“Wh-what happened to make it turn out like this?”
Standing in the middle of the Training Ground, Kal sighed uneasily as he looked toward the audience.
Isn’t it said that watching a fight is the most entertaining thing in the world?
Upon hearing about the sparring match, students from Class 1 to Class 10 all swarmed out.
“What? Is Kal the one sparring?”
“Who’s his opponent?”
“Isn’t he a student from Icot Academy?”
“Did he look down on the Icot student and end up challenging him to a duel?”
Voices expressing bewilderment were heard from various places.
“Yeah, well, it makes sense for Kal.”
“That’s right, it makes sense because it’s Kal.”
However, they soon wore expressions of understanding.
Watching them, Kal complained, looking aggrieved.
“Hey! What’s wrong with me?”
“You’re endlessly prankish.”
“And you’re incredibly easy to beat.”
“Hey! Let’s make a bet!”
“Who do you think will win?”
“Oh, that’s a good idea!”
Kal grabbed his neck as he watched the first-year students of Lumeran giggling and placing bets.
Students from other academies looked on bewildered.
‘Something seems off from what I was thinking…’
Meanwhile, Kal let out a deep sigh.
“Building a connection with you will be useless, really.”
Muttering under his breath, Kal glanced at the Icot student before him.
“I don’t even know your name yet, right?”
“My name is Rigid Brick.”
“Brick family?”
Kal whistled.
The Brick family had traditionally been commanders of the Snow Knights in the Virsen Kingdom for generations.
‘Didn’t the current heir’s name just happen to be Rigid?’
In other words, the boy in front of him was the son of a hero.
Although there were many hero lineages at Lumeran, actual children of heroes were rare.
“His Highness apologizes for the earlier offense.”
“You don’t need to apologize on his behalf. Besides, that sort of attitude is nothing new to me.”
Kal shrugged his shoulders.
“And even if you apologize, you’re still thinking of sparring with me, aren’t you?”
At Kal’s question, Rigid nodded his head.
“Yes, I’ve known that Lumeran focuses heavily on practical combat. As such, for a long time now, I have wished to engage in sparring with a student from the Department of Magic at Lumeran.”
A glint of competitiveness shone in Rigid’s eyes.
‘The prince may lack brains, but this kid here is pretty decent. Come to think of it, you can find such types anywhere.’
Muttering to himself, Kal scratched his head.
‘However, how should I fight someone like him who doesn’t seem easy to beat?’
At first glance, he appeared to be a non-ordinary expert.
To Kal, Rigid seemed to have more than enough ability to pass the Lumeran entrance exam easily.
‘There’s a good chance he could even aim for top-tier scores as well.’
Gradually gauging Rigid’s capabilities, Kal began to prepare a magic incantation.
Havidden sneered while watching the scene unfold.
“You’ll end up disgraced in front of everyone’s eyes.”
The top-tier students from the three great academies exceeded the abilities of the mid-to-lower level students at Lumeran.
But the general public has an ingrained perception that Lumeran students rank above the students of the three prestigious classes.
If Kal were to lose to Rigid, a student from Icot, in front of hundreds of people, it would be a disgrace like no other.
“Pushing a classmate to failure like this— does Senior Leo even consider Senior Kal a friend?”
“Just wait and see.”
As Leo smirked and said this, Havidden frowned slightly.
At that moment, Kal, who had completed his sparring preparations, spoke up.
“Shall we start?”
“Yes.”
Kal pulled a coin out from his bosom.
Ting-! Whirringrrrr-!
The clear sound of the tossed coin resonated.
Ting!
As the coin landed on the Training Ground floor, Rigid summoned a weapon from subspace.
Swoosh-!
Seeing Rigid swing a spear taller than himself, Kal smirked.
“Spear technique. That sounds… huh?”
Zerzerzerjer-!
A burst of icy aura shot out from the large swing of the spear, prompting Kal to exclaim in surprise and leap into the air.
The ground froze solid.
If he had been even a little later, his feet would have been trapped helplessly.
