Book 1 Chapter 413

Aina heightened her senses to the extreme with Aura.

'I can't distinguish the real one.'

The four magics Juen had fused were Invisibility, Ice Clone, Explosion, and Mana Distribution.

Invisibility made her senses keenly honed, accumulating fatigue.

Hiding among the ice clones, Aina blocked Juen from finding the real one by indiscriminately attacking the clones through explosion magic, and mana distribution prevented her from locating the real one through mana sensing.

Literally perfect suppression.

Aina's eyes narrowed.

'I can't find the mage's location, but…'

*Zzzzz-! Flash!*

As powerful mana surged, Juen's magic bullet aimed at Aina.

Aina's golden eyes gleamed.

*Thwack-!*

Using Aura Step, she dodged the magic bullet flying at immense speed.

'The moment you attack, your location is revealed.'

No matter how perfectly the main body was hidden, its location was bound to be revealed the moment it attacked.

*Whoosh-!*

She dashed towards the place where the magic had flown at a speed almost invisible to the eye.

If she delayed even a little, Juen would disappear among the clones again.

Aina aimed to end the sparring quickly without giving her any room.

In an instant, Aina closed the distance with Juen and thrust her sword without hesitation.

*Puuuk!*

"Gah?"

Juen, impaled through the shoulder, let out a dying groan.

*Whoosh-!*

The invisibility broke.

"It's over."

Aina said calmly to Juen, who was trembling with her head bowed.

At her words, Juen stopped moving, then raised her head and smiled faintly.

"No, it's not."

"……!"

*Flash! Boom-!*

Once again, the ice clone exploded.

Aina, protected by her Aura Armor, scowled.

'How…!'

The moment Aina was flustered.

*Flash-!*

Again, Juen's attack flew towards Aina.

"Tsk!"

Barely dodging the attack, Aina charged at Juen once more.

***

-Whoa! Player Juen! She's taking the initiative against Player Aina and completely overwhelming her!

Runba exclaimed excitedly.

"Wow! This is completely unexpected!"

Iliana, who had been watching the match while eating popcorn, widened her eyes.

Many had predicted Aina's victory, but they had at least expected a close match.

However, they hadn't expected Juen to show such a perfectly overwhelming performance.

At that moment, Iliana spoke to Karl, who was walking past.

"Karl! One more popcorn for me! With caramel!"

"Whoa! You're welcome! But you're already on your third tub, you'll turn into a pig at this rate?"

"Who are you calling a pig?"

Iliana, flustered, kicked Karl, but he dodged it with an annoying smirk.

"Leo, what do you think?"

Karl approached Leo and asked.

"If she maintains the initiative like this, Juen will win."

Leo said without taking his eyes off the match.

"And it won't be easy for Aina to regain the initiative in this match."

Juen Torvina.

The daughter of the Southern Tower Master, she possessed overflowing talent.

She could wield magic of all elements, which was rare, and her understanding of each element was exceptionally high.

Furthermore, she possessed powerful mana and casting speed.

'She's not a mage who unleashes overwhelming firepower, but she's a balanced, orthodox mage.'

Juen's biggest advantage was her ability to continuously unleash magic attacks of considerable power.

Moreover, as she could wield various magics, she was adept at responding to all sorts of situations.

Against such a mage, it was difficult to regain the initiative once lost.

"But it won't end like this."

Even now, Aina was swiftly cutting down Juen's clones.

The ice clones, by exploding, continued to inflict damage on Aina.

However, they couldn't deal significant damage to Aina.

It wasn't because Juen's magic was weak.

Her magic was sufficiently potent.

"Tricks don't work well against versatile mages like Juen."

A mage is strongest and most threatening during a positional battle.

Therefore, for a mage, gaining the initiative meant fortifying the surrounding area as their own territory.

"But if you try to break through head-on, you'll self-destruct."

Leo watched Aina, who lowered her stance.

"Aina has enough ability to break through head-on against Juen."

"Hmm!"

Karl folded his arms and wore a serious expression.

"Well, she tends to fight instinctively without thinking too deeply."

