Dragon's Roar: This Game's Weakest Unit Wants to Avoid Apocalypse

The fight between Cecilya and Edmund finally approached its final moments.

The lizard girl, covered in mud and sweat, breathed heavily. She was on all fours while Edmund used his sword to keep himself kneeling.

"Ha… haha!" The elf threw his head back with a tired laugh. Neither he nor the girl had the energy to keep fighting, but at least he could stand with the help of his sword.

But at that moment, Cecilya's hands began to glow with a bright green light.

"[Grass Storm]"

Cecilya yelled out the name of a tier-one nature spell.

The blades of grass surrounding Edmund began to shake—slowly at first, then faster by the second.

"Eh!? No… when did you—?" Edmund screamed in fear as he tried to limp out of the spell's range.

Cecilya pointed her finger at the elven boy, smirking with sharp teeth. "When you thought you'd finally won. If you'd finished the job sooner, I wouldn't have had enough time to cast this spell."

"N-Northern winds… a-attack…"

The elf rested his hand, pointing it parallel to the ground. He didn't have time to escape, but he could try to weaken the spell by cutting the grass blades before they emerged.

"[Wind Scythe]"

A gust of wind formed in his hand, trying to shape itself into a C-shaped blade, but the spell ultimately failed. The wind lost its strength, and the scythe vanished.

"N-no… my mana…" Edmund cried out, his arm shaking.

The tiny blades of grass finally launched from the ground toward the boy in the center of the area.

"I—I can't—" Edmund yelled before the grass blades struck him from all directions, blood spurting where they cut.

When the spell ended, Edmund collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Cecilya, breathing raggedly, felt the strength drain from her limbs as the weight of her victory finally settled in.

---

"That… sure was a fight…" Yani breathed out.

"How many spells were used in the whole fight?" she asked.

"Twenty-three spells in total. Seventeen were cast by Edmund, and the remaining six by Cecilya, including this last one," Cole answered, jotting notes in his notebook.

"Six spells is really low for someone who wants to enter the S Class," Atro commented.

Six casts are low for an S Class student… then I definitely don't deserve to be at the top. I wish I could cast thirteen spells without having to worry about my mana reserves.

If only there were easier ways to increase mana reserves that didn't require risking my life by eating mana stones.

"Any of you win money?" I asked, seeing a couple of other students celebrating the lizard girl's victory.

"Tirino bet a lot on the elf guy," Yani said with a smug smirk, glancing at the boy gripping his own hair. "I don't like gambling. But if I ever do, and Tirino's there, I'll just bet on the opposite of what he picks."

"I trusted Tirino…" Cole said sadly, pulling out some tickets that showed how much he'd wagered.

"How is that my fault?! Can you blame me for thinking the one in the S Class would win!?"

We all stared in silence at Tirino, who stood up and angrily tried to justify himself.

"He's kinda right…" I muttered, which made Yani giggle.

"Unlike you guys, I figured out how this works." Yani puffed out her chest proudly for not gambling her money away.

"The results for all four duels will be revealed after the last one!" announced the teacher in charge of refereeing, as the two fighters were carried away.

"Next fight is Herdon's…" Atro whispered, growing nervous as his own fight drew closer.

...

"Who's Herdon?" I asked, crossing my arms as I tried to recall the name. Not a single one of our classmates had that name.

"Didn't you fight him the first week? Like… on the second or third day?" Yani asked, frowning in confusion.

"Ohhh… yeah… I remember that. I don't exactly remember him, though," I said, which made Kaida let out a soft giggle.

"That's when you showed the whole academy why you're in the S Class," she said, her cheeks red.

"Can you still do it?" Cole asked.

"Huh? Do what?"

"You chanted the spell incantations when we were training. But you don't really need them, right?"

"Oh, yeah. I wondered that too," Yani added, curious.

"I… needed to time myself with whoever I was training with. I only got involved in spell-chain training, so that's why I used incantations."

I hoped my lie was convincing enough to pass as a solid excuse.

