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After entering Elphon, about a month had swiftly passed. Today’s combat class was different from usual. It was because we were going to have an exchange class with the students of the Swordsmanship Department.

“Oh, there’s Rigon and Vaion over there.”

Kaen spotted two of the swordsmanship students standing across from us and waved.

Rigon smiled and waved back.

Coincidentally, the class of the Swordsmanship Department that we were about to have an exchange with happened to be Rigon’s class.

“You’ve been learning about the battles of mages in our previous lessons, so how do you think the battles of mages and warriors differ?”

Before starting the class in earnest, Professor Rokel began his usual explanation.

“Battles between mages generally take place in fixed positions. Unless a mage is also skilled in physical combat, they wouldn’t be able to dodge attacks by moving around. That’s why in magical battles there’s no option for evasion; it’s all about patterns of offense and defense. The key to magical battles lies in utilizing mana, the intricacy of spells, and psychological warfare to block the opponent’s attacks while penetrating their defense spells with your own attacks.”

I suppose that’s true.

I listened to the professor’s explanation with moderate interest.

“But combat between mages and warriors is different. You’re not fighting a stationary target, but a constantly moving one, and you’re trying to get your magic to hit it without closing the distance. As such, the importance of the required skill elements will also be quite different from magic battles. You will experience that difference firsthand in today’s class.”

After concluding his explanation, Professor Rokel turned to the Swordsmanship Department students.

The professor from the Swordsmanship Department, who had been waiting with her hands on her waist, spoke with a smile.

“Are you finished? Shall we start right away?”

Without the need for further words, the duel commenced immediately.

The first students stood in the center of the training grounds, facing each other. They were both nervous.

“Begin the duel.”

With the professor’s declaration, the mage student quickly unleashed their magic first.

The opponent seemed a bit distracted and couldn’t avoid the incoming shockwave magic, getting hit and tumbling to the ground.

However, he quickly got up and quickly moved to the side.

Normally, it would have been over the moment the magic hit, but this wasn’t a battle between mages, so the professors didn’t stop the duel. The bodies of those trained in the martial arts were not built to be retired by a single light magic strike.

The swordsmanship student seemed fearless, willing to take a hit from even a small spell, as he sought opportunities to close the distance. On the other hand, our classmate showed signs of not knowing how to deal with the situation.

He knew that if he threw a spell, his opponent would either parry or dodge and then dive in.

Eventually, unable to bear the standoff, our classmate unfolded his magic once again.

The swordsmanship student rolled his body to the side, narrowly evading the attack, and swiftly moved inward.

There was a clash between the sword strike and the defensive barrier, creating a loud noise. From that moment on, our classmate appeared to be in a state of panic.

“Why is he just defensively blocking like that? He should counter-attack quickly,” muttered Kaen while watching the scene.

However, it wouldn’t be an easy task.

If he continued to allow them to attack, his defenses would crumble, and if he focused on maintaining them, he wouldn’t have a chance to counterattack.

Of course, if he was significantly more skilled than the opponent, he would have plenty of opportunities to counter-attack. But based on his level, there wasn’t a significant difference in skill between the two.

At the moment when the distance between him and the swordsman had been narrowed, the situation was already greatly unfavorable for the mage.

“Stop. End the duel.”

In the end, just before the defense barrier was about to shatter, the professor halted the duel.

Thus, the first duel ended in victory for the student from the Swordsmanship Department.

I pondered how I would approach the duel when it was my turn.

In the end, it’s about maintaining distance and landing successful spells.

Both sides were lacking in experience.

While the students from the Department of Magic might not be accustomed to hitting fast-moving targets, the students from the swordsmanship department would also be unfamiliar with the unpredictability of magic.

So I planned to break their concentration by performing as many different spells as possible.

A few more students competed, and my turn came quickly.

In all but one of the five duels before, the swordsmanship students won.

Kaen nudged my shoulder from the side.

“Ran, you have to win. If we keep losing, it’ll damage our pride in front of Rigon.”

