Chapter 15

Episode 15: 3rd Rank of the Year vs. C-Class Magic Student

Two students stand in the 5th Duel Arena of Crawford Magic Academy: Shion Kurosaki from Class 2-C and Eliza Rowlett, the 3rd rank of the second year.

After school, the 5th Duel Arena is open for students to train. The two face each other, wearing the same combat uniforms they use during mock battles in class.

Shion, who still hasn’t finished the errands assigned by their homeroom teacher, Restia, accepted Eliza’s duel request earlier, thinking, “If this will satisfy Eliza, then fine.” He just wanted to get it over with quickly.

Standing a few meters apart, Shion called out to Eliza.

“How do we decide the winner?”

“Until one of us is incapacitated or surrenders.”

“Just to confirm, what if I surrender right after we start—”

“I’ll kill you.”

“…Sorry, didn’t catch that.”

“I’ll beat you to death.”

“…Okay, heard you loud and clear.”

And so, Shion was forced into a direct confrontation with Eliza.

But from the start, Shion had no intention of losing easily or deliberately, as he often did during mock battles in class.

His opponent was the “3rd Rank of Crawford Magic Academy’s Second Year.” Her skills were truly top-tier.

If Shion deliberately took Eliza’s magic attacks and lost, it would be easily noticed.

Judging from their earlier exchange in the Equipment Storage, if Eliza realized Shion had thrown the match, she’d feel insulted and become even more furious, making the situation spiral out of control. With Restia waiting, Shion couldn’t let that happen.

There was another reason Shion had no intention of losing easily in this duel.

It was the very situation of “dueling the 3rd Rank of the Year.”

How many times had he dreamed of a scenario where he, a C-Class magic student, would defeat an overwhelmingly stronger opponent?

A duel with the 3rd Rank of the Year—a golden opportunity that would never happen in a normal student’s life. Shion wasn’t about to let it slip away.

——In reality, Shion Kurosaki wasn’t hiding his true strength. He was undeniably a C-Class magic student in terms of ability.

Yet, he envisioned a path to victory against Eliza Rowlett, a top-tier student even among the elite A-Class.

“Alright, let’s begin.”

Eliza, standing about twenty meters ahead of Shion, called out. Though the distance was considerable, her voice echoed clearly in the empty hall-like arena.

Eliza placed a coin on her bent index finger, ready to flip it.

“Are you prepared to cry like a baby?”

“Anytime.”

“…! This guy, seriously…”

The sight of a C-Class student acting so nonchalant in front of her, a top-ranked student, grated on Eliza’s pride.

Frowning and grinding her teeth, Eliza flicked the coin into the air.

“Just because you’re C-Class doesn’t mean I’ll go easy on you…!”

As the coin spun through the air and hit the ground with a *clink*, Eliza immediately activated a magic circle and began chanting.

“Inferno Sphere!”

A massive magic circle, large enough to lightly cover Eliza’s upper body, glowed crimson as it generated a fireball over a meter in diameter.

The advanced fire-attribute spell, “Inferno Sphere,” roared toward Shion with a blazing fury.

The speed at which Eliza activated the magic circle and unleashed the spell, not to mention its power, was on a completely different level compared to the C-Class students Shion usually sparred with.

But the fireball didn’t hit Shion. Instead, it exploded into a massive pillar of fire where Shion had been standing just moments before.

As soon as the coin hit the ground, Shion had activated a “Physical Enhancement Spell” and dashed to the right, narrowly avoiding Eliza’s opening attack.

In battles between mages, the standard tactic is to exchange spells head-on, defend against the opponent’s magic, and create advantageous situations to land attacks.

But if Shion tried to trade spells directly with Eliza, the 3rd Rank of the Year, he stood no chance.

No matter how much Shion tried to counter Eliza’s spells with attribute-advantaged defensive magic, the sheer difference in magical power would easily overwhelm him.

Even if Shion poured all his mana into his relatively proficient lightning-attribute spells, Eliza would effortlessly block them.

Moreover, if Shion tried to activate a magic circle, Eliza could complete hers faster, even if she started later, and attack him unopposed. In other words, Shion wouldn’t even get a chance to attack.

