Chapter 66
Dick's match wasn’t flashy, but it had a kind of addictive quality that drew you in.
Simon and Kamibarez were clapping enthusiastically from the stands, but Maelyn was resting her chin on her hand with a sour expression.
“...Ugh, we’re on the same team and he won, so why does this feel so embarrassing?”
“Hahaha!”
— Class A, student Maelyn Villene. Class C, student Ivan Barshani, please report to the waiting room.
At the announcement, Maelyn stood up.
“Well, I’ll be back after an easy win.”
“Good luck! Maelyn!”
“Do your best.”
As Maelyn headed toward the waiting room, she bumped into Dick, who was coming up toward the stands.
Dick, looking cheerful, raised his hand for a high-five with a “Yay~”, but Maelyn scoffed and walked past him coldly.
“Tsk! She’s got zero friendliness, not even a speck.”
Dick grumbled as he walked over and exchanged high-fives with Simon and Kamibarez.
The three of them were chatting cheerfully about the duel evaluation when Maelyn appeared in the center of the arena.
Maelyn’s opponent was Ivan Barshani from Class C, a Magical Combat major with a solid build.
“This one’s gonna be fun, too.”
Dick said, hands shoved into his pockets.
“Will Ivan manage to engage, or will Maelyn shut her down before she gets the chance?”
“You got this! Maelyn!”
At the referee’s signal, Maelyn and Ivan approached each other and shook hands.
“Didn’t expect to face a big shot right off the bat.”
Ivan said with a cheerful smile.
“You should consider this moment an honor for your family, commoner.”
Maelyn pulled her hand away and folded her arms with haughty grace.
“Because before long, you won’t even be able to meet my eyes.”
“Hm, maybe. But I believe getting crushed by a commoner right now will be a valuable experience for you.”
“How funny.”
The two exchanged a light war of words and turned away from each other.
A former boxer. Ivan’s entire body was forged with real combat muscle through relentless training.
And Maelyn, whose delicate and slender form looked as though she’d never gotten her hands dirty.
The two finally stood apart, facing one another. The referee checked both of their conditions, glancing back and forth, then dropped his arm and shouted:
“Match, begin!”
The word begin had barely sounded before Ivan pushed off the ground, charging at Maelyn.
‘Don’t let her do anything! Pressure her, suffocate her...!’
In that moment, her pupils widened. A burst of black flame suddenly surged up directly in her path.
Fwoooosh!
Ivan slammed on the brakes and swerved.
That was close. Even with her protective suit on, the searing heat made sweat drip from her chin.
“Oh my, how simple-minded.”
Maelyn spoke, a black flame dancing on the tip of her index finger.
“You really thought this was a stage where you could win with brute-force preemptive strikes?”
Fwoosh!
Maelyn unleashed flame after flame, while Ivan dodged and looked for openings, the battle unfolded in a back-and-forth rhythm.
Watching from the stands, Simon let out a sound of admiration.
“Amazing. Did she already master Dark Flare that quickly?”
“No.”
Dick shook his head.
“That’s a level below Dark Flare, it’s a Darkness-elemental spell. Dark Flare takes a lot more time to cast.”
Darkness element.
This was a modern reinterpretation of the pure elemental magic of past magicians, infused with Darkness. Whether flame or ice, the spells had a faint black hue.
Even if a pure magician and a necromancer started casting at the same time, Darkness-element spells completed much faster. They were more powerful, and better at handling unpredictable variables.
In short, a perfect upgrade in every sense.
“As expected of the Ivory Tower.”
The Ivory Tower had once been a sacred ground for magicians. Also known as the “Mage Tower”.
But times had changed, and in the modern era, necromancers had become the mainstream of the Ivory Tower.
Still, some of its old traits remained. Most Ivory Tower necromancers specialized in Darkness-elemental spells built on Darkness Dynamics.
Maelyn was no exception.
“Haaah!”
Maelyn swung her arm, and flames stretched out like a wall, blocking Ivan’s approach. Just barely pulling back in time, Ivan panted heavily.
[Maelyn Villene: 100%]
[Ivan Barshani: 71%]
‘Definitely tricky. All I’ve done is dodge, but my gauge is already like this…’
Ivan wiped the corner of her mouth and doubled the amount of Darkness circulating through her body. She could feel her core heating up.
‘No need to panic. Just keep her distracted so she can’t use any big black magic. Just one chance. All I need is one opening...!’
“I told you before, didn’t I? Commoner.”
Maelyn smiled and opened the left hand she had been hiding behind her back.
Fwoooosh!
“You’re so simple-minded.”
A mass of black flame, incomparable to anything she had shown before, erupted from her left hand.
Ivan’s mouth dropped open.
Wh-When did she cast Dark Flare!
In fact, Maelyn had only recently perfected the “multi-cast” of Dark Flare.
While her right hand continuously fired light Darkness-element flames, her left had been slowly preparing Dark Flare over time.
With this latest growth, the top student of Class A had ascended another step toward flawless mastery.
Now that she had Dark Flare, there was no longer any need for petty harassment tactics.
Maelyn let her right hand fall and amplified the flames in her left.
“The match is over. Still going to continue?”
“I think it’s a bit early to be saying that!”
