Chapter 299 She wants attention 2
It was the same morning.
Waking up, training my body, and meditating under the mana-gathering formation. But since today was another day for the duels, I didn't push myself as I would normally do for my magic training.
CLANK CLANK
But that didn't mean I didn't push myself to spar with Lirienne.
"Huff…" A girl was lying on the ground breathing heavily before me.
"You have improved."
Standing before the girl with silver hair, I spoke. Even though my trait didn't let me act like I was tired before others, I was actually breathing heavily inside. After all, the girl before me had been training on her daggers non-stop for all this time. Considering her talent as one of the most annoying characters, it made sense as well.
"….I still couldn't beat you," Lirienne mumbled. After some time, she made it her goal to defeat me one-on-one fight with our weapons.
"You still can't use your magic efficiently. That's why." I answered. There was just no way that an assassin specialized in daggers could beat me one-on-one when I had my sword equipped.
It was just not possible.
"I know, but it is hard to find any records of my magic." She was also maturing quite well, slowly but surely opening herself to others. Now, she could speak more and could explain herself better.
"You will find it soon, don't worry. I will keep my promise."
"Un."
'I guess the key was to give her a new identity.' I didn't know the details of the life she had gone through in the normal game scenario, but she didn't have a normal life in a society filled with villains.
Her hatred for her sister and her family was still there; I could see it. But at the same time, the gaze I had felt for the first time as a lone wolf who hated everyone in this world was not as strong as it was supposed to be.
"I am going now." Saying that I stood up and put the Nihil on my space ring.
TUCK
But I still felt the same pull on my clothes. It was the pull that would always come whenever I was about to leave.
"You did well."
Putting my hand on her head, I satisfied her emotional addiction as she purred under my touch.
That was the morning of the day.
*******
"Hmm?"
As the afternoon time came, a bunch of sounds entered my ears. Students were talking amongst themselves about the duels.
Normally I would not get interested in duels, but one thing entered my ears.
"I heard Declan Blackwood was going to challenge a duel to Callius Augustride, the ranked-one student."
It was both my name and the name of a named character from the game. From the first fiasco at the first week of the academy, the students are calling me Callius Augustride, and I did not do anything to change their perception since I didn't want to bother for now.
"Declan Blackwood? The son of the green tower master," one student exclaimed with surprise in their voice.
"Yes," another student confirmed. "He's a ranked-four student, and he's going to duel with the ranked one? It seems like an uneven match."
"Exactly! I heard he's been looking down on commoners and acting all high and mighty just because of his family background," a third student chimed in.
"I can't stand people like that," another student added, sounding annoyed. "Just because he comes from a powerful family doesn't mean he can treat others like they're beneath him."
"I hope that rank one student puts him in his place," someone else said, and the sentiment was met with agreement from the rest of the group.
"Yeah, did you guys hear about Callius' duel yesterday?" one of the students said, drawing the attention of the others.
"Oh, you mean that duel with Emilia?" another student asked.
"Yeah, that one."
"I was there at that time…."
"So, what do you think?"
"To be honest, I think even seniors might have a hard time beating him."
"He was that strong?"
"He was. He looked like an emperor."
After the topic turned to praising me, I decided to leave. After all, there was nothing I could learn more about the duel I had participated in.
Though, hearing that made me think about the guy on the talk.
'Declan Blackwood.'
He was the brother of the senior that had just made a deal with demons, and he, too, was an elitist that despised commoners.
'Fourth rank student and a noble of empire.'
To be honest, I had never interacted with him so far in the academy, so I didn't know what kind of person he was right now.
But from the game, I knew he was an asshole that blackmailed commoners to do unspeakable things. After all, he was one of the future bosses in the academy, though he would shine in the second year of the academy.
'In any case, him challenging me to a duel make things a little complicated.'
I knew his skills from the game, and they were the real deal. After all, he was the child of the green tower master, the strongest wind magician on the continent. However, the thing that made it tricky was not his skills.
It was his motive since the reason why he would target me was simple.
Either it was his mother that would want to target me, or he would act on his own. But at the end of the day, both amount to the same thing.
'They are going to become my enemies.'
Since there was no way I could lose purposefully, that meant I was going to beat him if he challenged me to a duel, and the results should be obvious.
'They are going to hate me more and target me more.'
But that didn't matter.
'Bring it on.'
Just as I was walking to the duel arena, I spotted a familiar girl with silver hair flowing through her waist.
A crowd of people had already formed around her as she was waiting for others. In a way, that was normal since the girl in the subject was the second rank in the academy.
"Brother, you are here." And the same smooth voice came not long after. Though instead of containing its usual playfulness, it rather contained a serious voice as she spoke.
"Of course, I am here," I answered. After all, this was the time we decided.
Around us was a crowd of students, thanks to Diana's appearance, and hearing us talking like that, they also started murmuring amongst themselves.
"They are siblings, right?"
"Wasn't he banished from his household? Are they still talking with each other?"
"They are. I saw them talking to each other after classes all the time. And they don't talk with others too much."
"Well…If I was ranked one, I would brag about it everywhere, though."
"That's why you are not ranked one."
Just as the crowd was talking, Diana raised her ticket before me and tore it.
"Callius. I challenge you to a duel." It was the same procedure before, as Diana spoke with a tone of seriousness. She would normally call me brother, but since it was a duel application, she needed to call my name and surname which didn't exist.
"What?"
"She challenged him to a duel?"
"Duel between second rank and first rank. That is worth to record."
"Yeah, call the media club; I heard they were going to reward those who informed them about banger events."
And soon, the crowd erupted in exclamations as usual, though there were some others that were dissatisfied.
"I thought he was going to put that Declan bastard into his place…. I guess we won't be seeing it for a while."
Though I didn't want to keep this fa?ade any longer and accepted Diana's duel immediately.
"I accept."
With those two words, I tapped on the academy's bracelet, making it shine for a second, followed by the notification came showing which arena we would be dueling on.
As Diana and I made our way to the designated duel arena, a growing crowd of students followed us, eager to witness the spectacle. Whispers and murmurs filled the air, and it seemed like the entire academy was buzzing with excitement over the unexpected duel between the top two ranked students.
And the moment we had taken our places, a crowd had already formed around the audience section, showing how people were eager to watch.
'Ho…Even the vice-headmaster and tower masters are here.' I thought to myself, observing the crowd.
Diana's silver hair gleamed in the sunlight as she raised her staff, her expression focused and determined.
The referee stepped forward, holding up a hand to signal the beginning of the duel. I could see his hands shaking seeing the crowd forming around. Even he was not expecting such an amount of students, as well.
"Let the match between Diana and Callius Augustride, the top two ranked students, begin!"
And the fight started just like that, with his mistake….
--------------------A/N----------------------
Hope you liked the chapter.
You can check my discord if you want. You will be able to see the illustrations here and engage in a conversation with me if I am available.
https://discord.gg/XJEgBRM3C
This content is taken from (f)reewe(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