Chapter 50

(4)

8.

Just before the second match began.

Delia arrived at the arena a step ahead.

As she observed the flow of magical power around the arena, she soon fixed her gaze on a black-haired girl walking from a distance.

‘Noa Darshen.’

A member of the same tribe as Ulan.

She had heard that Noa was quite a capable sorcerer. Particularly famous for receiving an S-rank in the curse category during the entrance exam.

But Delia wasn’t particularly worried.

‘Sorcerers have their limits.’

Sorcery requires tools or materials, and the activation speed of sorcery is much slower than magic.

There’s even a saying about it.

If a sorcerer and a mage fight with equal power, the mage has a 90% chance of winning. So, of course, she felt confident.

‘Sorry, but I’m not planning to go easy.’

To be honest, Delia wasn’t interested in mock battles.

There was nothing to gain from participating.

She was the princess of the duchy, so she didn’t need the investments or support of nobles.

‘But…’

Her mind had changed. There was only one reason.

It was because of Ulan.

At this rate, Ulan would definitely be selected in the top 10 and qualify for the mock battle.

‘Then, of course, I should participate too.’

I’m Ulan’s friend, after all.

And she wanted to know more about Ulan. That way, they could become much closer, and their relationship would deepen.

‘To do that, I need to spend more time with him.’

As a strange obsession flickered in her eyes.

She sensed a presence not far away.

Thud!

Finally, Noa arrived at the arena.

She looked at Delia with a slightly nervous expression. As their eyes met, a loud shout echoed through the arena.

“The match begins!”

The voice announcing the battle.

Noa moved first. She spread out the talismans she was holding into the air.

Flap! Swish!

The talismans were arranged in perfect order.

On the other hand, Delia didn’t care.

No matter what Noa did, she would only unleash her own magic.

‘I’ll end this as painlessly as possible.’

With some consideration.

In an instant, her incantation was complete.

Whoosh!

This was an attack spell called ‘Starlight Flash.’

As the name suggests, it’s a basic attack spell that gathers the power of the stars and shoots it at the enemy. The power is weak, but the speed is incredibly fast. Faster than an arrow.

‘Farewell.’

With a silent goodbye.

Delia raised her hand.

To fire the Starlight Flash. But at that moment, her eyes widened.

“Huh?”

Just as the incantation ended and the magic was about to activate.

Suddenly, the spell collapsed, and the arranged magical power scattered and vanished.

What’s going on? The composition was perfect. As she tilted her head in confusion, Noa’s expression came into view.

A faint smile on her face.

Delia’s eyebrow twitched.

‘No way.’

Did she just nullify my magic?

Right as it was about to activate?

‘But that’s only possible if…’

Someone with the same talent as Delia.

A being who can see all the magical power in the world and read its flow.

She narrowed her eyes.

‘It might be a mistake.’

So, let’s test it further.

This time, she stretched both hands into the air.

To use a more powerful spell.

But the result was the same. Every spell she tried to activate scattered right before completion.

There was only one meaning to this.

Delia’s eyes wavered.

‘…The same talent as me.’

A person loved by mana.

A being who can see all magical power. There was someone else like that besides herself.

She was genuinely surprised.

But that was all.

‘Noa Darshen is a sorcerer.’

Sorcery is slower to activate.

This is due to the nature of how sorcery works.

‘Sorcery requires drawing a sorcery circle in the sorcerer’s mind, then infusing it with curse power to activate.’

And this curse power cannot be stored in the body, so it must be created anew each time sorcery is used.

In other words, every time sorcery is used, the process of converting magical power into curse power must be repeated.

‘On the other hand, magic is different.’

You just arrange the magical power stored in your body according to the spell’s formula, and that’s it.

The magic activates immediately.

This is why there’s a difference in speed.

‘So, to make it impossible to counter.’

Just pour out so much magic at once that it’s impossible to counter. Overwhelm them.

Delia executed her plan.

Whoosh! Whooosh!

A massive amount of magical power spread through the air.

More than half of the magical power stored in her body flowed out like a flood.

‘From 1st grade to 3rd grade.’

She arranged the formulas for all the spells.

A total of twenty spells.

Her head was overloaded in the process, but she bit her lip and maintained her sanity.

Shortly after.

Delia finished her incantation.

‘Good. Now, with this…’

It’s really over.

As she infused the arranged formulas with magical power, Delia smiled confidently. Then, she boldly stretched her hand toward Noa.

And.

Nothing happened.

“Huh?”

Delia’s eyes widened.

As she let out a bewildered voice.

Shock filled her golden eyes.

“……!?”

She finally realized.

All twenty spells arranged in the air had scattered and vanished.

‘T-That means!’

Noa had nullified her magic.

And at a much faster speed than Delia.

After witnessing this scene.

Delia finally remembered what Ulan had told her during lunch.

「Got it. You be careful too.」

Ulan had suddenly told her to be careful.

At the time, she thought it was just a greeting.

Like a cheer. But after seeing Noa’s true strength, it took on a different meaning.

