Two days had passed since the day I helped Agnes contract a fire spirit and, as a result, received a punishment-like skinship from Ethan.

In the last lesson of Harold's second-semester swordsmanship course, "Application of Magic Swordsmanship," I stood facing Harold, tense and on edge.

This was essentially the final task of the semester—my duel with Harold.

“……”

“……”

-Grip.

Holding a two-handed sword quietly in his hands, the Swordmaster fixed his gaze on me, waiting for me to make a move.

Even though this was a handicap match, the gap between a Swordmaster and an academy student was still incomprehensibly vast.

Unlike Harold, who had lived his whole life wielding a sword, swordsmanship wasn't even my major.

While it was possible to enhance my sword with stronger magic, as a member of the Magic Department, overcoming the physical limitations was still difficult.

Seeing him without a single visible flaw, I couldn't help but grip my dagger even tighter.

‘…It's okay, just do as you practiced.’

This was my last chance of the semester and my final duel.

Whether or not I could win this match would determine my grade for the second semester.

It would decide whether I could earn an A+ in Harold's "Application of Magic Swordsmanship" course.

Of course, not getting an A+ wouldn't drastically affect my overall grades, but I still wanted to achieve the highest possible score.

Just like in the original game, I had already confirmed last semester that additional rewards were granted based on academic achievement.

If possible, I needed to win at least one match for my stat growth.

…In a lifetime with only four years of opportunity, I had to make the most of everything I could get.

“You can attack whenever you’re ready, Lillis.”

“…Yes, Master… Professor.”

“However, if you do not attempt an attack within a minute, I will approach you. I cannot waste too much time on a single duel.”

“…Understood.”

It would be much harder to counterattack Harold if he came at me first, so I had no choice but to make the first move.

With my resolve somewhat steeled, I stepped forward and simultaneously utilized the newly learned dagger technique.

『Quick Draw: At the start of battle, the attack power of bladed weapons increases.』

The first dagger skill, Quick Draw.

I didn't want to invest too much in dagger skills, but with a half-hearted resolve, there was no way I could defeat Harold.

Hoping that the course completion rewards and grade evaluations would justify the points I had invested, I charged at Harold with my new skill.

At the same time, I didn't forget to apply a sharp blade buff.

-Tadadak!

Kicking off the ground, my body moved swiftly toward Harold’s lower body.

While aiming for the neck or heart would be more effective for a decisive blow, that was only an option for those who had the capability.

For someone like me, with a short reach and a height difference with Harold, it wasn’t the best strategy.

The target was the abdomen, or perhaps the waist.

With the intent of driving my sword into that area, I closed the distance with Harold.

I attempted a thrust at Harold’s solar plexus with the dagger engraved with the Blackwood emblem in my right hand.

-Kaang!

“Guh…”

Harold calmly moved his sword to block the attack, having anticipated my approach to his waist.

I hadn't expected my first attack to land a killing blow.

It was merely an attack to draw out a response from Harold—nothing more, nothing less.

Luckily, I managed to absorb enough of the impact with the shockwave to prevent myself from losing grip of my dagger. From there, I immediately cast a newly learned secret magic.

『Energy Bolt: Fires a medium-sized magic projectile at the enemy.』

While its principles were similar to Mana Blast, this was a lower-tier magic that could be cast much faster.

Naturally, its power was significantly weaker than Mana Blast.

However, if it hit properly, it could still inflict some damage. Even Harold would have to choose between dodging or blocking it.

And when three of them are flying at you at once, you'd have to use your sword to block at least one or two of them.

Especially when your vision is obscured by a hazy light.

-Paak!

“……”

With a sudden flash of light, a misty white fog enveloped Harold’s body.

As Harold's vision was temporarily obstructed, three magic projectiles flew into the mist.

If I was lucky, two of them would hit their mark. Although, given my opponent, they probably wouldn't inflict any direct damage.

After forcing Harold to use his sword to deflect the attacks, I immediately prepared the next move to bring him down.

The rules of the duel in the "Application of Magic Swordsmanship" class allowed for the use of any means necessary to defeat Harold.

“Now, Sally! Sey!”

‘Take this!!’

The high-level fire spirit Sally launched a massive fireball from her hand.

Despite consuming about a quarter of my maximum mana, the fireball wasn't particularly large.

