Chapter 212
Chapter 212
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 212
Chapter Title: Duel Challenge
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“…….”
“…….”
As soon as Andrew appeared, a hush fell over the classroom.
Even the faint chatter that had been buzzing around completely vanished.
Why?
Partly because everyone was focused on what Andrew was about to do.
And partly because no one wanted to get caught up in pointless trouble.
“Ooh, boss!”
“You’re here?”
Of course, there were classmates who greeted him warmly.
At least those from noble families on par with or above a marquisate.
Anyone lesser didn’t even dare meet Andrew’s eyes.
Thud. Thud.
Andrew savored those gazes as he approached the trembling girl right in front of him.
Eloise Arin.
Born of the noble ducal bloodline, yet unable to properly cast even a single spell.
A timid dropout in the game of life.
Andrew found such an Arin utterly loathsome.
How dare a dimwit like you bear the name of one of the four great families?
It was laughable.
So at first, he’d bullied her a few times.
Even prepared for some friction between their families as he tested the waters.
Well, well?
No reaction whatsoever to tormenting her.
One of the Eloise family seniors even egged him on.
Yeah.
People don’t all think alike.
Any normal member of a ducal house couldn’t possibly like a dropout like her.
“Why.”
Andrew looked down at Arin.
There was no trace of elegant nobility in her shuddering form.
“Still clinging to some hope, huh? Hanging around the Magic Tower like that?”
Swish!
Andrew unfastened the staff at his waist and pressed its tip against Arin’s chin, muttering.
“And you even attended class? What, trying to graduate? You?”
“……Get lost.”
The girl, who had been squeezing her eyes shut and listening, mumbled in a quiet voice.
“What?”
Patrick licked his lips with interest.
“Get lost? To me? This bitch. Still hasn’t grasped the situation, I see.”
Whoosh!
A stream of water coiled around his staff like a serpent.
“Want me to dredge up some old memories? What do you think, guys?”
Andrew straightened his back and glanced around.
“What should we start with? Maybe rinse those filthy clothes she hasn’t washed in days?”
“Kekeke, that sounds fun.”
“Aren’t you being too merciful, boss?”
The thugs began gathering around Andrew one by one.
“…….”
The rest of the classmates broke out in cold sweats, stealing glances at the scene.
“Of course.”
Andrew smirked.
“Since you’re an Eloise, you’ll have to dry your own clothes, right, Arin? You’re from that famous fire family, after all?”
“…….”
Lips trembling.
Unable to mount any resistance, Arin’s mind began to spin dizzily.
‘As expected.’
Maybe she shouldn’t have come out.
The world outside the isolation room was truly savage.
And she was prey at the very bottom of the food chain.
Sweet prey, at that.
No matter what Andrew did, Arin had no power to resist.
Her magic was lacking, and she had no family protection.
Her classmates.
Even the professors.
No one could help her.
That was the position of the four great families in the Magic Tower.
‘Disgusting.’
The world was rotten, just as she thought.
To suffer such unfair treatment and have no choice but to tremble and submit.
But.
For some reason, today.
She wanted to fight back.
Even without power, she wanted to resist.
‘Because by my side.’
There was a patron cheering her on.
Because she felt that patron would hate seeing her so weak.
“Stop it!”
Arin shot to her feet and shouted.
“Huh?”
Andrew’s face twisted into a [What the hell is this?] expression.
“This bitch has lost her mind.”
Just as his enraged hand shot up high into the air.
Creak!
The classroom door opened at that moment.
Freeze!
Andrew, about to slap Arin’s cheek, whipped his head around.
Standing there was.
“…….”
The new professor.
A black-haired man staring right at him.
“What’s this? It’s class time.”
The professor lowered his voice in disdain.
Somehow, it sounded even lower and chillier than usual.
“Cut the commotion and take your seats, all of you.”
“…….”
But Andrew didn’t listen.
More precisely, he ignored him.
Why?
Because his mood was already too foul to heed a professor’s words.
Just moments ago.
‘How dare.’
A filthy dropout like her defy him.
Right in front of all these classmates.
Andrew Patrick wanted to make her pay, no matter what.
“Student, do you have a hearing problem?”
Even as the professor pressed him.
“Professor.”
Andrew’s gaze was still fixed on Arin.
“I still have business to attend to. As a favor, could you step out for a bit? Twenty minutes tops.”
“…….”
A student ordering a professor.
“Ooooh.”
“As expected, boss. So bold. Straight fastball!”
“Professor~ You should just go. You know Professor Sylvia, right? Even she got owned by Andrew here once.”
As Andrew pushed hard.
His thug crew puffed out their chests and raised their voices louder.
“…….”
Thud.
The new professor—no, Joo Dong-hoon—walked forward with a cold expression.
That single short step placed him instantly between Arin and Andrew.
‘What.’
Andrew furrowed his brow.
‘When did he get here without a sound……?’
He felt slightly rattled.
“I said return to your seat.”
Hoon.
The new professor he’d dismissed as amateurish stared him down.
His presence was stronger than expected.
Normally, just hearing the name Patrick should have made him cower.
Yet his movements and expression brimmed with confidence.
“You.”
But Andrew didn’t back down.
“Don’t get the wrong idea.”
He turned his gaze to the professor and growled.
“You think being a new professor is some big deal? One word from me, and you’re out of the Magic Tower. Got it?”
