Combat Maid Harem

"You refuse?"

"Are you deaf? Which sane man would let go of their lover for something as cheap as money?" Lawrend retorted angrily.

"*Sigh* Then, I would make a bet with you. I will give you a chance to ask a question from my mother if you win, and I will get Humility if I win," Meno offered.

"Your mother?"

"She is the Runic Heavenly Mage. Don't you think it's a good trade? Most Earth Mages would beg her just to answer one of their questions."

"I don't care. My Humility is worth more than a silly chance to ask your mother a question. What if she tricks me? I will ask her if she is doing fine, and she will answer it as if it was my question," Lawrend replied.

"Hahahahaha! Your imagination is vast. My mother is a gentlewoman. She won't treat you unfairly," Meno replied with a hearty laugh.

"Perhaps, but my love for Humility is something that a deal can't break. I might have done something like that for one of my maids before, but I won't do it again. It's too risky making bets with them on the line," Lawrend replied.

He remembered the time when he bet Aleshia to that red-haired guy from the Rubrignis Clan. He could've lost Aleshia, or he would have lost his dignity if his opponent wasn't scared away by his strength.

"Admirable. You have talent, dignity, pride, and strength. Most of the men I know treat their lovers like objects. I'm willing to give up on Humility for that," Meno replied.

"Thank you." Lawrend nodded his head at him gratefully.

This guy honestly amazed Lawrend. He had such a great character. Is this what it was like for someone to be a descendant of a Heaven Mage?

"Ehem. Are the two of you going to chat forever?" the referee asked.

The whole crowd was looking at the two of them with bated breaths.

"I'm ready," Lawrend replied.

"I will show you my mother's unique magic spell," Meno said.

The referee looked at the two of them and raised his hand up to the air.

"Ready? DUEL!"

The referee flicked his finger, and Meno instantly moved.

He raised his staff and stabbed it to the stone ground.

*Crack*

The ground cracked in a unique pattern. Suddenly, a vine grew from the cracks and turned into a glowing red flower.

"What the hell is that??"

Lawrend stared at the flower in shock.

"This is the power of my family, Lawrend," Meno calmly answered.

The red flower bloomed, and the fire elements from the surroundings gathered into it.

"Did you use an artifact? I thought it wasn't allowed!" Lawrend exclaimed.

"A staff channels our powers. It doesn't use external power. The cracks that formed on the ground were formed by striking the ground at the optimum momentum and strength. Of course, it's allowed," Meno replied.

"Damn!"

Lawrend was amazed. He had never heard of anyone doing that before. He struck the ground and made a magic circle! That in itself was crazy.

"Hahahaha! I may suck at doing business. I was even scammed multiple times, but I'm really good at creating magic circles. My mother told me that I'm only inferior to her," Meno said.

'Shit,' Lawrend cursed in his mind.

The red flower opened its petals and pointed its face at Lawrend. The fire elements gathered in the center, and it shot a blazing red fireball at him.

Lawrend raised his staff and shot a spell to counterattack.

"+Lightning Sprite!+!"

*Boom!*

The two elements crashed into each other and created a ball of plasma that exploded. It deafened the surrounding audience and created a shockwave that shook the invisible barrier set up around the stadium.

The invisible barrier was placed there to protect the audience from getting hit by any stray attacks.

"Hahahaha!" Meno laughed.

He smiled and stabbed his staff a second time. Another red flower shot up and absorbed the fire elements in the air. As for the first one, it was also doing the same.

If Lawrend doesn't destroy them, they will attack him simultaneously.

"I guess it's time for me to stop pretending," Lawrend said.

He focused his mind and pointed his staff at Meno.

"Don't die. +Lightning Beam!+"

As soon as Lawrend said that, Meno felt a sense of crisis cover his whole body. It was an instinct that he honed after fighting against countless opponents in the past.

Meno swung his magic staff in the air in front of him. He rapidly drew a magic circle using his plant element mana.

A thick arc of lightning shot out of Lawrend's staff. It rapidly multiplied and headed in a single direction towards Meno.

The magic circle that Meno drew shone brightly, and a giant leaf appeared as his shield. The lightning beam hit the leaf.

Meno's face drained of blood. The leaf rapidly absorbed his mana as it resisted Lawrend's spell.

But alas, Lawrend was already as strong as an Earth Mage. This spell was not something that someone could easily defend themselves against.

"I give up!" Meno shouted.

Suddenly, everyone in the stadium froze. Even Lawrend felt himself lose control of his body. It was as if he was a spectator looking through his own eyes. It was a weird feeling.

As for his spell, it also stopped moving like someone pressed the pause button on a movie.

"I applaud you, Meno," a man's voice said.

A middle-aged man appeared in the sky. He wore a white cloak with a giant golden embroidery of a pillar.

The eyes of the audience widened in shock. They wanted to exclaim, but they couldn't move their mouths.

'He's a Heaven Mage, Master!' Valentina exclaimed.

She sensed the power that the man exuded on Lawrend, and she stopped practicing her magic. Her master's safety was her priority.

'The Pillar Heaven Mage…'

"Thank you for saving me, Uncle Pillar," Meno replied with great relief in his voice.

"You should be the winner. I admit that. This opponent of yours is the anomaly. He is a Grand Mage, but his overall strength is at the Earth Mage level. I suppose that the spell he used wasn't his Grand Mage spell," the Pillar Heaven Mage said.