When A Mage Revolts

Fafnir was stunned.

…...This was Master Benjamin?

His current state was that of absolute shock. It was like gossiping about someone behind their back, only to realize that that someone was standing behind you the entire time. It was a heart-wrenching feeling of guilt.

Did he hear everything they had said? Did he find out about Fafnir’s past schemes against him?

Fafnir panicked. However, he tried his best to remain composed, trying his best to conceal any hint of wrong-doing.

"Well if it isn’t Headmaster Benjamin? Most impressive indeed. I’ve been catching wind of your fame in Fereldan for quite some time. I would never have imagined that we would meet today. You’re certainly much younger than the legends say, most impressive…"

He felt the sweat run down his forehead, his praises were a little over exaggerated. He simply couldn’t come up with any good responses while panicking. He could only muster the most awkward smile alongside it.

Benjamin, however, showed no particular reaction towards his comments.

"What are your thoughts good sir, after visiting here for so long?"

Fafnir quickly nodded his head, "Well, this school is beyond amazing, I’ve never seen such monumental school before. Headmaster Benjamin, I am most impressed with your work!"

Upon hearing this, the smile on Benjamin’s face grew wider.

Meanwhile, Fafnir’s guilt grew heavier.

This suspicious smile could mean that he knew something. Otherwise, how else could he have found him coincidently in the midst of all these people?

"You must be joking, good sir." Benjamin gently parted his lips, "Oh right, the examination will have a two-hour break in the afternoon. But with not much else to look at, everyone might get a little bored. So, I’ve set up a little battleground in the school field. Since you’re a renowned veteran mage, how about you and I have a sparring session, good sir?"

This settles it! He had intended to fight him all along!

Fafnir smiled more forcefully, "Umm… Headmaster Benjamin, wouldn’t a mage of your calibre be downgrading yourself by sparring against me? How could I fair as your opponent? Why not… look for someone else?"

"Not to worry, good sir." Benjamin waved his hand dismissively, "Of course, I’ve realized there would be no point of a one-on-one match . Therefore, I’ve invited a few others to join you. All of you will spar with me, wouldn’t it be much fairer then?"

...Oh?

Fafnir felt his heart skip a beat when he heard this.

What did this brat mean by that?

Right now, it was obvious that Benjamin intended to face off against him. But to go this far… wasn’t he being overconfident?

"If I may ask, how many do you plan on inviting to spar with you, good sir?" Fafnir decided to probe deeper.

"I’m not entirely sure yet, but at least a hundred perhaps."

"..."

Fafnir couldn’t believe his ears.

"What’s wrong? Are you surprised?"

Benjamin laughed out loud as he patted Fafnir’s shoulders, "It’s only sparring - merely to entertain the crowd. Besides, I’m sure a "one against a hundred" scenario, would prove interesting."

Fafnir forced out a laugh of his own.

"Ah yes, Headmaster Benjamin truly is an interesting fellow." He pondered a moment and said, "Since you are asking, how can I refuse? No worries, when the time to spar comes, I will definitely be there!"

"You have my gratitude."

"Hahahaha, but of course…"

And with that, Benjamin took his leave. Fafnir looked at him with squinted eyes as he left, a mystified look on his face.

Who could face off against a hundred men alone?

This is different than a battle between barbarous foot soldiers. Foot soldiers could only do close combat with their limited range of attacks. But for a mage to go against one hundred other mages would mean a hundred spells hurtling toward him at the same time.

That individual would be overwhelmed by the attack regardless of how strong he was.

Well, the young will always be outrageous.

With this in mind, a smile crept out on the corner of Fafnir’s mouth.

He dug his fingers through the high-grade magical herbs in his pocket and felt a sudden surge of glee wash over him. To be able to single-handedly ruin a reputable genius… chances like these were hard to come by. How could he let it slip by?

He even began to imagine the defeated face of Benjamin.

If this celebrated hero’s name was tarnished, then this Mage School would naturally fall apart. And when that happens, Fafnir and his associates could collaborate once more and destroy the common folk’s beliefs of "freedom in magic for all". His mage underlings then wouldn’t demand a raise.

He would become the hero that saved all the mage guilds.

As Fafnir continued to expand his imagination, he became gleeful beyond measure.

The exams conducted in the school field were heating up, and yet he had already lost interest in them. The next fight would be a crucial one, he had best prepare himself.

Ah yes… a fair number of familiar mage guild leaders had come today. More importantly, they were all immensely strong, it was best to ask them to join him.

With this in mind, he quickly followed the path away from the field.

"Master Gali, we meet once again! Listen, there exists a wonderful opportunity here to severely cripple the Mage School’s influence that only us mage guild leaders can carry out…."

"Master Jennifer, long time no see, I bear great news…"

"Master Neil…"

Fafnir pretty much contacted every single mage guild leader that he knew of. Fortunately, the news of this exam spread far and wide and had soon enough attracted a lot of people. Meanwhile, he had managed to gather ten other powerful opponents.

Although he already considered himself immensely powerful, when compared with the other ten, he would probably be the eleventh strongest. Because of this, his confidence inflated even more for the upcoming session.

"Please, let it come sooner." He couldn’t wait to see the look of defeat on the young mage’s face.

And so, time passed and the sun slowly ascended high up into the middle of the sky, blasting the mid-day heat down on the crowd below. The students who had assembled in the school field slowly started to disperse. Before long, it was cleared it out into a vast open space.

Gazing at the open space, Fafnir’s heart trembled with excitement.

Next to him, a fellow mage who was also to join the spar revealed a smile and asked softly, "Should one of us ‘slip up’ during the spar and end that Headmaster Benjamin?"

"I don’t think so. Since he’s a celebrity, we should let him live." A child-like grin was proudly displayed on Fafnir’s face and he joyfully replied, "I still want to see his expressions when is defeated. If he dies, then what is there to look forward to?"

"You have a point… then we shall spare him. But, with one hundred people, if the rest of them were to deal severe blows, then it will be out of our hands."

Fafnir shrugged, "If others hit harder than they should, then he only has misfortune to blame – it has nothing to do with us."

As they chatted, he and the other mage both had an evil glint in their eyes, as if they could already see Benjamin’s demise.