A Match with No Winner
A Match with No Winner
"I'm Professor Jaden's disciple."
The reason for mentioning his teacher was simple.
He'd said it as a warning, implying they should tread carefully since he was the disciple of the head of the academy's most powerful faction. But.
"Are you done?"
"...Excuse me?"
Sean blinked at Na Ju-hee's reply. A reply that only made her animosity clearer.
"I heard your introduction. So now, would you kindly get lost? I was talking first."
"Uh, wha..."
Grabbed by the shoulder and pulled back, Sean was so dumbfounded he could only stand there, staring blankly at Na Ju-hee's back as she shoved him aside.
In the era he came from, power was law. It was a time when even those who merely had a powerful backer could throw their weight around just the same.
'The world must have changed a lot...'
Or perhaps she simply decided her family name carried more weight than his teacher. He'd only been here three days, but he'd seen his disciple's disgraceful antics more than once or twice, so it strangely made sense.
While Sean stood behind, stroking his chin, Na Ju-hee used her boiling rage as fuel to finally ask Baek Ha-na the question she'd been hesitating to voice.
"So, uh... would you team up with me for the Grade Evaluation?"
"With you?"
"......Yeah."
-Mmmph!!
-Be quiet.
Idni's face turned bright red as she tried to say something, but she couldn't shake off Maria's hand and just flailed her arms.
"That matter. Do you mind if I cut in for a moment?"
The eyes of everyone there, including the flailing Idni, turned toward the boy once again. Na Ju-hee's gaze, with her eyes as red as her hair, was particularly intense.
"I, too, came here seeking to form a team with the lady."
Early that morning, while pressuring Jaden to process the paperwork, he had uncovered one fact: the Executor—the client's lover—had unilaterally applied to be the girl's guardian.
'So that's the child.'
It was a somewhat understandable choice, given her outstanding appearance, her status as a Transformation-type Awakened, and the extraordinary amount of mana she possessed. Any faction needed raw power to make bold claims, after all.
In other words, his plan was this: if he teamed up with the child that the Executor—the client's lover—was trying to protect, then at least the client wouldn't kick him out during the evaluation.
After all, he'd been summoned specifically to solve that minor incident.
"Hey."
"......Are you talking to me?"
He'd given a fairly respectable introduction and name, yet she called out to him as if summoning some low-tier mafia thug lurking in a dark slum. He turned his head.
A child with bright red hair, no longer even bothering to hide her open hostility, was pointing a finger at him.
"Yeah. You."
"Ah, um. Yes."
At first, he thought it was absurd, but after a moment's reflection, he realized it wasn't such a strange reaction.
"You know that being Professor Jaden's disciple doesn't prove your skills, right?"
Anyone would be annoyed if some nobody with pathetic mana suddenly tried to cut in. If the roles were reversed, he would've just smashed their head in.
'I didn't plan this, but I can use it.'
The easiest way out was to release a bit more mana, but it seemed necessary to demonstrate his actual skill, as the girl in front of him was demanding proof of ability.
"On the other hand, wouldn't it be equally laughable to assume Professor Jaden's disciple lacks skill?"
"Who knows. You're from the Royal Academy. Maybe your family is a prominent noble house, or maybe he took you as a disciple for your future potential rather than your current ability. You look awfully young."
"A reasonable assumption, I suppose."
Baek Ha-na, stroking the head of the trembling Lee Na-young, watched the two who had suddenly started quarreling with a blank expression.
"Then how about we settle this according to the rules here?"
"Hah."
Na Ju-hee wore a profoundly displeased look as she folded her arms across her chest.
"You better not be thinking I'll go easy on you just because you're Professor Jaden's disciple."
"Yes. That's fine. Shall we proceed right away, then?"
"Nothing I'd like more."
Both of them pulled out their smartphones at the same time.
"I'll make the application. Can you call a professor who's available right now?"
"Are you sure? You might accuse me of cheating or playing dirty later."
"......That won't happen."
"If you say so."
Sean shrugged at Na Ju-hee's murderous glare and sent a mail to Jaden.
[ JM : What is this about a sudden Cession Battle? You promised me you'd keep quiet! ]
[ Me : Pick a decent professor and send them over before this gets any bigger. Got it? ]
[ JM : Master, please, think of your age. What are you doing, picking fights with students young enough to be your grandchildren? ]
[ Me : Are you sending one or not? ]
[ JM : This is the last time. I don't want to resign from my professorship yet, so please, cooperate. Okay? ]
'That little...'
In the old days, that disciple of his would throw himself into a mana storm just on his word, but now he'd discovered a bigger world and talked back to him at every turn. The real problem was, he himself was already fascinated by that new world.
-Ding.
Sean and Na Ju-hee's smartwatches chimed simultaneously.
Reading the incoming mail, Na Ju-hee snorted.
"I guess it's not a lie that you're Professor Jaden's disciple."
"Allow me to prove that my skills back up the claim."
The two stared at each other briefly, then turned their heads toward Baek Ha-na.
"I'll show you which of us is a better fit."
"I shall prove my skill. My lady."
And without even waiting for Baek Ha-na's answer, they turned their backs.
"No, I..."
"Shh!!"
Idni, having somehow freed herself from Maria, quickly put her index finger to her lips and stood up.
