Chapter 17 : Dalian

“Fight me, Saya.”

Along with her words, the quest window appeared.

[Emergency Quest]

Win the duel against Yuri Freesia.

Reward: 「Armonia Chronicles」 Chapter 2

The reward was the reappearance of Armonia Chronicles Chapter 2, after more than 10 years.

Honestly, I didn’t want to fight her.

But everything was for the quest.

“…I will.”

I accepted Yuri Freesia’s duel request.

Following her, I moved outside the banquet hall.

The place was an outdoor training ground located on the academy grounds, with wooden dummies and training items scattered around.

I followed her, quietly avoiding the snow, but rumors spread quickly, and onlookers gathered.

Yuri didn’t pay any attention to those gazes. She focused solely on me.

“The duel format is a practice duel using wooden swords. Since it’s not a real battle, I won’t use lethal magic.”

“We’re using magic too..?” I asked, puzzled.

She looked at me as if confused by my confusion.

“Yes. We are Spirit Masters, not knights who only train in martial arts.”

When thinking of a Spirit Master, most people imagine someone always fighting alongside a summoned entity. However, since the procedure wasn’t fully complete, summoning was impossible, so this duel would only involve magic.

Can I win..?

In truth, I’ve never properly fought anyone who uses magic other than Windgart Luares.

Even then, I won with a trick. If I had faced him head-on, I would have been 100% killed by his sword.

“Take it. Your wooden sword.”

I took the wooden sword that Yuri threw.

Holding a wooden sword with no clear distinction between the handle and blade, I ended up in an awkward stance.

It’s so different from a dagger.

Holding a weapon I wasn’t used to felt uncomfortable.

On the opposite side, Yuri politely bowed.

Should I follow?

Seeing her posture, I awkwardly bowed as well.

“Then, let’s begin.”

Yuri declared the start, and we silently stared at each other, each holding a wooden sword.

Since it’s a duel using magic, if I drag this out, I’ll likely be at a disadvantage due to compatibility.

If that’s the case, I’ll have to end this before Yuri can properly use magic.

I placed my hand behind me and began chanting wind magic.

“Anemos!”

It wasn’t as powerful as what Gillian used, but it was enough to create wind pressure, boosting my speed as I rushed forward.

I closed the distance in an instant, but I was soon blocked by Yuri’s magic.

“Pagos.”

At her spell, the moisture in the atmosphere instantly froze, forming an ice wall.

The wall quickly shifted shape.

“Freezing Bullet!”

At Yuri’s gesture, the ice wall turned into countless sharp ice crystals, which were launched at me.

It was a combination of basic freezing magic and transforming the ice barrier into Freezing Bullet.

“Kuh…!”

I managed to handle most of the attack, but the sharp ice crystals forced me to shield my eyes.

When I regained my sight, I saw Yuri’s wooden sword swinging toward me with a sharp sound.

Thwack.

I was struck in the solar plexus by her wooden sword.

The unexpected pain shook me to my senses.

“Cough…!”

I had to give up the illusion of a light duel.

She wasn’t an opponent to be taken lightly.

Each movement was an attack with proper force.

I swung my wooden sword to counterattack, but it was easily deflected.

Does she know where I’m going to swing..?

Another heavy blow from her came through the gap in my defense.

“Have you ever learned swordsmanship? Your posture is all wrong,” she said, sounding puzzled as she blocked my attack.

Swordsmanship was a basic skill for nobles.

Wooden swords were typically used in duels between nobles, but there’s no way I, who grew up in a slum, had ever had the opportunity to learn swordsmanship.

She didn’t stop her relentless slashes.

Fast and strong..!

After exchanging several blows, I realized my swordsmanship was no match for hers.

Thankfully, due to my arm strength, I managed to recover my posture even when I was hit by her wooden sword, but the impact left bruises.

“Why aren’t you falling? Even after all those hits…”

Seeing how I quickly recovered after being hit by attacks that would normally knock someone down, Yuri seemed puzzled.

Being able to recover my stance after critical hits was thanks to the beastmen’s physical techniques ingrained in my body.

However, no matter how good my evasion was, damage was steadily accumulating on me.

Unable to decide the match, Yuri closed in on me and unleashed a flurry of attacks.

“Freezing Bullet!”

She fired Freezing Bullet with one hand while relentlessly swinging her wooden sword with the other.

Her swordsmanship was so powerful that every time I blocked her sword, a tremor ran through my wrist.

If I get hit properly, I’m done…!

