Chapter 7 – The Duel Begins!

Early in the morning, the students gathered in the Training Hall.

In the center of the hall lay a circular arena. Its surface was engraved with a slowly glowing magic circle. Like a stage, it was surrounded by bleachers, where the students watched.

Van, sitting next to me, ignored me. Instead, he smiled broadly, occasionally greeting students he recognized.

“Huh?” Van turned his head. “Oh, that. What’s wrong with you? They’re our classmates.”

“Are we being asked to duel in front of hundreds of people?” I asked weakly.

"The problem is, I'm not confident in my strength."

I chuckled softly. "My preparations are complete. But can I defeat the other students?" Thinking about that, I became even more pessimistic.

“Hehe, you don’t have to worry about that. You don’t have to win everything. Sometimes, defending is the best option.”

“Ugh, thanks for the advice. That’s quite helpful,” I quipped.

Van laughed softly. “Never mind. Don’t be so pessimistic, I’m sure you’re fine.”

I hope so.

“Hey, that’s Alya, right? I hear she can control four elements…” a student whispered, pointing to the silver-haired girl now standing on the arena.

Van and I paused in our conversation. We both turned to follow the student’s gesture.

On the arena, Alya stood nervously, holding her staff.

“Van? You’ve been training her, right?” I asked, half-worried. She looked like she was about to explode her staff again, to my eyes.

Van smiled calmly. “Well, you don’t have to worry about this. That Alya, she’s a completely different person now,” Van said, continuing to stare at Alya.

I studied Van’s expression. I didn’t know what was going through his mind, but it reassured me.

Meanwhile, the student Alya was about to face.

A dwarf girl stood opposite Alya. She wielded a large axe, large enough to be as tall as her. She appeared to be a warrior. With this, it would be witch versus warrior.

The teachers stood on a raised platform, separated from the student stands. One of them, Professor Cedric, the Battle Strategy teacher, stepped forward with a stern expression. His voice echoed as he said, “Today you will participate in a sparring match. Remember, this is not a game. This is not a real battle either. Lethal attacks are prohibited. The fight ends when the opponent surrenders or is unable to continue.”

A blinding light suddenly appeared from the carved arena. A magical barrier activated, a transparent wall rising around the arena, shielding the audience from whatever was about to happen.

“Are you two ready?” Professor Cedric asked loudly.

Both Alya and her opponent nodded.

“Alright, sparring match, begin.”

The sound of a magical gong echoed. As if it were a war cry, my heart began to pound.

Instantly, the Training Hall turned into a sea of cheers.

“Uargh!” the dwarf shouted. She raised her axe and charged straight at Alya.

The dwarf wasted no time. She used the same strategy as Van had used against Sheela: not allowing her opponent to cast spells.

Alya, on the other hand, was shocked, having not had time to anticipate her opponent's move. She quickly thrust her staff into the floor. A wall of earth rose. Unfortunately, it was half-finished, as Alya's incantation wasn't fully completed. The dwarf apprentice easily destroyed it with a single blow.

The massive axe swung and struck the floor, making the arena floor tremble shuddered at the thought of the attack succeeding.

The cheers grew louder. The dwarf stepped forward.

The large axe slid over Alya's head, its slash accompanied by the sound of splitting wind.

Boom!

The stone floor of the arena cracked. Dust billowed. Several students in the front stands spontaneously let out small screams, feeling the vibrations of the impact reaching their seats.

Luckily, Alya was able to dodge quickly. Before her feet had fully touched the ground, she quickly stabbed her staff into the ground. A wall of earth rose hastily—thin, imperfect.

The dwarf's axe struck it. Crash! The wall crumbled like paper.

"There's absolutely no room to breathe," I complained softly. Gritting my teeth, I stared at Alya, who was being pushed back.

Van brushed back his hair. "Well, that was certainly no easy opponent."

I turned around. "Are you sure Alya can win?" I asked doubtfully.

"Don't worry. Have you forgotten that Alya can use four elements?"

"Huh? So she already knows four elements?" I said, surprised.

"Ah, of course I didn't know. I've never taught her any magic other than earth."

I gave Van a blank look.

"What? I only know earth magic. Don't expect much," Van said defensively. "Besides, maybe this duel will reveal the other attributes," Van said, returning to watching the match.

I was speechless. After all, it was possible for someone become stronger when under pressure.

