“It’s alchemy time, as always, I say it again and again, there is no magic as dangerous yet powerful as alchemy, fair and unfair to anyone. Today, we will make a potion that temporarily increases the amount of mana. Does anyone know about this potion?”

    Then, Silayer from the same class raised her hand and answered.

    “It’s the Awakening Elixir, but if you drink more than the prescribed amount, your body may not withstand the mana and you could lose consciousness.”

    “Yes, that’s right. That’s why it can be dangerous if you take this potion frequently.”

    Nodding at the professor’s words, I glanced at Silayer. She really deserves to be called an apothecary. Among the first-year students, she’s the only one who received a title in alchemy rather than magic. But an apothecary… What did she show at the entrance ceremony?

    Suddenly, memories came flooding back, and I looked at the professor.

    “You all have the ingredients in front of you. Tears of the spirit, Komoda tree bark, and water created by the water spirit. Everyone knows about the tears of the spirit, which are made of mana, and when the Komoda tree bark touches mana, it splits and natural mana flows out from inside. We’ll mix the gathered mana substance with pure water. The method is laid out, so let’s check it and make it without any mistakes.”

    I reached out my right hand to confirm the potion-making method. It was an easier recipe than I had thought. First, inject mana into the Komoda tree bark, then dissolve the spirit’s tears in water, and boil until the bark becomes mushy.

    It was an easy recipe.

    “Of course, there are various types of awakening elixirs, so this is the easiest method. More sophisticated and effective awakening elixirs have no side effects and increase mana significantly. These are called true awakening elixirs, and the highest-quality ones are called ‘Suglaka’s Tears’ after the goddess of magic, Suglaka. However, the recipe for Suglaka’s Tears has been lost; the elixir remains, but the recipe has disappeared.”

    “I hope someone will eventually discover the recipe for Suglaka’s Tears.”

    “After the alchemy lecture, the following lesson was basic magic. However, as it was a review of shock magic, I stood in a corner of the training ground, not paying attention to the content. Even during the process of practicing magic in pairs, some students seemed bored. While watching them, I put my wand back into my pocket.

    “Aren’t you going to practice?”

    At that moment, Seresria approached me as I stood absentmindedly in the corner of the training ground and spoke.

    “I already know how to use it.”

    “I didn’t expect you to study in advance.”

    “Who taught you?”

    Upon hearing that, Seresria smiled mischievously and pointed her wand at me.

    “I’m still learning.”

    “If you use it, the protective barrier around me will break.”

    “Since I’ve learned protective magic, I can defend against your attacks, right?”

    “And you can already use shock magic, can’t you? You’ve already made fireballs and shot them.”

    “It’s an extension of shock magic. It’s attacking by converting the attributes of shock magic. Can’t Astan do it too?”

    “I don’t know because I’m not good at handling attributes yet.”

    I understood in my head. After the development of shock magic, using attribute conversion for attacks was possible, but doing so would consume a lot of mana, making multiple attacks impossible. Although I could mimic Seresria’s way of deploying multiple fireballs in the air and shooting them, it was impossible with attribute magic.”

    Therefore, I thought Sharen, who creates arrows with light magic and shoots them, was remarkable. In just the duel, he used at least six arrows. Arrows, then, must also be capable of transforming mana.

    “The framework of magic is similar, so I’m not particularly imaginative.”

    “Did you show that kind of magic at the entrance ceremony?”

    As she spoke, she simply smiled at me. It was always that smile. A smile that couldn’t be understood. So I smiled slightly too.

    “I want to challenge you to a duel.”

    “Don’t you know I won’t accept it?”

    And at that moment, she approached me and whispered softly in my ear.

    “You’ve dueled with others already, haven’t you?”

    “… How do you know that?”

    I shivered all over. No one had come to the training ground at that time. Even if they had, they would have been seen. The training ground was wide open, so no matter how focused on the duel, they couldn’t have hidden.

    How on earth?

    “The intelligence of the royal family is better than you think.”

    “Even so, there’s no reason for the royal family to gather information about a small duel that happened yesterday.”

    I looked at her. She smiled at me, and today, I was more afraid than ever.

    “Are you spying on me?”

