When the dust cleared, an exhausted Lina stumbled before collapsing.
Before she could fall to the ground, I appeared beside her and held her gently.
"… I thought I was going to win this time. How did you stop that spell?" She asked with a pout.
"A magician never reveals his secrets."
"But you are not a magician, brother." Lina rolled her eyes and sighed. "I don't understand. I'm sure the spell landed. I know you are amazing brother, but you shouldn't be able to receive a second-circle spell unscathed."
I chuckled and rubbed her head.
At that moment, instructor Melissa announced the result.
"The winner is Linsley." She said with a slightly surprised tone. "That was impressive, kid. I thought you were done for when she invoked that spell."
"It was a close one." I shrugged, making the instructor smirk.
"Well done. You advance to the following round. As for you, Lina, unfortunately, you have been eliminated."
"I understand," Lina spoke in a downcast tone.
"Okay, come out. Next one, come to the stage."
I nodded to the instructor and helped Lina out.
She had not been injured during our duel, but her last spell had depleted most of her mana.
"Ugh… I'm feeling dizzy."
"It's a symptom of mana depletion. You should have been more careful."
"... Whose fault do you think it is?"
I smiled softly and caressed her hair while walking to a nearby seat.
After I sat down, Lina plopped down on the seat next to mine and put her head on my thighs while groaning.
"My head hurts."
"Just relax. It should pass soon." I stroke her head while watching the next duel.
Just at that moment, our sister, Seela, appeared and sat down beside us.
"Drink this." She handed Lina a water bottle together with a small pill. "This should help you to cope with your symptoms."
Lina raised her head groggily and nodded.
After taking the pill, she plopped down again while thanking Seela with a muffled tone.
"… Thank you, sister."
"What is there to thank me for? I'm just taking care of my cute siblings." She chuckled. "It was an impressive battle, by the way. You have improved a lot since the last time I saw you. Using second-circle magic before forming your core is amazing, Lina."
"… Even so, I was defeated."
"Well, Linsley is impressive in his own way." Seela looked at me with a wry smile. "I'm curious, though. How did you escape unscathed from that spell? I'm sure I saw you being hit."
"A magician never reveals his secrets," I repeated.
Seela was not amused.
"Is it so?" She chuckled softly.
Her eyes, however, were not smiling.
"I guess I'll have to make you talk, huh."
I shivered and my face turned pale.
"It won't be necessary. You win."
I don't want to be tickled to tears by Seela in public.
Just imagining the look on my classmates as Seela tickles me violently is enough to die of embarrassment.
Seela hummed satisfied.
"That is good. Explain, then, what did you do?"
Lina also raised her head curious.
I chuckled and explained the trick.
"Actually, it's rather simple. I used Direct Interference to interfere with Lina's casting process. Although the spell seemed normal, I had modified a part of its structure, so in reality, it was several times weaker than usual. The spell landed, but it wasn't powerful enough to injure me."
Seela and Lina looked at me dumbfounded.
"Is something like that even possible?" Seela asked astonished. "Little brother, your Direct Interference has reached a very high level. At this rate, you could become the first powerhouse to specialize in Direct Interference."
Lina nodded in agreement.
I smiled bitterly and shook my head.
"It's not that simple."
Direct Interference may look very powerful, but it has a glaring flaw.
It becomes increasingly useless as you become stronger.
Lina is just in the natal realm, so interfering with her is not that hard.
However, I can't do the same for someone who has become a pawn.
Unless I use one of my cursed objects, using Direct Interference against someone at the pawn realm won't be as useful.
And this situation will continue to worsen.
That is the reason why Direct Interference is not valued that much.
Its potential is very limited.
It's still somewhat useful in the pawn realm, but after becoming a knight, Direct Interference becomes virtually useless.
Unfortunately, I don't have many other options.
Besides my cursed objects, Direct Interference is my strongest weapon right now.
Moreover, my peculiar circumstances made me very suitable for this kind of technique. Perhaps, I may be able to make Direct Interference useful after the knight realm.
Well, it's too early to think about that.
The three of us continued chatting while watching the following duels. Eventually, the thirteen students advancing to the next round appeared.
Of the thirteen, I was the only one outside the top twenty-five.
Maybe my bad luck from the previous round was offset, but I was the one left out for this round, allowing me to go to the next round without fighting.
But soon, though, I realized that my bad luck was still present.
When my opponent for the next round was announced, I was speechless.
On the screen, the information of the duel appeared.
Number 1: Sila Dune.
Vs.
Number 50: Linsley Steerl.
I heaved out a tired sigh.
The Witch Princess, disciple of the Undying Calamity.
My opponent was the number one in this year.
Sila Dune.