing inward. Slowly, he circulated what little mana he had left, letting it flow through his body to speed up his recovery.

He felt the familiar, pleasant chill of his mana returning to him. Since ice was his primary and favorite magic, his mana had naturally taken on some of its aspects. It was one of the reasons he hated feeling overheated, like he had after the duel.

Once he recovered, Jace sat in thought. There weren't many students who could match his abilities the way Aurora had. But the academy was full of talented students, and while not all of them were as intense as House Dusk, none of them would be weak. If he wanted to stay in Rank 1, he'd have to earn it.

A familiar smirk started to form on his face as he lay down to sleep. "This was the right place to come for sure," he said to himself. While he took his training and the academy seriously, man was he having a blast.