(Klaus's PoV)
After the laps around the grounds came the duels.
The baldy wanted to verify the power of each cadet. Though it was already shown in the entrance test, it showed how we faired against mindless beasts. Humans are a very different breed.
Most of the time one die is because of a fellow human than a stray monster. Unless a monster tide happens or you live near dungeons or monster regions, death from monsters is low.
The dueling pair is decided using a dip in a jar. Paper slips with all our names were written and thrown into the jar. Two names are drawn each time. These two had to fight each other, no matter if one is first and the other is the last rank.
I got paired with Theon, our year's topper.
The first of combat class and I got paired with him. As much as I wanted to maintain a neutral attitude, I can't last long like that.
Especially now that we are going to fight, I need to show my full power and win this practice duel. Though I wanted to treat this as a practice, I can't.
I heard rumors that Theon has been clashing with noble children. I thought it was stupid of the noble children to clash against the top ranker but when I learned that it was the opposite that happened. Theon was the initiator.
He would always find a way to start the clash and portray the noble children as the villains of the story.
The problem is everyone loves the underdog. Except for the ones he clashed with, others saw him as a shining knight. The worse thing is some of the noble girls see him as a white knight.
The main reason is simple, he is powerful, and drawing him to their houses would give them good positions in their families. Some of these girls hate their families as many restrictions were placed on noble girls. They would be mostly married off to someone for the benefit of the family.
The only way they could escape is to find someone powerful they like. Especially they would like to rub off their family's face if that person is from a commoner background.
Sure I don't personally like the idea of getting married off to some stranger on a moment's notice. Even my fiance is a stranger with whom my marriage was fixed without my knowledge.
Sure as a guy in this world, we have a perk. We have to marry someone from a certain selected group but can have intercourse with as many girls as we can. As long as we have the power and wealth to maintain a harem, no one would fault us.
Girls don't have such perks unless they reach the high stage faster. This doesn't give them the right to rub off in their family's faces.
The parents would have sacrificed a lot for the better lives of such girls from birth. In one word, they were pampered from birth. It doesn't come free of charge. Everyone thinks since they gave us birth they had to take care of us for free.
To take care of us they had to sacrifice a lot of their lives. This isn't an ideal society where we can do whatever we want and go scot-free. It will come to collect price from us one way or another.
"Now the first up is Klaus Von Emsier and Theon", the baldy shouted.
When our names were called, both of us got up and walked to opposite sides.
"You have ten minutes. Remember this isn't an actual duel or death match, so hold back from causing any permanent damage to each other. I only want to measure how well you fare", the baldy warned both of us.
No matter how much they act as if they were ignorant, the staff of the academy weren't ignorant. They must have already heard of the rising conflicts. We were warned on the previous day by Professor Amberson and now the baldy.
I'm not going to be defeated but I'll hold back as much as possible. Though I don't like his character, for now, we have no personal enmity. There is no reason to make him suffer.
I can already hear the cheers coming from the bystanders. Though I haven't made much contact with the noble children, they are clearly cheering for me, and the commoners for Theon. A few noble girls are also fawning over him.
I don't care about that. The interesting part is the fight.
Mage vs Swordsman.
Let's see how much I can fare against the top ranker. I need to plug all my weaknesses. I also need to train as much as I can before I fight that stupid before the end of the year.
I'm not going to back down.
Wait...Is that my Pride?