Entering the Game with a Cheat Physique

Duel

Duel

Penel found it hard to concentrate on lectures lately.

Half-listening to the instructors, scribbling notes haphazardly.

The reason for her distraction was obvious.

‘Herak, will he be alright…?’

The duel was just a few days away.

Why was she so worried even though it wasn’t her problem?

She wanted to talk to Herak but it seemed he’d gotten busy lately.

The lecture ended, and he vanished somewhere so abruptly that Pene swallowed her disappointment and stayed behind in the lecture hall.

“…Knowing Apollo, it wouldn’t be a mock duel.”

The duels at Olympia were of two kinds.

The first was a mock duel, more like a lighthearted exchange than a real, heartfelt fight.

Losing a duel here wouldn’t come with penalties.

On the other hand, the second, a duel of honor, was a life-or-death battle fought with everything they had.

The loser lost everything, and there were many cases of expulsion as a consequence.

It even went so far that some nobles took commoners as their slaves. Need I say more?

“I’m worried.”

I don’t think Herak will lose.

Because I believe in him.

Believing in your husband is a wife’s duty, right? Yes.

But still, I can’t help but feel uneasy in the corner of my heart…

“Pene!”

“Huh?”

She was packing up her writing utensils, about to leave the lecture hall, when she heard a voice.

Sophie, a classmate, was subtly approaching her.

“What is it?”

“Pene, could you deliver this to Herak?”

Sophie handed over a gift box.

A fancy, heart-shaped box with many post-it notes stuck on the outside.

“What’s this?”

“Well, to summarize the key points, you could say it’s a support box that us classmates prepared separately.”

“A support box?”

Sophie explained to Pene, whose eyes had widened.

The situation was like this.

Just like Pene, the second-year magic students had recently been focusing their attention on Herak’s duel.

Someone had suggested they prepare gifts as a way to support him before the duel.

The male students were like, ‘Is that really necessary…?’, and opposed it.

But ‘No! We absolutely have to! We’re classmates, how can we just let it pass by?’

……and so, with the overwhelming support of the female cadets, a gift box was prepared.

“You’re the one who brought that?”

“Yeah. I’m the representative. Haah, I really didn’t want to get stuck with this kind of role…”

Sophie said, sneaking a glance at Phenel.

The truth was, it was already an open secret among the second-year magic students.

‘Top student Phenel likes the bottom-ranked Herak’ – a fact Phenel wanted to hide, but everyone knew.

And look at this gift box.

It was covered in notes from the female cadets, expressing their favor.

It was no wonder Sophie was on edge.

“…I’m not really interested in Herak, okay? You don’t have to worry. Anyway, everyone agreed you should be the one to deliver this box.”

“Because I’m closest to Herak?”

“Yeah.”

“Heh.”

At the somewhat proud assessment, Phenel grinned.

If that were all, Sophie might have also supported Phenel and Herak…

‘Scary…’

Phenel’s gaze subtly scanned the notes.

Seeing her pink pupils coolly sink, Sophie’s legs felt numb.

‘I shouldn’t get too friendly with Herak.’

Otherwise, it felt like she would be *taken care of* by Phenel.

“Okay, I understand. I’ll give it to him. I wanted to talk to him anyway.”

“Thanks. I’ll leave it to you.”

Sophie quickly fled from Phenel, almost running.

Thinking how terrifying love could be.

*

Concentrate the mind on the fist.

Even with a body that can’t feel magic, it’s possible to simulate.

Imagine the magical layer on my skin, becoming flames and burning.

A fist that ignites as if wearing a gauntlet of fire.

I gather it in, pushing forward.

Towards the wooden training dummy in front of me.

“Set.”

Right, this is the training grounds.

Where magic academy students practice their magic.

Normally, they’d train often to improve their magic accuracy against the wooden dummies, but.

I’m a little different.

“Your action is to come at me.”

I don’t order the dummy to stop or evade, but to approach me.

Not the typical mage’s hit-and-run tactic.

But to practice a fighting style where I go forward and fight, a ‘battle mage’ if you go by some people’s words.

Creak, creak.

The wooden dummy gets up.

The thing making the sound of wood grinding, soon charged at me.

Whoosh.

I raise my fist. Enveloped in flames, it’s clearly elemental magic.

I drive my fist straight into the body of the onrushing wooden dummy.

KABOOM!

Flames flare along with the sound of an explosion.

The wooden dummy, hit with a single blow and charred black, is flung backward.

CRASH…… I look down at the thing, now powerless and unable to get up.

Then, I shift my gaze.

────────────────

【Twelve Stellar Fists】

2. Flame Fist

Magic that wraps the fist in the fire element.

Unlike normal strikes using pure mana, it can harness the power of the fire attribute.

Upon impact, a small explosion occurs.

────────────────

‘That’s good.’

The unstable tech finally solidified into a form.

A skill called ‘Flame Fist.’

Reading the description reveals its unique nature.

If the previous attacks were non-elemental, this one’s fire-based, I guess.

