Lucy POV
Thump thump. Thump thump.
I'm ready…
Or so I've said, but in reality I'm just a nervous wreck on the inside and I feel my heart beat loudly within my chest. As the time for my duel gets closer and closer, countless thoughts swirl around in my head.
Did I really just sign up for a competition with a support role? I'm just going to fail immediately and become the laughingstock for everyone to see.
What was I thinking? I'm not cut out for the main stage like this at all. There's still time to withdraw, right?
But I quickly shake my head before my thoughts could spiral further out of control.
Calm down Lucy, I still have the strategy I came up with. And even if I do lose, at least I can say I tried my best. That's already better than what my old self could have done.
But more than anything, right now I just want to show Hina, Arthur and this world that I'm not wasting the change they gave me.
While I still don't think I was the right person for the job… I still want to try!
"Congratulations to the winner. Now, moving on to the next duel it will be a fight between… the first year Lucy Castille, a light magic user, on this side."
Just as I manage to get myself together, I hear the referee announcing my name and I get pushed forward by a staff member. I quickly walk onto the arena and stop at the indicated spot.
With just a brief glance around, I see all the seats filled with students around the arena and my anxiety is threatening to once again take hold of me, but I quickly shake it off and force myself to stand my ground.
"And she will be dueling against… The second year Hugh Latimer with fire attribute."
"...Huh?"
Just when I think I heard it wrong, a tall, black haired student walks into the arena on the opposite side, seeming completely disinterested in being here.
"Look, look!"
"It's really him."
"Oh, it's going to be a really interesting fight then… But wait, didn't they say the other student is a light magic user?"
Once he appears in front of them, the previously unenthusiastic crowd suddenly becomes lively with many discussions and chatter filling the arena.
And not without a reason…
Hugh Latimer, the student council president, who I only ever really saw that one time, even though I'm also a member of the student council.
He is another capture target from the game, his personality is more of a stoic and emotionless mage prodigy who efficiently takes care of everything.
Which is also proven by how smoothly the student council works by separating administrative and on field work. Other than the first time, I never really saw him again and still, the council works like a well oiled machine.
But more important to my current situation, even though he is only a second year student, he is already considered one of the strongest at the academy.
His ruthless and efficient fighting style has caught the eyes of many people even during his first year and his strength, combined with his excellent academic performance gained him quite the popularity. And with it, he easily won the student council president role at the beginning of this school year.
So he lives up to his reputation as another capture target, but he isn't the opponent I drew for this duel and if I had to face him, well my chances would be even lower from the start, especially since he… is a fire mage.
"Wait, stop! He isn't supposed to be her opponent!"
While I'm still hesitating about what to do, I already hear a familiar voice and looking up, sure enough Hina has left her seat and she's walking right up to the referee with Arthur helplessly following after her.
"Student… Lady Lazarius, you aren't allowed to walk onto the arena unless you're called."
The referee turns to Hina, and his initially irritated tone quickly shifts as he recognises her identity.
"It's okay, we're in the student council so we just want to make sure everything is going well with the event. So we're just a bit worried since Lady Castille was supposed to face a first year student, isn't that the case?"
Arthur quickly speaks up, trying to smooth things over.
"You are as diligent as ever Your Highness, and you are correct, however I received an updated list not long ago, which stated that Lord Neville was overcome with illness this morning and he isn't able to attend his duel. So Lord Latimer stepped in to take his place. He wasn't originally partaking in the tournament so this way no other matches are affected."
"But he's… a second year student!" Hina bursts out.
"So what if I am? This tournament is for the entire student body, while generally students are matched with their same grade at the start, sooner or later it's inevitable to face higher grades as well. If you're afraid of facing a strong opponent, you can just forfeit right now and save us both the trouble."
Suddenly a disinterested voice also joins the discussion, as Hugh apparently walked up to us as well.
"You-!"
"Ahem! President, Lady Castille is also a hardworking part of the student council. Would it be possible to pair her up with a more suitable opponent after all? It would be a more fulfilling first combat experience to face someone on more of an equal level."
"..."
Hina angrily starts to say something, but then Arthur quickly interrupts her and he tries to reason with Hugh. He falls silent as he seemingly contemplates Arthur's words.
I hesitated at first because he is a capture target and honestly also because I am still afraid of facing a fire magic user and such a powerful one at that…
However, now seeing how Hina and Arthur immediately came to my side to help me out, suddenly all my previous anxiety seems so silly.
"I'll take the duel!"
So what if my opponent uses fire? What does it matter if he is a capture target? What difference does it make if my chances of winning went from bad to worse?
I made a resolution to better myself and more importantly, I told them I'd do my best, so why should I be afraid?
"Huh?"
"Finally, we can get this over with."
