Chapter 163
Chapter 163
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 163
Chapter Title: Autumn, New Semester (6)
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The rules of the duel were simple. The match ended when one side admitted defeat or became temporarily incapacitated. It could also be called off by the referee's judgment. There were no other rules.
Lethal moves were allowed.
Aiming for vital points was fine, and any means could be used except poison. Show everything you've got, however you like.
That was the duel of the Combat Magic Department.
Due to those extreme conditions, there had been complaints about the high risks involved... but there had never been a single accident in all the duels held so far. It was thanks to the capable referees.
"This year, you're not taking the referee role, Rosel."
"That's probably for the best after all this time."
"Well, true enough."
Aaron glanced at his friend sitting beside him.
Rosel van Trias. The man who had refereed countless duels until now was simply watching with his arms crossed.
...Well, he has been doing it for a long time.
Aaron nodded.
Duels with such extreme conditions could exist only because of this seasoned mage's contributions.
Most professors were strong in theory but weak in practice. To them, magic was knowledge, not a weapon for battle. Their spells pursued perfection. But what real combat demanded wasn't perfect magic.
Fast, concise, effective.
Practical, in other words.
And Rosel was a professor who pursued practicality. Unlike the others, he was a mage who had set foot in a mage tower. No one dismissed his path in magic. One of his students had proven its worth.
Raniel van Trias.
The educator who had raised the Ashen Mage opened his mouth.
"And now, it seems I don't even need to referee anymore. That kid's more capable than me in this area."
"...That good?"
Rosel had considerable skill himself.
He had made great contributions in the beast subjugation war led by the royal family... and he was even honored with the title of "Sage" by the ancient dragon's mage. For that Rosel to say a twenty-year-younger kid was more capable?
Isn't that a bit too much favoritism toward his disciple?
It almost looked like doting.
Aaron eyed Rosel suspiciously. Rosel shrugged in response.
"If anything, she's even better than that."
He stated firmly, then glanced toward the audience.
Following the tiered seats... his eyes landed on an unusually empty spot where two people sat. Rosel smiled at the girl with ash-gray hair. Aaron shook his head in disbelief.
Definitely a doting parent.
Well, if he had adopted a kid like that, it was understandable.
"Tch..."
Aaron shot Rosel an envious look, feeling jealous anew. Rosel pointed to the arena and spoke.
"Enough chit-chat. Focus on the duel."
Rosel indicated the arena.
Two students faced each other there. One was the top disciple of the White Mage Tower Lord, the other of the Black Mage Tower Lord.
Black and White had always seen each other as rivals. So this wasn't just a fight between students. It was a clash of mage tower pride.
Black and White.
First and second place.
A slum kid and the Northern Duke's son.
Many contrasts. That's why the crowd was so enthralled, arguing over who would win.
"Rak, tear that parasite brother apart!"
"Mind your manners, White! You crazy old hag!"
"Old hag? I'm a girl, you know? Shut your mouth!"
"Calling yourself a girl at that age—what kind of shameless...!"
One side of the audience grew rowdy.
As the commotion peaked... a trumpet blared through the coliseum. Buuuu—the signal for the match to begin.
Waaaaaaaaah!
Amid the crowd's cheers, Black and White charged at each other. Belnoa's black hair fluttered. Shadows exploded along the dagger's path. In response, Rak's white hair shook, and his axe swung.
Clang! Shadow and axe collided.
Over the past semester, Rak had always been pushed back on the first charge. So the students predicted this time wouldn't be different.
Ka-gak, ka-gagagak!
That prediction shattered.
Defying all expectations, Rak's axe tore through the shadows. First strike—ripped the shadow. Second—smashed the shadow dagger.
"...!"
Belnoa squeezed out more shadows.
The moment they crept up from the ground. Rak's movement accelerated for an instant. Invisible to the students' eyes. But Belnoa saw it.
...Hold on.
Startled by the excessive speed, Belnoa still bound the axe with shadows. But as if anticipating that, Rak released the axe from his hand.
Rak kicked off the ground.
With his freed hand, he grabbed Belnoa's head.
No time to react. Too fast. Far beyond before. Belnoa's response lagged for a moment. She saw Rak's incoming knee.
No way to block it.
Crack!
Belnoa's head snapped back.
She hastily burst her shadows and stumbled back. Bowing her head as she retreated.
Drip, drip.
Nosebleed. Blood dripped.
Red spots stained the floor. The coliseum fell silent for a moment. The crowd stared wide-eyed at Belnoa.
Until now, Belnoa had never allowed even a single hit in any mock battle. Yet now... she was bleeding.
Drip.
Looking at the falling blood drops, bewilderment crossed Belnoa's face. She stared at Rak. The crowd followed her gaze to Rak standing in the arena's center.
"See, I told you."
Rak beckoned with his finger amid all the stares.
"It'd end quick if you fought like old times."
