Chapter 187 Sparring with Willim
"I think that's fair. Shall we?"
With a big smile, Willim replied. "Yes, lets. Follow me."
Willim parted the crowd and led Jack to the very center of the town square, where it was the most open. With help from his party on horseback, the foot traffic was redirected and there was plenty of room for the match.
"I'll warn you beforehand, be careful with my ice. I don't want to turn you into a hero icicle."
"Just try your best, your highness, and we'll see how it goes. I think I'll surprise you even more."
As they shared some friendly banter, both of them took their positions about ten meters away from each other.
Of the men on horseback, one had a more imperial uniform, showing his higher rank. At the edge of the battle area, he dismounted and looked at the two young men. "This is a sparring match to test your skills and not a match to the death. The victor will purchase the frost pearl and that'll be the end of it. Please, take care of each other. Fight!"
Frosty air whirled around Willim, growing with each passing second. Hail and icicles formed inside that wind but stayed airborne, guided wherever the wind went.
"Icicle Storm!" Willim yelled as the winds were directed towards Jack.
At the same time, a heatwave was coming from Jack. Flames were gathering at his fingertips and coalescing in his palms. Launching the flames forward, Jack shouted, "Fireball!"
Half a dozen small fireballs flew from Jack's hands and collided with the cold wind filled with shards of ice. A small explosion of steam sounded out, alerting everyone in the nearest kilometer of the duel taking place.
For the crowd, the steam seemed to heat up their blood, riling them up for a good show. They all thought their prince as nigh unbeatable, yet here was another young man matching him.
"Good! If you couldn't handle that much, your reputation as a hero would have been undeserved. Now, try this one."
The warm air vanished in an instant. Cold, blue energy gathered in Willim's palms, appearing frozen yet still agile. Growing without end, the wind was blowing together with that blue energy to form a sphere. As Willim opened his arms with a smile, that ball of cold wind expanded drastically, becoming two meters in size.
"Blizzard Orb!"
That condensed ball of raging winds and frost was launched at Jack with incredible speed.
Luckily for Jack, he wasn't just wasting time, watching the prince cast spells without preparing a counter. More fire was condensing into a ball, this time becoming lighter in color as it condensed more and more. All of Jack's flame energy was forced into a palm-sized ball before threw it toward the Blizzard Orb.
"Flame Burst!"
Again, more steam was created, but this time a shockwave rocked the town square. Some of the nearby stands were too weak to take the blow, splintering as the shockwave spread. Many of the spectators were pushed back, in awe of the power that both young men were showing.
That royal guard who was judging the match was surprised. He was unmoved by the shockwave, but he was excited to know that his young master had finally found a worthy rival.
"Amazing!" Willim was getting more excited with every exchange. The more power that Jack showed, the more enthused he was. "How about this? We'll see who has the most powerful spells and the first to run out loses."
"I like the way you think, but I'm not just a mage."
Willim was about to say something in response when Jack suddenly vanished without a trace. He has a sinking feeling all of a sudden and turned around as quick as his body would let him. But he was too slow.
A fist drilled into the prince's side, knocking the wind out of him and launching him a meter in the air.
Everyone's jaws dropped as they witnessed the undefeated prince crash into the cold hard ground. There was no blood or harsh words, but it was clear that Jack had the upper hand. With an ability that let him vanish so suddenly, Jack could've easily dodged all the prince's spells and punched him much sooner.
Knowing that he was being played with, the crown prince tried to laugh but couldn't with his aching chest. Soon he was up on his feet but he didn't gather any energy or start any spells. Willim knew that he had lost.
"That was great! If it was that easy for you, you should've said so. I would've just let you take the pearl in the first place."
Giving the prince a funny look, Jack laughed as well. "For some reason, I don't believe that."
"Yeah, you may be right." The prince waved at his guards, letting them know that it was all over. Then, he walked to the merchant and handed her a large sack of gold in exchange for the pearl.
Not knowing what to do, she handed the prince the pearl. If the prince wanted to go back on his word, then she wouldn't dare offend him.
Before Jack could yell in anger, the frost pearl was thrown to him, catching him off guard. Jack caught it again gave the prince a funny look.
"Jack, you're the first person my age to best me. Take that as a token of my friendship. Would you mind coming with us to Frostburn City and visiting the royal palace?"
Taken aback by how genuinely straight forward the prince was, Jack struggled to respond. "I… My party is already planning to go there, but we're waiting for our new coats to be made."
Happy to not be rejected, Willim asked, "How long will that take?"
"About a week."
"A week, huh?"
The prince scratched the side of his face, thinking something over. Suddenly, he clapped his hands together and shouted, "In that case, I'll stay here too! When the week is over, we'll use the ancient relic to teleport to the capital!"
"You have a strange way of doing things, don't you?" asked Jack.
"Yeah, you got a problem with that?"
"Nope!" Jack shook his head with a smile. "In fact, I quite like it. I'll go inform my party, they'll be happy to know we have permission to use the relic."
"Mind if I join you?" asked the Prince, eagerness written all over his face.
"Sure, why not? They'll meet you at some point."
Daliea hurried to Jack's side. She was overjoyed to see Jack defeat the prince, then again, she knew it was bound to happen. Anyone facing Jack while at the same level would be at a severe disadvantage, let alone a lower level like the prince.
Jack and Willin walked side by side, chatting about each other's adventures thus far. In tow were Daliea and the head guard who had been the match judge. The other men left under Willim's orders.
As the night rolled in, Jack and Willim entered the tavern with hungry bellies. They walked past the bar and found the other members of Jack's party finishing a late dinner.
"Jack! Where have you been? I missed my husband," pouted Eliza, trying to grab his attention after she saw that Daliea was with him.
"Come and sit down, the food's pretty good here," Maynard said as he looked at Willim. "And who's the new friend ya made?"
Jack, Willim, Daliea, and the guard all sat down before Jack introduced him. "Everyone, this is Willim Frant. He--"
"Pfffeeewww!!" Rydel coughed on his brundy as he immediately recognized that name. "Willim Frant? As in, the crown prince of Aazoon? That Willim Frant?"
"Do you know any others?" Willim joked. "Waitress, four specials and as many drinks as they want! It's all on me!"
In awe of Jack's influential new friend, they all looked to Jack, waiting for an explanation.
"What? Why are you all looking at me like that?" asked Jack.
"Daliea, can you explain this, please?" Maura looked the Daliea, who dropped the illusion spell now that she was back and her deal with Jack was over.
The guard chuckled and spoke up, "Allow me. We've been accompanying the prince while he traveled and grinded in the tundra for the past couple weeks. We got here this morning and used the day to relax."
"While we were here in the trade hub of Aazoon, the prince was looking for something special to gift his younger sister. That's when he and Jack both found a frost pearl. They both wagered it over a sparring match, but the prince lost in the end and gifted the pearl to Jack. And, here we are now," explained the man.
"Oh, you were looking for a gift for your sister?" asked Jack. Now that he understood why the prince wanted the pearl, he felt bad, a little.
Finishing the mug of brundy that was brought to him, the prince slammed it on the table. "Nah, don't mind that at all. I'm sure I'll find something while we wait for your coats."
Jack saw a thread of hesitation in Willim as he said that. He wasn't sure what it was, but it wasn't fitting of his usual brazen nature so it stood out to Jack.