LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 23
The duel with the Garfield siblings was scheduled to take place during the integrated training session.
The integrated training involves students from Class S to the special class coming out to the training grounds for free practice.
However, Chancellor Lunia turned everyone into spectators, intending for them to learn by watching the duel.
What was supposed to be a quiet duel turned into a ridiculous spectacle thanks to the Chancellor’s influence.
Having to fight in front of a large crowd made me hesitate a bit.
Though I live life as I please, my introverted personality makes me tense around large groups of people.
On the other hand, Nina, with her extraordinary sociability and strong determination, was in high spirits.
She didn’t have a personality that sought to show off, but as the protagonist, she enjoyed receiving encouragement and expectations from others.
“Professor! This is my first time fighting in front of so many people!”
“Same here.”
“You too, Professor? I thought you would have more experience.”
“I was pretty well-behaved when I was a student. So, this is my first time on a stage like this.”
“Well, then our first experience… does sound a bit strange, so let’s call it our first collaboration!”
Doesn’t that sound a bit strange too?
More than that, I was taken aback by Nina’s sneaky action of gently holding my hand while saying collaboration.
Whether she was aware of it or not, Nina blushed as she stared at the hand she was holding tightly.
Then, shyly exclaiming, “F-Fighting!” she shook our joined hands up and down before stepping back a pace.
I was genuinely startled by Nina’s sudden skinship.
Still, thanks to Nina, the tension I had just felt vanished completely.
Is this the protagonist buff at play? The effect was truly amazing.
“You’re being so ridiculous.”
“Kitty, a crown princess shouldn’t talk like that.”
“Ahem! I’m sorry, brother. I’ll be more careful next time.”
“No worries. Upon reconsideration, what you said was indeed ridiculous.”
Meanwhile, on the opposite side, the Garfield siblings were glaring at us with scrunched-up faces.
Honestly, it wasn’t something a normal teacher and student would do.
It was embarrassing, but if I considered Nina as my future wife, it was the best reward ever.
She was super cute!
“Nina, can you reconsider?”
“Yes?”
Feeling anxious about the recent events, Kyle Crown Prince approached Nina.
Unashamedly grasping her hands with both of his, he gave her a pleading look.
Nina was taken aback by the Crown Prince’s sudden action.
After glancing at me briefly, she pulled away from the Crown Prince.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t understand what you’re saying, Your Highness.”
“I’m suggesting that you appoint me as your representative for the duel. I heard that you’re participating to alleviate the punishment inflicted on Professor Daniel. In that case, wouldn’t it be better to choose me as your substitute to ensure a clear victory?”
Kyle’s argument had merit.
If this duel wasn’t related to Nina’s awakening, I wouldn’t have pushed her to fight.
Kyle was a considerable strength, and he was only going to get stronger, so it made sense to leave it to him.
If he stepped in as her representative, he could undoubtedly bring Kitty down in less than a minute.
Which is why he confidently offered himself, but he knew nothing about Nina.
“Your Highness, Professor Daniel received unfair punishment for trying to protect me. If I appoint someone else as my substitute, I could never lift my head in front of Professor Daniel for the rest of my life.”
Nina cared about her dignity.
“And all the sweat and effort I put in over the past two weeks for today would go to waste!”
She had strong faith in her efforts.
“Most importantly, I want to prove that I’m not just someone being protected from behind, but someone who can fight alongside!”
She possessed bravery and unwavering will like no other.
That’s exactly why Nina could become the protagonist of this world.
Moved by Nina, the Crown Prince reluctantly turned away, respecting her wishes.
“I believe you will claim victory, and I will be cheering for you.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
Their conversation concluded warmly.
If Kyle Crown Prince weren’t my rival, I might have cheered for him.
“Nina from Class F and Kitty Garfield from Class S, let the duel commence!”
Professor Masker, who was acting as the referee, announced the duel.
Nina clenched her fists, showing her determination to win.
With that resolute look on her face, I didn’t feel worried at all. On the other hand, Kyle still seemed anxious.
How could he be a heroine with such little faith in the protagonist?
Yet, I somewhat understood his feelings.
Surrounding students were mocking or sneering at Nina.
“Why do we have to watch a fight with someone from Class F instead of Class A?”
“Seriously, what a waste of time!”
“I heard the two professors might duel afterward; that could be interesting.”
