Book 1 Chapter 413
413.
Aina drew out her senses to the limit with her aura.
‘I can't distinguish the real one.’
The four magic spells Ju-en fused were Stealth, Ice Clone, Explosion, and Mana Distribution.
Stealth constantly sharpened her senses, accumulating fatigue.
She hid herself among the ice clones, blocked Aina from attacking the clones indiscriminately to find the real one through explosive magic, and prevented her from finding the real one through mana sensing with mana distribution.
Literally perfect control.
Aina's eyes narrowed.
‘I can’t find the mage’s location, but.’
Jiiing-! Flash!
As powerful mana swirled, Ju-en's magic bullet spell targeted Aina.
Aina's golden eyes flashed.
Kwak-!
She used an Aura Step to evade the magic bullet flying at tremendous speed.
‘The moment you attack, your location is exposed.’
No matter how perfectly the main body is hidden, the moment an attack is made, its location is bound to be revealed.
Hwaak-!
She dashed towards where the magic had flown from, at a speed barely visible to the eye.
If she delayed even a little, she would disappear among the clones again.
Aina didn't give her such a chance and tried to finish the spar quickly.
Aina, who had instantly closed the distance with Ju-en, didn't hesitate and thrust her sword.
Puuk!
“Cough?”
Ju-en, whose shoulder was pierced, let out a death cry.
Hwaak-!
Stealth was dispelled.
“It’s over.”
Aina said calmly to Ju-en, who was trembling with her head bowed.
At her words, Ju-en stopped moving, then lifted her head and smiled faintly.
“No, it’s not.”
“……!”
Flash! Kwaaaaang-!
The ice clone exploded once more.
Aina's face, protected by her Aura Armor, crumpled.
‘How……!’
The moment Aina was flustered.
Flash-!
Ju-en's attack flew towards Aina again.
“Kuk!”
Aina, who barely dodged the attack, charged towards Ju-en once more.
***
-Ohhh! Ju-en! She's taking the initiative against Aina and completely dominating her!
Runba shouted excitedly.
“Ohh! That’s completely unexpected!”
Illiana, who was watching the match while eating popcorn, opened her eyes wide.
Many people expected Aina to win, but they still thought it would be a close match.
However, she didn't expect Ju-en to show such a perfectly overwhelming performance.
Then Illiana spoke to Khal, who was passing by.
“Khal! Another popcorn for me! The caramel drizzled one!”
“Oh! I appreciate it! But this is your third bucket already, you’ll turn into a pig, you know?”
“Who are you calling a pig?”
An irritated Illiana kicked Khal, but Khal annoyingly dodged it.
“Leo, what do you think?”
Khal approached Leo and asked.
“If she maintains the initiative like this, Ju-en will win.”
Leo said without taking his eyes off the match.
“And it won’t be easy for Aina to take back the initiative in this match.”
Ju-en Torbina.
As the daughter of the Southern Magic Tower Lord, she possessed overflowing talent.
She was rarely able to wield magic of all attributes, and her understanding of each attribute's magic was also exceptionally high.
Furthermore, she possessed powerful mana and fast spell casting speed.
‘She’s not a mage who unleashes overwhelming firepower, but she’s a traditional mage with incredibly good balance.’
Her biggest advantage is that she can continuously launch magic attacks of considerable power.
In addition, as she handles various types of magic, she is skilled at responding to all sorts of situations.
Against such a mage, once the initiative is lost, it's hard to regain.
“But it won’t end like this.”
Even now, Aina was rapidly cutting down Ju-en’s clones.
The ice clones exploded, continuously hitting Aina.
However, it didn't cause significant damage to Aina.
It wasn’t because Ju-en’s magic was weak.
Her magic was powerful enough.
“Against a versatile mage like Ju-en, petty tricks don’t work well.”
The strongest and most threatening moment for a mage is during combat at a stronghold.
Therefore, taking the initiative for a mage means fortifying the surrounding area and making it her own territory.
“But if she charges head-on, she’ll self-destruct.”
Leo looked at Aina, who was lowering her stance.
“Aina has enough ability to break through Ju-en head-on.”
“Hmm!”
Khal, with his arms crossed, wore a serious expression.
“Well, she herself tends to fight instinctively without thinking too deeply.”
To put it nicely, she’s the type to crash head-on with unwavering resolve; to put it badly, she’s the type to simply and brutishly charge forward.
