A Brief Spar
On the way to the sparring grounds, the two of us walked without a word, as if we had agreed to it beforehand.
I simply watched the back of his head as he strode ahead, indifferent.
Valrod Belge.
A guy who seemed to have every last stereotype of the rugged East packed into him.
Copper skin, hair cropped short and clean, and an appetite so bottomless it had given me no end of headaches—yet he had always been full of interesting quirks.
Come to think of it, the last time we sparred had already been more than a year ago.
If memory served, it had been winter of our first year.
Even then the gap between us had been plain.
“…Mm.”
“You’re ready, right?”
Before I knew it we were up on the sparring floor, facing each other. Valrod began loosening up with light, easy movements.
He’s gotten a lot stronger than he was a year ago.
I had only just started climbing again.
Valrod had been steadily honing his skill the whole time.
“We’re just sparring pure and simple?”
“Yeah. I told you—I’m serious.”
He cracked his knuckles with a sharp pop and fixed me with a hard stare.
“Show me how much you’ve improved.”
“….”
There was no leisure in Valrod’s voice—only pure seriousness.
Was this my first real spar against an Alpha Class student?
The last time Eline had gone at me, it had been more like training; she had held back to match my level.
Valrod.
After I quit studying I had written him off as just another eccentric. Now I was remembering all over again how formidable he really was.
He had never once dropped out of Alpha Class.
So then.
How strong is he now?
I wanted to know.
We stood quietly, eyes locked on each other.
Ding—
The bell installed in the sparring grounds rang out, clear and bright.
At the same instant both of us began condensing mana, preparing to cast.
Valrod specialized in defense.
Without some truly overwhelming firepower, there was almost no chance of punching through him.
Still… let’s try.
I brought my hands together, then opened them.
The simplest, easiest spell to control: mana bullets.
In a duel between mages who used the same kind of magic, the real key was managing your own mana.
Burn through it recklessly at the start and exhaustion hit hard and fast.
So you had to work it as efficiently and steadily as possible while reading your opponent.
Shwaaat—
I formed ten mana bullets.
Then fired them all at once.
Ten glowing spheres streaked through the air on curving paths.
Tung—
Valrod spread both hands and raised a silver barrier hard as steel, snuffing every last bullet out of existence.
All ten of them.
“Not bad.”
I ignored his easy praise and pressed the attack harder.
By any normal logic, a Beta Class support mage beating an Alpha Class defense specialist in a textbook fight was pure fantasy.
Which meant I had to aim for something that wasn’t textbook at all.
Eline said it herself.
Blocking is more efficient than deflecting or dodging.
Valrod would think the same, of course.
And a stationary target meant plenty of openings for me to exploit.
How do I go after him?
I sketched the plan slowly in my head as I kept firing.
Ting—!
Puk—!
We traded three or four more exchanges after that, yet not a single scratch appeared on Valrod’s body.
He stood as still as a statue, giving me all the angles I could want—yet no matter where I struck, every attack was stopped cold.
This guy’s a monster.
I had expected as much from a defense specialist, but I never thought he would be this airtight.
If anything, I was the one starting to feel the strain.
Through the shimmering afterimages Valrod spoke.
“You’ve definitely improved a lot.”
“…Yeah?”
Still offering the compliment, he clenched one fist tight.
Then, for the first time, the man who had only defended began drawing a magic circle as if preparing to strike.
That is…
Fierce sparks began crackling from his hand.
“You’re still not Alpha Class level.”
“….”
—Kwaang!
With a thunderous boom the sparks Valrod had forged shot toward me like a storm.
Stand and block. Stand and…
Remembering Eline’s lessons, I threw up a barrier.
Jjeong—!
Just like when I had blocked Eline’s attacks before, the barrier shattered and a jolt of electricity raced through my body.
“Kh….”
The smile at the corner of Valrod’s mouth deepened.
“You learned that from Eline too?”
A tingling numbness lingered in my hands.
