It was 1PM, and the freshmen of the A class were lined up into 3 groups.
1 on 1 battle. Another name was face to face battle.
It was a simple class of matching two students together to battle.
"Your match will be chosen randomly through the system. Compatibility between individuals is not considered at all. You can't fight only with opponents who have an advantage for the rest of your life. There are few opportunities to safely fight opponents with disadvantages, so if you get caught with a disadvantageous opponent, it would be good practice."
"Yes sir!"
I guess being newly admitted freshmen, they were still very well ordered.
"But to the first volunteer, I will give them a special card. I will allow them to pick their opponent."
It was not a bad idea to get to know the main characters, but it was still a mystery on how well I would handle face to face battles. I should just let it go quietly.
"Can I pick?"
"You can, Lucy."
Lucy went to the instructor and scanned the crowd. She squinted, as if she was having trouble finding the person, then made eye contact with me.
"I will pick Hoyeon Lee!"
"Hoyeon Lee? Why him?"
"Well, from his performance earlier, he wasn't so bad."
"He even got a compliment from professor Lim Sol."
"Isn't she just confessing her love to him? To publicly embarrass him?"
"Woah, didn't know Lucy was the pursuing type."
Public confession my ass.
"Both of you, come up to the field. Grab your own weapons."
Lucy and I were both magicians. Weapons would only hold us down.
I was going to go bare-handed, but still I noticed a light dagger and picked it up. It could come in handy.
From across the circular math field, I felt a strong gaze.
When I lifted my head, Lucy was glaring at me with a smile.
It was cute that she was glaring, but I could see a wild animal reflected in her pupils.
The clueless crowd was going crazy at the two good- looking people looking at each other.
All the attention was on us.
I had predicted this. I knew that I would one day have to battle Lucy, since battle classes were common at the academy.
I just didn't know that it would be this soon.
Lucy, one of the heroines, was an extremely skilled magician.
Her younger sister Rumy was specialized in defense, and Lucy in offense.
Although her combat ability in the second half is all about attack, the way she burns enemies with overwhelming firepower on the battlefield is a beast itself that contrasts with her cute appearance.
Although at this point, she was only a talented student with potential. Still, not one that I would be able to defeat without any real-life experience.
'I wanted to get experience with a minor character at first..ha..'
★ Heroine Statistics
[Lucy]
– [ Attraction: 20 ]
– [ Sexual Desire : 5 ]
– [ Hunger : 40 ]
– [ Tiredness : 20 ]
From the apology yesterday, the attraction had risen from 2 to 20.
I could not understand. She didn't seem mad, why had she requested to battle me?
"Are you ready for an apology?"
Lucy spoke first.
"I guess dueling at the matchfield is a trendy way to make up."
"I am not really angry. I was well aware of your condition back then. Your apology seemed sincere as well."
"Well, if you think so, then I am thankful."
Lucy slightly raised her smile.
"By the way, you should pay if you are sorry. I will take your apology after the battle."
I guess she was open to accepting apologies, but I still had to pay for having touched her breasts?
At the mana field of the face to face battles, you don't get physical damage even after an attack.
Still, you feel the pain. It was good practice for real life situations so that you don't panic from pain.
I really wanted to avoid getting hit by magic. It seemed like it would hurt really bad.
"Well, we don't have a problem with the mana field. Are you all ready?"
———————-
『The sub quest has been delivered.』
[Now it's the other sister's turn!]
You can't get too comfortable now that you are close with Rumy!
You cannot raise the attraction of Lucy by just talking to her a few times unlike her sister. Achieve an overwhelming victory in the battle and become a bad boy.
Reward: increase attraction points of Lucy
———————-
I was relaxing my muscles before the battle, when a quest screen appeared.
Zweeeng-
I then saw mana, and the moment I noticed it, my view broadened.
As if I had gotten another pair of eyes on the side of my face, my view was unnaturally widened, and I could notice the dispersed mana in the atmosphere with my will.
Before being flustered from the sudden difference in vision, I had to first get rid of the fire arrows.
The fire arrow darted at me.
Zing-
As I stared at the magic properly, a distortion occurred in vision. I understand the principle of magic flying to me and the structural formula of mana.
Where this magic is coming from, to what extent the damage is done, and to what extent the destructive power is forcibly engraved in the mind.
It was already too late to react with magic. I had to dodge.
How should I dodge? As soon as I wondered, the optimal route appeared in front of my eyes.
Fire arrows coming towards me. I saw the magical path.
Shooo-
About 30 red lines appeared. Of them, 15 were coming towards me while the other 15 blocked my escape route.
Still, it should be easy once I find an escape route.
I ran towards the path with the least number of red lines.
Most of the arrows dodged me, and now I had 3 red lines left.
After reacting quickly by realizing mana spheres on the left and right hands, I dodged one by tilting my head towards the left.
"You're lucky!"
More arrows appeared on the top of Lucy's head.
Arrows were coming to me one by one. Although the number was lower, the control and speed were faster.
After dodging the arrow by bowing slightly, I focused mana to my feet.
'I can see a gap!'
Another 20 fire arrows. The number was less, but the gap between them was also reduced. It was a trick to trap me from running away.
The flying magic arrows. There seemed to be no gap, but I could see it with my vision. A gap slightly wider than my shoulders. I had to run there.
I ran precisely into the gap using an explosive amount of mana concentration on my feet.
Crackle-!
From the magical show, Lucy opened her eyes big, bit her lips and resumed.
But the one after and the one after that were all dodged. With minimal movements and defense, I approached Lucy.
"Hey, what!"
When the distance between Lucy and I was narrowed, Lucy tried to increase the distance using a barrier.
But before she could form it, I had already reached her.
Ssss
I drew the dagger I grabbed earlier and placed it on her neck.
I could have used magic when I got close, but I didn't want to attack her.
And, for an overwhelming victory, showmanship was necessary.
Plop-
Lucy fell to her feet as if she had lost strength in her legs.
When I looked outside the field, students were looking at me with shock.
Even the teacher who was full of pride had his eyes open wide.
"Instructor, please determine the winner."
"Uh..umm yes. Winner is Hoyeon Lee. Both of you please come down."
Even though I had won, I heard no applause. This audience was rotten.
Lucy was still zoning out on the ground.
『Quest complete! The attraction of Lucy increases by 3 points.』
★ Heroine Status
[Lucy]]
– [ Attraction : 28 ]
– [ Sexual Desire : 5 ]
– [ Hunger : 40 ]
– [ Tiredness : 20 ]
The attraction stats had increased by 3. It was 20 before, but it was now up by 8 points.
No way she could have fallen for a bad boy who had an overwhelming victory?
I first approached Lucy, still zoning out, and drew out my hand.
"Hey, you okay there?"
"Ugh, I was going to have my revenge, but it backfired on me."
"It's weird to say this after winning, but that was really dangerous."
Lucy grabbed my hand and patted her skirt.
"Ha..so? What is up with those cool eyes?"
My eyes? What about them?
Using the mirror app on my smart watch, I looked at my face.
My eyes were shining boldly in soft gold.