‘But sometimes, such an opponent is the most terrifying.’
Aina was precisely such a case.
***
‘This girl, seriously!’
Ju-en shouted inwardly, hidden by her stealth.
Aina was silently defeating Ju-en’s clones.
Each time, she was caught in an explosion and took damage, but there was no hesitation in her movements.
‘Being simple-minded has its limits! Seriously!’
The damage an ice clone could inflict on Aina would be negligible from Aina’s perspective.
However, even if the damage is minor, if it accumulates, it becomes a significant blow.
Literally, in a dilemma, one might hesitate, but Aina showed no hesitation.
She charges forward without batting an eye or wavering.
She seems intent on smashing anything that blocks her way.
‘I didn’t think this would be enough to defeat Aina. But I never imagined she’d break through my stealth magic so quickly.’
Ju-en clicked her tongue inwardly and gripped her staff.
‘I need to buy time.’
There was no chance of victory in a direct confrontation anyway.
For Ju-en to defeat Aina, she needed a decisive blow.
Ju-en's magic possessed immense power and incredible rapid-fire speed.
It had enough power to deal with most knight academy students in an instant, but Aina was an opponent of a different caliber.
Moreover, Aina's sword was faster than Ju-en's magic.
‘Aina can easily neutralize my attacks with her sword strikes.’
Ju-en’s eyes narrowed.
‘Even if an attack hits, it will be blocked by her Aura Armor, so I can't deal significant damage.’
If that happened, she would be hit by Aina’s counterattack.
Unlike Aina, who possessed enough defense to withstand Ju-en's attacks multiple times, Ju-en would be finished if she allowed even a single attack.
‘If I can’t defeat her in one go, it’s my defeat anyway.’
So, she needed time to prepare a powerful decisive blow.
Ju-en gripped her staff tighter.
The moment Aina was about to cut down Ju-en's last clone.
Flash-!
Ju-en aimed her staff at Aina and unleashed her mana all at once.
Jiiiing-! Flash-!
Powerful mana bullets rushed towards Aina.
At that moment, Aina’s golden eyes flashed.
Flash-! Kwagagagagang-!
As she swung her sword upwards from below, a golden flash erupted.
Aina, who had precisely bisected the magic, dispelled her stealth magic and looked at Ju-en, who had revealed herself.
“Found you.”
Aina immediately lunged at Ju-en.
Seeing Aina, Ju-en simultaneously unleashed her magic.
Magic poured out from the magic circles generated in the air.
Aina’s golden eyes flashed, and she gripped her sword tighter, swinging it powerfully at the air.
Hwang! Kwagagagagagagagang-!
Countless magic spells exploded in the air.
“One more time!”
Ju-en channeled her mana and unleashed another indiscriminate attack.
-Ah! Ju-en! She's launching very inefficient attacks! If she keeps using magic of that scale, no matter how vast her mana, she'll quickly become exhausted!
Runba shouted urgently.
“Her stealth magic was good, but.”
“It’s too disadvantageous for Ju-en Torbina. If it had been a battlefield with cover, like urban combat or a forest, it might have been a more even fight.”
“It's a battle between a knight class specializing in close quarters combat and a mage, so it couldn't be helped.”
Voices of regret poured out from among the upperclassmen.
Along with a golden sword strike, Ju-en’s magic was again thwarted.
“Haa- Haa-”
Ju-en was gasping for breath from overusing her magic.
Blood was flowing from the corners of Ju-en’s mouth due to the excessive magic operation.
Limit.
Ju-en instinctively felt that fact.
In contrast, Aina seemed relatively unharmed.
She had been directly hit by magic multiple times, but she was different from Ju-en, who had reached her limit.
“You can’t defeat me with just attacks that rely on sheer numbers.”
Aina said, letting her sword hang down.
“This is just buying time. So, admit defeat.”
“I can’t simply admit defeat to someone who always ignores others as if they don’t matter.”
“I’ve never ignored others.”
Aina said, lowering her gaze.
“I just focus on what I need to achieve.”
“That’s what ignoring others is.”
Ju-en gritted her teeth.
When Aina first became the class representative, Ju-en was secretly upset, but she acknowledged Aina.
Aina’s skill shown in the entrance exam was a step above her own.
