«Now that we're done with the boring part, I think it would be a nice idea to have a demonstration duel. Any volunteers?»
The tension in the classroom rose palpably. The competition to become the strongest mage in the kingdom would begin with that duel.
I didn't even have time to think about whether to volunteer or not when a boy a few rows ahead of me stood up with his hand raised, exclaiming:
«Me! Mr. Principal.»
«Ah! And you are, sir?»
The boy replied in a tone that seemed vaguely annoyed:
«Frank Montague, sir, I'm the son of Count Ferdinand Montag-»
«Very well, Mr. Montague,» Skylark interrupted him, «do you already have an idea of who you want to challenge?»
«I want to challenge Sophia Thornton,» said Montague, reading the name from the right wall.
"Predictable."
The name he had read belonged to the person at the bottom of the ranking, essentially the one with the least magical power in the class.
"It's going to be like I thought it would be from the beginning, huh?" I thought.
«Perfect,» said the principal in a neutral tone, «Miss Thornton, could you please stand up?»
I heard someone move behind me. From the last row, without saying a word, a slender girl with black hair stood up. Her sharp green eyes betrayed a slightly annoyed expression, as if this situation were a nuisance.
I had already noticed that girl. When she had grabbed the glass sphere, the light barely moved. Probably the bench she had been sitting on a moment before had her same mana level.
"What are people like her doing at the Academy?" I wondered for the umpteenth time.
«Mr. Montague, do you want to put any conditions for the duel?» asked the Headmaster.
«Of course,» the boy replied promptly, «If I win, I want Miss Thornton to challenge me to a duel every day for a week.»
"The nobleman isn't stupid."
This would give him an extra 14 points for the week. But the girl could simply refuse.
Surprisingly, Sophia replied, «I accept the duel.»
"She's either an idiot or has an ace up her sleeve."
«What are your conditions, Miss?» asked the professor.
«I want Montague to give me half of his lunch for a week,» she replied with a bored tone.
"Okay, she's just an idiot."
Most of the class burst into laughter.
«I accept,» replied Frank Montague, gritting his teeth.
«Great, come up here in front of the class,» ordered Skylark.
When the two approached the lectern, a strange glowing dome began to form around them.
«It's a magical barrier,» explained Skylark, «inside it, you can use the most powerful spells at your disposal without fear of hurting the spectators or damaging the classroom.»
«Oh, and don't worry about destroying the floors or anything like that,» he added, «all objects within the barrier will be regenerated at the end of the duel.»
After the old professor's words, a metallic voice suddenly echoed in the class. It came from the barrier.
«Prepare for the duel!» it resounded loudly and clearly.
The black-haired girl did not draw her wand. With an elegant movement, she unsheathed her sword. It was a thin blade, decorated with strange engravings. It didn't look like a weapon for combat, but rather an object to be displayed in a cabinet.
After seeing it, the blond nobleman burst into laughter.
«Hahaha, you're not taking this duel seriously at all, are you?» he commented.
He also drew his sword. It was a one-and-a-half-handed sword, with a large handle decorated in gold.
He probably would have broken Sophia Thornton's sword like a toothpick.
With his left hand, Montague drew his wand and exclaimed, «Strength!»
A golden aura surrounded him. A strengthening spell.
«Why not? Let's play a little!» he said mockingly.
"Big shot," I thought sarcastically.
If he had focused on spells, he would have won one for sure. He was giving her a chance.
Unfortunately, though, I didn't think there would be much of a chance for the girl to win. Looking at that weapon and the well-trained muscles of the boy, he would probably win in a few instants.
After all, nobles usually received sword lessons from a very young age.
The voice began a countdown.
«10... 9...»
I watched Sophia. She didn't seem intimidated. On the contrary, she smiled. Maybe...
«3... 2... 1!»
With superhuman swiftness, Montague lunged toward his opponent. The enhancement spell he had cast seemed to have strengthened the muscles in his legs.
