Chapter 67

A sharp red eye quickly scanned the surroundings.

Excluding her, who was designated as the king, all the other team members were incapacitated. This was something Laura had anticipated, so she didn’t stir up any unnecessary fuss. She merely stood quietly among the students she had defeated, observing the battle situation.

“Hey! Attack Lady Adelheit!”

“This is monstrous…!”

“Forel! You go around back! We’ll do a pincer attack!”

Towards Laura, three students rushed in from all directions at once. Laura raised her staff.

Swiftly, elegantly, and simultaneously.

A magic circle was quickly drawn following her movements. Along with the chilling air that began to freeze white around her, her magic circle was completed in an instant.

“Inhale, target designation, liquid, transformation, amplification, absolute zero.”

The time it took to deploy the spell, calculate the direction and power, and activate the magic circle was just 4 seconds.

That was, in fact, extended by 1 second due to drawing on the remnants of the water-element magic used by another student.

“Blizzard (χιονοθύελλα).”

As soon as Laura finished the magic circle, the frozen white magic circle emitted light.

Soon, a fierce blizzard appeared in the practice field, swirling with heavy ice shards.

No, it was more than just a blizzard. It was akin to a storm.

And it naturally obscured the vision of the three students who were assaulting Laura.

“Ugh, argh…!”

“My sight…!”

“Damn it! Just attack!”

Forel, the girl leading the other two students, barely managed to regain her sight through the chaotic blizzard.

Having almost lost her spear in the process, Forel finally reached the eye of the storm amid the turmoil and saw…

“Uh, uh…?”

Her two friends, collapsed and sprawled out on the ground. Forel looked at them, her face filled with panic.

“You can’t let your guard down.”

Suddenly, she heard a gentle whispering voice from behind her. Forel quickly turned around and swung her spear.

– Kaang—!

And, her attack was simply blocked too effortlessly.

By what? Forel blinked in confusion at the incomprehensible situation.

What caught her eye was the trembling spear and the translucent barrier that was touching its tip.

“Magical barrier…!”

“Manipulation, gravity, target designation.”

In a hurry to retract her spear, Forel clearly saw Laura’s hand firmly gripping the spear.

“Crush (συντριβή).”

And that was the end of it.

A heavy sensation pressed down from her shoulder. Feeling the undeniable force governed by the laws of the world, Forel’s vision faded to black.

Just like her two friends who fell before her.

*

“Crush (συντριβή)!”

With a strange cracking sound, the boy running straight toward Chloe from the front suddenly fainted mid-charge.

Chloe stepped aside to avoid being hit by the fainted boy’s body. Letting out a small sigh of relief, Chloe frowned and started to assess the situation.

‘What’s going on? Where’s Elin?’

Elin was nowhere to be seen. While the dense dust might be a reason, the real problem lay elsewhere.

– Whooosh—!

A fierce blizzard was swirling in the center of the practice field. It was obscuring the vision of all the students involved in the duel.

The overwhelming power made Chloe unconsciously think.

‘I used cold magic during the entrance exam as well… but this is on a whole different level….’

It was purely a difference in caliber. The overwhelming power stemming from Laura’s magic made Chloe feel a sense of awe.

‘… This isn’t the time for that!’

Shaking her head to clear her mind, Chloe struggled to open her eyes and quickly assessed the students remaining by her side.

Only Owen was left next to Chloe. Hubert was moving around the practice field to attack the other team’s king. Seeing that only two members remained from her team, Chloe inadvertently clicked her tongue and hurriedly covered her mouth.

‘What am I doing….’

That was an insult to her fallen teammates. Chloe slapped her own lips, vowing not to get too distracted from the duel.

‘They fell to protect me. I should be grateful.’

As Chloe thought, her teammates who had fallen earlier hadn’t simply collapsed due to lack of skill. While ensuring that Chloe didn’t lose the crown, they had to look after their own safety and even attack the other team’s king; it was a job that required ten times the effort.

“Chloe. Are you okay?”

“Yes, yes?!”

Chloe jumped in surprise at Owen’s indifferent voice calling her name, like a child caught doing something wrong.

“… Chloe. Focus. Don’t just stand there dazed.”

“I-I’m sorry….”

Owen’s gentle reprimand came as a surprise to Chloe. She smiled bitterly and nodded.

‘What am I doing….’

To be lost in thought during a duel. It was indeed a pathetic act, but there wasn’t time for self-recrimination. Chloe quickly began to form a magic circle.

“Manipulation, gravity, auto designation, simplification.”

This was a spell she would preemptively use and save in her staff. The smaller the magic circle’s size, the lesser its power, but it was the best choice to use in a critical situation.

The magic circle that was originally formed in a standard size shrank, throwing aside the secondary spell. Finally, the magic circle transformed into the size of a small orb and melted into the tip of Chloe’s staff.

“… It’s done.”

“Yes?”

Before Owen’s next words could finish, the blizzard created by Laura erupted in an instant and vanished into the air.

“… What the…?”

Chloe’s mouth dropped open. The state of the practice field was so devastating that it was hard to look at with opened eyes.

The practice field, swept away by the blizzard, was gouged and torn in several places, and ordinary students had fallen under the brutal ice fragments, unable to resist.