“Indeed, your casting speed differs from typical mages. Truly, Lumeran!”
Rigid stepped forward with an energy step on the icy floor without any issue, shortening the distance between them.
Witnessing this, Kal hastily deployed a spell.
“Fire Arrow!”
Whooshhh-!
Bundles of flames shaped into arrows formed in the air.
At the sight of this, Rigid was impressed.
‘This mage’s abilities far surpass the youngsters I’ve fought against so far.’
Casting such a significant number of attack spells while deploying a Fly spell wasn’t something just anyone could do.
‘Indeed, he’s highly battle-skilled.’
Furthermore, his magical prowess was commendable.
‘You can’t underestimate him just because of his lower magical reserves. But that’s as far as it goes!’
Rigid, at 14 years old, had been a praised prodigy since childhood for his remarkable talents.
Most students at Lumeran had similar experiences.
However, Rigid stood out as a promising standout even among those talented students.
The eyes of Rigid, who firmly gripped his spear with both hands, gleamed.
“Avalanche!”
Whooshh-!
Swinging the spear broadly, an aura of snow spewed forth.
This snow transformed into waves and then engulfed Kal like an avalanche.
“Ahk?!?”
Kal let out a wail.
A pitiful scream echoed across the grounds as Kal got buried in the snow on a hot summer day.
“Wow… He’s impressive!”
“Even a Knight performing that sort of wide-range attack is impressive.”
“Indeed, Icot Academy isn’t to be underestimated.”
Students from other academies watched Rigid with admiration.
Celia, who was watching the sparring from Class 1, smiled faintly.
“Not bad. He might pass.”
“Yeah, his skills are remarkable.”
Chloe, who glanced up from her magic book and nodded slightly while looking at the Training Ground, commented.
“Lumeran is nothing special, huh?”
“I would have likely defended against an attack like that.”
Some individuals from Emerald Academy wore smug expressions.
At that moment, commotion arose from behind.
“Hey! Betting on Kal is unfair!”
“If everyone bets against him, it wouldn’t constitute a bet!”
“Perfect timing! Any brave souls betting against the promising Rigid Brick for long odds? None?”
As the first-year Lumeran students’ conversation spread from behind, everyone wore perplexed expressions.
Crash-!
“Ughh… C-Cold… so cold!”
Kal emerged from the snow, shaking his body in shivers.
Rigid, unperturbed, maintained his stance.
‘Sure enough, he’s not falling to something like this.’
Admiring this, Rigid readjusted his grip on his spear.
“Phew… What’s with this snowstorm in the summer? Ugh…”
After shaking his body once, Kal looked at Rigid and said,
“Undoubtedly. I can’t stand up to you head-on.”
The difference in capabilities was significant.
Still, Kal managed a smirk.
Then he opened subspace, unleashing weapons.
Rigid halted as he was about to charge at Kal.
“Can a mage wield weapons?”
“Ah. While I’m not exceptional, allow me to advise you as someone who’s had more experience here at Lumeran— rigid thought patterns are not advisable!”
Gooouuu-!
Kal invoked his power.
In response, weapons enchanted by magic began to float in the air.
Upon seeing this, Rigid narrowed his eyes.
“So it’s telekinesis magic, huh.”
Thud!
Rigid adjusted his spear grip and lowered his stance.
Whooshh-!
Simultaneously, he swiftly darted toward Kal.
‘Think before acting. Don’t underestimate this person’s abilities.’
Raising his aura all over his body, he aimed to quickly end the match before any tricky maneuvers could happen.
Watching this, Kal smirked.
“Hence, don’t remain rigidly bound.”
Whiiiiing!
The color of Kal’s drawn weapon changed.
A longsword that had turned red soared toward Rigid.
Rigid deflected the sword with a swing of his spear.
That instant,
Crash! Whooshhh-!
The longsword emitted scorching flames.
“Is that a magic sword?!”
Rigid widened his eyes, barely defending against the flames with his Oera armor.
