Entering the Game with a Cheat Physique

Duel (4)

Duel (4)

Inside the circular Colosseum.

As I stepped onto the dueling stage, Apollo’s figure came into view from the opposite side.

He was wearing a grotesquely twisted smile, and I wondered how he managed to make such an expression.

Jackson was the same, it’s like these b*stards went to a school to learn how to make that exact face.

[Both students have arrived.]

Once Apollo and I were standing face to face on the dueling stage, Chiron’s announcement echoed.

[I am Vice-Principal Chiron, who will be moderating this duel. And flanking me on either side are the second-year instructors who will act as judges. Let’s welcome them with applause.]

As Chiron finished speaking, the two instructors made themselves known.

Angelina, whom I already knew well, gave a relaxed smile.

But the Knight’s Department’s Robert wore a smile that was very similar to Apollo’s.

Like master, like student.

[Now, first we shall determine the format of the duel…]

Chiron’s voice trailed off.

As if passing the baton, Robert stepped forward to make a proposal.

[Our Knight’s Department proposes a ‘Duel of Honor.’]

“……!”

The room buzzed as Robert finished speaking.

Not just the second-year cadets, but even the upperclassmen had their eyes wide.

Even among the third and fourth years, honor duels were rare.

They were duels that held that much weight and power.

But to propose one…

—That Apollo b*stard. He’s trying to finish him.

—Yeah. A noble proposing an honor duel against a commoner. It’s obvious what his intentions are.

—Tsk, tsk. Cowardly prick.

The magic department was chewing out Apollo.

They all wore displeased expressions, whispering among themselves, and the knight department retaliated.

—Shut up! You sardine-fucks.

—You scared? That’s how you always are.

While the war of nerves unfolded in the hall.

Kiron cautiously asked me,

[Cadet Herak, will you accept?]

“……”

My instructor, Angelina, said nothing.

She just smiled softly at me.

Perhaps meaning, ‘Do as you wish.’

There’s no need to refuse.

“I accept.”

—Wow… he’s crazy too.

—Does he have confidence to win? It’s Apollo, you know?

—Let’s just watch. They say that guy’s a battle mage or something.

My calm agreement caused an uproar in the hall.

Kiron’s brow furrowed slightly, but he soon nodded in understanding.

[Good. Then this duel will be an honor duel. What will the stakes be?]

Stakes.

In an honor duel, the stakes could be anything outlandish.

“If I win, I’ll have him expelled.”

“……”

Apollo’s words bring a silence upon the hall this time.

Someone sighed, another clicked their tongue as if they knew it was coming.

[Do you accept?]

“I do.”

Since I accepted, Apollo would also bear the same penalty.

If he lost, he’d be expelled just like that.

[Then now─]

“And!”

The moment Chiron was about to declare the start of the duel.

Apollo shouts out loud.

He adds on with a fishy smile.

“If I win, I will take him as my slave.”

—What? Is that b*stard out of his mind?

—No, I knew it. It’s a noble vs. a commoner after all.

—True… There were a lot of methods like this.

[……]

Chiron closed his mouth.

He just silently stares at me.

His gaze clearly held a plea to dissuade me.

To refuse.

That I didn’t have to accept this as well.

But I didn’t listen.

“I accept.”

[……What price will *you* wager?]

“Wouldn’t anything be possible? It’s about to be weighed against a slave contract, after all.”

“Fine. I accept.”

If he’s going to make me a slave, then he’d have to accept whatever I offer.

At that, Apollo also nods his head.

‘He doesn’t intend to lose, after all.’

The outcome is something we’ll have to watch and see.

[…Good. Let’s wrap this up.]

Kiron inhales sharply.

And then.

[Then, the duel begins.]

He announces the start of this life-or-death decision.

“……”

I face him, keeping my distance.

I could rush him right now, but it’s best to be calm when a fight begins.

It’s not too late to charge in after I figure out what preparations the b*stard’s made.

