#388
◈
388
Unlike Helmut, who achieved victory without much difficulty, Xian’s day, which took place on the same day, was not so smooth.
First of all, it was an unfamiliar combat situation. Even at the academy, we’ve barely had any experience with sparring.
In a limited space, the opponent has a sword. It’s also a real sword with a bright blue blade. Just by brushing against it, blood would flow freely.
Moreover, the first opponent was about three times the size of Xian and had a rugged and formidable look that looked like he had slaughtered several people.
I’ve faced Asuka, who is stronger than her, but even though Asuka is stronger, she’s a friend, so she’s an easy guy. His body stiffened with tension.
On the other hand, the opponent looked down on Xian, who not only looked good, but also had bare hands.
“Are you a wizard? “You’re lucky.”
The first opponent said that and rushed towards Xian as soon as the signal to start the game was given. I plan to subdue him before he uses magic.
Without Xian having to do anything, the spirit he had summoned in advance blocked the opponent’s attack.
“What the hell is this? “What’s stopping me!”
The other person frowned and became angry. Even when a spirit is summoned, it puts the summoner’s safety first.
He automatically knew what he had to do and tried to protect Xi’an.
However, because Xian did not have much combat experience, the spirits also had little experience attacking their opponents. This is especially true in 1-on-1 interpersonal battles.
Even when giving orders, each person had their own will, so their limbs were somehow out of sync. It was especially like that today.
‘I was nervous too.’
So far, I’ve only sparred with Asuka a few times. But in those few times, she lost so overwhelmingly that she didn’t even notice any difficulties.
Still, since the first opponent was not as strong as expected, Xian soon defeated him.
The power of the spirit, which is invisible to the naked eye, is difficult for even an intermediate level swordsman to deal with.
If you pay attention to something invisible, you will get hit directly by Xian’s attack magic and end up falling off the stage.
After defeating my opponent a few more times, I finally got the hang of it. As of now, he is a top graduate from the Faculty of Magic.
Even if he was not very skilled in interpersonal combat, his level as a wizard was not low.
‘It’s a preliminary round, so of course I have to pass this.’
Although Sian was confident, there was something he was missing.
The fact is that even in the preliminaries, unexpected strong players may be hidden.
In other words, he could meet a strong player in the preliminaries who was more than capable of advancing to the finals and could even aim for the championship.
He was Xian’s fifth opponent. If we win this much, we are on the verge of passing the preliminary round.
But for some reason, I didn’t have a good feeling.
‘Golden eyes… … ? that’s interesting.’
It was a young man. Since I had only dealt with swordsmen who looked like mountain thieves, this opponent, who had the neat appearance of a noble master and deep-set eyes for his age, seemed a bit easy.
However, when Sian stood face to face with the man on stage, she immediately changed her mind.
Although he was not very large, the opponent could feel the quiet power that resided throughout his entire body.
It applies pressure without overtly spewing out vis. He is strong.
‘I think this is enough to advance to the finals?’
How dare I meet a guy like this. Xian stiffened in alarm. Before the game started, Xian, who was observing his opponent closely, suddenly made eye contact with him.
Although the color was unique, the eyes gave off a strange feeling. A deep and heavy feeling of brilliance.
As if there was a great power lurking within it.
‘What on earth…? … ?’
He was not just an ordinary prosecutor. But it is a feeling that cannot be pinpointed. The moment I tilted my head, the signal that the game had started sounded.
And Sian faced the same moment that many of those dealing with Helmut faced.
It was as fast as a beam of light. The spirits of Xian moved immediately without waiting for orders, but the man’s sword lightly penetrated the inexperienced spirits’ movements.
Light momentarily rose from the man’s sword and then subsided.
Xian froze as he looked down at the cool blade that stopped below his neck.
What happened slowly dawned on me. A chilling shock hit her head.
‘How can you be so fast!’
I didn’t let down my guard. But he couldn’t cope. The man’s eyes suddenly took on an extremely sharp light.
It was as if he was about to cut it down and then stopped.
“I hate wizards. But you can’t commit murder in a place like this just because it’s annoying.”
The man who spat out took his sword away. It was the first loss for Xian.
The man calmly left the stage without showing any signs of victory or joy.
As if he knew he would win, of course.
My pride was hurt because I was treated like a weakling, but it was an undeniable gap. For some reason, my mind was blank.
“how… … “Did you see it?”
Sian muttered without realizing it. Before leaving, there was a dark spirit at the exact spot where the man’s gaze fell.
It was as if he saw a hidden spirit in the man’s eyes. I’m not even a spirit wizard!
This was impossible unless you reached a great level or had special abilities.
