"I, Urn Berthold, hereby challenge you to a duel."
Getting challenged by someone totally unknown, I just wanted a peace of mind after not entering the class because of Tsuki. But now, I am experiencing one thing after another. The students surrounded us as they heard him challenging me.
"Hey, looks like a newcomer got challenged by a senior." Someone's voice from the crowd reached my ears.
"Isn't that the newbie hunter?"
I thought to myself. Newbie hunter, that's a biased way to pick challenges. At any rate, I can't look dumb in front of everyone's stares.
In the heat of the moment, Arnes accepted his challenge, which caused an uproar in the hallway—a total newcomer accepting a senior's challenge out of nowhere.
"I am Arnes Hyouki. I accept the challenge, but is it possible to do it after the entrance ceremony?"
"Hyouki? I have never heard that name before. Which country do you reside from?"
"I am a commoner from a different country."
As I said that, he lost interest in me, which was evident on his face. Just the impression of me not being a noble got his feelings down.People may call Urn a newbie hunter and make him seem like some kind of villain, but he was just excited to test the newcomers' skills. Urn Berthold was a noble; he took pride in his family name. But he seemed like he wasn't fond of commoners.
I left the main entrance of the academy and headed for the gymnasium, which was behind the female dorm by the garden.
"Wow, this is big. I should take a seat before it gets filled." I took a seat in the middle row. I am not a fan of sitting in front; the view from the middle is much better. Imeki, who followed me, sat beside me on my right.
As time passed, more students started taking seats and looking at the stage, waiting for the start.
"Mind if I take a seat next to you?"
I nodded on a whim as it was normal to sit anywhere, but someone got out to him being formal.
A beautiful girl with red hair, long red eyelashes, and wearing the same academy mage outfit as me. She had a dagger on her right hip. The most unusual thing about her was her eyes—one of them had a white magic circle rotating around her pupil, which made me stare into her eyes. She was majestic in her mature looks.
"Mm, I know it's the first time you saw someone with rare eyes like this, but could you please... because it's awkward for me."
I staggered at her words, getting flustered after realizing how creepily I was staring at her.
"My bad, it's just that your eyes are captivating."
"I get that a lot." Her tone suggested she was used to being treated like this.
I didn't ask about her magic or her name; she just wanted a seat near me. It's not like someone like her would go ahead and talk to me anyway, so I turned my gaze towards the stage just as the principal arrived to give the speech.
"You are Arnes Hyouki, right? The one who challenged Urn Berthold this morning?" She suddenly spoke up.
"Yes, what is it?"
"Well, you aren't a noble, right? Hyouki is rare and isn't from this country. Why does a commoner like you have a maid beside you?"
Oh, I get it. That noble Urn Berthold mistook me for a fellow noble because of my summon. He probably set up this duel just to establish a relationship with me, but when he learned I wasn't one, he was disappointed in me.
"Well, I have my reasons for keeping a maid." I couldn't come up with any other excuse.
"Beware of him. Good luck if you survive." She gave me her regards and turned her eyes towards the stage, effectively ending our conversation.
I focused on the principal's speech, which lasted for about an hour. After the ceremony ended, Imeki walked alongside me as I headed through the hallway towards my class, and suddenly an idea popped into my mind.
"Imeki, is it possible for you to battle Urn? Can you beat him?"
"Yes, master. It will be an easy task."
She proclaimed she could beat him. A lich can measure her opponent's strength, and she has spent more than 300 years in the labyrinth, so it was easier for her to judge strength just by looking at someone.
I nodded in agreement.
"Hm, I will try setting you up with him just to test your skills. By the way, don't kill him."
"As you wish, master."
The reason for trying to set up Imeki with Urn was because I didn't have any puppets. I haven't tried summoning necromancy after yesterday's battle. I can't call myself a fake tamer with no creature beside me. I needed a monster corpse just to control it. I lost the snake corpse I had earlier whose skin was shattered by the crazy Tsuki named girl who welded explosion magic.
I sighed deeply. "What a pain in the ass. I just want to go back to my cell and pass the time doing nothing."
