NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 40
✦ Chapter 40 — Duel (1) ✦
「Translator — Creator」
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A duel between an academy freshman and one of the top third-year students, with expulsion at stake — countless people, from the academy students to the professors, had come to the duel arena to watch the fight.
The students were gathered in groups, waiting for the duel to begin.
Student Council President Jorden Adellian was with the other Student Council members.
“President, the Kingdom of Archen has contacted us. They want information about Loki.”
“Ignore them.”
“Yes.”
The Kingdom of Archen was probably suspicious that Loki was sent from another country.
Because of Loki, Kingdom of Archen’s prince had overnight become someone who insulted the Empire’s Crown Prince,
And now he was about to fight a duel with expulsion at stake against a freshman who just entered the Academy.
From the Kingdom of Archen’s point of view, they would think that another country had sent Loki to drive a wedge between the Kingdom and the Empire.
So, the Kingdom of Archen would’ve investigated Loki.
‘They wouldn’t have found anything.’
The Adellion Duchy also investigated Loki’s past, but they couldn’t find anything either.
Disciplinary Committee Head Johanna Freya sat with the other Disciplinary Committee members, waiting for the duel to begin.
The special class students naturally gathered together, anticipating how Loki would fight.
“I should be there with them, too…”
Lucas muttered to himself, sitting alone.
Lucas had originally intended to watch the duel with the other Special Class students, but he had to sit alone because Yerika had asked him for a favor.
[A little more to the left, brother.]
Lucas adjusted the Communication Orb’s position according to the voice coming through it.
[Stop, stop, that’s too far. Just a little to the right.]
“Haah… okay.”
[Thank you for your hard work.]
Besides Yerika, there were two other people watching the duel arena through the Communication Orb — the Emperor and Empress were also watching the duel arena next to Yerika.
Lucas had to sit alone because it would’ve definitely caused an uproar if other students noticed this.
“Huh? Someone’s coming!”
A student shouted upon seeing someone enter the dueling arena.
[Is it Mr. Humble Clown?]
Yerika asked Lucas who it was.
“No.”
However, contrary to her expectations, it wasn’t Loki who entered the duel arena; the first person to appear at the dueling grounds was Prince Lophrey Alfsur of the Kingdom of Archen.
[Why does he look so angry?]
Like she said, Lophrey stomped into the arena, fuming with rage.
“It’s probably because of the article the Newspaper Club posted on the bulletin board yesterday.”
The article the Newspaper Club published yesterday included a statement that Loki would only swing his sword once during his fight against Lophrey.
[But is it really possible for Mr. Humble Clown to win with just one sword swing?]
Her question made Lucas think — to win against one of the top-ranked third-year students with only one swing of the sword?
‘Of course, it’s impossible.’
Yet Lucas didn’t say it was impossible.
Because, for some reason, he felt like Loki would actually be able to do it.
Time passed after Lophrey entered the arena, but Loki still didn’t show up.
“When is the freshman going to show up?”
“Isn’t it obvious? He probably ran away scared.”
“It seems strange to make such claims in the newspaper and then run away.”
“What can you say? Words are wind. If that’s how it works, then I can slay a dragon, too.”
As Loki hadn’t appeared, students started whispering.
And among those speaking ill of Loki, most were from the Kingdom of Archen; to be precise, they were Lophrey’s followers among the Kingdom of Archen students.
From their perspective, he absolutely couldn’t lose.
Currently, the Kingdom of Archen had two princes.
And it hadn’t been decided yet who would become King.
However, Lophrey, who maintained a top rank among the third years even in Croa Academy, the best academy on the continent, was closer to the throne.
But after insulting the Crown Prince of the Empire, on top of that, losing to a freshman in a duel and being expelled from the academy?
They could already imagine the outcome.
“Did he really not come because he’s scared?”
When one student muttered softly, believing Lophrey’s subordinates’ words about Loki being too scared to show up,
“There’s no way that’s true.”
A voice rang out from empty air. Everyone looked toward the voice in the arena.
Suddenly, smoke appeared in the arena, and Loki made a flashy entrance.
“From the looks of it, it seems like I’m a little late.”
Though his words were casual, it had been close.
One of the items he’d requested from Professor Idra had just been completed.
“I’ll praise you for not running away scared. However, you still…”
“One moment, please.”
Interrupting the worm’s words, he walked to a position where as many people as possible could see him.
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome! For all of you who came to see my stage, I’ll present the best show today!”
Like a stage actor before a performance, he greeted everyone in the dueling arena.