Ivan’s lips twisted. Her heart pounded wildly, blood boiling in her veins.
‘No matter how powerful black magic is, if it doesn’t hit, it’s meaningless!’
Ivan kicked off the ground and lunged. Her speed was so intense, it left afterimages.
Just as Maelyn swung her left hand forward, Ivan twisted in the opposite direction.
She flinched and pulled her hand back. If she had cast in that moment, she would’ve wasted her painstakingly prepared Dark Flare.
‘Heh, no way she’ll throw it!’
Among the many Magical Combat majors, Ivan was a speed-type specialist whose style relied on circulating Darkness internally. During this 1–2 minute peak tempo, she was confident no one in Keyzen could match her speed.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Ivan circled around Maelyn, as if toying with her.
Maelyn, with Dark Flare at the ready, moved her head and body diligently, but she couldn’t seem to get a lock on Ivan.
‘Get it, noble? The level of black magic and actually winning in combat are two completely different things!’
Ivan suddenly stopped accelerating and closed in like a flash, targeting Maelyn’s back.
With her Darkness-enhanced fist aimed straight at the back of her head, Ivan felt victory was certain, and a grin crept up her lips.
‘...!’
But—
Maelyn’s shoulder shifted naturally, her head tilting to the side.
‘She reacted to this?!’
Her fist slashed through the air, and their eyes met mid-motion.
She smiled, deliberately.
“Did you think I was weak at Magical Combat?”
The boiling black flame from her left hand swallowed Ivan’s body in an instant.
FWOAAAAAAASH!
The two passed each other as the spell was released.
With a deafening explosion and searing heat, audience members nearby raised their arms to shield their faces.
[Maelyn Villene: 94%]
[Ivan Barshani: 0%]
The referee raised his arm.
“Match over! Victory goes to student Maelyn Villene!”
Whoosh!
Surrounded by black flames, Ivan knelt on the ground with a disbelieving expression. Maelyn tucked her hair behind her ear and gave a bright smile.
“Work harder, commoner. In the lower squad, that is.”
With her nearly flawless match performance, the crowd erupted into applause and cheers from every direction.
“Ah, seriously.”
Dick chuckled.
“She’s annoying, but I can’t fault her when she’s that good.”
Simon nodded with a smile.
“Keyzen is a meritocracy, after all.”
Watching Maelyn from the stands, Simon found his mind wandering.
If he kept winning match after match, there would eventually come a day when he’d have to face Maelyn. When that time came, how would he counter her Dark Flare?
But at some point, the right side had grown strangely quiet. Simon turned his head.
Shiver shiver shiver.
Kamibarez was trembling, her face pale.
“...Kami?”
“It’s my turn now.”
She fidgeted with her hands.
“...Simon, Dick, and Maelyn all won. If I just... if I can just do well too...”
“Y-you don’t need to put so much pressure on yourself.”
Maelyn also returned to the stands.
She looked absolutely thrilled from her win, but when she saw Kamibarez trembling, she didn’t let it show too much.
After Maelyn returned, two more matches went by. As time passed, Kamibarez’s face turned even paler.
“Guys! Look over there!”
Dick pointed.
“It’s Professor Sillage! He came to watch...!”
Simon quickly covered Dick’s mouth, but it was already too late. Maelyn was glaring at him like he was hopeless.
“You really have no tact.”
It was only natural that Professor Sillage, a Haematology professor and a member of the Ursula family, would take an interest in Kamibarez, a fellow vampire from the same house.
Seeing Sillage made Kamibarez’s trembling even worse, and Dick scratched his head awkwardly.
— Class A, student Kamibarez Ursula. Class C, student Egir Atlier, please report to the waiting room.
“I-I’ll be back!”
She leapt to her feet, and the three of them gave her more encouragement than ever before.
“What kind of style does Egir have?”
After Kamibarez left, Simon asked. He was clearly starting to enjoy and get into the rhythm of this duel evaluation.
“Classic, through and through.”
Dick summed it up neatly.
“He doesn’t have any standout specialties, so he’ll probably fight by combining various fundamental techniques. I’m curious how Kami, an extremely offense-focused Haematology user, will break through that.”
“Kami’s specs are overwhelming. She’s an Ursula, after all.”
Maelyn said with her arms crossed.
“The problem is whether or not she can keep calm...”
“Yeah.”
A moment later, Kamibarez and Egir appeared in the center of the arena.
Egir was a tall male student with a clean, pleasant impression. The two of them shook hands at the referee’s signal.
“Let’s have a good match.”
“I-I should be the one saying thattt...”
Her face was full of tension, and her voice carried no confidence at all.
Egir, who had expected the image of a fierce Ursula vampire, was bewildered by the completely different demeanor of his opponent.
‘Is she really an Ursula?’
Seeing the slumped-over girl, he even felt a bit sorry for her, but he couldn’t afford to go easy.
Soon the two of them backed away, activating their Cores to prepare for battle.
“Are both students ready?”
“Yes!”
“Y-yes....”
The referee nodded.
“Then, we will now begin the duel evaluation between students Kamibarez Ursula and Egir Atlier.”
A tense silence fell over the arena, as the referee dropped his arm and shouted—
“Begin!”
Superb.