NOVEL NEXT Chapter 82
After that, the schedule wasn’t anything special.
They had meals, walked the streets, and sat in cafes, chatting about all sorts of trivial things.
Of course, for the two of them, that was more than enough for a good time.
So, after finishing dinner, they started heading towards the Academy.
“Speaking of which, Rudell.”
“Huh? What is it?”
“You said you’ve been hunting those church folks for a while now.”
“Yeah, I did.”
Now, what was there to hide?
Since he had already revealed most of the facts, including Shadow Magic, Rudell nodded at her question.
“Hmm…”
At his answer, Leje seemed to ponder for a moment before narrowing her eyes at him.
“Then. How strong are you?”
“Huh? Why the sudden question…”
Having said that much, Rudell seemed to realize something with an ah sound.
And then, with a faint smile on his lips, he said,
“Well… I might not be able to win against you as you are now?”
Considering her strength from the original story, it was clear that their fight wouldn’t even be a contest at this level.
But, it would still take a few more years to reach that point.
The title of the strongest in the world was earned through many trials and obstacles, overcoming them all.
“Oh ho…? Is that so? You look pretty confident!”
At that, Leje looked at him with a smile, clearly interested.
Given her competitive nature, her reaction was only natural.
Watching her, Rudell gave a low chuckle.
“Want to have a spar if you’re so eager?”
“Oh ho? Feeling confident, are we?”
Generally, the duel between a swordsman and a mage leaned toward the swordsman’s advantage.
But Rudell had something he relied on.
That was Shadow Magic.
There was no need for significant incantations, and the activation speed was almost instantaneous.
Plus, unlike regular magic, it had physical properties that could adequately respond to swordsmen’s attacks.
“You say that, but I can’t back down now, can I?”
Just as Rudell expected, Leje fired up her competitive spirit and said that.
“Let’s hurry! I can’t wait anymore!”
“Yee~ Yes, we should hurry.”
Thus, watching Leje hurry ahead, Rudell quickened his pace toward the Academy.
*
A little later, late at night.
In the training grounds of the Academy.
“By the way, is it okay to do this?”
“What do you mean?”
Leje, tightening the straps of her leather armor, tilted her head at Rudell’s question.
“Isn’t it supposed to require permission to use the training ground? Aren’t we supposed to get approval?”
“I got the approval ages ago. We just need to clean up well afterwards.”
Since they had the permission to use it freely during after-school hours, it wasn’t a problem she worried about.
“Hmm…”
Given the situation, Rudell couldn’t help but feel tense.
No matter how overpowered Shadow Magic was, she had the potential to become the strongest in the world.
With her personality, she wouldn’t hold back, so he had to take this more seriously than ever.
“Alright, shall we start?”
“Sure.”
After a moment, she finished preparing and picked up a wooden sword from the weapon rack in one corner of the training ground.
And as she aimed her sword at him, Rudell let out a short sigh and nodded.
“What rules shall we go by? First Blood? Or a knockdown?”
“No need for a knockdown; we’re just sparring, remember?”
A knockdown required incapacitating the opponent completely, while First Blood only required drawing blood.
There was no necessity for that severity between them.
“That’s true, then let’s go with First Blood.”
Leje said as she slowly readied her stance opposite Rudell.
Rudell observed her and began drawing on his magic power.
“By the way, isn’t it kind of boring if we just do this?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
Rudell frowned, puzzled by her statement. What’s boring about sparring?
“I say, why not make a bet while we’re at it?”
“A bet? All of a sudden?”
“The loser has to grant the winner one wish. How about that?”
“Hmm…”
Rudell let out a low groan as he looked at Leje, who was winking at him.
It was too sudden, and he had no idea what kind of wish she might ask for.
Of course, Rudell had no reason to accept such a proposal…
“Are you scared you might lose?”
“Of course not.”
With Leje next to him, he had also become pretty serious about winning.
“No backing out later!”
“That’s a given.”
With her holding the sword, Leje got into her stance, and Rudell, too, drew on his magic power while watching her.
“Want me to give you time to chant the spell?”
“I don’t need it.”
“Oh~ feeling confident, huh? I won’t go easy if you regret it!”
“I won’t regret it.”
In Rudell’s eyes, her strength was barely above that of a Duke.
Their odds were about 4:6, a match worth trying.
“You’ve gotta bring it on.”
At his words, Leje smiled faintly and gripped her sword tighter.
Then, a brief silence settled between them.
The moon, previously hidden by clouds, began to shine brightly around them…
“Hah!!”
As a signal, Leje charged toward Rudell at high speed, swinging her sword.
“Hah!!”
The wooden sword glowing with blue magic aimed at Rudell’s waist, and he pushed off the ground.
At the same time, his shadow exploded forth, creating numerous spikes.
“Tch…!!”
Leje clicked her tongue, kicking off the ground to widen the distance while looking at him in surprise.
“Not bad!?”
“I’ve put in quite a bit of effort, you know.”
Even the best gear wouldn’t matter if the user were inexperienced; its value would drop.
Shadow Magic was indeed remarkable, but the skill to wield it entirely depended on Rudell’s effort.
“Alright! Then I’ll go all out too!”
“Bring it on.”
Leje’s body began to radiate with magical light, and with a serious expression, she charged at Rudell once more.
With a speed much faster than before, Rudell waved his hand toward the air.
Following his motion, the spikes of shadow surged towards her, but she skillfully dodged the spikes and closed the distance.
“…”
As the distance between them shrank, anxiousness appeared on Rudell’s face.
In close combat against someone with her monstrous physical capabilities, he would be at a significant disadvantage.
He needed to create some distance to properly face her.
“Hah…!!”
Once again, channeling magic power, Rudell extended his arm.
In response to his movements, a far greater number of shadow spikes shot towards her…
“Is this all you’ve got?!”
Leje shouted as she dodged and deflected the falling shadow spikes.
Scrape! Scrape!
Sounds of metal scraping came from her wooden sword as it collided with the shadow spikes.
‘Is that wood?!’
Rudell wore a dumbfounded expression at the unbelievable sound coming from the wooden sword.
He had heard that weapons infused with magic became stronger, but seeing it in action for the first time left him shocked.
“Looks like you’re still thinking, huh!?”
“Oh no…!!”
In the meantime, she’d closed the distance in an instant and shouted at Rudell.
With a flustered expression, Rudell raised a finger, and a wave of shadow rose from the ground, forming a shield in front of him.
Leje’s sword clashed against the shadow shield, sparking with the sound of metal colliding.
“You can’t block me with that level of shield!!”
As she cried out, Leje infused her sword with magic, causing it to glow even brighter as it began splitting Rudell’s shadow shield.
“Tch…!!”
Watching that unfold, Rudell clicked his tongue.
The sole weakness of Shadow Magic was light.
While a little magical light wasn’t enough to impact his magic, the real problem was how powerful Leje’s magic was.
The sheer amount of magic she had matched the might of her glowing wooden sword, which shone like a sword made of light, and the shadow shield was gradually cracking under that pressure.
At this rate, Rudell’s defeat seemed certain.
‘Whatever, who cares…!!’
While trying to brainstorm a counter, Rudell decided to just go all out and unleashed his magic power.
At that very moment, the shadow shield, now starved of magic, let out a crackle and began to break apart…
“WAAAAH!!”
With a battle cry, Leje split the shadow shield completely.
But…
“Uh, where did he go!?”
Rudell was nowhere to be seen.
The next moment.
“I think I’ve won.”
Leje heard Rudell’s voice behind her, feeling something cold touch her cheek.
And just like that, the outcome was determined.