Chapter 47: [V2] Chapter 4: A Friendly Duel

In the training ground, Alum picked a suitable practice weapon since Noel wasn’t allowed to use his divine weapons, nor was Alum allowed to use Hilos. 

Although he could’ve gone with a regular sword or a longsword, he decided to go for a short sword as usual. 

He was used to the range, although, in the beginning, it was because longswords were too heavy, and he felt clumsy using them. That changed with Depth Cutter since that sword had some massive weight to it. 

Noel, on the other hand, went straight for a claymore. Since he was comfortable with them, and when Alum watched him train with Chely, Noel mostly used [Scorching Tempest], a weapon he used for primarily defensive purposes because it helped him cast powerful spells much quicker, but was also a longsword. [Storm’elt], however, is a heavy-hitting claymore with many elemental particles. So he was sure Alum hadn’t seen that one since long ago. 

This means he’s planning on going on the very offensive and will take Alum by surprise. He believes Alum would struggle with his instant dash attacks and perfect edge alignment skills. 

Though… it's been a while since he saw Alum’s skill board, so he isn’t sure if he has countermeasures. And besides that, Alum can almost instantly cast high-level magic right off the bat. 

So why would these weapon choices matter? 

These practice weapons are unique since they emulate the wielder's divine weapon attributes. Alum is at a disadvantage already since he doesn’t have one. 

Knowing this, he plans on just overloading the blade with mana instead. 

After finishing their weapon selection, Luna approached them to tell Alum the rules. 

“Noel, you know this already, right?”

“Yeah!” he replied. 

Since Noel already knew the rules, he walked back and waited. 

Meanwhile, Luna explained some simple rules to Alum. 

“Al, you’re not allowed to use destruction magic. And the fight last until the other gives up, your badge glows red, or breaks from receiving too much damage.” 

“...Yes….” 

“Good,” Luna replied with a gentle smile. 

From a distance, Noel watched the two.

(...She’s been showing that smile more often, hasn’t she? Well, it's cuter that way….) Noel thought. 

“Hey Noel, what are you staring at…?” Chely coldly stares at him. 

“...Not her non-exi… Ahem! Umm… yours are the—Ouch! Chely, I get it, I get it! Stop pinching my arm!” 

But she just giggles. 

“I wasn’t mad or anything. It was a joke,” she replied with a scary smile.

“...How come you… never mind….” 

Although he wasn’t staring at another girl's chest, his mouth sometimes blurred out some stupid things. 

As he was about to tell her how it was cute that she got jealous, he stopped since he knew he’d be digging a deep hole for himself. 

Amethely approached the two and commented on how close they seemed to have gotten. 

“Sis, you and Mister Noel are so close now. Lovey-dovey,” she gently comments. 

“....Ame… Ahem, aren’t you going to Al? Like… I remember you being more envious whenever Princess Luna and Al had a friendly interaction….” 

“...Sis, don’t change the subject, beside… I’m over my jealous days now.” 

“.....” 

“Is that so?” Noel comments. 

He then continued as he pondered about something. 

“I think I saw him with a pretty blue-haired girl yesterday….” 

“.............” 

Chely and Noel saw the light in her eyes disappear for a brief moment and… got a little scared…. 

““.......””

“N… No, I’m fine! I-It was probably just Miss Sarie….” Amethely cheerfully replied. 

She then continued her thoughts out loud. 

‘She’s a friend just like Princess Luna… but, but… her eyes are that of a maiden in love! Awawawawaa, what do I doooo!?’

““.....””

‘Did I perhaps step on a landmine…?’ Noel whispers to Chely.

‘....Well, I think it’s best not to say anything.’ 

‘I doubt he has eyes for anyone else either way,’ Noel comments. 

“What are you two whispering about,” Luna calmly said as she approached them. 

And as she was about to ask why everyone was just stationary and not practicing, she saw her uncle. 

“....What are you doing here, uncle…?” 

“Whaat? I just came to visit. Well, I heard the most gifted trainee would have a match with the newcomer, so… I wanted to watch!” 

“What about work?”

“...Alver got it!” 

“...Sigh, fine, just don’t trouble Mister Alver too much.” 

Rigeld then glanced at Noel, giving him a thumbs up.

“Go all out. You got this!” Rigeld grinned. 