Since Sally was still under a temporary contract, the efficiency wasn't very high.

But it didn’t matter. With Sey around, I could make even Sally's mediocre power much more effective.

‘Ugh, whew…!!’

Sylphid, the wind spirit, gathered air with her hands and exhaled a strong breath in the direction of Sally's fireball.

The fireball and Sey's support magic collided in mid-air and were drawn into the misty light.

Then, with a rather noisy explosion, the light-filled fog erupted.

-Kwakwakwang!!

“……”

The explosion itself seemed to have gone through without being canceled or blocked.

There was no way Harold would die from this. Given my opponent's physical strength, he should be able to withstand this level of explosion.

However, whether my attack had hit Harold directly was still uncertain….

Since I couldn't be sure of my victory, I began preparing my next move, even in this state.

The ominous words from Sally's cursed mouth made me even more anxious.

‘…Did it take him down?’

-Taaak!

‘No, it didn’t….’

As Harold emerged from the cloud of dust, cutting through it with a single sword stroke, the fire spirit muttered in disappointment.

As much as I wanted to punch Sally’s mouth shut, there was no time for such distractions.

In a hurry, I threw Seraphine’s dagger, which I held in my left hand, at the approaching Harold with a 『Dagger Throw』.

-Whish!

“……”

Harold merely tilted his head slightly to avoid it, as if it posed no threat.

His clothes were only slightly dirtied, without any signs of burning or scorching.

This meant that the explosion earlier hadn't caused any significant damage to Harold.

‘He's like a real monster….’

How could he emerge unscathed from a combination attack that would have instantly roasted most monsters?

The thought naturally crossed my mind that he must have used either his stamina or mana to defend himself while his vision was obscured in the hazy light.

With an overwhelming sense of intimidation, Harold advanced on me with his sword.

I tried to hold my ground using support magic and dagger techniques, but it wasn't difficult for Harold to overpower me when I had already exhausted almost all of my trump cards.

-Kang!

“Guh…!”

-Kaang!

“Ugh, haa…!!”

Harold accurately struck the weak points of my sword in several exchanges, sending my last remaining weapons—my Blackwood dagger in my right hand and the silver dagger belonging to Lizzy, which I had hastily grabbed with my left hand—flying into the air.

With that, Harold effectively ended the duel in a state that was nothing short of a complete victory, his gaze quietly shifted toward me.

“…Not a bad attempt.”

“……”

However, Harold's words were a subtle way of saying that it hadn't worked against him.

Well, if it had been a good attack, I would have been the one to land the decisive blow, not Harold.

Satisfied that he had thoroughly subdued me, Harold began to give an evaluation of our battle as if concluding the duel.

“You started with an attack that I could only block with my sword, limiting my movement, and immediately followed up with your next attack.”

“…Yes.”

“The hazy light was unnecessary. Blinding your opponent isn't a bad strategy, but it won't work on me. At this level, even with my eyes closed, I can still sense where magic is coming from. And you also missed one of your magic shots because you couldn't locate my blurred figure.”

…It wasn't because my vision was impaired; I just missed due to low accuracy.

Of course, I couldn't just interrupt and argue with the course instructor, so I had to listen quietly.

“You seem to have a good affinity with spirits. To use a combination magic at such precise timing must have required quite a lot of practice.”

“Yes. And I also took a class on communication with spirits this semester.”

“It will likely become a considerable strength for you in the future, as long as you can manage your mana well in battles alongside the spirits.”

“…Yes.”

Harold slowly lowered the sword he had been holding with both hands, gradually releasing the tension in his stance from the duel.

His final assessment was nearing its end.

“Your swordsmanship has improved significantly since the beginning of the semester. Especially that first strike you made right after the start—it was the sharpest I've seen from you so far. …Although, the swordplay in the final exchange was a bit disappointing.”

Well, that was because the effect of Quick Draw had ended. It couldn't be helped. It was a buff skill that couldn't be reused during the battle.

Harold continued to provide various explanations and evaluations of Lillis’s performance.

While pretending to listen attentively, I secretly prepared one last attack.

…To capitalize on Harold's fatal mistake, which he had inadvertently overlooked during this duel.

“…So, overall, your final grade is likely to be….”

“Professor Harold, before you give me my grade, there’s something I’d like to say.”

“Hmmm, what is it?”

“…The duel isn’t over yet.”