Amelia Indras Einhardt POV
"Is that guy fucking insane?" Felix shouted in a state of shock.
The three of them had just witnessed Soren's suicidal attack, in which he had launched himself at Ivan, clung to his body, then cast a spell directly from his tongue.
Esper clutched her mouth with a pained expression, Felix's mouth was agape, and Amelia was leaning forward, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
The move Soren had just pulled off was something that the three of them had never seen before.
"Did you see the aftermath, though?" Esper asked, still clutching her mouth, her voice lacking any playfulness.
What Esper was talking about was the fact that right after the spell had been cast, the skin around Soren's mouth had been severely burned.
It was such a bad injury that even the second-ranked student of arcane studies had flinched at the thought of the pain.
Still, Soren had barely paid it any attention, instead calmly using divine power to heal the wound, then immediately returning to normal.
"Seriously, what is his pain tolerance?"
On the surface, Soren looked extremely weak; his body was thin and small, and his skin was so pale that he seemed sickly, yet he hardly flinched when burning his entire mouth.
"He was in pain." Amelia corrected them.
With her eyesight, she had seen Soren's twitching eyebrow, him clutching his mouth, the tears in his eyes, everything, but even with all of those things, Amelia still thought it was impressive.
"When did he learn to do that…?" Felix, as a fellow magician and the person who had been by Soren's side the longest, was lost.
"He learned from Carlen," Amelia responded.
"But didn't that guy just teach him how to create circles at his feet?"
Amelia shrugged; she wasn't a magician, so she had no clue how Soren had performed such actions. All she knew was that he had grown.
"This is the first time I've seen him fight. Is he always like this?"
"It's his only advantage."
"Even during the first mock duels, he was able to fight like that, but he's definitely gotten weirder…" Felix said, shaking his head with a sigh.
Both of the people who had been with him for a while responded to Esper's question.
"But how?"
Amelia shrugged while Felix responded.
"No clue, I asked him once, but he wouldn't give me a proper answer."
"I'm so jealous…" Esper said with a pout.
"Me too, Esper. Me too…"
••✦ ♡ ✦•••
Ivan Olfram POV
"Shit…" Soren said with a bitter expression.
Ivan, whom Soren had thought would be out for the count with that somewhat suicidal attack, was on his feet, and as if that wasn't bad enough, the mana around him was beginning to become visible to the naked eye.
That could mean only one thing.
Whoosh
Mana Enhancement.
"You… What is wrong with you?" Ivan asked, his face a mixture of fear and anger.
Ivan found it impossible to understand how Soren could use an attack with such recoil without hesitation.
It was a misunderstanding, as Soren was unaware of the damage he would suffer, but Ivan had no way of knowing that; instead, he felt a sense of fear towards his reckless opponent.
In a single move, he had almost completely lost the duel, and if Soren did it again, not even Ivan was confident he could avoid it.
The only reason he escaped unharmed was the effect of a relic his father had lent him.
'Feeling fear towards a human, what a disgrace.'
Ivan couldn't help but feel disgust at himself for feeling such a thing towards a lowly race.
Ever since birth, he had been raised under the premise that he, his family and his race were the strongest.
It was an outdated thought process that didn't match the current times, but his family, being of lion blood, were unable to let go of their pride.
– Ivan, remember this. Never let any of those lowly creatures look down on us. Dwarves, who are only good at tinkering. Elves who look down on everything, unable to see through their own arrogance. Demons who taint everything they touch. And humans, the worst of the races, greedy and gluttonous, yet weak, lustful and prideful, yet stupid. Never forget that we lions must never bow our heads to any of them if we ever hope to one day regain our former glory.
Those were the words that Ivan's father had drilled into his and his siblings' heads since birth; Ivan would never be able to forget them, even if he tried.
'I'll kill him.'
Ivan's thoughts of winning had disappeared, replaced by an intense bloodlust towards Soren.
'Both for the princess and for a lowly creature like him stepping above his place.'
If Soren could have heard his thoughts, he likely would have scoffed.