Sometimes I think about teaching Kaida my fake 'incantationless casting' trick, but I get this possessive feeling about it. As if… without that trick, I'd be nothing—just another worthless, forgettable unit like regular Alen.

"That makes sense to me," Cole finally said, and everyone else nodded, going back to waiting for the next duel.

When they did, I stood up and stretched my arms.

"Hnngh… I'm thirsty. I'm gonna buy a drink," I said, starting to walk away.

As I left, I heard Yani and Kaida muttering to each other.

"Can I go with you, Alen?" Atro asked, skipping to walk beside me.

"Sure."

I heard a muffled "Ah!" from Kaida, which made Yani pat her on the back and whisper something.

Atro and I made our way through the crowd of students, many of whom were leaving the stands to stretch and get fresh air after sitting for an hour and a half watching the duel.

"Alen…" Atro said after opening and closing his mouth a few times, struggling to speak. "About my fight with Ximuss… I… don't think I'll win."

I looked at his downcast expression—his trembling lips, his eyes fixed on his shaky fingers.

"That's okay. You can be wrong—like you are with your weird belief that ghosts don't exist."

"Huh? That's a weird way to reassure me…" Atro stepped sideways, now walking an arm's length away.

"If you don't think you can win your duel, that's fine. It means you can at least see yourself winning, even if only a little."

We walked in silence for a while. Seeing him deep in thought, I knew I had to add something.

"You saw the duel, right? I know you want to stand up and show everyone you belong in the S Class. But have you looked at the arena?" I asked as we approached a vendor selling water bottles.

"Instead of smashing your head against an imaginary wall trying to force a close-combat win, take my advice and keep your distance. You have the tools in front of you—use them," I said, buying a bottle of water.

"Bu—"

"Nothing shows an S Class student like their ability to win. Showing off is a luxury only the strongest can afford."

"Like you…"

His words threw me off. I knew people saw me as stronger than I really was, but it was still strange to hear it.

"No… I've never put on a show just to stand out. Whenever I fought, I fought to win."

"But… you're different from me."

"No, we're not, Atro. If I focus so much on winning—if I treat every fight like the most important one in my life—it's because they are. I have my own goals, and winning is the reason I keep standing up."

"Then… is my goal just not enough…?"

I hummed, tapping my chin with my fingertip, giving his question some thought before answering.

"I think it's enough…" I said, unscrewing the cap and taking a sip. "You're just not focusing on the part that really matters."

"I… don't understand. What part am I missing?"

"Wanting to prove you belong is a good motivation. But you're trying to show off instead of winning—when winning would prove it better."

I stopped walking, which caused Atro to also stop and look at me straight in my eyes

"When I told you to keep your distance and wait for the right moment, you said you wanted to fight Ximuss up close."

"So..."

"Win, Atro. Don't worry about anything else, don't worry about what others might think while you fight. The only thing that matters in a duel, is that you achieve a victory, without that incentive, why are you fighting?" I asked him with a serious tone that made him open his eyes.

"Why... am I fighting?"

"Exactly! If you want to show that you belong on the S class, show it by winning. Being flashy without any real substance will show nothing more than your loss." I resumed my walking.

As I passed Atro by his side, I handed him my water bottle.

"You already see a line where you win your fight. Follow that line, and if that line breaks, find another line that leads you to the victory you want."

"I..." Atro gripped the water bottle. "I want to win..." Atro breathed out in a low whisper.

I smiled at him and patted his shoulder. "Then, win. You already are halfway done on your path to victory—you have the confidence to win—now, the last part of the path is the hardest. You have to deliver on your confidence and win."

Atro gripped the water bottle and chugged the liquid down.

"I will prove that I deserve to be in the S class."

"Now, that's better." I gave him one last smile before resuming my walk back to the stands.

"Make sure to take a close look on this fight so you learn something else. You sit next to Cole, talk with him and get some help from someone that knows what to note down."

"Yes, Alen!"