The Fable of A Legend

Angellica, after falling to the ground, looked up at her opponent. His brown hair stuck to his forehead from sweat, and his dark eyes gleamed with unshakable confidence — it was Baran.

"Are you alright? That makes your third loss, Angellica," Baran said, his voice carrying no hint of regret over his victory.

"I'm fine. And that also makes your third win, Baran," Angellica replied, though her voice betrayed a faint trace of frustration.

And for good reason — no matter how much power she used, Baran never even bothered to use his energy. Every time she attacked, he either deflected her with his sword or countered her spells with intricate diagrams from his notebook. The truly infuriating part? Baran managed all of this without expending a single drop of energy.

Yes — not a single drop.

And yet Angellica had already lost to him three times. At this point, she couldn't help but suspect he was toying with her.

But even if he was… she couldn't really fault him.

After all, Angellica had experienced Baran's strength up close before — and back then she had already learned to avoid standing in his way at all costs. If this was him merely playing around, she could live with it.

Baran offered his hand to her. Angellica quickly brushed her thoughts aside, grabbed his hand, and stood up.

"Continue?" Baran asked. Angellica nodded silently and adjusted her stance.

Just as she was about to weave her next spell, a question suddenly escaped her lips.

"Baran… why don't you use your energy?"

**********************

"…Excuse me?" Baran assumed he must have misheard her. Why would she suddenly ask something like that?

"Why don't you use your energy?" she repeated. This time, Baran froze.

'W-what do I even say to that…? Come on, brain, you're a Mind Shepherd. Think your way out of this.' he thought, screaming inwardly for his mind to find an answer.

Meeting Angellica's gaze, he finally sighed and took his stance again.

"Because I don't need to," he said coldly, his voice laced with killing intent.

Angellica's body instinctively trembled under the weight of his aura — just as he expected. At least now she wouldn't be asking that same question again anytime soon.

Or so he thought.

"W-why don't you need to?" she pressed on, her voice shaky yet unwavering.

That caught Baran off guard. Angellica was proving bolder than he'd assumed.

"Why don't you see for yourself, Angellica?" he replied, his tone still icy and hostile.

Without another word, Angellica began casting her spells.

Baran couldn't help but feel a pang of surprise as he watched her. Normally, his killing intent would completely crush a person's will to fight — yet here she was, charging at him as fiercely as ever.

'Maybe I really have underestimated even the best of my generation,' he thought, dodging her quick succession of second- and third-rank spells.

Still, he didn't want this spar to drag on any longer. It was time to play one of his trump cards.

Racial Ability: Battle Mind

It was an innate ability inherited from one of his two races, allowing him to process thoughts faster and make sharper decisions in combat.

And since Baran belonged to the rare minority of his race — a Mind Shepherd — he could wield this ability far more effectively than most.

Without wasting any more time, Baran activated his Battle Mind.

**********************

Angellica, looking into Baran's eyes, felt her fear intensify. The last traces of emotion in his gaze began to vanish, replaced by something far more chilling.

But she didn't back down. She had to know why he refused to use his energy — and she would force the answer out of him, even if it meant beating it out of him. Or so she hoped.

"Third-rank spell: Holy Arrows!"

Clink!

Her spell was easily deflected by Baran's sword, yet she continued without hesitation.

"Second-rank spell: Holy Water Orbs!"

"Third-rank spell: Holy Chains!"

Baran evaded the chains effortlessly and pulled several spell diagrams from his notebook, reflecting her water orbs right back at her. Angellica countered with a defensive spell, but she was starting to feel cornered.

Despite being at Rank: Gem, Level 3 — nearly advancing to Rank: Core — Angellica had always believed that, aside from Theodore or Baran, nobody their age could defeat her in terms of raw power.

And she wasn't wrong — but Baran's strength was simply absurd. She knew from the moment they met that she couldn't beat him, but did the gap between them really have to be this wide?

She threw everything she had into her spells, while Baran effortlessly deflected them with his blade or redirected them with his diagrams. The psychological toll on her was growing unbearable.

Tap. Tap.

The sound of Baran's foot striking the ground snapped her out of her thoughts — but by the time she looked up, he had already disappeared.

Claang!

Her barrier shattered behind her. Angellica spun around, fell to the floor, and froze.

There stood Baran — his eyes cold and merciless, radiating killing intent — his blade pointed directly at her head. If he wished, he could knock her out. No — he could kill her, right then and there.

"..."

"..."

Angellica couldn't utter a word. Her body trembled uncontrollably at the realization that Baran didn't even need his energy to utterly dominate her.

"4–0. I think that's enough, Angellica," Baran said at last, his voice devoid of hostility or coldness now. Instead, he simply sounded… regretful.

"..."

"This was inevitable," he added, his dark eyes softening slightly.

Baran fetched a bottle of water and handed it to her.

"Here. Drink. It'll help you calm down." His tone was gentle — like that of an older brother trying to comfort his little sister.

Angellica took the bottle with trembling hands and began to drink, while Baran quietly sat next to her.

"I'm sorry… You asked me why I don't use my energy, didn't you?"

But Angellica didn't even care about the question anymore. She was still trying to recover her composure.

"I have many reasons, but the simplest one is… I just want to train my body. Energy gets in the way of that, so I don't use it," Baran explained, his voice warm, almost brotherly.

Angellica didn't know what to say. It wasn't just the duel itself that left her shaken — it was the stark contrast between Baran's icy demeanor in battle and his gentle kindness afterwards that left her completely bewildered.

"Angellica."

She turned her head at the sound of her name.

"If you still want to talk tomorrow, I'll wait for you at the school gates until the bell rings. If you don't come… I'll assume you don't want to speak with me."

There was clear remorse in his tone. With those final words, Baran stood up to leave — the classroom long empty by now.

"I'm sorry," he murmured as he stepped out the door.