For Sale. Fallen Lady. Never Used.

The Phoenix, engulfed in flames, charged forward rapidly.

From its fiercely flapping wings, a stifling hot wind and burning feathers were shot towards the ground.

“Run!”

“Such magic… I’ve never heard of it!”

“Is it really necessary to go this far in a duel?!”

Of course!

It’s one of the few chances I get to trouble Iona on my side; how could I hold back?!

I’ll smash through with full force!

Has my determination reached them? The frightened Knight Department students began to scatter in all directions.

“You guys! Where are you going? It’s more dangerous to scatter!”

Alberto urgently tried to stop those breaking ranks, but it was ineffective against those already overwhelmed.

Incidentally, the first to flee was Vincent, whom I had previously gone through a practice dungeon with. It seemed he hadn’t fixed his cowardly attributes yet.

Chuckling inwardly, I sent the Fire Phoenix toward the Magic Department.

“Where did this strange magic come from…?”

“It’s not a real phoenix, right?”

“Is that important right now?! Quickly use a protective spell!”

They threw themselves into the fray, some even spewing fire from their mouths to disrupt the rear.

The Magic Department students gritted their teeth and countered with spells like Ice Wall or Water Dome to minimize damage.

Good. They’re doing well. It would be bothersome if unnecessary checks or support came in, so they’d need to keep this up for a while.

I smiled contentedly and stomped toward the scattered Knight Department students.

My target was a student wielding a spear, not particularly for any reason other than that he was closest.

“Ha!”

I didn’t have the luxury to use Blood Force. Maybe later, I could stack multiple Fire Phoenixes or freely use other spells, but not now.

Would even a basic spell be too much to squeeze out? Basic magic should be doable, though.

It felt like my head would explode, controlling something that moved as if it were alive.

But my current physical specs were comparable to the Knight Department’s 3rd or 4th years. I should be able to handle a 1st year enhanced with aura.

The spearman was visibly startled by my speed, widening his eyes as he hastily adopted a defensive stance.

He naturally dodged the trajectory of my staff by stepping half a step back with his left foot. Seizing the moment my posture broke, he lifted his spear.

Whoom!

Return to Heaven. A common skill in the polearm weapon category, where the weapon is spun around behind and used to strike close-range enemies from below.

Of course, I knew the technique. I pressed a dagger near his solar plexus.

Click.

The blade scraped off the wooden spear shaft with a loud twang.

Hmm. This is doable, after all.

But one thing that bothered me was why he used Return to Heaven?

Return to Heaven is good for immediate use but exposes vulnerabilities if blocked or missed.

It’s a quick-start skill with almost no lead-in, but thinking of it as having some after-delay might be helpful.

Normally, it’s not used for defense but for offense, to block an opponent’s counterattack…

Ah, if I say this, will it spoil the mood?

No, my image is already ruined. Iona openly set up a raid, so rumors must have spread.

At least it’s not the same malicious content as in the first semester.

But if I can’t avoid it, I might as well enjoy it. Might as well give some pointers while I’m at it, right?

He didn’t expect to be blocked, his eyes widening as I grinned at him.

“That’s not how you use a spear.”

“What…?”

Thinking he was being mocked, his face turned bright red, and he swung his spear violently.

From the blocked Return to Heaven followed Demon Strike, Triple Slash, and Sky Piercer.

Each move was aimed at creating distance: a wide horizontal swing, a series of three consecutive thrusts targeting vital points, and a direct thrust to the center.

I understood his intention. He wanted to create space, break the stance, and finish it for sure. But…

“Too straightforward.”

Even if adhering to the basic principle of using distance for one-sided attacks, being too straightforward made it hard to play along.

I easily dodged or parried the spear following the same trajectory as my memory and briefly stored the dagger in my inventory.

Instead, I held the staff with both hands, as if wielding a short spear.

Seeing my stance, the opponent’s expression turned curious. Probably because the posture looked quite plausible.

While I’d grown a bit, my weapon skill had now reached a C+ rank.

At this level, it was like someone of average talent had been training in a conventional way for about ten years.

Of course, it was less than the student in front of me who had superior talent and extensive support in spear arts… But it was only a step or two difference. I could sufficiently cover that.

“Uh!”

I took a deep breath and struck swiftly with the staff.

The executed Sky Piercer was naturally blocked. After all, it was just an ordinary weapon skill (C+).

But the following attacks would be a bit different.

Chang! Cha-chang!

Collision sounds followed in succession. The spearman looked at my staff with a puzzled expression.

“…What was that just now?”

“Fake and relentless striking.”

To put it more simply, it was a technique that minimized damage loss by actively using skills that skip after delays.

Sadly, frame canceling, as in video games, wasn’t possible in this world, but this worked.

It might be hard to use in boss fights with lots of movement, but it was quite useful in mob fights or for burst damage.

Well… even though I receive system adjustments for weapon skills, without professional traits, it’s just an imitation, not powerful enough.

The same goes for the dagger. I’m better with it than other weapons due to experience, but it’s still no better than a low-level spell.