‘Ulan was warning me.’

But I just took it as a casual greeting.

Delia bit her lip slightly. She was angry at her own complacency.

‘What was I thinking, telling her to apologize?’

I was going to win anyway, so I told her to apologize to Noa. Thinking back to that moment an hour ago, Delia’s cheeks turned red.

After struggling to suppress her embarrassment.

‘Alright, I’ll admit it.’

Noa Darshen is strong.

As strong as me. Maybe even stronger.

‘But I’m not giving up.’

I’m the one participating in the mock battle.

To spend more time with Ulan.

She held a strong resolve in her heart.

But perhaps she was too focused.

Delia failed to notice.

The pile of torn talismans at Noa’s feet.

9.

Meanwhile, around that time.

Noa was staring intently at Delia.

Her face clearly showed bewilderment.

The reason was obvious. She had used dozens of spells, but none of them activated.

‘Well, it’s understandable to be surprised.’

Sorcery is slower to activate than magic.

So, in a one-on-one duel between a sorcerer and a mage, the sorcerer is destined to lose.

That’s the common sense of this world.

‘But.’

This only applies to the sorcerers of this world. And strictly speaking, Noa is not a sorcerer of this world.

‘Because I’m a transmigrator.’

Originally, she was an ordinary student from South Korea.

So, Noa has a few unique abilities as a transmigrator. One of them is the ability to blink and gather information about her opponent.

And one more.

A very special ability.

─────

[Notification]

*Shortcut Skill #17 activated

*Intermediate Sorcery:【Devouring of the Cursed Spirit】

-The cursed spirit within the talisman has devoured the opponent’s spell formula and magical power. ‘Stellar Magic: Dance of the Constellations (Grade 3)’ has been nullified.

─────

The skill system.

Noa can register and use all sorcery in this world as skills. Thanks to this, most of the process of activating sorcery is skipped.

‘Although registering a skill requires a perfect theoretical understanding of the sorcery…’

That’s possible with enough time.

Noa’s characteristics include ‘inquisitiveness’ and ‘memorization.’ As a result, she has registered a total of sixty-eight sorceries as skills so far.

But that alone isn’t enough.

‘I have less magical power than Delia.’

No matter how good the skill system is, if I run out of magical power, I can’t win. So, I came up with a plan.

A strategy that only works against Delia.

‘She’s overconfident in her abilities.’

Of course, I understand.

She has the talent for it.

So, Delia overwhelms her opponents by pouring out high-cost attack spells in an instant.

That’s her way of fighting.

‘So…’

Focus on defense rather than attack, and on evasion rather than defense. Use the least amount of magical power to nullify all of Delia’s attacks.

That was Noa’s strategy.

And the blue talismans floating around Noa were the key tools for this battle.

‘Devouring of the Cursed Spirit.’

Cursed spirits are souls bound by curses.

The only way for them to be freed from the curse is by devouring magical power.

So, after summoning the cursed spirits, she bound them to talismans and released them to devour all the magical power nearby.

Yes, just like now.

─────

▶Stellar Magic: Flash of the Aurora (Grade 4) nullified

▶Stellar Magic: Supernova (Grade 3) nullified

▶Stellar Magic: Starfall (Grade 2) nullified

▶Stellar Magic: Star Cluster… nullified

─────

The spells were vanishing like crazy.

By now, Delia must be feeling like death.

No matter what spell she uses, it doesn’t activate.

Perhaps that’s why Delia seemed to have drastically revised her strategy.

‘She’s probably hoping the talismans will run out.’

The fact that she’s using lower-grade spells is evidence. In a way, it’s a wise move. It takes one cursed spirit to nullify one spell.

But it’s futile.

Why?

‘Because there are still plenty of cursed spirits.’

On the way from the prairie to the academy.

Ulan and Noa encountered all sorts of bandits and mountain thieves, from the villages of vagabonds to the rugged mountain ranges. And their souls became Noa’s cursed spirits.

‘And there are plenty of talismans too.’

She went without lunch to bind each cursed spirit to a talisman. As a result, Noa currently has one hundred and eighty-two talismans.

All of them contain cursed spirits.

‘With this…’

I can hold out until her magical power runs out.

Her blue eyes shone with hope.

How much time had passed?

The two engaged in a relentless battle.

As soon as Delia finished her incantation, Noa would throw a talisman to nullify it—a fierce and brutal fight.

But the problem was─.

Only the two of them felt that way.

“Uh, just out of curiosity.”

“Did the match start already?”

“Yeah, I think so?”

“But what are those two even doing?”

The students in the spectator seats looked at the arena.

A duel between a mage and a sorcerer.

When they first heard about it, they expected a spectacular and destructive scene.

But reality was different.

One side kept stretching out their hand, while the other kept throwing paper like crazy.

“Uh, but this is kind of…”

“There’s no excitement at all.”

“I’m not even sure if they’re really fighting.”

It was an accurate description.

To a third party, it just looked like the two were flailing in the air.

