With his mana completely concealed by the Bracelet of Hidden Mana, Leon headed towards the city center. The bustling streets were as lively as ever, and as he passed by the towering mage tower where Arpina’s laboratory was located, he continued walking towards the outskirts until a large Gothic-style stone building came into view.

Unlike the mage tower with its single soaring spire, this structure was adorned with several intricately decorated spires, all connected to form a grand complex. Surrounding this imposing building was a wide expanse of land—this was the Widia Academy.

At the entrance, Leon saw people who were older than him but still young, holding books under their arms as they walked by. There weren’t too many of them, likely because it was a holiday.

Leon, his face filled with curiosity, passed through the main gate and followed Leah’s directions to the enormous circular arena located on one side of the academy grounds. As he entered the spectator stands, he noticed a scattering of people sitting here and there.

“I thought it’d be packed, but I guess not,” Leon mused. It seemed that since this was a duel between personal disciples who hadn’t yet enrolled in the academy, it didn’t attract much attention from the academy’s students. However, the arena wasn’t completely empty.

In the front row of the spectator seats, a line of individuals who appeared to be high-ranking magicians were seated.

“It looks like this duel is more for the interest of the senior magicians than for the students,” Leon thought as he noticed Arpina among them. He found an empty seat towards the back and sat down.

Soon, the duel began.

Contrary to Leon’s expectations, the atmosphere was quite solemn. The two disciples who entered the arena greeted each other courteously before starting their duel. Most of the participants appeared to be younger than the academy students, though occasionally, there were duels between 2nd-rank disciples, but most were still at the 1st rank.

Leah had mentioned that it typically took 2–3 years for magicians with average talent to advance from the 1st to the 2nd rank. By “average talent,” she meant those who weren’t single-attribute mages—this included those with dual or tri-attribute constitutions.

Leon had managed to reduce this time to just six months, thanks to the power of elixirs and the incredibly advantageous training environment provided by the Space-Time Orb.

“And they say it takes even longer to go from 2nd to 3rd rank…” Leon thought, reflecting on how he had achieved this in just five months.

As Leon observed the duels, assessing his own abilities in comparison, Leah finally stepped into the arena. Her opponent was Rowen.

“Didn’t they say he’s a 2nd-rank? …Is the gap between them not that big?” Leon wondered.

When he had faced Porun, Leon had realized that even a difference of one rank could be a significant obstacle. If it weren’t for Arpina’s unique magic that drastically reduced the time needed to cast spells and the liberal use of artifacts he had acquired as rewards, Leon couldn’t have been sure of victory.

Since both Leah and Rowen had likely learned unique magic, the difference between them might not be so pronounced. And unlike Leon, who had a special situation, it wasn’t common for someone to have many artifacts.

“Is it just a matter of who has more talent?” Leon thought as he focused on the duel.

Leah struck first.

“Aqua Sentinel!”

As expected of Arpina’s disciple, Leah seemed to have learned the same foundational magic that Leon had. Despite having a light attribute constitution, Leah used Arpina’s magic, which was highly efficient for apprentice mages.

A blue slime appeared around Leah, looking much clearer and more refined than Leon’s own slime.

“Is it the difference in mana quality? …Or is it just the difference in attribute talent?” Leon wondered. Leah’s water magic was likely weaker due to her light attribute.

As Leah chanted the incantation, Rowen quickly invoked a memorized spell.

“Fireball!”

A fireball, similar to the triple flame orb Leon had used, appeared near Rowen. However, he didn’t immediately launch it at Leah, seemingly cautious due to the elemental disadvantage.

“Blast!”

Leah followed up with a chain spell from Aqua Sentinel and immediately began chanting another spell.

“Light, gather in my hand. Lumen Manus!”

“Flame Barrier,” Rowen countered, raising his palm to summon a wall of fire from the ground. As a 2nd-rank mage, he could memorize two spells.

Rowen quickly followed up with another incantation.

“Let the wall become sharp thorns and pierce the enemy!”

The flames that had risen transformed into multiple spikes, rushing toward Leah.

Leah’s light-infused hand clashed with Rowen’s fire spikes.

Bang!

The powerful collision forced Leah to retreat.

“Oh?”

“Indeed…”

“To withstand that attack… As expected of the light attribute. Or perhaps it’s a sign of high mana quality…” several of the high-ranking magicians murmured in the front row, their voices louder than expected.

