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Chapter 19
“Jaylin, you cheer for Adrian too.”
“…Okay.”
In truth, Jaylin wanted to cheer for Lionel. But under Stefan’s urging, she reluctantly mumbled a quiet cheer for Adrian.
“G-Go, Adrian. You can do it!”
“Woooaah, Adrian! Today’s the day we defeat Lionel! Crush him!”
Perhaps it was because of Stefan’s near-screaming shout, but Lionel, who was fending off Adrian’s attack, briefly glanced over to where Jaylin and Stefan were standing.
That brief distraction caused Lionel’s concentration to waver, and his sword slowed ever so slightly. Adrian didn’t miss the opening and his blade grazed Lionel’s coat.
A sigh of disappointment escaped from the watching students.
Adrian didn’t stop after the successful strike. He pushed his sword toward Lionel’s upper body.
Unlike their previous quick back-and-forth exchanges, the two blades clashed, and a power struggle began between them.
As he pressed his sword forward, Adrian spoke through gritted teeth.
“I know I’m not strong enough to match you, but you’re seriously zoning out while dueling me?”
“Yeah. I can’t afford to make mistakes when I’m already giving it my all. From now on, I’ll do my best.”
Lionel smiled at Adrian, but his eyes had gone cold.
The balance of strength they had maintained so far suddenly shattered as Lionel explosively forced Adrian’s sword away.
Caught off guard by the sudden shift, Adrian fell back to minimize the damage.
In the blink of an eye, he was pushed all the way to the edge of the dueling arena. Dust kicked up in the path he had been pushed through.
Adrian brushed back his hair to clear his vision and quickly regained his stance.
As the dust cleared, Lionel came into view again.
Though they were far apart, Adrian could clearly see a golden shimmer dancing in Lionel’s eyes — a sign of large-scale mana activation.
Was this guy insane, using that much mana in just a sparring match?
Adrian hurriedly summoned his own mana to counter Lionel’s.
Flames erupted along the blade of Adrian’s sword. A searing fireball formed at the tip, grew rapidly, and shot toward Lionel.
But even though Lionel had drawn his mana first, he hadn’t attacked.
Then why draw that much mana in the first place? Adrian frowned, watching him closely.
Lionel’s style had always been thoroughly defensive. For him to be the one to activate large-scale mana first was extremely unusual.
Moreover, only Adrian, standing directly in front of Lionel, noticed the early activation. To the other students watching, it looked like Adrian had overstepped by attacking too aggressively for a sparring match.
Just before the crimson fireball struck Lionel, a golden barrier appeared in front of him.
Anticipating the aftermath of the magic clash, Adrian braced himself. But the fireball didn’t explode. Instead, Lionel’s barrier swallowed it whole.
Even after absorbing the fireball, the golden shield remained intact.
Adrian’s frown deepened.
What the hell is this guy thinking?
Then it happened.
Lionel’s golden barrier began spinning rapidly, and suddenly spat the fireball back at Adrian.
It wasn’t just the same fireball — it had absorbed Lionel’s mana and had grown several times larger.
“That crazy bastard.”
Adrian realized something he already knew all too well: Lionel, that son of a bitch, was a psycho hiding behind a charming façade.
The giant fireball barreling toward him was one he himself had created. He knew exactly how dangerous it was.
This was just a spar. There was no need to go all-out. But with Lionel’s mana added in, the fireball had become too powerful for Adrian to handle.
Behind Adrian stood a crowd of students watching the match. Dodging the fireball would mean letting it hit them.
Lionel had to know that. He had done this on purpose.
“You bastard.”
Adrian swallowed another curse. Lionel’s temperament was absolutely rotten. Adrian couldn’t even tell what had triggered him this time.
Through the approaching blaze, Adrian could clearly see Lionel’s face — emotionless, cold, stripped of the usual gentle smile. This was his true self.
The academy was full of idiots. No one had seen Lionel’s true nature — dazzled by his polished surface.
If Lionel was going to keep up his act, he could at least do it in front of Adrian too. But for some reason, Lionel always revealed his true self to him — a side he never showed to others.
The fireball was now right in front of Adrian. He had only one option: generate another fireball of similar size in midair and collide it with the incoming one to cause an explosion.
The arena would be wrecked, and he’d get punished, but there was no helping it. Honestly, it was about time he caused some major trouble.
Adrian gathered mana into his sword. Or rather, he was about to—
—until he sensed a massive surge of mana behind him.
“Hah. You really…”
Adrian gave up with a bitter laugh and backed off from the fireball that was now headed for him.
He quickly cast a defensive spell around himself to shield from the incoming blast. There was no way Lionel would care enough to protect him.
Just as Adrian pulled back, a massive defensive barrier formed around the area where the students were gathered.
It was an impressive sight — a translucent shield with sparks of energy flickering across its golden surface.
When the giant fireball hit the shield, it didn’t explode as Adrian had expected. Lionel’s barrier swallowed the fireball whole, and both vanished.
Only then did Adrian realize why Lionel had drawn such large amounts of mana from the beginning.
He had planned this whole scenario. He had anticipated every move Adrian would make.
Lionel had already intended to cast a large barrier to protect the students. Meanwhile, Adrian had instinctively protected only himself, assuming Lionel wouldn’t.
The result? Adrian looked like a coward who didn’t care about the students’ safety — a stark contrast to the ever-noble Lionel.
It was Lionel’s complete victory — not just in the duel, but in destroying Adrian’s reputation.
Lionel approached him with that signature polite smile, the same fake one as always.
“Good match.”
He held out his hand to Adrian.
The perfect textbook sportsmanship from start to finish.
Adrian, of course, had no intention of playing along. He slapped Lionel’s hand away and walked past him.
Boos and jeers echoed from the crowd at Adrian’s disrespectful display.
Lionel merely shrugged, raising his eyebrows slightly.
Cheers erupted as Adrian left the arena. Lionel’s name rang out again and again.
The duel was over. Only then did Jaylin finally let out the breath she had been holding.
She still vividly remembered that stormy day from her childhood.
But Lionel no longer needed anyone’s help. He had grown so strong over the past ten years that he was nothing like the boy she had once known.
“Ssshh. Another close win for Lionel today. He’s definitely impressive, but still… You’d think Adrian would win at least once, right?”
Just then, a burly student who had been cheering loudly for Lionel sneered at Stefan’s comment.
“You call that close? Just admit you’re biased because you’re friends with him.”
“W-What?! You blind or something?”
Fuming, Stefan shook his arm aggressively, but it looked anything but threatening.
The big guy just laughed like Stefan was a joke.
Jaylin anxiously tugged at Stefan’s arm.
“Stefan! W-We’re supposed to have lunch with Adrian, remember?”
“Oh crap, that’s right! I need to go find Adrian.”
As Stefan turned to leave, the burly guy jeered again.
“Look at him run with his tail between his legs.”
“Hey! I’m not running, okay?! I’m letting you off the hook because I’m busy! Just wait till next time!”
Stefan shook his fist, but it was clearly just bluster.
“Sure, sure. Without Adrian around, you’re nothing but a loudmouth.”
“What?! Take that back! I could totally take you down if I wanted!”
“Riiight.”
The guy lazily picked his ear in response.
“St-Stefan. Let’s go.”
Jaylin desperately pulled Stefan away as he tried to hold his ground.
She didn’t want to see Stefan get hurt. Dragging the puffing Stefan through the crowd still chanting Lionel’s name, she barely managed to escape the scene.
