Chapter 28
“I will announce the order for the first match.”
Violet unfolded the lot in her hand.
“From the Golden Lion dormitory, Cedric. From the White Wolf dormitory, Leila.”
The first match would be a battle between the top-ranked members of each dorm.
Yohan glanced over at Cedric.
Although Cedric seemed tense, Yohan knew that once the match began, he would show a completely different side.
Yohan knew Cedric better than anyone—perhaps even better than Cedric knew himself.
So Yohan was certain.
‘This match will be a loss.’
With the competition being best of three, it meant the first side to win two matches would claim victory.
From Yohan’s perspective, there were essentially only two opportunities left.
Cedric losing to anyone?
That was simply unimaginable.
“Leila, take this first.”
Geron approached where Yohan, Kyle, and Leila were gathered, and held out a necklace to Leila.
She accepted it and immediately put it around her neck.
For a moment, the necklace vibrated slightly, and a shield flashed briefly around Leila’s body before vanishing.
“Now, during the match, any magic directed at you will be blocked by the shield.”
Leila nodded in acknowledgment.
“We don’t have any intel on Cedric, so I’m not sure what advice to give you. Just go in with the mindset of taking down your opponent and do your best.”
With no further advice to offer, Geron gave her a thumbs-up.
It appeared a bit odd for such a big, muscular man, easily twice Leila’s size, to be giving a thumbs-up, but no one paid it any mind.
Cedric stepped forward from the opposite side.
Leila grasped her magic pen at her waist, ready for the fight, and advanced as well.
‘I don’t even know who to cheer for.’
Leila was a mysterious individual from the same White Wolf dorm as Yohan.
And Cedric was the protagonist of Yohan’s original work, but currently, he was an opponent from the Golden Lion dorm.
Whom should he support?
As Yohan pondered this, Leila and Cedric met in the middle and shook hands.
The duel was about to begin.
Yohan let out a long breath as he watched.
“Yohan.”
“Hm?”
While watching Cedric and Leila exchange greetings at the center, Kyle spoke up beside him.
“Who do you think will win?”
“Well, I’d like Leila to win, but…”
Honestly, it would be tough for her to defeat Cedric.
The question was more about how much of a fight Leila could put up—whether Cedric would win with some difficulty or easily overpower her.
And then—
“Let’s begin.”
Violet announced, and the magic pens of both Cedric and Leila began to move.
——-
“Invisibility.”
Leila was the first to cast a spell.
Cedric had been preparing a defensive spell in anticipation of an attack, but Leila’s choice was not to attack—it was to vanish.
An invisibility spell.
It utilized three attributes: ‘Light,’ ‘Refraction,’ and ‘Camouflage.’
It was a 3-star spell.
Of course, it didn’t grant perfect invisibility.
The surrounding students could faintly see Leila’s figure, and if Cedric focused, he would notice some rippling in the air despite the lack of clarity.
But—
‘He’s flustered.’
Cedric was a mage of common birth.
He had never properly learned magic, and it was only after the headmaster discovered his talent that he was brought to the academy.
Since dueling itself was unfamiliar to him, having his opponent suddenly vanish in front of him was enough to throw him off.
Cedric would eventually learn from such experiences and grow quickly, but this was still the start of the semester.
No matter how much of a protagonist’s advantage he had, being momentarily flustered in such a situation wasn’t surprising.
Yohan, too, was impressed by Leila’s decision.
‘She’s more battle-savvy than I thought.’
Although he still believed Cedric would win the duel, it seemed Leila might at least land a significant blow.
Even now, despite being caught off guard, Cedric knew exactly what to do.
He quickly moved his magic pen and drew a magic circle in the air as fast as he could.
It was only a simple 1-star spell though.
“Fire.”
Cedric cast the spell, and—
Fwoosh!
A large flame erupted and instantly spread across the arena before vanishing quickly.
Since it was a magic attack, Leila’s necklace activated, and her invisibility spell was dispelled.
“What is she doing?”
Geron muttered in disbelief.
Leila’s choice to use an invisibility spell from the beginning was a clever tactic.
However, Cedric wasn’t the protagonist for nothing.
What made Cedric so formidable was the way he utilized mana.
He didn’t employ a special technique like the Hart family’s mana cultivation that would change the nature of his mana, like Yohan.
However…
‘The amount of mana he uses is insane.’
While others might be casting spells with a cup of water, Cedric felt like he was casting with an entire water tank.
His mana reserves were dozens of times greater than those of the average freshman.
“He can get that kind of power from a simple fire spell?”
It was just a 1-star spell. It was designed to use a small amount of mana and had a weak effect.
Although it was not impossible to exceed the standard power level of a spell, magic was generally designed according to specific tiers.