But in reality, they were serious.

“Haa, haa!”

“Huff! Hoo!”

Heavy breaths escaped their lips.

Their shoulders trembled intermittently, and their legs shook as well. It meant their magical power was almost depleted.

Noa looked at Delia with a tired expression.

‘Wow, she’s really a magical monster.’

Unlike Delia, who was chanting spells directly in the arena, Noa had prepared her talismans in advance.

Even though her magical power consumption was relatively low, she was almost as depleted as Delia. If she had fought without talismans, she would have definitely lost.

‘If it’s like this during the day, at night…’

Noa gulped.

It was natural to be nervous. Delia only shows her full power when fighting at night.

The magical power she accumulates is stellar power.

As long as starlight shines on her, she continuously recovers magical power. As she sighed in relief internally.

Drip!

Suddenly, Delia’s nose started bleeding.

It meant her magical power was depleted.

‘Now!’

This is the only chance.

Noa’s eyes flashed as she grabbed her trembling legs and approached Delia.

“Ugh, ugh!”

Delia stretched out her hand, furrowing her brow.

But the spell didn’t activate. The formula was complete, but there was no magical power left to infuse into it.

And in that moment.

Noa reached right in front of Delia. Now, all she needed was to deliver the final blow for victory.

But then.

“Ah.”

Drip!

Blood started flowing from Noa’s nose as well.

A series of silences flowed through the arena. Sensing that their magical power was depleted, the two stared at each other blankly.

‘The victory condition is clearly…’

One side surrendering.

Or if the judge deems one side unable to fight. Only these two conditions.

But the judge showed no reaction. That meant the battle had to continue.

‘Uh, what do I do?!’

Noa hesitated for a moment.

It was understandable. She had used sorcery and curses to attack others many times, but she had never directly thrown a punch.

‘Should I pinch her cheek first?’

Her soft, white cheek.

If I pinch it hard, it’ll hurt, and maybe she’ll surrender? With that naive thought, she reached out her hand.

“Huh? Huh?”

Noa made a bewildered sound.

Suddenly, Delia stood on her tiptoes and stretched out her hands. Then, she spread her small palms and grabbed Noa’s hair.

“W-Wait! Kyah!”

The pain of having her hair pulled out.

Writhing in pain, Noa soon grabbed Delia’s head with a half-crazed expression.

Delia, also furrowing her brow.

The two grabbed each other’s hair and started shouting at each other.

“Ugh, let go.”

“You started it! You let go first!”

“No, I’m not letting go.”

“Then I’m not letting go either! Kyah!”

The arena quickly turned into chaos.

As the situation worsened, the judge intervened, and the second match ended in a draw.

10.

After the second match ended.

While the arena was being reorganized, the spectator seats were buzzing with talk about the match.

The topics ranged from the surprisingly uneventful battle to the ugly fight at the end. The most talked-about topic was the story of the bold barbarian girl who grabbed the princess’s hair.

Among them was Ivella, who had returned to the spectator seats after her first match.

“Uh, what was that all about?”

Ivella blinked her big eyes.

She had missed part of the match while returning her equipment, but even considering that, she couldn’t make sense of what had happened.

“They were fighting, right?”

“Probably.”

Ulan nodded.

To be honest, he didn’t know what had happened either.

But judging from how desperately Noa had been tearing talismans throughout the match, he sensed that there had been some intense battle.

“Ah, right. I don’t know about the other side, but looking at the professors over there, it seems like they were fighting.”

She pointed to the seats where the faculty was gathered.

Specifically, the professors from the Magic Department.

They all looked surprised or bewildered, engaged in heated discussions.

Not only that.

The head of the Magic Department, Diplyn Cernio, was also looking at Noa with shocked eyes.

From their reactions, it was clear that there was something the general students didn’t know.

“But what happens if it’s a draw?”

Draws in the selection matches are extremely rare. Also, since both of their magical powers were completely depleted, a rematch would be impossible.

As everyone’s attention was focused on the outcome of the second match.

“We will now begin the third match!”

“The called students, please prepare!”

A loud voice echoed through the arena.

Soon after, the list of students participating in the third match was announced.

“Himel Deorg!”

“Ulan Bator! To the arena!”

It was Ulan’s turn.

Ulan immediately stood up.

As he was about to head to the arena, someone suddenly grabbed his arm.

“Ulan.”

It was Ivella.

A slight tremor could be felt through her hand.

Her turquoise eyes also trembled slightly. Ulan, who had been staring at her, asked quietly.

“Do you have something to say to me?”

“……No, it’s nothing.”

Ivella, who had been about to say something, closed her mouth again. Shaking her head vigorously, she spoke with a face free of all distractions.

“Win. You must win.”

“Of course, I plan to.”

“Yeah. Let’s go to the mock battle together.”

With Ivella’s encouraging smile.

Ulan grabbed his axe. Then, he strode confidently toward the arena.

Shortly after.

The third match began.

Chapter 14. What does that have to do with anything?

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