"Panting..."

"Huff... puff..."

Luna and Rie's labored breaths echoed in the forest.

Both were a sight, roughed up and on their last legs.

Rie had endured a strong blow from Luna's cube.

Naturally, she had done all she could to hold off with Sylph.

Guardian Spirit.

It's a trick where the elemental infuses itself into the elementalist, shielding them from harm.

It's the strongest defense an elementalist has.

Still, even this could only hold up for so long.

Sylph took a major blow and was consequently sent back.

Luna had just about survived Rie's attack with the fortify spell.

She was still a rookie with her spellbook and had failed in controlling her mana efficiently.

But, the battle was far from over.

Shaking, Luna tried to pull out a scroll from her belt.

"Up, Wind Cutter...!"

Rie attempted to stop her with magic.

"Ah...!"

Luna tried to fend off the attack with her robe, but it was already in tatters.

"Ugh..."

It failed to stop Rie's magic, and Luna took a direct hit in her stomach.

"Uh..."

Seeing this, Rie winced.

Even though she wasn't on the receiving end, Luna's pained expression stirred something unpleasant in her.

"Luna...!"

Suddenly, Riku dashed forward.

"Waterball!"

Rie tried to evade the magic.

However, her body was feeble, and she could only dodge clumsily, almost tripping.

"Ugh!"

Rie dropped to the ground to dodge the attack.

That's when Petro came running from behind.

"Rie! A potion...!"

"Ugh..."

Without a second's delay, Rie pressed the potion Petro handed her to her lips.

"Luna! Potion!"

Ena quickly sprinted over, trying to offer Luna a potion.

"Fire Arrow!"

Even while drinking the potion, Rie promptly cast her magic.

"Wha! Stone Wall!"

However, Riku was quick and blocked the magic.

"Ugh..."

"Huff...!"

They both downed the potion, but their conditions weren't equal.

While Rie rose, Luna couldn't even prop herself up.

Luna's injuries were graver than Rie's, and she had burned through more mana.

Even if they were both healing, their recovery rates wouldn't match.

"Fire s..."

Rie, without even rising to her feet, attempted to cast her magic.

The most powerful magic she could use.

She planned to end the match in one swift blow.

That's when it happened.

"That's enough."

Out of nowhere, a hand clamped down on Rie's wrist.

"The match is over. Luna has lost. I won't allow any more fighting."

It was a teaching assistant.

The teaching assistant, who was also the match referee, stepped in and stopped Rie.

"Sigh..."

Hearing these words, Rie sighed.

And she staggered towards Luna.

Rie was on the edge of crying.

"Luna... I'm sorry..."

Standing in front of Luna, Rie apologized.

At the same time, Luna's eyes welled up too.

She bit her lip and sat down where she was.

Then, she turned her gaze towards Rie.

As she looked at Rie, Luna's lips tightened.

Rie was nervous.

She was worried that their friendship would suffer because of this.

Seeing Rie's worried face, Luna shook her head.

Then she wiped away the tears pooling in her eyes.

With a weak smile and a note of determination in her voice, Luna declared.

"Next time... I won't lose next time...!"

As Luna uttered these words, relief washed over Rie's face.

Luna instead challenged her for a future match.

She declared her intent to win if they were to fight again...

Just as Rie had done herself after losing in the individual assessment.

For Rie, it felt like a worthy rival had emerged.

Just like soil hardening after rainfall, she felt a new bond forming between Luna and herself.

Rie extended her hand to Luna.

"I'll win next time too."

As Rie said this with a smile, Luna returned a weak smile.

Then Luna tried to rise, accepting the hand Rie offered.

"Kyack..."

When Luna grabbed her hand, Rie let out a strange whimper.

An odd sound...

The noise signaled the potion's effect kicking in, and the delayed-effect drug had fully run its course.

Actually, Rie's body had started to heat up earlier, but her survival instinct had been stronger than her desire, so it had been somewhat suppressed.

However, as the tension eased, the effects of the potion began to resurface.

"Uh..."

Rie started to look around at the others.

"Im... not that kind of person..."

Tears brimmed in Rie's eyes.

"Can I get an antidote..."

"Ah, here it is..."

Reacting to Rie's desperate plea, Ena began to dig through her bag.

"You can't."

But, the teaching assistant blocked her action.

"Luna's already been disqualified. You can't interfere with the practical."

"H... what?"

Rie stared at the teaching assistant, more shocked than when the cube had sprung open beneath her.

"Please. I..."

Rie pleaded with the teaching assistant, desperation written across her face.

The teaching assistant then posed a question to Rie.

"Then, are you willing to forfeit?"

"Uh..."

That was out of the question.

She had just defeated Luna's team.

How could she forfeit now?

"Uh... Ugh..."

All Rie could do was stand there, tears filling her eyes.

"That... I'm sorry."

Ena scratched her head.

Someone had been observing the entire situation from the start.

"Hmm..."

Those hidden amidst the trees, observing the duel between Luna and Rie, belonged to Anton Fred's team.

Anton concealed his large frame behind a tree, watching the fight unfold.

Noting Rie's staggering figure, his teammate turned to him.

"Anton! What's our move? Princess Rie seems in poor condition. Should we strike?"

Ignoring his teammate's question, Anton found himself deep in thought.

An idea tickled the edges of his mind, elusive and evasive...

Anton murmured under his breath.

"Where have I... seen this before?"

Luna's spellbook.

The strong, radiant light of magic bursting forth from the book.

Casting magic through a book...

"Where did I come across this..."

"Anton!"

"Huh, yes?"

