With another shot missed Metz quickly pulled back the hammer on his pistol, really feeling the disadvantage of the more aged design of his weapon. He had fallen into a full crouch so quickly that he had to steady himself with his left hand to the floor, or so it seemed, though in actuality he was simply unleashing his magic.

The brown circle appeared on the ground and disappeared simultaneously as he immediately activated the spell, the Earth pillar bursting from the ground in a four foot diameter around him. Luckily for him the incoming bullet bounced off the hard basalt stone that his pillar had caused to rocket upwards in a six inch thick cylinder with himself in the middle. The rock stopped at a height of eight feet, curling in on itself to form a solid rock ceiling over the Mage, effectively entombing him within the structure. 

Within the cylinder, Metz was able to catch his breath after the incredibly short but intense gunfight, thankful that he had the foresight to prepare the protective shell around himself in the opening stages of the fight. He had only cast the one spell, but his mana reserves were already falling and he judged he had only forty seconds of magic left in him, a sad state of affairs for any self-respecting mage. However, the beauty of his technique was that he could imbue the ground itself with his energy, locking it into a circle that could then form a pillar of element, so there was no reason for him to sit around and lose his mana needlessly. 

His mind began to calculate the Arena, visualising the platforms on which the combatants were forces to remain. It was perfect for him, and all he needed to use his abilities was a vague image of where the place he wanted to imbue with a circle was, he had much better than that.

The initiative was with him now, his opponent might have options available to him, but attacking him within his stony fortress would be difficult, while Metz was more than capable of making life hell for him outside.

His eyes shifted, and his hands began to weave in a calculated fashion the pillar of flame.