In other words, she's the type to clash head-on headstrong, or in a bad way, the type to blindly charge in.

'But sometimes, that kind of opponent is the most frightening.'

Aina was exactly that case.

***

'This girl!'

Juen, hidden by invisibility, shouted inwardly.

Aina was silently felling Juen's clones.

Each time, she was caught in explosions and took damage, but there was no hesitation in her movements.

'There's a limit to being simple-minded! Really!'

The damage an ice clone could inflict on Aina would be negligible from Aina's perspective.

However, even if the damage was slight, cumulative damage could become significant.

In a situation where one was truly in a dilemma, they might falter, but Aina showed no hesitation.

She charged without flinching, as if to crush anything that stood in her way.

'I didn't think I could beat Aina with this, but I didn't expect her to counter invisibility magic so quickly.'

Juen inwardly clicked her tongue and gripped her staff.

'I need to buy time.'

There was no chance of winning in a direct confrontation anyway.

For Juen to defeat Aina, she needed a decisive blow.

Juen's magic possessed immense power and incredible firing speed.

It had the power to instantly deal with most knight academy students, but Aina was on a different level.

Moreover, Aina's sword was faster than Juen's magic.

'Aina can nullify my attacks with her sword strikes.'

Juen's eyes narrowed.

'Even if an attack lands, it won't deal significant damage because of the Aura Armor.'

In that case, she would be counter-attacked by Aina.

Unlike Aina, who had the defense to withstand several of Juen's attacks, Juen would be finished if she allowed even one attack.

'If I can't defeat her in one go, it's my loss.'

So she needed time to prepare a powerful blow.

Juen gripped her staff again.

The moment Aina was about to cut down Juen's last clone.

*Flash-!*

Juen, pointing her staff at Aina, unleashed her mana at once.

*Zzzzz-! Flash-!*

A powerful mana projectile sped towards Aina.

At that moment, Aina's golden eyes gleamed.

*Flash-! Boom-!*

As she swung her sword upwards from below, a golden flash erupted.

Aina, precisely bisecting the magic, lowered her invisibility and looked at Juen, who revealed herself.

"Found you."

Aina immediately rushed at Juen.

Seeing Aina, Juen unleashed all her magic at once.

Magic poured out from the magic circles that appeared in the air.

Aina's golden eyes flashed, she gripped her sword and swung it with all her might towards the air.

*Whoosh! Boom-!*

Countless spells exploded in the air.

"Once more!"

Juen raised her mana and launched another indiscriminate attack.

-Ah! Player Juen! She's using a very inefficient attack! If she continues to use magic of this scale, she'll quickly exhaust herself, no matter how vast her mana is!

Runba cried out urgently.

"Invisibility magic was good…"

"It's too disadvantageous for Juen Torvina. If it were an urban battle or a battlefield with cover like a forest, it might have been a more even fight."

"It's a battle between a knight class specialized in close combat and a mage, so it can't be helped."

Disappointed voices poured out from the upperclassmen.

Along with the golden sword slash, Juen's magic was once again thwarted.

"Pant- Pant-"

Juen was gasping for breath from the excessive use of magic.

Blood trickled from the corners of Juen's mouth due to the strenuous magic operation.

Limit.

Juen instinctively sensed that fact.

In contrast, Aina appeared relatively fine.

Despite being hit by magic several times, she was different from the exhausted Juen.

"Attacks relying solely on numbers can't defeat me."

Aina said, lowering her sword.

"This is just delaying tactics. So admit defeat."

"I can't readily admit defeat to someone who always acts as if they're ignoring everyone else."

"I've never ignored anyone."

Aina said, lowering her gaze.

"I have something I must achieve, so I just focus on that."

"That's what ignoring others is."

Juen gritted her teeth.

When Aina first became the grade representative, Juen was inwardly resentful, but she acknowledged Aina.

Aina's performance in the entrance exam was one step above her own.

At this point, she had no choice but to admit that Aina was superior to her.

The same was true for Harviden and Sasha.

