Duel 3[End]

Adam summoned two wind arrows and hurled them directly toward Asher, but Asher vanished from his position once again before either could reach him.

"This spatial magic is annoying…"

Adam quickly sensed Asher behind him and swung his sword in a wide arc, releasing a sharp blade of wind. It struck nothing but the ground, sending dust and debris flying as Asher reappeared several metres away.

"I wonder how long you can keep teleporting," Adam said, tightening his grip around his sword. "Your mana will run out soon."

This time, however, Asher did not teleport. He lunged straight toward Adam, closing the distance before another attack could be prepared.

Adam immediately released another wind arrow, but Asher shifted aside and avoided it without slowing down. They clashed a moment later—Adam wielding his sword while Asher fought with a blade formed entirely from mana.

Steel and mana collided as they exchanged several rapid strikes. Then, during one sudden exchange, Asher reached forward and caught Adam's sword with his bare palm.

Seizing the opening, Adam drove his foot toward Asher's chest, but Asher blocked the kick with his other hand after reinforcing it with mana.

Asher shoved him backward and created some distance between them. Before he could recover his balance, Adam released a barrage of wind arrows and slashes across the field.

Asher avoided most of them and deflected the remaining attacks with his mana blade. The moment the final wind slash passed beside him, he disappeared again and reappeared directly in front of Adam.

Reacting instantly, Adam raised his sword and swung toward Asher, but before the blade could complete its arc, it suddenly vanished from his hand.

"Huh?"

Before Adam could understand what had happened, Asher drove a fist into his stomach and followed it with a sharp strike beneath his chin.

The impact knocked Adam onto his back. Before he could rise again, Asher stood over him with the edge of his mana blade resting near his throat.

"Asher is the winner," Professor Alex announced from the edge of the training field.

Adam remained on the ground, still staring at his empty hand as a single question repeated inside his mind.

Why did my sword vanish? When did he mark it?

Then he remembered the moment Asher had caught the sword with his bare palm. That brief contact had not been an act of recklessness.

He planned it from the beginning. He made me lower my guard, then teleported the sword at the exact moment I least expected it.

Professor Alex stepped forward with a faint grin on his face.

"Well, that settles it. Rank 26 has defeated Rank 10, so the rankings will be updated accordingly."

His gaze remained on Asher's retreating figure for another moment.

"Interesting…"

Among the surrounding students, the result produced several different reactions. Leon Zevark watched silently with his arms crossed as a small smile appeared on his lips.

"Control, precision, and that use of spatial magic," he murmured. "He really was holding back."

There was no excitement in Leon's expression, only a growing sense of interest.

Celestine Voltaris narrowed her eyes as she continued watching Asher leave the field.

"He did not even try to dominate the fight," she said quietly. "He chose the fastest and most efficient path to victory."

One of the students beside her frowned.

"But that only makes it worse, doesn't it? It means he could have—"

"Yes," Celestine interrupted before the student could finish. "It means he could have ended the fight even sooner."

Her expression became more thoughtful as she turned away from the arena.

Aria Velmora remained silent. Her crimson eyes followed Asher as he walked away, calm and completely unshaken by what had happened.

There was no pride in his expression, nor any thrill from his victory. He showed no contempt toward Adam either, only that same strange stillness she had noticed before.

It was almost as though the outcome had already been decided long before the fight began. Her fingers curled slightly as the same question returned to her mind.

What are you…?

Meanwhile, Asher returned to Noah, who looked as though he had just witnessed something beyond his understanding.

"You did not even try, did you?" Noah asked slowly.

"I did," Asher replied while stretching his shoulders lazily. "Just enough."

Noah stared at him in disbelief.

"That was your version of 'just enough'?"

Asher tilted his head slightly.

"Yeah?"

Noah opened his mouth to respond, closed it again, then finally gave up after failing to find the proper words.

"You're insane."

Asher gave him a faint smile.

"I get that a lot."

As the students began leaving the training field, a quiet change had already taken place among them. The way they looked at Asher no longer carried simple confusion or curiosity.

Something sharper had replaced it.

Recognition.

High above the training grounds, several professors stood inside a wide observation chamber lined with tall glass windows. They had watched the duel from its beginning until the moment Asher's mana blade touched Adam's throat.

None of them had spoken during the fight, because what they witnessed didn't make sense for an ordinary first-year student.

"What exactly did I just witness?" one of the senior professors muttered, his brows drawn tightly together.

"That was not merely control," another professor replied slowly. "That was precision at a level I have never seen from a first-year."

A third professor crossed his arms while keeping his eyes fixed on Asher's retreating figure below.

"He shaped, solidified, maintained, and weaponized mana as though it were an extension of his own body. There was no delay or instability at any point."

"And that teleportation," someone else added. "There was no chant or visible activation. It was instant, repeated, and nearly flawless."

A brief silence followed before a sharper voice entered the discussion.

"He also marked the sword during the fight."

The professors turned toward Elisa. Her crimson eyes were narrowed, and her expression had become unusually serious.

"He was not merely reacting to Adam's attacks," she continued. "He was guiding the entire battle from the beginning."

Her voice lowered slightly as she looked toward the damaged training field.

"Every movement had a purpose."

Alfred stood silently near the back of the chamber, but the doubt previously visible in his expression had disappeared. He was no longer questioning what he had seen.

He was analysing it.

"You noticed it as well," Alfred said quietly.

Elisa nodded once.

"He forced Adam into close combat early in the duel. That seemingly careless moment when he caught the sword was not carelessness."

She turned her gaze toward the place where the weapon had vanished.

"It was preparation."

A faint chuckle suddenly echoed through the chamber, drawing everyone's attention toward Eldric.

He stood calmly with both hands behind his back, his gaze still directed toward the training grounds below.

"I told you," Eldric said lightly. "The boy is special."

One of the professors frowned.

"Special is an understatement. That degree of control should not be possible for someone at Silver Rank."

Another professor spoke more cautiously.

"Unless he is hiding his true cultivation."

Alfred glanced toward Eldric.

"Is he?"

Eldric's smile remained unchanged.

"No."

That single answer silenced the chamber again.

"Then how is any of this possible?" someone finally asked.

Eldric did not answer immediately. His eyes followed Asher as the boy yawned and walked away from the training grounds as though nothing unusual had happened.

"Most of you impose your will upon mana," Eldric finally said. "You control it and force it to obey your commands."

His gaze deepened slightly.

"But that boy is different. The moment he tries to impose his will upon mana, the natural mana surrounding him instantly vanishes."