In the arena, the dwarf moved forward again rapidly. Despite her short and heavy build, each swing of her axe cut through the air with incredible pressure. Alya could only jump back, dodging each axe slash.

Before she knew it, Alya was now cornered at the edge of the arena.

"Don't run! Face me!" the dwarf shouted, her voice echoing loudly.

She swung the axe horizontally, nearly hitting Alya. Alya spun, following the axe's direction. She managed to avoid the slash. Quickly, she stabbed her staff into the floor, creating pillars of earth to protect her.

Seeing this, the dwarf grew even angrier. She swung his axe repeatedly. Each time Alya created a pillar, it shattered with a single swing.

Alya held on with all her might. Her staff trembled repeatedly from the impact. Cold sweat trickled down Alya's forehead. Her breath came in short gasps. She couldn't hold on any longer. She had to fight. But what could she do to attack?

Instantly, an idea popped into Alya's head. She drew her staff, creating a bump in the ground to serve as a foothold so she could jump behind the dwarf.

Alya bounced upward, over the dwarf. Then, she quickly sent pillars of earth flying towards the dwarf's body.

The dwarf was briefly surprised by Alya's sudden attack. But, quickly, she met Alya's attack with a slash of her axe.

The attack failed.

The students cheers grew louder, most chanting the dwarf's name. Few supported Alya.

Alya grew increasingly panicked. Amidst her panic, her memories flashed. Without realizing it, Alya recalled Sheela's movements when she performed water and wind magic. The flowing water, the wind twisting with the elf's hand movements.

Alya squeezed her staff. "If... if only I could imitate her," Alya muttered.

The axe was raised again, this time a finishing attack, a downward-upward slash. Alya reflexively swung the staff crosswise.

Whoosh!

Instead of the ground that appeared, a vortex of wind blocked the axe's path, pushing it aside. The attack that should have ripped through her body was instead deflected, sending the dwarf staggering.

The arena suddenly fell silent.

Alya froze, her eyes wide.

I stared at it in silence. Van clenched his fists.

That, wind magic.

"That, wind magic?!" One of the professors stood up, his voice cracking through the silence.

The dwarf growled and charged forward again. But now Alya didn't hesitate. She flicked her staff once more—and a jet of water shot out, sliding onto the floor, making it slippery.

The dwarf, caught off guard, stumbled. Before he could react, Alya cast a thin wind spell that gently struck the dwarf.

The dwarf's body slipped and fell hard to the arena floor.

Alya didn't waste the opportunity. She pointed her staff at the dwarf's face. "Give up, please," she said softly.

The dwarf was shocked. She considered the situation. Her opponent was no ordinary student; she was a four-attribute magic user. She didn't stand a chance.

"I surrender."

And with that, the first duel ended.

oOo

After that, the subsequent duels were boring.

There was warrior versus warrior, witch versus witch, or, like Alya earlier, warrior versus witch. But everything moved quickly. It seemed to be a one-sided battle. Only Alya's match seemed to be able to "turn the tide."

Despite this, I was growing increasingly worried.

"What are you worried about?" Van asked, noticing my expression.

I rubbed my face. "Oh, nothing? Just normal anxiety."

Van looked at me. "Are you scared?"

I was about to retort when the announcement sounded again.

"Next match, Nolan versus Kara."

The arena was abuzz again. This was the first time all day that an alchemist duel had taken place. The students seemed enthusiastic about it.

I tensed. Oh, can this match be held in a quiet place?

“Hahaha. I was just talking about it. Nolan, get down!” Van said, slapping me hard on the shoulder.

“Hey! That hurts, you know.” I pushed Van’s hairy hand away.

“Woah, relax. Sorry, sorry, I meant to calm you down, you know,” Van said.

Forget it. That didn’t help at all.

I walked down the stands with a confused expression. Honestly, the announcement took me by surprise. I was hoping I’d at least get one last fight. Who would have thought I’d be called up so soon?

Ah, never mind. The sooner the better.

Kara followed me down from the stands. When we passed, Kara gave me a mocking smile.

“Are you ready to lose?” Kara asked, trying to sway me.

I relaxed my shoulders. “Strange, why should I be the one to lose?”

Kara smiled wryly. Her provocation failed. You picked the wrong opponent when it comes to mental strength.

“Keep it up, Nolan!” one of the students said as I passed. I turned to see who it was.

