A Line Crossed
The provocation hung in the air.
“…No.”
At Julia’s answer, Elion’s eyebrows twitched. Beside her, Iona stared at Julia with wide eyes. Neither of them had expected that response.
“…Why? I’d like to know the reason.”
Elion asked again, his voice sinking into a colder tone. Julia answered without hesitation.
“…It would get in the way.”
Elion’s face darkened further.
“…I suspected as much. So that really is it.”
With an icy glare, Elion gave a slow nod. By now, clear hostility burned in his eyes—hostility so vivid it looked as if he were staring at a rival. It was an expression the usual Elion would never have shown.
“Since it seems we won’t reach an understanding through conversation, let’s settle this another way.”
Sring—
A clear metallic ring echoed as Elion drew his sword from its sheath.
“The winner decides.”
“……”
At that brazen declaration, Julia didn’t react immediately.
“Please wait a moment.”
No—she didn’t even have the chance. Before Julia could respond, Iona stepped between them.
“I cannot tolerate any further rude behavior toward the Saintess.”
It was a calm yet chilling warning. For Iona, the action was only natural. Julia was the Saintess of the Church—the Goddess’s representative and the most noble figure within the order. Drawing a blade against her was something that could neither be overlooked nor forgiven, even if it took the form of a duel.
It was by no means an overreaction. If anything, this was remarkably restrained. Had one of the Church’s devout inquisitors been present, they would have drawn their sword without a word and swung it straight at Elion’s throat. That was how dangerous his action had been.
However—
“…It’s fine.”
Julia took one step forward as she spoke. Iona glanced at her once, then bowed her head.
“…Understood.”
She stepped back with surprising ease. And just like that, the duel between the two was established.
Elion, who had defeated Bellard and claimed the undisputed top spot among the first-years. His skill and talent were more than worthy of the word “genius.” On top of that, he was fighting with a sincerity he had never shown before. Elion was confident of victory. He wasn’t underestimating his opponent. He simply believed there was no way he could lose to someone the same age as himself.
“Aren’t you going to draw your sword?”
Elion asked, looking at Julia. She gave a faint shake of her head.
“…Not necessary.”
Twitch.
Anger flashed across Elion’s eyes.
“…Very well. If that’s what you want.”
He accepted it calmly. Though it stung his pride, it wasn’t a bad development in practical terms. It only increased his chances of winning. This, too, was something the usual Elion would never have done. He was the type who found joy in the duel itself rather than obsessing over victory or defeat.
But the Elion of this moment was different. Right now, he needed only victory.
Shhhk—
Elion settled into his stance. He drew in a breath. At the same time, every muscle in his body tensed and his mana surged to life. A sensation of being able to do anything flooded through him.
“I hope you won’t regret this.”
With his full power drawn out, Elion stepped forward. Or at least, he tried to.
“……!!”
Elion was stunned. Somehow, the Saintess, who had been more than ten paces away, was now standing right in front of him. It should have been impossible without spatial teleportation. But there had been no fluctuation of mana to indicate spellcasting. Which meant—
‘Pure physical ability…?’
It meant she had simply moved her body. No magic involved.
‘That’s absurd…!!’
It was impossible. It should not have been possible. That she could move in a way he couldn’t even perceive—it wasn’t something a human body could do.
Even as shock gripped him at the phenomenon before his eyes, Elion’s body moved on instinct. He swung the sword in his hand. It was a reflexive reaction, born from countless hours of training and natural talent. His body had registered the sudden situation as a threat and responded with everything it had.
Whoosh!
Elion’s sword cut through the air. It carried the full power of a genius who had already surpassed the Student Level. A strike that academy students could not easily block—one that clearly exceeded the realm of students.
Yet Julia simply watched the ferocious blade swinging toward her with the same calm eyes as always. There was no tension, no sense of danger in her gaze. It was as still as a vast, tranquil lake.
Then Julia reached out. Toward the sword flying at her. And with a light flick of her finger—
It was an ordinary, almost casual motion. So gentle and weak that one might doubt whether any strength had been put into it at all. It looked as if it could barely snap a wildflower by the roadside.
But—
Crack!
With that soft gesture, Elion’s fiercely swinging sword snapped cleanly in two.