“……Throwing a tantrum like a typical brat.”
“What?”
For a moment, Andrew thought he’d misheard.
Tantrum?
Brat?
“Professor Hoon. You’re done for.”
It was insulting.
More infuriating than Arin’s defiance, even.
The more he chewed on it, the worse it got.
Andrew clenched his fist tight.
“I challenge you to a duel in the name of the Patrick family.”
* * *
“A duel?”
I tilted my head.
What’s that?
Like medieval knights staking their honor or something?
“Kekeke, how intriguing.”
And from earlier.
The old man kept scanning Andrew and his thug crew with amusement.
As if he’d spotted fascinating lab rats.
“These little pups yapping away from all sides, clueless about the might of a tiger—it’s so pathetic and absurd it’s hilarious. Tsk tsk, why does every world have at least one of these idiots? A mystery of the universe!”
I agreed.
Also.
For some reason, this place.
Teacher authority wasn’t just low—it felt buried underground.
Honestly, I wanted to sweep them all away.
Who defies a professor like that?
Who pulls schoolyard bully crap on sacred campus grounds?
‘But.’
I couldn’t.
For me.
Priority one was.
Shivering with her eyes squeezed shut: Arin.
She looked on the verge of a panic attack.
In cases like this, you had to remove the trigger fast.
Otherwise, it could escalate to cardiac arrest in severe cases.
“Duel or whatever, handle it yourselves. Now get lost.”
No matter the format.
I had no reason to kneel.
This was a legal chance to thrash the punk, right?
“So…… you accept the duel?”
“That’s what I said.”
At my response.
“Woooaaah!”
“Waaah!”
The students suddenly erupted in cheers.
What.
Why were they like this?
I furrowed my brow.
“Big news, big news!”
“Knew the new prof wasn’t ordinary, but he’s a total madman!”
“Damn, accepting a Patrick family duel? Gotta respect the guts!”
The murmuring classmates.
Seemed this duel thing was bigger than I thought.
Even Andrew looked shocked, eyes wide as he asked.
“……Why go that far?”
He muttered with an incredulous expression.
“At first, I just planned to toy with you like any other prof. Taming professors is one of the Magic Tower’s venerable traditions, after all.”
Crazy.
Taming professors? What’s that?
And it’s a venerable tradition?
What a bunch of clowns.
“…….”
I didn’t bother answering.
Why? Obvious.
If a student acts up, they get smacked down.
Don’t know about your world.
But that’s how we were raised.
Swish.
I simply removed my professor’s magic cloak and draped it over Arin.
Then glared at the loser dropouts around her.
The ones with no will to visit the lab or improve.
“Class is canceled today. Self-study on your own.”
At the same time.
Whoosh!
I hoisted Arin over my shoulder and left the classroom.
* * *
Her pounding heart began to settle.
The overwhelming terror that had surged beyond control faded, stability returning bit by bit.
“…….”
Arin found the situation unfamiliar.
Since taking her first steps.
Had she ever been carried on someone’s back?
The new black-haired professor’s back was incredibly broad and cozy.
‘And.’
Warm.
Her heart swelled, tears welling up.
Arin had just been saved.
In a situation where no one would help.
This new professor had reached out to her.
Even accepting a duel with Andrew.
‘Ah…….’
Recalling what happened, her hazy, dreamlike mind snapped clear.
Arin’s pupils dilated.
‘He’s insane……!’
What was a «duel»?
A noble 1:1 ritual held one week after the challenge.
The venue by mutual agreement, each side bringing three witnesses.
The event: magic only.
The catch.
The stake was life itself.
One of the two had to die for it to end.
That’s why proposing a duel was called a chicken game.
If neither backed down, one had to die.
“U-um!”
From the man’s back, Arin mumbled.
“Hm?”
Hearing her, the new professor stopped.
“You’re back to your senses now.”
They’d arrived at the lab before she knew it.
Tables and sofas came into view.
“……Put me down, Professor!”
Arin wiped her teary eyes with the robe and said.
Once on the floor, she immediately confronted him.
“Why did you do that? You could’ve just let it slide……! The opponent’s Patrick of Water, one of the four great families!”
But he.
“Yeah, I know.”
Seemed utterly unconcerned.
Calm as could be.
“Been a while, huh? First time since I saw you near the plaza?”
The professor sat on the sofa and gestured for Arin to take the opposite seat.
“Sit.”
“…….”
“Showing up to class means you’re finally up for that interview, right?”
Arin couldn’t comprehend.
After pulling off something that huge, all he wanted was an interview?
“Professor. The four great families are prideful! A duel’s just talk—they won’t tolerate losing face. They’ll use any dirty trick!”
As a member of Eloise.
She knew from experience.
The Magic Tower families.
Were dirtier and sneakier than imaginable.
“Haha, is that so?”
“This isn’t funny!”
Arin thumped her chest in frustration.
What was this guy?
Laid-back or clueless?
“Big voice means the panic’s passed, at least.”
Ha.
Arin’s mind grew tangled.
A jumbled mess like a knotted puzzle.
‘That’s not the issue.’
Was he only worried about her?
“Now, sit. Lots to talk about.”
Plop.
Arin let out a hollow laugh and sank into the opposite sofa.
‘Fine.’
She’d do the interview first, then think.
That’s why she’d risked coming out.