I chuckled in response to Kaen’s serious expression. Seeing this, she really was a kid.

The student I faced was a fairly skilled early-level 20 student from the opposing side.

He seemed quite confident, probably because the majority of the winners so far were from their class.

As soon as the duel began, I unleashed my magic towards the opponent, who came charging in with a strong momentum.

Flash!

A burst of light magic exploded, obscuring the vision. The opponent momentarily hesitated, but that was all.

Of course, it wasn’t a spell that I expected to have a significant effect.

Immediately, I followed up with the next spell, scattering small ice magic spells to disrupt the opponent’s footing.

I deliberately didn’t use too much mana. I didn’t let him close the distance by casting small spells quickly.

The opponent showed signs of becoming frustrated by my actions, but he didn’t lose his composure.

He was waiting for my mana to run out, focusing solely on evading without pushing himself unnecessarily. Of course, I had anticipated that it would come to this.

The reason I only used weak magic was to catch my opponent off guard.

It was to deliver a powerful surprise attack on someone who didn’t know the full extent of my mana output.

Although my magic skills were only average at best, my total mana was among the top, even in my year.

Whoosh!

The slightly misfired ice magic froze the ground and even the opponent’s legs.

The opponent, momentarily immobilized by the magic spreading to such a wide range, looked confused.

I followed up with a fireball in the air. My opponent stared at me with a dumbfounded expression.

If I had continued the attack without stopping, the result would have been obvious, so the professor immediately halted the duel.

“Duel is over.”

Of course, the victory was mine.

“Well done. It was a duel that showcased the essence of a mage facing a warrior,” Professor Rokel complimented, rare praise coming from him.

On the other hand, the opponent, having received a scathing remark from the professor of swordsmanship, returned to his spot in a disheartened manner.

“Good job, Ran. I knew you could do it!”

As I returned to my spot, I brushed off Kaen, who came running towards me.

By the way, have I become quite proficient?

I hardly ever felt awkward or unfamiliar when I perform magic anymore.

Although I thought I had no talent for magic, practicing seemed to gradually improve my skills, even if only little by little.

Next up was Kaen’s turn.

As expected, Kaen easily overwhelmed the opponent and emerged victorious.

The only thing she lacked was the variety of spells she had learned, but after only a month of practice, even that weakness had disappeared, and her magic skills were now at the top of her class.

The sparring continued. As expected, Esca lost, and Vaion emerged victorious.

And as the end of the class approached, it was finally Rigon’s turn…

“Wow, I can’t believe it. They’re really going against each other.”

I looked at the two people standing in the middle of the training ground: Rigon and Lea.

A strange tension began to fill the air among the students.

It was understandable. They were the two most famous individuals in their year.

The top-ranked newcomer in the Department of Magic and the top-ranked newcomer in the Swordsmanship Department—their duel was unlike any other match.

“No matter what, I bet Lea Herwyn will win.”

Interestingly, perhaps because Rigon was from Calderic, even the Swordsmanship Department students seemed to be rooting for Lea rather than Rigon.

Of course, I secretly hoped that Rigon would win.

Although, considering their levels, it was uncertain, since Lea had a slight advantage.

Lea had her usual expressionless face, as if she had no interest in who her opponent was.

And the same could be said for Rigon.

“Then… let the duel begin.”

With the professor’s declaration, the duel commenced.

Lea took the initiative. A lightning magic spell spread out like a net, aiming to engulf Rigon.

Rigon lowered his stance, swiftly dodged to the side, and then quickly changed direction, charging forward.

Rigon’s movements were incredibly fast, but Lea’s response was even quicker.

This time, a whip-like binding spell extended, targeting Rigon’s limbs.

In the blink of an eye, one exchange of attack and defense concluded. Rigon, forced to retreat, showed a slightly surprised expression.

He stared intently at Lea as he stood in place, a faint smile appearing on his lips, before he moved again.

Clang!

As a flurry of magical blades flew towards him, Rigon effortlessly parried and shattered them all with his sword.

