"For how long are you going to stand there?" Brokk asked after Sirius stood without motion for several minutes.

  "However long it is necessary."

  "I understand that you are nervous, but can you, please, be quicker with inventing a tactic? Whatever happens, I promise not to injure you."

  "Sure..." Sirius said and dashed forward.

  Immediately he swung his staff upwards, dragging the soil he was compacting all this time. Like a wave, compressed rock burst out in front of him, forming a hemisphere that blocked Brokk's view. Sirius used the moving soil as a springboard and jumped over the barrier, his staff ready for an overhead slam. Brokk swiftly sidestepped the attack, knowing full well that Sirius could not change his trajectory midair. But the next moment his confidence was shaken, as the stone barrier exploded into fine dust, as the mana Sirius imbued into soil became unstable. Powder sprayed all over the place, irritating Brokk's eyes, and making him miss a hit to his forearm. He had no armour, and normally that would at least hurt a little, but Sirius heard a metal-like ring from the impact. He quickly transitioned his fall into a roll to distance himself from the soldier and stand up again.

  Brokk finally cleaned his eyes enough to see his opponent and locked gazes with Sirius. Happy smile appeared on his face, as he understood the hit really landed on him.

  "Well-well-well. Seems like you are not as simple as you look," Brokk stretched his shoulders and lowered his stance.

  "The same can be said about you, Kingdom's warrior," Sirius imitated the way druids spoke to outsiders. "What was the sound when I hit you?"

  "I am just a bit sturdier than your average human, nothing more. You had a nice strategy there: to mask the explosive with other magic against me. Admirable..."

  Sirius narrowed his eyes. He felt the pull from Brokk, sucking the mana into his body, but ignored it. Now he had the nudging suspicion that it was linked to his skin hardness. Eventually Sirius asked, "So what now? Is it your turn to attack?"

  "Depends... If you are not afraid to face resistance this time, that is," Brokk was slowly approaching Sirius with a battle frenzy in his eyes.

  Sirius frowned, but prepared for the incoming attack anyway, while carefully observing Brokk's actions in the Astral World as well. At the same time, he felt his Thought Constellation swirl up, various chaotic thoughts and observations from his Eyes combining in coherent pieces of a puzzle. Brokk raised his fist, and the world around Sirius slowed down. He dashed to the right, avoiding the strike, and used his spinning momentum to swing the staff into the back of Brokk's knee. The staff collided, sending vibration down the shaft into Sirius' arms. It felt like hitting a stone column, but the strike served its purpose, making Brokk stumble and lose balance.

  Sirius used the flex of the staff to spin around again and aimed for the height of Brokk's head. Soldier allowed himself to fall back and flawlessly transformed his dodge into attack, swinging his leg like a scythe and catching Sirius off guard. Brokk pulled back his leg, simultaneously tripping Sirius and standing up over the boy. Sirius fell back and hit his head, sending his thoughts in disarray.

  "Your stance is too narrow. One leg sweep, and you are down," Brokk said, while towering over his downed opponent.

  "So much for the one to impose no magic rule..." mumbled Sirius.

  "What are you talking about?"

  "Duh, just because you use mana differently doesn't mean you aren't a mage," Sirius shakily sat up and held his spinning head. His mind was sluggish, but deep inside he felt his Thought Constellation make up for the possible concussion.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  "I've told you already! I am no mage!"

  "Then why did my staff just glance over you? Did you forget how squishy humans are?"

  Brokk was not convinced. What would this boy know about him, anyway? And yet, Sirius' confidence was unnerving him. After frowning in silence for a minute, he yielded, "Fine. Use all you've got and, if you manage to put a dent on me, feel free to go."

  "Even spells?" clarified Sirius.

  "Even spells. If you say I am doing magic as well, it is only fair to allow you that."

