Chapter 159
“How did it end up like this?”
Standing in the middle of the training field, Carr wore a disgruntled expression as he looked toward the stands.
Isn’t watching a fight supposed to be the most fun thing in the world?
At the mention of a spar, students from Class 1 to 10 had come pouring out.
“What? Carr’s the one fighting?”
“Who’s the opponent?”
“Looks like an Ecorte student?”
“Did he get challenged by an Ecorte student because even they look down on him?”
Voices of disbelief came from all directions.
“Well, it is Carr.”
“Yeah, it’s Carr after all.”
But soon, they seemed to accept it.
Watching them, Carr protested with an aggrieved face.
“Hey! What’s wrong with me!”
“You’re just way too careless.”
“And super easy to mess with.”
“Hey! Wanna make a bet?”
“Who do you think will win?”
“Oh, that’s a good idea!”
Carr grabbed the back of his neck.
As the first-year Lumene students snickered and started making bets, the other academy students looked baffled.
‘This is way different from what I expected…’
Meanwhile, Carr let out a deep sigh.
“Doesn’t matter how friendly you get, huh, really.”
He grumbled and glanced at the Ecorte boy standing before him.
“I still don’t know your name.”
“Rikid Brick.”
“The Brick family?”
Carr clicked his tongue.
If it was Brick, then that was the family that had long produced the captains of the Snow Knights in the Birsen Kingdom.
‘The heir’s name was Rikid, right?’
So the boy in front of him was the son of a hero.
There were many students at Lumene from heroic houses, but actual children of heroes were rare.
“I’m sorry about the prince’s rudeness.”
“You don’t have to apologize. I’m used to that sort of attitude.”
Carr shrugged.
“Besides, even if you apologize, you still plan on sparring with me, right?”
At Carr’s question, Rikid nodded.
“Yes. I know Lumene is all about real combat. That’s why I’ve always wanted to spar with a Lumene Magic Department student.”
There was a gleam of competitiveness in Rikid’s eyes.
‘The prince’s manners were awful, but at least this kid is decent. Well, there are always kids like that.’
Carr scratched his head.
‘Still, this one doesn’t look easy. How should I fight him?’
Even at a glance, he was no pushover.
Carr judged that Rikid could easily pass the Lumene entrance exam.
‘He could even aim for a top score.’
As he slowly assessed Rikid’s abilities, Carr began preparing his spell.
Watching this, Haviden sneered.
“He’s going to get embarrassed in front of everyone.”
Top-class students from the three prestigious academies were generally superior to Lumene’s lower-ranked students.
But the general belief was that Lumene’s students were still above the three major class academies.
If Carr lost to Rikid from Ecorte in front of hundreds of people, it would be humiliating.
“Pushing your own classmate into a public loss… Maybe Leo doesn’t even think of Carr as a friend?”
“Just watch,” Leo said with a small smile.
Haviden frowned at Leo’s relaxed demeanor.
Meanwhile, Carr, finished preparing for the duel, spoke.
“Shall we start?”
“Yes.”
Carr pulled a coin from his pocket.
Ting! Pingrrrrr—!
A clear sound rang out as the coin spun up.
Ting!
The moment the coin fell to the ground of the training field, Rikid drew his weapon from his subspace.
Whoosh—!
Rikid pulled out a spear taller than himself and swung it.
“Spear technique, huh? Sounds fun— Huh?”
Crack—!
As the massive spear swept through the air, a blast of icy [Aura] burst out, making Carr leap into the air in shock.
The floor froze solid.
Had he been even a moment slower, he’d have been caught and stuck.
“You’re a lot faster than most mages. As expected of Lumene.”
Rikid didn’t care about the icy floor, using [Aura Step] to close the distance with Carr.
Carr hurriedly began his spell.
“Fire Arrow!”
Fwoosh—!
A volley of flaming arrows appeared in the air.
Rikid was impressed.
‘He’s in a different league from the mages I’ve faced so far.’
Casting so many attack spells while also using [Fly Magic]?
‘He’s definitely skilled in combat.’
On top of that, his magic was solid.
‘Can’t look down on him just because his mana pool is low. But this is as far as you go!’
At fourteen, Rikid was already lauded as a genius, praised by all around him.
Of course, any Lumene student had a similar background.
But Rikid was an exceptional prodigy, even among prodigies.
Grip—!
Clutching his spear tightly, Rikid’s eyes gleamed.
“Avalanche!”
Whoosh—!
As he swept his spear, snowy [Aura] surged out.
It turned into a wave and then crashed down on Carr like an avalanche.
“Gyah?!”
