A Punch Has No Weakness
Marie was confident of victory in this match.
True, she knew her opponent had already felled a cadet from her own Class B. But a sparring bout with weapons, or a mock battle centered on magic, was an entirely different beast from whatever that had been.
Besides, she'd heard the rumors — the boy's mana manifestation was F-rank.
Which meant he could barely manage the most rudimentary spells. She staked her word on it: there wasn't a chance in ten thousand that she, a Class B cadet, would lose to a rank beginner like him.
There's no supervisor watching right now either, so I can torment him to my heart's content.
Unlike the bout between Vel and Phorion, there were no spectators, no presiding officer — nothing. Marie, being the stronger party here, saw this as the opportunity of a lifetime.
With a supervisor present, matches had a way of ending anticlimactically, cut short at the decisive moment. But now she could drag things out at leisure and grind him down bit by bit.
Whatever minor wounds accumulated along the way could simply be left to the medical staff. This time, she vowed, she would make him kneel before everyone — and give him an answer for whatever he'd done to her dearest friend.
And while she was at it, she intended to find out exactly how an F-rank mana manifestor like this had gotten into the Academy in the first place.
"You come to me first. I'll graciously grant a commoner the opening move."
"Commoner this, commoner that... God, you're insufferable."
Marie smirked with self-assurance and beckoned imperiously with one finger. Vel walked forward a step at a time, and once he judged the distance sufficient, he squared himself into position.
"Friend of mine!"
Catching that subtle shift, Marie anticipated an immediate rush and barked out the command at once.
The summons-word for a Familiar — a mage's partner, bound by contract to lend its strength.
In the original story too, Marie's high affinity with her familiars made her exceptional at commanding them in tandem with her spells.
"Awooo-!"
As a wolf emerged from the summoning circle with a howl, Vel's eyes narrowed.
This was no situation to dismiss as merely having gained one more beast on the field.
A mage inevitably needs time to chant in order to cast. A familiar that buys that time for her could, at moments, be worth two or three extra fighters all on its own.
"Someone like you has probably never even seen a Familiar before, have you? Cast aside that prejudice that mages are weak in a one-on-one."
"......"
He couldn't stand the sight of her preening, but Vel had to grudgingly concede her skill. She was right, after all — among the first-years, there weren't many talents who could handle a Familiar deftly while weaving spells in alongside it.
That fighting style was only possible, at that, thanks to the exceptional affinity with familiars Marie had been born with.
First things first — I need to deal with that thing.
He'd been thinking it through, but now that it had actually appeared, the wolf was nothing but a thorn in his eye. Vel loosened up lightly, deciding to take down the snarling beast in front of him first.
Marie herself was vulnerable in close quarters, after all. Remove the Familiar's interference, and he didn't consider her an opponent he couldn't beat.
Paht.
"Kyang!"
The moment Vel kicked off the ground and charged, the wolf guarding Marie's side lunged to meet him. Watching it unfold, Marie immediately began her chant.
Since she couldn't leave everything to her Familiar, the sensible play for a mage was to prepare a devastating strike from the rear.
Thwack!
Vel slammed his bare fist into the body of the onrushing wolf, stopping it dead. The dull sensation traveling up through his knuckles felt less like striking an animal's hide and more like punching a boulder.
Well — what else would you expect from a Familiar? Its body was simply built sturdier than some ordinary beast's.
"Grrr...!"
With its jaws spread wide and fangs bared after taking the hit, Vel hastily pulled his arm back and drove his leg into its torso instead.
Crack. Another dull boom rang out, and the wolf went skidding off to the side.
That instant—
"Well done, Beo!"
Marie's voice rang out, and the sphere of wind gathered at her fingertips left her hand in the same breath.
Slicing Wind — a first-tier wind spell.
The most basic magic there was, but precisely because of that, even a novice mage could cast it with ease, making it ideal for quick strikes.
What's more, the hallmark of wind magic was that its form was nearly impossible to distinguish with the naked eye.
Which meant that no matter how quick a warrior's reflexes, his evasion would inevitably be hampered to some degree.
The time her Familiar had bought her, and wind magic invisible to the eye — and Vel's stance was badly broken from shaking off the wolf, all in the same heartbeat.
Every factor converging, Marie was certain this attack would land.
Shwaaak!
The blade of wind carved through the air with a sharp hiss, bearing down on Vel.
It was only a low-tier spell — it wouldn't sever a limb — but it would inflict a wound more than enough to restrict his movement. Seizing that opening for the finishing blow, Marie began squeezing out her mana to prepare her next spell.
Beo, her Familiar, scattered off to the side, was already charging at him again in a flash.