Kal smirked as he spoke,
“My specialty is alchemy, so I’m not very adept at attack magic.”
Kal then drew a small hand crossbow from subspace.
“Compared to those monster types who prioritize close-combat, allowing them to approach is a deal-breaker. Moreover, my role isn’t a frontline fighter but a supporter.”
Click!
Pointing the crossbow at Rigid, Kal grinned.
“I have no choice but to resort to unconventional tactics.”
Crash!
Kal pulled the trigger, sending arrows flying toward Rigid.
Rigid effortlessly deflected the arrows.
Instantaneously!
Pukh! Clang! Slither-!
“…”
The arrows shattered like glass, spilling their contents.
The foul odor rang like a bell, stiffening Rigid’s face momentarily.
“Poison?”
“I know how to use poison, but using it during a sparring match seems a bit excessive.”
Kal grinned and lowered the crossbow.
“It’s oil.”
“What do you plan to do with oil all of a sudden?”
“Didn’t I say it? You shouldn’t remain rigid.”
Kal smirked.
“This special oil I’ve synthesized is extremely volatile but reacts with mana to keep burning continuously. Additionally, the stronger the flame, the longer and more intense it burns – very hazardous.”
Kal waved his hand lightly.
Whooshhh-!
The enchanted floating weapons transformed into magic swords.
“One-time-use discounted magic swords, but paired with the oil, it should cause a fair bit of pain, right?”
“Grrr?!”
Rigid gritted his teeth and glared.
Kal’s enchanted magic swords were now aiming at this Rigid.
Kaagakgaagang-!
“Aaaargh!”
Rigid’s scream echoed.
As Rigid stepped back, Kal, dipping his hand into his pocket, smirked.
“End!”
All the students from other academies were stunned speechless.
Meanwhile, Chloe sighed in admiration.
“To refine that kind of magic. Kal is impressive.”
“At this moment, he’s the first-year mage who employs the most unconventional tactics.”
Celia rested her chin, noting,
“You don’t understand Kal, but knowing him, even if someone is more skilled, as long as they aren’t well-aware of him, they might suffer from a surprise counter-attack.”
Kal’s enchanting magic.
After receiving praise from Leo during a school trip, Kal continued to improve upon his signature enchanting magic.
As a result, he succeeded in transforming enchanted weapons into magic swords at will.
Moreover, he perfected a technique that allowed him to alchemically convert anything he enchanted.
In essence, he had managed to compensate for his deficiencies by utilizing tools.
Havidden’s eyes widened.
Kal descended from the Training Ground, doing a high-five with Chelsea.
“Victory by deceit!”
“It’s not deceit; can’t you call it strategy?”
After contemplating for a moment, Chelsea grinned,
“Victory of wits!”
“Hey!”
“Wits! Wits!”
The students of Class 5 cheered, calling out for wits and welcoming Kal.
“Are you really doing this to me?”
Kal screamed as he grabbed his head,
but grinned upon seeing Leo watching him with a smile.
“How was it?”
“Exceptional.”
“Hmph. It’s the result of my effort to catch up, thanks to you, Leo.”
It was Leo whose constant guidance helped Kal perfect his unique style of combat.
“Did you see that? This is the skill of Lumeran’s weakest!”
Chelsea smirked and taunted, teasing Havidden.
“…Leave out ‘weakest,’ please.”
As Kal let out a wry laugh, Havidden smirked.
“In Lumeran, relying on tools is considered a part of skill, it seems?”
“Indeed.”
Chelsea crossed her arms proudly.
“Survivors are the strong ones.”
Throughout the course of their curriculum and even after graduation, Lumeran students are continuously thrust into relentless competition and battles.
To not get eliminated in such an environment, one must utilize everything at their disposal—tools or strategies alike.
Chelsea’s lips curled upwards.
“Next, it’s our turn, right? I’ll turn you into mush.”
As the flames disappeared from the Training Ground and Chelsea ascended,
Havidden smirked as he followed.
