Class 4: Shattering Southern Pride
Asterion the professor had planned to review just about three matches on the first day. The class had been postponed briefly while investigating the incident where Kesera was attacked by a Chaos executive, so they needed to speed through the curriculum to catch up. The sparring class system itself encouraged real combat. To showcase the appeal of duels—which had evolved from actual battles into a sport these days—the best approach was a demonstration.
Sparring subjects would always be rooted in practical experience, so he'd explain things midway, but learning the spells was the students' responsibility. His role here was just to offer personal pointers or corrections and show everyone how to approach a duel. That was why the class format involved using a few students as examples to demonstrate.
But he hadn't anticipated Helcy, from the imperial south, picking on Kesera. It seemed to stem from regional tensions between the south and the central-north... Southerners harbored grudges against central-northerners due to their underdeveloped regions. And hadn't the 1000th freshman class been buzzing since the entrance ceremony?
Typically, the top and runner-up spots were split between southern and central-northern freshmen. Southerners pushed hard before enrollment to match their rivals, yielding top scores. But this year, two central kids dominated with overwhelming results, leaving the south feeling abandoned.
That sense of loss hit hard. To outsiders, those two were just academy freshmen with White Badges, but Nanaretorium was a major southern landowner family, and Ascentrius ruled the central nobility. These infamous empire-spanning houses turned it into a proxy war representing their regions.
"Mohelsi, won't you reconsider?"
But the skill gap was absurdly wide. Asterion had already gauged Kesera's abilities as beyond expectations from his initial investigation. He'd planned a few practice bouts with her to hone her combat sense and award top marks casually.
"No, I'll do it."
Against the professor's wishes, though, Helcy burned with competitive fire. Kesera stood with a bored grumble, grabbing her wooden wand. Her steps exuded the leisure of the strong—grace hidden in what seemed like clumsy motion. Asterion felt a bitter pang raising the match flag, but the two were already at their marks.
"Begin."
The flag rose. Instantly, Helcy summoned sand soldiers about 1.5 meters tall from the dirt ground. In earth magic, conjuring golems that moved with individual will varied by skill level, but Helcy's sand soldiers were advanced—near fourth-year golemcraft standards.
"Pfft... lol."
"What, trying to humiliate me?"
"Nah~☆ They're just too cute☆"
For a brat half her age! Kesera snickered—who knew why?—and wrapped herself in wind. It looked like flight magic at first, but like that third-year Minail earlier, it was a Wind Shield. A blatant taunt: Your magic's so pathetic, even my counter works fine.
"What can counter magic even do? Sand soldiers, attack!"
Asterion nearly blurted, No way. Helcy's soldiers charged... and then—
Whirrrrrrr
Kesera thrust out her elementary wind spell—barely a Wind—and the sand soldiers shredded outright. To the eye, a gentle breeze tore them apart, but Asterion saw her wind exploiting every crack in the soldiers precisely.
"Wha...? Ugh... Sand soldiers!"
Helcy poured massive mana into the ground, resummoning them. Her heart pounded, blood surged. Mana drained into life force—eyes bloodshot, gums numb.
"Heh, fun~"
Kesera just smirked leisurely. As if you're worth anything. She hadn't even tapped her own mana—pure ambient natural mana shredded them.
"I'll beat you and restore southern pride!"
Helcy loathed her smugness. Elemental counters cycled fire > water > earth > wind > fire—that was basic common sense. How could earth beat wind? No way her southern archmage firstborn pride allowed it.
But Helcy judged by appearances. Kesera's self-developed flight magic was famous; her fairy nickname implied wind mastery alone.
"Win against me, and that pride lives? Haa~☆ Pathetic loser☆ acting like pride pays the bills☆?"
So she'd banked on her earth specialty winning! But Kesera parried attacks eyeballing roughly. Asterion found her responses fascinating yet wasteful—she wasn't using Void Magic at all. Just precise, efficient mana crushed her foe.
"Charge! Flank attack!"
Front soldiers rushed as hidden ones burst from the ground behind her. Helcy's control was freshman-impressive. But her rushed earth magic brimmed with flaws—illogical cracks everywhere.
Kesera didn't even twitch her wand—just fanned her hand, ripping those cracks.
Whoosh
Shatter
The soldiers reverted to sand in a blink.
"Urk...!"
"Pfft! Loser☆, thought life-draining golems would win?"
Kesera strode to the exhausted Helcy, nudging her chin up with the wand tip. Helcy dropped her wand, hands raised in surrender.
"It's over! Kesera wins!"
Asterion finally snapped out of it. As victory rang out, everyone watching her magic felt released from mass hypnosis. Not just him—even upperclassmen who'd come from ranking matches, and those from other sparring sessions—had silently fixated on Kesera's duel.
"...Is that even possible?"
A third-year in the stands muttered.
"Dunno... Felt mesmerized."
A fifth-year watching from afar agreed. Southerners like Nanaretorium excelled in earth magic. Freshmen summoning sand soldiers wasn't rare. Nothing special.
But beating them with mere Wind? How superior must her mana be? And Kesera—wind prodigy—didn't even whip up a gale. She pinpointed weaknesses, countering with flaw-exploiting magic.
Explain this to freshmen? Even fourth-years who could summon sand soldiers might not get it. But explaining was his job—that was class.
Asterion began commentary at freshman level.
"Huaa—"
Boring to death☆ Never thought I'd say it, but sparring class sucked too. All flash, no substance. Class ended at 6 PM. 32 credits might be overkill after all. But hey, living like this ain't bad~
Oh right, sparring's different section from Naru. Entering the cafeteria, I passed the massive Student Council Hall—club members already milling in groups. Mostly seniors, but freshmen mixed in.
Me? Solo life's my thing~☆ Normal life tempts sometimes. But ain't that the genius curse?
At the bulletin board cluster, Imperial Academy Orchestra Concert posters everywhere. Nostalgic whiff of my past uni days. Flashier here, though.
Spring festival soon, besides big ones like New Moon Fest?
"Oh, Kesera?"
I was scanning posters, holding the campus paper, when a warm-faced woman approached like she knew me. Huh? Seventh-year White Badge? Never seen her dorm-roaming.
Too famous in this world—trouble☆ White Badge dorm meets or whatever... Ugh, guy's soul in girl bod—how squeeze into girl crowds?
"We're acquainted, right?"
"Yeah~ No ads~ Acquainted my ass☆?"
"Haha, no ad. Name's Yerina."
The platinum blonde with a warm vibe extended her hand for a shake. Neat academy uniform, prim aura—but instinct screamed don't grab.
"What's that mean~?"
"Just wanna be friends."
Two phrases to dodge: loan guarantees... and "let's be friends."