Since it was an official ranking match, a professor acted as referee, and a crowd gathered to watch.

Of course, there was one question being tossed around.

“Who are you betting on?”

“Isn’t it obvious? How could Iria beat Lucia?”

“That’s right, isn’t it?”

Voices predicting the match’s outcome went back and forth in the noisy spectator stands.

Of course, the dominant response was that Lucia would win.

It’s difficult to see mana quantity as an absolute indicator of power. Still, the gap between Iria and Lucia was severe.

Lucia had the most mana among first-years, while Iria had the least.

Even if Iria had something, overcoming such a difference wouldn’t be easy.

And hadn’t there been a lot of talk recently about her being undeserving of the top seat?

Most students thought today would be the day the first-year top student would change.

[There won’t be a second time, Lucia.]

“Ugh!”

Before stepping onto the arena with a wooden practice sword, Lucia clutched her throbbing head.

It was right after she had challenged Iria to a duel, pretending to be relaxed, but she couldn’t completely shake off the memory rooted like trauma.

‘It’s just a dream. It’s just a dream. It’s just a dream. It’s just a dream.’

That day, she had the strange dream because she was nervous.

Reality was different.

After all, isn’t Iria’s mana quantity at the bottom? On the other hand, she is overwhelmingly first.

She was truly the talent befitting the top position.

So there’s no need to be nervous.

She’s just going to reclaim what should have been hers in the first place.

The top student should have been Lucia, not Iria.

“Hah……”

Lucia let out a big sigh and stepped onto the wide arena.

It was time to expose Iria’s true power in front of numerous spectators.

Today, she stood here to prove that Iria was an undeserving top student and that the scene in her dream was only that.

And over there, on the opposite side, was Iria coming up with a wooden practice sword in her hand, just like Lucia.

‘A wooden sword? Wasn’t she a mage?’

Well, with that little mana, magic would be impossible.

So Lucia faced Iria in the arena.

Long silver hair and red eyes.

And a doll-like expression devoid of any emotion.

It was impossible to read what she was thinking.

The two were now close enough for their voices to reach each other.

With the start of the match imminent, Iria spoke to Lucia.

“You know what, Lucia? What happened that day wasn’t a dream.”

“……?”

Lucia tried to understand her words for a moment.

That day? Not a dream?

That can’t be.

It was something no one remembered except herself.

“I told you then there wouldn’t be a second time.”

“Ugh?!”

Her head throbbed as memories she had forgotten, or tried to forget, came flooding back.

Iria’s expression and voice looking at her now matched perfectly with those in her memory.

Lucia stood there for a while, unable to move.

She was caught off guard before the duel even started.

The match began in that state.

With the sound of the bell signaling the start of the duel, Iria swung her sword.

-Bang!!

Iria’s sword strike, drawing an arc in the air, strongly struck Lucia’s wooden sword.

“Kyaak?!”

Lucia, who had fallen into a state of confusion, flew through the air.

Her head was dizzy, and she couldn’t think straight.

After that, Iria pushed off the ground and leaped, fiercely chasing after the retreating Lucia.

Lucia belatedly reacted and gripped her wooden sword to take a stance, but it was too late.

Iria was just too fast.

“Wait, huk?!”

With a heavy collision sound of wooden swords clashing, Lucia was pushed back once again.

Her hand that blocked the strike tingled.

It was fast and heavy.

Is this pure physical ability without borrowing mana’s power?

Is it realistically possible for such strength to come from those thin arms?

Lucia didn’t know.

For now, she had to raise her sword.

However, Iria didn’t give Lucia time to rest.

Iria relentlessly harassed her with her monstrous physical abilities.

If she let her guard down even for a moment, fast sword strikes would pour down.

Each one was so heavy that it was overwhelming to block.

Lucia felt weak.

Every time she received Iria’s sword, the impact was transmitted throughout her body, striking her.

“Huk……”

Her whole body hurt.

The nightmare from that day comes to mind.

She says that wasn’t a dream but reality.

Iria herself is saying so.

So this is what she had been hiding.

Certainly, with this level of physical ability, she could grab the top spot even without mana.

‘But she’s not an opponent I can’t beat.’

That day, Lucia was caught off guard, but she had the advantage in the arena.

She gritted her teeth.

“So what if that’s reality……”

She caught her breath and regained her senses.

She corrected her crumbled posture.

Lucia’s purple eyes glowed due to the sudden release of mana as she moved it through her body.

