༺ Dueling Application༻
There was an anomaly in the familiar landscape.
“You don’t have to worry about ~”
The sun was shining in the afternoon.
Today we had the last class off, so I went to the corner of the garden earlier than usual to practice my magic.
Suddenly, Dorothy Heartnova jumped out of the trees.
She decided to lean against the tree behind and watch train.
However, the fact that soone was watching made it difficult for to concentrate on my training.
‘How can I not care?’
I wondered if she realized I was uncomfortable, as she began to read a book she got from who knows where.
Even if she was reading a book, the re fact that she was there made uneasy.
“…Senior, are you going to stay here forever?”
“Yeah, because I’m bored.”
“Why are you here?”
“Mm, because I’m bored.”
“Then why did you ask to see today…”
“Hmm, because I’m bored.”
Dorothy gave a weak answer that didn’t really explain anything at all, while reading the book. I wondered if she was going to keep answering that way, so I asked, ‘What are you having for dinner tonight?’, and heard the normal answer of ‘chicken’.
Anyway… As a junior and a fan, I couldn’t say anything.
Self hypnosis. Let’s ignore Dorothy. Even if she did co into view, I would just regard her as another piece of the landscape. Then it would work sohow.
“Whew.”
I took a deep breath while conjuring [Frostfire] in both hands, and began to intently focus on my training again.
…Forty minutes later. The ti when the sky was dyed by the color of the sunset.
“Ugh…”
Blood flowed out from my nose. My whole body began to violently ache, and my magic output was becoming erratic. In addition, even the slightest use of magic triggered a strong rejection from within my body.
It was now a daily routine.
If I pushed myself a little harder at this point, I would get stronger.
It was the sa logic as strength training when you feel like you couldn’t do it anymore, but then you did one more rep and your muscles would stretch.
Today, as I mainly used spells with high mana consumption, it seed that I had reached my limit earlier than usual.
I wiped the blood from my nose and got into a preparatory stance to cast a spell.
“Are you okay?”
“…!”
Dorothy, who suddenly ca beside , asked. Startled, I spun around to find her staring at from up close.
“Don’t push yourself too hard. Won’t you damage your mana circuit otherwise?”
Dorothy smiled softly and began to wipe the bridge of my nose with her handkerchief.
It was a kind and gentle touch.
I was dumbfounded, so I just stood there and watched her in silence.
“Do you usually do this?”
“Oh, yeah. I guess so, huh?”
“Mmm.”
When Dorothy finished wiping my nosebleed, she took the handkerchief back. The pink handkerchief was stained with red bloodstains.
Then, suddenly, green mana began to flow from the side of my chest. It appeared to be coming from Dorothy’s outstretched hand.
‘Oh, what?’
Suddenly, I felt a surge of strength, and the stiffness in my body disappeared in an instant!
“A buff. I used just enough so that your body won’t be overwheld tomorrow~”
Woah, isn’t this the best? I feel like I’ve just gotten a caffeine fix after studying and my mind was flashing.
I could be a little more intense with my training today!
“You can’t overdo it, President, okay?”
…As if she could read my mind.
“Thank you, Senior.”
“Hehe, resu training!”
Slap—!
Dorothy laughed and slapped hard on the back, then headed back to the tree that she was leaning against.
Ah, that hurt a bit you know, but… Anyway, thanks to you, it was a big help.
If Dorothy was around every ti I trained, I wonder if it would be okay to get so more buffs.
I wouldn’t say anything overtly, but I thought it would be a good idea to ask for it when the opportunity arises.
* * *
There was sothing out of place in the familiar landscape.
Luce Eltania was watching the silver-blue haired man training in the corner of the garden.
She was seated on a stone wall. It was quite the distance from the garden’s corner, with trees obscuring the view. Nonetheless, she had no trouble keeping an eye on the man with silver-blue hair.
This area was sparsely populated, so she hadn’t seen anyone co and go for a while. It was one of the best vantage points.
The silver-blue haired man seed to have improved his magic proficiency since the last ti she saw him. It was a remarkable rate of growth.
Every ti she looked at him, she felt a strange stimulus. It made her want to work harder and harder herself, and maybe that was why she couldn’t help being srized by his hard work.
He was the reason why she had recently beco passionate about her lightning magic.
“···Eh?”
But at so point, a woman appeared on the other side – a woman with light purple hair wearing a witch’s hat. Upon closer inspection with her excellent eyesight, she was wearing a blue brooch on her academy uniform ribbon; she was a Senior in the second-year.
The woman chatted affectionately with the silver-blue haired man, then leaned against a tree behind him and began to watch him practice from her special seat.
‘Who is that person?’
Luce had never seen such a person before.
Was she a friend of the silver-blue haired man? Or maybe his lover?
She had no idea, but the won appeared to be interested in him, although Luce couldn’t tell if the interest stemd from friendship, a crush, or sothing entirely different.
But the way she wiped his nose with a handkerchief was certainly unusual.
“Hmm.”
For the man to have a lover was a matter of little concern. She just wondered if it would be impolite to observe.
As she watched the scene quietly, mories from her childhood suddenly flashed in front of Luce’s eyes.
─ ‘Gretel, look at this! Yap!’
─ ‘It’s cool, big brother…!’
A poor family.
The figure of a young older brother who wielded a wooden stick like a sword and the image of herself as a child, sitting against a tree and admiring him endlessly.
Her forr na, which she had already thrown away along with the past.
Once again, her heart sank as she sifted through her mories.
“…….”
Luce gently closed her eyes.
1, 2, 3.
Only 3 seconds.
That was how long it took her to bury the mories she didn’t want to recall deep in her heart, and to put her feelings under wraps.