"Perfect. I was just thinking about taking a nap. Let's go watch, it'll help digest lunch. Huh?"
Idni also didn't listen to Baek Ha-na's reply and simply hummed to herself as she followed the two who had already walked out.
After gauging the mood for a moment, Maria smiled softly and asked Baek Ha-na.
"Shall we go too...?"
Maria, too, was an inevitable follower of the God of Amusement.
**
The Sparring Arena was deserted, all students busy with their preparations for the Grade Evaluation.
A girl and a boy stepped onto an untouched section of the stage that hadn't seen human contact in days.
-The match will begin in 10 seconds.
A third-year professor acting as a proctor under Jaden's orders flipped a switch, and the speakers installed on the stage began counting down.
'A decent back-and-forth exchange should make for a good show.'
Power that was too strong often invited suspicion. Especially if it came from an outsider.
Listening to the countdown and the enemy's hostility, Sean stroked his chin. He was curious to see the skill level of the youths these days.
-Begin.
The moment the countdown ended, Na Ju-hee's body ignited.
"Oh-ho."
A rare ability that uses mana to convert the body into a desired element. In the world of the Awakened, where one's ability was half the battle, elementalization was indeed a power to be proud of.
'The sheltered upbringing shows.'
No matter how heated one's emotions became, a magic user had to maintain a cold rationality at all times.
The more excited a human gets, the narrower their vision becomes and the simpler their thoughts. That change is fatal for a mage who must calculate fluidly according to a shifting environment and construct complex spell formulas.
Perhaps because she didn't need to use formulas thanks to elementalization, and because the stage was currently small, that weakness wouldn't be exposed immediately. But it was only a matter of time.
【Die!!】
"Heh-heh-heh."
Sean watched the fireball hurtling toward him with genuine killing intent and thought,
'This brat has no manners.'
It reminded him of his disciple's younger days and irritated him for no good reason.
He'd worked that arrogant little punk, who had mouthed off relying on his parents' influence from their very first meeting, into the ground over and over until he molded him into a passably decent mage, but then...
'He forgets the favor and switches allegiances?'
It was a natural choice for a mage of the Clock Tower, where the pursuit of knowledge was paramount, but that didn't mean his sense of resentment disappeared.
When the fireball was right in front of his nose, Sean moved the mana he had already dispersed into the air.
Since that fireball was nothing more than a clump of mana without a spell formula, it was impossible to alter its properties through interference. So instead.
Bang—!!
With a massive explosion, the fireball burst, scattering a cloud of white steam mixed with large and small shards everywhere.
【Just parlor tricks!!】
Fwoosh—!!
Na Ju-hee unfurled a curtain of fire toward the ice shards flying at her face.
Tsssss—!!
The incoming ice shards evaporated and vanished in an instant.
【Hah!! Professor Jaden is a fire mage, and his disciple is using ice magic?!】
"Hmm, you have a point."
At Na Ju-hee's jeer, Sean nodded, readily admitting his mistake.
"Still, it's better than blinding myself during a fight."
Sean glanced at Na Ju-hee with pitying eyes and gave his right hand a slight flick.
Thwack—!!
With a dull sound, the blazing part of Na Ju-hee's head suddenly lurched violently.
Thud.
Na Ju-hee's knees hit the ground. Her body reverted to its original form, and she toppled forward.
Behind her, a staff coated in white frost revealed itself—and a huge bump was already swelling on the back of her head.
It was the Ancient Wood Staff he had sent flying to the side when Na Ju-hee had unfurled her curtain of fire. He'd controlled its speed so she would spot it if she just widened her field of view a little, but Na Ju-hee had failed to properly register its existence until it was completely out of her sight.
Crack-crack—!!
The frost clinging to the staff shattered and fell away, and the staff, regaining its original appearance, flew into Sean's hand.
Sean lightly tapped the stage with his staff and clicked his tongue.
"Once you've been beaten that badly, you really should learn from it. Tsk, tsk."
If elementalization truly negated all damage, Awakened who achieved it would have already claimed every top position.
No matter how much one converts their body into an element using their ability, they still take damage if attacked by stronger mana or an opposing attribute.
He'd heard she'd already tasted the bitterness of defeat once and even lost control. It was truly a disappointing sight.
"Ahem."
He had planned to keep it moderate, a fair exchange, but her attitude from start to finish was so utterly devoid of manners that he'd forgotten to hold back properly.
Hiding his sheepishness, Sean concealed his staff and slowly stepped down from the stage. He approached Baek Ha-na, who was watching him with her friends, and asked,
"What do you think, my lady? I believe this is more than enough to qualify me as a team member."
Finally, Baek Ha-na started to speak to the boy who was still wearing a smile that didn't match his age.
"First of all, I'd like it if you stopped calling me 'my lady.'"
"Then by your name..."
"No."
Baek Ha-na stood up, her expression completely dead serious.
"I'd prefer it if you didn't talk to me at all."
Baek Ha-na glanced briefly at Na Ju-hee, who lay unconscious on the stage, then turned right around.
"Hmm."
As he watched Baek Ha-na's group leave the Sparring Arena, Sean realized one thing.
The duel just now had been a conflict over Baek Ha-na, yet her own will hadn't been reflected in it in the slightest.
'I'm so screwed.'
For the first time, Sean felt the reality of his youth in his bones.