"Damn it, he set me up!"
Standing awkwardly on the stage, Linda finally realized Linen's earlier kindness had been completely fake. He'd used her as nothing more than a convenient tool.
Worse still, now that she was involved in the team match, the outcome would directly impact her own grades—making it impossible for her to surrender outright.
"I guess there's no choice but to show my true abilities!"
Linda clenched her fists dramatically, flashing a confident smile at the bewildered water mage across from her.
...
Five minutes later, Linda was carried off the arena, covered head-to-toe in mud and dripping wet.
"Waaaah, Prince Linen, you must stand up for me!"
Listening to her pitiful cries, Linen nearly burst out laughing.
Honestly, Linda and her opponent were evenly matched—both were amateurs who hadn't reached [One-Ring] yet, basically two rookies pecking at each other.
But when rookies fight, elemental advantages become critical.
Her opponent specialized in water, while Linda unfortunately was an [Earth Arcana].
Of course, she couldn't cast real rock magic—her tricks were limited to stirring up a little dust. Unfortunately, under a barrage of water blasts, her dust immediately transformed into muddy torrents, drenching her completely.
Linen genuinely hadn't expected her to lose so badly.
Even simply conjuring a fist and punching directly would have yielded better results.
Seeing Linda in such a sorry state, Elena quietly breathed a sigh of relief. Although her own element wasn't earth, she'd still have ended up miserably soaked had she fought.
Feeling a surge of gratitude, she glanced warmly toward Linen.
"The next pair of students, please step forward," Millian called out.
Linen hurriedly dodged Linda's muddy, reaching hands and stepped onto the stage.
Farao, impatient and smug, had already been waiting there.
"Hmph, Linen Norton, this time I'll defeat you fairly, leaving you utterly humiliated!"
"You've used every dirty trick imaginable, and yet you dare claim fairness? Targeting Elena was at least strategic, but sending your weakest teammate to face Princess Hysteria—it seems you don't care about your allies at all, Young Master Farao."
Linen spoke flatly.
Exposed, Farao's face turned red with rage.
"Shut up! The score's tied now—if I beat you, we'll win. And you can start packing for expulsion!"
Without another word, Linen calmly activated his [Weave], revealing translucent Chaos-backed cards floating before him.
Since Farao wanted to challenge him so badly, he'd gladly indulge him.
"It's Prince Linen's [Weave Meditation]!"
At the sight of the [Chaos Cards], the students watching grew visibly excited.
The previous two matches had ended far too quickly—like skipping straight from opening credits to climax. Hysteria effortlessly crushed an opponent who hadn't even reached [One-Ring], while Linda's match, though seemingly tense at first, had quickly devolved after she screamed under the first muddy hit.
If these had been paid Arcana duels, spectators would already be demanding refunds. They were counting on this third match to redeem their expectations.
Both were [Wind Arcanas], both [One-Ring] prodigies. Farao, seasoned in real combat as the Duke of the Northlands' son, versus Linen, who had mastered advanced Weave Meditation before even enrolling.
Most assumed Linen had the advantage, thanks to his ability to instantly cast spells using [Weave Meditation]—a significant edge early on, when Arcana resources were limited.
Yet, when Farao saw Linen's cards, he didn't look worried—he sneered triumphantly instead:
"[Weave Meditation]? So that's your trump card. Too bad—I've mastered it too!"
Another set of semi-transparent black cards instantly appeared before Farao.
"It's [Weave Meditation] again! Farao learned it too!"
"And it's identical to Prince Linen's!"
"Tomorrow's school paper headline is definitely Farao now!"
Even Linda, resting half-conscious, stared in stunned contemplation.
Although she'd been tricked by Linen earlier, that didn't matter now. What mattered was whether Farao's talent was actually greater than she'd initially thought.
Maybe it's time to switch my bets.
As momentum shifted, whispers of excitement filled the room, irritating Hysteria instantly.
"Shut up, you idiots! Even if Linen loses, he's still leagues above all of you! And besides, who said he'd lose anyway?!"
She turned to Elena for confirmation. Elena nodded firmly, inexplicably confident that Linen wouldn't lose either.
Millian, carefully observing from the sidelines, furrowed her brows, ready to step in if necessary.
"Farao clearly made extensive preparations to defeat Linen. Linen might actually be in trouble…"
One was a pampered prince, the other a seasoned noble from a military family. Most favored Linen due to Arcana combat rules—but if Arcana abilities were evenly matched, virtually nobody expected Linen to win.
"Are you done fooling around yet?"
Linen asked calmly.
"You've merely copied my build—but do you actually know how to duel properly?"
Farao paused, then laughed coldly.
"Still pretending to be tough? Then show me what your so-called 'real duel' looks like."
Linen nodded.
While he didn't particularly care about copycats, stealing his techniques and flaunting them arrogantly was crossing the line.
Thus, what would follow wouldn't be a mere duel.
It would be a crushing defeat.
Meeting Farao's doubtful gaze, Linen smoothly drew two [Wind Blade] cards, one in each hand.
"I activate [Overlay Fusion]."
[Summoning—Giant Wind Blade]