"You..." the foreign High Mage bellowed. "You have chosen death!"

  "How original!" Will retorted easily. "Besides, aren't we at war anyway?"

  The man seethed quietly at his words. Soon, the fingers of his free hand started to move rapidly while he used his staff to weave a slower pattern.

  Minor Spell Immunity (IV) triggered.

  Will got his immunity in place well in time to receive another heat ray. Like everything Will had encountered so far, the spell wasn't able to overcome the immunity, proving that it was still a third-level or lesser spell in C&M terms.

  Probably still only 1st-level, Will thought while he observed the ray attack comfortably through squinted eyes.

  His spell immunity was basically wasted on it.

  Will was beginning to regret engaging in trash talk. He didn't have another element absorption spell slotted because he'd considered much more diverse risks while preparing for the day. While prudent, it had been too impractical in hindsight.

  Lacking low-level protective measures meant that he had to expend even better spells to escape unscathed now that he had provoked his opponent further.

  Minor Spell Immunity would only last for a little over a minute. It was pretty suboptimal to be under such a timer while trying to downplay his hand publicly.

  Plan B, then. Play the rich kid! Will decisively told himself and made a fake spellstone appear in his hand.

  "No... It is YOU who has chosen death!" he suddenly roared in a fake rage.

  The fake spellstone crumbled, and Will's eyes glowed blue, imitating the empowered spellcasting mode the local mages often used instead of casting a stored spell.

  Kelf's Little Meteors (III) triggered.

  Eight small, fiery spheres materialized and began circling above Will.

  The spell was one of his favorites in ASA. It simply packed so much total damage potential in just one 3rd-level slot. The slight downside was the fact that you had to accurately strike your target.

  Will pointed a finger, and one of the spheres obediently went flying forth.

  The prospective victim sneered at the small size of the incoming projectile, but when it hit him, his eyes went wide.

  The blackened, formerly fancy robe caught fire again, and the foreigner abandoned his spell to once again put the fire out.

  This time, he didn't pull out a potion. Clearly, his resistances had mitigated the damage to an extent.

  "You...!"

  Before he could voice his rage any more, another meteor was already on the way, forcing him to dodge.

  The incoming projectile corrected its course slightly, hitting his shoulder. The man screamed out loud when it burned through his clothes. Perhaps the rapid onslaught was overwhelming his protective measures?

  He dodged the next meteor much more enthusiastically, jumping out of its way into a roll, but that only meant the next one caught him easily while he was lying prone.

  More pained screams.

  When the meteors finally ran out, the man was still able to get up, but he looked truly miserable. He'd lost one of his eyes, and he was limping due to the muscles on one calf having suffered deep burns.

  Will let the glow in his eyes subside while his opponent drained the remaining half of his first potion and promptly proceeded to open a whole new bottle.

  The missing eye didn't grow back, but the remaining one glared at Will with absolute hatred. The foreign mage didn't waste his breath on words this time.

  A spear of ice struck him to add insult to his injuries. It shattered against a blackened piece of armor he wore under his broken robe. While the spell made the young man hit the ground again, it didn't seem to cause too much damage.

  Holmstr?m sweated heavily after launching his spell. It looked like he was still a little drained by the previous, violent exchange.

  The foreigner shot another murderous glance toward Holmstr?m but proceeded to ignore the old mage in order to retrieve his staff from where it had flown from his hands previously.

  "Where are you going?" Will shouted again, putting some gleeful scorn in his voice. "You still have a part to play in this farce!"

  Another fake spellstone appeared in his hands. This time, it was a green one.

  "Don't be so hasty! He's almost..."

  Now it was Holmstr?m who shouted at Will, obviously dismayed at the spellstone expenditure.

  Will ignored the old man and crushed the illusion in his hands.

  This time, he simulated a stored spell instead of pretending to be buffed up.

  Summon Creature (IV) triggered.

  A lesser fire elemental appeared next to him. The element he'd chosen would normally be a stupid pick against a fire mage, but Will chose to stick to the fire theme for now, given how everyone knew him as a talented fire mage.

  Then again, the Firebird woman had also been a fire mage, but she'd summoned an air elemental with her emerald spellstone.

  Meh... too late for regrets.

  Will gave a mental command, and the mindless elemental obeyed him without question. It wasn't as fast as the air elemental had been, but it was still a floating creature and able to accelerate into a relatively fast glide.

  It ignored the front line, giving a couple of soldiers light burns by its mere presence as it passed between them.

  However, before the elemental could reach the wounded mage, the female knight in shining armor reacted.

  Her longsword remained in its sheath. Instead, she pulled out a dagger from her belt, the blade of which had a blue sheen. Moisture from the air immediately started to deposit upon the weapon, but when the woman waved the blade, the water was sent flying in the form of flakes of ice, once again revealing the sharp cutting edge.

  She moved faster than one should be able to while clad in steel plate. Soon, she stood in front of the mage.

