Mentee Magic Duel (2) - Siel Dunhart's Victory!

The arena echoed with a massive roar.

Whoaaaah!

A hush had fallen for a moment, only to be shattered by thunderous cheers that set the whole stadium ablaze. Amid the din, Siel walked back to the waiting room while the medical team rushed in with a stretcher. The ice that had formed a massive glacier began to sublimate into white vapor with a soft hiss.

I stared blankly at the scene.

This duel had been that shocking.

"She won in one shot...?"

In the original story, Siel didn't achieve any special growth during the mentee magic duel. That was because her mentor lacked the magical knowledge to teach her anything.

As a child in the northern Dunhart family, Siel had already mastered every branch of magic scholarship. Her intellect allowed her to grasp even academic papers without bias toward elements or schools. After enrolling at Artina Academy, she never once lost her top spot in midterms. The knowledge taught in major classes was just ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠basic common sense to her—she could pull it out like flipping through a catalog and jot it down.

What could a senior mentor possibly teach someone like that? It was a case of the student outshining the master from day one. The second-year who took Siel as his mentee was no different from a folding screen. If he'd at least ranked high, he might've had something to offer, but from what I knew, he was around 200th—a total underachiever. He'd given up on playing the senior role, secretly hoping for the honor of a mentee duel victory.

Originally, Siel would've lost by judgment to Ruin, crushing that dream. But seeing her now, I thought maybe she could pull it off.

"Siel beating Ruin...?"

...That was an unaccounted variable.

The premise was that Ruin held back his demonic power ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠because he thought he had a solid chance against Siel. But if she kept pressing him relentlessly... he might unleash it at full throttle. And if she still won? He could demonize from the strain.

'And that... absolutely can't happen.'

The moment that thought crossed my mind, a red barrier sealed the space, unfolding Siel and Ruin's life-or-death battle. Siel would deploy high-tier magic, and the aftermath would ripple into Act 1, Scene 4's underground cavern episode. With her current growth, Siel and Ruin couldn't duel.

But the more I thought, the knottier a question lodged in my head.

'Why the hell did Siel get so strong??'

In the previous episode, during the mana beast practical, her magic output wasn't this intense. The size, scale, speed, and weight of that ice wall I'd seen then—everything had advanced.

No matter how I racked my brain, it didn't add up. There was no driving force that could've spurred her growth...

Driving force...?

"That time..."

A flash hit me. The moment I'd role-played as Master, stepping out from the fierce blizzard.

—"If you've achieved growth by our next meeting, I'll give you a gift."

I clearly remembered the words I'd said to Siel. I'd only said it to motivate her because she seemed unstable then, but it had sparked her growth...

I nodded, eyes on Siel as she entered the waiting room. I pulled up her status window for a moment.

Sure enough, my hunch was right. She'd been level 45 then; now at 49, she'd broken through a growth wall. At that level, gaining even one was tough—the EXP bar doubles in those brackets. And she'd done it through self-study? That wasn't minor effort. It was the product of pouring every waking moment into magic practice.

...How badly did she want that gift?

'Good girl. You worked hard.'

I felt a swell of pride. I'd known Siel was diligent, but I'd never seen the process. Witnessing it laid bare like this made it all click.

'Anyway, she can't face Ruin.'

Siel was level 49. Sorry to say, but Ruin—high on easy demonic handouts—couldn't beat her. I unfolded the bracket.

Siel and Ruin were on the left side; I was on the right.

'Ah... Siel and Ruin are in the same bracket.'

If they kept winning, they'd meet. Fate's cruel joke? The winner of that duel would face the champ from my bracket.

Me. I'd planned to climb to face Ruin anyway.

"Then the only way is to make Siel forfeit somehow."

Ruin vs. Siel. Siel forfeits, setting up Ruin vs. me. Getting gift-obsessed Siel to quit voluntarily was near impossible, but the key was in that psychology.

"Guess... I gotta give her the gift?"

Right before their potential matchup, summon her as Master. Praise her growth, hand over the present. It felt underhanded, but no other options.

'It's not bad for Siel anyway.'

The gift I had in mind was a "signature weapon"—the ultimate gear. In a gacha game, characters have tailored weapons. The shop sold them.

Now that the game was real, where was the signature weapon gacha? The secret shop.

It was straight out of the in-game BM. I'd saved 20 resources from clearing Act 1 Scene 1 and 2 achievements. Add my current karma, and it'd be 35 points. Enough for 35 pulls.

"Later."

My own duel was coming up soon. No place to hide if I did it now.

Slinging my wooden box, I headed to the waiting room.

Ibel was waiting in the lounge, dozing off in her seat with heavy dark circles—clearly overworked up to today. Napping even here.

I waited until she woke.

Waaaah!

"Ugh, wha—!"

Three minutes later, as Lumina's duel ended, Ibel jolted upright. Rubbing her eyes in a daze, she spotted me and froze in surprise.

"Y-you! Say something when you get here! How much more do you wanna ruin my senior dignity...!"

"Sorry, didn't wanna wake you. I was watching. You finally wrapped up all the administrative stuff?"

"Uh... yeah, it's done. Just the real-time bracket updates left, but that's not my department. Grading based on duel results comes after... Ah! Why am I spilling all this? Not again. Shutting up now."

"Got it."

For the past week, Ibel had been chatty like on day one, then regretted it later. It was just cute tsundere stuff.

She sighed deeply, stretching her arms.

"Ugh, as ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠long as no incidents pop up this time, it'll be a relief. Please."

Er, um.

"What? Why're you staring like that?"

Fighting spirit. I gave her a sympathetic look.

Then the lounge door opened, and Lumina bounced in.

"Phew~ Made it. Even mid-tier spirits got the win, right? Hey, Gail, jealous you couldn't go all out? Your turn's coming... Ka, Kyle? You're waiting here?"

"Yeah, duel's soon."

"A duel...! I'll cheer you on! Senior, he's my friend—wanna watch together?"

"Sure? Kyle, was it? Ibel's your mentor. Should be fun!"

A female senior replied from outside. Lumina waved.

"Oh, hi Senior Ibel! Go Kyle! We'll grab seats first."

They headed to the stands. Ibel watched her go.

"You two seem close."

"Kinda."

"You might face her, so watch Lumina's duel carefully. Upper wind spirit Gail's no pushover."

"Right..."

Analysis fell short. To beat Lumina, I'd need more than magic and daggers—had to use the sniper rifle.

The announcer called my name. Time to go.

I stood, slung my rifle, and set down the wooden box.

"Hold this during my match."

Got her firm nod and headed to the arena.

A rectangular sand field, scarred from the previous bout. My opponent... a brown-haired boy I didn't know.

"I'm Tailro Drake! Heard you scraped into the magic department at 350th, then freeloader-ed to 2nd... Lucas told me all about it! Time to show your true colors!"

Pre-fight trash talk. Mentioning Lucas meant noble faction. Whatever.

'Let's end this quick.'

I ignored his taunts. Prep for Siel and Ruin came first. Mountains of tasks.

No need for the sniper against this guy—overkill.

Fwoosh—clang!

The gong rang, and I charged.