Anton snapped out of his reverie as his teammate tugged at his clothes.

"We should seize this chance to attack Princess Rie! After such an intense battle, she's..."

Anton studied Rie.

She was visibly tired, but something didn't quite add up.

Anton spoke up.

"We retreat."

"What? This is our chance..."

"No!"

Anton smacked his round belly for emphasis.

"We're dealing with Princess Rie here. That Princess Rie."

"Yes..."

"Do you honestly believe Princess Rie would leave herself so vulnerable?"

Anton's teammate glanced between Rie and Anton.

"It's a trap!"

"Huh?"

"She's feigning weakness to lower our guard! There's no way Princess Rie would be this distressed after a fight with a nobody from a no-name family!"

Anton's teammate gave a sheepish smile.

Luna Railer, who was Rie's opponent, is a top-tier student at the academy.

Even for someone as formidable as Princess Rie, defeating Luna would not have been an easy feat.

Looking at Rie's expression, it wasn't a pretense.

She genuinely seemed exhausted.

However, for the time being, his teammate decided to trust Anton's instincts.

"Ah, as expected, it's Anton!"

"Hmm hmm!"

Anton heaved his body into motion.

"Let's move on."

"Right..."

His teammate fell in step behind him.

As they went elsewhere, Anton continued to murmur to himself.

"Where did I see it..."

"Damn it."

I swiftly sidestepped Evan's sword.

Even a mere graze from it could be lethal... or more precisely, it could cause my mana to fluctuate.

That wouldn't just result in critical injury; it would be defeat.

"Huff!"

"Finger of the Demon!"

I cast my spell just as Evan's sword seemed poised to strike me.

In response, Evan retracted his blade, evading my magic.

"Ah, I didn't expect it to be this tough."

In the game, as I experienced it from Evan's perspective, I failed to understand how formidable that ability was.

After all, his sword only needs to make contact with the magic to nullify it.

I had considered it somewhat flawed.

But now, I understood the difficulty in targeting the body.

If magic so much as grazed the sword, it would disintegrate like dust.

Why did such an overpowering ability exist...?

Evan persistently lunged at me with his blade.

The classic strategy of a swordsman against a wizard.

Forcing close-quarters combat was the most effective approach.

Evan raised his sword to strike once more.

I smirked knowingly.

"Why play the swordsman when you're truly a wizard?"

I continued casting spells while maintaining distance.

So, Evan relentlessly tried to bridge the gap.

His aggressive forward push was bound to create an opening.

Rather than dodging outwards, I stepped into Evan's inner circle.

Evan's eyes widened at my manoeuvre.

I channelled mana into my clenched fist.

"Huh..."

While swiveling my body to the left, I aimed a right punch at Evan's flank.

-Boom!!!

"Huh!"

My fist connected with Evan's side.

A resonating thud echoed from Evan's flank as he was hurled sideways into a tree.

"Kuh!"

"I'm closer to a swordsman than you'll ever be."

Evan might have trained his physique and handled a sword, but at his core, he was a wizard.

On the other hand, I'd adopted the discipline of a swordsman to master the techniques imparted by Borval.

That was a different level compared to an amateur in swordplay.

Hence, I held the upper hand in agility and bodily coordination.

"Ugh..."

Evan hauled himself up, nursing his side where my punch had made its impact.

Despite the powerful blow, he managed to get back up.

It felt like his ribs had given way...

"I feel like the antagonist now..."

The antagonist who strikes at the hero, and the hero who overcomes it.

Thinking that this was inside a game made me a little more anxious.

Evan stood upright, leveling his sword at me.

"I won't be defeated..."

I scowled at the sight.

"Awakening events are not welcome..."

Evan started accumulating mana in his free hand, the one devoid of the sword.

Simultaneously, the surrounding trees began to rustle.

Evan's unique mid-tier magic.

A spell that manipulated the environment, animals or plants.

Eco-magic.

The trunks of the trees started to shift, homing in on me.

"Ugh...!"

I maneuvered my body to evade the animated plants.

The plant stems were swift, albeit lacking flexibility.

Their movements overlapped, twisting around each other.

However, that wasn't the problem.

"Huff!"

Once again, Evan brandished his sword and charged at me.

The plants and Evan.

Avoiding both seemed impossible.

I amassed mana in my fist.

Crack.

As I snapped the incoming plant stems with my fist, I dodged Evan's blade, contorting my body.

As I continued to channel mana into my fist to deflect the plants, the energy consumption was immense.

At this pace, I'd deplete my reserves before Evan.

I began hunting for an opening in Evan's defenses again.

I'd landed a hit once before; there was no reason I couldn't do it again.

With narrowed eyes, I scrutinized Evan.

Evan steadied his sword, aiming for my shoulder.

A big move.

I didn't miss this gap and put power into my fist.

Taking a hit to the shoulder to deliver a significant blow to Evan seemed a worthy trade.

Sacrifice flesh to gain bone....

It was at that moment I clenched my fist and lunged.

I felt something snagging my ankle as I propelled forward.

"Ah..."

A tree root emerged, expertly tripping me up.

Seeing this, Evan flashed a triumphant grin.

That's when I realized that Evan had intentionally created this opening.

Regardless of my training, my body remained that of a wizard.

A regular human body.

So, with my ankle already ensnared by the tree root, I was unable to make any additional maneuvers.

Had I known, I could have infused my foot with mana and snapped the root on my way, but my body was already tumbling forward.

"Damn it..."

My ankle was tangled in the root, pitching me forward.

And Evan's blade swooped towards my shoulder.

In that split-second, I made a rapid decision.

"Priscilla!!!"