Looks like I got my own elemental magic.

And the fact it explodes is a cool bonus.

The classic effects of fire magic, just straight up copied.

It’s good ’cause I can boost its attack power.

“Hah. Finally, something I’m satisfied with.”

A wave of relief washes over me, I feel like I actually accomplished something.

I’ve been laser-focused on training lately, cutting out all the other students.

Ever since I got that spark from Irina, I’ve been pushing so hard to awaken ‘Flame Fist’.

Finally getting results feels great.

“Guess I should start focusing on my condition now.”

Apollon isn’t some pushover.

He’s still the top student, meaning he’s probably got something up his sleeve.

I need to be fully prepared too.

That’s what I’m thinking as I settle down to rest.

“Herak!”

The training ground door bursts open, someone comes in.

Cherry blossom hair, pink eyes.

It’s Penel.

“You were here? I’ve been looking for you.”

“What’s up?”

Penel’s striding towards me, holding a box in her hand.

It’s heart-shaped, which is pretty weird.

Why’s she bringing something like that here?

“This, the others wanted me to give it to you. They said they hope you’ll like it.”

“Hmm.”

A sudden gift is shoved towards me with those words.

But the reasoning’s pretty obvious.

‘Some kind of cheering thing, probably.’

At this time of year, most students’ thoughts are predictable.

Rooting for a classmate who’s out there representing their department, their pride on the line.

This must be a gift, a collection of all their support.

“It’s kind of them. Thanks for bringing it, too, Penel.”

“Hehe. No problem.”

I opened the lid, and inside were a bunch of snacks.

They put in some effort, for sure; chocolate, candy, and stuff, all nestled in fancy wrappers.

…A lot of it’s pretty bad for you.

Do I even have to eat it?

“Well, I’ll eat it later if I feel like it.”

I wasn’t craving any of it right now, so I went to close the box.

But then, a mark on the box’s surface caught my eye.

A tape or glue residue, maybe.

There was clearly something stuck on the box at some point.

“What’s this? What was stuck here?”

“Huh?! No, nothing was there?! I swear, I didn’t touch it on the way here.”

“…I didn’t say anything, Penel.”

I stared at Penel with half-lidded eyes, and she avoided my gaze, pretending to look elsewhere.

It’s suspicious, no matter how you look at it…

Oh well, Penel must know what she’s doing.

“Anyways, what were you up to? You’ve looked super busy lately.”

“I’ve been honing a new skill. It just got finished, and I was testing it.”

“Really?!”

The moment I said it, Penel’s eyes started sparkling.

She dashed right up to me, her face flushed with excitement, pushing me for answers.

“What kind of skill? Is it like the finger-flicking one you did last time? Or is it something else?”

“Nah, it’s just magic.”

“Magic…?!”

Penell’s mouth hung open, a wide, slack gape.

She was reacting even more intensely than I was, the one who’d actually completed the spell.

“Amazing. You finished the magic. That means you created a new spell, right? Isn’t that right?”

“Yeah. That’s right.”

“I knew it…!”

Then she closed her eyes and shivered, a delicate tremble.

Seriously, Penell. Why are you so sincere? Are we even that close?

“I believed in Herak. I knew he’d show us something. Yes, you’ve improved again…”

“Want me to show you if you’re curious?”

“…Huh?! Really?!”

Now, her lips were practically reaching for the sky.

She’s giving me such fervent support, it’s hard for me to just stand by.

I rolled up my sleeves so Penell could see better, and clenched my fist.

“Watch closely.”

I re-imagine the mana layer that wraps around my skin.

I imagine it becoming a flame, coiling around my fist—

*Whoosh!*

“There. That’s my magic.”

My personal elemental magic, ‘Flame Fist,’ is activated.

*Sizzle….* The flames surrounding my fist crackle and burn.

Penell’s gaze was glued to my arm, not straying at all, which I guess meant she was that shocked.

‘Well, makes sense.’

They say all magicians until now have just copied existing spells.

I’m the first to create my own magic, so it’s understandable that it’s a shock.

“It’s not a big deal, really. I just found my own way forward, that’s all…”

“Haa… s*xy.”

“…What?”

For a moment, I doubted if I’d heard correctly.

I stared at Penell, trying to figure out what she meant by that.

I realized then that her pink eyes weren’t fixed on my fist, but on my forearm.

Penel’s pupils couldn’t fit my fist.

Whether flames bloomed there or she was developing some new magic,

None of that mattered, she was observing the muscles and veins in my arm.

“How incredibly firm they look…”

“Hey, Penel. Snap out of it.”

“……Huh?! Oh, right, what was I saying? Oh yes, you said you created new magic? Right, the flames burning on your fist are truly amazing. Yeah. Impressive! Ahaha, ahahaha…….”

“…….”

Seeing Penel try to make up for it belatedly.

I was about to say something, but in the end, I swallowed it back.

‘Penel, is she really alright…?’

The fortress walls of this young lady of a duke worried me.