* * *
“I will announce the contents of the next performance evaluation.”
The next morning, inside the Class D classroom.
Professor Fernando stood at the podium and started making announcents to the students.
The students were taken aback as this was the first ti the contents of the performance evaluation were announced from the beginning, since it had never been revealed before.
The ti had co. It was sothing that must take place every sester.
“‘Duel’. A one-on-one fight. We plan to evaluate your combat sense and practical skills in combat.”
Duel. As soon as they heard that, so students rejoiced and exclaid, ‘The ti has finally co,’ while others despised it.
If I had to ask, I was happy. This duel evaluation would be a good indicator to judge how strong I had beco.
‘I’m confident.’
I was now able to use both offensive and defensive magic spells. I could even use the 5-star spell [Frost Explosion].
My confidence soared. Comparing myself now with the ti of the class placent evaluation. Ah, how amazing I am now!
“The ticket I just handed out is to apply for duel. Take two each.”
Two small tickets floated next to Professor Fernando. They floated with the help of telekinesis magic.
In my pocket were the two dueling application tickets that had been distributed earlier.
“You can use one ticket to challenge the opponent you want. If the other party accepts, the duel will proceed on the day of the performance evaluation. If the other party refuses, the spent dueling application right is returned to the person concerned and that is the end.”
And that wasn’t all.
“However, if you use two tickets to request a duel, the opponent must unconditionally accept it.”
To get a high score from the judges during the duel, it was best to demonstrate a variety of combat thods. Therefore, the dueling performance evaluation was structured in which it was advantageous to receive good grades as the number of duels you participated in increased.
The only ti a student would use up two tickets to request a duel was if they really wanted to fight a specific opponent. The academy made the mandatory duel rule to respect the student’s will.
By the way, Ian Fairytale used both of his tickets to challenge Luce Eltania to a duel. His reasoning was that he wanted to fight the strongest person. In a good way, it showed his spirit and passion; and in a bad way, it showed his recklessness and bravado.
Still, since he was the protagonist, it worked out. When I was playing ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱, it was one of those scenes that made think, ‘Oh, if you’re the main character, you have to have this level of ambition.’
“Each person can engage in up to 4 duels. If you have a good opponent, it would be better to apply as soon as possible.”
This rule was implented so there wouldn’t be a backlog.
“Applying for a duel only needs to be done between first-year students of the Magic Departnt. Classes are irrelevant. However, if a high-ranking student wins a match against a low-ranking student, the score will be reduced by the difference in mana and grade. Conversely, if a lower-ranking student wins a match against a higher-ranking student, he or she will get a large number of points.”
Because of these rules, most people would only duel students in their own class. They would be too scared to pick a fight with a student in a higher class than themselves, and they don’t get points for picking a fight with a student in a lower class.
That was why it was unusual for Ian to request a duel with Luce.
“Once you’ve decided on an opponent, report to . For now, I will leave this ti slot empty. Move only within Orphin Hall. Do as you please, but focus on gathering your opponents. Over.”
The mont Professor Fernando finished making the announcent.
Bang-!
The door slamd open, and the gazes of Professor Fernando and the Class D students turned toward the door in unison.
A confident voice followed.
“Ha! This is the Class D! So this is what the air at the bottom feels like!”
Suddenly, the door burst open and the person who appeared was Tristan Humphrey, a conceited blond aristocrat.
Long ti no see. I had been dying to do sothing with him since the class placent evaluation.
“Tristan Humphrey?”
“He’s from the upper classes, isn’t he?”
“Why would soone like that be here…?”
Tristan was at the top of Class B. Maybe that was why all the students seed intrigued and fearful at the sa ti.
“There you are.”
Tristan looked around at the students, then his eyes fixed on .
He charged toward at a brisk pace.
What the…?
“I, a nobleman, challenge you, a lowly Grade E commoner, to a duel.”
Bang-
He slamd his hand on the desk in front of and flashed an arrogant smile.
“Be grateful.”
You bastard, were you waiting…?
“What? Did you just ask for a duel with a Grade E?”
“There’s no rit at all… How much do you hate him?”
“When did you get on Tristan’s bad side, dude?”
“Of course he’s going to refuse, right? How can a Grade E beat him?”
Professor Fernando’s eyes were filled with intrigue amidst the students’ interest and whispers.
Tristan smiled as he stared at steadfastly.
He seed very happy at the thought of beating up already.
I wonder how frustrated I would have been if he managed to beat up that ti during the class placent evaluation…
Still, I had to say that I was glad that he was trying to legitimately harass through the curriculum.
“…”
…Wait a minute.
Wait a minute, wait a minute.
Lately, I think I’ve gotten a little cocky from hunting demons and fighting demonic creature illusions, but wasn’t this a sign of trouble?
Although Tristan was much weaker than the demons I fought so far, he was still much stronger than .
[Tristan Humphrey] Lv: 76
Race: Human
Elents: Wind
Danger: X
Psychology: [Delighted at the thought of beating you up.]
I wonder when he leveled up like this. He was probably level 71 last ti.
Of course, he wouldn’t have stayed still after being beaten by . Given his personality, he definitely put in significant effort to get stronger. He must have learned defensive magic as well.
‘…I’m in big trouble.’
I’ll be damned…
“I won’t take no for an answer! Hahahaha─!”
Tristan laughed, taking out two tickets and throwing them at .
The thin sheets of paper brushed past my cheek and fell onto my lap.
“…”
…You’re really trying to make lose it, aren’t you?
Even if it ans stepping on horse shit, I’m definitely going to beat the shit out of this guy.
T/N: Isaac referred to ‘Duel’ as PvP until now because of his background as a gar, but the official term within the world is ‘Duel’, which he began using last chapter.
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