Feeling slightly pressured, Noel replied with an energetic voice as well. 

“YES, SIR!” 

On the other hand, Luna and Chely seem to have a headache watching the two. Amethely thought that it was nice that they all got along. 

Alum, who had gotten beside Amethely, comments that they’re all lively, though he sulked. 

“Seems like they don’t want me to win….” 

“It’s not like that… they are routing for Noel since they probably think you’d win,” Amethely replied. 

“....Are you as well, Ame…?” 

“......No.” 

“Why the hesitation, then…?” 

“Well,” Amethely said as she fidgeted. 

“If you lose, I’d have a reason to pamper and spoil you….” 

“...Ame, your ulterior motives are showing…. Besides, can’t you do just that even if I’m not down?” 

“....Won’t you think I'm too clingy then?” 

Alum chuckles. 

“I already do. Besides, didn’t you already confess everything?” 

“Urk… B-Beside that… weren’t you with Miss Sarie yesterday?”

Alum froze for a brief moment when Amethely lost all light in her eyes… 

“...Did you lose your attribute for light magic….?” 

“Hmpf! I’m jealous. So pamper me!” 

Alum poked her puffed cheeks. 

“...Later, okay?” 

“Mmm, okay!” 

They probably didn’t realize that everyone was watching and thinking something along the lines of “Ah… so our Saint was like this all along….” With slight disappointment. 

Noar clicked his tongue. 

This is precisely why he didn’t like Alum. after all, whenever his name is brought up or he’s present, Saint Amethely acts way differently than her usual elegant self. 

However, it feels like he’s the only one bothered by it. 

— :::: — 

Now that Alum and Noel were ready, Emely walked up to Alum and cheered for him. She doesn’t know how strong he is, but she does know how strong Noel is since he’s been sparring with Chely a lot. 

“Al, you got this!” 

“...Thanks, Emy,” he replied with a cheerful smile. 

“......” 

“...What is it?” 

Since Alum was more upbeat and had softer expressions recently, everyone around him always acts slightly surprised…. 

“No, it’s just that….” 

Not finishing her sentence, she hugs him. 

“You know… I… I’m glad you feel much better.” 

Being buried in her chest and patted on the head, he hugs her back. 

“Thanks, Emy.” 

Everyone watched them with warm, gentle gazes, but… 

“Is he two-timing or something?” Rigeld comments. 

““.....””

“Uncle, they are cousins. And Miss Emely is his guardian.” 

“Sorry….” 

After Rigeld’s slightly awkward remark, Noel and Alum stood facing each other. 

Noel held the giant blade without issues, while Alum was amazed by his friend's raw strength. 

“Just how physically strong are you?” 

“Well, I was trained by a de—I mean Hero, after all.” Noel nervously said while trying to avoid Chely’s gaze. 

“I see…” 

In his case, Amethely was just way too fast and hard-hitting. Though he has gotten physically strong, he primarily relies on raw magic enhancement. 

Despite that, he still had difficulty wielding Depth Cutter without it. 

The two readied themselves, and Luna gave a sign to start. 

Alum immediately activated [Static Field] and [Abyssal Armor], which was a combination spell of [Abyssal Depth] and [Mana Armor].

This spell, in specific, specializes in reducing shockwaves. And rightfully so, and the wind element that Noel specializes in is either heavy-hitting or controlling. 

Since he had a spar with Sarah not too long ago, he knew how obnoxious it was to not be able to freely move. 

But the thing he did not anticipate was how fast Noel was. 

Right after the match started, he disappeared… 

He was right beside Alum, with an infused blade, and the reason he could react at all was thanks to [Static Field].

Although Alum successfully activated two complicated spells, it would be in vain if they were to take too much damage from him not being able to block the attacks with the blade. 

But his blade wasn’t inbounded with any mana, so if he were to block, he wouldn’t have a weapon to fight with. 

And despite the blades being dull, that amount of elemental energy would destroy the blade, and it would surely break his armor in a few attacks. 

But he didn’t have a choice and caught Noel’s blade, which sent a blast through the barrier. Only smoke could be seen. 

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“What!? You caught it?” Noel commented. 

He was surprised, very surprised. 

Noel thought he'd easily win if he could finish it in a few hits before Alum could ramp up and stack spells. 