Mana waves, clear enough to be visible to the naked eye, rippled across the arena.

“I’ll still be on top anyway!”

Lucia gripped her wooden sword with both hands and leaped towards Iria.

Physical enhancement using mana.

The sword style inherited from her family.

Lucia has things that Iria doesn’t.

She compensates for her weak strength with mana and elevates the power of her sword strikes with technique.

Aster Style First Form.

As Lucia gripped and swung her sword wide, a dense trajectory remained in her mana-infused sword strike.

A sword strike tinged with a faint purple was engraved in the air, and,

-Bang!!!

In the exchange of sword clashes, Iria was pushed back for the first time.

The foundation of the Aster style is to coat the sword with mana to maximize its sharpness.

Precise posture, the technique of coating the sword with mana, and excellent skill are added.

Combined, one can cut the opponent even with a wooden sword.

The weight of the sword wielded by Lucia, who has enveloped her entire body in mana, surpasses that of Iria’s first swing.

After all, dents were engraved on Iria’s wooden sword, which had received her first strike.

She could even break Iria’s sword and win the match if they exchanged a few more sword clashes like this.

After pushing Iria back with one sword strike, Lucia demonstrated mechanical perfection.

The pinnacle of the skills she had learned since childhood.

There’s no disruption in her subsequent movements.

This time, Lucia chased after Iria with a series of smooth movements.

Lucia slowly but surely pushed Iria back, unable to block with her sword effectively.

Her judgment to avoid rather than block out of concern for the sword breaking was good.

But for how long can she run?

Aster Style Third Form.

A heavy sword strike falls from above to below.

The destructive power added from her enhanced body and gravity is beyond imagination.

The stone floor of the arena broke.

It even gave the illusion that the entire ground was vibrating.

Iria jumped sideways to avoid it, but that was expected.

Rather, she had been waiting for her to dodge.

In the Aster sword style, the third and fourth forms are connected as one movement.

The tip of Lucia’s blade was pointed upward.

Iria was still within range.

“This is,”

Lucia smiled slightly as she changed the direction of her sword.

This is an attack that can neither be avoided nor blocked.

For a moment, it felt like time had stopped.

The trajectory of Lucia’s swinging sword bent strangely towards Iria.

Aster Style Secret Technique.

Moonlight Slash, derived from the sword said to have cut the moonlight by the first family head.

“The difference in skill.”

Iria’s wooden sword that had attempted to defend broke in half.

The broken half of the blade flew into the air and then fell to the arena floor.

Lucia showed a relaxed smile and pointed her wooden sword at Iria’s neck.

“Not bad swordsmanship for someone self-taught. I’ll give you that, Iria. But your opponent was just too strong.”

“……”

“It’s better not to move. Do you think I can’t cut with a wooden sword? If I apply a little force here, you’ll die.”

As if to say she could cut off her head right away if she wanted, Lucia pressed her mana-infused blade against Iria’s neck.

She intended to force her to surrender quietly since the outcome was already decided.

However, there was no change in Iria’s expression.

The colorless expression devoid of emotion was not one that someone whose sword had been broken should wear.

She quietly raised her head.

And said.

“Have you ever killed a person?”

“…What are you saying?”

Lucia was rather taken aback by the very calm voice.

Have I ever killed a person?

Of course not.

As an Academy student, how could she have killed a person?

Lucia maintained silence, and Iria slowly continued speaking.

“If not, you shouldn’t make such threats. The part where you point the sword is wrong too. From my experience, that part doesn’t cut well. It didn’t kill even when I cut it.”

“……?”

Then, she nonchalantly grabbed Lucia’s wooden sword with her hand and crushed it.

The mana-infused sword broke as easily as a thin twig.

“What is this?!”

After breaking the sword, Iria immediately grabbed Lucia’s neck.

At first, she tried to escape using mana but couldn’t.

“Kuk, kuhuk!”

When Iria swung her sword in the duel, it was with controlled strength.

But now it was different.

Even if Lucia used all her mana to strengthen her body, she couldn’t reach even the tip of Iria’s toe.

Lucia could only realize this after her neck was grabbed.

Iria was a monster.

“Sleep well, Lucia. The dream you’ll have this time will be a bit painful.”

“Huk, eukuk……”

Before losing consciousness, Lucia met Iria’s red eyes.

When she closed her eyes and opened them again, she was already in a dream.