Knight Division Training Grounds.
Twenty-five gleaming gold coins were stacked neatly on the ground at the front.
They were the result of a collective contribution from multiple Knight Division students who had come to watch.
The awkward part was that the original challenger himself only had four silver coins in his pocket.
Now that Ethan's minimum demand had been met, the next question was simple—
How to defeat that Knight Division student.
Ethan took off the Arcane Division's iconic black robe. Not only was it absurdly expensive, he owned just two of them.
If one were damaged, he wouldn't even have time to rotate outfits.
Beneath it, he wore a linen short-sleeved undershirt, revealing well-defined, muscular arms. His chest and already distinct six-pack were faintly visible through the fabric.
Standing nearby, Giselle couldn't help but feel surprised.
Ethan's build looked ordinary under his robe—like a frail mage—but without it, he resembled a hardened soldier.
By contrast, the Knight Division student beside him was a full head taller, his exaggerated muscles bulging as other students helped him strap on a suit of scale armor.
Kyle, the Knight Division's training instructor, was also serving as the referee for this duel.
Noticing that one of the participants was unarmored, he offered kindly:
"Student Ethan, if you don't have armor, I can lend you a set."
"Thank you, Instructor Kyle," Ethan replied. "But I won't need armor for this duel."
He declined politely.
It wasn't arrogance—his greatest advantage right now was agility.
Once weighed down by armor, that advantage would vanish.
He had only studied magic for two years.
But knightly training?
That had lasted a full twelve years—until that damned war two years ago, when he lost the man who had trained him all his life.
Ethan gently ran his fingers along the sword's hilt, feeling its coarse texture.
Unlike his opponent, who had chosen a longsword-and-shield combination, Ethan carried only a sword.
A hand-and-a-half sword, roughly 110 centimeters long and weighing about three pounds—usable with one hand or two.
Holding the blade in both hands, Ethan practiced a few basic movements behind him: thrust, slash, cleave, draw-cut.
"Almost a year since I last touched it… still got it."
This was a skill etched into his bones. How could it ever be lost?
Gripping the sword again, the image of a tall knight slowly surfaced in his mind.
If that man were still alive, he wouldn't be standing here on the brink of homelessness.
Everything felt as though it had been priced by fate itself.
That war took his father. His mother fell ill soon after.
Then came his awakening of arcane talent—and his admission to Solmar Royal Academy.
Ethan shook his head, casting away all stray thoughts, and focused fully on the duel.
Opposite him, the Knight Division student took nearly four minutes to finish putting on his armor with help.
Seeing that his opponent was ready, the faint smile on Ethan's face faded.
He snapped the fingers of his right hand. His lips moved rapidly, muttering something under his breath.
Moments later—
To be precise, 2.1 seconds later.
A flash of white light flickered over Ethan's body. Countless hair-thin arcane runes shimmered into existence, flowing and weaving into a gently pulsing barrier.
A semi-transparent glow enveloped him, arcane energy forming a protective framework shaped like a regular dodecahedron, its outer layer gleaming with a cold, metallic sheen.
[Cantrip: Blade Ward] Lv.3 (29/30)
This was the only spell Ethan currently knew—and the one he had mastered most thoroughly.
From needing five or six seconds to cast at first, he now required just over two.
After reaching level three, its duration had increased from twenty minutes to forty.
With full mana, he could cast it four times in succession. A fifth cast would require six hours of recovery.
The damage resistance it granted had steadily improved as well.
At first, it reduced bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage by fifty percent.
At level three, that resistance had risen to sixty percent.
Instructor Kyle's eyes flickered with surprise.
He had assumed this was a duel between two Knight Division students. He hadn't expected the well-built Ethan to be from the Arcane Division.
Rare—but not unheard of.
After all, people blinded by love came in every variety, wise or foolish.
"The duel begins!"
At the command, the scale-armored Knight Division student let out a low roar and charged like a raging bull.
His tactic was simple and brutal.
