He leaned back in his armchair and stretched his arms. "In any case, if we're not going to the laboratory, what do we do today?".

Val's eyes landed on the viper staff, resting by the door behind Adrien. He smiled. "What about a friendly duel?".

Adrien's eyes widened. "A sorcerer's duel?".

"Yes", Val said with a nod. "Do you like the idea?".

"Oh -- oh, yes, of course", Adrien chuckled. "It's just -- well, you know -- you know that I can't beat you".

Val chuckled. "I'm not going to attack you with full force, of course", he smiled. "That would make it rather unfriendly, don't you think? No, I'll only be using the same kinds of spells that you know".

"Yeah, but you're going to win with those, too!", Adrien laughed.

"Not necessarily", Val said. "The outcome of a duel depends on many factors... The greatest sorcerer could still be surprised by a novice's brilliant idea. You cannot know until you're there", he said with a smile of his eyes.