Chapter 14: A Duel for Freedom

“Hello everyone, my name is Liya. I hope we can get along well.”

Standing on the podium, Liya flashed the ingratiating smile he had long perfected, saying exactly as expected. As anticipated, the classroom erupted into chatter.

“It’s really her! She’s the little girl who smashed through the bathroom door yesterday!”

“At first, I thought she was Teacher Christine’s daughter, but she’s actually a student!”

“She must be a martial artist. It’s hard to imagine a mage smashing through a bathroom door with her head, and she doesn’t seem injured at all…”

“By the way, she’s such a cute girl, like a fairy…”

Well, the whispers were all within expectations, but Liya still felt annoyed. Why did everyone keep mistaking him for a girl? Even if his appearance didn’t show it, couldn’t they see his masculinity and the manly aura radiating from his entire body? Shouldn’t they be able to see through to his true nature?

Looking down from the podium, he saw Alice and Cecilia sitting in the audience, their expressions encouraging. It warmed his heart, but the way they looked at him like a little sister made him grit his teeth.

“Alright, little Liya, you’ll sit in the front row. Ladies in the second row, please move back one seat. Any objections?”

“No!”

For some reason, the girls all answered happily. Since the academy practiced gender-segregated classes, this class was all female, without a single boy.

Anyway, Liya perfectly secured the best seat for listening—the front row. But his opinion of this seat was:

‘Too close! Boring! So boring!’

Everything being taught was common knowledge from his previous life. Instead of listening, he might as well train on his own. It was completely useless. And sitting in front meant he couldn’t secretly cultivate his magic without being accused of slacking off. What a hassle!

The first class of the morning wasn’t Christine’s. As Liya had guessed, Christine taught practical combat, while mornings were mostly theory.

“As we all know, we must first recognize that martial artists and mages are essentially not that different. They are similar because both use magic to fight. The difference is that martial artists tend to channel magic into their own bodies, while mages direct it outward. This distinction shapes their fighting styles…”

“Teacher, is it possible to become both a martial artist and a mage? Wouldn’t that be best?” someone asked.

Hmph, how foolish. Liya thought sincerely. Both? Theoretically possible, but in practice, impossible. Why? There was a simple, direct reason…

“It’s not possible, because both require talent.”

To become a martial artist, one’s body must be suited to contain magic, able to accept its intervention, endure its transformation, and support its flow. Only then can the essence of martial arts be realized. To become a mage, one’s brain must be more developed, making communication with external spirits easier, thereby borrowing external power.

Of course, at this point, someone might ask, what if one possessed both talents?

“And if someone had both talents?” someone asked, perfectly following Liya’s thoughts.

The answer was simple.

“Still no. Because once you choose one path, the other is sealed.”

After becoming a martial artist, spirits would no longer be close to you, greatly reducing your ability to call upon external forces. Similarly, after becoming a mage, the body’s affinity with spirits would lower its adaptability to magic. Forcing both paths would only produce mediocrity in both.

“A snake that tries to swallow an elephant will burst.”

Almost simultaneously, Liya and the teacher said the same words.

“…”

“…”

The class fell into a brief silence. After a moment, the teacher pretended not to notice and resumed the lesson, while Liya, cold sweat trickling down his back, straightened his posture and put on a serious listening face.

After class, as expected, Liya was surrounded—by girls, of course.

But Liya had full confidence in the students of the martial academy, believing that most of them would come to discuss how to improve in combat or magic. Even if only for the sake of this appearance, they should be teaching him how to improve.

However, reality differed from imagination.

“Liya, you’re so cute! And your skin is so nice! What skincare products do you use?”

“And your blonde hair! So beautiful! Are you an elf? I heard they all have blonde hair and blue eyes. Too bad our demon eyes are red like rabbits’, not pretty at all!”

“Who said that? Look at Cecilia—white hair and red eyes, so beautiful.”

“That’s because she has good lineage. Ordinary people don’t have such pure hair and eye colors…”

In short, the girls’ topics had nothing to do with martial arts as Liya had imagined.

Liya felt a delusion of all his passion being poured into a drain, but in a sense, it wasn’t a delusion.

Second class—still theory. Frankly, Liya couldn’t take it anymore.

Typically, as a martial artist, Liya never wasted time. He solved problems directly, preferring the most straightforward method. So—

“Teacher! I don’t want to attend class!”

Before the teacher could speak, Liya stood up from the front row and declared firmly.

“…Oh? Why is that?”

“Because I already know this stuff!”

Liya remained resolute.

“Is that so?”

“Of course! I’m willing to take your test! A practical drill!”

Liya steered the topic towards his passion, a smile curling on his lips.

“Practice is the sole criterion for truth! No matter what theory, if it can’t be applied in combat, it’s meaningless! Teacher, let’s duel!”

His trip to the arena last time had made him realize that fighting ordinary students couldn’t spur his growth. Even though he was in the recovery phase, striving to return to his peak, he must not slack off. He had to improve with all his might. And the best way to improve…

Was combat. Battle was the best teacher. As for opponents, the top students or teachers were fine. Elite students might be hard to find, but teachers were everywhere!

With a smile and a challenging gaze at the teacher on the podium, Liya said firmly:

“If I lose, I’ll continue attending theory classes and accept any punishment. But if I win, please allow me to skip theory classes from now on. What do you say?”

“…Interesting.”

The teacher wore a relaxed smile.

“Alright, it’s settled. Face to face—”

This was a martial artist’s motto, the line for accepting a duel. Liya naturally knew how to respond.

“—Let’s settle this!”

📚 Also on NHV Novels

I’m Not the Saintess! I’m a Good-for-Nothing Young Master!

Female ProtagonistGender BenderReverse Pursuit

Read Now →
Not interested