Each tier had a set mana usage, and casting a spell with more mana than that predetermined amount was…
‘Inefficient.’
Incredibly so. It was not just about wasting mana. To control that vast amount of mana and cast a spell without backlash, a high level of mana control was required.
Rather than fine-tuned control, what’s needed was the sheer ‘power’ to handle such an enormous amount of mana.
In conclusion, no matter how much mana was poured in, it generally didn’t result in magic of such a large scale.
‘And yet Cedric does it as if it’s the most natural thing.’
It was no wonder everyone was astonished.
Cedric, the protagonist of Arcana Academy, always fought this way.
While others precisely aimed their water guns, Cedric used his sheer mana reserves to dump a bucket of water on his opponent.
And then, while his opponent was caught off guard, he would cast another spell.
“Fire.”
Once again, the same spell.
A 1-star spell, ‘Fire,’ was cast.
A large flame surged toward Leila.
As the fire bore down on her, Leila hastily moved her magic pen.
“Ice Wall!”
A massive wall of ice formed in front of her.
A 2-star defensive spell.
The rapidly rising ice shield protected Leila, but as the relentless flames continued, the wall slowly began to melt.
Leila gritted her teeth, trying to hold out, but eventually…
Crash.
The ice wall couldn’t withstand the flames and eventually crumbled.
The fire engulfed Leila.
She tried to raise her magic pen once more, but it was already too late.
As she retreated to escape the blaze…
“Cedric wins!”
In the end, Leila stepped out of the designated dueling area.
“Well, there’s not much you can do against that.”
Seeing Leila approaching with her fists clenched in frustration, Geron raised his hands and clapped.
“You did well. You showed good instincts and fought well, but you just had a tough opponent.”
If it hadn’t been Cedric with his overwhelming mana reserves, Leila would have likely won.
It was simply a matter of a bad matchup.
Despite Geron’s encouragement, Leila only nodded once in acknowledgment without saying a word.
——
With the duel between the first-ranked students over, the Golden Lion dorm became more confident.
“I’d never heard of him before, but there’s a reason he made it to the top. Well done.”
“Cedric? He doesn’t have any formal title, does he?”
“The first match was the one we were most uncertain about, and now that we’ve won it, there’s not much to worry about. We’re going to win for sure.”
They were all betting on their own victory for the remaining matches, and their reasoning was fairly logical.
For one—
“I heard the White Wolf dorm’s third-ranked student is the son of some trading company owner? He specializes in non-combat magic, right?”
“Kyle? I bet he’s never been in a magical duel in his life.”
The consensus was that the Golden Lion dorm would win the third match without much trouble.
Even Violet didn’t have any particular concerns about the third match.
The real issue was—
‘The second match.’
The focus of the second match was Haverto.
He was regarded as one of the most talented among the central nobility and had been seen as a rising star from a young age. His skills were considerable, but…
‘Though his mentality seems a bit underdeveloped.’
Violet glanced briefly at Haverto, thinking to herself.
Frankly, while Haverto’s magical abilities were certainly not lacking, when she spoke to him briefly, she sensed that perhaps because he’d been under the spotlight since childhood, he had an odd attitude—
‘He has a fair amount of talent but seems to think he’s some kind of genius.’
Of course, it was true that Haverto’s talent was impressive compared to others, but to the extent that he could be called a genius?
Not quite.
One could more fittingly attach the label of ‘genius’ to Cedric, who participated in the first match. While Haverto might not be a genius, he was still a promising talent with considerable magical ability.
As a result, he received ample support from his family and had plenty of experience in magical duels.
Normally, Violet would have confidently predicted Haverto’s victory.
But right now, there was one reason she felt uneasy.
It was the fact that Haverto’s opponent was Yohan Hart.
‘That guy is dangerous.’
Yohan wasn’t just the delinquent of the Hart family as the rumors suggested.
In fact, the way he presented himself was quite the opposite.
He was quick in judgment with a natural combat instinct. He was definitely not someone who deserved the label of a troublemaker.
If such rumors had spread labeling him as the ‘Hart family’s delinquent,’ it likely meant…
‘The rumors were intentional.’
Violet couldn’t know for sure why such rumors had been spread, but it appeared highly likely that either Yohan or the Hart family intentionally propagated those stories.
She let out a long sigh, glancing back and forth between Yohan and Kyle.
Seeing Geron moving to the center again, Violet also made her way to the middle of the arena.
But she couldn’t stop thinking.
‘For a clean win, it would be best if the next match were the third-ranked duel.’
If they drew lots for the third-ranked match this time, that would secure an advantage.
“So, we will now proceed with drawing lots for the next match.”
Geron extended his hand towards Violet.
Violet looked at the two slips of paper resting in Geron’s hand and then reached out to pick one.
“And the contestants for the next match are…”