Chapter 5：Match

"Alright, let's move on to magic. As you might already know, after researching for so long, we managed to simplify magic with magic circles. I'm sure that all of you can already use this magic circle, but I'll still introduce it to you."

Sanae raised her hand to her front. Not long after, a green magic circle appeared on her hands. The magic circle had a one-meter radius, but the most noticeable thing about this magic circle was the three wavy lines that looked like a symbol of blowing wind.

"This is the most simplified way to use your magic. If you use a magic circle every time you use magic, it will reduce the magic power spent and boost your power.

"Each person has their own unique magic circle. One of the most noticeable things is the three wavy lines in the center of my magic circle. It is my Magician's Mark.

"How can we use a magic circle? Can anyone help me answer this?"

"Here," Kudo Ayaka stood up.

"Well, you can answer it, Miss honor student."

Although she didn't really like it when she called her Miss honor student, Ayaka decided to ignore it. "Yes. We channel our magic power to our mark then channel it to anywhere we want. If we want to use magic from our hands, we should channel it to our hands and imagine the magic circle."

"That's right. If you want to use it from your feet, then feel free to do so. You are free to do anything you want because magic is versatile. There is no useless magician. They just haven't found the right way to utilize their magic," Sanae said.

"Anyway, let me continue. The most important thing for you to master is mana control. If you can't control your mana, you won't be able to control your magic. So for this year, we will be working on your mana control, be it theoretical or practical. So prepare yourselves. Alright, that's enough for the introduction. I'll continue with our topic here."

Sanae continued her lesson, and her expression was the same the entire time. It was a poker face as she didn't have any interest in the topic.

The class will be held from ten to two every day. Well, it will only be five days a week, and we will have a practical class every Friday. After that, the students are free to do what they want to. But most of the students will go with a club to enhance their strength.

Just as she finished saying the last word, the bell rang. Hearing that bell, Sanae immediately stopped teaching, "All right, the class is over. Whether you want to go home or join a club, I don't care. Just make sure you submit the application form if you wish to join a club."

"Let's go (fight)," Ayaka looked at Kai and said.

When everyone heard that, they immediately misunderstood since they didn't know about Ayaka's and Kai's fight. Not only that, she even dragged Kai out of the class. After they went out of the class, the class turned into an uproar.

"What was that? Am I dreaming?"

"No, the class idol is taken!"

"I'm frustrated because I can't fight his status."

"Kya-!"

"Maybe I should also approach him? That way, he would also take care of me with the money of Kudo Group. I'll be able to live comfortably."

"That is... a good plan."

George shook his head in disbelief. He became even more convinced that the Kudo Group had sold their princess to Kai so they could pull Tasha Carter to their group.

Ayaka didn't know about the ruckus she had made because of her naivety. Her only thought was to prove her strength. She dragged Kai to the student council room.

Knock knock.

"Come in."

Ayaka opened the door and saw Haruko, Tasha, and one other person inside. She had dark blue hair that was tied into a ponytail, small blue eyes, and a graceful body. Even so, one could feel an aura of a warrior emanating from her.

"Let me introduce her. She is the vice president of the student council. Her name is Tabata Rea. She said she wanted to look at the fight after I told her about it. Well, you might already know about her. She's one of the top ten in our school. She holds numerous experiences under her belt."

"So this Tasha's brother, Kai Carter. Hmm... truly a particular one," She came closer to Kai while ignoring Ayaka. When she looked at Kai's appearance, there was nothing out of the ordinary.

But when she tried to focus on him, she didn't know why, but her guts told her that this man was dangerous as she was experienced in combat, especially with life and death combat against magical beasts.

She trusted this feeling a lot as it had helped her countless times. She didn't feel anything from Ayaka, so she ignored her, even though she was going to be a student council member as she had been invited to join the student council.

Her feeling told her that if she fought with this guy, she might lose if she wasn't careful. This 'Kai' had something more than one could see with naked eyes.

"I am Tabata Rea. You can just call me Rea. I don't really mind about being juniors or seniors. Nice to meet you." She stretched her hand for a handshake.

Kai shook her hand, "Yes, nice to meet you. My name is Kai Carter."

