Duel 1

It was Monday, exactly one week since Asher had joined the academy. He woke at seven, bathed, changed into his uniform, and headed to the cafeteria.

As usual, the cafeteria was filled with noise. Students chatted, laughed, cracked jokes, and even flirted openly. Strangely, however, Asher found the atmosphere rather peaceful.

Soon, Noah joined him. They were the only two students at their table. Almost everyone avoided Asher, though he didn't really understand why.

Still, he preferred it this way. Fewer people meant fewer problems. Asher and Noah quietly ate breakfast together, occasionally exchanging a few words.

Then, someone pulled out the chair directly opposite Asher and sat down. Asher glanced up and immediately recognized her.

Aria Velmora.

Why is she here?

Noticing his gaze, Aria calmly asked, "Do you have a problem with me sitting here?" Asher continued eating.

"No. Sit wherever you want. I don't care."

After finishing his breakfast, Asher pulled an apple juice packet from his subspace and began drinking through the straw without paying attention to anything else.

Then, from the corner of his eye, Asher noticed Aria staring at the juice packet. He briefly wondered whether she wanted some.

Without thinking much about it, he extended the packet toward her. "Want to try?" Aria looked at the juice, then at Asher.

Her expression remained completely blank.

For a moment, Asher didn't understand what was wrong. Then, suddenly, he realized what she might be thinking.

"Oh… don't tell me you're thinking about that 'indirect kiss' nonsense from romance anime," Asher said casually. "What nonsense. We're breathing the same air."

"What would that be, then? Indirect CPR?"

Before Asher could finish, Aria stood up and walked away without saying a single word. Asher blinked, completely confused by her reaction.

…What just happened?

Asher turned toward Noah. Noah was staring at him with his mouth slightly open. Asher raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"…Nothing."

After finishing breakfast in silence, Asher and Noah headed toward class. They took their usual seats in the corner and waited quietly for the professor.

Soon, Professor Elisa entered the classroom. After taking attendance, she turned toward the students and spoke in her usual composed voice.

"Today's class will be held in the training room. Follow me."

The students quickly gathered their belongings and followed Elisa toward the academy's training room. A short while later, everyone had arrived.

At the center of the training room stood a massive sphere, approximately one meter in radius. Its surface was completely smooth and resembled polished glass.

Elisa stood beside the sphere and addressed the class. "This sphere measures the destructive power of mana-based attacks."

"You may only use pure mana. No elemental attributes."

One by one, the students stepped forward to demonstrate their attacks. The first student was Rank 19, who condensed his mana into a small bullet.

He fired.

The bullet struck the sphere, but surprisingly, it left no visible mark. Instead, a number appeared across the sphere's glass-like surface.

1201

The next students followed one after another. Some created arrows, while others formed spears or bullets.

Their scores generally ranged between one thousand and five thousand. The highest score so far was 4120.

Then Kevin stepped forward.

The son of Duke Vermont calmly raised his hand and condensed his mana into a spear. The attack was sharp, controlled, and powerful.

The spear struck the sphere.

4571

The result was decent, though hardly impressive. However, since Kevin specialized primarily in black magic, the lower destructive power wasn't particularly surprising.

Next was Aria.

She stepped forward and formed a spear nearly one meter long. Her mana was compressed with remarkable precision before she launched the weapon forward.

A small explosion echoed through the training room.

Yet the sphere remained completely untouched.

Of course.

Something like this wouldn't break so easily. Only a Master-level attack could probably destroy the training sphere.

Then, Aria's score appeared.

7031

Murmurs immediately spread throughout the room. Several students exchanged surprised glances while Asher watched from his position.

Why hasn't Elisa called me yet?

What is she thinking?

Asher wasn't highly ranked, after all. He would probably score around five thousand and get it over with.

Then Elisa spoke.

"Next. Princess Celestine."

Celestine stepped forward gracefully. She raised her hands, and three mana spears appeared simultaneously before her.

Without hesitation, she launched all three.

The spears shot forward with incredible speed and struck the sphere almost simultaneously.

Her score appeared.

15010

The room immediately erupted into discussion.

"As expected of a Voltaris. Their destructive power is incredible."

"Even without lightning mixed into it, that's still ridiculously strong."

"Why is her score higher than Aria's?"

"Idiot. Control and output are completely different things."

The discussions continued for several moments before Elisa finally called the next student.

"Leon Zevark."

Leon calmly stepped forward.

He condensed a massive spear of mana, nearly two meters long. The pressure surrounding the weapon was noticeably greater than anything demonstrated previously.

Then, Leon launched it.

The impact caused the surrounding air to tremble violently.

His score appeared.

17030

The highest score so far.

Leon turned around with his usual expressionless face and returned to his place.

Then, finally, Elisa called Asher.

"Asher Astrean."

Every student immediately turned toward him.

Asher calmly walked toward the sphere and stopped at the designated distance. He didn't look nervous or excited.

He raised one hand.

Mana gathered around his palm and quickly condensed into a spear approximately one meter long.

Asher launched it.

The spear struck the sphere.

A number appeared.

5110

Perfect.

Exactly what he wanted.

Asher turned around and began walking away. However, before he could leave, Elisa spoke in an irritated tone.

"Is this some kind of joke to you, Asher Astrean?"

Asher stopped.

He slowly turned around and looked at Elisa without changing his expression. Why can't she leave me alone?

"What do you mean, Professor?.

"Why aren't you giving your full effort?" Elisa asked sternly.

"I don't want to."

Silence.

The entire training room suddenly became quiet.

Elisa stared at him. What is wrong with this child?

Shouldn't someone his age be eager to show off?

Before Elisa could respond, Asher casually added, "Why are you so worked up? Is it that time of the month or something?"

The room froze. Every student turned toward Asher. Some looked shocked. Others looked horrified. But everyone shared the same thought. Does this guy have a death wish?

Elisa's expression darkened.

This child really needs a lesson.

The next moment—

Flames erupted around Asher.

Several students gasped.

However, they quickly realized that Elisa was responsible. Some students thought Asher deserved it, while others couldn't help but pity him.

From within the flames, Asher's voice suddenly rang out.

"Are you crazy?! I was joking!"

The flames didn't actually harm him. There was no damage, only intense heat and overwhelming pressure.

It was simply a warning.

Moments later, the flames disappeared.

Elisa stepped forward, clearly preparing to lecture him.

But Asher spoke first.

"Wait…"

He glanced down at himself before looking back toward Elisa.

"Are you trying to burn my clothes off?"

His expression became slightly confused.

"Do you seriously want to see me naked or something?"

Silence.

Absolute silence.

Every student stared at Asher as though he had completely lost his mind.

Is he insane?

Or is he simply tired of living?

For the first time since the training began, even Professor Elisa was completely speechless.