I followed Arnella as we moved toward the building where the Elite Class was being guided.
It seemed they had gathered in a plaza near the building.
Arnella and I ran in that direction. Mastema, finding it troublesome, moved across the rooftops instead.
I wish she wouldn’t do that—it draws too much attention. There are also troublesome groups around, like the Hell Research Society.
As we moved, I listened to the hurried explanation from Arnella. After the exam, Arnella and Noel had been escorted by the instructor in charge of the Elite Class, and orientation had started.
They had thought about rejoining us, but had no choice but to observe for a while.
The moment the instructor’s explanation ended and they had a little free time, some upperclassmen barged in.
Apparently, the upperclassmen were from the family of that baron who was on the magic train with us.
It seems they had spoken to the baron and then forced their way in.
A few words were exchanged, and it escalated into a duel.
“I thought I’d settled things with that baron,” I muttered.
“Indeed, it seems so. From what I heard, he only vented a bit of frustration. But it seems the upperclassmen couldn’t tolerate even that,” Arnella explained, desperately recounting the situation.
The plaza came into view.
A decent number of people had gathered, and at the center stood Noel. She was facing about three people.
The one in the middle must be the upperclassman who challenged her to a duel. He had short golden hair and an arrogant expression.
If you made the baron younger and better-looking, he’d resemble this guy quite a bit.
The instructor stood between Noel and the upperclassman but made no move to stop the duel.
I wasn’t sure how the duel system worked since no one had explained it yet, but it was probably one of the rules of the Magic Academy.
But still, would an upperclassman really challenge a first-year student to a duel on their first day? And the instructor not stopping it is also an issue.
I noticed Mastema was now in a position overlooking the plaza.
I could intervene now, but… Noel had noticed me.
She was looking at me, seeking instructions with her gaze.
I signaled with my hand.
Go ahead.
Noel nodded. If things got out of hand, I could always step in and force an end to it.
It seemed the duel was one-on-one. The instructor would serve as the judge.
The two of them took a few steps back from each other.
The instructor asked the upperclassman to state the reason for the duel, and he answered:
“This freshman Noel has disgraced the name of my family, the Baron Kartoffel House. I’ve never heard of a family called the Orbst House. Being humiliated by someone from such a family requires me to retaliate. If I win, I will demand an apology.”
The instructor looked at Noel.
“You have the option to refuse the duel, but if you do, you’ll be considered the loser. Of course, whatever was wagered will be nullified.”
So, refusal would result in a forced loss.
The only thing lost would be the duel itself… but anyone who loses will be looked down on. The stigma of running away without fighting wouldn’t go away.
“I accept. I won’t tolerate anyone looking down on the Orbst name. If I win… let’s have you shave your head as an apology.”
The upperclassman clicked his tongue at Noel’s words but accepted.
The instructor confirmed the agreement for the duel and began explaining the rules.
The dueling rule in the Magic Academy was simple—anything except magic was prohibited.
Victory was achieved by defeating the opponent with magic. If you were knocked out, you lost.
Very straightforward.
When the instructor signaled the start, the duel between Noel and the upperclassman from the Baron Kartoffel family began.
A barrier was erected around the area by the instructor.
The upperclassman was using earth magic.
Suddenly, rocks jutted out from the ground, aiming for Noel. She dodged by leaping backward, but as soon as she landed, her feet sank.
The ground had turned into mud.
“Hmph, it’s over.”
Once again, rocks emerged from the ground. This time, two of them, aiming to crush Noel from both sides.
Noel, however, wasn’t even looking at the approaching rocks. She was staring at her mud-stained shoes and legs.
“The shoes I got as a gift… ruined.”
The rocks collided with Noel—but it was the rocks that shattered into pieces, not Noel.
“What the…?”
The upperclassman, who had already started striking a victory pose, widened his eyes in shock.
Noel had her hands extended toward the rocks.
The upperclassman couldn’t comprehend what had just happened, but Mastema and I understood immediately.
Arnella took a moment longer to grasp it.
Noel had released water at such high pressure that it shattered the rocks on impact.
To the spectators, it must have looked like the rocks suddenly broke apart for no reason.
The water had scattered across the ground and was now gone.
“Is that all?” Noel taunted, and the upperclassman, now clearly rattled, began chanting a spell.
His guard was completely down. He either hadn’t experienced much actual combat or was too used to being protected.
Noel considered ending the duel then and there with a water bullet but decided to wait for him to finish his chant.
After all, my instruction to her was to ‘go for it.’ She intended to break his pride entirely.
Hmm… I had expected more from someone in the Elite Class, but he’s nothing special.
Noel’s magic skills were about on par with a lower-level adventurer’s mage—she was just good at using her magic efficiently, thanks to her intellect.
Both Noel and Arnella would become much stronger with proper battle training, but they hadn’t had many opportunities.
The upperclassman’s chant was for summoning an earth golem.
The ground was torn up, and a golem was formed from the earth.
The two companions with him muttered something, but the upperclassman didn’t seem to hear them.
The golem was about three times the size of an adult male. It probably had decent strength, but it was just a lump of dirt.
Useful for construction work, perhaps.
The golem attacked Noel, but she compressed water into the shape of a sword and sliced the golem’s arm off.
The density of a golem made of loose earth couldn’t compare to the compressed water sword.
The golem was quickly dismantled piece by piece.
Each time a part of it was destroyed, the upperclassman’s face twisted more.
He had clearly been very confident in his abilities.
If this had been a proper mage’s golem, Noel’s sword wouldn’t have been able to cut through it.
In short, this was pure lack of training on the upperclassman’s part.
After dismantling the golem, Noel approached the upperclassman with her water sword still in hand and pointed it at him.
“Shall we continue?”
Just like the baron before him, the upperclassman collapsed to the ground in fear.
“You win. I admit defeat.”
He quickly conceded his loss.
I thought the same thing when I dealt with that baron—they give up too easily.
The most shameless nobles will cling to their pride until the bitter end, only surrendering when there’s no other choice.
The Baron Kartoffel family might not rise in rank, but they’ll probably manage to survive for a long time.
With the duel over, Noel smiled and shaved the upperclassman’s head with her water sword before he left, leaning on his two companions for support.
He likely wouldn’t be causing any more trouble.
As the duel concluded, the gathered students left, praising Noel as they went.
The instructor also left, and Mastema descended to the ground.
Just then, one student remained behind and approached us.
It appeared to be a girl, wearing an upperclassman’s emblem. Next to the emblem, there was a skull-shaped badge.
The most striking feature was her “long, golden hair that reached down to her calves.”
Her hair looked like it might touch the ground if she leaned down.
“Well, that was quite the ordeal,” the girl said, addressing us.