“I shall be the referee for this duel.”
The one who came out to referee was Professor Gedra, the oldest among the professors.
“Begin!”
And when Professor Gedra announced the start, Lophrey immediately drew his sword.
“What’s he doing?”
“Does he not want to fight?”
The students murmured at Loki’s actions.
This was because Loki, without drawing his sword, ran in the opposite direction from Lophrey.
Since it was the first time they saw this in a duel, everyone was bewildered.
Regardless of the students’ confusion, Loki went to the edge of the arena and took something out from his [Subspace].
“What is that?”
“A chair?”
The murmuring grew louder as they saw the chair Loki pulled out from his [Subspace].
What Loki took out was indeed a chair.
However, it wasn’t an ordinary chair from its appearance.
The chair was more ornate than normal chairs,
And much larger than usual.
“Hup!”
He casually sat in the large chair.
“Aren’t you going to fight?”
Sitting in the chair, he wiggled his finger at the bewildered Lophrey.
At this blatant provocation, Lophrey charged at him.
*Click. Whoosh.*
However, as Lophrey’s foot got caught in a string, a dagger came flying towards his head.
*Clang.*
He deflected the sudden dagger with his sword.
“Do you think you can beat me with such petty tricks?!”
He shouted toward Loki, who was almost half-lying on the chair.
“Don’t rush. There’s still plenty more.”
This time, Loki threw a dagger at Lophrey while remaining seated; though the daggers flew quickly toward Lophrey, he easily dodged them, having already blocked a surprise dagger before.
*Snap.*
The dagger, dodged by Lophrey, flew straight past and cut the string behind him.
*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.*
And as the string snapped, three daggers came flying at him.
He had to dodge the daggers by jumping into the air.
“You’re good at dodging. Then try dodging this.”
Loki threw three daggers simultaneously.
But he, about to dodge the daggers, remembered the possibility of the daggers cutting strings behind him and instead deflected them with his sword.
*Clang.*
All the daggers were deflected.
“What will you do now!”
Though he shouted confidently, everything was going according to Loki’s plan.
As the deflected daggers collided with each other, they fell to the floor,
snapping the strings that were attached to the ground.
As the strings on the ground snapped, dozens of daggers hidden by illusions descended upon him from all different directions.
“No way, did he lose?”
“Just how far ahead did that guy plan?”
As dozens of daggers flew at him from different directions, the students thought Lophrey had been caught.
*Cling, cling, cling, cling.*
However, all the daggers that flew towards him fell to the ground as if blocked by something — a blue barrier had appeared around him, protecting him.
“An artifact, I see.”
“You’ve got good eyes. Yes, it’s an expensive artifact that you could never obtain no matter how hard you work.”
He spoke towards Loki, who had stopped throwing daggers.
“Your cheap tricks are useless against me.”
Loki’s body trembled at his words.
Just as the watching students thought Loki had run out of options…
“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”
He burst into a crazed laughter.
Only his laughter echoed through the dueling arena.
At first, the students were just puzzled by Loki’s sudden laughter, but as his maniacal laughter continued, they trembled as if terrified.
“Shall we see if it really doesn’t work?”
Loki stopped laughing and threw just one dagger at him.
“I’m sorry, but your petty tricks won’t work on me anymore!”
This time, Lophrey, confident in his artifact, didn’t dodge the dagger, and it was blocked by the blue barrier.
“This one looks a little different?”
However, he picked up the dagger that fell to the ground and examined it.
“Didn’t they teach you not to pick up other people’s things?”
*Snap.*
As Loki spoke to him, he snapped his fingers.
and…
*BEEEEEP!!!*
A blinding flash of light and a deafening noise engulfed Lophrey.
“AAAAARGH!!!!”
Hit point-blank by the flash bomb, he had to cover his eyes in agony; even an artifact couldn’t block light and sound.
It was then that he suddenly remembered what Loki had said in the newspaper; that he would swing his sword only once.
And as he remembered this, Lophrey wildly swung his sword to keep Loki away.
When his eyes recovered, he immediately opened them to check Loki’s location.
But contrary to his expectations, Loki was sitting in the chair, resting his chin on his hand, watching him; like watching a clown.
“I’ll kill you!!”
With anger dominating his mind, he charged at Loki.
*Thud.*
But as he took a step forward, his foot stepped on something.
And blinded by rage, he ignored it and lifted his foot—
*BOOOOM!!!*
As his foot lifted, the mine exploded.
END of CHAPTER
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