CH 25

25 - Duel

“The rules are simple. The first one to surrender loses. You can use magic, swords, whatever you want. Do you understand, old man….? Are you so freaked out you can’t even speak?”

“I told you I’m your brother. I’m going to traumatize you for life, so get ready, you little shit.”

We moved from the classroom to the School’s arena.

The two of us were facing each other in a large circular arena, and we were bickering. I’m definitely going to make this guy cry.

“――Rudas! I’m betting this month’s allowance on you, so don’t lose! I won’t forgive you if you lose!!”

“――No, sensei is going to win! Sensei! Good luck for my wallet! I’ll kiss you if you win!!”

The students in the audience were cheering enthusiastically, as if they were betting on who would win. These guys are so bad.

“Hey, old man! I’m a genius who can use most magic, but I’m a little bad at fire magic. So I may not be able to go easy on you and burn you to a crisp.”

Rudas looked down at me and smirked.

“I see. I’m actually…Not very good at magic either. I’m more confident in my swordsmanship. I’d really like to use a sword, but…. It’s not mature to use it on a little shit like you, so I’ll just fight using magic. I can go easy on you, isn’t that sweet?”

“――!!”

Defeated, I stirred back. Rudas’ face turned red with anger, and he glared at me as if to say, “I’ll kill you”. You’re still a little kid if this level of provocation gets your blood pumping. It’s a big difference from me as an adult.

….Ah, I’ll make him even angrier. I’m going to be gone in a few days anyway, and if his parents get mad and they complain to the school, they can annoy Aldi. Yeah. Let’s do that. Let’s stir things up more.

“That’s right….Let’s change the rules a bit. As a handicap, I won’t move an inch from here. In addition, I won’t touch you for three minutes. If you can scratch me in any way, you win. If I’m unharmed, I win. How’s that sound?”

If his prized magic couldn’t cause even a single scratch, this prideful guy must fall in despair.

Besides, it would prevent me from hurting the son of a great nobleman and getting a claim for compensation. I think it’s a good idea. I’m a real genius. Right, God?

…..Maa, this arena is covered by “Battlefield” and “False Barrier”, so even if you turn to dust and die, it won’t matter after the game.

Still, you remember the pain felt during the game, so… Just in case, as an insurance policy. It’s not that I’m worried about this guy.

“You’ll regret this….! I’m gonna make you regret this, old man!! ――A gale that flies through the sky, a raging flame that burns everything――”

Rudas pulls out an expensive looking magic sword from his waist and starts chanting. I haven’t even given the signal to start yet…Maa, it’s okay.

“――Rudas Gloire, second son of the Gloire family, commands you. Burn my enemies with the unquenchable flames of hell! Vint Ignis!”

And then the chanting ended――A huge, roaring mass of flames shot out at me with unstoppable speed.

It’s a combination of Fire Magic, Wind magic and Dark Magic. ……I see. If you can use this much magic, it’s no wonder you’re in such great spirits. But――

“――Wh!!?”

""

I didn’t move an inch as I had declared――I was directly hit by Rudas’ magic….But of course, there was not a scratch on my body. I was unharmed.

Rudas looks at me and widens his eyes as if to say, “That’s impossible” and his mouth moves in a puckering motion.

Well, it would have been a surprise if the magic he was so proud of hadn’t worked in the slightest. It was the highest level of magic in the previous five sections, and he was probably confident.

Even from the audience, I can hear their surprised voices, “Haa!? What was that!?”, “Eh!? He was clearly hit right now!?”

“….Huh, did you go easy on me, by any chance? You don’t have to, though?”

I agitated Rudas, who had a dazed look on his face.

….In any case, I’m going to neutralize all the magic he can use and tear his pride to shreds.

I think that would make this shitty personality a little better.

It’s not about my personal feelings at all. Because it’s the role of adults to correct children. So it doesn’t matter if I beat this guy up. I was upset when he called me an old man, but this had nothing to do with it.

“――You! You must’ve put some kind of magical device to disable it! Then――”

Red-faced and enraged, Rudas shot out a variety of magic, including Water Magic, Light Magic and Dark Magic. But――

“――Is that everything?”

All of them had been neutralized without leaving a scratch on me.

“Wh……what’s going on! Why doesn’t it work when I hit you!?”

Rudas is so astonished that he can’t understand it.

“That’s…..It’s simple. My Body Enhancement surpassed your magic. That’s all.”

In magic confrontations, the one with the most magic power basically wins. This is common knowledge that even an apprentice mage knows.

The amount and density of magic power that I am wearing with my Body Enhancement is high enough to neutralize his magic. That’s all I’m saying.

How could you not know something so obvious…..Is this guy really a mage? You’ve been skipping class too much, no matter what. Do it right.

“――Haa!? You can’t prevent my Vint Ignis, which can destroy an advanced barrier with Body Enhancement! I can’t understand.”

Rudas didn’t seem to be satisfied with my explanation and started yelling “What do you mean?” and “What did you do?”. You’re too loud.

“Maa, it doesn’t matter. The duel――I won it, right?”

“――!?”

I glanced at the Magi Clock, which just passed the three minutes.

Rudas stared at the magic clock, with a face that seemed to say “You’re lying”. Then, after stiffening up a little as if he were letting go――

“…..Damn it.”

Admitting defeat, he kneeled on the ground and hung his head.

…..Okay. If I hurt him this much, he won’t be so cocky with me anymore. What a relief!

“Whoaaa! That was awesome! Rudas got defeateeeeeeed!!”

“What was that?! How did you do that, Sensei!? Tell me!!”

“Now I can sleep comfortably at my teaching table without being disturbed!” Just as I was rejoicing, the auditorium erupted into a huge frenzy. Eh, what is this?

As I was puzzled over the meaning of this, students came towards me and surrounded me in a flash.

What is this? I can’t understand what they’re saying and their voices are so loud it hurts my ears.

“Wai….What are you doing! Get off me! Don’t grab my clothes!!”

I tried to escape, but there was nowhere to run because I was surrounded on all sides. In addition, it was hot and uncomfortable because they were touching me all over. Seriously, what is this?

“――I totally lost. Old ma….No――Nii-chan I’ll accept you as an instructor. It seems that you are not….like the other instructors.”

Eventually, Rudas said something like that to me.

Eh, what is this atmosphere? I was just trying to beat the crap out of him. Why is the air so warm?

After that, the students persistently asked me to tell them what I did and to teach them magic, and they were so persistent that I lost my patience, and for some reason, ended up giving them a magic lesson. I really don’t get it. I thought I wasn’t going to do it.