*Slam* I closed the door after entering the class and took a seat in the second last row by the window, which was empty for a reason. Imeki stood beside me. Standing wasn't a problem for her, and as a maid, she was not allowed to get student treatment like us. But it didn't bother me as she was a lich and hollow.
Tsuki Ernie entered the classroom and sat right next to me.
"Why did you lie about your maid being your sister yesterday during our fight, huh? Do you have a sister complex?"
"Sister complex? Of course not! Also, who knew we would be in the same class?" I replied as she mocked me.
"Anyways, about the duel, I think it was better if you hadn't accepted it."
Tsuki Ernie was quite skilled in magic; I could tell that from yesterday's battle, and her words had to be true. I thought about whether it was a good decision to entrust the battle to Imeki, but she was sure she would win yet I had my trust issues with her words.
"Don't worry, I don't care much about losing or winning today."
We chatted as the class went on, and after the break, our challenge was scheduled at the battle stadium. It was a large stadium, big enough to hold the people of a small town. There were students excited for a match between a noble and a commoner, and hence the crowd gathered.
"Tch, these people really underestimate us, Imeki. I am sorry, but I will let you have the fight as I don't have any corpse to summon."
"Don't worry, master, I will just stop right away before I kill him."
That's scary how she put it, but yesterday I witnessed her cutting off a magic circle with her sword. Magic circles are purely created with our infused mana in the atmosphere, and it was just like a hologram. There was no way to even cut a hologram but she did as if she sliced a jello.
I entered the battle ring. The rule was simple: keep the battle going until someone dies, gives up, or gets out of the ring three times. Any weapons could be used by students, but something outrageous like using drugs to enhance magic or a second person joining the combat was strictly prohibited.
They were cheering for Urn Berthold. We stood facing each other with Imeki beside me. The judge came towards us and asked for our confirmation of the challenge.
"Ah—Instead of me, my maid will be participating."
"W-what? Your maid are you taking a fool of me?" Hearing something like that from Arnes boiled Urn up.
The crowd began backlashing Arnes."That's cowardly! How could he switch his position with his maid?"
"Haha, he is scared of fighting him; that's why he is retreating using her. Poor maid."
Tch, I could hear those clearly even though it was a crowd. What a bad pair of ears I have; it distracts me.
"Anyways, Urn, I know you will agree to that."
"Well, no issues. Your slave has the right to fight to save the master, but I am witnessing it for the first time in a duel. As expected from a commoner."
Again with this noble and commoner. Us commoners are always looked down upon in this world. Urn challenged me because of Imeki, who stood beside me this morning wearing no academy outfit, which resembled her as my maid and made him mistake me for a noble for having a personal maid."So, shall we begin, Miss Maid of Arnes-sama?" The referee took our agreement officially for the battle and went outside the ring to comment on our battle.
I nodded instead of Imeki as an agreement and stepped outside the ring.
Now then, what power will you show, Imeki? I am excited.Urn Berthold, a sword master, carried a sword behind him, which I mistook for a lance when I first met him. It was just as large as his body. He got into his stance, and Imeki raised her arm, and a sword came out of thin air forming a magic circle around her wrist.
"What is that? Her sword came out of nowhere!" The referee started his commentary.
"Hoh...now that's unexpected. I almost forgot to ask her where she kept her sword, but yesterday I was so tired that I had even forgotten about her sword." I mumbled to myself, fascinated.
"Ah, I want to just end this in one go. Fighting a lowly, weak maid is just not worth my time." Urn Scoffed.
He stepped forward with his right foot, holding the hilt of his sword, and vanished into the air.
*Clank* *Slash*
Imeki took a defensive stance and parried his sword with her sword, completely blocking his first attack and repelling him backward.
*Clatter* *Crash*"No way, a mere maid just shoved me backward. You are strong, I admit it, so I will go all out to end this quickly." As he said that, he started emitting a golden glow through his body, and smoke began rising from him in heat.
Our mage outfits are made of materials for defensive measures and won't wear out even after four or five battles, but the maid had a kimono—something from the ancient dragon era with no defense measures I was worried if it got tattered showing her bare skin Infront of crowd.
"Looks like Urn is going all out on my summon. Sigh..." I looked toward Imeki and shouted with my command, "Imeki! End it right now!"
She stared at Urn like a robot and replied, "As you command, master."
