Leon had a strong competitive spirit.
Even though he never said it, Leon was always fired up whenever he fought.
He was obsessed with growth. He wanted to become stronger, and he also refused to lose.
He would get his revenge, but becoming stronger was his first step.
Leon stared at the student in front of him.
His name was Liezen Richilde, a student who had challenged him to a duel for a petty reason.
Even so, Leon didn't underestimate him.
He and that student were standing in the dueling arena, supervised by an overseer assigned to monitor student duels.
During the entrance exam, Leon had ranked 17th out of 33 students. Meanwhile, Liezen had made it into the top 10, and his strength was not to be taken lightly.
"Are you scared now?"
Liezen's mocking voice echoed. Leon stayed silent, staring at him, while Liezen gave a sneering smile.
"Even if you want to back down now, it's too late. But if you apologize and kneel before me right now, I'll forgive you and let you go."
Leon let out a long sigh, raised his sword, and gave a faint smile.
That calm smile made Liezen visibly irritated.
"Sorry, but I never once considered giving up."
Liezen snorted, then pointed his sword at Leon and said:
"In that case, don't expect me to go easy on you."
At that moment, the overseer who had been watching the entire time raised his voice:
"Killing intent is not allowed. The match ends when one surrenders or passes out, and if one of you is injured seriously enough to threaten their life, I will stop the duel. Understood?"
"Yes."
Both answered at the same time.
At that moment, other students began arriving to watch the match. From afar, Hestia looked at Leon with worry.
Meanwhile, in the corner of the room, Algen observed with sharp pupils. A smile formed on his face.
Back in the dueling arena, the overseer stepped away from the center of the field, then stopped at a distant line and said:
"Begin."
At that moment, Liezen's body shot forward at high speed, arriving in front of Leon in a flash.
Liezen swung his sword, yellow aura enveloping the blade.
Although arrogant, Liezen was a swordsman who had been trained exceptionally well by his family.
He came from a noble family with an outstanding reputation.
His ancestors were one of the Empire's key powers in their era, and their sword techniques had been passed down from generation to generation, always producing various talents.
Their sword style was simple, yet fast and deadly.
Leon knew that, thanks to his past experience as a noble.
That was why Leon stayed cautious and never underestimated his opponent.
Leon exhaled calmly.
The attack was aimed to slash his shoulder, but with a clear and composed mind, Leon raised his sword and blocked it.
Clank—!!!!
The sound of clashing swords rang out.
Liezen, whose strike had been blocked, showed an expression full of surprise.
He jumped back, staring at Leon with a mixture of irritation and fear.
"You… you've awakened your sword aura."
Fighting a sword aura user without having one was an absolute loss.
Leon knew that—and it was also the reason why Liezen was so confident.
The difference in power between someone with sword aura and without it was like a deep chasm.
It was impossible to defeat them without a sword aura.
Also...
Awakening sword aura wasn't easy. The process was complex and full of suffering.
At the Academy, among first-year students, only three had managed to awaken their sword aura.
A genius among geniuses, Sierin was one of them—a figure who carved her name into history and awakened her sword aura faster than anyone else in the world.
Leon raised his sword, glowing with a clear blue aura.
He became the fourth sword aura wielder in the academy—but in truth, he had already been capable of doing so even before enrolling.
He wasn't as fast as Sierin, but in the end, he could still be recorded as one of the fastest.
Leon just never mentioned it.
Not because there was a reason.
He just didn't.
Leon looked at Liezen, and a smile appeared on his face.
"Are you scared?" he said, provoking Liezen.
"Heh… Fine, I admit you're impressive for a fallen noble. But you've gone too far for a mere commoner now."
Liezen grinned and dashed forward.
Leon spun his sword, guiding it behind him. When Liezen arrived in front of him, Leon struck forward.
Claaankk—!!!!
The sound of clashing swords echoed as their auras collided, creating a swirling gust that whipped around them.
"Khg..!"
Leon winced, and Liezen didn't seem to be doing well either.
