Chapter 46
After the Academic Year Battle Awards Ceremony, there were two noticeable changes.
The first was how other students viewed me.
Previously, most of the students looked at me with disdain, but now, things were different.
There were still a few, like Kane Hover, who continued to view me unfavorably. However, the majority of students no longer looked at me as harshly as before.
In fact, the public opinion of me had improved.
I was seen as the key player who led the first-year class to victory in the Academic Year Battle.
The unprecedented record of a first-year class achieving first place seemed to have elevated me in their eyes, to the point where some even praised me for it.
The second change, however, was something I felt much closer to home.
“I’m heading out first!”
“Huh? You’re leaving?”
“Yeah. I have something to do later.”
“… You’re busy again today, huh.”
It was Cynthia Surplus’s attitude.
Ever since the awards ceremony, Cynthia had been subtly avoiding the members of the Academic Year Battle team.
Even today, when we had all planned to have dinner together after our classes, Cynthia made the excuse of being busy and skipped out yet again.
Aside from times when she had no choice, like during class, Cynthia deliberately kept her distance from us.
Even when we were together, she barely spoke.
It was a sight unimaginable before.
When the four of us were together, Cynthia was usually the most talkative.
“Hey, come on. You can at least join us for one meal today.”
“… Sorry! I really have something urgent.”
Cynthia said that and left in a hurry, almost as if fleeing.
Watching her violet hair quickly disappear into the distance, neither I nor Elaine nor Emily could say anything.
I thought we would grow closer after experiencing the Academic Year Battle together, but with Cynthia, it was the opposite.
Meanwhile, I had grown closer to Emily.
“Why do you think she’s acting like that?”
“Yeah, seriously.”
“Is it something I did? Did I mess up somehow…?”
“No, Emily. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Elaine quickly reassured Emily as she mumbled worriedly.
‘I didn’t think it would last this long.’
I had a vague sense that Cynthia felt guilty for not fulfilling her role during the battle.
But I hadn’t expected it to drag on like this.
It had already been over a week since the Academic Year Battle ended, and the topic was starting to fade among the students.
“What should we do? I actually arranged today’s dinner specifically for Cynthia.”
“Well, I guess it’ll just be the three of us again…”
“Ryu.”
“Yeah?”
Just as I resigned myself to the idea that it would be the three of us eating together again, someone called my name from behind.
The voice was filled with hostility.
“What’s this about?”
It was Kane Hover.
Kane stood with his arms crossed, a smug expression on his face, and an unpleasant smile that I didn’t care to see.
What’s his deal all of a sudden?
“I challenge you to a duel.”
“…Out of nowhere?”
“I’m going to expose the truth about how you cheated during the entrance exam and the Academic Year Battle.”
“…”
His words were so absurd that I didn’t even feel like responding.
I may have hit him a little hard on the first day, but this guy was glaring at me with a look of hatred, as if I had killed his family.
“No thanks.”
“D-Don’t run away! Running away will only prove you cheated!”
“You’re probably the only one who thinks that.”
“…”
Kane bit his lip and couldn’t reply.
Even he, as a fellow student at the Academy, couldn’t possibly be unaware of the current atmosphere.
The Academy’s sentiment had become very favorable toward me.
“Look, just give it up. You’ll only end up knocked out again if we fight.”
“Urgh…! Shut up!”
Fwoosh!
“Whoa! Watch out!”
Without warning, flames erupted from Kane’s hand.
Elaine instinctively stepped back and drew her sword, while Emily naturally positioned herself behind Elaine, staring at Kane with anxious eyes.
‘Ah, this idiot, seriously.’
Kane’s hands were wreathed in fire as he glared at me with burning anger.
I was already in a bad mood because of the Cynthia situation, and now Kane’s aggressive antics only made it worse.
I guess I’ll have to teach him another lesson today.
“You’re the one starting this, right?”
“Hmph. Looks like you’ve finally made up your mind.”
Kane Hover smirked unpleasantly and stretched out his hand toward me.
I gestured for Elaine to step back as I took a step forward.
Just looking at Kane’s smug expression was starting to make me angry.
Normally, I would’ve stopped at teaching him a light lesson, but today, I decided to go a little harder.
