Proofreader: Me!

  My body was covered in sweat, the wooden sword in my hand was anything but firm. The urge to fall had been transmitted through my boiling veins.

  ‘Fuck fuck fuck!’

  How was I supposed to even fight against… someone like this!?

  “Impressive, you’re quite capable despite the obvious lack of clear strength,” My foe acknowledge me at least.

  “Yeah… but, aren’t you a bit too strong?” I barely managed to retort.

  “Hahaha! I hear that a lot,” They shrugged their shoulders with a relaxed gait. “But, let’s give this bout another round shall we?”

  In an instant, the boy was merely a foot away from me. A gust of wind followed his appearance, proving that it was by pure speed alone that he disappeared from my vision.

  He swept his sword forward, a clear strike without much intent. However, I wouldn’t– couldn’t forget the teachings of Erin that had been engraved within my body and soul. I raised my arms with my strength, trying to parry his slash to the side.

  “Urgh!” I staggered, feeling my muscles burning.

  I had cast a twofold enhancement on my strength, reaching close to the peak of the tier… but it was nothing compared to that monster. The swords clashed, with mine almost collapsing. Regardless, I achieved the intended result. His balance was disrupted.

  “Woo~ You’re almost like a cockroach!” They whistled, satisfied with my defence.

  I lunged forward, using the momentum of diverting his strike to my advantage. His legs were interlocked due to placing his core all into one strike, however…

  “That was close,” He mumbled.

  He swerved his body to the left without much effort, as if he was dancing rather than fighting. In the next moment, the boy swung again with calculated movements.

  My body reacted quicker than my mind, and I took a slight step backwards. Thanks to ingrained muscle memory, I had been barely able to dodge that counterattack. Unfortunately for me, he was already back on his two feet without much trouble.

  ‘Guess I’ll have to show more of my cards…’

  If I wanted to land a solid hit, I would have to abuse all that I have. The class wasn’t about swordsmanship, but combat in its entirety.

  ‘[Magic Missile] x3 Compact edition!’

  My mana depleted by about a quarter in an instant causing me to take some deep breaths. I had compressed the firepower of more than five magic missiles into each one.

  My foe gloated, “Interesting, I’ve never seen Foundation-ranked magic that scary before!”

  Thanks to Fjleora, my control over my mana has been improving by leaps and bounds. As a result, I could do something stupid like compressing multiple spells into one. In practice, I had managed ten into one but couldn’t manage any more than that due to my inexperience in mana control.

  Feeling ready to enact my assault, I let two of the magic missiles circle me while one paved the way forward. They didn’t even try to dodge, instead, they raised their sword and cleaved down.

  It was a clean slice cutting through the mana itself… that talent wasn’t something that normal people could have.

  ‘But, that wasn’t the point! It was a mere distraction while I set up more!’

  I slid to the right side of him while another missile launched towards the other. My eyes were glued to the red spots on his arms as I made my moves.

  In response, he wasted no time in deflecting my pincer attack. From his left, he deflected my strike, and from his right, he sliced the missile in two. All of that had been achieved in a single second, something I couldn’t begin to comprehend yet.

  “That was–”

  The final missile had arrived from the sky, visibly causing his pupils to widen. Taking that short opportunity of wonder, I picked up my sword and swung in the direction of the red spot on his right forearm – the dominant side.

  “Take this!” I exclaimed as both I and the missile made contact.

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  [Critical Hit!]

  In an instant, I was thrown to the ground, while the missile blew up on his other arm. His sleeves were disintegrated with small droplets of blood forming on his left arm.

  “How’s that for a cockroach?” I grinned like a madman.

  “Pretty good, that’s for sure!” They reacted without annoyance. “Although, it stings a bit, to be honest.”

  Despite saying that, the wound on his arm was wrapped in a gentle glow of green mana.

  “That’ll do, ready for another round?” He asked politely.

  Seeing that, I spat on the ground. “Agh… I give up, each strike of yours carries the weight of a mountain, and you can heal any wound I give you.”

  “That’s a given as I was trained to do so,” The boy answered without a doubt.

  He dropped his sword, not intending to continue. On the other hand, I was extensively ashamed. I pulled out all the stops and still could only muster a small wound.

