16.
A one-on-one duel between wizards and knights was not a common occurrence.
Unlike knights, who would clash swords at the slightest provocation, wizards saw no reason to risk injury by engaging in physical combat.
“Wizard, let us compete for our chivalry!”
“Why fight? What do I gain from it?”
This fundamental difference in mindset explained precisely why such duels were so uncommon.
Even Lancel, a seasoned veteran of knight-versus-knight combat, had few experiences dueling wizards.
When he had drawn his sword against wizards, it was usually in war or during hunts. Finding a wizard willing to spar in practice was simply too difficult.
But this was the academy.
If anyone was going to do it, it had to be the academy students.
"My name is Angel God. For the past ten years, under my master's guidance, I've undergone rigorous training and research, graduating this year with Second Rank magic and preparing to advance to the Third Rank..."
"You talk too much!”
"Wait, I haven't even started yet...!"
As the knight charged forward, the wizard frantically began forming a hand seal.
Whoosh!
A chilling wind enveloped his body, instantly crystallizing into ice.
"Don't underestimate me, knight! Prepare to taste the sting of ice daggers sharper than needles!"
"Too late."
Before the ice could even fully materialize into its sharp form, a kick landed squarely on him.
"Ugh!"
Lancel chuckled dryly as he watched the wizard fall back from a single kick.
"Cough, cough!"
The wizard clutched his side, trembling from the blow to his vital point. He had underestimated the knight's agility.
"Don't think I'll wait for your magic to complete. The moment you let me get close, the battle was already decided."
"Heh, isn't this a little too easy, Professor Lancel?"
The knight, who had defeated the wizard with a single strike, cracked his neck from side to side, swaggering.
"One victory and already you’re being so arrogant..."
The Magic Department's eyes narrowed sharply. A woman in a deep-brimmed hat stepped forward, ready to take her turn.
"Rin Airi, Second Rank Wizard. I'll take this."
"Wait, is that even allowed?" The once-confident knight pointed at the female wizard's hand.
She had already formed a hand seal before the duel even began. Magic powers swirled around her, causing her robes to billow violently.
She had already completed the preparations to activate her magic.
"What's the problem? How is this any different from drawing your sword first? Are you scared you'll lose?"
"This insolent commoner wizard... where did you learn such manners?"
"If you have no further objections, let's begin."
Watching from afar, Laura signaled her approval with a circle formed by her fingers.
"It's only natural for wizards to prepare in their own way. Approved."
"Indeed. Consider it a handicap."
"Tsk."
With even Lancel agreeing, the knight clicked his tongue and raised his wooden sword.
"Begin."
The moment the command was given, the wizard's hand gripped her wand.
"Air. Vibration. Raging winds."
As the brief incantation flowed from her lips, a terrifying gale erupted from the ground.
"Whoa!" The knight momentarily lost his balance and was lifted into the air, flailing helplessly in the sudden weightlessness.
As if waiting for this moment, the wizard pointed her wand at the ground.
"Smash him down."
The knight's body tilted abruptly, and he was hurled headfirst into the ground by the force of her magic.
Thud!
"Ugh!"
After tumbling violently across the ground several times, blood streamed from his nose.
"That's enough!"
"Heh heh."
A chuckle escaped the wizard's lips as she formed another hand seal.
"How did you like that? I can do it again as many times as you want."
"Pah! What kind of rotten magic is this?"
The knight spat out blood-tinged saliva and glared up with bloodshot eyes.
Lancel watched as the magic power boiling within the knight's body concentrated at his feet.
‘He's furious.’
The female wizard twirled her wand with a smug smile.
"Keep acting so high and mighty, knight. It seems your pride has been badly bruised by taking a hit from a commoner wizard."
In the next instant, the condensed power at the knight's feet exploded.
KWAANG—!
His heel tore through the earthen ground, pulverizing it into dust.
The knight's figure shot forward in a straight line.
The wooden sword arced through the air in a perfect, painterly line, hurtling toward the wizard.
"Huh?"
The wizard only snapped out of her daze when the wooden sword was mere inches from her face.
"Aaaah!"
Anticipating a violent impact, she shielded her face, but felt no pain.
"Take it easy. Were you trying to crack her skull?"
Lancel's outstretched wooden sword had gently deflected the knight’s strike.
The knight stared down at his empty palm, his eyes wide with disbelief. He clearly hadn't expected his attack to be so easily thwarted. The wooden sword he had lunged with was already rolling across the floor, far away.