She vowed to aim for the grade representative position and do her best with Aina as her goal.

'Aina Bayedna! Wait, I'll take the grade representative position soon!'

When she declared it grandly, Aina replied indifferently.

'I'm not interested in the grade representative position.'

'What? Then why are you coming in first place?'

'To be recognized by Senior Leo. If necessary, you can be the grade representative. I'm not interested.'

'Wait. I have no intention of becoming a grade representative like that. I'll defeat you and take the grade representative position!'

'Then consider it your win.'

'What?'

"I will defeat you."

"It's impossible in your current state. You've already reached your limit."

Aina shook her head at Juen's words.

Seeing Aina like that, Juen smiled faintly.

"Exceed your limits, that's our school's motto, isn't it?"

"……"

"And that's why you only see what's right in front of you."

"……?"

"That's why you're getting caught."

"……!"

Looking at Juen pointing downwards with her finger, Aina's eyes widened, and she looked down.

'What is this?'

Her feet wouldn't move.

'Invisible threads?'

Like a spiderweb, threads of mana were binding Aina.

*Click-!*

Juen pointed her staff at Aina.

"The magic in front was a diversion! The real thing was a trap to bind you!"

'When did this happen?'

Juen's unique magic, Arachne.

A magic that binds the opponent's feet with threads of mana like a spiderweb.

And once caught in this magic, the more you struggle, the more entangled you become in the spiderweb.

Of course, Aina could escape this magic with a little time.

But.

"That time is enough!"

Juen's mana surged.

It was definitely different from before.

"Maximum firepower!"

*Boom-!*

As if artillery had been fired.

The surrounding air trembled.

Aina's eyes wavered at the magic that flew right up to her face.

*Coooo-! Boom-!*

As the explosion occurred, the arena itself disappeared.

Juen looked at the swirling dust.

*Whoosh-!*

At that moment, Aina emerged from the dust.

Her entire body was tattered, but Aina's golden eyes still gleamed.

She had somehow broken through Juen's decisive blow and reached Juen.

"I expected you wouldn't fall from this!"

"What?"

At Juen's cry, Aina's eyes were filled with shock.

Juen pointed her finger at Aina and unleashed her mana.

Spitting blood, she fired a magic bullet.

*Bang-!*

"Gah?"

Hit directly by the magic bullet, Aina tumbled miserably on the ground.

'Now… this is my limit…'

Aina used her sword as a crutch to stand up.

She gritted her teeth and tried to move somehow, but her body wouldn't obey.

Juen approached, pointing her finger.

*Thump- Thump-*

Aina, seemingly resigned, closed her eyes and bowed her head.

However, when there was no magic attack, she opened her eyes and looked up.

There stood Juen, her eyes unfocused, her trembling hand pointed at Aina.

At that moment.

*Thud-*

Juen collapsed.

Mel approached, checked the unconscious Juen's condition, and declared.

"Winner, Aina Bayedna."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!"

"That was a close one at the end, wasn't it?"

"Wow! If the conditions weren't so unfavorable for Aina Bayedna, she would have won!"

Excited voices poured out.

Aina looked at the unconscious Juen.

Juen had already reached her limit long ago.

Yet, she had continued to push Aina.

Aina gritted her teeth.

Herself, who had given up the moment she reached her limit, and Juen, who had fought to the end to defeat her.

If Juen had held on just a little longer.

'I lost.'

Her heart churned.

She had never dreamed of struggling this much.

Her only thought was to show her best self and be recognized by Leo.

But now…

'How pathetic.'

*Trudge- Trudge-*

Even as cheers erupted, Aina bowed her head deeply.

She recalled Juen's desperate struggle beyond her limits.

She also remembered Luke, who always struggled at his limits.

Could she do that much?

Aina's face contorted as she looked at her own hands.

To be recognized by Leo, inherit the legacy of the Sword Saint, and avenge Tartarus.

That was Aina's plan.

Until a moment ago, Aina had no doubt that if she became stronger, she could easily gain Leo's recognition.

But.

'Can I really be recognized by Senior Leo like this?'