"What? Lucy, are you…"
"Hm. It's okay."
"Well then, if there are no more concerns regarding the duel, the participants can return to their places and we can begin. Or are there any objections?"
The referee, seeing that things seem to have concluded, says.
"..."
"Sera, come on. Let's go."
Hina hesitantly looks at me, but lets Arthur pull her back to the audience stands.
"At least you know not to make trouble. I can respect it and because of that, I promise to face you honestly, with my full power."
"..."
Hugh says with a glimmer of curiosity in his eyes, then he turns and walks back to his spot.
…It's a good thing Hina didn't hear that. Though I'd rather he didn't say that at all!
I also take my place on the other side of the arena and mentally ready myself.
Although circumstances have changed, I think using the strategy I've come up with still gives me the best chances… even if they are slim.
"The duel will follow the standard friendly spar rules. The first clean hit decides the winner. If the strike is deemed too strong for the opponent I will intervene to block the attack, resulting in a win for the aggressor. However if it's determined that the attacker is deliberately trying to go for a killing strike, they will be immediately forfeit and will stand before the academy court to be sentenced accordingly. Are the rules clear?"
"Hm."
"Yes."
"Then, the duelists get ready."
Hearing both of our affirming answers, the atmosphere instantly becomes tense and I can hear my heart thumping loudly in my ears again. I anxiously open and close my hands, trying to ready myself for my opening move.
"And begin!"
The moment those words fall, my right hand shoots up with magical energy faintly swirling around it. The casting time is being basically nonexistent, perfect for catching opponents off guard.
Back when I was looking through all the support spells, not many of them were actually useful for any fighting, so I was starting to get a little worried.
That is, until I remembered Lucy's absurdly high affinity for light magic and how powerful it made the base shield spell too. Though even like that it wouldn't have been strong enough for my idea so I learned to use its enhanced version, now making it suitable for an opening act. So while drawing my mana I fill my heart with the required emotion, which is hope.
I believe that with the help of Hina and Arthur, together we can bring a happy ending to this world!
While thinking that a large amount of light magic surges forth from my hand as I close my eyes and lower my head. Honestly, even I think my wish is rather half-hearted, probably barely qualifying for enhancing the spell, but after testing it for a while I managed to consistently achieve the effect I was going for. Which did make me wonder…
Do I really hold so little hostility that my attack spell barely improved even after I put all my resentment into it…? Ugh, kind of depressing.
But I quickly bring myself out of my thoughts. Even if my opponent is the most powerful student, he wouldn't have had time to finish casting any offensive spells yet.
So take this, my newly created secret technique, supercharged base support magic, Create Light!
Or in more modern terms, a flashbang.
The moment I finish my spell, even with my eyes closed, pure whiteness envelops my limited vision and my eyes tear up a little.
At a baseline the light spell is enough to mostly light up a room, with Lucy's constitution I can cover a rather large area with light, but it's still not enough to distract anyone, especially when used outside. But with its enhanced version like this, it recreates the effect of the certain item I was going for rather well, maybe too well...
"Argh!"
"My eyes!"
"What was that?!"
Quite a number of wails come from the direction of the audience, but I disregard all of that and even before the spell's effect completely fades from my hand, I quickly dive in the direction I specifically decided on before the match even started.
When I feel the intensity of the light lessen a bit, I force my eyes open and just like I planned, there are a few smaller stones right within arm's reach.
Since the floor of the arena is regular dirt for the earth magic users, some stones are inevitably left thrown around randomly on the ground.
So I quickly pick one up, and start casting my second spell while standing up, lifting my gaze to find my target. I feel light magic gather around me and enveloping my body this time.
The second spell of my strategy, inspired by Arthur's first display is-
"...!"
However as my eyes focus on the scene in front of me, I can only see large, deep red and yellow swirling flames rushing towards me, like a raging tide of blaze, blocking my entire vision, vividly reminding me of the only other time I ever saw anything like this.
My heart skips a beat in panic, but my body subconsciously realizes that I don't have any time to waste at all. So I dismiss my uncast spell, and instantly create a shield to cover my entire body instead.
The moment my barrier forms, I feel a large impact hit it right after. It's not as bad as Arthur's strongest hit was, but it still takes a considerable amount of effort to block it with my hastily created spell.
But I persevere, and the flames fizzle out around me. However, my breath hitches when I see the scenery that was hidden behind the blocked spell, as only more flames await me.
I grit my teeth and put even more mana into my shield, trying to weather the coming storm.
Damn it, how did he recover so quickly? Ugh, I guess he does live up to his reputation, after all. Even Arthur told me that my strategy, however unorthodox it may be, could only guarantee a win against low to mid level fighters. But I held out hope that maybe if I do everything perfectly I could still stand a chance…
One hit. Two hits. Three. Four.