Blades of wind assailing him from every direction, and the Familiar closing in besides. In that bind between hammer and anvil, Vel kept his head and stared fixedly at the magic that could barely even be seen.
Not perfectly, but he could see it — the faintest refraction where the spell cut through the air.
Now.
Finding the seam between the wolf's charge and the Slicing Wind, Vel's eyes flashed sharp, and his body moved.
"Kyeheng!?"
"Damn mutt."
Seizing the thick neck of the wolf mid-lunge, he growled like a beast itself. In his rough grip, the wolf could do nothing but squirm, puppy-like whimpers spilling from its throat.
But Vel wasn't finished.
Kuuung!
He slammed the wolf's whole body down into the floor, then kicked off the earth in an instant to break out of the Slicing Wind's range.
"Tch."
There had been quite a few strands of wind, though — he couldn't dodge them all. A blade of wind grazed his cheek, leaving a thin scar, and Vel clicked his tongue lightly.
A thread of blood welled up, but he had no leisure to wipe it away. Evading your opponent's attack meant, in turn, that an opening had come to you.
"......!"
Breath still ragged, Vel charged straight at Marie. Her shoulder gave a small tremble as she hurried to ready her next spell.
What do I do? Should I cancel?
She considered drawing back her mana and regrouping with her Familiar — but soon shook her head. She had committed to the spell long ago; the casting was nearly complete.
And with a fair distance still between them, it was better to settle things here and now.
Distance is on my side anyway.
He carried no weapon — no sword, no spear. Which meant that while the spell's travel time would be the same as ever, the time it took his strike to actually reach her would be somewhat longer.
Marie resolved to exploit that gap to the fullest.
Ten meters.
Five.
Three.
Watching the distance collapse with terrifying speed, Marie prayed desperately inward.
Just a little more. Just a little.
Had her wish been heard? A crackling sensation bloomed at her fingertips, and a magic circle far larger than the last took shape before her.
Flame Sphere — a second-tier fire spell.
The casting had succeeded.
I won!
There was still a little distance left to her opponent. Beaming a victor's smile, Marie swept her hand forward in a grand arc.
No — she tried to.
Paht.
Had it not been for the impact that cracked across her forehead like someone's fist.
"Ah...?"
Her head snapped back, a bewildered sound slipping from her lips. Marie's body tipped over backward, her view of the space straight ahead tilting slowly up toward the ceiling.
When her eyes fluttered open again, a pristine white ceiling stretched above her. Lying flat on the sparring-hall floor without the faintest idea why, Marie blinked dumbly up at it.
What just happened?
She couldn't even muster the thought of getting up and counterattacking, or of not giving up. Her entire brain was consumed just trying to process what had occurred.
From that distance — how?
There had been no sign of a chant, no gathering of mana, nothing to suggest a spell. And besides, there was no way an F-rank mana manifestor could have cast magic in that fraction of a second.
As Marie racked her brain through endless questions, Vel came walking toward her — cracking his knuckles with a satisfying pop, a triumphant smile on his face.
"So? Want to keep going?"
"Ngh..."
Despite the blatant provocation, all Marie could manage was a bitter groan. Her momentary blackout had severed her Link with her Familiar, and there was nothing left she could do.
As much as she hated to admit it, she knew that refusing to accept a loss was all the more unseemly in a noble. Biting her lip, Marie conceded defeat.
"...I lost."
The humiliation of losing to a commoner-born Class E cadet troubled her less than one might think. She could console herself well enough — I was simply lacking. I got careless.
No, the real thorn was that she had failed to uncover the full story between Elisha and the man standing before her.
"So what are you going to do now?"
"What do you mean, what am I going to do?"
At the sudden question, Vel stopped in place, his face going blank. Watching her clutch a hand to her chest had put him in an oddly uneasy mood.
Seeing that look, Marie decided he was playing innocent, and her fury flared instead. The single bead of tears welling at the corner of her eye didn't help matters.
"Don't play dumb with me! You used the right you just won to toy with me, didn't you...!"
"What? Toy with you?"
At the word that came flying out of nowhere, Vel reflexively echoed it, wondering if his ears had deceived him. "Toy with" could mean many things — but only one meaning came to mind when it was used between a man and a woman.
"Yes! You laid your hands on my friend Elisha the same way, didn't you! You filthy, degenerate commoner!"
"......"
From there, Marie's mouth poured forth an endless torrent of delusions nobody could quite follow. Listening to it face-to-face, Vel felt his mind beginning to drift.
Is she insane?
He'd hit her on the head — maybe the impact had her spouting nonsense. Genuinely entertaining the theory, Vel looked down at Marie with eyes full of weary exasperation.
He had no idea what was going on, but one thing seemed certain: he was going to have to go fetch Elisha.