While Leah retreated with a frown, Rowen’s expression wasn’t much better. It was generally difficult for a 1st-rank mage to block a 2nd-rank mage’s attack head-on, so the fact that Leah had done so would have wounded Rowen’s pride.

Rowen quickly hurled the fireball he had previously summoned at Leah.

“The spark is a manifestation of will, rise and annihilate.”

“Water Wave!” Leah countered with another chain spell from Aqua Sentinel. If it had been an ordinary spell, she might have stopped it with her elemental advantage, but Rowen’s magic was anything but ordinary.

The sparks from the large fireball split into smaller fireballs, all converging on Leah.

Leah frantically chanted another spell.

“Mana, awaken. Infusion!”

Leon’s eyes widened. The spell Leah had hurriedly invoked was the same one Porun had used, a spell that dramatically increased physical abilities.

“Is this another common spell…?” Leon wondered.

With her enhanced speed, Leah swiftly dodged the oncoming fireballs.

Meanwhile, Rowen continued chanting spells in quick succession.

Several more exchanges followed.

As the duel progressed, Leah’s mana began to run out, tipping the battle in Rowen’s favor.

Watching closely, Leon analyzed the reason for Rowen’s victory.

“It’s the advantage of memorization.”

With the ability to quickly use multiple spells through memorization, Rowen had a slight edge. Without it, Leon believed Leah might have won. The strength of Leah’s light attribute magic wasn’t fully apparent yet because she was still at the apprentice 1st rank.

Leon’s analysis seemed accurate, as after the duel, all the high-ranking magicians praised Leah, even though Rowen had won.

As Leon made his way down to congratulate Leah, he noticed a crowd gathering around her and stopped in his tracks.

“Rowen may have immense talent as a six-attribute mage, but…”

Leon glanced at Rowen, whose expression had noticeably darkened. A man who seemed to be Rowen’s master approached and patted her on the back, but it looked more like consolation than celebration.

Rowen’s face grew even more sullen, likely feeling the weight of her master’s unspoken expectations.

Rowen’s master then approached Arpina, and the two began talking, leaving Rowen standing alone.

Sensing someone’s gaze, Leon turned and met Rowen’s eyes. She bit her lip hard and quickly turned away.

Leon looked back at Leah, who was surrounded by magicians offering praise, then walked over to Rowen.

“You won, so why the long face?”

“Are you asking because you don’t know?” Rowen snapped, her eyes glaring sharply at Leon.

Leon shrugged.

“You did win, but do you really need to beat yourself up over it?”

“Don’t you see how everyone’s crowding around her? They all think she’s more impressive than I am. They’re not even looking at me.”

“I came to congratulate you, didn’t I?”

“...Do you really think I’d be happy like a fool? You’re just here to mock me! Oh, or maybe you came to me because you can’t get close to her?”

Leon shook his head. He hadn’t planned on having a long conversation anyway, so he got straight to the point.

“You were really good at chaining fire magic.”

“What would a commoner like you know…”

“Here, a gift.”

Leon cut her off and held out his hand. Resting in his palm was the mana recovery honey candy.

“What’s this…?”

“It’s candy that gives you a boost when you’re tired.”

“Why…”

“Just take it.”

Leon forced the candy into Rowen’s hand.

“Don’t dig yourself into a hole worrying about other people’s reactions. Eat this and cheer up. That’s all I have to say.”

Without waiting for a response, Leon turned away. He figured that if Rowen did react, it would probably be to glare at him.

The truth was, Leon’s dislike for Rowen was genuine. More accurately, he was indifferent to her. If Rowen were in trouble and helping her would put Leon at a disadvantage, he wouldn’t lift a finger.

But seeing her frustrated and blocked by a wall she couldn’t overcome stirred some unexpected sympathy in him.

It would be an exaggeration to say that this reminded him of Park Hyun-soo, trapped at home after losing the use of his legs, but…

“It’s just that seeing a kid so young already facing disappointment touches something primal in people,” Leon thought.

Maybe this was just part of being a modern human.

Leon glanced at the magicians surrounding Leah, who seemed a bit distant.

Then, Leah and Leon’s eyes met.

“Ah…”

“...Why am I surprised?”

Leon awkwardly smiled and waved at Leah.

Though she noticed him, Leah’s face didn’t brighten like usual. Instead, she just stood there, looking between Leon and Rowen, her expression unreadable.