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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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The game resumed.
The wind spirit charged first, launching a wind cutter towards me.
I easily sidestepped the attack.
It was a feint, of course.
The wind spirit continued its assault, a relentless barrage of attacks, while the other spirits waited for their turn, their movements carefully calculated.
Tia, like a seasoned goalkeeper, kept her distance, maintaining a strategic advantage.
“Kyuut!”
I swatted the wind spirit, my wooden sword connecting with its head.
One spirit down.
The ground beneath my feet erupted, tendrils of soil snaking towards my ankles.
I lifted my leg, narrowly avoiding the earth spirit’s grasp.
A fireball hurtled towards me, a seamless continuation of their coordinated attack.
I twisted my body, deflecting the fireball.
It grazed my chest, a wave of heat washing over me.
Most opponents would have faltered after so many missed attacks, their confidence shaken.
But Tia remained calm and collected.
As if she had anticipated every move, every counter.
The earth and fire spirits continued their assault, a relentless barrage of attacks designed to wear me down.
My plan was to win, but to make it a close call, to spare her pride.
“Formation Two!”
The earth spirit kicked up a cloud of dust, momentarily blinding me.
It was a combination attack, a synergy between the wind and earth spirits. I leaped backward, creating some distance.
Tia gestured with her hand, and the wind spirit swooped in from behind.
“Formation Seventeen!”
Seventeen formations?
How many had she managed to come up with in such a short time?
I was impressed.
She continued to cycle through her formations: Three, Five, Eight…
I countered each attack, my movements efficient and precise.
Three spirits were down.
Fire, earth, and wind.
“Formation One!” she commanded.
And then I understood.
She had been waiting for this.
The air grew cold. Ice shards rained down upon me.
The ground, pierced by countless icy projectiles, transformed into a slippery sheet of ice.
It was impossible to dodge them all.
She was trying to immobilize me, to exploit my reliance on speed and agility.
I deflected some of the projectiles, my wooden sword a blur of motion.
Tia charged towards me, her movements fluid and graceful despite the treacherous footing.
A faint blue glow surrounded her ankles, a combination of her own mana and a spell cast by the wind spirit.
“Ah!”
I wasn’t about to let her win so easily.
I swung my wooden sword, aiming for her necklace, but she countered, her hand, enveloped in a swirl of wind, deflecting my attack.
A flicker of frustration crossed her face.
Time was running out.
I aimed for her legs, my sword a blur.
The water spirit threw itself in the path of my attack, sacrificing itself to protect its master.
And then Tia grabbed my wrist, her grip firm.
“I win!”
She had been aiming for this from the start.
Her remaining spirits joined the fray, their attacks coordinated and relentless.
I wasn’t about to give up.
I dropped my wooden sword, using both hands to seize her wrist, attempting to flip her over my shoulder.
“Whoa!”
She executed a perfect breakfall, twisting out of my grasp.
She rolled backward, coming to her feet a few paces away. She glared at me, her eyes narrowed.
“It was a close call, but victory is mine.”
She held my necklace in her hand, her expression triumphant. She held it up, a trophy to be admired.
She must have snatched it while I was falling.
“Huh…?”
But then she noticed the necklace clutched in my hand.
I shrugged, feigning nonchalance.
“It seems we’ve reached a draw.”
It was true that I had managed to remove her necklace first.
But there was no need to point that out.
“Ugh…”
She groaned in frustration, then nodded curtly.
“Very well. A draw it is.”
“What shall we do about the wager?” I asked, my tone casual.
Tia fell into deep contemplation. She seemed to be struggling with the decision, her expression more conflicted than it had been during her strategy meeting with her spirits.
It seemed she was reluctant to part with her business card, yet even more reluctant to forfeit the prize I had promised.
“An exchange of gifts, perhaps?” she finally said.
I couldn’t have asked for a better outcome.
“Excellent.”
I extended my hand, but she hesitated, glancing around before offering me a polite smile.
“I’ll contact you later. We seem to have attracted quite an audience.”
And then I remembered. She hated unnecessary physical contact.
There were countless stories about people who had tried, and failed, to shake her hand.
It was still a bit embarrassing.
I rubbed the back of my neck, awkwardly retracting my hand.
As she turned to leave, the ice melted away, returning the ground to its original state.
Murmurs rippled through the crowd of students, their interest piqued by the unusual game.
“Did you see that? That looked like fun!”
“Her control over those spirits is impressive, especially for a first-year student…”
“A draw against Tia Erze… That guy’s good.”
Even Arthur and Reus had stopped their spar to watch us.