Thud!
The broken blade that had been spinning through the air finally ended its long flight and embedded itself in the ground.
“……”
“……”
A heavy silence fell.
“…Do you want to continue?”
Julia was the one who broke it. Her voice carried no emotion as she asked Elion.
“……”
Elion couldn’t answer. He had no room to speak. He simply stared down at his broken sword with a dazed expression.
“……”
Julia watched him for a moment, then turned and began to walk away. Iona followed quietly behind her.
In the end, only Elion remained, standing alone in the empty space. He didn’t leave. He simply stood there, staring blankly at his shattered blade.
The next day, I was on my way to the lecture hall.
Of course I wanted to spend the entire day with Julia, but reality didn’t allow it. To avoid getting expelled from the Academy, I had to attend classes consistently.
Sometimes Julia would follow me all the way to the lecture hall, but perhaps because it was still early, I couldn’t see her anywhere. She would probably show up on her own once more time passed.
With that thought in mind, the moment I stepped into the classroom—
“Tsk. Look who decided to show up.”
A displeased voice reached my ears. There was no need to ask who it was aimed at. I naturally turned my gaze toward the source.
There stood a guy glaring at me with a twisted face. I recognized him.
‘Hmm.’
From the context, it seemed he had been badmouthing me. Even after realizing that, I didn’t show any particular reaction. I simply walked over and sat down quietly.
“No guts at all. I’m insulting him to his face and he doesn’t even react.”
Apparently, the guy had no intention of letting me off easily.
“No wonder he got kicked out of the Berwen family.”
He kept criticizing me, loud enough for everyone to hear. Instead of getting angry at his words, I thought to myself.
‘How blatant.’
Not his tone. His intention was blatantly obvious.
I already knew his face. I had seen him several times while playing the game, and he was fairly well-known within the Academy.
Jerim Haluter.
A second-year student at the same Academy as me, famous for his strength. If we were talking pure combat ability, he would easily rank among the top of the second-years. He was even a character who could be recruited as a companion in the game—though honestly, his performance wasn’t that great. He was useful in the early stages thanks to his decent strength, but his effectiveness dropped off sharply as time went on. That’s why he was rarely recruited after the beginning.
Anyway.
The fact that he was criticizing me… well, it wasn’t strange. After all, he had a bad history with Kyle. There was no need to explain the details. It was the usual story—Kyle had acted like the spoiled brat he was, and this guy got caught up in it and suffered. So it wasn’t odd that he held a grudge against me.
The fact that he was doing this now… I could understand that too. If I assumed he had spent all this time confirming whether I had truly been cut off from the Berwen family, then now that he was certain, he had finally decided to take revenge. That scenario made perfect sense.
The way he was openly insulting me in public was probably an attempt to provoke me into causing an incident so he could get me expelled. As I said, it was a perfectly understandable plan.
‘Well… bark all you want.’
Whatever his goal was, I had no intention of playing along. There was no need to take unnecessary risks. Honestly, his words didn’t even bother me that much. I wasn’t young enough to let a few insults shake me.
But it seemed he didn’t feel the same. Maybe he was frustrated that I wasn’t reacting the way he wanted. The guy who had only been yelling from a distance finally walked over to me.
“Hey, Kyle. I hear you’ve been living pretty well lately?”
He spoke with a mocking smile plastered on his face.
“From what I’ve heard, you’ve been glued to the Saintess’s side these days. Quite the success story, huh? A worthless scoundrel who got kicked out of his own family.”
It looked like he had sharpened his blades in advance. His provocation was extremely direct. He was clearly trying to drag me out no matter what.
Of course, I didn’t react. This much was easy enough to ignore with a smile.
That was when he stepped even closer. Then he whispered in a voice only I could hear.
“I don’t know what the Saintess is thinking. Keeping someone like you around—does she actually like you that much? Heh. Even a Saintess of the Church has her desires, I suppose. So, how far have you two—”
Thud.
I slammed my hand down on the desk, cutting off his voice. As he took a step back, I glared at him and spoke.
“You’ve crossed the line, you bastard.”
Yes. If he was going to go that far, the story changed. I decided to change my mind and play along with him.
I would make him regret it—deeply.