A yellow magic circle covered the whole ring, showing that Urn had claimed the ring as his own territory. Everyone thought Imeki was just a pest caught in his trap, but...
*Thunk*
As Imeki planted the point of her sword stabbing into the ground, a white flash of hundreds of small magic circles formed, floating in the sky and covering the entire ring.
"Urn is trying to trap her with his magic, but instead, she trapped him. Looks like Urn's magic is self-enhancement; when he uses his magic, his body gets enhanced when he resides within his magic circle. That is his territory," I muttered to myself, fascinated by fellow mage.
I wonder what's Imeki's next move.
The crowd suddenly went chaotic after witnessing Imeki's magic.
"H-hey, isn't that bad? That's ranged magic, and on top of that, there are hundreds of magic circles in the sky. What is happening?" The referee exclaimed with his commentary.
"URN! FIGHT ON! SHOW THAT COMMONER HIS PLACE!" cheers on Urn kept showering in heat.
Most of them were cheering for him, astonished by Imeki's magic, a mere servant of a commoner. But all that was shattered, the pride of a noble, and a horrific sight came upon them.
"Heart's Furnished Synchronization." Her chant echoed through the whole stadium with an angelic voice, yet people were jolted by how terrifying she was.
For a second I felt like bloodlust crawled on my body looking at her. But she was a lich under my control, Is that even possible for a puppet under my control.
From those hundreds of magic circles, swords slowly pointed towards Urn Berthold.
"YAAAAAAAHH!" He shouted as he leapt with his long sword targeting her neck, but it was useless. His body couldn't move, completely stuck on the ground in an instant.
Out of the thirteen swords emerging from the white magic circles of Imeki through air, nine struck him, immobilizing him on the ground, completely defeated. Blood gushed out of him with his bones crushed brutally.
The crowd was jolted by surprise, even me, and a few teachers who were there to see a commoner get a commoner's taste slowly walked away.
This is a prestigious academy. The teachers and 78% of the students attending here are nobles, and we commoners are always treated badly, even outside the academy. It was shocking to see a powerful commoner, a mere maid of a commoner, defeating a prideful noble.
"Hey Imeki, I told you not to kill him. Why did you have to go all out?"
She approached me slowly, like a doll as fragile as a feather with inhuman persona.
"Sorry, master. I didn't know he was this weak, but that was only 30% of my power."
Well, that already surprised me, but what surprises me more is that she used an ancient chant to form the magic circle. Normally, us mages in the modern world don't need to chant to form magic circles. We have developed to the point where we don't use chants anymore. But she is more than three hundred years old, so I get it. She probably has her own secrets from when she was alive.
"V-victory by Imeki, servant of Arnes Hyouki."
To my surprise, no one clapped for our victory except the principal who witnessed it.
*Clap, clap, clap* "That was a wonderful performance."
Her presence was indeed surprising to me, and even those who were present in the stadium were astonished by her presence.
"My pleasure, Principal." I smirked at her.
"We will talk about your little maid's ancient chants later. I came here for something else to show you." She pointed towards the blue sky, which was crystal clear.
Not only did the ancient chant catch the principal off-guard, but also the entire academy by now. In modern magic, people don't use chants, but Imeki is exceptional, having experienced magic 300 years ago.
The crowd in the stadium stayed because of the principal's presence. Urn Berthold's body was evacuated by the healing team even though he died during battle.
As she pointed out towards the sky, a shadow suddenly covered the whole academy stadium, darkening it. The wind fluttered as the ground's grass started moving. The noise of the wind and screams could be heard as the wind grew into a storm, but that was a pure sight to me. It was a dragon, the size of the entire academy campus.The principal looked at me as if she was trying to give me a hint, and could anything be more fascinating than having great news? As the storm passed away with the dragon's breath revealing the blue sky, I couldn't keep my composure anymore.
"Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha." I laughed as she gave me a hint. The principal was more formal with me than anyone else and friendly. She knew what Arnes was capable of and his strength.
"Master?" Unable to comprehend, Imeki asked, but I completely ignored her and replied to the principal.
"This will be a great gift for myself. Thanks, Principal."
She looked at me with a smile.
To Be Continued...