Chapter 19.2

Chapter 19.2

The moderator stood between me and Kyle and explains to the audience the reason for the duel, the rules, and the consequences of defeat.

This is the gymnasium in the second princes palace, and the moderator and judge is a knight under the second princes command.

In the corner of the gymnasium, priests are on standby for treatment purposes.Updated from novelbIn.(c)om

We are duelling because we each have different accounts of the happenings in the banquet and because we dont like each other, and the cost of defeat is the losers polite apology to the winner.

A lot of people seem to have gathered to watch.

It appears that the commotion in the banquet hall has spread far and wide.

People are crowded in the stands.

Jihoooooo, fightiiiiiiiiiinnnnggggg!!!!

I can hear the sound of wisdom cheering.

Looking over to where she is, my classmates are waving at me or clenching their fists in support.

It seems that no one is missing.

From now on, Kyle Byers and Ji-Hoo Jung will fight for their honour!

I have to show my cool side to those who have come to see me fight.

At the same time as the moderator announced the start of the duel, Kyle took on a posture.

It is a boxing stance that one would take when sparring.

His face sported a serious expression too.

In contrast, I have the sword I picked up earlier hanging limply by my side.

The tip of the sword is barely touching the floor.

.

Kyle made fun of me for being a freshman.

So I am making him more and more annoyed and angry at my cheeky display.

This is what I planned to do.

I hoped he would charge me out of sheer anger.

Because there is no opponent as easy as a reckless for.

But I dont think he is that stupid.

Kyle approached me step by step with his guard up.

Woo-woo-woo*

*Waves of brown spread across his skin as his gauntlets vibrated.

Kyle has the [Stone] Attribute, and that gauntlet seems to be a secondary weapon that helps his attribute manifest.

My reach, which is the sum of the lengths of the sword and my arm, is longer than his, which is only his arms length.

I struck first, swinging my sword at his arm.

The sword struck sharply and went in to rip his skin

*Kkang-!*

Instead of blood splattering from where the sword struck Kyles arms, there was a sound that shouldnt be heard when metal and flesh collide.

This is his attribute ability.

When I first heard that Kyle had the [Stone] Attribute, I wondered if he had the ability to create and throw out stones, but it wasnt that.

He can reinforce his body by strengthening the strength of his skin to the texture of stone.

Kyle threw a jab at me, but I quickly ducked away and dodged it.

His fists, reinforced with attributes, will be almost as menacing as a siege machine charge.

He knew, of course, that there must have been a reason for which Jung Ji-hoo could act so confident all this while.

However, it was still very disconcerting that it was not a magic or attribute-related trump card, but a close combat technique.

I heard that he was taking magic classes, but is that false information?

Kyle desperately calmed his agitated heart and took a closer look at his opponent.

He needed to be even more careful than he was previously.

While Kyle had this realisation. Jeong Ji-hoo looked disapprovingly at his gently quivering left hand.

Tsk.

He shook his head and then smiled at Kyle.

Senior, thank you for taking part in my experiment.

...Experiment...? What are you talking about?

Yes. An experiment. It was an experiment to see how well I could fight against knights if I used my attributes in my eyes. Hmm, for now, Ill have to settle for being able to fight at the level of an inferior graduate, right?

...This bastard.

He is provoking me. Dont fall for his provocations. That guy is an opponent I cant afford to let down my guard against.

The fact that his opponent was a freshman had already been forgotten.

*Land-!*

Jeong Jihoo put the sword he had been holding all this while into its scabbard and threw it randomly to the right.

Anyway, the experiment is mostly over, so lets start duelling for real now. Surely youve not shown everything you got, or is it?

With an arrogant declaration, his body began to glow in azure light.

It was the afterglow of his magical power.

Wildly fluctuating mana wisps wrapped around the body of Jihoo.

The quantity and concentration of mana increased endlessly.

Kyle could feel an unfathomable sense of coercion from his opponents magical power.

Crazy. Ive never seen anything like this at the academy...

Eventually, a tornado of relentless magical power centred around Jung Ji-hoo was formed.

The storm raged as if it planned to destroy the entire gymnasium.

As the barrier separating the gymnasium and the audience started to vibrate with numerous ripples of magical potential energy, the wizards who managed it became busy protecting the spectators.

It felt like a giant was looking down upon Kyle, and Kyle was losing his mind.

** *

That is amazing.

Min Hye-rin, who was watching the duel of Jeong Ji-hoo, admired the sight.

It was truly an overwhelming amount of magical energy.

Only at this level could he be worthy to be the man she was aspiring to overthrow.

At that moment, Min Hye-rin felt an unfamiliar sensation within her that she had never felt before.

The [Earth] Attribute bubbled up from amongst the magical energy deep inside the heart.

The violent energy spread throughout her body and along the capillaries, awakening a new sense.

? What is this so suddenly?

Min Hye-rin, who had been watching Jeong Ji-hoos duel, learned how to handle her own attributes as a result.

But no one yet knew what conditions she had met to awaken her attributes.