Especially since I can see the oddities on his weapon and armor.

Drip, drip…

Liquid is falling from his sword, a flamberge.

The fluid dripping from the wavy blade is opaque.

I don’t know its purpose yet.

But I’m certain it has some distinctly suspicious effect.

“Aren’t you coming at me?”

Drip, drip.

Even the leather armor he’s wearing is dripping the liquid.

Apollon seems to trust it, confidently provoking me to approach him.

“Hmm.”

Well, in the end I’ll have to clash with him, but…

I don’t necessarily have to fight up close.

I press my thumb and index finger together.

The ranged attack I possess, Finger Flick Strike.

It’s best to check him with that first.

Thwack!

With a flick of my fingers, a magic projectile shoots forward.

But Apollon doesn’t even try to block it with his sword.

He takes it head-on with his clothes.

*Ssshh!*

“…….”

The magic bullet that touched the b*stard’s leather armor is oxidizing.

Like a Venus flytrap devouring a fly.

The magic bullet loses its form and vanishes.

“You’ve brought quite the cowardly thing, Apollo.”

“Ha! It’s an item that a wretch like you could never even dream of possessing.”

‘A mana eater.’

A power known as the natural enemy of mages.

I was wondering what kind of potion he had smeared all over his body.

This is going to be annoying.

‘If things are like this, the damage from almost all of my attacks will be reduced.’

Even if I’ve enhanced my body with 【Ultimate Physique】, it’s not like I’m fighting purely with my body alone.

As Margaret said, my body is surrounded by a layer of magical energy, which accounts for a large part of my attacks.

And he’s gone and sprayed mana eater all over, negating that.

“……Tch.”

But it was just one exchange.

I can’t judge everything just from having one magic bullet blocked.

*Thwack!* I stomp hard on the ground, preparing to rush forward.

Apollo is still taunting me, leaving a large opening.

‘First.’

Let’s break through and dish out some damage.

*

“My word. Isn’t that a bit much?”

Chiron, who had been silently watching the duel, spoke up.

He glared at Robert with considerable displeasure.

“Even if it’s a duel of honor, a ‘mana eater’ potion against a mage? Isn’t that going too far?”

“As you said, it is a ‘duel of honor.’ A duel with everything on the line, fought with all our might. How can we show any mercy?”

“I’m not so sure about that.”

Angelina replied to Robert’s shameless words.

She spoke to Robert, her expression unchanged, still wearing a relaxed smile.

“Even so, I am rather curious ‘where’ you obtained the Mana Eater potion. It’s not a drug you can find within the Academy.”

“Heh, it seems the Department of Magic is quite interested in the internal affairs of other departments. Is there a reason I should tell you that?”

“……”

Angelina’s gaze landed coldly.

She didn’t bother to reply to the forced words, but it was clear she found it quite suspicious.

Not that Robert felt any remorse.

“Hmph. No problem. In the first place, if it was a potion that truly worked against ‘all magic’, I wouldn’t have done it either.”

“Then?”

Kiron asked, looking at the dueling arena.

In the arena, Herak was charging at Apollon.

*Whoosh!* Herak’s fist was aimed at Apollon’s abdomen.

An attack that didn’t even bother with the blade approaching him.

It was to test the effectiveness of the Mana Eater.

He needed to know how well the attack worked to plan his next move.

In contrast, Apollon’s movements were simple and brutishly large.

Confident that the attack reaching him wouldn’t do much damage, he swung his Flamberge directly at Herak.

*Clang!*

The exchange of blows was instantaneous, but the result was crystal clear.

─…….

Herak’s punch made a loud sound, but the return was minimal.

The potion applied to Apollon’s armor had absorbed the attack as it was.

Rather.

─Heh heh. Getting your head straight now?

Apollon’s Flamberge stole crimson blood from Herak’s body.

*Drip, drip…* Blood and bits of flesh flowed down the wavy blade.

Even if Herak’s ‘Adamantine Skin’ hardened his skin.