The gap in strength between Eliza, the 3rd Rank of the Year, and Shion, a C-Class magic student, was that absolute.

But the strategy Shion adopted to bridge that gap was to activate a Physical Enhancement Spell and immediately dash to the right at the start of the duel.

Instead of trading spells head-on, he would focus on dodging Eliza’s attacks while closing the distance.

If he could get close enough to take her from behind, Shion would have a chance to land an attack. That was his plan.

At first glance, Shion’s strategy seemed incredibly simple.

But—

“A mage avoiding a spell exchange? How pathetic!”

Eliza taunted Shion while relentlessly firing spells at him as he ran.

However, despite her taunts, Eliza felt a growing sense of frustration and anxiety.

Because no matter how many spells she cast, she couldn’t hit Shion as he ran in a wide arc around her.

At Crawford Magic Academy, second-year students only learned standard battle tactics in class, and mock battles were mostly formal spell exchanges.

These were meant to practice head-on spell exchanges and defenses.

Of course, third-year students and above engaged in more practical mock battles, but second-years were still in the foundational stage.

Thus, for a second-year student, avoiding spell exchanges and running around was a highly unconventional tactic.

It wasn’t uncommon for mages to dodge attacks physically if they couldn’t counter with magic in time, especially against large-scale spells.

But what Shion was doing—sprinting and circling the field—was downright heretical by the academy’s second-year standards.

Avoiding spell exchanges was akin to admitting inferiority in magical skill, something most mages’ pride wouldn’t allow.

That’s why most mages focused on honing powerful head-on spells, and Eliza was no exception.

As a result, she was completely unprepared for the irregular situation of having to aim spells at a constantly moving target.

Large-scale destructive spells took too long to activate, and Shion easily dodged them.

On the other hand, quick, compact spells were fired too slowly to hit Shion before he moved. Despite firing nearly twenty spells since the duel began, Eliza hadn’t landed a single hit.

“This…!”

Eliza’s frustration and irritation grew.

Shion’s seemingly simple strategy was highly effective in this situation. Against an overwhelmingly stronger opponent like Eliza, this tactic was nearly optimal.

However, this strategy wouldn’t give Shion a chance to attack unless he closed the distance and positioned himself to land a spell. Yet, he still hadn’t managed to close the gap with Eliza.

While running in a wide arc, Shion could dodge Eliza’s attacks.

“——!”

But the moment he tried to close the distance, Eliza instantly blocked him.

As Shion ran around the arena, looking for an opening to advance, Eliza’s spells would explode the ground in front of him, forcing him to retreat.

The battle seemed like a back-and-forth stalemate, with Shion running in circles, attempting to advance, only to be forced back.

But the tide of the battle was gradually shifting in Eliza’s favor.

“(You think you can keep running from my attacks forever…?!)”

“(…!)”

Eliza’s spells were starting to close in on Shion.

The fireballs that Shion had been easily dodging earlier were now grazing the edges of his combat uniform, forcing him to narrowly evade them.

Even if she was initially unfamiliar with the situation, Eliza was quickly adapting.

That was the mark of someone with overwhelming magical talent. That was the strength of Eliza Rowlett, the 3rd Rank of the Year.

“(…This is my limit.)”

No matter how fast he ran, Shion realized he would be hit by Eliza’s spells before he could close the distance.

“(——If I’m going to do it, it has to be now.)”

Suddenly stopping, Shion decided to use his trump card, which he had been saving until now.

Standing about fifteen meters away, Shion’s abrupt halt made Eliza suspicious.

“Oh, done playing tag? Just so you know, I won’t accept a surrender without any damage.”

“I’m not surrendering. I just thought it’s about time to end this.”

“…Huh? Wait, what are you planning?”

Speaking in a calm tone, Shion began walking straight toward Eliza.

Eliza, confused by his sudden action, hesitated for a moment. Shion, however, continued walking as if he didn’t care about her reaction.

“…Hey, what are you thinking? Just so you know, this is a duel. I’m not going to let you off just because you’re walking around defenseless.”

Eliza said this, but in reality, she was slightly hesitant.

As the 3rd Rank of the Year, she felt conflicted about mercilessly firing spells at a lower-ranked opponent who wasn’t even preparing to fight.

