With the rock pillar on the field, Herdon's attack and defense stats increase by up to three times at the spell's strongest incantation. Since he could only cast the neutral form of the spell, the multiplier is only two.
At least, that's how it worked in the game. I don't know if those effects are exactly the same now in real life. But if they are, then Herdon has a major advantage over the elf girl.
Herdon finally unsheathed his sword and swung it at Tarian in a swift, horizontal motion.
However, his sword met Tarian's shield. It clashed against the buckler with a loud thunk as the wind infusion enhanced her parry.
Thankfully for Tarian, Herdon wasn't particularly strong enough to begin with. Even with his strength tripled, his physical attack stat wasn't high enough to make the buff truly dangerous.
Actually... if I remember unit stats correctly, Tarian has a vastly better physical attack stat than Herdon—even though they're both mages, a class not known for physical prowess.
Herdon's body followed the momentum of the parry, leaving him vulnerable just long enough for Tarian to raise her arm and point her open palm at him.
"Get rooted in place."
"[Root Tangles]"
From Tarian's palm, three brown roots burst forth and latched onto Herdon's sword arm, leg, and waist.
The thick roots quickly snaked down and aggressively pierced the ground, pinning him in place.
With that, Tarian jumped backward, creating distance between them.
"You think this will stop me?" Herdon yelled, using his buffed strength to rip through the roots.
But he was a second too slow. Tarian was already standing next to the pillar he had cast.
"Raise a platform."
"[Blooming Leaf]"
Out of the ground, a leaf-shaped platform rose, shaking the earth beneath them.
Tarian was elevated enough to reach the glowing engravings that were empowering Herdon's strength and defense.
"What is she doing?" I whispered.
If you want to end the buffs, it shouldn't matter where you destroy the pillar—as long as you destroy it. Targeting the engravings in particular makes no difference compared to simply cutting the pillar in half or exploding it into pieces.
"Burn my enemies, all of them."
"[Fire Rain]"
Herdon swung his arm, launching a barrage of small fireballs like pellets from a shotgun.
Tarian placed her hand on the pillar and quickly chanted an incantation, blocking most of the fireballs with her shield.
Thanks to the wind infusion, the fireballs vanished upon contact with her shield. Of course, not all of them were blocked.
"Agck!" Tarian cried out as a fireball struck her left thigh and her shoulder, burning her skin and academy uniform.
Realizing she was too exposed up there, Tarian turned and jumped off the leaf platform.
She landed hard on the arena floor but quickly stood and faced Herdon once more.
However—
"Hughk!" she let out a breathless groan as a rock ball slammed into her stomach.
After crashing into her, the rock crumbled into pieces upon hitting the ground.
Tarian fell to her knees, clutching her stomach as she struggled to catch her breath.
"Don't even think for a second that I'll let you win," Herdon said, approaching with a grin. "I learned from my loss to Alen, and I won't waste any more time."
"You... losing to Alen really... shook you, huh?" Tarian managed to say between gasps.
"Of course it did! My family almost disowned me because of that loss!" Herdon stood right in front of her, looking down with a sneer. "This is how I get my honor back. I'll beat you, prove I still belong in this class, and then I'll crush Alen with my unbeatable strategy."
Herdon looked to the stands, searching for his parents. Not only students were watching the various duels, but some parents were also present here on the stands as these duels are a big event for today.
"Unbeatable strategy? Then shouldn't you use it now—against me? If you lose here, you'll never get to use that 'anti-Alen' plan."
"He's watching this fight. That's why. He'll learn about he strategy from a safe place and adapt to it. And besides, why waste my strategy on a pitiful knife-ear who doesn't know her place?"
"You should stop with those insults... My people didn't keep our heads low and act friendly toward yours after coming through that gate just to be insulted like this," Tarian said in a low, angry tone.
For many of her fans, this would be the first time they'd seen their idol with anything but a smile on her face.
"I have no respect for a species that still lives in wooden treehouses," Herdon scoffed, pushing up his glasses, his smile growing smug.
"Haa..." Tarian let out a long sigh and stood up slowly. "You do know Aurum Academy forbids this kind of behavior, right?"
"And who's going to care? The winner's always right. If I beat you, I can make sure this never happened."