Fortunately, Elin was among the surviving students. After exchanging glances with her, Chloe turned her attention to find Hubert.

“Uh, Hubert…?”

“There he is. That fool.”

Chloe followed Owen’s finger to where Hubert was standing idly with two swords sheathed.

In Hubert’s hands was a battered student, while in the other hand, he held a frozen crown.

“With this, I’ve acquired a crown.”

Hubert whistled as he hung the crown on his waist. Observing Hubert, Chloe took a closer look at the student who had been subdued by him.

“Isn’t that an A-class student?”

“Yep. I don’t know his name either. But he’s a mage.”

Listening to Owen’s explanation, Chloe swallowed nervously. If he was a student from the A-class department, his skills would likely be comparable to hers.

Yet, Hubert had defeated such a mage. Of course, Hubert was covered in wounds himself.

The boy in Hubert’s grasp made a ghastly expression.

“Ugh, hiding cowardly in the blizzard…!”

“What are you talking about? You said you couldn’t see, yet you recklessly cast wide-area magic. That’s practically exposing your position.”

Shrugging, Hubert struck down the boy with the pommel of his sword, rendering another victim on the floor of the practice field.

“With this…”

There were three crowns sparkling in the students’ hands, and the remaining teams numbered five.

If just one team were to be eliminated, the remaining teams would proceed to the next duel.

Up to now, this duel had been a mere appetizer. It was a system that allowed lower-ranked students to have a chance at the rankings.

Once this duel was over, they would finally enter the real duel where true skilled individuals would compete. The eyes of all students, including Chloe, sparkled strangely.

And all those gazes naturally fell upon the tiara-shaped crown gently placed atop Laura’s head.

As the gazes of the surviving students concentrated on Laura von Adelheit, who stood in the middle of the practice field… it was a natural occurrence.

The shimmering crown. The girl who was its owner, Laura von Adelheit.

If she were to survive this duel, they would have to contend with her in the following duel. This fact was acutely felt by all students in the practice field, including Chloe.

The reason the students had attacked Laura from the beginning was precisely because of this. When there were still enough students standing, they hoped to create chaos and look for an opening in Laura.

That she was the only A-class student in her team had also influenced the situation greatly.

Of course, that all turned useless in this situation, but most of the students who had survived until now were among the top skilled individuals. In other words, among the twenty-five survivors excluding Laura, eighteen were A-class students.

This meant that the resilience of A-class students who could match Laura von Adelheit was still intact.

‘If that’s the case….’

‘Is it worth a shot…?’

A-class students exchanged glances and communicated through silent gestures, their eyes filled with desire as they gazed at the crown resting on Laura’s head.

While Laura received the attention of those students, she didn’t flinch even once. She had that much confidence.

After all, she was an Adelheit. An heir of the noble and extraordinary talents of Adelheit, a golden bloodline.

She stood like a lioness alone in a field filled with running wild dogs.

“… Hmph.”

There was no way she would bow her head because a pack of foolish wild dogs bared their teeth. Laura was well aware that she was the ruler of the savannah.

“Yahaaaaap—!!”

At that moment, a boy not belonging to A-class lunged at Laura, gripping his sword tightly. Everyone in the practice field knew that such an action was close to insanity.

Laura sighed and began to form a magic circle.

“Inhale, compress, maintain form, simplify.”

The shell was placed over the developing spell, and the quickly completed magic circle was set in Laura’s hands in less than 3 seconds.

“Without you…! Just you gone—!”

“Trigger (κρούση).”

– Boom!

With a terrifying sound, the boy rushing toward her fell flat on the ground before even taking five steps.

Laura scoffed at the sight, openly mocking him.

“How dare you, who do you think you are?”

Laura raised her chin high. Her pride was that elevated, and she possessed the talent and skill to back it up.

Surrounded by students radiating a frightening aura, standing with the crown on her head…

“… Queen.”

She resembled a queen reigning over this practice field.

Laura slowly moved her hand. Her hand movements were so leisurely, it was as if she was saying “Come at me if you dare.”

“I need to end this. I’m getting a bit tired.”

The time limit for this duel was, like yesterday, one hour. There was still plenty of time remaining, but Laura preferred to secure a certain victory over a fight that was likely to end in her favor.

“Liquid, transformation, amplification, absolute zero….”

A sense of urgency grew on the faces of the standing students. They could clearly tell what kind of magic circle she was about to form.

“It’s a blizzard!!”

“Eek…!”

Chloe quickly raised her staff, aiming at Laura. Though slight in power, it would be enough to disrupt the formation of the magic circle.

“Block—!!”

“It’s a snowstorm….”

Just as Laura’s magic circle was about to complete amidst the students rushing towards her.

– Duel, has ended—!!

With the familiar cry of Professor Andres, the illusion magic surrounding the practice field that prevented them from seeing outside quickly concealed its form.

In the sudden ending of the duel, Laura and the other students wore blank expressions. And at that moment.

“Oh? That person….”

Chloe’s eyes caught sight of the boy who had just collapsed to Laura’s magic.

A faint glass crown was placed on his head.

“… Ah.”

Like Chloe, Laura, upon witnessing the crown, stared at it in a daze.

“… So, is this the end?”

There were four kings who survived. This meant that the duel had concluded.

It was the moment when the first-year students who would advance to the next duel were decided.