Amelia had been the one to approach him, and because of that, he had agonised for so long.
He looked up and glared at Soren, his eyes no longer carrying a hint of fear, instead replaced by an intense hatred that could never be quenched.
Step…
Ivan took his first step since the duel had begun.
••✦ ♡ ✦•••
Soren Arden POV
"You… What is wrong with you?"
"Huh?"
Soren didn't know what Ivan was asking; instead, responding with genuine confusion, but Ivan didn't bother explaining further.
Step…
Ivan took his first step since the duel had begun.
It was then that a chime was heard in Soren's ear.
Ting-♪
.
[Unique Skill [?er?] is showing minor signs of awakening.]
.
He took his eye off the slowly approaching wall and looked around in a hurry to see the translucent window that should have appeared, but…
'It's not there?'
He had clearly heard the sound, but there was nothing visible.
His body felt slightly different, but he didn't have time to worry about that right now.
The pressure emanating from Ivan made his previous self look like a joke.
"「Inventory」"
He quickly grabbed Labrys from his inventory, rearming himself, before chanting an incantation, knowing full well that he would have to use everything at his disposal to win now.
"To the one who watches over me, see my strength and give your blessing for my victory. 「Blessing of Blood」
.
[Blessing of Blood has been applied!]
.
[25% Increase to Blood-Element damage!]
.
"Hoo…"
Soren gripped Labrys tightly and bit his tongue, letting blood pool in his mouth.
The bitter metallic taste made him feel nauseous, but he suppressed the urge to spit and held the blood in place as he watched Ivan.
Ivan had already picked up his bastard sword and flipped his visor down long ago, giving no openings to Soren as he made his slow and steady approach.
But Soren could tell that the atmosphere around Ivan had changed; he didn't know what had changed, but Ivan gave off an oppressive atmosphere, as if telling Soren to accept what was coming.
'Let's use what Lily taught me.'
Over the past three days, Soren had been practising his blood magic profusely, so much so that he had already passed the first two steps of Lilliana's three-step plan.
It was an overwhelmingly fast speed, but Soren knew why.
It was because of the effects of [Lunaris's Liquified Mana], which granted him a bonus in mana control by an almighty 200%, meaning Soren could almost entirely skip the first step that Lilliana had written down.
'But I never got to step three.'
He could control and solidify his blood easily, but transforming was another matter entirely.
He had managed fundamental geometric shapes, but precise transformations, such as those made by blades or lances, were impossible for him at the moment.
'Simplicity is key…'
He replayed Lilliana's teachings in his mind as he lowered his stance.
– At first, focus on simple shapes. Anything beyond that will be too difficult for you right now and consume too much blood. It's all about imagination. As long as you can precisely imagine what you want to create, you will manage. However, remember that simplicity is key.
Thanks to the blood in his mouth, he was unable to cast a spell out of fear of spillage, but that was fine; all he had to do was get close enough to do some meaningful damage.
Dash!
His feet left the floor.
The speed was slow, especially compared to his earlier advances, but even that was enough to surprise.
Thanks to him advancing without a spell, Ivan had been momentarily caught off guard, expecting the near-instant impact he had received all of the other times.
Still, he quickly retook his stance as he noticed Soren's regular approach.
Wooongg!
Both Soren's axe and Ivan's sword shone brightly as the distance between them shrank.
「Olfram Swordsmanship - Lion's Claw」
Ivan's sword swung first, with three claw-shaped lines following the path of his sword. It was an oppressive attack, matching his fighting style.
「Einhardt Axemanship - Crescent」
Soren's axe finally swung in a pattern that was becoming increasingly familiar to him, but instead of aiming for the sword, he ducked lower and swung at Ivan's shin.
Splatter!
Because of his action, Soren's left arm was left in tatters, receiving almost the entirety of Ivan's fierce, brute-strength focused attack.
Thud!
As Soren's left arm dangled lifelessly, his right arm holding Labrys finally struck Ivan's body, causing Ivan to stagger back a couple of steps.
'That's enough.'