Is it an illusion? It may be that he didn’t see it, but simply sensed that the spirit was there due to his keen senses.
But his movements. Isn’t it as if the spirit’s movements were accurately read? Just by feeling… … It was subtle to say the least.
‘I know for sure that he is a very talented person.’
It sent shivers down my spine. Those golden eyes somehow didn’t seem human.
Monster? No, it felt different than that. Magi brings an instinctive sense of threat to humans.
But what I sense from that man is not sinister, but rather… … .
‘Should I say something majestic?’
“Hey, get off the stage quickly. “What are you doing?”
At that shout, Xian quickly came out of his thoughts. It was only later that the complaints about having an unlucky encounter with such a strong player in the preliminaries began to creep in.
However, the dissatisfaction was short-lived, and Xian played a few more matches and was confirmed to have passed the preliminary round.
I can’t say it was that overwhelming, but other than that one time, it wasn’t that difficult.
“He was a strange person.”
After finishing the preliminaries, Xian brought up the story to Asuka.
About the man who is clearly a man of great talent, yet gives an unknown feeling.
Of course, Asuka did not listen to Xian’s words.
“Aren’t you mistaken? It’s hard to give meaning to your opponent just because you lost. I guess he’s just a bit strong. Still, it won’t work for me.”
“It’s not that, it really felt strange.”
Asuka lightly dismissed Xian’s protest. It was a long-awaited opportunity to give Sian a hard time.
“I’m embarrassed to lose in the preliminaries. You know that if you lose once in the finals, it’s over, right? Aren’t you eliminated as soon as you go up? “Don’t tarnish the name of Greta Academy!”
“What kind of ink paint is that! “You’re participating under an assumed name anyway.”
“Don’t disgrace my name! “You are now competing as Asuka!”
Eventually, their conversation turned into a pointless argument. Naturally, thoughts about that strange man were pushed to the back of Sian’s mind.
Area’s preliminaries were the next day.
Area, who proudly walked up the stage wearing a white wizard’s robe, looked like a noble lady who had competed in a martial arts competition once and had learned some magic. She naturally attracted attention.
‘Do you think martial arts competitions are a joke?’
‘Both dogs and cows participate.’
Area’s opponent also looked down on her.
“Violet? She’s a girl with a strange name. “She looks like a magician, but there’s no way she’s considered beautiful.”
Area didn’t even respond to the other person, as if she saw something insignificant. As soon as the match started, the opponent who looked down on Area was knocked out with a single blast of magic.
Quagwang!
The person who was unconscious and squirming looked like he was seriously injured.
“That’s boring.”
There was no one who could answer her feelings. Those who watched her with interest also opened their mouths at the power of her magic that she showed.
‘Violet’, or rather Area, who walked down from the stage majestically became the main topic of discussion that day.
It was a topic of conversation no less than the ‘strange guy in a mask who knocked out his opponent with his fist even while wearing a sword’, which had previously confirmed his advancement to the finals.
Area overwhelmingly finished the preliminaries that day. Xian, who had been watching her play, asked, filled with doubt.
“How did you shorten the magic casting time so much?”
“Artifact.”
Area held out her wrist. A golden bracelet with magic stones sparkled between the sleeves.
“Even if you use a magic tool… … ?”
“It’s an object that has the potential to be effective. Approved by the Wizards Association. Prosecutors also use swords, right? “It is fair for wizards to be able to use the minimum number of tools.”
Area said as if it was obvious. She had prepared thoroughly according to her provisions.
The use of artifacts is important for wizards. That was also a skill.
However, the use of overly effective magic tools was prohibited so that lack of skill could not be compensated for with expensive and good items.
Area made a suitable item herself along the lines that would be approved by the Wizards Association.
Xian, who couldn’t even think about whether it was a magic tool or something, felt mortified.
“Why are you the only one who knows?”
“You didn’t even ask, right? “Why don’t you get it and get it approved now?”
Area responded coldly. Even if her game results were good, she was not particularly friendly. Asuka chimed in, laughing.
“I know. If your skills are lacking, you should at least be prepared. Hey, are you the only one among us who has lost even once? This is why I can’t be second chair. “How can you lose in the preliminaries and not the finals?”
“… … Asuka, you.”
Xian prayed that the unknown man would meet Ascana Area in the finals.
For some reason, it seemed like that man could defeat these two arrogant men.
Asuka was the only one who watched Xian’s game. At least he didn’t see the man because he only watched the game behind him.
Helmut and Alea also did not recognize him yet.
But now it’s the finals. If it is not an illusion that he is a very talented person, he will definitely come up and meet him at a high place.
It was only a matter of time before they met face to face.