Then, she went to Ayaka as a formality... poor her.

"Then, follow me," Haruko said while moving toward another door inside the room.

Kai, Ayaka, and Rea followed her. Tasha came to Kai and whispered. "Kai, you must win this fight. Don't hold back! We're talking about the high-tech weapon from Kudo Group here. So we need to take advantage of this."

Ayaka was eager to prove her power in this fight as a proud princess of Kudo Group. She also wanted to show Tasha her power, as she was her idol.

As for Rea, she was observing Kai's movements from beginning to end. In others' eyes, Kai might seem like he was just walking normally, but in an experienced fighter's eyes, Kai's movement was precise with no redundant movements. If she attacked Kai, she might not be able to hit him. Of course, that was on the premise that she held back on her power so she wouldn't injure him.

They came across a room full of weapons. Swords, axes, spears, bows, guns, and many others.

"You can pick a weapon from here first before we enter the next room, which is the field," Haruko said.

Kai just picked some random blades. He was fine as long as the length was similar. Surprisingly, Ayaka also chose a weapon here. It was a surprise because she shouldn't lack weapons since she was from the Kudo Group.

"I don't want you to say that I could only win with my weapon as an excuse. I will fight you on equal ground," she said while blushing.

It seemed that she wanted to win this fight fair and square. Their difference in rank was already big enough though.

After choosing their respective weapons, they went to a small field with a size of two classes. It was seven meters wide and twenty meters long.

Kai and Ayaka stood on the field while Tasha, Haruko, and Rea were on the side.

The distance between Kai and Ayaka was five meters. It wasn't much, but it was enough to cast a spell.

Haruko came to the front and announced, "I will announce the rules of this fight. First, no killing or usage of deadly spells. If the situation becomes dangerous, I, Tasha, or Rea will stop the fight.

"Second, the match will be decided after one of you surrenders or falls unconscious. Please keep in mind this is only a friendly match. You don't need to mind about the field as it has been reinforced by magic, so it won't break apart even if you blow it up."

Kai and Ayaka nodded their heads to her, signifying that they understood. Haruko smiled while walking back. She took a coin out of her pocket, "The match will start as soon as the coin reaches the ground. You may activate your weapons first."

Kai and Ayaka activated their weapons. Kai's weapons were two swords while Ayaka used a spear. Before the match started, Kai took off his noise-canceling headphones. The sound from his surroundings started echoing in his ears.

He heard not just everything in the room, but even the people outside the building. He could hear students trying to recruit new students to their club and others. He looked at Haruko and nodded. Seeing that both of them were ready, she tossed the coin in her hand.

Cling!

As soon as the coin reached the ground, Ayaka made her first move. A red magic circle appeared on her hand. There was a 'blaze' symbol on the magic circle.

"Firebirds!"

Suddenly, around ten firebirds appeared from the magic circle and flew toward Kai. They were scattered, so Kai could only dodge to the side.

To her surprise, Kai didn't even take this seriously. He didn't dodge to the side. Instead, he only positioned himself, and his pose became a bit... weird.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Surprisingly, the firebirds passed through him without hitting him. It passed him with only an inch from his cheek, leg, and hands, but not a single one managed to hit him.

All of them were dumbfounded except for Tasha. They couldn't believe it and thought, how did he dodge them?

Ayaka gritted her teeth and used that spell once again. He must be lucky just now, she thought.

"Firebirds!"

But Kai dodged it once again. She became a bit frustrated to see Kai dodge her attack so effortlessly. She tried to attack him with her spear.

"Fool," Tasha couldn't help but comment. Haruko and Rea looked at her in confusion.

But the answer they sought would be given as soon as she switched to melee combat. Kai showed his prowess.

He used his sword skillfully and suppressed Ayaka. Ayaka tried to use her spear to find Kai's weak point, but all she got was suppression from Kai.

If she continued this way, she would lose sooner or later. Another magic circle appeared on her back.

"Fire Wings!"

A pair of wings made of fire appeared on her back as she flapped the wings to pull back and create distance from Kai.

She made another magic circle on her hand.

"Burn to Cinders, Flares."