Cheers erupted late into the arena.
2.
Waaaaaaaaah!
Belnoa ignored the echoing cheers, wiping her nosebleed as she looked at Rak. Her eyes shook with surprise and confusion.
"...What the hell have you been up to?"
The person had changed.
This wasn't the level of Rak she remembered. His movements were on another plane. Faster, heavier. And it wasn't just the movements.
Something's different.
Different from the Rak she'd seen before.
One attack wasn't enough to pinpoint it clearly... but something was there.
"I did some special training."
Rak answered Belnoa's mutter.
He took a step forward toward her. Drip. He yanked his shadow-bound axe free and gripped it with both hands.
"......"
Belnoa silently beckoned with her finger.
Retreating, shadows surged from underfoot. An attack from an unexpected angle. Hard to counter since you never knew from which shadow a spike would emerge. Rak had fallen for it nine out of ten times.
Thud, squelch.
Not this time.
Not some lucky one-in-ten fluke. Rak swung his axe to bat away the shadow. He stepped aside to dodge.
Crisp movements.
Confidence shone in that brevity.
Movements as if he already knew where and how the shadows would emerge. Rak advanced steadily. Belnoa wove a dagger from shadows. Rak kicked off the ground, closing the distance in one breath.
Clang!
The axe smacked the dagger away. The dagger flew, but Belnoa had accounted for that. It scattered into shadows and instantly wrapped her hand.
Grab!
Shadow-clad hand gripped the axe as Belnoa glared.
Shadow explosion.
The glove over her hand detonated. Shadows blinded Rak's vision. In that gap, Belnoa rolled on the ground and slammed her fist into the floor.
Shadow Needle.
Shadows laid on the ground rippled like waves. Needles shot from the undulating shadows. Attacks from all directions, including from behind. With his vision blocked by the explosion, Rak focused only on the frontal assaults.
Kwachik, squelch!
Rak smashed the needles and closed in. He swung the axe. Belnoa caught it with her shadow-wrapped hand. Her arm buzzed and trembled.
What strength...
She's being pushed. She could feel it.
Belnoa's stance began to crumble under Rak's power. Yet her gaze didn't waver. She knew about the needle striking from behind Rak.
Just endure for an instant.
Then she could turn the fight in her favor.
Street fights were about wearing down the opponent. Belnoa knew how to gnaw away at someone stronger. Just as she aimed for Rak's opening—
Twitch.
Belnoa felt the incongruity again.
Rak's body trembled. She felt it through the axe. Like a beast contracting its muscles before the hunt.
Muscles tensed.
Power surged into his body.
His eyes darted sharply.
Rak released the axe. He whipped his head around. His body followed. He precisely read the trajectory of the shadow needle approaching silently from his blind spot and reached out.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Smite Intercepts incoming spell
The instantly cast spell deflected the needle.
Just like Lania had done before.
Intercepting a spell with another spell was never easy. It required precisely reading the trajectory. A feat close to prediction.
Rak pulled it off.
He couldn't swat them all. What the spell missed, he grabbed barehanded. Skin tore and blood flowed... but compared to a direct spell hit, it was a light wound.
All in an instant.
But it didn't end there.
Belnoa reached out, targeting Rak's turned back. As if seeing through that too, Rak whipped around to face her. His beast-like red eyes grasped the situation instantly.
Grab.
He seized her wrist. Held it. Then slammed her to the ground like hurling trash.
"Kuhk!"
Even as her back hit and she groaned, Belnoa didn't forget to counter. The shadows she'd laid while being thrown exploded. Rak retreated.
"Kup..."
Belnoa groaned, steadying herself.
She realized the nature of the incongruity she'd felt. She mulled over its clear form in her mind.
Instinct. Battle sense.
Rak's specialty from the start.
But its sharpness was now on another level.
Air currents.
Faint mana.
Gaze direction.
Gathering those tiny clues to deduce the outcome. Predicting the future. All done unconsciously. This was beyond mere instinct. Belnoa knew what to call it.
...Heightened Senses.
Something that shone brighter the closer one got to superhuman realms, akin to infinite precognition. How could Rak, not yet in that realm, possess it?
She couldn't know.
Belnoa didn't know Rak had faced a superhuman in the snowy plains. Nor that he'd confronted his own limits there, deflected a superhuman strike, and taken a step toward breaking through.
So she couldn't guess that his innate keen senses had evolved toward heightened senses in that process.
She only knew the result.
Absurd, Belnoa muttered.
"This is ridiculous."
"I did ridiculous training."
"What the hell did you do?"
"Nearly died a few times."
Rak approached leisurely, chatting. Belnoa let out a hollow laugh, brushing back her hair. They had reason for this composure.
This had just been the prelude.
Neither had shown their full hand yet.
Belnoa hadn't used Offering, nor had Rak activated Heating. They'd merely probed each other's strength before the real fight.
"......"
And now, the prelude was over.