However, he did not anticipate him to catch it with his bare hands. 

Noel had a skill called: [Short Dash] and [Sword Slash], which helped him to instantly close the gap and perfectly align his blade. 

And since he had other passive skills, which allowed him to freely manipulate wind without much effort, he would generate a strong gust of wind to knock Alum around so that he’d struggle to cast spells. 

But… Alum was holding onto his blade, so he infused it with [Pheonix Flames]. Instantly realizing it would penetrate his armor, he releases the blade. 

As he does that, Noel tramples the ground, creating a floor of magma, and levitates on the wind. 

Alum jumps up to avoid the initial attack and disappears in the smoke. Noel blows away all the smoke with a vacuum blade and finds that Alum has already cast essential spells for the duel. 

(Crap, now he will be a pain to deal with….) Noel thought as he further enhanced his strength and used an explosion to further enhance his dash speed, which was almost instant anyways. 

In an instant, he was in front of Alum and smashed him onto the ground with [Hyper Storm Blast].

The attack sent the lava everywhere and created black smoke. But as the dust cloud cleared up, Alum stood there on frozen ground. 

He had frozen the magma field that Noel had created. There was no indication of him freezing it since even the water vapors froze. 

(Jeez, this guy has way too much mana….) 

“Jeez, weren’t you to one that thought you’d be too weak when we first got here?” Noel asked while still hovering in the air. 

Alum let out a sigh. 

“Well, you almost had me the first few seconds….” 

Noel sulked a little. 

He wanted to show how much he had improved and show Chely by having a decent match against someone who had fought real monsters… 

However… 

Looking around him, he sees levitating ice blades flying toward him. 

He again infuses his blade with [Phoenix Flames] and instantly dashes to Alum. Their blades clash. This time, Alum was stationary and blocking his attack. And since Alum infused his blade with water magic, their attack generated a lot of steam. Which was getting a little too hot for Noel, so he backed away. 

Now was the perfect chance to attack, Alum thought and dashed toward Noel. 

While he isn’t as fast as Noel, he traps him in an [Abyssal Depth] barrier. 

Noel realizes that he’s stuck, and with Alum approaching him, he grins. 

“Got you.” 

Taken by surprise, Alum hesitated a little, but… that was all it took.

Noel used one of his other skills called: [Burst Slash], which increased his strength even more, and together with his spells and other skills, it was deadly. 

With rapid sword swings, heavy and brutally fast, Alum couldn’t repel them all. Even his ice blades melted like nothing. 

His attack was hard-hitting, and the vacuum created by the attacks made it hard to move. The heat from the  [Pheonix Flames] was getting dangerously hot for him, who was about to be boiled in his [Abyssal Armor]. 

Pushed back into a corner, he activated [Electro-Plasma Blade], which resulted in a massive explosion, sending them both away. 

“Al, what the hell was that spell!?” 

“...Umm, a specialty?” 

“Well, in that case. Allow me!” Noel excitedly said. 

A massive amount of mana rose, and vacuum-like voids lifted the ice in the barrier. And surrounding the horizon of those voids, golden flashes brightly incinerate material falling into them. It was his original spell, [Halo Void], and he meshed them and created a black vortex with a glowing horizon. 

(......This may be dangerous….) Alum thought. 

He couldn’t even get close because Noel had surrounded himself with a massive storm barrier. He chuckles and remembers one of the first comments he said to his friend after arriving in this world. 

“Wow… aren’t you stacked?” 

“Well, you’re just that tough, that's why.” Noel smiled happily.

Alum imbued his blade with electro plasma again, however…. It melted. 

“...Oh…” 

“.....” 

Noel just watched in astonishment. 

(How do you even manage to melt your own sword??!) 

Everyone who was watching thought the same. 

“...I should stop them,” Luna said. 

But Rigeld stopped her. 

“I want to see how Al deals with it.” 

“...Uncle, don’t tell me you were the one that taught Noel how to use Mystic magic….” 

“....Well, he’s so talented!” 

“.....” Chely was quiet and stared coldly at Rigeld. 

Mystic magic isn’t as dangerous as Celestial magic… but he will probably feel tired for the whole week. They promised to go out together this week!

“Well, if Al uses destruction magic, it's his loss, still… how will he get out of this one,” Rigeld smugly said. 