“Pffft! A match between Professor Carter and some unknown professor? That’s not worth seeing.”
“Yeah, that sounds about right?”
Even I, a teacher, was openly disregarded as they laughed and chatted away.
The reactions from Class A and B were no different; Class C was quiet, probably because Professor Masker had drilled them well.
Below them, some students who were fairly close to Nina were all cheering for her.
“Nina! Do your best!”
“You don’t need to be scared just because it’s Class S!”
“You worked hard, so you can win!”
“Show Class S who’s boss!”
Amidst the warm cheers, our special class was…
“Sweet!”
“Yay! Not duking it out is great!”
“Professor, can we not have duels at this time?”
It was easier to give up.
Since there was often trouble during duels, I thought it worked out well.
“The duel begins!”
Anyway, the curtain of the duel event was raised.
*
As soon as the duel began, Nina dashed towards Kitty without hesitation.
Kitty was startled but quickly cast magic in response.
A fiery orb was shot toward Nina’s face, and a streak of lightning fell right on her head.
She mainly used powerful first-level spells with unmatched firepower.
As Kitty unleashed her precise yet destructive magic, the audience expected Nina to collapse.
However, even after taking magic head-on, Nina emerged without a single scratch.
The only change was some soot on her clothes.
Additionally, a gentle green aura surrounded her, signifying she was using healing magic to instantly regenerate.
Despite enduring the pain, Nina pushed forward to engage in close combat.
While Kitty wasn’t entirely untrained in martial arts, there was a catastrophic level of difference.
Born as a farmer’s daughter, Nina had amazing stamina from helping her parents since childhood.
On the other hand, Kitty, a marquess’s daughter, had grown up pampered with the belief that she just needed to learn magic.
After honing her combat skills with the help of friends for two weeks, Nina had no chance of losing in close quarters.
“Wow…”
Kitty found herself in a mounted position beneath Nina and started to receive a flurry of punches.
Thwack! Thwack! The sound of punches echoed ominously.
Finally, as blood spilled, Kitty’s blood splattered everywhere.
The female students watching screamed, and Professor Masker declared Nina the winner.
Despite that, Nina continued to throw punches furiously.
Professor Masker, shocked, tried to stop her, but she innocently responded with a blank expression.
“Stop! You might really kill her!”
“I’m fine! I’m not hurt!”
Even though Nina’s punches had turned Kitty’s face into a bloodied mess, Kitty’s face remained flawless.
With the gentle green glow surrounding her, it was clear she had used healing magic to restore herself.
Thinking Nina had lost her mind in a fit of rage, I realized that she was actually calculating her actions perfectly.
“Uh…? Is this real?”
“Since it seems she has lost consciousness, I’ll stop here!”
Nina quietly got off Kitty and began to skip around, looking at me.
But it was the spectators watching the duel that caught my eye.
I had predicted Nina’s victory a while ago, but it seemed others were still in disbelief and couldn’t help but gape.
Or perhaps they were shocked by Nina’s fighting style more than the win or loss.
I was just as surprised, after all.
“Professor! I won!”
“Congratulations, and thanks for your hard work.”
“Hehe!”
To cut to the chase, Nina didn’t awaken her second ability.
Considering that her awakening happened in a critical situation, the one-sided nature of this duel left her with no chance.
It was disappointing, but the fact that she could freely wield her healing light, which would bloom in the future, was a blessing.
I just wasn’t sure if this was the right process yet.
“Come out, Daniel Crawford!”
“My turn has come.”
“Good luck, Professor! I’ll be cheering for you!”
“Thanks.”
As I stretched out my stiff body, I headed slowly to the training grounds.
I felt a gaze on me, and when I turned my head, Rynelle was smiling meaningfully and moving her lips.
Roughly translated, she was asking what I would do next.
What could I do? I’d be fighting without spatial magic.
“I’ll repay what Kitty went through!”
Caught witnessing Kitty’s humiliation, Professor Carter was livid.
Unable to take out his frustrations on Nina, he vowed to crush me mercilessly.
Before the duel started, Professor Masker asked if I was alright.
“No problem. Let’s proceed.”
“Sigh… begin!”
“I’ll take you down!”
Right from the start, Professor Carter began double casting with both hands.
The audience gasped in admiration.
And rightly so—it was a high-level technique that only skilled mages could use.
