On the next day, I decided to finally visit Master after my classes.

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*Ring-ring*

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The sound of bells ringing when somebody enters the library will probably be engraved into my mind.

“Welcome!.. Ah, it’s you Mixen? What took you so long?”

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It seems that he doesn’t really care that I didn’t make any contact with him for so long.

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Does he not care at all?

“...Goodday to you too Master…”

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“Why are you gloomy…? Don’t tell me you somehow failed the Exam? Or maybe… Are you getting bullied? No, with your strength who would bully you? Ah! Maybe…”

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Here he goes again. Speculates…

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I’m glad that Master is still the same…

“You are wrong as always Master Theo. I was just having a hard time adjusting to a school-like setting.”

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“...Really? That’s bori~ing… Anyway, do you want to continue our training? We stopped at mastering third circle spells and learning more about fourth circled spells. So…”

“Before that… I have a few things I wanted to ask you.”

“What is it?”

Finally, I was really curious all this time after all.

“Master! I once saw our teacher bend his magic after it was already cast! How is that possible!?”

“That? How far have you gotten with your five circled spells book?”

“Not far, as we started our training soon after. Why?”

“This is something explained in that book. Because it only becomes noticeable when you draw the fifth circle… Say Mixen, what difference there is between first, second and third circles?”

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“...One has more circles than the other?”

*Thump*

“That’s obvious! Tell me something I didn’t write in a book! Something you noticed yourself!”

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…Myself?

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Well…

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As I have very little mana, I tried experimenting with what amount of mana you need to cast each spell… I also try not to fill circles to the fullest, but the effect is much weaker then. Usually, magicians just cast a spell and don’t care afterwards, but I… I looked at it closely. With my Sixth Sense, I can see mana going into specific places on the body, and when more circles appear it moves faster… Wait can’t I use that when I fight? If I learn some spells for each element, I can vaguely tell what they will cast even before they do so.

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… I will have a lot more work in the future.

“So? Nothing at all?”

“Ah, there is… I noticed how the speed at which mana fills circles  differs depending on the number of circles.”

“That’s not it… Wait. Really? I never noticed!.. I need to do some experiments later… Nothing else?”

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I can’t think of anything.

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Am I not as talented as I thought?

“Well, that’s fine, nobody could notice it before actually casting a fifth circled spell at least once. I am no exception… And you are yet to cast a fourth circled one…”

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I can’t let myself get discouraged just because of a small disappointment!

“So what is it!?”

“It’s time that takes for circles to disappear after casting a spell. It grows as the circles progress.”

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How would that help with changing the effect of the spell after it was used?

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Wait…

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Can I…

“...No way…”

“Hm? Did you think of something?”

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Just a hunch. But saying it won’t hurt.

“Can we make the time at which the circles disappear longer forcefully?”

“...Yes, and then?”

“We bend the shape of the circles while the spell is still active!”

“Yes! Great! As expected from my disciple! With some advice, you figured something mages did only after several hundred years! You’re amazing!”

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Being praised always feels good…

“Ah… But won’t mana explosion happen if we bend it wrongly?”

“No. It will happen only if you bend it too much. But you don’t need to bend it much to see the results.”

“Then why don’t they teach us it before getting to the fifth circle?”

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“Say. Why do you think people who are born with a high capacity of mana don’t just learn fifth circled spells from the get-go?”

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That’s… A good question… Why don’t they? Hmm… But, really, why not? I don’t see a reason not to do it. After all, to cast a spell you just need to know the place and shapes for circles… Also, a bit of focus to hold the previous circle from changing. But it’s not that hard.

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“Now that you said it… Why don’t they do that?”

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“*Si~gh* Being genius sometimes is doing you more bad than good… Did you ever have problems casting a third circled spell?”

“...No? I just learned it and did it… Although the speed at which I do it is not yet perfect for a fight…”

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“Are you serious? Not yet perfect? You take less than a second for a third circled spell!”

“But that second can be detrimental in a fight! I need to make it so I cast it instantly cast it! As I do with second circle spells!”

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Why are you facepalming? All I said is true!

“My god… Do you know the average time of casting a third circled spell for even professionals? It’s a second! One! Second! You are already better than most Master Battlemages! Even I take half a second, and you want it to be instant!?”

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It’s easy for me though?

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Am I that talented?

“*Sigh* Anyway, the answer was concentration. You need a lot of it to hold every circle in the right shape before casting a spell. And doing it in a fight is even harder. You will understand once you try to fight using magic.”

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Concentration… That explains a lot… After all, I had spent years of training concentration almost non-stop.

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And I don’t have any problems casting a spell in a fight… But I shouldn’t tell that… Master will be worried.

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Or should I? 

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…I made an oath after all.

“I don’t have any trouble casting a spell in an actual fight though?”

“Even if you found a sparring partner, it isn’t the same when you fight in a real fight.”

“Even monsters don’t count?”

“You fought monsters!? Why would you do something so reckless! You may have the skills, but you don’t have nearly enough mana to do that! What would you think would happen if you didn’t kill it in one shot?!”

He grabbed my shoulders when he was yelling.

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It hurts a bit… Master has strong muscles for a mage…

“...Master. I didn’t fight with the magic only. I also have considerable skill with a sword.”

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He let me go

“Ah, I see.”

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Didn’t he accept that too quickly?

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He suddenly started chuckling.

“Ha. So what? Does that make you a… Magic Swordsman? Ahahaha.”

That’s rude, you know?

“What’s so funny about being a Magic Swordsman?”

“Don’t you know what they say among adventurers? That that Class is the weakest!”

“Isn’t that just baseless rumours?”

“Baseless? There are only a few Grandmasters of that Class and a dozen of Masters! There is not even one Titled! Isn’t that enough proof?”

“Actually, there is one Titled! He appeared recently!”

 “... Really? How do you even know that?”

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I can lie about that right?

“I… heard it in a pub…”

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“... I see… Do you know his name?”

“No, but his title is Fire Sword… Or something similar.”

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“Fire Sword… you say…”

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Why is Master pondering so much?

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Does he know him?

“Sounds kind of lame.”

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It is, isn’t it?

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We strayed off course.

“Master… Can I try and bend some spells?”

“You can try. I think you got the gist of it. But don’t be disappointed if you fail. We’ll learn it in more detail once you get to the fifth circle.”

I nodded and cast a simple spell that creates a weak wind current.

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It’s not that hard? 

I’m not sure if something changed, but I definitely bent the circle.

“Amazing. Simply amazing. I don’t think I heard anyone ever bend a spell before becoming a Master.”
“How can you tell that I just did it?”

“I can perfectly see circles that you create with my Eyes.”

Wow! I can’t do that with Sixth Sense!

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Perhaps…

“Master… Do you use that in combat?”

“My Eyes? No, not really. Why?”

“... Can’t you use it to see what kind of spell your opponent is going to cast with it?”

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“... I could… But it’s impossible to know every spell for every element, so why would I even try?”

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Is it impossible?

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It’s just some places and a number of circles. You don’t need to even learn their shapes, as the place will vaguely tell what kind of spell it’ll be.

“But I think it’s possible though?”

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“Don’t tell me that you want to use your Sixth Sense for that?”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Can you even see circles with that?”

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“... Vaguelly?”

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“Then… Tell me what spell I’m about to use.”

I used my Sixth Sense and looked closely.

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Mana started quickly going to Master’s legs…

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Oh! I can actually see mana swirling in shapes!

This is so much easier!

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Is this…

“Levitation!”

As I yelled that Master Theo took his feet off the ground and started floating.

“This… Is unexpected… I deliberately was slow when casting it… But still… If you will practise… It will be a great tool to use in battle. If only I thought of that myself… My eyes would have so much more use…”

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Oh, right!

“Master! I almost forgot! I wanted to ask you more about your Eyes!”

“My Eyes? Why?”

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“Ummm… My friend… Might have a similar… situation…”

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“Friend huh? And what? He has similar Eyes?”

“No, that’s not what I meant. He might’ve gotten a power from his mother, but can’t awaken it.”

“I understand… Then listen. Those things don’t have an official name. But I call them 

Ancestral Gift. You can only get in from your parent at birth. But the way to gain such power in the first place is not certain. For example, my Miller family had a great mage as its ancestor, he enhanced his eyes so that they could see mana. Although the method is uncertain somehow it awakened in my grand-grandfather, who was a son of that mage. As for the method of awakening… I can’t help you with that. It’s unique to every Gift.”

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Gift… Could it be!?

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Is Loki’s Gift the power that my mother had?!

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No… Some point in Valeria’s story wouldn’t make sense.

If my mother had Loki’s Gift, she could’ve dealt with most of the situations much easier.

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“Still, Thank you, Master. Let’s resume our training.”

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Today is the day of my first fight with a human.

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…On the Arena. I did spar with Lance after all.

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This probably can’t be called a spar, but we can’t kill each other so not a real fight either…

Maybe a Match? Like in the Tournaments?

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Who cares.

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I wasn’t told who my opponent would be… But I found out with my own means.

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He is a C-ranked Fighter who had only a few matches before, so he too can be considered a newbie. He doesn’t wear a mask so I also investigated who he is… His background is not surprising. He’s a thug with some skill. Worked as something akin to a mercenary before.

He fights barehanded, so I have no idea how he won against a sword… But I guess we’ll have to find out.

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“Ladies and Gentlemen! I hope you are ready for the fight between two promising talents! On one side we have Jack! At such a young age he fought with monsters 20 times in a span of 2 days! Impressive! But, how will he handle a proper fight with a human?”

The announcer is good at making the crowd excited.

“On the other side is Hugo! He climbed to the C rank in 1 day! After that, he won 3 consecutive matches! Will he continue his winning spree or finally lose? We’ll have to wait and see!”

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It started. 

Hugo doesn’t seem to be worried, he stands there waiting for my move.

“Scared kiddo? Don’t worry we all lose sometimes… Except for me.”

Speaking as if I already lost.

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But I won’t answer that shallow provocation.

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“Can’t even move huh?.. Then I’ll do it myself!”

He started moving at an insane speed, I barely managed to block his punch. 

Gerda’s Style is perfect for this kind of situation.

I quickly made a counterattack, there is no way he can parry it from his position and blocking won’t make sense, he may dodge, but then I’ll have an upper hand thereafter.

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*Clang*

…He blocked it?

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Ah…

He wears some kind of gloves that can’t be cut with a normal sword. 

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Why did I not find this information sooner?

“Do you like my new babies? They were quite expensive.”

Here is my answer.

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I need to find an opening.

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We dealt blows to each other, but neither of us could properly land it. This will continue for too long, and I may lose because of stamina.

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I have a plan.

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I deliberately tried an attack that he could block.

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*Clang*

Now… Cast a spell that he won’t handle from this distance.

Wind Bomb!

*Boom!*

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I got hit too… 

It was too close to me so I flew a few meters away.

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There is a cloud of smoke in the arena, so I can’t see him.

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Did I win?

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“*Cough* Not bad kid! But that won’t be enough!”

The dust settled, and I could see him standing there.

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How can he be so sturdy?

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I got hit by the impact of the spell, and I’m almost out of mana. So my body is in pain, and I have a severe headache because of mana exhaustion.

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I need to stand up.

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Or I’ll lose.

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Even holding my sword is almost impossible.

“Ready for round 2 Jack?”

He leapt at me.

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I lost.

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Can I ever succeed if my first fight was a failure?

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How long it will take me to get enough money for my goals?

“Jack, you did well! Here is your share.”

AL came to me with a gold coin in his hand.

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But I lost though?

“...Do you get paid even if you lose?”

“Of course! Although Hugo over there probably got ten times as much.”

That’s… Good.

“No need to be discouraged. Even if Hugo is a bit of a douche, he did say the truth. We all lose sometimes. Besides, you won’t get better if you’ll never lose.”

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Better…

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Yes, that’s right. I need to become better… 

The reason why I started fighting in the arena is not only to get money but experience too.

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This is only the begging.

“...Thanks AL”

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AL… I’ve known him for a long time. We have professional relations, but I still consider him my friend. I’m sure he does too… Although employer should treat all of his employees equally… 

He never told me his real name, while saying something like ”To start a new life I forgot my old name.”. But that is not the real reason. His real name is Alexander Lavender. And his original hair colour was purple, but he dyed it black. He didn’t choose to start a new life… He was forced to. Expelled from his own family at the age of 16, he lived on the streets. He did a lot of illegal stuff: smuggling, stealing… killing... But who am I to judge? After some time he gained connections and somehow grew to a position of a manager in the newly opened Arena. As for the reason he was expelled… He was weak. Lavender family does not hold a high position in society, but they are still very strict with their children. AL didn’t meet their requirements, so they simply abandoned him. Nor his father nor his mother and nor any of his siblings were willing to help him… But he never held a grudge… I couldn’t understand that part of him… Even though he did so much… It didn’t corrupt him. He is too kind for his sphere of work. He isn’t fit for this…

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Although his results say otherwise…

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Some time passed. I had more fights after that. Some I lost, and some I won. I had quite a lot of money for a commoner, but it was still just spare cash for nobles. I need to become a B-ranked fighter to earn enough money for an artefact. 

My training went well, I think I even started feeling something when I train my Stealth Technique. I already mastered Gerda’s Swordsmanship and even her last move, but I can’t seem to advance much with Ferocious Bear Style… It just doesn’t fit me. Master and I are mastering third circled magic, I also practise with controlling spells. 

On weekends I play a role of a tutor for Naty. Although I just give her some pointers here and there based on my own experience. She says it helps, but I think she is exaggerating. Recently she asked me to finally show her around the city. I agreed and did it. After a pleasant walk, I asked her if she’d want to go into a restaurant. She was happy at first, but then suddenly frowned and said that she doesn’t have a proper dress for that kind of place… Do you really need it? It’s a restaurant for nobles so I guess she’s right… Then I got an idea. 

I led Naty into a clothing shop and…

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*Ring-ring*

“Welcome! Ah… Kids do you know what shop this is? We don’t sell…”

*Thump*

I placed a bag full of gold coins on the table.

“I want a dress for her and a suit for me. Do it quick.”

“Yes-yes, Young Lady please come with me.”

“M-Mixen, what does this mean?”

“Didn’t you say you needed a dress?”

“I-I did, but you can’t spend so much money to go into a restaurant!”

“I don’t have any use for that money anyway.”

I do, but that is too little for me to buy something good.

“T-That’s not true! There is always use for money”

Lady that took the bag with money is trying very hard to move Naty to the room nearby.

“Miss, please, declining a gift can be taken as an insult… And I’m sure your boyfriend would want to see you in a nice dress, right?”

“B-B-Boyfriend?”

After that, she stopped resisting and the tailor took her away.

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Boyfriend huh? I guess it may seem that way… But we are just close friends. It is too soon for children our age to start a serious relationship.

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Soon Naty came out in a yellow dress.

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She is looking at me with a look that says ”How is it?”

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It is indeed very cute.

I gave her a thumbs up

“Very good.”

She became even redder and smiled.

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I too got a suit and we went to that restaurant. Naty was smiling the entire time we were there. It was her first time in an expensive restaurant after all. It was very tasty, but… I think Father’s dishes are better… I miss them… and Father too.

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After we left, Naty asked me where did I get so much money. I couldn’t say her the truth so I said that Father was the one who gave it to me. She then pinched me and called me an idiot… Still don’t understand what was that for.

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Everything is going well at the University. We recently had a test that was… Unusually hard. I still answered every question, but everyone else said that the test was a breeze… Is it because I don’t pay enough attention on lectures?

Today is the first day of practical classes. On them, we have duels to test our battle capabilities. We are given special protection artefacts before the duel, they can stop even a fifth circled spell. But there are only two of such artefacts for one class, so not everyone gets to fight at every lesson. Duel is not a regular fight. The University doesn’t allow even the slightest of injuries. So the way they actually do it is with a rule of 3 hits. If the teacher sees you got hit three times, you’re out. I was excited to start duelling… Before I saw the first match… The duels… Even for me, they look like a child’s play. The real fight is not even remotely close to that! I won’t get any experience even if I participate… Why do I even attend classes? Isn’t it useless? Should I drop out of the University? No… Father and Naty would be disappointed… I need to think positively. What this University can give me… Ah, I know! You can get an artefact if you win the Magical Tournament! Any student can participate… Yeah… Any… If even those from higher years can, how can I win without standing out? That’s a flop… Hmm… There is one thing that may be helpful… After graduation, you can apply for further education. there you get taught by Grandmaster Mage on various topics. Probably control of spells starts from there too. Most who complete those courses become Masters, some even GrandMasters. But is said to be very hard… Isn’t Valeria one of the teachers there? Can I ask her to let me attend her classes?.. That would be too bold… Is there a way for me to graduate without getting attention? I think… There was something… Yeah, If I remember correctly you can become a scholar and get a graduation certificate if one of the teachers vouches for you and you pass a special test… Can you even apply for further education if you graduate in that way?

“That will be all for today.”

It seems that I won’t be duelling today.

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I’m glad actually.

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Time passes quickly. Soon, the semester will be ending, so exams are coming. And… I am a bit scared… A few days ago we had a small weekly test that teacher Henry does, well, every week. I think it was too hard. Before this test, I was sure about every answer, but that day I wasn’t... Come to think of it… Maybe teacher Henry is bullying me in that way? He probably noticed that I sleep on his every lecture, so he decided to teach me a lesson? But why can’t he just tell me it in the face? Valeria’s influence? If it goes like this, I might get an impossible test on my sheet at the end of the semester! I’ll talk to him at the end of the classes today…

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“That will be all”

Students started packing their stuff to go home.

I wanted to go to the teacher when… someone entered.

It was a girl around 15~16 and she had a white uniform.

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Isn’t that… Agness Windborn?

She is the current Duke’s daughter and like her last name suggests every member of her family is born with a Wind affinity.

“Teacher Henry, am I intruding?”

“No, as you can see classes just ended.”

“Than can I make an announcement?”

“Go ahead.”

Most students already heard their conversation and sat back in their seats. 

“Dear students. My family is currently searching for a prominent person with a Wind affinity. We will offer you many benefits if you meet our requirements. So be free to send your resumes to my family’s mail… Oh, and don’t forget to include your photo. We will reach out to you if necessary.”

Does that even make any sense? What is the point? And photo’s are a bit expensive for commoners don’t they know that? 

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Wait… Maybe…

I quickly look to my left.

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Yeah, for sure.

Our not-so fake protagonist is gone, and the window is open.

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He forgot his bag again.

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It’s quite surprising that Agness almost got the person she was looking for.

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A few days ago something strange happened. I knew already that local bandits and thugs were disappearing, some vigilante with a mask was taking care of them. And when I say taking care, I mean kill. As it were bad people who suffered I didn’t care. But recently, a newly appointed Duke’s daughter was kidnapped. It wasn’t known to the public, but I knew. I was even thinking of quietly helping her… If somebody didn’t get there first. I figured that it was that same vigilante… I didn’t expect him to be so short… Is he a dwarf or… a child? 

He used a sword skillfully, as a matter of fact, too skillfully… He fought against a Master Swordsman and won. He killed only those who had higher ranks among bandits. Agness saw all of that but didn’t mind killings at all. She even had a smile when it was finished. She asked the boy his name. He said “You don’t need to know that” and left… Some may think he was acting cool… But I think he is a fool. There is one thing that he did wrong. His mask… is a regular one! Not only that, but he didn’t even have a hood! That means that Agness knows: his height, heir colour and even his voice! So she can find him easily… If she tries. I wasn’t sure who he was and only thought that he seems familiar. So I followed him, and low and behold! It’s our strongest protagonist wannabe — Leon!.. Honestly, calling him a wannabe might be wrong at this point… His strength is formidable, and not only is he good with his sword but there is also no saying he isn’t hiding his skill in magic. I decided to investigate him by buying information. Even information that is exclusive to VIP’s is basically nothing. That means he hid it well. I decided to follow him from time to time. But haven’t found anything yet. Yesterday he trained a lot. And that’s all I saw.

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Agness really picked the worst way of finding Leon.

“Mixen, are you sleeping again? I”m about to close the class.”

Oops, spent too much time thinking.

“Teacher, I actually had a question…”

“What is it?”

Grumpy as ever.

“Does everyone get the same tests as I do?”

“No”

Not beating around the bush huh?

“Why?”

“Regular tests would be too easy for you.”

“That means I should get a good mark and not a harder test though?”

“In normal circumstances yes. But… what mark do you think you will get if you fight in a Duel?”

I will easily win?

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Ah… But from his point of view… I have only D-ranked capacity and can barely cast a first circled spell…

One of the exams is actually Duels. You need to win at least once to get a mark.

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He thinks I will not win even one…

“I think you get it. That’s why I started giving you harder tests. So that the University will have a reason to not expel you.”

Was he actually favouring me?

“...I understand. But what about exams that are coming? Will they be harder too?”

“... Actually… I’m not sure what to do. You already passed the exam that third-year students get…”

I did?

Then why am I even attending classes?

“Umm… Teacher. Does that mean that I already know everything you teach us in class?”

“At least until the third year. Yes.”

“Then… Can I not attend classes? I would need some more free time…”

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“Do you… Have a part-time job?”

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Why would he think so?

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I feel a bit bad lying to him…

But what can I do,

“...You could say so.”

“I see… Let’s do this. I will give you a very hard version of the exam. And if you do well. I will try and ask the Director to give you free attendance and exempt you from Duels.”

“Yes! Thank you!”

“Don’t thank me before you actually pass the exam.”

“I will thank you after it too!”

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It's my first time seeing him smile.

“*Cough* It’s fine. You can leave to prepare for it.”

“Yes! Goodbye teacher Henry!”

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It’s time to begin my career as a fighter in earnest!