Both overwhelmed by the clash, Liezen pulled back.
At that moment, Leon didn't waste a breath and lunged forward again.
Liezen exhaled sharply.
In his current position, Liezen had to receive Leon's attacks while retreating, defending blow after blow.
The sound of sword strikes kept ringing in the air.
Leon raised his sword, then enveloped his legs with magical energy.
At that moment, his speed drastically increased.
'Found it.'
Leon's eyes lit up as he spotted an opening at Liezen's waist. But just as he went to strike that exposed spot, Leon was stunned.
Clank—!!!
In an inhuman position, Liezen twisted his arm and blocked Leon's attack.
Out of breath, Leon quickly backed off to catch his breath.
His surprised eyes met Liezen's.
"Surprised, huh?"
Liezen smiled and waved the arm he had just twisted to block Leon's strike.
As if it were nothing, he twisted his arm again, restoring it to normal as though nothing had happened.
"I can freely alter the bone structure in my body."
Liezen smiled.
Leon, who was initially shocked, gradually calmed down.
Leon had two talents at once.
He could be a swordsman, but he could also be a mage.
That was why he could use magical energy on his legs to increase his speed.
Some people were born with special bodies and talents, and Leon realized that.
Liezen thought the same.
Leon was born special—with dual talent.
"I didn't want to do this, but... From here on, I'm going all out."
Leon gripped his sword and stared sharply at Liezen.
Liezen's strength might have been greater than Leon had expected.
Liezen wouldn't be in the top ten for no reason.
He had to be that strong to be ranked there.
Leon strengthened his sword aura.
"You're going all out? I'd like to see what that looks li—oh!!"
Before Liezen could finish speaking, Leon suddenly launched an attack that caught him off guard, causing him to react too late.
Though struggling, Liezen still managed to block Leon's sword strike coming from the right.
But because Leon was airborne, Liezen didn't anticipate the kick from the left.
Leon's kick was enhanced by magical energy, making it far more powerful than Liezen had expected.
Baam—!!!
The loud impact echoed, and Liezen winced as he was launched into the air. Ignoring the pain, Liezen corrected his posture and landed on the ground.
"Damn it—"
As Liezen cursed, Leon suddenly appeared beside him with terrifying speed.
At that moment, Leon smiled.
"Have you ever seen someone use both sword aura and magic to coat their sword?"
The sword stopped at Liezen's neck.
The blade, wrapped in blue aura and magical energy, looked as if it was sheathed in the galaxy itself.
Liezen froze in place, then heard the overseer's voice:
"Duel over. Leon wins."
Liezen stood frozen, as if he couldn't believe what had just happened.
Then, his expression turned dark with frustration.
"Wait! I don't accept this! I only lost because I let my guard down a little. One more time and I'll beat him properly!"
"Silence. You've lost, so stop making excuses."
Liezen flinched at the overseer's words.
Then, overcome with emotion, he tried to stubbornly demand a rematch.
But the overseer took action, striking the back of his neck and knocking him out on the spot.
"Why does this always happen during duels?"
The overseer sighed.
Seriously, why did this cliché always happen every time students dueled?
He simply shook his head and called for a medic to take Liezen to the academy's infirmary.
Meanwhile, Leon was showered with cheers from the other students.
"Leon! That was amazing!"
"This is insane! Rank 17 beat Rank 10? Am I dreaming?"
"Does that mean he's now Rank 10?"
"Forget that—Leon already has his sword aura. He's the fourth one!"
Ignoring it all, Leon quietly wiped the sweat from his face.
"...."
The moment he won, he saw Liezen's sword. It was crackling with sparks that resembled lightning.
Thinking about that made Leon realize—Liezen really hadn't used his full strength yet.
'Good thing I ended it quickly.'
If the fight had continued, Leon didn't know what would have happened.
Maybe he would've lost, or barely won?
Or perhaps the overseer would've stopped them.
Leon let out a deep breath. He wanted to walk toward Hestia, but stopped when someone stared at him.
It was a student with red pupils.
"Farley?"