The next day, the advanced class was in the dueling arena for their martial arts lesson. Several Mage students were also attending the class.
It was important for them to understand the movements and techniques of martial artists, considering that Mages were at a disadvantage whenever they were forced into close-quarters combat against them.
"You have all learned the three basic martial arts techniques taught by the academy during your first year," said Instructor Torun, a Brawler Master. "Now that you are in your second year, you will learn variations of those three basic techniques."
Brawlers were martial artists who relied primarily on their bare hands as their weapons. Brawlers incorporated two of the three basic techniques—Power and Agility—into their fighting styles.
The Temper spell was one of the variations of the Power and Defense techniques that academy students learned during their first year. This spell could strengthen an object or a part of the user's body, allowing it to be used for either offense or defense.
During our second year, we began learning the Acceleration spell. In Chapter One of the game, only Elena and Brian were recorded as being capable of mastering this spell to a high degree.
Speaking of Elena and Brian, both of them were currently watching me. Brian's reason was obvious—he wanted to challenge me to another Sparring match—while Elena seemed to be wondering whether appointing me as the head of the Disciplinary Committee had been the right choice.
There were two major pieces of news making waves throughout the academy today.
The first concerned Brian, Ariel, and Roland, who had defeated a Level 5 monster—a creature that normally required an official Knight to kill. This had made their names quite popular throughout the academy. Apparently, the academy authorities believed that they were the ones who had defeated the monster the day before yesterday.
The second was Senior Renald's resignation from his position as head of the Disciplinary Committee. The academy had criticized him for failing to assign the other committee members to patrol the grounds, which had ultimately resulted in Sephira's death at the hands of the monster.
As Student Council President, Elena had then recommended me as Senior Renald's replacement. She had done so to fulfill one of the agreements we had made yesterday.
"Today, you will practice the Acceleration spell," Instructor Torun announced as he activated his magic. Particles of light appeared around both of his legs. "This spell is a variation of the Agility technique that can increase the user's speed by up to twice its normal level."
Instructor Torun then began running around the arena. He needed only thirty seconds to complete a Full Circle, while the current student record was held by Senior Baldwin at one minute and ten seconds.
However, Instructor Torun's Acceleration spell appeared to be faster than the one Brian had used. This was because the more frequently you used the spell, the more efficient and economical its mana consumption became.
"Try practicing the spell for twenty minutes. After that, we will conduct a Sparring exercise so that you can become accustomed to using this ability in combat," the Instructor ordered. "As for Brian and Princess Elena, I know you have already mastered this spell. Therefore, I will teach the two of you the advanced version of it—Accel."
Accel was the next level of the Agility technique. Not only was it faster than Acceleration, but it was also much easier to maneuver with. Most official Knights only used Acceleration when escaping or pursuing an opponent. When actually fighting an enemy, they more often relied on Accel.
After practicing the Acceleration spell for twenty minutes, Instructor Torun ordered the Knight students to Spar with the Mage students. The rules were simple: the Mage student would win if they managed to hit the Knight student with their magic. Conversely, they would lose if the Knight student managed to touch their body.
"All right, Valeria de Artagnan! Come here and be the first Mage to participate in this Sparring exercise!" Instructor Torun called out.
A beautiful girl then walked toward the center of the arena. Her distinctive green hair marked her as a descendant of a renowned family. The emotionless expression on her face seemed to indicate that she had little interest in anything besides studying and becoming stronger.
She was Valeria de Artagnan—the daughter of Archwizard Julian de Artagnan, the leader of the Aragon Empire's Council of Mages.
"We're so unlucky. Why does she have to be the first person we fight?!"
"Ugh... Looks like my goal of gaining more points today is going to fail!"
Several Knight students already sounded as though they had given up.
This was only natural, considering Valeria's reputation as one of the strongest Mage students in the academy. She ranked first among the second-year students and third among the entire academy.
"Every student you defeat will earn you an additional ten points toward your ranking," Instructor Torun explained. "Knight student over there! Step forward and fight Valeria!"
He then pointed toward a brown-haired man.
If I remembered correctly, that man was Eric—one of the NPCs from the game *Path of Destiny*. Players could use him as an information gatherer thanks to his excellent ability to blend in with others.
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
"Huh? Why do I have to be the first?" Eric complained, clearly unhappy that his name had been called.
"Get over here, or do you want me to deduct points from your score for today's lesson?" the Instructor threatened.
Eric could only resign himself to his fate as he walked toward the center of the arena to face Valeria. The two of them bowed to one another, following the etiquette of a formal duel.
"Are you two ready?" the Instructor asked as he prepared to give the signal.
Valeria and Eric nodded in response. Both of them remained focused on their respective opponents.
"Begin!"
The moment the Instructor started the match, Valeria aimed her palm at Eric. A powerful gust of wind erupted from her hand.
Her spell struck Eric almost instantly, knocking him unconscious on the spot.
"Ten points for Valeria!" the Instructor announced, signaling the end of the match.
The other Knight students looked at Valeria with a mixture of awe and fear. Her graceful appearance while casting magic was captivating, while her astonishing strength simultaneously inspired a sense of dread.
"With Voiceless Incantation, she must be the student with the fastest spell activation speed!"