A smile formed on Soren's face as his mouth slowly opened, causing Ivan to recoil and pull his arms up, likely expecting the suicidal attack from earlier.
Trickle…
The blood in his mouth trickled down his lips as his mouth opened to reveal another magic circle; this time, however, the colour was different, it was a deep, crimson red.
"「He-oh-ki-eh-sis」"
Once again, the name of the spell was slurred, but once again the magic circle shone, indicating that it was successful.
The blood that had been falling down his chin and arm began floating, clustering together until it formed a ball, the size of Soren's head, which was how much he had bled.
Soren's mind felt clouded over as he stopped his trembling feet; his entire body was cold, but that was irrelevant right now.
He focused his hazy mind and repeated Lilliana's words.
'Simplicity is key…'
– Simplicity is key
In less than a second, the blood orb has transformed into a long, thin object, the length of Soren's arm, with a pointed end, similar to the end of an awl.
Then, just as the shape had completed the blood, it hardened, its durability becoming tougher than most metals.
With the process complete, Soren shot it towards Ivan, who was still covering his face.
The entire process lasted only seconds from the moment Soren cast the spell.
It was in this exact moment that Soren truly realised how powerful blood magic was.
Whoosh!
The blood awl cut through the air, and only then did Ivan realise something was off, lowering his arms from his face, but it was too late.
Stab!
The awl pierced the shoulder of the arm holding the kite shield.
Ivan was thrown backwards by the impact and was pinned to the floor by the blood awl, his own blood streaming from the wound.
"Arghhhh!"
His screams of pain were heard, but Soren paid them no mind, raising his trembling hand and casting the spell he had prepared in the meantime.
"「Blood Absorption」"
The blood awl turned back into liquid and flowed back into Soren's body.
His tattered arm still lay lifelessly at his side, blood trickling down, but Soren ignored it, turning his attention to the TA presiding over the duel, waiting for her to call that it was over.
But just as the TA opened her mouth to speak, her mouth clamped shut again, and Ivan spoke, causing Soren to look back over at his opponent.
"Don't you dare end this."
Stagger
Ivan slowly lifted his body, his right arm drooping, barely holding on by a thread, mirroring Soren's own.
"...You're still standing?" Soren's eyes widened in shock.
The blood awl, boosted by a blessing, was by far his most potent attack, yet somehow Ivan was asking to continue after receiving it.
He felt that his stamina and mana were running low; that was why he had risked using such an attack in the first place, because he thought that with one big attack, it would be over, but he was proven incorrect.
"Shut up… Filthy creature…" Ivan spat out.
Ivan's breathing was rough and his posture unsteady, but he raised his bastard sword towards Soren with venom in his eyes.
"You… Will lose…"
Fwoosh!
The mana surrounding Ivan disappeared for a moment before reforming at his feet, but unlike when it surrounded his entire body, the mana at his feet was so dense that you could even see its colour.
A cold sweat trickled down Soren's back as he raised Labrys and formed [Shield] on his tongue, but before he could complete the spell, Ivan disappeared.
Slash!
Then, in less than a fraction of a second, he reappeared only inches away from Soren, his arm already going through the motion of swinging his sword.
'I'm fucked.'
Those words swirled in Soren's mind as the sword inched ever closer to his neck.
It was only right at that moment that Soren finally discovered what had changed within Ivan throughout the duel.
'He wants to kill me.'
There was nothing Soren could do to stop the sword that was right in front of his neck.
Not even the TA would be able to stop it.
Because the duel was seen as such a petty squabble, they had only assigned a TA from the academic studies major to watch over, not expecting anything significant to happen.
Because of that, Soren was going to die.
Lilliana was in the audience, but she was a magician; the time to form a magic circle alone would be too long, never mind casting the spell.
It was then that it was heard.
Ting-♪
.
[Unique Skill [?era] has slightly awakened.]
.
Soren was still unable to see the status window, but he felt it; his body, which had felt strange ever since Ivan had used mana enhancement, was undergoing a change.
Whoosh
The blade sliced cleanly through Soren's neck.
————「❤︎」————