“You’re hopeless.”
“If you’re counting on luck like last time, you’ll regret it.”
Fwoosh!
Kane Hover spoke as he intensified the flames flickering in his hands.
With literal fists of fire, Kane began to draw upon his mana as I prepared my stance.
‘Looks like he’s been practicing.’
Unlike the first day of the semester, Kane quickly conjured Hover’s Firebird.
This time, it wasn’t some shapeless mess—it was a fairly well-formed firebird.
Not just one, but three.
“Die!!”
Fwoosh!
The firebirds Kane conjured flapped their wings and flew toward me.
Even from a distance, the heat was palpable. It was certainly stronger than before.
‘How should I respond to thoroughly crush his pride?’
To me, it was nothing more than the work of a student.
As I watched the three firebirds rushing toward me, I considered the best way to counter them.
Whoosh!
The answer came quickly.
Teleporting or dodging like last time would be too lenient.
To truly shatter Kane’s pride, I had to face his full-force magic head-on and obliterate it.
Unlike Kane, I didn’t need any complicated calculations.
After all, I was a “mage” now.
Simply by willing it, mana gathered around my hands, and the air began to swirl.
The wind that coalesced at my fingertips sharpened instantly and moved with incredible speed, far faster than the incoming firebirds.
Boom!
“W-What the…!”
The firebirds, flapping toward me, were split cleanly in half by the blades of wind and lost their forms entirely.
With a sound like bursting balloons, the three firebirds vanished into the air.
Kane stepped back in panic, clearly startled by the destruction of his firebirds.
His reaction alone showed how inexperienced he was in combat.
To be so visibly flustered when your attack fails—it was obvious.
Tsk.
There was no need to use Spatial Movement.
I leapt toward Kane, who was too rattled to plan his next move.
Startled, he instinctively crossed his flame-wreathed hands in a defensive posture.
He had probably conjured the flames to block my punches.
Whoosh!
From Kane’s perspective, he likely thought that his flames would stop me.
But he was completely wrong.
“Huh? Huhhh?”
Fwoosh!
“Just one hit this time, okay?”
Kane’s flames weren’t nearly strong enough to resist me.
As I blew a sharp gust of wind toward his flaming hands, the fire was extinguished in an instant.
Watching his flames flicker out, Kane panicked, leaving his stomach wide open as he raised his hands to protect his face.
It was a predictable, instinctive guard.
Pow!
“Ugh!”
I landed a clean punch on Kane’s exposed stomach, harder than last time.
The solid impact told me it had connected perfectly.
Without mixing in mana, it wouldn’t cause internal damage, but it would hurt—a lot.
Thud.
“Gah—! Guh!”
“Oh, you didn’t pass out this time?”
Kane fell to his knees, gasping for air after taking a blow to the stomach.
Unlike last time, when he fainted immediately, Kane was now fully conscious and feeling every bit of the pain.
It was satisfying at first, but seeing him suffer made me feel a little guilty.
“You should’ve known when to stop.”
“Gah, haah, haah.”
Kane couldn’t even respond, writhing on the ground and struggling to breathe.
“Hey, hey. You okay?”
“Huff… Go… away.”
When I tried to help him up, Kane harshly waved me off, rejecting my hand.
Well, if he’s reacting like that, he’s not dying, at least.
“Ahem.”
“Ryu, don’t you think that was a bit much?”
Elaine chimed in, making me clear my throat in embarrassment.
If even Elaine was saying that, maybe I did go a little too far.
“Kane, are you okay? Should I take you to the infirmary…?”
“Guh… Just… leave me alone.”
“Uh…”
Hearing Kane’s response, I was oddly relieved.
“Alright, let’s go. He clearly needs some space.”
“Yeah, right.”
Elaine hesitated as she watched Kane, who was still on the ground, trying to push himself up.
Even now, Kane’s fists were clenched tightly, trembling.
Whether from pain or anger, I couldn’t tell, but he looked miserable.
“Damn it…”
Hearing Kane mutter to himself, I quickly led Elaine and Emily away.
“Was I a bit too harsh?”
“Yes.”
“Absolutely.”
“…”
Elaine and Emily answered without hesitation.
Now I felt even more guilty.
—
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