  “Sometimes, I wish you knew how to answer dishonestly,” I said earnestly.

  The boy smiled, “Trickery is for the weak!”

  I frowned, clearly hearing the sarcasm in his voice. Similarly to Fen, this guy was carefree in a sense, although he isn’t nearly as much of a battle junkie as Fen was. Rather, he became strong due to his family rather than by free will.

  “I can tell you’re joking,” I sighed.

  He held his chin, “You talk as if you know me well.”

  “You’re imagining it,” I replied without an ounce of guilt.

  Ignoring our squabble, around us a couple of dozen fights took place. If anything, we finished pretty early. The reason was obvious but also distasteful.

  My opponent was none other than the number one student, Lyuga.

  “Wait! I think I know why you’re so familiar!” He raised his voice enthusiastically.

  “You felt that way?” I questioned him.

  “Wasn’t that obvious? I’m not that talkative normally,” Lyuga looked at me with slight surprise. “Anyways, your name, it’s Luke right?”

  I nodded with a few suspicions, “Yeah, why?”

  “I knew it! Indeed, it’s as if I’ve known you for a week by now!” He stacked his hands together as if a lightbulb went off in his head. “And, to answer your curiosity, it’s probably what you’re already thinking.”

  “Julia?” I uttered.

  “Haha! You have no idea, half the time she only speaks about you. You’d think you two were a couple by the way Julz described you,” Lyuga laughed.

  “Ah…” A faint blush of embarrassment probably showed on my face.

  “The story about how you saved the Prince’s knight was honestly the most exciting,” He nodded with enthusiasm.

  “It wasn’t just me, though?” I said with hesitance.

  “Of course, but isn’t it inspiring, that the weakest one there showed the most bravery and led the others to victory?” Lyuga detailed the thought.

  “Agh! You’re trying to embarrass me aren’t you?” I exclaimed.

  “Oh, you found out,” The boy snickered.

  “Whatever, I do have a question for you though,” I shirked off the flush of my face.

  He replied carelessly, “Sure, I’ll answer if I can.”

  “Why aren’t you avoiding her?”

  That was my only question because within the game he never would do something like becoming friends with the so-called demon child. There were plenty of reasons why, but none of them were concrete enough to believe blindly.

  “Simple, I don’t believe in the rumours,” Lyuga shrugged without much of a thought.

  “Even then, as you said, aren’t you not talkative?” I tried to catch the contradiction.

  “Well, she was the first to approach me. Who would have known, that someone like her was actually such an interesting caricature,” He chuckled after answering.

  I tried to imagine that, Julia being the first to initiate conversation. For me, she was pretty awkward as wasn’t yet proficient in her act.

  “Hmm… that’s hard to imagine,” I brooded over the idea.

  “Is it?” He looked at me suspiciously. “She has a strange charisma that attracts others, although it’s been suppressed by her current situation. But, if you haven’t noticed it… then… Ooohhh!”

  Lyuga’s eyes flashed with understanding irritating my curiosity.

  “Notice what?” I pestered him to answer.

  “I won’t spoil it, she has to tell you herself,” He answered resolutely.

  I scratched my chin, feeling reluctant to answer as I figured out what he meant.

  “The truth is…”

  A voice cut me off, “Hey, Lyuga! Oh, if it isn’t this great noble’s highest servant!”

  “Julz? How was your spar?” He asked, forgetting our conversation completely.

  “It was a breeze, fitting for a noble such as I!” Julia boasted without a care.

  “Of course, of course, how could our great Duchess lose,” Lyuga nodded robotically.

  “Indeed, praise me more!” She reacted positively, not finding the hidden meaning in his tone.

  The picture became clear in my mind, it was like an older brother looking after their cute younger sister. The strongest had been reduced to a glorified babysitter.

  “You two certainly make an eccentric pair,” I acknowledged them.

  Julia showed a hint of panic, “A pair? B- but… Luke, aren’t we…?”

  Lyuga glanced between the two of us, nodding with a satisfied smile.

  ‘Can he not understand my side here!?’

  I felt that the misunderstanding wouldn’t disappear anytime soon.