Luca and Isella were both covered in blood.

Through the slits in their sweat-soaked gym uniforms, their flesh revealed slashes, and their faces, blotched with bruises and wounds, looked even more terrifying.

The two still held their breath, glaring at each other.

“Sh-shouldn’t someone stop this?”

“At this rate, one of them is going to die…!”

“What is the judge doing? Just standing by?”

The students, who were initially wild with excitement, gradually began to look sickened.

But as the duel dragged on—one hour, two hours, even three—without a resolution, they began to feel something beyond boredom: fear.

A merciless fight that only seemed to end when one of them died.

‘What should I do? Should I stop this even now?’

The watching judge was sweating bullets.

Until now, there had never been a draw in the faculty tournaments.

If a match dragged on too long, any student just stalling for time was ruled as the loser.

But this was different.

Both Luca and Isella were fighting a brutal battle with the intent to kill.

For three hours now, they’d been in a dead-even standoff, making it impossible to declare a victor.

‘This is driving me crazy. Someone just fall already!’

Whether they noticed the judge’s anxiety or not, Luca and Isella stood their ground, holding their swords, emanating a burning fighting spirit.

‘As expected, members of the Night are different.’

Isella had placed some restraints on herself for this fight.

She wasn’t using sword techniques and relied solely on the basics Kryphi had taught her.

Factually, this was a match extremely advantageous to Luca.

Yet, Isella matched Luca with her incredible physical ability and experience-driven quick thinking.

That’s why their swords collided for so long.

And in that situation, Luca felt his heart pounding intensely.

‘I want to live like this forever.’

A thought Luca Traverse within him might have had.

In fact, the Luca Traverse inside him was excited, too.

Still, Luca himself found this unbelievable situation extremely enjoyable.

“… I suppose that’s enough fun.”

“?”

But it seemed Isella felt differently.

Her eyes glanced toward the spectator stands.

There, Milia was shaking her head in horror, arms crossed in an ‘X’.

‘This has gone too far, no matter what!’

Even Milia, who had initially watched with interest, seemed worried about bad rumors spreading due to their desperate fight.

“It seems the lady does not wish for this to continue.”

“… Are you going to forfeit?”

At Isella’s words, Luca’s face showed some disappointment.

He’d thought she’d see the match through to the end, but now felt let down that she’d forfeit for Milia’s order.

But Isella smiled faintly, for only him to see.

“I regret it, but being forced to use only the basics is frustrating for me. Once you learn proper swordsmanship, if we can truly fight with all our might, let’s finish what we started.”

“Swordsmanship… I see.”

Luca understood immediately.

Since he could only use the basics anyway, he was fine, but for Isella, who had mastered sword techniques, it must have been suffocating.

‘Right. If only I have fun, it’s not a good match.’

A very martial way of thinking. Luca accepted and lowered his sword.

The judge’s face instantly brightened.

“A-are you forfeiting?”

“I’ll forfeit.”

“Huh? Oh—Yes!”

It was Isella, not Luca, who had first put down her sword and declared forfeit.

The judge, though a bit confused, was quick to agree, figuring the result didn’t matter as long as someone conceded.

“With Isella’s forfeit, the winner is Luca Traverse!”

“……”

Unlike the semifinals, the audience was quiet. But Luca and Isella didn’t seem to care.

Their faces even looked refreshed.

‘I’m looking forward to the next one.’

It was the first time in a while he’d been so eager for what was to come.

* * *

“Luca. I heard you fought an impressive duel?”

“I don’t know how to put this, but… it was the most enjoyable match I’ve ever had.”

“Hmmm. I don’t usually want to agree with you, but this once, I do.”

Reminiscing about the exam, Luca’s group enjoyed a friendly dinner.

Even Isella, who rarely agreed with Luca, nodded in approval, which suggested both had truly enjoyed themselves.

Milia then spoke, her face in a sulk.

“So this is how warriors date? Gross.”

“I have to admit, this was a good date. Isella.”

“You, too, were an excellent escort, Luca Traverse.”

Despite Milia’s sarcastic remark, Luca and Isella seemed genuinely pleased.

Not getting the reaction she wanted, Milia made a gagging sound.

“Ugh. I’ve never seen this side of them.”

“Haha. It just means both were satisfied.”

“Ottbo, what about you? Do you think you can take first place?”

Ottbo, who wore a mild smile amidst them, was Luca’s next subject. Ottbo scratched his cheek.

“Um… maybe?”

“Heh.”

Unlike the tense, pale-faced Ottbo at the beginning of the exam, he now looked very relaxed.

Luca sighed lightly, then smirked.

“Seems you did better than I thought.”

“I’m the only one left, after all.”

The Magic Department’s memorization contest was all about who could use the greatest number of magic formulas.

The one who could use more, trickier, and higher-difficulty formulas would win.

If Ottbo was the last one standing, he certainly had an advantage—unless he was simply stuck and unable to recall anything.

“I’m curious what kind of restriction was on Ottbo. With so much knowledge, how did he ever fail to recall it?”