  The elemental reached the pair of foreigners and tried to circle around the woman. She blocked its path and drove her dagger-wielding arm into the flames of its torso.

  The summoned creature screeched, clearly suffering damage from the attack. It swiped the woman with an arm that turned out to be even less tangible than an air elemental's appendages.

  She simply blocked with a raised arm, which was enough to hold the creature at bay. Her armor seemed to protect her from the flames well enough.

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  In the meanwhile, Will's spell immunity was beginning to run out of time. Seeing as nobody was targeting him for now, he started to slow-cast another Absorb Elements.

  The fight only took a couple dozen seconds. In the end, the elemental exploded in a semi-intense blaze as it died.

  Despite being an intimidating sight, the elemental hadn't managed to hurt the woman much, even if her face was now sooty, and her armor had finally lost its sheen and was now blackened on the front.

  When she was certain that the creature wasn't about to reform, she put away the dagger and took a sip from a potion bottle.

  The one-eyed mage apparently hadn't been demoralized yet. As the woman was taking a break, he stepped forth with his defenses up and running again and started to brandish his staff in preparation for another round of spells.

  Will produced another green spellstone and held it high for everyone to see.

  "Do you really wish to die today?" he demanded loudly, the unwillingness to waste more resources obvious in his voice.

  This time, the emotion wasn't faked. He really didn't want to reveal more of his cards just for some cocky high mage from the Tupan Empire.

  "Do it!" the hostile mage roared defiantly.

  "Jepoy!" The young woman interjected in a shrill voice.

  She then said something Will couldn't hear, but he could see the other man deflate in response to her words.

  "You and your spellstones win this round!" The woman soon raised her voice again.

  The man named Jepoy locked his eyes with Will. He frowned heavily and made a gesture Will guessed wasn't polite.

  Based on the young man's attitude and bodyguard, Will was pretty certain he had an impressive background. He might go to his daddy and cry until he promised to send out a task force to exterminate his bully.

  Yet, killing him might amount to inviting such a visit even more certainly.

  Will made the motions of putting the fake stone in his pocket before letting it unravel.

  "Good choice!" He shouted happily.

  ---

  "In recognition of his heroic deeds, we appoint Magister Gaylord Will as the new Lord Fifth!" the King announced after a brief ceremony.

  It was still spring, but Will had been summoned back to the capital to be conferred a new title.

  His contributions during the hostilities had impressed the leadership, and while they hadn't truly promoted him in rank (he would remain just a Magister), they had recommended him for a job that paid better, so Will had no complaints.

  The so-called Lord Fifth's job was simply to be the member of a team of powerful mages who had some special privileges and responsibilities. Will was the fifth and youngest member, which was apparently a great achievement and honor. The pay would be nice, too.

  "Good! What a talented young man!" The First told Will when he walked to his side from the foot of the throne, where he'd been decorated with a big silver insignia. One that was so impractical it could only be worn during ceremonies.

  "Thanks," Will replied politely while suppressing a shiver at the creepy flattery.

  The First was a particularly strong High Mage. Or "Highest Mage," if you wanted to kiss his ass.

  The man was apparently over 150 years old, but he looked like he was around fifty. Will wondered if what he looked at was a stolen body or perhaps the result of sacrificing people with highly potential physiques to produce exquisite elixirs.

  It was possible his increased lifespan stemmed from something innocuous, but who knew? Magic apparently offered various options, with the moral ones tending to be pretty expensive.

  "I can't help but notice how well your arm has healed," the First made some small talk.

  Not many had talked about his unfortunate incident with Alfonso, but now that his hand was back, it had become a major rumor among the aristocrats.

  Will lifted his left hand briefly, glancing at it. It was just as it had been before the forceful amputation.

  "Yeah. I guess so? Is the result usually not as good?"

  "Any working treatment at all is considered good. For yours to look like a human hand is exceptional. The fact that I cannot notice any scarring is... completely unheard of."

  "Oh."

  "Others have no doubt approached you already, but know that I could pay well for a referral to whoever accomplished it."

  Not this again! Will's face froze when he suppressed a grimace.

  "Sorry. I was told the operation was one of a kind. I doubt there will be any more available."

  "I can pay you ten gold simply for a name. Fifty if my poor grandniece can get an appointment. You can tell the healer I have prepared ten platinum for him."

  "Ten platinum?!" Will raised his voice. "Ah, please excuse me!"

  He quickly bowed toward the Master of Ceremonies, who was glaring at him, even though the King had left, and the court wasn't in session anymore.

  One platinum coin was worth a hundred golden ones. Will hadn't even seen one yet, given how impractical they normally were.

  "Yes. I'm afraid I'm rather destitute. I can only implore the healer's sense of duty and offer a symbolic compensation."

  The middle-aged centenarian's expression looked truly pitiful, so Will surmised the self-deprecating modesty of those words wasn't entirely fake.

  "It sounds like a fairly large sum of money to me," Will couldn't help but point out. "Is limb restoration truly that expensive?"

