The Grade-by-Grade Duel Finals.
It is a place to determine the strongest representative of each grade. Blood, sweat, and honor intertwine as they establish superiority.
– Ahhh—! Indeed, they are formidable! Raymond from Class A of the 3rd year! After an intense battle, they have ultimately reached the pinnacle of the 3rd year!
The outstanding students are the top three from each grade. In other words, the three students who achieve the best results in the Grade-by-Grade Duel become the outstanding students.
– The atmosphere in the practice field has become even more heated! Riding this momentum, let’s quickly proceed to the next match! We will now have the finals for the 2nd-year Grade-by-Grade Duel!
For the students who have survived thus far, the Grade-by-Grade Duel is no longer just a fight to enter the ranks of outstanding students.
The cheers and applause rattled the practice field. If the cheers were entirely directed at one person.
‘And if that student who receives the shining glory were to be me.’
That would indeed be an exhilarating experience, almost unimaginable. Daniel had already experienced that firsthand during last year’s Grade-by-Grade Duel.
Daniel stretched his stiff neck. The various talismans necessary for casting spells clinked from the pouch at his waist.
– Introducing! The strongest student from the 2nd-year Combat Department, Vivian de Vallerge!
The cheers grew even louder. Daniel could guess that Vivian had entered the practice field.
Now, the time had truly come. In his first year, he had barely defeated Vivian in a muddy match, but today, a clear winner and loser would emerge.
– Today, she looks even more serious! And opposing her is…!
Daniel twitched his wrist one last time. This was certain to be an intense duel. It was wise to prepare for rolling and jumping around.
– Not wanting to lose the top spot for the second year in a row, the only hope of the 2nd-year Occult Department! Student Daniel!!
The heavy door blocking the entrance to the practice field slowly began to open with a loud creak. Daniel stepped into the practice field.
As he entered, he saw Vivian standing with her usual bland expression in the distance. Tension crept onto Daniel’s face.
The two outstanding second-year students slowly walked toward each other as they faced off for a moment. Finally, Daniel and Vivian stood facing each other with about two paces between them in the center of the practice field.
“Vivian.”
“…Daniel.”
“We meet again this year. It feels almost fateful…”
“Last year, I was too complacent.”
Vivian’s gaze sharpened. It contrasted with her flat voice.
Daniel swallowed hard, looking deep into her eyes.
“Really?”
“Yeah. But this year, it won’t be the same.”
“That’s… exciting.”
Daniel swallowed his next words. As if she understood without him saying it, Vivian’s eyebrows twitched.
“I won’t lose this time. I’m serious.”
“Yeah. I’ll do my best too, so let’s not leave any regrets.”
“If I win, I’ll take over as the head of the Occult Research Club.”
“…Now that puts me in a tough spot.”
Daniel smiled fiercely. To that expression, surprisingly, Vivian responded with a smile of her own.
“Then, if you win… I’ll go with you to that place you’ve wanted to go to for a long time. This summer break.”
“You…”
A look of surprise spread across Daniel’s face. Staring blankly at Vivian for a moment, he nodded heavily and turned away.
“Vivian.”
“Yeah.”
“No turning back.”
“…You too.”
Daniel and Vivian increased their distance. The same distance they had when they first entered the practice field.
– It seems they had a brief conversation! Both sides appear ready, so let the duel begin!
Daniel reached into the pouch hanging at his waist. Vivian, standing opposite him, slowly drew her long sword that was similarly strapped at her waist.
– Duel, start—!!
The shout from Professor Andres echoed, and both students immediately sprang into action.
The duel, where neither would back down, had just begun.
“Is it starting now…?”
Chloe bit her lip unknowingly. Her lips, dry with tension, stung.
In her eyes, the figures of Daniel and Vivian starting their duel were reflected. Chloe’s eyes widened as she watched their fight.
– Ahh! Daniel! Unlike previous duels, he’s using a wooden doll right away! The key will be what strategies he has prepared this time!
The heavy weight reverberated through the practice field. The wooden doll, moved by Daniel’s magical powers, had revealed itself.
Daniel’s attacks poured forth swiftly, far beyond what one could imagine from the size of the wooden doll. However, Vivian was no push-over either.
As the wooden doll’s fist slammed down, Vivian leaped high and dashed along its arm.
As Daniel manipulated the wooden doll with a look of shock, Vivian had already found her perch on its neck and plunged her sword into its vacant face like lightning.
– Ah! Just as I mentioned, Daniel’s wooden doll falls! What extraordinary skill!
Chloe gazed in shock.
It was surprising to discover that the two seniors from the Occult Research Club were this formidable, but even more astonishing was the fact that neither was yielding in their skill levels.
Having lost the wooden doll, Daniel quickly prepared his next spell, and Vivian was also seen on the monitor quickly increasing the distance to prepare for her attacks.
“…If I were that strong.”
Then, she wouldn’t have to worry so much about facing Laura.
Chloe recalled the 1st-year A students she had met until now. Owen, who wielded a giant sword, and Hubert, who skillfully maneuvered dual swords. Not to mention the other students who had pushed Chloe into a corner.
Owen and Hubert regrettably fell in the duels early on due to facing Laura, but if Laura hadn’t been around, they could have climbed to even higher levels.
On the other hand, Laura was fortunate. Since the tournament began, she had not faced Laura once in the brackets.
That fact only deepened Chloe’s sense of misery.
“…I can do it.”
However, Chloe steeled herself further. Continuing to recall the advice given by Professor Antorelli, she gazed at the monitor with a serious look.
‘But I hope you washed that handkerchief well…?’
Until the duel began, Vivian was confident she would win against Daniel.
