Iria and Sera were in a standoff. Sera looked down at Iria, who was seated.
Sera’s face showed signs of surprise as she thought for sure she would be rejected. The situation had turned out differently than she expected.
But whatever the case, it was fine. She didn’t have to resort to other methods.
“Well, I’m not saying we should do this right away. I don’t have a hobby of bullying freshmen, you know. I’ll give you about a week. Does that work?”
Nod nod.
Iria nodded her head.
At that moment, Sera’s evaluation of Iria shot up vertically.
‘What’s this? She’s cute!’
She really liked Iria’s straightforward personality.
Until now, most of the times when Sera suggested a duel, the other party would typically refuse with a frightened expression.
Iria’s dueling skills were so famous that Sera had seen her fight at least once. Though she was majoring in the Combat Magic Department, it was said that she combined superior physical abilities with swordsmanship and martial arts flawlessly.
Sera was already looking forward to what kind of performance Iria would showcase against her.
Giving Iria a week was because Sera was aware of her tactics.
If they proceeded this way, it would be a duel only advantageous to Sera. It would be disgraceful to let such words come out against a freshman.
Unfortunately, she decided to postpone the duel for a bit.
“Then, see you in a week.”
Sera left.
*
After a certain strange senior interrupted, the classroom fell silent.
Next to her was Rena, who was half-frozen.
“W-was that Sera senior just now…?”
“Do you know her?”
Rena’s face went ghostly pale, and she struggled to speak for a while. For some reason, she seemed to be quite shocked by something.
“What do you mean you don’t know! She’s the pinnacle of the 2nd-year Combat Magic Department! Even though she’s overshadowed by Ariel senior, she gets reviews that she’s not inferior compared to the top student of the 3rd year!”
“………”
I tilted my head as if to say, ‘So what?’. I didn’t fail to notice her anger directed at me when our eyes met.
Rena was worried about my injuries. Even if it was a light duel, the opponent was an upperclassman monster. She probably thought I could get seriously hurt.
After all, no one would lose their life in a duel, but I might have some troubles with classes for about a week.
Just looking at Rena, she had suffered from lasting effects after her practical exam.
I understood her concerns.
“There’s no way I could win! Huh? Let’s go tell her we’re quitting right now. It might not be too late…”
“She’d come back until you accepted, you know.”
“But still, this time it’s…”
However, it wasn’t particularly terrifying.
Even if the Imperial Academy had many talented individuals, they were still students at the end of the day.
Even the top knights, who were the Empire’s main force, could only leave a scratch on me. The reason I refused duels until now was due to my lack of control over my strength.
After experiencing a duel with Lucia last time, I realized the level of the top students was beyond expectation.
They didn’t usually die that easily.
So I also had something to gain. I felt that Sera could afford to put in a bit of power as well.
“I’m fine.”
“So it’s not fine—”
“I said I’m fine.”
“………”
When I sent a sign yet again to show I was okay, a deep sigh escaped Rena.
Then she locked her eyes with mine.
“I’m worried. You don’t seem to understand how terrifying the 2nd-year seniors can be.”
“Hmm.”
“Are you really going to do that duel?”
“Yes.”
I nodded my head.
Rena’s concern was making me curious now.
I hadn’t really tried to hide my strength in front of her.
I earned my title as the top student through legitimate means, and during the external practicum, I even single-handedly dealt with shadow monsters.
But Rena predicted my defeat in the duel.
That meant the 2nd-year students appeared stronger than what I had shown.
So, I decided to listen to her words.
“What’s Sera senior like?”
“Well… to be honest, she was my ideal. Officially, she’s the best at fire magic in our academy. But the scary part is, she’s not just good at one type of magic.”
“Hmm.”
“She mainly specializes in fire magic, but she’s skilled enough in wind, lightning, and ice magic too. As a mage, her level is probably among the top across all grades.”
So, she’s a standard mage who can handle various elemental magics at a high level. If I had to compare, I’d say she’s similar to Albert.
Even so, she was still a student; I never expected her to have combat prowess on the same level as Albert.
But in a duel, I couldn’t use a real sword, magical energy, or magic stones.
It was practically like fighting with my hands tied, so I needed to be cautious to some extent. Overconfidence could lead to ruin.
“Is the second best that strong?”
“That’s what the 2nd-year batch is known for. They say a bunch of monsters gathered. Sera senior is practically at the top among them. You’re not thinking of backing down, right…?”
“Yes.”
I answered defiantly.
It wasn’t that I desperately wanted to duel, but I had no idea what would happen if I turned down something like this.
For reference, Lucia had poured water on my head. Sera might just set my hair on fire.
I really didn’t want my hair to catch fire again.
“Haaaa… Well, how could I stop you?”
“………”
“Then follow me. I have something to teach you.”
Saying that, Rena stepped outside the building. I followed her closely for a moment.
An empty field outside the academy. This was the same place where Rena had taught me magic before.
After checking that no one was around several times, Rena ignited a small flame at her fingertips.
“Do you know that fire magic is the most aggressive among elemental magics? Depending on the caster’s abilities, the temperature can endlessly rise. Depending on how you use mana, you could muster enough firepower to turn a human to ashes in an instant.”
Fwoosh!
Rena’s flame soared dramatically.
It looked quite hot. It was more than enough to kill an ordinary person who lacked mana resistance.
But I knew her abilities exceeded this level. I had watched her duel Wendy on the practical exam day.
Fire magic could inflict significant wounds even in light duels. Even if I could receive treatment at the academy’s facilities, feeling pain while being burned was still the same.
Rena continued her explanation, enveloped in flames.
“Now, fire as an element needs to be hot to be strong. That’s where the difference comes in; fire mages have some preparation process to raise the temperature of the flame. This method varies from person to person.”
Now that I thought about it, this was true. I rummaged through my past memories.
Albert wasn’t primarily a fire wizard, but he released stored mana in an instant. Eve would explosively release magic for a burst of firepower.
That seemed to be the difference in the methods Rena was talking about.
“That could be seen as a general weakness for fire wizards. It’s about understanding how the opponent raises their fire’s temperature and disrupting that preparation process.”
“Disrupting?”
“For example, I slowly preheat my fire spells to raise the temperature. If Iria were to rush in and disrupt before I could stack my incantations, I’d be in a pretty vulnerable state.”
“Same might apply to Sera senior.”
“Exactly. The problem is that she’s good at other types of magic too, but she’s best at fire magic. To settle this, she will definitely showcase fire spells.”
Plot twist!
The opportunity to strike could lead to an easy victory. Rena added.
The information Rena provided was quite useful. In a duel close to real combat, having or lacking information made a significant difference.
“………”
However, there was something that bothered me a bit.
Rena was revealing her weaknesses to me, the top student of the same year.
It wasn’t something she’d want to share with someone who could eventually compete for ranks later on.
So I asked.
“Is it really okay for you to tell me this?”
Rena maintained her silence for a while. It was a windy day.
Her flowing golden hair brushed against my cheek. She looked down at me sitting on a hill and spoke.
“If it’s Iria, it’s fine. You wouldn’t tell anyone else anyway, right? And I’ve already given up the top student title long ago. I feel like I’m facing a wall when it comes to truly talented people.”
Rena patted my head.
I looked up at her, but this time, our eyes didn’t meet.
She seemed to be gazing elsewhere. Perhaps she hadn’t been looking at me from the start.
“So, be careful not to get hurt. You’re a talented human, unlike me.”
Talented, huh.
If only I were as talented as she said.
“Let’s head back. We’ll be late for class.”
With that final word, Rena walked ahead.
Once again, our gazes didn’t meet today.