“Leo, how do you think this will go?”
“What?”
“I mean, the fight.”
Sitting down beside Leo, Kal said,
“I get that this Havidden guy is brainless, but his skills are solid.”
Havidden’s name was renowned not only in the northern regions but across the entire continent.
This year, he was originally expected to enroll in Lumeran.
“As for actual combat, Chelsea would easily win, but with restricted sparring like this, I’m a bit concerned.”
Chelsea is a Battle Mage.
The biggest feature of Battle Mages is that they can perform actively on the front line like knights.
However, this holds true mainly in large-scale battles.
In one-on-one confrontations, where concentration is solely on one another, it becomes harder to excel compared to chaotic mass battles.
Engaging in close combat with a competent knight rashly can lead to setbacks.
Havidden possessed skills that could comfortably secure him a top spot in the Department of Knights if he were to join Lumeran immediately.
The reason Havidden was acting arrogantly was his belief that even against one-year seniors, there wasn’t much he couldn’t handle.
As Kal spoke, Leo smirked,
“Chelsea will win.”
“True. But the main issue is how she will win. If it becomes too evenly matched, his reputation might soar.”
Thanks to the Gigantes extermination incident, Chelsea had become globally renowned.
For a non-student of Lumeran, even a drawish competition with someone like Chelsea could significantly enhance one’s reputation.
This was precisely why Havidden had opted for this sparring session, calculating the gains.
“If that guy ends up ruining the mood of the joint class, it might cause a headache.”
Kal scratched his head vigorously.
“Don’t worry. Chelsea will dominate,” Leo reassured.
“Huh?”
“Purely in terms of skills, that Havidden fellow is not to be underestimated. However, overall capabilities aren’t solely dictated by skills, right?”
Leo watched as Chelsea stretched – one, two, three, four.
When their eyes met, Chelsea waved warmly.
Returning the wave, Leo continued,
“Perhaps the freshmen in the Knight’s Department should be the worried ones?”
“Huh?”
Kal blinked, bewildered by Leo’s unexpected mention of the Knight’s Department.
“He’s in for a shock.”
“Is it an honor to face Chelsea LeWalyn, famous for the Gigantes extermination?”
“Of course. Feel free to brag about it to your folks back home.”
Chelsea let out a soft laugh as she readjusted her staff.
As Chelsea did, Havidden grinned and summoned his Oera.
The moment Chelsea saw this, her eyes flickered.
‘Elemental power?’
Simultaneously, the wind howled fiercely, and wind spirits were summoned, taking the form of a horse.
“Hun.”
Observing Havidden gracefully mounting the wind spirit with elegant movements, Chelsea narrowed her eyes.
“Good gear he has there.”
“It’s an artifact passed down through our royal family.”
Havidden smirked.
An item that manifests spirits in a specific form.
Since it aids in the complex art of spirit magic, it was exceedingly rare and potent.
“Ah, so you’re a spirit knight. Didn’t know that.”
With this knowledge, Chelsea pondered on Havidden.
“Well, then. Shall we see your skills? Chelsea LeWalyn?”
Whooshh-!
Havidden charged toward Chelsea with incredible speed.
Clutching his spear tightly, Havidden charged forward with a thrust.
Watching this, Chelsea deployed her magic power.
Whooshh-!
Moving at a speed invisible to the n*ked eye, Havidden hurled the spear toward Chelsea.
In an instant, Chelsea floated lightly into the air, swirling like a leaf caught by the wind, dodging the attack.
Slowing his charge, Havidden laughed while gripping the reins of the wind spirit as he observed Chelsea descending from the air.
“Truly commendable, but responding to this speed adequately is tough for a mage.”
As Havidden spoke confidently, Chelsea smirked and said,
“That’s not how you properly use wind.”
![[TS] The Protagonist is Conquered](https://i3.wp.com/novelhitam.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/1743806812-5548-TS-The-Protagonist-is-Conquered.png?resize=85,105 "[TS] The Protagonist is Conquered")
