"I-It's a tie!!"
The sound of the announcer rang out loud, reaching my calm ears. I had already seen the outcome of the battle through the smoke.
Dawn and Praco lay limp on the ground, their bodies tattered up.
The people broke into loud cheers while the priests and magicians on standby rushed to get the adventurer and the applicant.
"You saw that? History, huh?" Titania posed such words to me while I was still reining all his presence in to the extreme. Had it not been for Dawn noticing me earlier during the examination, I would have never come up with this method to surprise people and have some fun.
Still, that the lady had made 'history' irked me.
The branch manager stepped up and announced the decision since the testing adventurer couldn't bring up a verdict anymore.
"An unprecedented victory, applicant Dawn will begin as a copper-ranked adventurer with priority for promotion."
I clicked my tongue and dusted my clothes.
"If I defeat my opponent, won't I be directly promoted to silver rank?"
As if on cue, the branch manager spoke up again.
"As for the last match. Applicant Dusk... against Silver-Ranked Iffy."
More loud cheers broke out as the next opponent was set to be a silver-ranked as well. But, eventually, the cheers almost completely dwindled away when people looked at me and thought I was weak. I had never 'hidden' my strength before, so this was interesting. Pretending to be weak just to mess with others wasn't so bad, but at this rate, it would only make me seem cowardly.
I noticed a lady donning a red robe stepping up to the stage with a staff in her hands.
"A magician, huh?"
"Say, say, Eugy~" Titania suddenly started twisting on my head. "Should I give you a quest? It will be tough to pull off, but the reward will be worth it."
A quest?
That piqued my interest.
As I faked stretching in front of the audience before moving to the stage, I continued speaking with Titania.
"It depends on the content and the reward. The reward especially."
If this was something like what existed in the game similar to Albert's recounts, then the quests should help me better my skills.
"Alright! It'll be too difficult for you anyway so its ok to give up."
"Tsk. Fine. I'll accept it, now tell me what it is."
Titania giggled again and snapped her fingers. A translucent window of gold appeared in front of my eyes with the most absurd content I had ever read.
[Quest: Do the impossible
Difficulty: Very Very Tough! >.0
Content: Defeat the Silver Ranked Adventurer using only magic.
Failure: Titania will be disappointed :(
Success: Titania will give you a big big hug~ (っ′▽｀)っ(っ′▽｀)っ]
I cracked my knuckles and stretched my neck, a laugh threatening to spill out.
"What what, too tough? I won't blame me if you refuse, Eugy!"
"Tough? What gave you the furthest idea that something like this is tough for me?"
Titania crossed her arms and thought. "I mean," she said. "Your posture and movements are very suited for the sword. Sure, your control over mana is good and strong, but a magician's fight is tough you know?"
I couldn't hold back anymore as I stepped on the stage and broke into loud laughter. The adventurer and many of the audience seemed to be thinking I was just mocking the game or myself by acting out of line, but I didn't care about that.
"Oh, dear Titania." I smirked and raised my hand at the opponent, whispering my words. "I use a sword simply because I am not used to it."
"You brat, you don't understand a silver-ranked's ability even after seeing that last battle, do you?"
The wizard girl said something, but I didn't care enough to hear.
"Listen well, Titania."
Whether it be this world or the old.
My extreme efforts weren't lost. Nor was my comfort and strength, my values cultivated over years and years.
"This Eugene... is a magician through and through."
I slowly released the presence I was holding back.
***
As soon as the young boy stepped up on the stage, the branch manager realized that all the judges were now on the same page.
"I didn't think someone could hide their presence to such an extremity," the hatted judge muttered. It was very clear to them now why the branch manager had chosen to pit this kid up against a silver-ranked at the end of everything.
"You need to be more alert," the branch manager said relaxedly.
Soon enough, all the gazes staring at Eugene with a lack of interest changed. The ones who could and even the ones who couldn't, a primal instinct roared inside them, telling them this being wasn't what they previously judged him to be.
"Let's begin," Eugene muttered on stage.
Iffy's lips cracked into a small smile as she realized the source of the confidence that this kid displayed.
The proctor announced the start of the battle.
And the air in the arena changed.
It looked like just two people staring at each other to the normal spectators, but the trained ones wee left flabbergasted at the display in front of them.
One after the other, an intense tug of war began as the two magicians fought for dominance over the mana in the air. All the neutral mana floating about was being claimed by the two magicians at rapid speed, and then the first clash happened.
With the neutral mana out, Eugene and Iffy tried to steal ownership over the mana the other had already taken over.
Iffy's face hardened as the mana in the air came to a complete standstill. She wasn't ready to let go of her control, but wasn't able to take it back either.
The air started move under the immense pressure while small cracks spread on the ground of the arena.
Right then, Eugene's mouth twisted into a smile.
"Not bad," he said.
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