"A-ah, d-did I win?"
"Yes. You won. Wizard Rin Airi, defeated. Step back."
"Ugh, my legs are..."
The female wizard, whose legs gave way, was eventually dragged away by her comrades.
"Next. Who's stepping up?"
.
.
.
Four more wizards stepped forward in succession, but the outcome remained the same each time.
Not even able to breach the defenses of a single knight, they were all swiftly defeated by a single punch, a single kick, or a single strike with a wooden sword.
"Is this all the Magic Department can muster?!"
"Let me fight too!"
A spirit of ease and laughter rippled through the knights, who sensed an easy victory.
‘Their difference in experience is still too great.’
Lancel smiled wryly at the thought.
It wasn't that the Magic Department's skill level was low.
The fact that they could wield the magic of a Second Rank or higher at such a young age was clear evidence of their exceptional talent. Each and every one of them was undoubtedly worthy of being called an elite.
With just a bit of training, many of them could have toyed with ordinary knights using only one hand. But that was now a distant dream.
"Cleaning... cleaning..."
"I can't do it, I can't do it, I..."
"Hngh... Aaaah...!"
The Magic Department had already conceded defeat. The wizards could practically see themselves scrubbing every corner of the Department of Knights’ dormitories.
"Mary. First Rank wizard."
Then, Marigold stepped forward as the seventh challenger.
"Finally!"
"We've been waiting for you, Mary."
"Ah, that little brat should have been my opponent."
The knights erupted in enthusiastic cheers.
"You're quite popular, Marigold."
Even as the crowd roared her name, Marigold's gaze remained fixed solely on Lancel.
‘...?’
Her emerald eyes burned with an intensity.
"I have a request, Professor Lancel."
"...What is it?"
"If I defeat all ten of them..."
Marigold's eyes gleamed so brightly it seemed as thought they would emit sparks.
"...then Professor Lancel must also accept the punishment."
"...Huh?"
Lancel's mouth dropped open in stunned silence.
"That insolent brat!"
Students of the Department of Knights all surged to their feet as one.
"How dare you speak so disrespectfully to our professor!"
"A commoner like you daring to address Professor Lancel, the idol of the Department of Knights, with such audacity!"
"Bow your head and apologize!"
‘Was I an idol?
No, that's news to me.’
"Ahem. Quiet down."
Lancel, calming the overheated knights, nodded to Marigold.
"If you defeat all ten of them, I'll make sure to do exactly that."
"Thank you."
Lancel scratched the back of his neck as he watched Marigold turn away with a pout.
‘Is she sulking?’
17.
"Mary, I was getting bored. You came just in time."
Even as the wooden sword whizzed through the air, Marigold's expression remained strangely calm. She kept glancing sideways at Lancel.
"Don't lose. Show Mary the power of a knight."
"Don't worry, Professor."
Every time Lancel encouraged the knight, a twitching spasm flickered across Marigold's face.
"......"
It didn't take long before she was gazing at Lancel with moist, pleading eyes. Perhaps the slight distance he'd maintained over the past few days had already begun to foster a sense of resentment.
‘Don't take it personally, Marigold. I'm still a professor at the Department of Knights. How could I possibly side with you?’
Forcing himself to ignore her gaze, Lancel raised his hand.
"Ready."
Tension crackled between Marigold and the knight.
"Begin."
The knight moved the instant the command was given. He slammed his feet against the ground and surged toward Marigold in a blur.
"Mary! I'm gonna give you a big, fat bump on your head!"
Thud. Thud. With just two leaps, the distance between them closed until they were close enough to touch with an outstretched blade.
Marigold, however, seemed utterly indifferent to the knight's approach. Her eyes remained calmly closed as she focused her magic.
“Phew.”
It was then that Marigold released the wooden staff she had been holding.
‘...?’
Lancel's eyes narrowed.
Marigold's feet and the staff floated into the air.
"Compress. Release."
Boom!
The knight's eardrums rang. A powerful shockwave erupted from Marigold's position.
“Ugh!”
The knight, who had taken the full force of the invisible impact, staggered backward several steps.
But Marigold's assault didn't end there.
"Compress. Release. Compress. Release. Compress. Release."
The shockwaves repeated relentlessly, six, seven, eight times in succession.
BANG! BANG!
"Ugh!"
The knight's strained groans grew increasingly labored.
"It's a First Rank spell. A wave of magic."