I couldn’t even think about using Dark Bullet.

With the casting time and its low power during the day, a wooden sword would be stuck in my vital point before I could finish casting.

My stamina was rapidly depleting.

In the end, to escape, I cast a dark curtain.

“Scotadi!”

A dark hemisphere of about 3 meters expanded around me, forcing Yuri out of the range of darkness.

“You’re a dark-type Spirit Master. No wonder you were saving your spells. It was the opposite,” she said, realizing my strategy.

I had barely escaped her attack range and gasped for breath.

“Haa… Haa…”

If I avoided her sword, Freezing Bullet came. If I dodged Freezing Bullet, her sword came.

It was the perfect combination of offense and defense—magic and swordsmanship.

“I hope you don’t resist any more. I’ll finish it with the next one.”

The ice crystals from Yuri’s fingertips covered her wooden sword.

By covering it with ice, the weight of the sword was significantly increased.

Yuri, now wielding what could hardly be called a wooden sword but rather an ice sword, rushed at me with terrifying speed.

If I got hit by that, I wouldn’t be able to get up.

Everything was in her hands.

Magic, swordsmanship—I couldn’t deal with either properly.

So, I decided to abandon the spirit master approach.

“Huff..!”

I firmly gripped both ends of the wooden sword and slammed it against my knee, breaking it in two.

At my sudden move, Yuri’s pupils widened.

What’s her plan?

I quickly turned the broken sword into two short daggers.

These felt much more familiar.

With the weight now distributed to both hands, my senses quickly returned.

I lowered my posture, drew sand on the ground, and scattered it at Yuri.

“Ugh…!”

It might seem cowardly, but I had no other choice.

So far, the orthodox methods hadn’t worked on her.

Yuri wiped her eyes, then tried to step forward to close the gap between us.

“…!?”

In the moment I blinded her vision, I froze her feet with a spell.

The ice spread across the ground, fully trapping her feet.

“When did you..!?”

“I did it subtly when we started.”

Right after the match began, I deliberately rushed in and induced her to use ice magic on me.

The reason I endured her Freezing Bullet barrage was to steal her magic with the Absolution spell.

Then, I used the stolen magic to bind her feet.

I quickly followed up with attacks, tripping her ankle to break her posture and twisting the wrist holding the weapon, forcing it to the ground.

I pressed my broken wooden sword firmly against her waist as she fell.

“Pago……. Ugh..!”

I crushed her hand, which was trying to cast Freezing Bullet, with my knee.

With my weight on her, she couldn’t pull her hand free.

I pointed the end of my broken sword at her neck, pinning her down.

The more she tried to move, the harder I pressed.

Eventually, she stopped resisting and relaxed.

It was the way I’d always subdued my enemies as an assassin.

“…..”

I stared at her for a long time, my wooden sword pointed at her neck.

In this state, she couldn’t make a move against me.

“..It’s your victory. Saya.”

It wasn’t a gentle method, but in the end, I won.

“Could you please let go of my hand? I think it’s going to break…”

I had forgotten to control my strength, acting purely on instinct.

I flinched and released her wrist.

“Ah, sorry..!”

“….”

Yuri, who picked up her wooden sword and stood up, was silent.

She fixed her clothes, which were now in disarray from rolling on the ground, and looked at me.

Then, slowly, she opened her mouth.

“..Why didn’t you go all out from the beginning?”

At first, I had planned to win with a normal duel.

But she was much stronger than I expected.

So strong that I had no choice but to get serious.

“It wasn’t on purpose.”

I could sense the complexity in her eyes, something she couldn’t put into words.

“Lies. Swordsmanship, magic compatibility… I thought I had the advantage, but you… ha.”

Yuri lowered her head and didn’t lift it again.

I had wounded Yuri Freesia’s pride, which she had protected for 17 years.

“….Hey.”

Yuri said softly.

She raised her head again but didn’t look at me the way she usually did.

“I’m interested. In your technique.”

“…What?”

“Teach me. Right now.”

I forgot.

She’s a woman incredibly obsessed with strength.

While I was trying to ignore Yuri’s eager gaze, Carne Eckermann, who had been watching since the duel began, approached us.

“Um, I’m sorry to interrupt your conversation, but… over there…”

Following her finger, I turned my head, and there was someone standing out among the students.

A man in silver full-body armor with white long hair.

At a glance, I could tell he wasn’t ordinary.

Spirit Master Commander Violet.

He, also the president of the Spirit Academy, was smiling at us.

“Both of you, please come to my office.”