If the sword swept through, disrupting the entire mana layer, he had no way to withstand it.

Robert watched the scene and grinned wryly before continuing.

“It’s possible with other magic than pure mana. Whether it’s elemental magic or whatever, if you change the nature of the mana, it becomes possible.”

“…….”

“But… is it even possible?”

The words are directed at Chiron, but his eyes are on Angelina.

Meeting her cold gaze, Robert spoke with smug satisfaction.

“I’m saying, can a Herac student even use ‘Elemental Magic’? If he could, it would deal a great blow to Apollo… But, if it’s impossible, then it can’t be helped.”

“That’s just bad taste, you know.”

“Isn’t Elemental Magic a basic for any mage in the first place? If even that is impossible, then the standards of the Magic Department are quite clear. Hahaha…”

Robert’s confidence stems from the battle between Herac and Apollo.

Even wounded, Herac didn’t yield.

He didn’t give up and kept attacking Apollo, trying to inflict even a little bit of cumulative damage.

*Crack!*

He suffers an even larger sword wound from Apollo’s carelessly swung flamberge and is forced to retreat.

“It’s a victory for our department.”

That’s why Robert spoke confidently.

A victory for the Knight Department.

*

The students watching the duel weren’t all second years.

Several upperclassmen, intrigued by the rumor of a duel between the top and bottom, also sat in the spectator seats.

“Cerise. What do you think?”

“Huh? About what?”

“About junior Herac’s single-minded offensive strategy.”

Among them, the most outstanding students.

Natalia, the top of the fourth year, and Cerise, the top of the third.

They were watching the duel of Herac, the bottom of the second year, with great interest.

“Hmm…”

Cerise, hearing Natalia’s question, tilted her head.

It was a rather intriguing point for her as well.

‘Why doesn’t that junior fall back?’

She doesn’t know him well, but she does know that he’s different from typical mages.

A mage who fights using his body.

But, given that their attacks were blocked by the opponent’s mana-eater potion, wouldn’t it be wiser to retreat and observe the situation?

“I also think it’s strange. He’s just going to get more wounds and be at a disadvantage the more he gets hit by Apollo. But in my opinion, there’s a reason for it.”

“What reason?”

“A reason to accumulate damage.”

Natalia chuckled at Ceris’s deduction.

As expected of her cherished junior. A talent who will follow in her footsteps.

As they observed, Herak never retreated.

He never considered taking time to plan a strategy, or running away, or displaying any unseemly behavior.

As if he were trying to make it a spectacle for the students watching the duel.

He was attacking without ever avoiding a blow.

Because of this, his body was accumulating wounds and dripping blood…

Apollo, fooled by his ferocity, remained cocky.

He had no idea that Herak was hiding something.

Natalia nodded, sharing her own theory.

“Yes, I think the same thing. I’ve been wondering why Herak wouldn’t withdraw, and I think it’s to accumulate mana.”

“Mana?”

“Can you see? The clumps of mana gathering on Apollo’s leather armor right now.”

“Ah.”

Ceris’s eyes narrowed at Natalia’s words.

And then she saw it.

The clumps of mana accumulating on Apollo’s leather armor every time Herak’s fist connected.

Those clumps, gnawing at his mana layer, continuously growing.

“…But, so what?”

“I don’t know either.”

“Huh?”

Looking at Ceris, her lips pouting as if her excitement had deflated, Natalia chuckled.

“I don’t know what Herak has up his sleeve. But…”

“But?”

“If it ended with him awakening a new kind of magic… wouldn’t that be fun?”

The magic department’s top seniors.

They exchanged glances, eyes gleaming as they talked.

Their gaze held anticipation, wondering what sort of trouble their junior would stir up.

*

“Haaah….”

This is rough.

The constant sparring has drained my stamina.

Non-stop assaults, throwing punches until I’m breathless, muscles screaming.

No, more importantly than that…

‘It hurts.’