"For a First Rank spell, the output is..."
The wizards gaped in stunned silence. Even from afar, they could feel the wind surging violently.
Marigold gripped her wooden staff tightly. A spherical orb slowly materialized at its tip.
WHOOSH!
Magical powers relentlessly compressed into the orb's core, drawing in light, air, and heat.
Layer upon layer, the magic powers were forged, condensing into an increasingly solid point.
The surrounding scenery around the magical sphere gradually blurred.
"G-g-g-ahhh!"
Marigold's body trembled uncontrollably, her teeth chattering violently from the intense vibrations.
The critical threshold of magic power.
"Now!"
Her eyes snapped open.
The tip of her staff pointed toward the knight.
"Go."
"......!"
Boom!
The sphere shot downward in a straight line.
"Damn it...!"
A massive explosion erupted beside the knight as he desperately rolled across the ground.
Kuuuung!
A cloud of dust billowed upward. Earth and sand rained down from the sky.
A deep pit, large enough to easily accommodate two or three people, had been carved into the grassy field.
"Huh...?"
The knight, who had been clutching his chest, suddenly darkened his expression.
Centered around Marigold, a magic sphere far larger than the previous one was slowly rotating. And it wasn't alone—there were five of them.
"There's still more," she declared, her eyes glowing faintly through the dust-choked air.
"For the sin of corrupting Sir Lancel... accept your punishment!"
‘What is she talking about?’
Lancel immediately raised his wooden sword as the five magic spheres hurtled toward him.
Marigold's magical output was far too powerful. Even a well-trained knight wouldn't escape with just a broken bone if struck head-on.
"Marigold, enough..."
Before Laura could finish, she pointed her wand at the knight.
"Shield. Protect the knight."
A magical barrier composed of grid-like fragments enveloped the knight. Five Magic Spheres immediately detonated against it.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Deafening explosions reverberated through the air, ringing in everyone’s ears.
"Ugh!"
Where the explosions had swept through, the ground lay overturned in a fan-shaped pattern, resembling an inverted spindle.
Only the spot where the knight had stood remained intact, preserved by Laura's protective shield.
The knight slumped to the ground, his posture radiating defeat.
"That... that's magic..."
A stiff voice emerged from the students of the Department of Knights Studies.
Witnessing the true power of "real magic" with their own eyes seemed to have jolted them awake.
Yes, of course. Though rarely seen on the battlefield, each high-ranking wizard was an immensely powerful being.
They were far from the pushovers these fledgling knights had dismissed them as.
‘Just how strong does an archmage become?’
Lancel pondered the question.
Even if he could summon his past self from his third playthrough, he couldn't be certain he could defeat wizard Marigold in her fully realized form.
‘Could I even win?
Even if I win, will I be in one piece?’
"Miss Mary, you have remarkable talent."
A quiet murmur of admiration drifted from beside him.
It was the voice of Prince Aldehar of Lucia, who had approached Lancel unnoticed.
"To achieve such output with merely First Rank magic... Miss Mary might possess talent comparable to or even surpassing my own. If nurtured properly, who knows how far she could rise? It's almost frightening."
‘Comparable to or even surpassing my own?’
Lancel swallowed a bitter laugh. Did Aldehar even understand that Marigold was the only being in this land capable of becoming an archmage?
Across the entire world, no one possessed greater potential than Marigold. She could truly become anything she set her mind to.
‘Marigold, you truly are the protagonist.’
Lancel clicked his tongue, realizing Marigold's talent far exceeded his expectations.
"Miss Mary's victory!" Laura's bright voice rang out.
"We won!" Even the Magic Department erupted in cheers.
"Ugh...!"
The moment Marigold's body landed on the ground, she collapsed.
"Miss Mary!"
"P-Professor! She's exhausted her magic power!"
"Damn it! Get Miss Mary to the infirmary. Let her rest."
The duel couldn't have continued much longer anyway.
Marigold's magic had completely ravaged the training grounds, turning the entire area into a muddy wasteland.
"So, what about the bet?"
"Well, that's obvious," Lancel said, shrugging in response to Professor Laura's question. "It was seven to one."
The Magic Department had suffered a crushing defeat.
.
.
.
That night.
"Marigold."
Lancel once again faced the full moon.
More precisely, he faced Marigold, who had grown enormously beneath it.
‘Lancel.’
A faint smile played on her lips in the moonlight.
The horned Marigold, now grown to a colossal size.
‘Hmph…’
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