Iron Hans

     In a secluded section of the stands, two figures stood side by side.

     “What’s with all the commotion? Some last-minute event?” asked a girl with an impeccable appearance.

     “Oh! Lady President! You’re finally here.” The Vice President was also quite pleasant-looking, though far more understated.

     “Whose idea was it to hold a duel on the very first day?” said the President as she analyzed the scenario.

     “Lars. Looks like he started another unnecessary fight.”

     “Hmm…” The President’s scowl said everything that needed to be said. “Did he use the Student Council’s name this time?”

     “… Yes.”

     A brief silence fell as the President reined in her anger.

     “How do you plan to handle this idiot?” asked the Vice President.

     “… I want to rip his tongue out.”

     ***************************************************************************

     The time for the grimoire duel had finally arrived.

     “Ready? Three! Two! One!...” Arm outstretched, Professor Ye Xian shouted the command the students had been waiting for. “Begin!”

     This is it, Chelsea. Your very first battle, right on day one. I really wished I hadn’t been targeted so early on, but since we were already here, there was no point holding back. It was time to show what I could do.

     Deep breath. Control your mana flow and begin to blend with the mana of the surrounding environment. Regulate your breathing and the rhythm of your steps. Make them lighter than the wind.

     What I was about to do didn't involve any magical skills; it was a technique I had developed while hunting in the forest. Wild beasts are sensitive to sounds and even to the surrounding mana, always alert to the presence of monsters or predators. To take them by surprise, you have to completely erase your presence while closing in at top speed, leaving them no time to react.

     The moment Lars looked away to grab his grimoire, I lunged forward. Executing my technique right in front of everyone, all I could hear from the distance were a few gasps of shock: “Did she disappear?”

     Well, to an outsider, I really must have vanished or turned into a blur. The human eye has a limit to what it can track; movements that are too fast or sudden become nothing more than a smudge. For example, hold your hand in front of your face and wave it rapidly side to side—you can still make out the shape of your hand, but your eyes can’t follow the motion itself.

     In less than a second, I closed the distance to Lars. With my machete in hand, a single strike would be all it took to end this duel. If we were outside this magical arena, I would have had to hold back my strength, worrying about severing a limb or causing a fatal wound. But since that wasn't the case, I could go all out. Just like I did during my hunts: a coup de grâce straight to a vital spot.

     Huh! He’s fast?! ... Aiming for his neck, I tried to land an upward slash, but Lars managed to pull his head back just enough, causing the blade to catch his chin and graze his cheek instead. A horizontal slash might have been more effective, but I didn't have the stomach to try and decapitate someone. "What a pain."

     While the audience fell silent from the initial shock, blood trickled down Lars’s face, dripping onto the ground.

     “You little bitch.” The veins around his eyes bulged with rage. Spinning his body, he tried to catch me with a roundhouse kick, but I had enough time to dodge backward out of range.

     I didn't expect a brute like him to have better reflexes and speed than a wild rabbit. This was going to complicate things. My trump card failed, but it wasn't the end of the line. I lost the element of surprise, but I could still maintain my offensive. The slash didn't land cleanly, but it still hit. It would’ve been enough to leave a scar on his chin if we were outside.

     The main problem was coming up next. Whatever came out of his grimoire, I needed to be ready to dodge, close the gap again, and land as many slashes as it took to bring him down.

     “My turn!” I wouldn't be able to stop him from finishing his incantation; he had already flipped the pages and prepared his next move. “Hidden beneath the lake, a wild giant clad in iron. Grant me your strength and protection, so that I may become a man! IRON HANS!”

     His grimoire flashed for a moment, and an aura of silver ether began to flow across his body, condensing and solidifying into a suit of metal armor. Except for his eyes, his entire body was covered in it.

     It was hard to tell the exact durability of that material just by looking, but since it was magic, it certainly wouldn't be easy to cut through. "This is going to be a real pain", I sighed inwardly.

     Either way, I still had to try. Using my technique once more, I closed in rapidly, attempting a vertical strike directly at his head. This time, he didn't even try to dodge; he simply raised his right arm into the path of my machete to block it.

     “That’s not gonna work again!” ... I get it, you idiot, I don't need your commentary.

     A clash between strength and speed? His armor was tough, but it didn't look indestructible. I didn't have the brute force to overpower it, but hitting the exact same spot repeatedly might be enough to compromise its structural integrity. If this turned into a war of attrition, I could hold out until the fifteen-minute time limit ran out.

     But the real trouble was only just beginning…

     “My turn!” The armor was merely his defense; his offensive was still to come. “I shall hammer and nail, just like a proper craftsman—Hammer of Sucellus!”

     A magic circle flared on the ground, and from it emerged a long-handled hammer, as long as a spear. He wielded it with both hands effortlessly, with the mastery of someone who had trained with it countlessly.

     Lars charged at me. The combined weight of the hammer and armor should have slowed him down, but none of that seemed to matter—his agility remained frighteningly high. He lunged forward with a sweeping motion, keeping the base of the hammer low, lifting it at the very last second to strike upward, just as I had done to him. As soon as the blow missed, he used gravity to slam the hammer downward, trying to crush me.

     Dodging wasn't difficult, but the impact of the hammer against the floor shattered the surrounding tiles, carving out a crater and generating a shockwave that forced me to retreat even further. The power behind his attacks was a serious problem. Not only would a single hit defeat me, but I couldn't find an opening to counterattack either.

     "!!!" 

     “Hammer and NAIL!”

     It was my keen instincts that allowed me to survive what came next. I felt something heavy plummeting right above me. Without even looking up, I leapt to the side, barely avoiding being crushed.

     Where I had been standing, a massive, solid nail—nearly as tall as me—was now driven into the floor by its own weight.

     It wasn't over. Multiple nails began to materialize, raining down to impale me. Most came from above, but some shot out diagonally or burst straight from the ground. Slipping through by the skin of my teeth, I managed to keep them from touching me.

     “Not bad! Not bad at all! Hahahaha!” Lars roared with euphoria. He was the only one having any fun here. “Let’s see if you can dodge this one!”

     Materializing a nail right in front of him, he spun his body, swinging his hammer like a bat.

     CLANG! A sharp metallic crack signaled his move to everyone. The nail shot straight toward my chest like a projectile.

     Luckily for me, his stupidity got the better of him. If he hadn't announced he was throwing something to dodge, I wouldn't have been so prepared. Stepping aside with a single movement, I let the nail whiz past me. It slammed into the ether barrier behind me, embedding itself deep inside. If I hadn't dodged, I would be impaled right now. Well, at least that meant the arena was safe for the audience outside.

     Staying on the defensive for this long was exhausting and tedious. I think it was finally time to try once more.

     I had expected my technique to be a trump card against most mages—that they all preferred keeping their distance while relying on reading their grimoires. Yet on my very first day, I had to face someone who excelled at close-quarters combat. Did I just have the bad luck of bumping into the minority right off the bat?

     Our eyes met. Lars wore a confident, arrogant smirk. I, on the other hand, held my machete with a confidence that surpassed his. He knew as well as I did that the next move was mine.

     “Ready?”

     “Bring it.”

     I only have one chance left—it's time to go all in!