[@LeeRoy]

The ancient customs instilled within the humanoid eluded the vast stores of knowledge of the Golden Prodigy. Unbeknownst to him, Gariland had apparently challenged the Pundambayan to a death match; however, what the Pundambayan did not know was that the Eternal Scholar approached each and every conflict with only one thing in mind - to suffuse with it, embrace it, and eradicate it entirely. 

Back during his days at the Akademia, the master sorcerers would challenge each and every student to push themselves while embracing their connection with the raw magic coursing through their veins. To this end, they would present the students with problems of different kinds which, obviously, required to be solved within a certain time limit depending on the severity and difficulty of the problem. Gariland preferred those that dealt with elemental knowledge, given how quickly he had been able to master the basic elemental spells within Black Magic. One such problem dealt with the connection between the elements in the classic systems of magic as a whole within the Akademia. 

Gariland had to identify what element comprised the body of the problem and resolve it accordingly, recalling the verses from the first chapter of [i]"Essences & Permutations"[/i], a critically acclaimed book joint-written by various magic researchers, which dealt with the origin of the elements. In it, the book recites the [i]'Six Nativities & Myriad Creation'[/i], which states that:

[i]"The spark of Lightning ignites when it strikes, and thus Fire is born.
The heat of Fire renders to ash all that it touches, and thus Earth is born.
The density of Earth shuns sun and harbors cold, and thus Ice is born.
The armor of Ice melts away, and thus Water is born.
The moistness of Water mists and rises, and thus Wind is born.
The gusts and sighs of Wind gather the clouds, and thus Lightning is born."[/i]

However, the solutions to the problems Gariland had to deal with were not found in the first chapter, for this simply denoted the origin of each element and their relationship within creation itself. What he was required to memorize, however, was chapters two and three of [i]"Essences & Permutations"[/i], [i]'The Three Conquests, Boundless and Unwavering'[/i], and [i]'The Three Submissions, Timeless and Unending'[/i], which stated that:

[i]"Earth grounds Lightning.
Water erodes Earth.
Lightning boils Water."

"Fire is extinguished by Wind.
Ice is melted by Fire.
Wind is obstructed by Ice."[/i]

With the birth and the death of every element coupled with their inherent weaknesses regarding the [b]Astral [/b]and the [b]Umbral [/b]in mind, it was clear what Gariland's plan in the midst of such a remote location in the present would be.

[i]Ice is melted by Fire. The armor of Ice melts away, and thus Water is born. The moistness of Water mists and rises, and thus Wind is born.[/i]

Therefore, Rakatah had unknowingly aided the Golden Prodigy in the execution of his next stratagem. First and foremost, the centrifugal force generated by Rakatah amidst his spinning movement added a new variable to Gariland's calculations which directly affected the ice turned water and the water turned 'wind'. The elemental duality occurring in that very moment saw itself picked up by the Eternal Scholar, with two separate spells being chained together in the blink of an eye, seemingly without any sort of exertion from Gariland himself. The water droplets grew to weave together, as though beginning to surround the 'plasma shield' around the Pundambayan himself in the midst of his movement whilst the shimmering mist started to pick up an otherworldly kind of force that, much like the water, began to coalesce around Rakatah. The spells respectively were none other than [b]Water[/b] and [b]Aero[/b]. 

If there was anything the Pundambayan needed to know about Gariland, however, is that no movement was wasted, with every pinch of aether coursing through his body and found within the environment being utilized to their utmost efficiency and effectiveness. By the time the Pundambayan reached the end of his trail, the Golden Prodigy was already several dozen meters in midair, with his arms crossed and simply observing how the currents of wind and the half sphere of water around Rakatah engulfed his opponent. 

But even the micro-icicles that had landed on the relatively small asteroid and hadn't been used to attempt to attack the Pundambayan had their use, much like the constantly falling rain. Already, the cogs of Gariland's mind worked on his next stratagem, unable to miss a single beat regarding his surroundings.