"Exactly! I'm so jealous of Miss Valeria's talent!"
The other students began discussing Valeria's abilities.
Valeria possessed a Codex known as Endless Wisdom. This ability allowed her to analyze everything at incredible speed. That was why she could use the technique known as Voiceless Incantation. She already understood the structure of a spell, so she had no need to recite its incantation.
Only five people in Path of Destiny possessed abilities similar to this.
One by one, the Knight students stepped forward to challenge Valeria. Yet not a single one of them managed to last even five seconds against her.
"Instructor, I don't think anyone here can fight me except Princess Elena," Valeria said, already beginning to look bored.
Her statement was perfectly reasonable. Only students capable of using Acceleration could keep up with Valeria's spell activation speed. In fact, I doubted even Brian could touch Valeria at his current level.
Instructor Torun's face clearly showed his disappointment in the Knight students, as not a single one of them had been able to put up a decent fight against Valeria.
His gaze eventually fell upon me. Apparently, he didn't expect anything from me either.
"Now it's your turn to step forward, Raul de Garcia!" the Instructor called.
I walked toward the center of the arena to face Valeria. Our eyes met before she bowed, following proper dueling etiquette. From her expression, it was obvious that she had absolutely no interest in fighting me.
"Begin!"
[Valeria POV]
"You were born to become the best, Valeria."
Those were my mother's final words before she died.
I had devoted my entire life to studying magic and becoming the best, just as my mother had told me with her dying breath. Every day, without fail, I studied and read books about magic.
Eventually, I had reached my limit at the academy-student level. There was no one in this academy who could stand on equal footing with me when it came to magic.
I wanted a strong rival who could help me grow. Standing alone at the summit would only cause me to stagnate and slow down my potential. Princess Elena possessed abilities comparable to mine, but she focused primarily on expanding her influence within the academy.
There was no longer any point in attending this class. I had only come here to observe Brian's abilities. There were rumors that he had managed to injure an Instructor during his entrance examination.
He had entered Grunbelt Academy under the recommendation of Master Erina—the best Wizard among the younger generation of the Aragon Empire. She was also my father's top student in his magic tower.
That was why I was curious about this man named Brian, who had managed to capture Master Erina's attention. Could he really be that extraordinary?
With him here, I hoped to finally find a worthy rival who could help me continue growing.
"Now it's your turn, Raul de Garcia!"
A black-haired man with an expression as cold as ice and eyes as dark as the night walked toward the center of the arena.
I knew him. He was the man who constantly boasted about his strength despite possessing abilities far below what he claimed.
I hated people like him.
I would crush his arrogance with my magic. I wanted to see the miserable look on his face when he realized that there were still plenty of people stronger than him.
"Begin!"
The moment the Instructor started the match, I immediately cast Wind Blast at the man. This spell was stronger than the one I had used against the other students earlier.
"..."
To my surprise, that disgusting man managed to evade my spell. Particles of light could be seen shining around his legs.
Since when could he use Acceleration?
But I had no time to think about it. That man was already running toward me. I aimed both hands at him and increased the intensity of my Wind Blast.
—Bomb! Bomb!
My spells struck nothing but the ground behind him.
This was bad. He was getting closer.
I would have to attack him from an unexpected angle. If so, what about this spell?
Typhoon Blast!
The man suddenly leaped into the air as an explosion of wind erupted from the ground where he had been standing.
He landed and continued closing the distance between us.
He managed to evade that one too?
Not bad for someone like him.
What about another elemental spell?
Earth Shatter!
The ground beneath the man's feet shattered as though a small earthquake had struck the arena. Yet despite the unstable and broken terrain, he still hadn't fallen.
Mud Trap!
I tried transforming the ground beneath him into mud to trap him.
But I failed again.
He always managed to react to my spells almost instantly.
That shouldn't be possible!
My spell activation speed should have been far beyond any academy student's ability to respond to directly.
Could he see the future?
Thunderclap!
Hurricane!
Blazing Fire!
I attacked him with every elemental spell I could use.
Yet it was all futile.
The man dodged every single one.
He was only a few meters away from me now.
His hand reached toward my body.
No...
There was no way I was going to lose to someone like him!
I refused to accept this outcome!
Numion Blast!
—Bomb!
An explosion of wind erupted between us.
I closed my eyes to keep the sand from damaging my vision. But because I had created the magical explosion so close to myself, I ended up losing my balance.
However, I suddenly felt a human hand supporting my waist, preventing me from falling.
I slowly opened my eyes and saw a black-haired man staring directly into mine.
The hand wrapped around my waist belonged to him.
This was the first time a man had ever touched my body.
His face was incredibly close. I could feel his breath against my skin, and there was a small slash across his cheek.
When I reached out to touch the blood on his cheek, he suddenly grabbed my hand, preventing me from touching his wound.
So this was a man's hand?
It was rough, yet warm.
"Ten points for Valeria de Artagnan!"
Hearing the Instructor announce the winner snapped me back to reality. We were in the middle of a Sparring match.
"Eh?"
Only then did I realize that Raul was holding me in his arms while gripping my hand, with the other students watching us.
Our position made us look like a couple dancing together.
"W-What are you doing?! Pervert!"
—Plak!
I slapped him hard enough to send him crashing to the ground.