Each one more powerful than the last, but I still hold on, trying to keep my mind on track and focus on just reinforcing my shield.
Then, seemingly getting bored of using the same spell, Hugh's flames suddenly lose their ball-like shape, briefly giving me a moment of rest.
My surroundings clear up, with only smaller flames circling around me, giving me my first look at Hugh on the other side of the arena since the duel began. He seems as composed as ever, with a large amount of fire controlled by his magic swirling around him.
I clench my fist holding the rock.
This could be my only chance to have such a clear line of sight of him, and he's clearly powering up for another attack, if I manage to finish before him, I could still have a chance. If I can just focus…
"Haah. Haah."
This isn't good, I feel my breathing quicken and certain memories are trying to surface… But I quickly push them down.
I can't give in, not yet.
"...!"
However, my loss of concentration results in wasting my opportunity as the flames circling around me intensify and completely envelop me.
Compared to before when I could focus my magic to my front, now I'm forced to spread my magical power evenly across my entire shield.
While the overall strength of the fire sphere is on par with the previous fireballs, now it requires my full attention just to keep it at bay.
"This stupid… condition."
I curse under my breath.
Not only did it make me lose my chance, but now that I am truly completely surrounded by raging flames, long buried memories begin to surface again, with even more intensity this time.
My old room during an ordinary night. The sound of some faint crackling waking me. Opening my door in a daze, only to be met with…
The same scene as the one currently before me.
Crack. Crack.
Lines and small gaps start to appear in my shield spell as I start losing control over my body. I can only keep it up by reducing the surface area of my barrier by letting it come closer to my body.
So even though my shield still barely stands and it should block the fire around me, I still vividly feel the heat scorching my limbs, just like how those flames did back then. That pain having been carved right into my soul.
W-will I have to go through it all again?
I… I don't want that. It was so scary the last time, only the certainty of death gave me some comfort back then.
With these terrifying flames…
Just as my thoughts are threatening to spiral out of control, I suddenly recall a different memory.
With tall trees surrounding a clearing with a single statue. Under the gleaming moonlight, there was a flickering flame that wasn't so scary. And that flame…
Seraphina… Hina. My first, precious friend in this world.
Right, she must be watching right now. Knowing her, she must be scolding me for not forfeiting already.
Haha, and she would be right, it's just me and my stubbornness. But it's exactly because she's watching that I can't give up.
All that time she spent with me and supported me with my training… I can't let them go to waste!
Thinking about Hina helps me clear my mind and escape from my memories for now. So without missing this chance, I mobilise all the light magic I can.
With a surge of power, I push all the mana I can into my shield, making all the cracks disappear and I also make the area of my spell suddenly expand.
"Ugh!"
This process feels like I'm trying to lift a crushing weight above me, but I just plant my feet and push with all my might!
"Hya!"
By suddenly making my shield a few times larger, it manages to push away the fire sphere, making the mass of flames separate, seemingly disrupting the spell. This single move already cost me almost everything I have, but I still force my body to move. With all flames still in the air, probably already in the process of connecting back together, my vision is still limited, but I really can't afford to wait so I just have to take a chance.
"Now take this!"
Without even catching my breath, my shield dissipates into wisps of light magic, then gets pulled back towards my body and seeps right into my muscles as I cast the base light magic, Enhance Strength!
At the same time I stretch my right hand back, and the moment the spell takes effect I turn my body and flung arm forward, throwing the rock in my hand at an inhuman speed.
While Arthur mainly used wind magic to enhance his speed, I'm not good at fighting so that wouldn't have been useful for me. But with just strength enhancement and throwing, I could practice those simple movements over and over again to perfect it.
I listen as the rock cuts through the air with a loud whistle and swirling up a large amount of dust. Then…
Bang!
It hits something with a loud, deafening sound.
"Haah. Haah."
All of these struggles, both mental and physical, are taking their toll on me, and I can barely hold onto my consciousness while my body is also screaming at me to rest. But I need to stay awake. I need to see the outcome…
Everything falls silent for a few seconds. As the dust begins to settle I see one person who is probably the referee standing nearby and the rest of the arena also starts to become visible.
Though with my blurry vision, I can't make out many details. So instead I force my eyes towards my opponent, who…
Is still standing at the same spot as before, with the protection magic of the audience stand behind him active.
And with the referee not making any announcements, these details can only lead to one answer.
I missed.
"Ha… haha… of course…"
The words barely leave my mouth as all the strength leaves my body and the ground comes rushing towards me.
I couldn't stop it even if I wanted to, I just have no energy left at this point. Not like I could do anything more in this duel now anyway…
"I'm sorry Hina…"
With that as my last thought, my consciousness finally fades.