When I lifted my head, sweat beaded on Valrod’s face, yet he still looked completely at ease.
Still too high.
It had only been a month.
Catching up in a single month to people who had been running hard for two years was pure nonsense.
I didn’t even have any special talent to lean on.
Even so.
I’m not giving up.
There were people who believed in me.
I began gathering mana bullets again.
This time, fifteen.
The advantage of scattering mana and firing multiple bullets at once was volume; the drawback was weak individual power.
So I needed raw firepower instead.
Valrod shrugged and casually raised that silver barrier with both hands once more.
It looked like an ironclad shield and carried a pressure all its own—
But that doesn’t mean I have to care.
I launched the mana bullets exactly as they were.
Just like Professor Laen had once done—like droplets of water falling.
Scattered. Random.
Ting—!
Valrod blocked them as casually as someone opening an umbrella against the rain.
Even the final bullet thudded home, yet only the faintest crack appeared on his barrier before it sealed itself smooth again.
“Lutes.”
He spoke flatly while I wiped sweat from my brow.
“As a friend, I’ll say it—you’ve improved a hell of a lot. But as teammates heading into the festival together, it’s still a little disappointing…”
…
Valrod’s eyes flicked slightly.
I was wiping sweat.
And one hand was behind my back.
The instant Valrod twisted and threw up a barrier on pure reflex—
Kaang—!
Tss—
A sharp sound of fragments rang in my ears.
Something he hadn’t quite managed to stop grazed his cheek, leaving a thin red line.
“….”
I had fired from his blind spot.
“Huh.”
The calm expression on Valrod’s face slowly bloomed into a deep, genuine smile.
“…What the hell are you?”
I looked at him while still wiping sweat.
“I told you I was starting over after letting things slide. So I’ve been using a few tricks.”
“Tricks?”
“Yeah.”
The same trick I had used when I first learned chess.
Watch the people who are good—and copy them.
“How was that? Just now I was trying to copy Professor Laen.”
Whether my imitation had been clumsy or Valrod simply that good at reacting, he had still blocked it quickly enough.
But his smile only grew deeper.
“Interesting.”
A smile rising on a face that had been easygoing a moment ago—and was now completely serious.
Valrod spread both hands and began unfolding a magic formula…
“Ah.”
Then he stopped dead.
“?”
I had been tensed up, already mapping the next sequence in my head.
Seeing him freeze like that left me baffled.
“…Why?”
Valrod scratched his head, looking just as awkward.
“I just remembered—we’re supposed to gather at lunch.”
What was he talking about now?
“Why?”
“Because of the week-long patrols. The professor said he has something to tell us. Completely slipped my mind.”
We had just built all that tension and now it was just… over?
“What are you doing this afternoon?”
“Meeting Eline.”
“Hmm.”
Valrod looked me over, thinking for a moment.
Then he clicked his tongue and turned back to me.
“…Shall we call it here?”
The small auditorium on the third floor of the Academy’s central main building.
On a normal weekend the place would have been steeped in silence, but today it was unusually full of students.
“Professor. Everything is ready.”
Abel of the student council murmured quietly, and Laen rose without a word.
“Anyone still missing?”
“One student hasn’t arrived yet. According to the report, they finished their patrol and are on their way back.”
“Understood.”
Laen planted his cane and climbed onto the platform.
The soft murmurs died away at once; every eye turned toward him.
With most of the professors away, strengthening security was only natural.
Guards and the Academy’s own magical barriers were already in place, yet the remaining faculty, working with the student council, had still formed a temporary patrol unit to leave nothing to chance.
By the time students reached third year, their abilities were fully in bloom.
And anyone in Alpha Class was already strong enough to hold their own on the northern monster front right now if needed.
Aside from Tyrion, who was absent on assignment, most of the top-ranked students were present.
Laen slowly swept his gaze across the faces before him, quietly proud of how splendidly his students had grown.
“Since everyone is here, I’ll keep the reason brief.”
With that, he opened the real discussion.