“Hey, Reus, want to try that?” Arthur asked, his eyes shining with excitement.
“Absolutely not. I refuse to waste my time on such childish games.”
Reus’s tone was dismissive, but his gaze lingered on Tia and me.
If Arthur persisted, he would probably give in eventually.
Arthur, sensing his disinterest, chuckled awkwardly.
The bell rang, signaling the end of the sparring session.
“Ethan! What was that game you were playing?”
Anya, her eyes wide with curiosity, approached me.
“Oh, that? It’s called the ‘Necklace Snatch.’”
“Whoa, it looked fun!”
“It is.”
“Can I see the necklace?”
I handed her the cheap leather necklace.
Anya seemed fascinated by the magnetic clasp.
“So, you wear these and try to steal each other’s, right?”
“That’s right. Five minutes, any means necessary. Unless you’re just using telekinesis to snatch the necklace, almost anything goes.”
Anya, Arthur, and I decided to have dinner together.
I glanced around the training grounds.
Sepia was chatting with a group of noble ladies, her laughter forced and her smile strained.
She caught my eye and quickly turned away.
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Back in my dorm room, I changed out of my academy uniform and into my leather armor.
I had to be at the northern forest by seven o’clock for my training session with Sylvia.
Sylvia didn’t seem to care about rumors or gossip, but I preferred to avoid attracting unnecessary attention.
I gathered my wooden sword and my real sword, preparing to leave.
A raven landed on the windowsill.
It tilted its head, studying me with intelligent eyes, then tapped on the window with its beak.
I opened the window, and the raven hopped onto my outstretched hand, dropping a small card into my palm.
Tia’s business card.
Her name and contact information were printed on it in elegant script.
“Thanks.”
“Thanks! Thanks!”
The raven mimicked my words, then took flight.
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Tia Erze suppressed a smile, her heart racing.
She usually disliked physical exertion, but today, she felt strangely invigorated.
She stepped out of the shower, her body warm and relaxed. She settled onto the sofa, a wave of contentment washing over her.
“Hmm, that was actually quite fun.”
She closed her eyes, replaying the spar in her mind. If they played again, she was confident she could win.
To think he had grabbed her wrist like that.
She, who despised physical contact, had initiated it.
The raven tapped on her window with its beak.
She opened the window, and it hopped onto her wrist.
“Did you deliver it?”
“Delivered it! Delivered it!”
“Good job.”
Tia stroked the raven’s head. It nuzzled her hand, then flew to its cage.
“Now that I’ve given him my business card, he should contact me soon,” she thought.
She picked up her communication crystal from the bed, glancing at the blank screen. No messages. She placed it on her desk and tried to distract herself with a book.
But her thoughts kept drifting back to the spar, to Ethan.
She checked her crystal again. Still nothing.
“He must be busy,” she murmured, trying to convince herself.
There were messages from other men, of course.
Men who were interested in her wealth and status, who believed that winning her heart would grant them access to her family’s fortune.
She had no desire to read their messages. She switched off her crystal, tossing it onto her bed.
“He has my business card. It’s only polite to send a message, even if it’s just a brief greeting,” she thought, her frustration growing.
She wanted to reach out, to initiate contact. But her pride held her back.
“I’m simply… curious about the book. That’s all.”
She picked up her crystal again, then set it back down.
Her heart wouldn’t stop racing.
“I don’t know, there’s just… something…”
“Something! Something…”
The raven in its cage mimicked her words.
“Be quiet,” she snapped.
The raven closed its beak, its head cocked to the side.
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The next day passed without a word from Ethan.
In class, he was laughing and chatting with Arthur and Anya.
And then another day passed.
Tia, unable to bear the silence any longer, pulled her hood over her head and left the academy.
She walked briskly through the streets of Eastvan, glancing over her shoulder every few steps as if she were committing a crime.
She found a bookstore tucked away on a quiet side street.
There it is. The Hero’s Secret.
The entire series was neatly arranged on a shelf in the back corner.
Tia picked up a random book, pretending to browse. It was a thick, academic tome on a topic she had no interest in.
Should I just buy it? No one will recognize me.
She was wearing a hood and a mask. Her disguise was perfect.
She walked towards the back corner, pretending to search for a specific book.
But it feels wrong to buy it myself…
She hesitated, her hand hovering over the book.
And then her hand brushed against another hand.
Startled, she quickly withdrew her hand.
But it was too late. She had already made eye contact with the other person.
And it was none other than Ethan.
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The game Ethan ‘invented’ is going to gain a lot of traction…