That’s why she gave a warning. If Shion didn’t stop, she would fire without hesitation.

She hoped Shion would at least get into a combat stance.

“…”

But Shion didn’t respond. He just kept walking calmly.

“…! Fine, don’t say I didn’t warn you!”

Despite her warning, Shion continued walking, so Eliza shook off her hesitation.

As Eliza activated a magic circle with both palms facing Shion, Shion also began chanting a spell.

“Limit Acceleration”——

At the same time, Eliza chanted, “Inferno Sphere!” and a massive fireball shot toward Shion from the magic circle in front of her.

The roaring fireball, scorching the air with its heat, rapidly closed in on Shion, who was still walking straight toward Eliza.

But the “Inferno Sphere” didn’t hit Shion. Instead, it exploded into a massive pillar of fire far behind him.

Shion had simply continued walking straight toward Eliza.

“…Huh?”

To Eliza, it looked like the fireball had passed right through Shion.

Of course, that was impossible. So, Shion must have dodged the fireball at an imperceptible speed.

But was it really possible for someone to move faster than the eyes of the 3rd Rank of the Year?

At that moment, Eliza recalled Shion’s earlier words: “I thought it’s about time to end this.” Maybe that wasn’t just a bluff.

Faced with Shion’s unknown power, Eliza’s caution skyrocketed. At the same time, she felt shaken by this unexpected turn of events.

She had only intended to beat Shion up as payback for seeing her underwear. She never imagined she’d feel threatened by a mere C-Class magic student.

“(No matter what, there’s no way I can lose to a C-Class student…!)”

She couldn’t afford to be careless.

Excuses like “I couldn’t handle it because it was an unfamiliar spell” wouldn’t cut it.

Eliza resolved to defeat the C-Class student in front of her with her full power.

“Piercing Gale Arrow!”

Eliza unleashed the fastest spell she had used in the duel so far.

It was a wind arrow with enough power to shatter a massive boulder in one shot, traveling at near-supersonic speed.

If you blinked the moment it was fired, it would pierce its target before you could open your eyes.

Fired at Shion from just ten meters away, it should have hit without fail.

But—

“!”

Just like the “Inferno Sphere,” the “Piercing Gale Arrow” didn’t hit Shion. Instead, it struck the arena wall far behind him, causing significant damage.

“(This guy…!)”

At that moment, Eliza realized.

It wasn’t that her spells were passing through him—Shion was dodging them at high speed.

The blazing fireball had obscured her vision earlier, but when she fired the “Piercing Gale Arrow,” she caught a glimpse of Shion’s body blurring, leaving a faint afterimage.

“——Then!”

Though shaken that even her fastest spell had missed, Eliza quickly switched to her next move.

“Destructive Piercing Rain of Wind Arrows…!”

Eliza activated a massive magic circle that lightly covered her entire body, unleashing a barrage of “Piercing Gale Arrows” like a rainstorm.

The “Destructive Piercing Rain of Wind Arrows,” a downpour of powerful wind arrows, was a true storm.

It was undoubtedly Eliza Rowlett’s strongest technique, a spell that showcased her status as the 3rd Rank of the Year.

The gale-force winds whipped Eliza’s hair and combat uniform as countless wind arrows rained down on Shion.

——But—

“——…!?”

Even this couldn’t hit Shion.

Standing in the center of the arrow barrage, Shion didn’t stop walking.

Slowly but surely, he closed the distance with Eliza.

The countless wind arrows grazed Shion’s hair and combat uniform, but he didn’t sustain a single scratch.

Eliza’s relentless barrage only left extraordinary destruction on the arena walls far behind Shion.

“…! Damn it!”

Eliza, who had been continuously firing the “Destructive Piercing Rain of Wind Arrows,” suddenly stopped and leaped back when Shion was just over two meters away.

——But in the next moment.

“!”

Eliza’s eyes widened in shock.

The instant her feet touched the ground after leaping back, Shion was already standing right in front of her.

“………!”

Speechless, Eliza could only stare as Shion raised his right palm toward her face.

Without a hint of gloating or triumph, Shion spoke in a calm tone.

“——Checkmate.”

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