«Perhaps one blow will be enough,» I thought as Montague's strike was about to descend upon Sophia.
For a moment, it seemed it would end just like that.
However, the girl was still standing.
The blow must have missed by mere inches.
Montague continued the assault. One, two, three strikes...
All in vain.
With a slight step to the left, Sophia dodged the fourth strike, which landed on the ground.
"Now! Hit him!"
But the girl merely pricked Montague's leg, causing a small cut.
With a grunt, the boy raised his sword and resumed attacking.
A few minutes later, the scene before me was very different from what I would have expected at the beginning of the duel.
Montague was panting, leaning on his sword, thrust into the wooden floor for support, his uniform torn in several places, and his body covered in small cuts
Sophia Thornton, who looked like someone who had just taken a leisurely walk in the woods, stood before him, completely unscathed.
It was like watching a predator toying with its prey.
Every single one of Montague's attacks was dodged with graceful movements, to which the girl responded with agile thrusts and strikes, never delivering the finishing blow.
"She wants to prove something... Perhaps that she's not someone to be trifled with."
Montague's smug smile had disappeared.
In its place was a pained expression betraying great frustration.
«You... Why don't you attack me?» he asked, panting.
«Did you say something? I thought I heard an annoying buzz,» Sophia replied mockingly.
I expected an angry or offended response from the nobleman, but I saw that while the girl was responding, he had pulled out his wand and whispered a few words.
All it took was a moment.
A flash, and Montague grabbed the sword with both hands and, like lightning, rushed toward Sophia.
He had distracted the girl with that question and used a spell to further enhance his speed. That boy was underhanded.
«Watch out!»
A cry escaped my mouth as the rest of the class held their breath.
From that distance, Sophia wouldn't be able to dodge.
Parrying was out of the question as well, her thin sword would have snapped in half.
A blow that strong could injure her badly or even kill her!
I instinctively closed my eyes. I heard a loud metallic screech and a cry of pain.
I slowly opened them back.
Blood.
But not from Sophia.
Montague was bleeding from his nose. His sword laid on the ground at his opponent's feet.
"What?"
I turned towards Amy, hoping she wasn't as cowardly as me and had seen what had happened.
«She managed to block the blow with her sword! I thought it would definitely break,» Amy explained excitedly, «but she put it sideways! Montague's sword slid on the blade and hit the floor. She took advantage of it to hit him with knee to the face.,»
I listened in disbelief to that explanation. One thing was certain, that girl with minimal magical power was an incredible swordswoman.
But... she had made a mistake. She should have ended the duel while she could.
As I imagined it would happen, Montague drew his wand.
«Y-you piece of shit,» he muttered, «enough with games now. I admit you're more skilled with the sword than me. But it's time to end this.»
The boy pointed his wand at Sophia and yelled:
«Fireball!»
An enormous fireball erupted from the tip of the wand and sped towards the girl.
That was what I feared: as long as pride drove Montague to continue to engage in melee combat, Sophia had the advantage, but now that the nobleman had switched to spells, things were looking grim.
The fiery sphere reached the girl, who didn't seem to attempt to dodge. After all, even if she had, the subsequent explosion would still have hit her.
Instead, Sophia Thornton faced the spell head-on, as she had done so far with the count's son.
Her silhouette disappeared for a moment in the blaze of the fireball, and...
The sphere suddenly split in half, passing by the sides of the girl, who, with the slender blade stretched out in front of her, was completely unscathed.
A deafening silence filled the classroom.
"But... did she just cut a fireball in half?"
I was stunned: such a thing was impossible.
Montague seemed to think the same. He had a dumbfounded expression, as if he had taken another knee to the face.
Gradually, however, he seemed to regain his composure.
«Ah! You must have cast a defensive spell without me noticing...»
I heard exclamations of understanding and saw a few students nodding.