Amethely, on the other hand, watched them with a lot of worries and held onto the anxious Emely, who was watching this explosive show. 

Noel stared at Alum, and his spell was almost interrupted by the fact Alum melted his own sword…. 

(Really, how do you even manage that….) 

“....Do you give up?” Noel asked. 

“...No,” Alum replied.

He was in a bind, but… 

‘World Aquarelle,’ he mutters. 

The massive amount of mana overpowers everyone in the vicinity and even the stronger individuals. 

Inside the barrier where the fight was taking place… it was like they stared into another world. 

And inside that world, Noel’s spells were disassembled, and all the ice and burnt materials were being cleansed. 

Even the barrier they fought in disappears. 

With everybody astonished, the fight ended as one of the artificial water spirits cracked Noel’s badge and destroyed it. 

““.....””

Even his classmates expected something else. With the magnitude of Noel’s spell, they thought it would result in an enormous epic explosion. 

However…. 

“WHAT, YOU HAVE A MASSIVE RESET BUTTON???!” Noel cried out loud. 

He wanted to complain, but a loss was a loss. Even his wounds were healed, and he felt more potent than when he did with his enhancements spells. 

Even the exhaustion from the use of Mystic magic was gone. Heck… his depleted mana was almost fully replenished after the massive spell he recently cast.

Alum also had no injuries, but… he had ragged breathing as he struggled to stand up properly. [World Aquarelle] was Alum’s most complex original spell and involves instruction, elemental, and spirit magic. 

Feeling that his mana was being drained too fast and his brain loaded, he gave Noel a bright smile and did a piece sign.

“My win, Noel.” 

“I can't believe you beat me with a supportive buff spell….” 

Noel then scratched his head in slight frustration but ultimately gave Alum his usual cheerful smile.

“Well, it was a really stunning spell!” Noel said as he approached Alum. 

Everyone who was watching as well, the spell Alum cast and the golden flames of the void meshed really well, and it was like art. 

“Your spell was amazing as well. Is it an original one?” Alum asked. 

“Yeah, Sir Rigeld taught me how to use Mystic magic, and with some research and practice on my own, I managed to do that. Amazing, right?” 

“Yeah…” 

As he said that, everyone approached them, and Chely grabbed Noel by the arm and dragged him away as she sulked a bit. 

“W-Wait, Chely, I’m fine!” 

“Stop resisting! I’ll nurse you. There’s no way you don’t feel injured from a battle like that!.” 

“...I suddenly feel sluggish and sore,” Noel complains mischievously. 

“....Say so from the start, then!” she said. 

‘Jeez, you’re so simple,’ Chely whispered with a grumpy expression as she tried to not blush. 

Everybody was watching them with a wry smile and laughed a little. 

Meanwhile, Amethely held onto Alum’s hand and shared some of her mana with him. 

Usually, this causes mana poisoning, but since Alum had a mana conversion skill, it was a non-issue. 

“Thanks, Ame,” he gently said, patting her head. 

“Al… Ehehe~,” she replied while snuggling closer. 

Emely hugs the two of them since she is so worried about Alum. 

Being hugged by both Amethely and Emely, Rigeld grins.

“I really thought you were going to use destruction magic to counter that, you know?” 

“.....” 

Truth be told, Alum was considering fusing a massive amount of electrical energy and collapsing it, which would cause a gigantic explosion. But that would likely kill them. 

“...Well, I learned some support spells.” 

“Yeah, a completely original spell that doesn’t resemble anything I’ve seen.” 

“Mmm, that was Amazing, Al!” Amethely complimented him. 

Luna was also there. She was smiling, which she’s been doing more recently. 

“Great job Al, even I want to have a duel with you…” she said.

“Ahaha….” 

Alum just tried to laugh it off. 

“...You can have a duel with me, Luna,” Amethely said with a bright smile.

“...I can, really!?” 

Her eyes sparkled, and she was excited. 

“...Yup, but… we should save that for another time. Al, let’s head to the infirmary.” 

But Alum shook his head.

“No, I’m fine now. Can I watch you teach instead?” 

“...Okay….” Amethely replied with her face flushed. 

Luna clapped her hand and told everyone to start practicing. 

And so, their duel ended with Alum as the winner.