    “I’m not that kind of person, I don’t like such boring things.”

    “Well then, how…?”

    “The sound of a duel is quite loud. Naturally, when magic clashes with magic, wouldn’t you hear that sound? I was reading a book in the library, and I heard the sound of a duel, so I thought I’d go see, but the fact that there were no rumors was sudden, and then I thought it might not be a fight.”

    Then she took a step towards me. Her unique scent of roses wafted over.

    “I was curious, so I had someone check who entered the training ground yesterday, and what did they find? Astan and… Sharen Tierk.”

    She extended her right hand and placed it on my shoulder.

    “I don’t know who won, but we did have a duel, right? Even if you try to hide it, everyone can tell.”

    “Sometimes I thought she was scary, but she’s really a frightening person.”

    She burst into laughter and looked at me.

    “So, you’re not thinking of challenging me? It would be a different feeling from our last encounter in the tavern.”

    “It’s not like I’m going to win anyway.”

    It was a given. I had never imagined a future where I could defeat her. If anyone saw her magic, they would lose their composure. She was exceptional even among first-year students. Her brilliance shone with the talent inherited from the royal family, which made up her magical abilities.

    “So, did you think the Light Manifestor could win?”

    “I bought the wand for practice, so I didn’t think about that.”

    “That’s too bad, and a little sad too, refusing to duel with the Light Manifestor after dueling with me.”

    “There probably won’t be a chance for that in my lifetime.”

    She smiled at my response, then stood beside me and looked at the students, while I scratched my neck.

    After the morning lecture ended, during lunchtime, I sat in the cafeteria and talked with Sharon.

    “Who did you learn the Shock Magic from?”

    “As I said before, I learned magic from senior Erika.”

    “I envy that a lot, getting tutoring from a fifth-year.”

    “It’s not as happy as you might think; it’s actually quite physically demanding.”

    “But yesterday’s use of Shock Magic was surprising. Using simultaneous Shock Magic to attack at once.”

    “There are two people who use it well.”

    Sharon nodded at my words, put a nodding potato in her mouth, and then spoke.

    “One is Senior Erika, and who’s the other one?”

    “The Flame Princess.”

    “Well, if you look only at her magic skills, the Flame Princess is no less than a second-year. She’s probably the strongest first-year.”

    “If you were to fight her… well, you’d probably lose.”

    Sharen smiled faintly. Of course, the current Sharen couldn’t defeat Seresria yet. The situation might change after some time, but not for the current Sharen. Considering Sharen’s growth rate, maybe by the second semester, she won’t be inferior. In the original work…

    As I tried to recall the original work, something seemed to interrupt my thoughts. When I sighed inwardly and thought it would come back to me eventually, Sharen’s voice reached me.

    “It won’t be long before duels become popular among the first-year students. It won’t be easy for you or me.”

    “It might not be easier for you than for me. Not just first-years, but students from other grades might target you.”

    “In that case, I’ll have to refuse.”

    “Don’t nobles have to accept due to honor or something like that?”

    “Isn’t it honorable for students from other grades to challenge first-years?”

    At that, I mentally applauded. That’s a valid point. Leonaire senior said the same thing, so Erica senior must be the odd one out. But well, the seniors didn’t challenge me… they were just playing around.

    “But come to think of it, you might face more challenges than I do.”

    “Why?”

    “Rumors say you’re hiding your strength and attending the academy. And you’re close with the Flame Princess, right? Students aiming for your position will overflow.”

    I let out a sigh. Close… we might be close, but there’s no guarantee that Seresria will get along just because she beats me. What a funny bunch of people.

    “No one has dueled yet, so it should be quiet for now, but it will likely increase once magic duel classes start. We should prepare before then.”

    “Do we need to prepare? We can just reject and run away if someone challenges us.”

    “That won’t be easy, you know?”

    “I’m confident about running away.”

    Sharen and I chuckled, then resumed eating.

    “Astan, I challenge you to a duel!”

    Sharen is walking around predicting the future. She’s not just the main character for nothing. I should have realized when Sharen spoke; it’s foreshadowing.

    I sighed and opened my mouth.

    “I will refuse.”

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