For now, she had no choice but to admit that Aina was superior to her.
The same went for Havidan and Sasha.
They aimed for the class representative position and resolved to do their best with Aina as their target.
‘Aina Baydona! Just wait, I’ll take the class representative position soon!’
When she boldly declared war, Aina said indifferently.
‘I’m not interested in the class representative position.’
‘What? Then why are you getting first place?’
‘To be recognized by Leo senior. If necessary, you can be the class representative. I’m not interested.’
‘Wait. I have no intention of becoming class representative that way, okay? I’ll defeat you and take the class representative position!’
‘Then you can say you won.’
‘What?’
“I’ll defeat you.”
“That’s impossible in that state. You’ve already reached your limit.”
Aina shook her head at Ju-en’s words.
Seeing Aina, Ju-en smiled faintly.
“Overcome your limits, isn't that our school motto?”
“……”
“And because you only see what’s right in front of you.”
“……?”
“That’s why you get caught.”
“……!”
Seeing Ju-en pointing downwards with her finger, Aina’s eyes widened, and she looked down.
‘What is it?’
Her feet wouldn't move.
‘Invisible threads?’
Like a spider's web, threads of mana were entangling Aina.
Clank-!
Ju-en aimed her staff at Aina.
“The magic in front was a feint! The real plan was to set a trap to bind you!”
‘When did she…?’
Ju-en’s unique magic, Arachne.
A spell that binds an opponent’s feet with threads of mana, like a spider web.
And once caught in this magic, the more one struggles, the more entangled one becomes in the web.
Of course, Aina could escape this magic with just a little time.
However.
“That time is enough!”
Ju-en's mana surged.
It was distinctly different from before.
“Full power!”
Kwang-!
As if an artillery barrage had erupted.
The surrounding air trembled.
Aina’s eyes wavered at the magic that flew right in front of her.
Kwoong! Kwagagagagagagang-!
As the explosion occurred, the arena itself vanished.
Ju-en looked at the thick dust cloud that had risen.
Hwaak-!
At that moment, Aina emerged, breaking through the dust cloud.
Her entire body was tattered, but Aina’s golden eyes were still flashing.
She had finally broken through Ju-en's decisive blow and reached her.
“I expected you wouldn’t be defeated by just this much!”
“What?”
Aina’s eyes were filled with astonishment at Ju-en’s shout.
Ju-en, pointing at Aina with her finger, unleashed her mana.
She spit blood, yet fired a magic bullet.
Pung-!
“Cough?”
Aina, directly hit by the magic bullet, rolled tragically on the ground.
‘Now… it’s the limit…’
Aina used her sword as a staff to rise.
She gritted her teeth and tried to move somehow, but her body wouldn’t obey.
Ju-en approached, still pointing her finger.
Stomp- stomp-
Aina, as if giving up, closed her eyes and bowed her head.
But when there was no magic attack, she opened her eyes and lifted her head.
There stood Ju-en, eyes unfocused, with trembling hands aimed at Aina.
At that moment.
Thud-
Ju-en collapsed.
Mel approached, checked Ju-en's unconscious state, and then declared.
“Winner, Aina Baydona.”
“Ohhhhhhhh!”
“It was close at the end, wasn't it?”
“Wow! If the conditions weren't favorable to Aina Baydona, she might have won?”
Excited voices poured out.
Aina looked at the unconscious Ju-en.
Ju-en had already been at her limit long ago.
Despite that, she continued to push Aina.
Aina gritted her teeth.
Herself, who had given up as soon as she reached her limit, and Ju-en, who had fought to the end to defeat her.
If Ju-en had held on for even a little longer.
‘I lost.’
Her heart stirred.
She had never dreamed she would struggle so much.
Her only thought was to show her best and be recognized by Leo.
But…
‘How unsightly.’
Trudge- trudge-
Even amidst the cheers, Aina hung her head low.
The image of Ju-en fighting beyond her limits came to mind.
The image of Luke, always struggling at his limits, also came to mind.
Could she do that much?
Aina’s face contorted as she looked down at her hands.
To gain Leo’s recognition, inherit the legacy of the Sword Saint, and take revenge on Tartarus.
That was Aina's thought.
Until just a moment ago, Aina had no doubt that if she became strong, she could gain Leo's recognition.
However.
‘Me… can I be recognized by Leo senior like this?’