Surely it was the most logical explanation. But... Sophia had never drawn her wand or uttered a spell. Could someone with such little magical power cast spells without invocation and bare-handed?
Maybe the sword had a wand inside?
didn't know what to think.
«Well, you got me.»
Montague, on the other hand, seemed convinced of his explanation and had regained his spirits.
«But now you've surely run out of tricks. I want to see how long your barrier can hold with that mana of yours.»
The boy pointed his wand at Sophia again and shouted, «Firestorm!»
This time it wasn't a sphere but a fiery stream, like the breath of a dragon.
"A continuous-release spell!"
Not being a single projectile, it was the ideal type of spell for breaking a magical defense. Montague could have continued to assault Sophia's barrier with his flames until she ran out of mana.
"If she really conjured a barrier..."
I wasn't sure at all.
It must be said that Montague had proved to be a very cunning duelist himself. Between him and Sophia, I had made two gigantic errors in judgment.
I slapped myself in the face, causing Amy to startle beside me.
"If I want to make it to the end, I have to be less arrogant."
I focused on the duel again.
Sophia didn't move an inch. She waited for the flames and moved her sword in front of her, as if she were trying to block an invisible blow.
Like the fireball, the flame blast seemed to encounter an invisible force and split into two separate streams.
Seconds passed. Montague's wand continued to emit a torrent of fire. Sophia continued to stand anchored with the sword in front of her, the flames roaring on the sides without touching her.
One minute, two minutes.
I could see sweat beading on the girl's forehead. The flames couldn't reach her, but the temperature must have been unbearable.
But Montague didn't seem to be faring well either. His hand trembled, and the stream of flames seemed to become increasingly irregular.
And then...
For a fraction of a second, the stream of fire weakened.
As if she had been waiting for that moment from the beginning, Sophia Thornton darted to the left and rushed forward.
«Shit!» Montague cursed, gripping the wand with both hands. The stream of fire regained its power, and the boy adjusted his aim towards Sophia who was about to pounce on him.
She couldn't dodge!
The girl grasped the sword with both hands and positioned it to protect her right side.
The stream of flames struck her head-on, but she continued her charge.
His wand clattered to the ground.
Sophia, with her uniform blackened by the flames and what looked like a nasty burn on her left arm, was still standing, and her sword was pointed at Montague's throat.
«I y-yield!» the boy stammered in panic.
Sophia lowered her weapon and leaned on it, panting.
The magical voice resonated again in the classroom:
«The winner is Sophia Thornton.»
At the same time, the glowing leaderboard was updated. My name was no longer at the top.
Sophia Thornton - 2 points.
«This... This duel is not valid!» Montague's scream broke the stunned silence that hung in the lecture hall.
«What do you mean, Mr. Montague?» Skylark asked coldly.
I had glanced at the professor during the duel. His expression remained seraphic, as if things were going exactly as he expected.
«That sword! It repelled my spells! It's clearly an enchanted weapon. Someone with such little magical power couldn't have enchanted it during the duel. It must have been enchanted beforehand! She cheated!»
«Mr. Montague, if you had taken a few minutes of your time to read the rules before challenging Miss Thornton to a duel, you would have known that carrying enchanted armaments is not against the rules,» the principal explained amusedly.
The count's son opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, like a fish out of water.
«Let this be a lesson to everyone. Magical power is not the only important thing in this school. Now, you two go to the infirmary, you'll find it at the end of the hallway. After a duel, if you have any injuries, the infirmary will get you back on your feet in no time.»
Without waiting for Montague, Sophia immediately headed for the door.
I couldn't help but stare at her as she left.
"An enchanted sword, huh?"
It seemed like the only plausible explanation.
But no, there was something wrong. An enchantment powerful enough to cut a fireball in half as if it were butter? Could such a thing exist?
But if it wasn't that, then how did she do it?
I had no idea. But one thing I was sure of. If I wanted to be the last survivor in two years, I had to find a way to beat that girl.