Belnoa raised her arm. Two fingers were already bent. Meaning two offerings were loaded. She showed what she didn't need to.
Why?
"Means it's starting now."
Rak understood, a smile spreading on his lips. Yet he didn't activate Heating. As if this wasn't enough. Almost like asking if she could do more... Belnoa couldn't help but laugh.
"Anyway."
Belnoa hated duels.
Even now. The roaring cheers and pouring gazes weren't enjoyable.
But why?
"Ha."
A laugh slipped through her lips.
The one always below her was trying to surpass her. At that fact, Belnoa laughed out loud.
It was a feeling she'd never had before.
Being overtaken meant death to Belnoa. If someone stronger appeared in the back alleys, she had to kill them. Or be killed. To her, anyone stronger was just a noose tightening around her neck.
So why now?
Why did she feel joy as this opponent, who had clashed with her countless times, tried to overtake her? Why did this duel feel fun?
Rival.
The word Rak had once used echoed in her ears. Belnoa looked at her rival, who had challenged her and grown impossibly strong in the meantime.
"This is fun."
A smile tugged at Belnoa's lips.
She revealed her true feelings. Not mockery or pretense... a genuine laugh. She said with a smile.
"Confident?"
"If I wasn't, I wouldn't have challenged you."
"Right."
Belnoa reached out and snapped two more fingers.
Two more offerings activated. Shadows surged around her. Enveloped her body.
"Then show me."
The floor shadows rippled.
Spikes rose from them, spinning in place. They absorbed surrounding shadows, thickening into stakes.
A spell Belnoa had developed.
One that could be cast with minimal mana.
Yet it devoured vast amounts of mana. Dozens of stakes filled the arena.
Growth wasn't limited to Rak. Belnoa had also advanced since the heretic raid.
She had fought for her life.
Learned to refine her spells.
Witnessed the most brilliant magic up close.
That day, Belnoa had seen the perfect Balance. Seen treasure beyond measure placed on its scales. The balance of a mage close to truth granted enlightenment at a glance.
Now it was time to showcase that enlightenment.
⚔ STATUS ⚔ 🪦 Shadow-Pile Shadow-Pile.
The spinning stakes targeted Rak.
Rak, targeted by them, laughed and raised his hand. As if he'd been waiting for this.
"Good."
He laughed facing the crisis.
His finger touched his heart.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Heating Battle intensifies
Thump. His heart pounded hard.
The real fight was heating up.
3.
The students' level had long surpassed that of students.
Even active knights on the battlefield would be awestruck. The mage tower lords watching were equally impressed. From their perspective, it was an exceedingly high-level fight.
Clang, clang!
The clash of metal rang out.
Sparks flew. Shadows scattered and reformed. When one seemed pushed back, the other immediately followed up.
It was even.
An even fight unfolding.
Most spectators couldn't follow it properly. Flashes and clashes echoed. Even tracking their movements was overwhelming.
How many spells were used.
What spells, activating when.
How they clashed.
Not knowing those... they just gasped in admiration. But not everyone. Some could take in and comprehend every scene.
"......"
Lania watched the duel silently.
With mana ready to intervene anytime, she absorbed every moment.
It looked even at a glance, but Rak held a slight edge. He was already tapping into heightened senses. Fighting a warrior who moved one step ahead was exceedingly tricky.
But just a slight edge.
That didn't mean Rak had seized complete victory.
Belnoa was no pushover. She minimized her habits. Layered traps unpredictably. Like a seasoned hunter.
If Rak pressed with physical prowess and heightened senses... Belnoa overcame with accumulated interpersonal combat experience. The gap was closing.
Drawing ever closer to even.
Belnoa lacked Rak's heightened senses, but no one knew human combat better. Innate sense clashed with hard-earned experience.
"...Ah."
A smile formed on Lania's lips.
She felt joy. Fulfillment. Compared to the semester's start... they'd grown astonishingly in just half a year. She'd made them that way.
That fact delighted Lania.
As she smiled purely in joy... someone watched closely. Chloe glanced at Lania mid-match.
Twitch.
Chloe shuddered.
Beautiful smile, yet she sensed something chilling. Like watching a mad magic scholar unveiling research to others.
No, it's nothing. Preconception again.
Just her imagination.
She's a kind, pretty, and gentle professor.
Don't misunderstand.
Can't judge on speculation.
Chloe shook her head and crunched the stick candy Lania gave her. She didn't know despair sang in her ear.
Author's Note (Afterword)
Quit the Hero Party got a bus ad!
The day I see a bus ad for my work has finally come. Feels like immense honor; I'm thrilled.
Of course, when a friend who knows I write novels messaged "Send proof pic" on KakaoTalk, I felt a mix of embarrassment and joy... too complex to put into words!
Still, it's great news.
Forever grateful to the Novelpia folks.
*Sorry for the delay! Made it extra hearty to compensate :D