Just because she was in her second year didn’t mean she focused solely on the Occult Research Club. As proof of that, Vivian’s sword was much sharper than last year, and her swordsmanship had become incomparably refined.
Furthermore, she was the eldest daughter of the renowned House of Vallerge. She had inherited an overwhelming talent for swordsmanship.
Thus, it would be strange for her to lose. If she faced Daniel in peak condition, she could guarantee victory without a doubt.
“Hah… Hah…!”
But now was not the time. Vivian gradually caught her breath, which came in ragged gasps.
She was not the only one fighting until she gasped for air. Daniel, standing across from her, barely hid his astonishment and reached into the pouch hanging at his waist.
‘He’s gotten incredibly strong…! I was too complacent!’
Vivian’s swordsmanship had become so intricate that she couldn’t help but admire it. When she effortlessly cleaved the floating particles of dirt in half, she nearly raised the white flag without knowing it.
However, the match was not yet over. Daniel had grasped something in his hand.
“…Oh right, I had this.”
Daniel wore a devious smile. Watching him, Vivian’s expression turned slightly suspicious.
‘Something feels… off.’
Vivian had just destroyed Daniel’s main attacking force, the wooden doll. In her first year, it had cornered her with its powerful and speedy moves, so she had expected the battle to revolve around Daniel’s wooden doll once again.
But once the event unfolded, her expectations were sidelined.
“What are you scheming, Daniel?”
Unable to hold back, Vivian questioned him. Daniel maintained his smirk and shrugged at her.
“Who knows? You’ll figure it out if you come in first.”
“…That’s why it feels bad.”
“That might sting a bit…”
Vivian gripped her long sword tightly. Regardless of what he had prepared, it wouldn’t be an issue as long as she moved faster than him.
As she assumed her stance, Daniel slowly began to speak.
“The nest of wisdom, the myriad manifestations distinguishing time. The thirty segments of thought.”
Daniel’s hand emerged from his pouch, and Vivian realized that he was holding something.
“How troublesome…”
Vivian charged forward. She wasn’t entirely sure why she made that decision.
It was instinct. An innate feeling that things were going to escalate troublingly was etched into Vivian’s mind.
In a flash, Vivian closed the distance, and Daniel remained standing there, unmoving.
“Sin, liberation, the leading creation under heaven.”
Daniel slowly closed his eyes. In his hand was a strange branch laden with a white cloth, which trembled incessantly, amplifying Vivian’s anxiety.
Vivian felt a sense of urgency she had never felt before as she lunged toward Daniel, swinging her long sword.
“Currency.”
– Pwoosh!
With Daniel’s utterance ending, Vivian’s fierce attack struck his head.
Vivian muttered.
“It’s over.”
The dull thud of hitting something registered. Feeling that unmistakable sensation, Vivian was assured of her victory. Thanks to her rotating the sword just before impact, Daniel’s head had struck her blade.
Believing in the enchanting magic drawn inside the practice field, she hit with all her strength, and it wouldn’t be strange if he fainted from a single blow.
“I won.”
A smile spread across Vivian’s face. Though faint, it was surely the joy of a victor.
“…Huh?”
However, that joy did not last long.
Vivian’s pupils widened. In her sight, Daniel was still standing in that same spot.
In fact, Daniel was now farther away than before. He was right back in the position he had been before she initiated her attack.
“Wh-what…?”
Regret came too late, and her resolve was quick. Without any moment to be flustered, Vivian quickly assumed her stance.
With movements barely visible to the eye, she rushed right to Daniel’s face. Daniel was still standing with his eyes closed.
However, his mouth was not the same.
“Currency.”
– Thwack!
This time, it clearly connected. Vivian could feel assured of that.
But as she blinked, the scene unfolding before her was.
“W-what the…?”
Vivian gazed at Daniel with trembling eyes. He still stood with his hands together, maintaining a strange hand position.
“…Cough?!”
Suddenly, crimson blood began to trickle from Vivian’s mouth. Her face filled with confusion.
She tasted iron in her mouth. Spitting it out, Vivian scrunched her face.
“Daniel…!”
Vivian gripped her long sword even tighter. Her eyes, glaring at Daniel, expanded endlessly.
This one strike would be her all. Vivian lowered her stance dramatically.
An illustrious technique from the renowned House of Vallerge in swordsmanship. Though she had not yet fully mastered it, merely mimicking it would be overwhelming.
Unsure of what spell Daniel was using, Vivian intended to revel in his downfall entirely.
“HUH….”
A wave of intense heat flowed from her mouth.
– Whoosh!
Simultaneously, Vivian’s form disappeared in an instant.
Faster than the blink of an eye, at an extreme speed, Vivian’s long sword surged forward toward Daniel.
A speed at which no one could react. This time, Vivian was sure of her victory.
And at that moment.
“Currency.”
With Daniel’s utterance, Vivian opened her eyes.
“……”
She hadn’t moved even a step from where she was before attacking Daniel.
A stream of blood trickled from the corner of Vivian’s mouth. Wiping it away, she thought.
‘I can’t win.’
Since she didn’t know what spell he might use, Vivian gave up quickly. She properly sheathed her long sword and slightly lowered her head.
“I lost.”
As Vivian’s words of acknowledging her defeat echoed faintly, the practice field fell silent.
No one could utter a word. They merely stood with their mouths agape, staring in awe.
In that shocking moment, the first to regain composure was Professor Andres, acting as the referee.
– …With Vivian de Vallerge’s surrender, the winner is Daniel!!
– Whoooa—!!
Finally, the cheers that shook the practice field erupted. Feeling the weight of released tension, Vivian let out a light sigh.
It was the moment the strongest of the 2nd year secured her place at the top.