  A sly smile crawled on Sirius' face. He got the edge he wanted, and began his additional preparations. He pulled out a glove with metal plates and wires attached to it and put it on his left hand. The moment he took his staff, the invisible matrix on his weapon lit up with pale glow. Circuits of his staff and glove connected and formed a link string enough to make the staff float midair and move at every gesture. Sirius' control was limited, yet with some practice it could become a formidable weapon to face.

  While Brokk was scrunching his face at the smell of the diagrams, Sirius pulled out a small flask and asked, pulling the soldier from contemplation, "Ready?"

  "When you are," answered Brokk and focused on the battle.

  "As you wish," said Sirius with a smirk and pushed on the cork with his finger. The cork plunged in the murky liquid, and it began to glow with cyan light. After a couple of shakes with a finger covering the opening, Sirius flicked his hand, spraying the contents in a horizontal arc.

  Brokk tried jumping back, but the strange glowing liquid was faster, and it splashed all over his boots. Immediately the ice crystals began growing from wherever the liquid touched, quickly merging and solidifying, rooting Brokk to a place. A loud 'WHOMP' in front of Brokk attracted his attention, yet there were nothing there, just a standing upright staff. Sirius, who should have been there, have already landed behind Brokk with a clanking sound of his enchanted boots. With a tug at the air, Sirius sent his staff flying towards him, forcing Brokk to protect himself. His powerful arms grabbed into the quarterstaff and ripped it from Sirius' control. A hit to the icy shell on his left foot shattered the shackle, setting him free on one side. Brokk have already lifted the staff to free himself completely, but he felt the cold blade under his right armpit. He glanced down and saw a long claw made out of glowing ice. Had he not stopped in time, he would surely impale himself and maybe get a frostbite.

  While he was contemplating his position, the stolen staff came to life and pulled a couple of times, urging Brokk to loosen his grip. As soon as he complied, it flew forward and began slowly revolving in place under Sirius' control. This was the last straw for Brokk, and he laughed.

  "HA-HA! Me, the strongest soldier! I got defeated by a kid!" he joyously bellowed, "Remove your blade, golden boy, I admit defeat."

  "No, you do not," stated Sirius.

  "Heh-heh, such a pride! Very much deserved, to be honest. Why are you saying so?"

  "You said I need to put a dent on you. And you are yet to be scathed, so the fight isn't over."

  "I am immobilised on one leg, the other is numb from your potion, and you have a razor-sharp icicle poking me in the ribs. I'm not even saying a thing about your pole arm over there. You could end me here and now, if it was a real battle."

  "I thought you adhere to your rules," Sirius pointed out, not moving even a little.

  Brokk lifted his eyebrow, "I like you. Do what you have planned."

  Sirius nodded and dispelled his icy blade, revealing a metal bracer that was hidden under his clothing. As ice disappeared into nothingness, the intricate diagram powered down and dimmed, leaving but a crudely-made piece of armour. After getting rid of the weapon, Sirius manifested a small needle and poked Brokk in his exposed arm. As expected, the thin ice shattered upon impact. But Sirius didn't give up and manifested another needle, imbued with more mana of different properties. As it broke too, he materialised another one, then another, and another, while Brokk stood there watching his actions with great interest. Eventually, Sirius tried the last thing he had on his mind — he created a small shell on his finger and drained the mana from inside, creating a strong negative pressure inside. The moment he poked Brokk's skin with his finger, several droplets of blood spurted out, painting the skin around in red.

  Brokk jerked his arm away from pain and surprise. With his palm he brushed the small injure and, with a shocked expression, discovered the fresh bloodstain. "H-how?..."

  "The battle is over. I am leaving," simply said Sirius and urged his staff to him, bypassing the shocked soldier.

  "No, wait!"

  "You said I am free to go."

  "I did, but..."

  "So, I am leaving. Farewell."

  Sirius collected some pouches he left on the ground and walked away, leaving Brokk standing in a field, with his boots wet from melted shackles.

  I might come back and really spend some time fixing and rewriting the previous chapters, but this task seems really daunting at the moment. I am really averse to using any LLMs for that, so it will take a considerable amount of time and effort for me.