Suddenly, Rigon’s sword gleamed with a sharp edge, causing Lea’s expression to slightly furrow as her magic was easily blocked.

The duel between the two intensified beyond imagination.

Rigon chose not to evade the magic and instead blocked it head-on, closing the distance between them. Meanwhile, Lea increased the intensity of her magic.

When Rigon approached, Lea boldly unleashed a shockwave from close range, pushing him back.

Rigon landed on the ground after spinning a few times in the air, seemingly undamaged, and charged back towards her.

The students, mesmerized by the advanced level of their combat skills, watched in awe.

Lea bit her lip in a rare display of determination as she struggled to shake off Rigon.

The situation indicated that Lea’s mana might deplete faster than Rigon’s stamina.

At that moment, Lea’s mana began to change into something unusual.

…Huh?

Three small violet orbs appeared around her, resembling beads.

Those were not ordinary spells that students typically learn.

Rigon didn’t react much to it and kept charging, but then the purple spheres reacted.

Flash!

Like guided missiles, beams of light shot out from the purple orbs, mysteriously curving and aiming at Rigon’s entire body.

Rigon barely dodged the direct hit by throwing his body, but one of the beams grazed his arm, drawing blood.

Rigon was visibly surprised, his eyes wide open.

What kind of magic is that?

Well, could it be some sort of arcane magic from the Herwyn family?

No matter how good Lea was, it’s impossible for her to control that kind of density of magic.

If she couldn’t control it all, then it must be the nature of the magic itself. It was quite a formidable magic.

“I’ll admit it. You are strong.”

Lea opened her mouth while still displaying swirling violet spheres around her.

“But the victory is mine in this duel. It wouldn’t be appropriate to use this level of magic, so concede defeat.”

Indeed, engaging in a direct clash of that kind would result in more than just a minor injury.

Seeing Professor Rokel, it seemed he also felt the need to halt the duel, but…

“You’re quite strong yourself.”

Rigon spoke in a rare, elevated tone.

However, he wiped away the blood with a bright smile and rose to his feet.

“But aren’t you too arrogant? Just because you grazed me with an attack.”

Lea’s expression turned cold.

Professor Rokel cast a slightly awkward glance at the professor of swordsmanship.

But as she stood there with her arms folded, she smiled and shook her head.

“Isn’t this much fine, Professor Rokel? After all, you could definitely intervene before any accidents happened.”

Professor Rokel clicked his tongue, seemingly annoyed, but in the end, he didn’t stop the duel.

Ziiing!

Three streams of purple light were once again aimed at Rigon.

Rigon twisted and contorted his body to evade them.

Lea busily followed Rigon’s accelerated movements with her eyes. The beams twisted and persistently tracked Rigon.

Even though it still seemed unfavorable for Rigon…

Crack.

Suddenly, Rigon stopped his movement and raised his sword high, fully exposing himself to an attack.

Lea also paused for a moment.

“What are you doing? Giving up?” she asked.

“No way. I thought I’d try gambling since it seems difficult like this,” Rigon replied.

Rigon shifted his footing. At the same time, Lea unleashed a beam of light toward Rigon.

Then, in the next moment, Rigon skillfully deflected all the beams with his sword, tracing a graceful path.

The deflected beams momentarily escaped Lea’s control, and that was enough time for the distance between them to close.

Kwaang!

Rigon’s sword, controlling the beam of magic, shattered Lea’s weakened defensive barrier in an instant.

Lea looked at the partially broken edge of the sword pointing at her neck with trembling eyes.

“I won.”

“…”

Rigon said so while catching his breath and sheathed his sword.

The tide turned against him, and in the end, Rigon emerged as the victor in the duel.

I couldn’t believe he managed to deflect all the beams.

Having trained in swordsmanship myself, I knew how absurd it was to do that at Rigon’s current level.

Indeed, his talent was beyond imagination, as Asher had claimed.

“Did… I lose? Me?” Lea, still standing in the same spot, muttered in a daze.

She seemed so proud of her skills that she was shocked to lose, despite giving it her all.