Legendary archmages were said to have performed quadruple casting, with the legendary archmage Shaines rumored to have accomplished quintuple casting.
While quintuple and quadruple casts are ridiculous tales, pulling off just a double cast would earn the respect of students.
“Daniel, you don’t know how to double cast, do you?”
“Correct, I do not.”
“Then watch closely! This is the difference in levels!”
Finishing his casting, Professor Carter conjured a spear made of rock and electricity, launching it at me.
Calmly, I twisted my body to dodge the fast-approaching spear from the front.
The spears that Professor Carter had ambitiously released grazed past my waist.
With the first attack ending in futility, I started my own casting.
Daniel had average talent in all types of magic, excluding spatial magic.
Unlike Nina and the other heroines, who had flashy talents, that made him somewhat pitiful.
But was he just a one-trick pony in spatial magic? Not at all.
His exceptional spatial awareness skills were a key reason he could consistently act as an outstanding supporting character.
With the ability to assess the battlefield faster than anyone, he could deliver precise commands.
He was intelligent enough to lead while fighting.
So, I continued my casting, expertly dodging all of Professor Carter’s mundane offensive spells.
“Ugh! Why so excessively naïve…!”
“Forgive my saying this, but aren’t you shooting a bit blindly?”
“Shut it!”
Merely stating facts, Professor Carter misunderstood and prepared an area attack spell.
Even for me, evading an explosion-based fireball would be nearly impossible.
Not only would it blow away the surroundings, but burning fragments would scatter everywhere.
“Let’s see you evade this!”
Calculating the angle of the fireball, I created an ice wall at an angle before me.
The flaming sphere touched the icy surface, briefly causing a vaporization reaction.
BOOM!
An earth-shattering explosion erupted, shattering the ice wall.
Miraculously, the explosion ended just before reaching me.
I calmly sent small ice shards floating in the air to the wind.
“Uaaah!”
Professor Carter rolled aside to evade the falling ice shards.
Despite his clumsy reaction, he looked proud as he evaded.
I summoned a reverse wind to send the ice shards back to Professor Carter.
Attempting to retaliate, he panic-stricken left his casting mid-way and tried to dodge once more.
“It’s useless!”
WHOOSH!
Predicting his escape route, my pre-placed spell activated.
‘Fire Pillar’—a magic that sprung up like a flame in the form of a flowering plant.
Professor Carter’s complexion turned pale as he recognized the spell, leading him to slump over and evade the flames.
“I’m coming!”
Continuing to dodge Professor Carter’s attacks, the spells I had prepared were not wasted.
I had strategically laid area spells across the battlefield as a foundation for dominance.
He likely believed that breaking off his spell to evade my attacks was the best option.
Simply pouring magic onto the opponent isn’t always the best offense.
In a confined space like the training ground, trap-style magic is more efficient.
By linking magic with magic, I could restrict the opponent’s movements and draw them in predictable paths.
Right now, I was the maestro of the battlefield.
With a wave of my arm, I made the opponent dance to my tune, and Professor Carter looked utterly stunned as he struggled to evade the emerging spells.
“Wow, that’s terrible!”
“If I were there, ouch…!”
“This is my first time seeing Professor Carter getting completely dominated.”
“When Professor Carter had the upper hand, I thought it was over…”
“Well, in mage versus mage battles, the one who finishes casting first has the upper hand.”
Various reactions echoed from the audience.
Growing up knowing only standard fights, my battle style must have seemed fresh and shocking to them.
They likely didn’t think they could replicate it.
To utilize magic with a margin of error as small as 1mm, exceptional spatial perception is necessary.
“Professor Carter, let’s wrap this up with a grand finale.”
“Ugh…! Don’t act high and mighty, you useless fallen noble!”
Before I knew it, Professor Carter had closed in, just three strides away from me.
His face fully red with fury, he couldn’t control himself and charged at me with a clenched fist.
Deeply grateful that he followed my expectations, I bowed my head in appreciation.
WHOOSH!
With a familiar sound, a stone pillar rose.
The tip of the pillar was aimed between Professor Carter’s legs.
The boys watching the duel all instinctively placed hands on their groins and slightly bent over.
It was a sight reminiscent of a memorial service.
“GUAAAH!”
“Moment of silence, everyone.”
The heir of the Garfield Marquis House lies here.