Milia spoke as if she found it strange. Ottbo just shrugged his shoulders and said nothing.

“Anyway, when will the test results come out?”

“Probably next week?”

“Then we can relax this weekend.”

Milia smiled quietly at Ottbo’s gentle response.

“The showdown with Robentus will be the week after next. The results have to be in, and I need to solidify my network.”

“I see.”

“We’re in a good position, but if you can raise your value even a little more, please do.”

At Milia’s words, Luca pouted.

“What more do you expect from me here?”

“Fufu, I was just making conversation.”

Luca clicked his tongue and turned his head slightly at Milia’s sly remark.

“I’ll try my best.”

* * *

With nothing eventful, the last day of exams and the weekend passed.

They ran into Archiond’s group and had a minor war of nerves, but nothing significant.

And finally, monday, when the results came out, arrived.

That morning, Luca was having tea at a café near the dormitory.

On his student notebook were message records with Ottbo.

Ottbo: Luca

Ottbo: Where are you?

Ottbo: Café?

Luca: Yes

Ottbo: Got it

Ottbo: Be right there

Ottbo would arrive soon. Until then, Luca was quietly surveying the people around.

‘… Is she not coming, even though the exams are over?’

Luca, who rarely drank, was at the café early in the morning for just one reason: waiting for Pasmo Thier, a regular here.

At first, he’d been self-conscious about waiting openly, so he watched from a nearby café.

But there were things he couldn’t see from there, so he came to this café in person.

Still, even after several days, Pasmo Thier hadn’t appeared.

‘I thought she was busy with exams and couldn’t come…’

A slow anxiety rose.

Though things had settled, it was true Hernan Academy’s reputation as the continent’s top had slipped a little.

‘Duke Thier’ was not a name to be taken lightly, especially when sending her abroad to a nation with terror threats.

‘… Tsk. I didn’t want to do this.’

After several days with no sign of her, Luca finally pulled out the illegally-modified student notebook he hadn’t used for a while—one given to him by his informant, Bogus.

As he was writing something in it, Ottbo arrived, still looking a bit tired.

“Yaaawn~ Luca. Good morning.”

“Yes, good morning, Ottbo.”

Luca quickly finished messaging, emptied his teacup, and stood. Ottbo looked at him with a curious expression.

“By the way, why have you been coming here every day lately?”

“Just because.”

Luca brushed off Ottbo’s question and headed for the main hall. It was time for test results.

In the main hall, everyone’s scores, from first to last, were posted. Of course, results would later be individually notified as well.

But Luca’s group had a reason to gather here.

“Oh! Luca. Are you ready?”

Archiond’s group had arrived first and were waiting.

With scores to compare, they couldn’t wait for the individual notifications.

Luca greeted them with a flat tone.

“I’m already looking forward to the excuses you losers will make after your defeat.”

“Haha! I’m looking forward to it, too. What face will you make if you lose, Luca?”

“You’re hoping for something you’ll never see.”

Archiond laughed at Luca’s deadpan, then nodded when he saw staff approaching with grade sheets.

“Shall we go, then?”

“Looks like the department with fewer students is first. Swordsmanship Department, I guess.”

Among the Magic, Alchemy, and Swordsmanship Departments, swordsmanship had the fewest students, so its grades were posted first.

Swordsmanship Department Rankings

1st – Luca Traverse, 100.0 points

2nd – Isella, 99.5 points

3rd – Brace Avint, 99.0 points

…

…

…

“Wow… that was close.”

Everyone was stunned by the score sheet. The difference was mere tenths of a point. The entire outcome seemed determined by the shared-faculty test.

“Well, that was only to be expected.”

“… Such a pity.”

Luca responded blandly, while Brace accepted the result with regret, but not dissatisfaction.

Archiond smiled broadly at them.

“Now, is it the Alchemy Department’s turn?”

“They’re coming.”

Just then, the staff brought over the next score sheet.

Alchemy Department Rankings

1st – Oborea Kachl, 97.4 points

2nd – Archiond Robette, 95.1 points

3rd – Medog Bismok, 93.8 points

…

…

6th – Hav Irid, 90.9 points

“Ah.”

Hav looked crestfallen; Archiond grinned from ear to ear.

“Ah~ didn’t get first~ so close~.”

“…”

“So, that means we get five points, and Luca’s group gets seven?”

Hav glanced warily at Luca, while Archiond kept grinning. Luca responded calmly.

“It’s not over yet.”

“Haha! Right. Ah, there’s the score sheet. Let’s see?”

“……”

The staff approached with the results.

Ottbo tensed. Everyone held their breath as they read the Magic Department rankings.

Magic Department Rankings

1st – Ottbo Gress, 100.0 points

2nd – Maios Magara, 99.5 points

3rd – Milia Fille, 99.0 points

…

…

8th – Igar Hetoph, 97.4 points

“?”

Everyone who saw the result froze. Then, all eyes turned to Igar. Feeling their stares, Igar blinked.

“… Hiccup.”

It was, truly, an unbelievable result.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep