A/N: My boy finally has an illustration, but it's taken from the internet cause the AI generator's being a bitch - I'll take it down if its copyrighted and the owner wants me to take it down lol

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[3rd Person POV]

Sofia's eyebrows slightly furrowed as she watched the young boy walk away with an irritated look on his face.

To be honest though, he kinda always had an irritated face, but this time it was extremely noticeable.

"...What's his problem?"

Biting her lips slightly, she travelled back to her dorm, as she passed by other students glancing at her with star-shaped eyes. 

However, due to her deep concentration, she did not notice the admiration pointed towards her.

Images of a young but scary looking boy passed through her mind. 

It was during sunset. The orange dusky light dimmed itself against the boy. 

His jet black messy hair flew in the air as he rotated his foot on the ground. A sharp jawline, with deep muddy eyes, as if it would swallow you whole if you stared at it for too long. Unsettling eyes each time he activated his magic, turning blood red, before returning back to a dull black. 

His rusty dagger gleaming in hot crimson, as it sliced through multiple wooden dummies, its shavings flying off with each cut.

The sweat that stuck his shirt to his back, falling down profusely as he quietly swung. No disturbances or breaks as he swung over and over again. 

The blood that trickled down his hands, as he winced in pain, his arm shaking with each cut.

Yet, he still swung. 

No matter if it gave results or not, he pushed his efforts to the absolute limits.

Whether his hand broke, or his body broke, or his mind broke, he would still swing.

And when his body would reach the limit, he would continue to abuse his body past that limit.

Over. 

And over.

And over again.

"You do not know what it is like to be me."

Snapping out of her daze, she found herself in front of her dorm door. 

Closing the door behind her, she plopped headfirst onto her comfortable bed. 

"..."

To Sofia, she was the one who had watched "him" the longest.

Was it out of interest?

Curiosity? 

Admiration?

Whatever it was, the wide back of the boy would always draw the eyes of Sofia towards them.

"How can he keep going?"

"What is driving him this hard?"

"Why strives him to push him past his limits?"

Questions flew through her mind.

"Why did he switch to a gun?"

To Sofia, guns were pointless.

What was the point of achieving master class with guns, if it would prove useless in the end on the battlefield?

There was no future with the [Gun].

That was Sofia's predjudice.

Her sapphire eyes gleamed as she snuggled her head up the pillow.

No matter what, I'm going to change "his" mind. 

That there is nothing good about using a gun.

That he should switch back to his dagger.

That, his fate was with the dagger, and not a pathetic gun.

After all, the arrogance of an A-rank teenage girl was not meant to messed around with.

She believed that the dagger should be his weapon.

And now she was forcing that belief onto him.

Unbeknownst to herself, she believed she was doing the right thing.

But there was no one around her to tell her that she was doing something immoral.

And so she made a plan.

A plan that would thwart the future plans of the young boy.

And it would come to interrupt his relatively solitude life, unbeknownst to the young boy himself.

If he was here, he would immediately curse to himself and stop the girl from making "bad" decisions.

But, he was not here.

So the future was set in motion, with the boy unable to stop it.

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[Sa Dae-hyun's POV]

"I challenge you to a [Duel]."

"..."

My eyebrows twitched. Trying to smile without showing the annoyance on my face, I stared into Sofia's eyes.

"...Hell no."

"..."

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FUCK!

How did it turn out this way!?

I inwardly cursed as I stood apart from Sofia, around 50 metres.

A flat plane of concrete, with high walls surrounding us like a stadium.

Below us was a pool of water, as the platfrom levitated under the influence of a huge [Mana Crystal], which glowed a deep azure blue.

Staring across from the other side of the platform, stood Sofia.

"...This crazy bitch." (In Korean)

"What did you just say?"

"Nothing. I was just wondering why you challenged me to a duel. I'm just an F-rank, and you're an A-rank. Don't you think there's something wrong about that? Like I don't know, like super unfair or anything? Or is that just me?"

"...I won't use any magic as a handicap."

"Great, that will 100% give me a winning chance! Yipee for me! Woohoo!"

"I have a feeling that you're not being serious."

"No fucking shit. Jeez, are you Sherlock Holmes or something? Can I get your autograph?"

Ignoring me, Sofia opened her mouth once again.

"...If I win, you are to not pick up the gun ever again."

"My gun-? What kind of fucking bullshit are you spouting? If I don't got a gun, I ain't got a fucking life-"

"Yes, so switch back to the dagger if I win."

"...What a load of horseshit."

"If you win however, then I'll immediately become your personal servant."

"Oh hell no- Not this fucking development." (In Korean)

Sofia tilted her head sideways, with a questioning look.

"...Don't worry about it."

I honestly had no reason to accept the duel. Well, to be exact, she kinda forced me into it. But still, I decided to accept it, because I thought that if I did, she would finally leave me alone. 

What was a [Duel]?

A duel was a match between two students. It was utilised by the academy system to allow students to settle their differences and arguments. They would be required to wear the [Battle Suit], which was simply a watch that wrapped around your wrists and deployed a "shield" that covered our skin and evaluated the damage done. Simply put, if a student was in risk of death, the suit would immediately cancel the damage, and would ring with a loud beep and shine bright red to indicate the student had lost. For non-life-threatening damage, the suit would not do anything - meaning that if you simply got cut on the arm, you would actually lose blood and sustain the cut. Basically simulating a proper life and death duel.

A large crowd of audience had surrounded the stadium. They sat across all along the seats, as they jeered.

"Sofia-sama~~~ Kya~~~"

"Kill that fucker!!!"

"Show that F-rank his place!!!"

"Who do you think is going to win?"

"Why are you asking such a dumb question- obviously Sofia-chan is going to win!"

Urgh. These guys don't know when to shut up.

"Going through the rules again, nod your head if you understand."

Both Sofia and I nodded our heads.

"1. Sofia will be handicapped to only using her rapier, and prevented from using her magic."

"2. The match will last for 5 minutes, and if both opponents are still standing, it will result in a draw."

"3. The match will end if your opponent exits the platform and falls into the water beneath."

"4. The match will end if your opponent disables the other from fighting."

"5. The match will end if your opponent asks for mercy, and withdraws from the match."

"That is all. Understood?"

Both Sofia and I nodded our heads again.

"And with that, the match will commence in 3!"

Standing still, I continued to stare at Sofia calmly.

"2!"

Sofia readied her grip on the hilt of her blade.

"1!"

My fingers slightly twitched as I watched Sofia shift the weight of her foot into the ground.

"GO!!!"

In a split second, Sophia dashed towards me with immense speed, as I pulled out the Glock 17 from its holster and aimed directly at her forehead.

Squeezing the trigger, a loud bang erupted from the gun, as the bullet flew towards Sofia at 370m/s.

Shhhiiiing!!!

The sound of metal clashing against metal reverberated in the arena.

My eyes widened as I watch Sofia slice through the 9mm bullet like it was butter.

"Fucking mons-"

Her face appeared in front of mine, as the rapier pierced through the air towards my carotid artery at breakneck speeds.

Tilting my head with minimal movement, the blade barely nicked my skin, as Sofia launched another swing at my intestines.

This should of been it. 

The future was right in front of her.

The image of the rapier rupturing his intestines, as the [Battle Suit] would announce his defeat, yet-

Clang!!!!!

Sofia's eyes widened this time, as she dazedly stared in shock.

Standing in between my abdominals and her blade, was the Glock 17. 

The steel slide grinded against the blade, as I redirected its momentum towards the floor.

Putting distance between myself and Sofia, I quickly darted backwards, as I shot 3 more times.

Bang Bang Bang!!!

Sofia dodged the first bullet, as she calmly sliced through the remaining two.

Clink...

The two of us silently stood still, as we watched each other. Sofia straightened her back, as she leaned on her left leg in a relaxed manner.

The slide lock had engaged on my gun, indicating that it was out of ammo. I must thank Sofia for giving me time to reload my gun, whether it was due to arrogance or pitiness. Pressing the magazine release, I swapped it out with a fresh mag, as I reracked the slide back, slamming a new round into the chamber with a loud clung. Finally, Sofia asked me some questions.

"...Your gun should've been sliced through. So how?"

"Nothing that special. I just had a buddy of mine sprinkle some magic on it, and voila! It's become strong enough to stop crazy motherfuckers like you from cutting through it like paper."

"But its still steel, so that shouldn't be possibl-"

"Yeaahh~ I kinda may have gotten him to make it out of [Adamantine]..."

"...You're wasting your time and your money."

"Is that so? Well, lets see if that's the CASE!!!"

Pulling the trigger once again, a few more bullets flew towards her, this time in different sections - one to her head, one to her torso, and the other to her thigh.

Tough luck.

Just a short blur of her swing, and all the bullets were rendered unaffective, as they tumbled to the ground, sliced cleanly in half.

Sweat rolled down my forehead, as I gritted my teeth and grinned nervously.

"You're a fucking monster, you know that?"

"..."

Sofia did not say anything, as she drove her foot into the ground and pounced towards me, with her rapier gripped in two hands.

"Tsk!"

Activating my [Mana], I circulated it into my bloodstream, as I redirected everything to my vision. My eyes slowly turned into a dark gooey red, as my senses heightened.

I watched as the blade of her rapier slowed down, before immediately channeling some [Mana] to my neck muscles, causing my head to jolt backwards.

Woosh!!!

Close. Way too close.

The blade swung past my nose, as my face was reflected on its silver flat for a brief moment, before continuing in a series of stabs that sent small whirls of wind that slapped against my body, as I weaved and blocked with my gun. Not all attacks were prevented, as more cuts and wounds appeared on my body.

"Crazy-"

Woosh!!!

"Son-"

Shhhiiinnngggg!!!

"Of a-"

THUD!!!

"Bitch!!!"

"Stop talking in the middle of a match. You'll lose your life."

Corresponding with her words, she launched another wide yet tight swing that aimed in between my ribs.

It was near impossible to get a shot off at close range, as I was forced to dodge and block each time Sofia threw a new attack at me with lightning speed.

To compare, Sofia was like a light machine gun that continued to barrage me with firepower, not giving me time to shoot.  I was barely holding onto the skin of my teeth, as the gears in my head fired with all cylinders.

I was running out of time.

My [Mana] was running out, and fast.

I originally had a dogshit amount of [Mana] and even though I was trying to maximise the efficiency of the [Mana] output, it was already draining it at an alarming rate.

Yes, the pressure smothered me.

My blood painted the ground and skin, as my gun was splattered in blood.

The choking sensation of adrenaline pumped through my veins.

My head was overheating, and the diziness started to settle in.

Yet, the very thought that the blade would pierce through my body and end my life...

Its...

Its...

It's fucking exhilarating.

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[3rd Person POV]

The boy's face became distorted.

(...Hm? What's wrong with his face?) (Sofia)

At first, the boy had a relaxed yet calm expression. It then turned to one of concentration as Sofia continued firing off attacks.

But now...

The boy was smiling.

The corners of his mouth raised upwards, his teeth in full view, as his canines grinded against one another.

The deep dark red eyes glowed profusively, as it watched every small movement of Sofia. From the tiny twitches of the muscles, to the edge of the blade, to observing Sofia's expressions. The uneasiness spread through her, as the match continued to drag on.

This shouldn't be happening.

It should of been a quick and easy match.

One that should of immediately had ended with her victory.

Yet-

The boy was still standing.

A shiver went through her spine, as she engaged her lats and back and swung at the boy's head.

The blade carved a piece of his skin off the temples, as the blood ruptured and flooded down the boy's cheeks and forehead.

Surely that was it.

Surely the boy would stand down, that he would give up.

"...Fucking hell." (In Korean)

No, contrary to that, the boy cursed something in a different language, as he tilted his head back at Sofia.

Underneath the blood, soothe and sweat, laid two glimmering crimson eyes, as it flickered back and forth, locking its sight on Sofia.

In the depths of her heart, something grabbed onto it, and attempted to crush it. 

The pounding of her heart sounded like bass drums that repeatedly struck inside her ears. 

The uneasiness turned to wariness, and the wariness, turned to fear.

As her mental forte shook, she swung her rapier in an extremely wide arc towards his neck, enough so that the boy easily ducked under and plunged into her body into her blindspot.

(!!!-Shit!)

Too late.

The boy's canines came into view, sharp and shining. The disturbing glowing eyes came next. And then a scorching sensation stabbed underneath the bottom of her jaw, as the last thing she heard before her vision blacked out, was a simple, loud, and clear click.

BANG!!!

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