Carr let out a scream as he was buried in snow in the middle of summer.
“Wow… Amazing!”
“How can a knight use such a wide-area attack?”
“Ecorte students aren’t to be underestimated after all.”
Other academy students admired Rikid.
Celia, watching from the Class 1 section, smirked.
“Not bad. He’ll definitely pass.”
“Yeah. He’s really skilled.”
Chloe glanced over from her grimoire and nodded.
“Lumene’s nothing special, huh.”
“I could’ve blocked that attack at least once.”
A few Emeral students looked unimpressed.
Then there was a commotion in the back.
“Hey! Why did everyone bet on Carr?”
“Now the odds are ruined!”
“Come on, who’s brave enough to bet on Rikid Brick for an upset? No one?”
Just as everyone was distracted by the Class 1 students’ betting—
Wham—!
“Brrr! S-so cold!”
Carr emerged from the snow, hugging himself and shivering.
Rikid calmly readied his stance.
‘Of course he wouldn’t go down from that.’
Rikid readjusted his grip on the spear, impressed.
“Sniff— What the heck, snow in the middle of summer? Ugh!”
Carr gave a big shiver and looked at Rikid.
“Yeah, I’m no match for you head-on.”
The difference in power was clear.
Even so, Carr grinned.
He opened his subspace and dumped out a pile of weapons.
Rikid, who was about to charge, hesitated.
“A mage with weapons?”
“Oh, I’m not that amazing, but let me give you some advice as someone who’s been at Lumene a bit longer! Sticking to rigid thinking isn’t good!”
Whooo—!
Carr gathered his [Mana].
The enchanted weapons floated into the air.
Rikid narrowed his eyes.
“Telekinesis magic.”
Tap—!
Rikid readjusted his spear and lowered his stance.
Whoosh—!
He immediately charged at Carr.
‘Don’t treat it as just telekinesis. This guy isn’t to be underestimated.’
Determined to finish it quickly before anything weird could happen, Rikid channeled [Aura] through his whole body.
Carr grinned.
“That’s why you can’t be so rigid.”
Vmmm—!
The color of one of Carr’s floating longswords changed.
A single sword, now glowing red, shot at Rikid.
Rikid swung his spear, deflecting the longsword.
At that moment—
Boom! Fwoosh—!
The longsword unleashed intense flames.
“Magic Sword?!”
Eyes wide, Rikid activated [Aura Armor], barely blocking the fire.
“I’m a specialist in alchemy, so I’m terrible at offensive magic.”
Carr pulled a one-handed crossbow from his subspace.
“Unlike those monster-types, if you let me get close you’re done. Plus, I’m not even a combat specialist—I’m a supporter.”
Click—!
Carr aimed the crossbow at Rikid and grinned.
“I have no choice but to fight dirty.”
Wham—!
Carr pulled the trigger, sending a bolt flying.
Rikid easily knocked it aside.
But suddenly—
Thunk—! Clatter. Splatter—!
“……!”
The bolt turned to glass and spilled its contents everywhere.
Rikid’s face twisted at the foul stench that rang in his head.
“Poison?”
“I know how to use poison, but that’s not really appropriate for a spar.”
Carr grinned and set the crossbow down.
“It’s oil.”
“Why the sudden oil?”
“That’s what I mean—don’t be rigid.”
Carr grinned.
“This is a special oil I made. It’s extremely volatile, and when it reacts to [Mana], it keeps burning. The stronger the firepower, the hotter and longer it burns—a very dangerous oil.”
He waved his hand.
Fwoosh—!
The floating enchanted weapons all became magic swords.
“They’re cheap, single-use magic swords, but when you mix them with that oil, it’ll hurt.”
“Grr!”
Rikid clenched his teeth and glared.
Carr’s enchanted magic swords targeted Rikid.
Crash—!
“Argh!”
Rikid’s screams echoed through the field.
Leaving Rikid behind, Carr shoved his hands in his pockets and grinned.
“Done!”
The other academy students all gaped.
Meanwhile, Chloe admired him.
“To develop magic that far—Carr’s impressive.”
“He’s the most unpredictable among the first-year mages,” Celia said, resting her chin in her hand.
“If you know Carr, you can avoid it, but even someone more skilled than him will be caught off guard once if they don’t.”
Carr’s enchant magic.
Ever since Leo praised him during the field trip, Carr had kept refining his signature [Enchant Magic].
The result was that he’d managed to turn enchanted weapons into magic swords at will.
He’d also perfected a technique to transmute items he’d enchanted.
He’d successfully made up for his weaknesses with tools.
Haviden’s eyes widened.
