Having defeated Matthias, I stepped back and positioned myself in front of Toko.
“Too weak. What was that?”
“Something like that, right? I don’t know what this ‘martial artist’ or whatever is, but you rich boys probably haven’t fought much, right? There is no way you could beat someone like me who’s been practicing martial arts since childhood.”
That’s how it felt.
He was merely unleashing magic.
“Toko, for now, you can go all out, but absolutely don’t punch Sharl’s face.”
“Clearly you have no intention of supporting me… Besides, I’m a wizard. Unlike you, my big brother, who only knows martial arts, I use magic.”
“I see…”
When I glanced at Sharl, she was quietly watching us.
“Big Brother, do you really like that?”
Don’t say that.
“She’s a kind person.”
“Where’s the kindness? She isn’t kind at all.”
“That’s because you’ve never talked to her. Ah, I’m almost tempted to take her place.”
“Huh? Are you serious?”
What a short-tempered sister.
“Charlene, Toko, come forward.”
As I was chatting with Toko, Teacher Jenny called out.
“Let’s do it! Let’s crush her!”
Toko brushed past me and walked ahead.
“Toko.”
“What?”
Toko stopped.
“You don’t get any encouragement from me anyway, and I think you’re going to lose like crazy, but… good luck.”
“You can’t even motivate me, my sister… What a pathetic brother.”
Toko laughed, turned forward, and walked on while I ascended to the spectator seats, heading toward where my classmates were waiting.
“Good job”.
“You took too long. If it were me, I would have finished it in 10 seconds”.
“I’m truly glad I didn’t have to fight you. You would have died”.
Three girls each gave words of encouragement.
“I didn’t die. Her neck was broken, though”.
“Scary! Isn’t a broken neck fatal?”
“That’s her fault for not preparing. Who gets hit straight-on? And honestly, who would hit someone without them even seeing it?”
“Umm… Is that true? I couldn’t see your kick at all”.
It was too far, couldn’t see properly.
“Anyway, it was an overwhelming victory”.
As I sat next to Frank, he greeted me.
“What was that guy? All talk, isn’t it?”
“No, Matthias wasn’t weak. The teleportation magic was impressive and… it’s high-level, difficult magic”.
Matthias had mentioned something like that.
“That’s all there is”.
“Indeed, his movement was bad”.
Absolutely, absolutely.
“Is that so?”
Cedric asked.
“The magic traveled in a straight line and wasn’t particularly fast. No matter how many times you do that, you won’t hit anything. Also, despite that equipment, he was a total amateur at melee combat. Still, since I don’t know much about magic, I thought there might be something worthwhile to learn from him, so I observed for a while, but in the end, nothing”.
It would have been fine even if I had lost to Matthias.
I wanted to understand magic just a little more.
“Hmm… Is that so”.
“That’s it… Anyway”.
How would Sharl, who moved less than Matthias, fight against Toko?
“This is going to be a tense fight”.
Sharl and Toko were glaring at each other, with the teacher in between.
“Frank, the commentator. What do you think?”
Frank knows a lot about battles.
“I don’t know enough about either of them to comment”.
“Still, you know more than me”.
“Hmm, well… For you who favors the president, I’ll try to give an objective comment, but still, it seems advantageous for Toko”.
I shouldn’t have asked.
“Is that so? Have you already figured it out?”
Cedric asks Frank.
“I can tell by the way they stand. Toko leans forward, ready to pounce at any time. Someone like that is surely a combat-type wizard. On the other hand, the president, judging by her appearance, isn’t a combat type. She’s standing there stiff as a stick. She’s definitely someone who has no experience in fighting”.
Correct.
That’s why if I had wanted, I could have instantaneously defeated Matthias.
I did that to show Sharl our movements against a long-range magic user like him, both mine and Toko’s.
“La Folle is more of a scholar-type family, while Iver is more of a warrior family, yet their types are reversed… Moreover, the president challenged Iver to a duel. How ironic”.
“Yeah… And it’s tough for the president because not only is she not a combat type, but Toko also has more magic power. At this point, there’s no way she can match her. The upperclassmen observing above probably think the same”.
Upon hearing Frank, I looked up at the audience and saw unfamiliar, older-looking students scattered about.
“Are they observing?”
“It’s a battle between the top two students of the first year”.
“I should have fought Sharl”.
I would lose on purpose in a perfect way.
“You’d better not do that”.
Cedric gave a wry smile.
“Damn Toko. Lose, lose, lose”.
“You’re pretty bold to say that much against a classmate you’re dueling with… ”
“Too obvious, it’s making me laugh”.
As the two of them were incredulous, the teacher stepped back, and Sharl and Toko also took a few steps back.
“It’s beginning”.
“Yeah…”
We watched the two attentively.
“Now, let the duel between Charlene Iver and Toko La Folle begin!”
As soon as the teacher announced it, Sharl swung her wand.
Instantly, Sharl disappeared and reappeared over ten meters away in the blink of an eye, floating several meters above the ground.
“She’s flying! Amazing!”
“Combination of teleportation and levitation magic. That’s impressive”.
Cedric seemed impressed.
However, Toko gazed upward at Sharl without any sign of disturbance.
“The president likely recognized that Toko was combat-oriented who excels in close quarters.”
In fact, her own older brother had taught her this tactic.
“CRIMSON FLAME!”
Sharl pointed her wand at Toko, and flames burst forth from it.
The flames spread rapidly, scorching the practice area.
“Matthias would have lost immediately if he had used that…”
Amazing.
“It’s an advanced magic. There’s no way a first-year could defend against something like that”.
“So, La Folle loses. Alright then”.
“No way”.
As Frank said that, the flames vanished instantly.
Toko was still on the training ground, and miraculously, a wall of ice stood before her.
“CRYSTAL WALL… Advanced magic”.
Why only advanced magic?
“Tsk…”
Sharl looked regretful.
“That was likely her ace in the hole… Probably the president’s strongest magic”.
That’s what I thought too.
When facing a more powerful opponent, you have no option but to unleash your strongest attack from the start.
“What will she do now?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. At this level of magic, I’m lost”.
Me too, I’m lost.
The two were staring at each other. Toko moved first, pointing her finger at Sharl. From this, an icicle shot out and hurtled toward Sharl at incredible speed.
“Ugh!”
Sharl turned her face away at the last moment, narrowly avoiding it.
“You dodged that well”.
“I was certain it was over”.
That’s what I thought too.
Sharl descended smoothly to the ground.
“Hmm? Is she stopping flying?”
Cedric tilted his head in confusion.
“Probably judged that she couldn’t dodge in the air”.
Makes sense.
Moreover, that was a warning.
Toko likely could have hit if she intended to. She would have aimed for the torso instead of the face, and Sharl wouldn’t have been able to dodge.
But this proved that my strategy not to knock Toko out was working. The time I spent enduring against Matthias wasn’t wasted: I was showing Toko’s movements to Sharl while simultaneously causing her to let her guard down.
Toko is smart and probably the genius everyone says she is.
But she has a weakness: her personality.
She gets overly confident quickly, and after I showed her I could beat Matthias with martial arts, she’s probably riding high on that confidence. Seeing Sharl, who seems only good at ranged magic, she’s completely let her guard down.
Now it’s up to Sharl how she can take advantage of this.
Thank you for reading.
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