Ch.86Blood Tower’s Greatness (3)

After putting on a show of cuteness that wasn’t really cuteness, I didn’t turn on my MagicPad.

There was no need to check it anyway, since only that scene where I said “I love you” would be circulating wildly.

I didn’t want to check and risk shaking my mental state…

“Unni.”

“Hmm?”

As I was thinking about tomorrow’s showdown with Eterna, Irina approached and tugged at my sleeve.

“Are you going to lose?”

“…Where did you learn that from?”

“Pfft, no fun.”

So she called me over just to make a joke…

I briefly wore a dumbfounded expression, but since it was Irina, I let it slide.

“Haah…”

Judging by her reaction, she seemed disappointed that I didn’t play along.

I guess I have no choice.

“I’ll win.”

“…!!”

Irina broke into a wide smile at my answer.

She looked so cute that I couldn’t help but smile too.

Come to think of it, Irina must be both excited and worried, which is why she’s trying to joke around like this.

“I’ll definitely win, so don’t worry.”

I’ve changed my mind.

What’s the big deal if I win?

Of course, it will cause controversy for a while, but it won’t negatively affect the Blood Magic Tower.

Instead, we could promote how powerful a Blood Mage can become.

It might be troublesome, but there would be advantages too…

For Irina’s smile, I can handle those minor drawbacks.

Above all, if Eterna went so far as to target me and prepare for this showdown, she clearly wanted to fight me too.

Regardless of who would win.

“A-are you really going to fight?” Razak asked, breaking into a cold sweat after hearing my answer.

What else would I be talking about if not a real fight?

“Wasn’t it Eterna who first said the winner’s prize would be a match against her?”

“W-well, that’s true, but…”

I didn’t think much of it, but apparently this is a difficult concept for the Magical Kingdom’s mages.

Well, I wasn’t born and raised here, nor was I originally a mage, so I couldn’t possibly understand their adoration and worship of Eterna.

But from Razak’s perspective, having grown up here, I might look like someone challenging their god.

Either way, the fact remains that I have to face off against Eterna.

Now wasn’t the time to wonder if I could win.

I needed to think about how to win.

Despite appearances, Eterna is said to have reached a level of “mastery” when it comes to magic.

For example, there’s the story about Ignius… Though he tries to hide it, it’s a kind of embarrassing history that has spread through the forums.

Apparently, he developed an impressive fire magic and challenged Eterna, but she just glanced at it briefly and immediately identified the flaws in his magic. Not only that, she developed a better version on the spot, leaving him dumbfounded.

It sounds absurd even to hear about it, but imagine what a huge shock it must have been for Ignius.

Contrary to expectations that he would be unable to recover for a while, he actually absorbed what Eterna taught him and created a completely new fire magic system called “Hellfire.” So it turned out to be a fortunate encounter for him.

For most people, such an action could destroy a mage’s entire world… This anecdote shows just how extraordinary Eterna is.

Of course…

‘I don’t know anything about magic.’

If there’s a silver lining, it’s that Blood Magic is based on Blood Claw Art, so anything I can do with Blood Claw Art can also be done with Blood Magic.

Thanks to that, I didn’t have any major problems teaching Irina.

If that hadn’t been the case, I wouldn’t have been able to enter as a Magic Tower Master in the first place, though that’s a bit of a chicken-or-egg situation.

Anyway, Eterna has such mastery over magic that it’s fair to say someone using the same type of magic would have no chance against her.

To stand on the same level as Eterna, who utilizes the very essence of magical power beyond the framework of magic, one must break free from the system of magic itself.

If what I use is magic, then Eterna will eventually break down my magic and create something better.

But you see.

‘I’m different.’

It’s true that Blood Magic can be used to replicate my Blood Claw Art, but that only applies to basic Blood Claw Art that involves moving and utilizing blood.

What about Blood Claw Art that isn’t like that?

If I use Blood Claw Art at a level that even Eterna couldn’t possibly replicate, would she still be able to copy it?

Forget copying—could she even break it down?

I was confident.

If Eterna were a mage like Seria, who had made various efforts to apply magic to combat in order to defeat the Demon King, that might be different.

But against a model student who has only researched magic since birth, I wasn’t worried.

Not worried about losing, that is.

“I’ll win. Definitely.”

Am I going to lose?

No.

I’m going to win, no matter what.

* * *

[Wow, is it today?]

[I’m really looking forward to this lol]

[Where did you place your bet?]

“So the time has finally come…”

After browsing through the general public opinion on the forums, I snorted.

Until now, many people thought I would win, but this time my opponent was none other than the founder of the Magical Kingdom, the master of magic… Eterna.

No matter how amazing I might be, most people thought it would be impossible to defeat Eterna, who is treated almost like a deity within the Magical Kingdom.

Sure enough, in the betting odds, I was buried at the very bottom.

Most people were betting on Eterna, so this had essentially lost its meaning as a gamble.

[Seriously lol, did nobody bet on her?]

[You have to bet on Eterna for this one lol]

[Even longshots need to be somewhat plausible, how could she possibly win? lol]

You might expect at least one person, but there’s something you should know.

Mages are obsessively efficiency-oriented people.

No matter where you look, the possibility of me winning seems non-existent, so betting on me would be considered even more meaningless than the inefficiency of gambling itself.

Well, I had expected this.

I expected it, but…

‘Still, it’s a bit disappointing that absolutely no one picked me…’

Other mages might be different, but shouldn’t Blood Mages at least choose me?

If they consider it more natural to pick Eterna than me, then I have nothing to say.

Well, at least my plan will proceed without a hitch, so that’s a benefit.

‘Fools… This is what you call a safe investment…’

Life is like me.

Without hesitation, I bet the large sum of money I had prepared specifically for this gambling opportunity on myself.

When a sudden large amount was bet on me, some people found it strange, but there were no brave souls who followed suit.

Betting small amounts would just mean losing money, so only an extremely small minority—those aiming for a lottery-like jackpot—put money on me.

It feels good that there are at least some bets, but it’s also disappointing that I can’t make more money. Still, no one bet as much as I did.

Even a small bet would bring in a huge return.

“Are you ready?”

“I’m ready.”

“Then you can go up now.”

Go up, huh.

I nodded and started walking.

The duel between Eterna and me is to be held elsewhere.

Considering both Eterna and myself… if we fought seriously, the aftermath would be beyond imagination, and merely twisting space wouldn’t be enough to contain it.

So a more elaborate and sturdy arena was needed.

That’s why we’re fighting in an arena that Eterna put her heart and soul into creating.

A different dimension she created herself, they say.

We agreed to have our duel in the arena built there.

“So you can even create dimensions. Unbelievable.”

“It’s just called a different dimension, but I really just cut pieces of our dimension, gathered them, and placed them in subspace.”

“Even cutting and placing space sounds unbelievable…”

She really is an extraordinary person.

I clicked my tongue in admiration, and she chuckled, saying thank you.

‘Don’t laugh, I’ll get attached.’

We’re about to fight to the death.

I took my stance.

Eterna also took hers.

There was no lengthy conversation.

The duel begins.