Carr left the field and gave Chelsea a high five.
“Victory of the underhanded!”
“Don’t say underhanded—call it strategy!”
Chelsea thought for a moment, then burst out laughing.
“Victory of the clever!”
“Hey!”
“Clever! Clever!”
The students of Class 5 chanted “clever” and welcomed Carr.
“You guys are the worst!”
Carr grabbed his head and wailed.
Then, seeing Leo smiling at him, he grinned back.
“How was it?”
“It was great.”
“Heh. I only managed to keep up because I kept trying. Thanks, Leo.”
It was Leo’s endless advice that had helped Carr develop his own style.
“See that? This is the strength of Lumene’s weakest! Take that, you arrogant jerk!”
Chelsea taunted Haviden, mocking him.
“…Leave out the weakest part, would you?”
Carr let out a bitter laugh, and Haviden scoffed.
“So at Lumene, relying on tools is considered a skill?”
“Of course.”
Chelsea crossed her arms and replied confidently.
“Surviving is what makes you strong.”
Not only during their school years, but even after graduating, Lumene students faced endless competition and battle.
To survive in such an environment, you had to use every tool and strategy at your disposal.
Chelsea curled her lip.
“Next is us, right? I’ll turn you into mush.”
As the fire cleared from the field, Chelsea stepped up.
Haviden scoffed as he followed her.
—
“Leo, what do you think will happen?”
“What do you mean?”
“This fight,” Carr said, flopping down next to Leo.
“I know that Haviden kid’s a total brat, but his skills are real.”
Haviden was famous not just in the north, but across the entire continent.
He’d actually been a strong candidate for Lumene this year.
“In real combat, Chelsea would win easily. But in a restricted spar, I’m a little worried.”
Chelsea was a battle mage.
A battle mage’s greatest trait was being able to fight up front like a knight.
But that mattered most in melee or chaotic fights.
In a one-on-one, it was harder to stand out.
Against a highly skilled knight, getting close recklessly could be a disaster.
Haviden was strong enough to be a top student in the Knight Department even if he enrolled at Lumene now.
He was arrogant because he knew he could hold his own against the upperclassmen.
Leo smirked at Carr’s words.
“Chelsea will win.”
“Yeah. The real issue is how she wins. If it gets too close, that’ll boost his reputation too much, right?”
After the Gigantes subjugation, Chelsea became world famous.
For a boy who hadn’t even enrolled in Lumene to fight her evenly would be a big deal.
That’s why Haviden wanted this match.
“If he messes up the joint class mood, it’ll be a headache,” Carr muttered, scratching his head.
“Don’t worry. Chelsea will win by a landslide.”
“What?”
“In terms of skill, Haviden isn’t bad. But overall ability isn’t just about raw strength.”
Leo watched Chelsea stretching and warming up.
When their eyes met, Chelsea smiled and waved.
Leo waved back and continued.
“Maybe the Knight Department should be nervous.”
“Huh?”
Carr’s eyes widened at Leo suddenly mentioning the Knight Department.
“They’re about to get a shock.”
—
“To think I get to duel the famous Chelsea Lewellin from the Gigantes subjugation… I guess I should be honored?”
“Of course. Go home and brag to your mom and dad.”
Chelsea grinned, tightening her grip on her staff.
Haviden sneered as he channeled his [Spirit Power].
Chelsea’s eyes twitched as she saw it.
‘Spirit Power?’
As she realized, a whirlwind erupted and a wind spirit appeared.
The wind spirit soon formed into a horse.
“Hmm.”
Watching Haviden mount the wind spirit with a flourish, Chelsea narrowed her eyes.
“Fancy trick, huh?”
“It’s an artifact passed down in our royal family.”
Haviden curled his lip.
A tool that let the user manifest a spirit in a specific form.
A rare and powerful artifact, given how difficult [Spirit Arts] are to master.
‘A spirit knight, huh. I didn’t know that.’
Even knowing about Haviden, Chelsea hesitated.
“Well, let’s see what you’ve got, Chelsea Lewellin.”
Whoosh—!
Haviden charged at incredible speed.
He gripped his spear and lunged.
Chelsea deployed her [Mana].
At blinding speed, Haviden thrust his spear at Chelsea.
But Chelsea’s body floated in the air like a leaf in the wind.
His attack missed.
Slowing his charge, Haviden grabbed the reins of the wind spirit and looked at Chelsea descending from above with a smile.
“As expected, not bad. But it won’t be easy for a mage to handle this speed.”
Looking confident, Haviden waited for Chelsea’s answer.
Chelsea smiled brightly and said,
“That’s not how you use the wind.”