"Hmph! My lovely fans won't let you get away with that. But it doesn't matter, really. There's no way I lose to you." Tarian let a smug smile creep onto her lips as she pointed at the black-haired boy. "There's no way I lose to a nobody who can't even keep his word."
"Huh?" Herdon let out an angry groan and stomped his foot, preparing to strike.
"You said you wouldn't waste any more time, right? Well... would you look at that—you've wasted all this time talking instead of finishing the fight."
Her words only made him angrier. His hands trembled, his teeth ground together, and fury burned in his eyes.
"You...!" Herdon pulled his arm back for another attack.
With a powerful diagonal swing, he slashed toward the light green-haired noble elf.
However—
The strike was easily stopped by Tarian. The sword bounced off with such force that Herdon stumbled backward.
"She..." I whispered, eyes wide, as Tarian's body began to glow with the same orange light that had surrounded Herdon earlier.
Herdon's glow had vanished.
He was no longer empowered by the pillar. That light now belonged to Tarian Ebenly.
"Ohoho!" Tarian let out a triumphant laugh, covering her mouth with the back of her hand.
"H-How...?" Herdon asked, eyes wide in shock.
"Why don't you look at the pillar?" she said, pointing behind him.
The pillar still stood—but vines now coiled around its surface, and yellow mushrooms had sprouted over the engravings.
"Control Parasite," Tarian explained with a smile. "A tier-two spell made to deal with structures that grant buffs. It grows a special fungus that attaches to the structure and redirects all benefits to the one who cast it—in this case, me."
"I never even thought of that..." I muttered, watching closely.
I'd been too focused on weakening the opponent to consider using their strengths against them.
Herdon stood frozen for a moment, trying to come up with a plan.
He raised his hand, preparing to cast a spell.
But at the same time, Tarian mirrored his movements—arm raised, palm open, ready to respond.
After a tense second of silence, they both chanted their spells.
"Crush my enemies!"
"Northern winds—attack!"
"[Rock Throw]"
"[Wind Ram]"
The two spells collided mid-air.
The wind ram shattered the rock and slammed into Herdon's left shoulder.
"Agck!" Herdon cried out as his arm went numb. He tried to move it, but the muscles wouldn't respond.
"It doesn't matter that the infusion's gone. I can still beat you without it," Tarian said, gripping her buckler and raising her arm.
"N-No... wait, please," Herdon whimpered, backing away slowly with his sword held defensively in his one working hand.
"Believe me, it's better if I beat you into a pulp than if you get jumped by a gang of my most loyal fans," Tarian said, smiling eerily but calmly.
She feinted a punch with her fist, prompting Herdon to swing his sword in a panic.
The elf girl easily parried the swing, this time pressing her buckler with just enough force to keep the sword from bouncing off.
She then slid the buckler along the blade's edge, sparks flying as the metals scraped against each other.
With her free hand, Tarian grabbed Herdon's forearm and twisted it to the side with ease, her buffed strength making the move effortless. Her grip tightened, and Herdon cried out in pain, losing his hold on the sword.
"S-Stop!" Herdon pleaded, his strength fading fast.
Tarian didn't stop.
She stomped her heel down hard on his foot, making his entire body tense up in agony.
Still holding onto his arm, she yanked it backward and prepared her next strike.
"Noo!" Herdon closed his eyes and weakly raised his other arm in front of his face in a desperate attempt to defend himself.
It did little to help.
Without a hint of mercy, Tarian launched a flurry of punches straight at his face.
Ten. Fifteen. Twenty. Thirty. Forty.
Each punch landed with precision. His glasses shattered. His nose broke. Blood streamed from his face, and his eyes began to lose focus. Only after a barrage of strikes did she finally stop.
Herdon's legs gave out, but he remained standing only because Tarian was still holding onto his arm.
"Hmpfh!" she huffed, finally releasing him and dusting off her hands. She pouted and turned her head away. "That's for all the mean things you said to me and my kind. Also, I can't promise my lovely fans won't go after you after this~"
Tarian stuck out her tongue and let out a playful "Mmmh!"
Then, as if nothing had happened, she skipped away from the now-unconscious Herdon and waved to the stands.
The crowd—mostly men—erupted in cheers, celebrating her victory.
She responded by blowing kisses and winking at her fans, basking in their adoration.