“Oh, it’s you, Alya.” She sat down next to Sheela and waved at me.

“Good luck,” Alya said.

Ugh, how was I supposed to respond? I just lowered my head slightly.

I began to enter the arena while preparing my equipment. I took out a device shaped like a firearm from my old world. The difference was, I didn’t use bullets for ammunition. Instead, I used glass potion bottles with various effects.

Kara, on the other hand, slung her belt across her chest. The belt held glass bottles larger than mine. She also wore a belt of bottles around her waist. Seeing Kara dressed like that reminded me of the guerrillas of my old world.

"Are you two ready?" Professor Cedric asked from his podium.

We both nodded.

"The duel begins." The signal for the match began. The crowd cheered.

We both took our stances, eyeing each other warily. Unlike previous duels that opened immediately with attacks, duels between alchemists always began with calculation and analysis of the opponent.

The key to winning a battle against an alchemist was using our brains.

I counted the number of glass bottles attached to Kara's body. "Ten, two bottles each containing the same potion," I muttered.

So, she had at least five tricks up her sleeve.

I myself carried 10 bottles with different effects. However, numbers weren't an advantage here.

"Do you feel defeated yet, Nolan?" Kara asked. She seemed to have finished analyzing me.

"Don't get too confident," I said. I cocked my gun and fired.

Bang.

A bottle flew swiftly toward the center of the arena. As it shattered, white smoke billowed out of it, blanketing the arena in thick smoke, obscuring both of our vision.

"Wow, good plan," Kara praised behind the smoke. "But, wouldn't that also make you unaware of my position?"

Kara was right. I did manage to cover my position. But I also didn't know where Kara was.

Unfortunately, Kara was a bit careless in this matter. I quickly moved to one side of the arena while Kara was still talking. Then, I swiftly fired the second bottle.

Bang.

"Ouch."

The bottle flew off, hitting something. It seemed to have hit Kara's body.

Stupid. If you keep talking, I'll know where you are.

I held my position, waiting for the white smoke to clear. The other students also fell silent, wondering what was about to happen.

However, a bottle suddenly flew in front of me.

I quickly dodged, but the bottle suddenly shattered in mid-flight.

Crack. The moment the bottle shattered, a sticky liquid drenched me.

"Ugh, what is this?" I said, disgusted.

"Hmm, looks like we share the same fate, huh?" Kara said. The thick smoke that had enveloped the arena had now cleared. I could now see Kara's figure clearly.

Kara stood there, half of her body frozen from the liquid I had fired earlier. Meanwhile, her left hand was free. It was the one that had managed to throw the bottle at me.

I grumbled.

"Have you run out of tricks?" Kara said. She paused for a moment, focused on something. Shortly after, she growled and used all her strength to break the ice covering her body.

Kara was free from my ice. “Now, are you willing to lose?”

“You’re getting excited too quickly,” I said. I tried to cock my gun. It was a little difficult because the sticky liquid was starting to harden.

Bang.

Another bottle flew out. It exploded, engulfing my liquid and instantly setting it on fire. I quickly got out of the flames.

Pat-pat. I patted my slightly burned clothes. “Well, with this, we’re even.”

Kara was silent. “You seem pretty tough, huh?” She pulled out one of her bottles.

“You just found out?” I cocked my gun again.

Bang.

The bottle was aimed straight at Kara. Then it fell to her feet.

Kara stared in confusion. “Hahaha, what did you throw?” Kara asked, picking up my bottle.

“Well, it’s just a sleeping potion,” I said.

“WHAT!” Kara’s eyes widened. She intended to throw the bottle, but it was too late. The liquid inside had reacted, emitting purple smoke. It quickly enveloped Kara’s body.

“Damn you... Nol....” Kara said, holding her drowsy body. But my sleeping potion was too strong. She slumped to the ground and began snoring loudly.

I stared at Kara’s body, now sprawled on the arena floor. You’re wrong, I just didn’t want this fight to last long.

The students immediately cheered, joining in the celebration of my victory. Without realizing it, I smiled a little.

Is this what it feels like to be victorious? I looked at my hands. Then, I clenched them.

Unfortunately, that feeling didn't last long.

"Next fight. Sheela versus Van!"

Upon hearing that announcement, my body immediately went limp. Just like Kara, who was now fast asleep.