After that, I crossed weapons with the spearman several more times.

Despite the fundamental skill difference, he could have parried my staff anytime he wanted, but he seemed enchanted, focusing on syncing up with me.

It seemed like he was trying to learn anything he could from me. Quite the exemplary attitude for a newbie.

I would have liked to show this impressive newbie a few more combos, but unfortunately, Alberto had regained his senses and was charging at me with other students.

It’s time to end this.

Thud!

His poorly imitated Demon Strike was blocked midway. Unlike before, this was a plain attack with no feints or follow-ups.

While the spearman blinked in confusion.

“Shock!”

An image I conjured from a quiet corner turned into a pale flash, paralyzing him.

“Wh-why…?”

“Did you forget? I’m originally a magician.”

Sure enough, even if I wasn’t adept at low-level magic, I could use basic magic without any problems. This should be enough.

Internally nodding, I struck down on the top of his head, who looked at me with a sense of betrayal.

“Sleep!”

Clang!

Knocked out by my Sleep (Physical), he lost consciousness just as Iona magically retrieved him from afar.

Good. Now, let’s move on to the next.

While maintaining a composed expression, Alberto aimed his sword at me, and I countered his fierce attack with a short-held staff, laughing.

“That’s not how you’re supposed to use a sword!”

---

“Master seems to be having fun.”

“Of course, he’s been fighting mostly stronger opponents until now, hasn’t he? To be able to let loose like this… I’d be excited, too.”

Carla murmured absentmindedly while Elisha, twirling her rolled-up hair casually, responded dryly.

Their attitudes differed, but their focus was the same.

The dueling arena. They were watching Yandel, who was simultaneously taking on several students from the Knight Department.

Yandel not only easily blocked the opponent’s attacks as if he could see them coming but also mimicked their weapon use while adding, ‘That’s not how you do it.’

It was an annoying sight, but perhaps Carla saw it differently. Her lips had been foolishly grinning for a while now.

“Wow. The Master is truly amazing. How can he handle so many weapons? He’s not just good at magic, huh?”

“Well, from what I see, he just knows how to handle them, not necessarily better than the Knight Department… Those unpredictable movements are certainly impressive, though.”

Another one. After being toyed with by Yandel, a student came dragging along with a disheartened expression due to Iona’s magic.

That’s already five from the Knight Department down. Even the Magic Department, where the Fire Phoenix was wreaking havoc, had two dropouts.

Meanwhile, Yandel’s initially cast shield hadn’t even fully shattered yet.

It seemed like the Knight Department aimed to wear him down through attrition…

Thanks to the blessing of the Sun God, his stamina was regenerating faster than it was depleting, and his mana was far from running out.

“Poor things. They haven’t realized it yet.”

“More like they’ve been fooled. Yandel is deliberately pretending to tire, controlling the game. He always lacks common sense in strange ways but is clever in this.”

“…This must be that, right?”

“Yes. Something they’ve thoroughly ingrained in themselves since childhood, so they can fight in any situation.”

The mood became a bit more somber. A touch of sympathy glinted in Carla and Elisha’s eyes.

Meanwhile, as misunderstandings deepened today as well, a small commotion broke out among the professors.

“Professor Iona! Just now! Was that what you taught? The defense seems a bit lacking, but the sudden burst of power—it seems incomparable to anything before…”

“Ah! Call me professor! Respect for your high mentor! And I taught him just how to fight. And all I taught him was how to fight. I didn’t teach any of that weaponry stuff.”

“Still pulling that card, are we? Had I known he had such talent, I would have taught him myself.”

Jason sighed heavily, looking regretful.

Back when Yandel came to Jason to learn close combat techniques, Jason sent him away, saying Iona would teach him better. Now, he regretted that decision.

At Jason’s blatant expression of regret, Iona laughed and shook her head.

“Why, why? Jealous? I’m not giving him up. Yandel is mine! Ehehehe~”

“What nonsense… Anyway, it would be a lie to say I’m not envious. But you said he has more talent in magic than martial arts?”

“Right, right. Yandel could have excelled with a sword too, but not with such speed.”

Yandel, buoyed by the situation, said things like, ‘I’ve realized your level. It’s so boring I could die.’ to his stumbling opponents.

Iona licked her lips at Yandel’s embarrassing or perhaps impressive display.

“If things go as they are, Yandel will easily win… Let’s see. What kind of reward should I give?”

Jason’s eyelid twitched at this.

There’s something going on here…!

He knew Iona and Yandel were officially partners. He also knew their relationship seemed unusual.

But… is this really okay?

A professor and a student? 372 years old and 20 years old? Really? Is that okay?

“…”

Of course, Jason didn’t have the courage to say any of this out loud. No matter what, Iona was practically the second most powerful figure at the academy.

He didn’t want to lose his job. Especially since his wife was pregnant with their third child.

‘Ah, I want to go home and see my wife.’

Jason wiped his wedding ring, frowning.

The ring sparkled, just like the top of his head.

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