An Owl's Rise

Chapter 488: Chapter 488 Start of the Duel

Evelyn walked out of the changing room she had been allowed to use inside the Taidale Family’s arena.

Normally, the place was only used for large events like a fighting tournament for the family’s youths that occurred every four years.

A duel against one of the members of the main family seemed to be a big enough deal to open the place up though.

Not that Evelyn really cared that much about where the fight would take place. She really just wanted to harsh Wilfried around and this gave her the justification to do so.

"That looks good on you. You truly give off the air of a seasoned fighter now." Lucia said, complementing Evelyn’s appearance.

Unlike her usual attire, she had put on some light armor that Maeve had provided for her, and there was a mundane, but sturdy spear hanging on her back.

She had initially planned to go into the duel wearing her normal clothing and without a weapon. Her body was already tougher than most armor and she was not really trained with any weapons.

Certainly, she had the magical spear, Aionia Estia in her spatial storage tool, but she was not really practiced with the weapon. She only used it because it amplified her fire magic.

When she had first been told she should be armed and armored to better look the part of a mercenary, she had figured she could use the magic spear.

However, Maeve told her that the weapon was a famous heirloom of the Ultak Empire’s Imperial Family.

It would be easily recognizable and would cause an untold amount of trouble if she was discovered to be in possession of the spear.

So, instead she had opted to use the best spear that Maeve could get her on short notice. And it really was not anything special. Just a durable chunk of metal.

Still, that was perfectly fine for what Evelyn had planned.

Wilfried was absolutely no threat to her.

He was someone that was simply going to be made an example of.

After waiting around for a few more minutes, one of the family’s servants came to inform Evelyn that it was time for her to enter.

She noticed a distinct sneer on the woman’s face, and it was obvious what she thought of Evelyn.

Most of the people present would be rooting for Wilfried. Naturally, they did not look fondly on an outsider brazenly challenging one of their own the same day she arrived with an ostracized member of the family.

’Well, it’s not like I came here for adoration anyway.’ Evelyn thought as she walked through the long hallway leading to the arena’s stage.

The moment that she became visible, she felt hundreds of eyes on her.

The arena’s stands were not packed by any means, but there were a decent number of people in attendance.

Most of them were looking at Evelyn contempt or disdain, but she did notice a few people that were looking at her hopefully.

Considering how Wilfried acted, it only made sense that there were some members of the Taidale Family that hated his guts.

Those that did were clearly rooting for Evelyn to give the pretentious a*shole the beating he most certainly deserved.

’It’ll only be the minority, but I’ll be making some of the people in the stands happy today.’

As Evelyn walked up the stairs to the raised platform that served as the stage, a slight grin crept onto her face.

When Wilfried climbed up from the opposite side of the stage and started talking to her though, her lips swiftly twisted into a frown.

"Oh, there’s no need to put on an act, I know that smile was for me. You’re clearly brimming with anticipation to leave the loser Maeve’s service and join me. I understand that you need to preserve some of your honor with this duel, so don’t hold back on my account. Come at me with everything you have, and I’ll help you make a convincing showing. Then once you’ve proven yourself enough, I’ll defeat you with as little pain as possible."

Evelyn almost replied that her best would probably kill him, but kept her mouth shut instead.

She really did not want to hear the delusional man’s voice any longer. A back-and-forth conversation would only get on her nerves, and she might fail to hold back during the beginning of the duel.

With her identity and rank being disguised by a magic item, she could not use her full power carelessly.

Neither Lucia nor Maeve wanted to expose just how powerful they all were yet. So, if anyone was going to be putting on a show, it was Evelyn.

Nevertheless, just because she was supposed to be two tiers below Wilfried did not mean she was going to lose.

She had been hitting up her entire life, and her opponent was obviously the type who had advanced in a safe environment.

He had likely never been in a true life or death battle. He had never gone out into the wilds and gathered resources for himself.

Everything had just been given to him on a silver platter as one of the members of the Taidale Family.

After reaching the peak of the mage rank, he had stagnated because he lacked the drive to go further.

He had become strong enough to maintain his lifestyle with his parents’ support, and he was still stronger than most other people.

Most of the time that was enough, but today he was in for a rude awakening.

A referee on a floating disk started to explain the rules, but Evelyn did not really pay attention.

Maeve had already told her what she needed to know, and she already had everything planned out.

’Before I make it abundantly clear how outmatched he is, I need to break his jaw. That way he can’t surrender.’ Evelyn thought, already imagining how the fight was going to go.

There were three ways to win the duel.

Knock your opponent unconscious, throw them out of the ring, or have them surrender.

Technically killing them would also count, but this duel was not a death match, so doing so would cause some trouble.

Less for Wilfried than Evelyn though, considering where they were.

Of course, knowing what the man wanted from her, Evelyn doubted he would try to kill her. Not that it mattered. The moment he had accepted the duel; he had essentially agreed to a beatdown. He just did not know it yet.

"Do both of you agree to the rules and conditions for this duel?" The referee asked once he had finished his explanation.

"Yes."

"Certainly."

"Then let the match begin."

With the duel having officially started, Wilfried slowly and dramatically pulled his sword out of its sheath.

The weapon was beautifully adorned with etchings on its blade and a guard that shined with a golden color and had gems inlaid into it.

Its design resembled a Jain sword from China that Evelyn had seen a few times when she had watched an animated movie about a young woman pretending to be a man and taking her father’s place in the army.

Except, the sword Wilfried was using was around twice as thick and one and a half times longer than the similar type of weapon Evelyn was familiar with from Earth.

This would have made it unwieldy for a regular person, but with the increased physical capabilities that came with absorbing magic, Wilfried had no problems swinging around the large weapon in one hand.

For Evelyn’s part she did not make any show of pulling out her weapon. She just grabbed the spear from her back and got into position.

"As the stronger combatant, I’ll cede the first move to you." Wilfried said, a confident smirk on his face.

He believed that Evelyn stood no chance against him, so he was acting nonchalant and had not even put his guard up.

Letting her actions respond for her, Evelyn swiftly created a spell formula with one of her hands as most humans did.

"Tornado Greaves."

Once she had finished conjuring the spell, wind wrapped around her feet.

Evelyn was unimpressed by how slow and inefficient the magic was, but she had been told not to show off her true skills. It was not like she would need them anyway.

In a blur, she appeared to vanish, having moved far more quickly than anyone had expected thanks to the augmentation of the spell she had cast.

Wilfried’s eyes went wide as she sensed that he was in danger, and he just barely whipped around in time to block Evelyn’s spear thrust with his sword.

She had been holding back, but her strike pushed Wilfried so far back that he ended up less than a meter away from the edge of the ring before stopping himself.

’He’s even less capable than I thought. How much am I going to have to tone down my strength to make this match not seem completely one-sided?’