Proof Duel: A Rather Austere Welcome (2)
『Proof Duel』. Even the Mage Tower was abuzz with rumors.
The most recent Proof Duel had taken place ages ago, back when Senior Mage Yugweed and Karimjeva had clashed during their days as skilled and senior mages, respectively.
Skilled mage Linne chattered on.
“At this point, the only one in the Mage Tower who’s actually witnessed it firsthand is Elder Mage Yugweed! We might just be the lucky ones, Jibril. To think we get a front-row seat to something this rare!”
“I don’t know about that, Linne. I don’t feel particularly lucky.”
“Huh? What do you mean...?”
“The seats suck.”
Sapphire Hall. If the Crystal Hall oversaw the tower’s big and small affairs, then Sapphire Hall existed solely for Proof Duels.
Linne replied as if she couldn’t agree less.
“The seats suck? That’s hurtful. I studied the tower’s blueprints inside and out to snag these. They’re the front row in Sapphire Hall! From here, you’ll see everything crystal clear! Look, Jibril.”
Linne was right. It’d be hard to find better seats in the packed Sapphire Hall, filled with Mage Tower mages and players.
And from the front row like this...
“You can even figure out why Elder Yugweed and Chief Mage Lee Hoyeol suddenly clashed, right? At this distance, you’ll hear every word they exchange!”
Because it was such a rare event, even the Mage Tower mages were floored by this Proof Duel.
Linne couldn’t hide her excitement.
“At first, I totally thought Chief Mage Lee Hoyeol had requested it. Honestly speaking... if we set aside achievements and just look at influence, doesn’t he hold his own against the other two? The only issue is his short tenure!”
But if Hoyeol won the Proof Duel against Yugweed, it would prove his qualifications as an elder mage. At the same time, it would mean Yugweed failed to prove hers.
In other words, it would patch his sole flaw.
“But it was Elder Yugweed who proposed it! No matter how I think about it, it doesn’t add up. There has to be some conflict between them we don’t know about...”
Linne kept prattling on without end.
Jibril, who’d been listening silently, finally snapped.
Pinch—!
“Eek?! Jibril, why’d you suddenly yank my ear...!”
“This is why I said the seats suck, Linne.”
“Wha...?”
“How can you be so careless with your words, Linne? Don’t you want to yap that badly? We’re not apprentices anymore, and there are outsiders everywhere?”
Roll.
Linne’s eyes finally darted around.
“Gasp.”
Jibril was right. Linne was surrounded by outsiders—adventurers. Those who’d earned voting rights in the next Tower Master election were attending the Proof Duel on that qualification.
Cley released Linne’s earlobe and said,
“This isn’t something to be thrilled about. Right, Cley?”
Nod.
Cley nodded in agreement, then glanced at the senior mages across from them. Their expressions weren’t much different from their own.
Cley had her own guess.
...Did something happen on the Arcana Continent?
Anything else wouldn’t make sense. A Proof Duel, even if it was a friendly spar under strict rules, carried serious weight.
Chief Mage Marcelo asked the pure mana senior mage Banggrit beside him.
“Mind if I ask one thing, Senior Banggrit?”
“Of course, Chief! Go ahead!”
“Was there some conflict between them on the Arcana Continent that I don’t know about? Otherwise, this Proof Duel...”
Of course, it wasn’t impossible. He himself had once harbored grudges against the elders and fantasized about challenging them to Proof Duels in his head countless times.
However.
“It’s too sudden.”
Right after returning from the Arcana Continent to reality. Proposing a Proof Duel before even a day had passed, and accepting so readily? It didn’t sit right with Marcelo, who wondered if he’d contributed to the cause somehow.
Banggrit, rummaging through his memories, spoke up.
“Well... I don’t recall any particular conflict between them...”
Even hot-tempered flame mage senior Bensy William had his mouth shut tight. The situation must be dire.
The players, meanwhile, were thrilled by the mages’ reactions.
“How the hell did we end up with seats to this?”
“Glad I rushed to get voting rights the second I heard.”
“Never thought I’d see it this close.”
They knew it was just a light spar. But what excited the crowd wasn’t the event itself, but the story behind it.
“Gotta be bad blood, right? From the elder’s perspective, how infuriating would that be? A rolling stone crashing into a cornerstone...”
The speculations stretched endlessly.
“Shut the fuck up already?”
The one who silenced the players’ chatter with a threat was Rackid, the low-rank member of the Shadow Mercenaries.
Normally, he’d have jumped in on the gossip about Commander Lee Hoyeol—hell, he’d have led it, griping about that ridiculously flashy fashion sense.
“Not in the mood right now.”
But Rackid was in a foul mood.
“A huge event like this, and it ends before I can place my bets!”
Marcelo for Next Tower Master!
All-in on the sole option.
Rackid had bet his entire fortune on Marcelo becoming the next Tower Master. But now this Proof Duel out of nowhere? The winner would unify the votes and sweep the election, obviously.
Rackid ground his teeth.
“Damn it! If I bust this time, I can’t even drown my sorrows at the tavern... Kichi might front me cash no questions asked, but Wolf ain’t letting that slide...”
He lashed out blindly.
“So shut your yapping and watch, got it?”
“...”
Was it Rackid’s threat that hushed the area? The tension ratcheted up even more.
In the silence, tight-lipped Bensy finally spoke.
“Good job, musclehead.”
And then, right on the hour.
Sapphire Hall.
“...They’re here.”
The doors on opposite sides swung open, revealing the duel’s stars. They approached each other, meeting in the center of Sapphire Hall.