  "Regrowing a missing hand is a miracle. I don't even know what kind of price you could put on it. Did you not have to pay your healer?"

  "I... Uh. No. My dad handled the payment."

  "I thought it might be so," the First replied with a nod of his head. "I've heard of your spectacular combat feats as well."

  If that wasn't a reference to his fake spellstone usage, Will would eat his right hand.

  "It must be hard to watch a grandniece suffer needlessly. I shall see what I can do for her sake."

  ---

  Minor Shapeshifting (II) triggered.

  Will's facial features morphed into something old and plain, and his ears lost their pointed shape. With that accomplished, Will proceeded to knock on the door of a noble estate.

  "Yes? How can I help you?"

  "Ah, good day, miss. I was told there was a girl in need of healing," Will spoke with a quivering voice.

  "Oh! Please forgive my rudeness!" The maid dipped her head into a deep bow. "I shall fetch the master immediately."

  Will was shown into a gaudy hall where he waited while sipping on fine tea and sampling some confectionery.

  "Thank you for coming so quickly!"

  A nobleman dressed up in a velvet tunic decorated with frilly lace appeared to receive him after fifteen minutes.

  "This way, please."

  He led Will to a bedroom that looked pretty austere to accommodate a girl. He saw its occupant reading a book at the far side of the room, with a servant standing in wait right next to her.

  The girl had no arms, only two short stumps at her shoulders, one of which was no longer than a couple of inches.

  "Maddy, come here! Greet the esteemed healer!" the nobleman commanded in a neutral tone.

  "Yes, father." The girl stood up. Being very slim but fairly tall, she looked like she had to be at least fourteen.

  She came over and gave Will a bowing curtsy that looked pretty awkward when she had no hands to lift her long skirts.

  "Good day, my lord," she spoke in a small voice.

  Man... That's going to be a problem, Will thought to himself as he eyed the stumps.

  She was missing boatloads of tissue compared to Will's own mishap.

  "I must warn you," he said in his fake voice. "Before I assess the problem fully, there are no guarantees that my treatment will be effective on her."

  The girl's face remained expressionless, but it had been like that since he'd entered the room.

  The man looked a little dejected at his remark, but he schooled his features quickly. "Of course."

  "Now, please remove any fabric covering the... injuries. I shall attempt my method."

  Using awkward explanations, he instructed the girl to sit down somewhere where she wouldn't ruin any expensive carpets or couch cushions by squirting blood on them.

  Will took eight minutes preparing the fifth-level spell he'd become familiar with over the course of several weeks when he healed himself. When the magic was ready at his fingertips, Will hesitated for the final time.

  If I do this normally, it's a guaranteed failure... He wasn't planning to visit the house the thousand times it would take to address the problem normally.

  Willing his mana to emphasize speed, Will tried something that could end up being stupid. He was wearing a fake face anyway, so the future of the seemingly healthy state of her stumps was a risk he was willing to take.

  Will pushed his finger into the girl's skin, feeling for the empty shoulder socket an inch deep under her skin, and started to flood it with the strange mana produced by his spell.

  Faster, faster, he told it, and the mana obeyed.

  The girl yelped when a new growth of bone pushed through her skin, spraying drops of blood over the towels the servants had brought at Will's request.

  Will knew from experience that the pain of the regrowth was dull and strange enough that it shouldn't be any kind of issue, so he didn't slow down.

  New flesh formed rapidly around the bone, and Will let it grow quickly all the way to where the elbow should form, timing the ending of the spell right before the joint.

  "By gods!" the nobleman mumbled in wonder.

  Will watched the result. The skin color didn't match the girl's original one. The new skin was a pallid gray compared to her milky white shoulders. It was full of stretch marks, and the new pores looked rather big in some places.

  All in all, however, it seemed functional.

  "How does it feel?" Will asked.

  The girl spun the newly elongated stump around carefully.

  "It's...alright," she spoke breathily.

  Will nodded and turned to the nobleman again.

  "She's not a hundred percent compatible, but the result looks acceptable to me so far. Do you wish to proceed at this level of quality?"

  "By the gods, yes! Yes, please!" the man practically shouted in response.

  Eight minutes passed again before Will cast the spell once more. This time, he spent all of the magical juice to form the joint before doing a final third cast to reach the wrist.

  "That's enough for today, I think. I'm planning to spend the next visit making a hand for her."

  A hand contained much less tissue than the rest of the arm, but it was also more complicated. Will could probably rush it, but he felt like it would be a mark of good artisanship to make the girl's hands prettier and nimbler than the bare minimum.

  He decided to take a break just in case. He could have kept going, of course, but healing was supposed to be somewhat taxing. Will assumed that re-growing limbs should make a normal mage somewhat exhausted.

  Restoration was already seen as borderline miraculous. There was no reason to make bigger waves.

  When he left the building, a newly hired maid combed through the chair Will had been sitting on. After looking carefully for a minute, she picked up a strand of black hair that stood out from the creamy white cushions.