Use his armor and size advantage, close the distance behind his shield, then smash Ethan to the ground.
Once pinned in a corner, he would let his blade speak for the Knight Division's unassailable pride.
Heavy footsteps pounded against the hardened training ground, each step echoing dully.
Compared to his opponent's ferocity, Ethan's response was eerily calm.
He didn't move.
He merely spread his feet slightly, lowered his center of gravity, and grasped the sword with both hands, assuming the most textbook knightly opening stance imaginable.
The moment his sword tip aligned with the charging opponent, Ethan's entire aura changed.
If he had looked like a seasoned soldier without his robe, then now—blade in hand—he was a battlefield knight, steady as a mountain.
Watching the armored warrior barrel forward, Giselle couldn't help letting out a gasp, certain Ethan would be sent flying the next instant.
At the moment of contact—
Ethan moved.
He didn't meet force with force.
Instead, he turned smoothly to the side and slid forward, his movement fluid, as if practiced ten thousand times.
The shield, carrying tremendous momentum, brushed past Ethan's chest by a hair's breadth. The wind it stirred fluttered the hem of his linen shirt.
"That Arcane Division guy moves like an assassin, not a mage…" someone murmured in the crowd.
Ethan's sword struck like a viper leaving its burrow.
No flashy technique—just a clean, precise thrust, the steel blade darting toward the opponent's exposed armpit—
The weak point where the scales joined.
Clang!
A sharp metallic ring echoed.
Sparks flew as steel met steel.
The Knight Division student reacted quickly, snapping his sword back just in time. The crossguard caught Ethan's thrust at the last moment.
His heart jolted.
That speed and precision were not something an ordinary mage should possess.
Casting aside his earlier contempt, he retreated half a step, sword and shield crossing defensively.
Ethan remained expressionless, adjusting his stance. His sword tip tracked the opponent's movement, coiled and ready.
On the sidelines, Giselle stared wide-eyed.
That calm, commanding figure, those hawk-like eyes—
It was hard to reconcile him with the quiet, black-robed boy from the Arcane Division.
Instructor Kyle's expression grew increasingly grave.
In his assessment, though the Knight Division student had greater strength and full armor, he was completely suppressed in technique and control of combat rhythm.
Ethan's swordsmanship was brutally practical—the kind forged by real battle.
After several probing exchanges, both fighters had reached a preliminary understanding.
Neither was an easy opponent.
"This is troublesome…" Ethan thought.
He trusted his sword skills, but his opponent was no amateur.
Now that the knight had switched to defense, with both armor and shield, breaking through would be difficult.
In a straight one-on-one, even if Ethan were fully armored, he might not win quickly.
In that case—
Don't blame me.
Ethan slipped his left hand into his pocket and touched a solid, smooth rectangular card.
[Goblin Attendant]
Type: Ethan's Summon Card
Rank: One Star
Quality: Green (Fine)
Specialty: Stealth +6
Senses: Darkvision 60 ft, Passive Perception 9
Innate Skill: Void Step (Tier 1)
Effect: Steps directly into any void space of the world. Cooldown: 1 minute.
Note:"It does not vanish—it steps behind the curtain of the world."
"Good," Ethan thought. "I brought it with me."
His nerves settled. A faint smile returned to his face.
Perhaps buoyed by his improved mood, even the knight's rough, brutish face looked a little more agreeable.
"Hey," Ethan called out, "have you ever seen magic?"
"???"
The knight didn't answer, his small, dull eyes filling with suspicion.
"It's a kind of disappearing act," Ethan continued casually. "For example—"
Before the words even finished—
A gnarled, thick wooden club tore through a warped spatial rift.
Behind the Knight Division student, a thin, wiry little hand raised it high.
Then brought it straight down.
Crack!
The blow landed squarely on the back of the knight's unhelmeted head.
The knot-covered club smashed deep into tender flesh.
"…like making a goblin with a club appear."
The world spun.
Darkness flooded in.
The Knight Division student collapsed forward, stiff as a board, crashing face-first into the ground.