Yugweed spoke first.
“Chief Mage Lee hates tardiness above all, so I entered precisely on time. Satisfied? Ready to duel in earnest now, Chief?”
The meaning was clear: I’m prepared. Are you ready to go all out too?
“As expected...!”
Thanks to their prime seats, Linne caught every word and flinched.
“See? The vibe’s off the charts!”
But Jibril and Cley ignored her, eyes locked on Hoyeol. His response would reveal what this duel truly meant.
And as always, it exceeded imagination.
“Elder Mage Yugweed.”
“I’m listening, Chief.”
“Think you can handle my sincerity?”
“...!!!”
To be blunt? ‘Just get on with it already?’
When I first read Yugweed’s letter, I thought, perfect. Her icy words stung a bit—“even cold water has a top and bottom”—but I caught the subtext.
She wants the next Tower Master spot!
I, Lee Hoyeol, could vouch for it. If I took that role, I’d probably drop dead from overwork, my brain fried to bits.
Even now, my only break was teatime.
...Though I do chug more tea than most.
Still, personal time was scarce. And once the Mage Tower’s portal opened to the Arcana Continent, my range would double. Things to manage? Double or more.
So Yugweed’s letter was a godsend.
But of all things, a Proof Duel?
Elder Mage Yugweed...!
“Think you can handle my sincerity?”
Her provocation. I sighed inwardly at Grandfell’s blabbering maw, which had taken the bait spectacularly, then shifted blame to Yugweed.
Didn’t she know this temperament by now? I’d have yielded gladly if she’d just asked.
Proof Duel, of all things?!
Grandfell Claudi Arpeus Romeo knew no such thing as humility. Underestimation demanded proof. Overestimation? He’d make it reality.
Grandfell, who welcomed any chance to prove himself—how could he refuse? It was perfectly tangled.
Thus, here I stood in Sapphire Hall, facing Yugweed.
She chuckled at my bold words.
“Good, Chief. That’s the attitude I wanted.”
Then she unleashed her mana. Her hair fluttered in the pressure.
Every encounter confirmed it: Mages senior and above had reached realms untouchable by ordinary players.
How high is her mana stat, exactly?
Even on the vast Arcana Continent, the Mage Tower accepted only the most talented from premier magic families. And among them, seniors stood at the pinnacle.
In player terms...
They’re loaded with unique stats and skills.
But whining before them? Not when I was the same.
Hell, add the Claudy halo, and I’ve got more.
So I slowly drew up my mana.
My raw mana was outmatched. Even all-in on mana stats wouldn’t cut it—I’d spread points to strength, agility, even luck while pioneering demon hunter growth over mage paths.
But my unique skills more than compensated.
Starting with the variable stat Tenacity.
Your transcendent realm is worthy of the title Transcendent.
📍 Achievements: Circles (All magic manifestation +1,000%) / Sword Path of Pride (Path 1 liberated) / None / None...
The circles forcibly unlocked via elixirs. Even First World Tree's Blessing.
So even Yugweed, the tower’s top dog, couldn’t overwhelm me under Proof Duel rules.
That’s why I’d boasted so confidently.
...Yet her aura felt off.
Crunch—!
The ground rumbled the instant I sensed it. Like Crystal Hall, Sapphire Hall had special rules—no shockwaves to the tower or seats.
But I felt it full force.
I knew instinctively: Yugweed was summoning a golem.
Yes, that golem—the one that dragged rampaging Yunak Seus to the Zero Mountains.
In a Proof Duel? Strict rule violation...!
Real combat magic? Top-tier at that?
A duel was a duel, Proof or not. Even bitter rivals Senior Seños and Karimjeva never went for throat-cutting spells.
Summoning a golem right off the bat?
Grandfell’s trap wouldn’t stand for it.
“You’ve steeled yourself to break the rules, I see.”
Prickly as ever. But she knew it too.
“Sometimes even strict rules must bend. I won’t force you, of course. You love rules, Chief. But...”
Roooar—!
A grand resonance. The golem’s glowing mana heart.
Yugweed, now perched on its palm, grinned.
“Can you handle me without breaking them?”
Whoosh—!
The golem lifted a leg, as if to crush me. A massive shadow loomed overhead.
That’s when I was sure.
Yugweed never intended to follow the rules.
And why break them? Why this farce? If she wanted Tower Master, why not ask me?
Then it clicked.
...If my guess is right.
Fine. I’d play along.
But she still didn’t get Grandfell’s temper.
Rules—procedure—were sacred to him. Death before dishonor.
Top-tier golem summon. To block its stomp? Matching top-tier magic.
But I cast none.
Proof Duel rules forbade mid-tier and above.
“...!”
The golem hesitated as I withdrew my mana. As expected—not serious.
Elder Mage Yugweed.
No need to change plans now. I’d play my way.
By following the rules.
“...That’s not a duel, that’s real combat!”
“Why’s Lee Hoyeol just watching?”
“Why isn’t he casting?!”
The stands buzzed. Face a top-tier spell with zero mana? Absurd to outsiders.
But I’d pulled off far more absurd feats.
And those feats earned a title.
Flap—!
“Overconfidence, Elder Mage Yugweed.”
Black wings unfurled, poised to blanket Sapphire Hall.
Yugweed let out a hollow laugh.
“Haha. Heavier than a real dragon, Chief...!”
The black dark dragon’s wingbeat. As the golem staggered,
I told her,
“I trust you don’t expect my sincerity for that paltry effort.”
“...!”