Scars mark my body, everywhere.

Where the flamberge grazed, skin is shredded, inner flesh exposed.

Deeper cuts even reveal the tissues beneath the dermis.

“….”

I catch my breath, eyes fixed ahead.

“What’s wrong? Come at me like before. Like a dog.”

Apollon’s smile widens, a blatant taunt.

His flamberge drips blood.

Meanwhile, his leather armor is untouched.

Only my fists have left behind clusters of concentrated magic from repeatedly pounding him.

Still.

“Shall we call it even?”

That’s enough.

I release the tension in my body.

Further attacks like that are pointless, it seems.

Instead of just throwing more simple punches…

It’s time for a different approach.

“Heh heh. Finally realized the reality?”

Apollon laughs loudly at my words.

He takes a step forward.

Still overconfident in his mana eater, leaving a gaping hole.

Apollon sneered, a full-throated laugh.

“If you beg now, I might consider letting you out of the slave contract. Though expulsion is still inevitable. Hahaha!”

Ignoring his barking, I focus inward.

I am mana-immune.

A body incapable of wielding magic.

But a layer of mana coats my skin, and if I’m aware of it, my own unique magic becomes possible.

The ‘Battle Mage’ way.

I clench my fist.

Ready to lunge at Apollon.

I explode off the floor, charging straight at him.

“Ha! Foolish wretch!”

He thinks it’ll be the same attack.

That I gave up because I couldn’t find a way.

So he, once again, doesn’t focus on defense, and just swings his sword.

But that’s a miscalculation.

‘Mana eater concoction? Yeah, I can use it.’

It would be strange if I didn’t.

That a petty b*stard like Apollon wouldn’t cook up some scheme in preparation for the duel?

No way.

In fact, the moment I realized the only trap he had was the mana eater, the path was clear.

‘No matter how much of an honorable duel it is, you can’t bring a concoction that devours all magic.’

It’s obvious.

To unilaterally block all the opponent’s attacks wouldn’t be fair.

And that level of mana eater concoction is astronomically expensive, even Apollon can’t get his hands on it.

Meaning, his concoction’s effect was revealed in our first clash.

It only devours pure mana.

‘Then this is the way.’

I continuously cluster pure mana onto his leather armor.

Even if I have to give up my flesh to do it.

That I can take his bones…!

*FWOOSH-*

Flames erupt in my hand.

The fiery energy coursing through my fist transforms into magic, manifesting directly.

His blade aims for my waist.

This time, it’s deep.

Considering the accumulated wounds, any more hits are dangerous.

Even so, there’s no need to worry.

My flame-wreathed fist hurtles toward his abdomen.

The flame makes contact, right where the magic is concentrated beneath his leather armor.

And then.

*WHOOSH!*

The flame and the magic fuse, then erupt like a bomb.

‘Yes.’

────────────────

【Twelve Star Cloud Fist】

2. Flame Fist

A magic that envelops the fist in fire element.

Unlike a normal strike using pure mana, you can enjoy the fire attribute effect.

Upon striking an enemy, a small explosion occurs.

────────────────

The second technique of 【Twelve Star Cloud Fist】, Flame Fist.

Its characteristic: ‘Causing explosions.’

In other words, when it collides with excessively concentrated magic, it can artificially trigger a large explosion.

The reason I’ve been pushing attacks relentlessly, risking hits, is all because of this…!

*PoooM!*

“Keeaaah?!”

A huge explosion erupts from his abdomen, and Apollo screams.

The sword he was swinging at me loses its power and flies far away.

Apollo, swept up in the blast, is sent flying.

A surge, and I coughed up blood.

“What are you doing?”

“Kh, huh. Huuuh—”

His pupils trembled.

A reality he couldn’t believe, even though his body had just experienced it.

He looked up at me, shuddering like an aspen leaf.

He looked like a defeated dog.

Covered head to toe in blood, I chuckled and said:

“Try charging again.”

Like a dog.