Mentee Magic Duel (3): "This is my chance...!"

The mentee magic duel was the magic department's festival, so students from other departments could watch too. Kyle might be a big name in the magic department, but outsiders had no idea who he was. To them, Kyle was a strikingly handsome guy with sharp features. Unlike a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠month ago when he was scrawny, constantly commuting to the academy dorms and throwing himself into workouts and training had bulked him up nicely. The shirt Ibel gave him as a gift accentuated his build. It was a far cry from the robes everyone else was wearing. Naturally, people took notice of Kyle, and Taylo—wanting to make his own performance shine—trashed Kyle to hype himself up.

'A loser like you...!'

Everything about Kyle right now just looked like a repulsive facade to him. A subpar student who got into the academy through shady means, riding ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠high on the rankings without earning it. A fallen noble named Kyle. Taylo saw nothing redeemable about him—a total washout. He was the kind of guy Lucas and his crew had mocked together, someone who belonged at the bottom. Taylo couldn't even imagine losing to him.

He wasn't on the level of top students like Siel, Elena, or Rien, but he was solidly mid-tier, having mastered dozens of beginner spells. It was perfectly reasonable for him to think he could crush the magic department's lowest rung, Kyle.

Bzzz—

Taylo gazed at the boy and conjured a magic circle in the air.

'I'll smash you to pieces!'

His strongest spell was the beginner wind magic, Gale. He'd lost to Lumina during the Artina entrance exam, but that was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the only blemish on his record.

Whiiiiiirrr—!

A razor-sharp boomerang of wind hovered in the air, ready to unleash. It was a piercing spell that could shred any barrier. Ding—!

'Rip him to shreds!'

As the duel began, ten whirlwinds tore through the space. Their target: Kyle. They swarmed him all at once.

Taylo flashed a smug grin. At this rate, Kyle would take some serious damage. No way he could block beginner spells like these.

"Go—!"

He locked eyes on Kyle's position. I'll watch you crash and burn with my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠own eyes. Etch your pathetic defeat into history right here in front of everyone...

But when he searched for Kyle, the boy was already gone from the gale's path.

"What the...!"

A proper mage would counter with magic, but Kyle dove right into the wind's trajectory. He slipped through the chaotic encirclement of wind blades without a scratch and charged forward.

"I-It can't be!"

Taylo cried out in shock. Parsing and dodging that tangled web of wind paths was damn near impossible. One slip-up, and the speed alone would deal a fatal blow.

Yet Kyle emerged unscathed. Even if he'd pulled it off, it was a reckless move. Predicting the spell would break through and preemptively countering? Kyle was already playing chess while Taylo was stuck on checkers.

Kyle approached with calm, glowing blue eyes. Taylo snapped back to reality and yelled.

"Y-You lunatic! Is that how you do magic—!?"

Taylo surged his mana. After that stunt, he had a bad feeling about letting Kyle get close.

"Get back—!"

Whiiiiiirrr—!

In a panic, Taylo unleashed a barrage of gales. Kyle dodged effortlessly. Hidden among the winds were hundreds of needle-like blasts. Kyle had anticipated every single one, piercing the bullet-hell siege.

"Impossible! What the hell are you?! This is a magic duel!"

Kyle finally responded.

"You just don't get it."

A gust swirled around Kyle's body—an advanced application of the gust spell I'd learned from Ibel. Even basic magic could be doubled in power. It accelerated his movements and twisted enemy attacks. A refined twist on the fundamentals.

"And I'm burning plenty of mana right now, too."

Kyle's deep blue eyes phosphoresced. He was tapping into a fraction of his released Clairvoyance.

He could've won without it, but curiosity got the better of him. Could Clairvoyance aid in combat? The answer was yes.

Every attack trajectory was visible. Merged with Crisis Sense, it colored the info, letting him read it even mid-conversation.

"Enough messing around."

Kyle snapped his fingers, and water erupted from beneath Taylo. His focus shattered, dissolving the mid-tier spell he'd been casting.

"Damn it—!"

Taylo spat curses. He was out of options. Kyle's spells were all basic, but their power and application overwhelmed beginner-tier magic. The humiliation burned.

"Raaagh! I won't lose like this!!"

Final desperation. Taylo squeezed out every last drop of mana for one more gale.

Kyle charged again, closing in right up to Taylo's face.

"I'm busy."

He whispered it. In that instant, Taylo's vision blacked out, consciousness fleeing.

The mentee magic duel schedule was fixed. The key was who ended up on the bracket. Knowing Siel and Ruin would crush anyone, just summon Siel at the right time and it was done.

I was at the Loren Company outpost. I'd splurged on packaged letter stationery and a gift box. Premium shop prices would've stung, but Loren's spots were student-friendly.

I sat in the Artina Academy dorm park. No one around. The magic department's mentee duels were prime entertainment for non-combat department students—the magic department had the academy's toughest entrance cutoff, after all.

"Secret shop, it'd be nice if you popped up all at once."

I opened the secret shop window.

One pull cost 1 point. Heavier drain than expected. Points came from achievements and karma—achievements were limited, karma hard to farm.

Originally, I'd planned to save for Siel's gift later and blow a guaranteed higher B-rank pull. Like job-specific guaranteed pulls: sniper traits, sniper tools. Stuff to snag other sniper perks and gear. That's why I'd been hoarding shop points.

Non-weapon job pulls cost more than standard ones. Base 20 points and up.

"Gotta hook Siel up first, though."

Current pickup: ice and lightning. No telling when it'd cycle back, so pull now. Perfect for Siel, too.

"Yes."

I hit the button. Junk.

"Oh."

A little pissed. The thrill of gacha, huh. I kept pulling till an exclusive dropped. Hit the ceiling—points melting away. Finally...

First exclusive lightning endgame weapon... but ceiling twice? Annoying, but hey, ceiling's worth 20 points anyway. And next is guaranteed ice?

Two weapons for one ceiling? "Yahoo—!"

Bullshit...

Ceiling again, but nailed Siel's weapon for sure.

"Oh yeah, finally...!"

"Holy shit..."

My jaw dropped. Endgame performance off the charts. Sure, sniper class gets stacked damage multipliers in the hundreds percent, but in-game, those buffs were rare. Top buff spells barely hit 100% damage amp.

70% power, 30% cast speed—final DPS jumps 10-20% easy. Shame it's suboptimal for me; perfect for 's star. Unique means one-of-a-kind.

I tucked the lightning wand into a wooden box for whoever mains lightning. Siel's ice wand went neatly packaged into the bundle.

"Phew."

Wonder if she'll like it? Couldn't wait for Siel's reaction.

Siel eyed the bracket, awaiting her next duel.

"Opponent... uses earth elementals a lot. Better drop the barrier before it goes up."

She'd changed. No more arrogance or complacency in her magic. She analyzed foes now, minimizing variables—a step up in thinking.

Her spells were more precise, too. Used to max output to her limits; now she focused on lethal strikes. By her standards, it was restrained—but to normals, still devastating due to her explosive growth.

Analysis done, Siel closed her eyes gently. Her ritual thoughts of Master.

"A grateful man..."

All thanks to reflecting on her screw-ups and Master's enlightenment. Sure, the gift motivated her too, but he was the catalyst for her growth.

Thump, thump, thump.

And for some reason, the one who inexplicably stirred her heart.

Siel calmed her pulse and opened her eyes. Hadn't meditated like this in ages—a Dunhart technique for tension.

"...?"

Something caught her eye.