"Aaaaaaaah!!"

Crash–! Stab–!

The sound rang out sharply as Rinna fell, and the short-handed sword slipped from her grasp and stabbed into the concrete floor beside her.

With her eyes half opened she straightened her head, and tried to stand up.

"...?!"

A silvery sword hovered at her throat.

"Haaaaahh… haaah…"

Rinna huffed, gasping as her chest rose and fell rapidly.

Sweat clung to her skin, and her legs weakened as she struggled to steady herself.

There was no denying it anymore.

She was exhausted. But her opponent stood directly in front of her.

His name was Cyan Miller.

A boy she had barely paid attention to before today.

Ranked 4th, just below her. He was Strong, that much was obvious now, but still. Rinna was Rank Three. She was supposed to be stronger than him?

But… This was not how it should have ended.

The duel lasted just over three minutes.

Three minutes in a weapon mastery class, where credits were awarded based on performance with one's weapon. In this scenario, where swords and control mattered more than magic, there was little reason to rely on spells at all.

Rinna knew that.

She had always known that.

Still, if this had been anything else, she would have crushed him.

She could easily overwhelm any first-year if she wanted to.

That was a fact, except for a few anomalies she would think twice before provoking.

With her near-limitless mana pool, she could cast spell after spell without exhausting herself. It would have been an easy win.

No matter the scale of the spell, she had the mana to use it through.

Even now, her mana core was far from empty.

A four-star Red Core might have limited interaction between affinities, but she knew what waited beyond all those ranks.

Once she reached White Core, and once she became a breaker, her efficiency would skyrocket unlike any. And High-class spells would be a piece of cake for her.

Since birth, one's mana capacity has been fixed. It could not be increased.

And hers was S-rank, she just needed time.

Rinna clicked her tongue softly, as frustration burned behind her eyes as she lifted her gaze.

Cyan stood there, his blade steady hovered at her throat, his breathing was controlled. And his blue eyes met hers without emotion.

"The winner is Cyan Miller!" the referee's declared.

And just like before, no one said a word.

They only stared at the black-haired boy who had just overwhelmed Rinna so completely that it left no room for doubt.

Among the top weapon masters in class S. Cyan was a two-star, sage 4 weapon master, who was proficient in swordsmen. Just a single star below Ethan.

As the referee declared, Cyan put his sword back and bowed before Rinna before stepping off the stage.

Leon looked at him, and just a brief second both their eyes met, but Cyan composedly looked the other way as if he didn't bother him.

"Cyan Miller was it…" Ethan muttered standing beside Leon, and even Alice remained stunned to speak.

He finally started to take interest.

That was good, both Ethan and Cyan were needed for this one particular arc to get triggered, which Leon wanted to let happen no matter what.

He doesn't want to change that.

"…Who is that guy?" Alice muttered, eyes still fixed on the stage. "And why does it feel like he just appeared out of nowhere. Was he always in my class?"

Leon glanced at her, unimpressed. "Cyan Miller. Ranked fourth in the first year."

He paused, then added casually, "That's above you, Alice."

Alice slowly turned her head to Leon, and glared.

"…If I didn't die in that book," she said flatly, "I swear to the fucking gods I would've had that rank."

She's still angry about that.

Leon coughed once, clearly choosing not to respond to that.

"Anyways," he said instead, shifting the topic with ease. "Looks like you two are up next."

He looked at Ethan. "Good luck. And try not to die."

Ethan laughed, stretching his shoulders. "Heh. Relax… I'll be fine."

'Yeah, sure buddy sure…' He inwardly prayed for him.

Then he turned toward Alice.

She was already looking at Leon, clearly waiting for him to wish her as well.

"..."

"..."

But, Leon said nothing.

"…What?" Alice snapped. "If you've got something to say, then say it."

Leon studied her for a second, then sighed.

"Just don't lose your head," he said calmly. "I know you get intense when you're focused, but this is still a duel."

Alice stared at him.

"…You really know how to ruin my mood don't you?"

Leon shrugged. "Someone has to keep you sane, no?"

She scoffed, turning toward the stage. "Well… Watch me win then."

— — —

The referee's voice rang out again.

Alice and Ethan stepped forward at the same time.

Leon remained where he was, standing beside Beatrix and her friends, his eyes fixed on the stage.

Both of them reached the weapon rack.

Ethan selected a single-edged sword, just under four feet long, with a matte black handle and a narrow, straight blade.

Alice, on the other hand, reached for a scythe.

These weapons would be considered great for institutional and military tasks.

Leon exhaled quietly.

'This isn't going to be clean.'

The arena-issued weapons were durable, yes. Designed to withstand standard duels between students.

But neither of them qualified as standard.

Alice stretched her arms overhead, her joints cracking softly as she rolled her shoulders once. She hopped in place twice, loose and relaxing her body, like she was about to go for a morning run rather than a duel.

Ethan flexed his fingers, then rotated his wrist slowly before gripping his sword properly.

Alice glanced at his weapon and smirked.

"You sure you want to use cheap quality gear?" she asked. "That thing might snap."

Ethan returned the smile, polite and calm.

"I could say the same to you, Miss Alice."

She whistled lightly. "Hooo. Someone's confident."

"I can't help it."

The quiet smile on Ethan's face didn't fade.

Alice noticed.

She knew his absurd ranking in class allotment exams. All the credits he had accumulated without ever drawing attention to himself.

And that only made it more interesting. Even if he was to lose this duel, he would not lose which would rip out of his name.

Both stood staring at each other.

The referee raised his hand.

"Get ready… Go!!"

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