"The winner of the duel is Cedric Von Helmut!"
As Mister Daimon announced the end of the fight, I leaned back in my seat, exhaling slowly.
'So he actually pulled it off…'
Throughout the duel, I was almost certain I had lost my bet betting on Cedric to win and take the class leader position had seemed like a mistake halfway through the fight.
Cassian had been stronger, faster, and far more skilled than him.
But then that monster emerged.
'Blood manipulation.'
I hadn't expected him to push his blessing to that level. But thinking about it now, it made sense.
His blessing allowed him to control liquids like a wave, bending them to his will. And what's the most readily available liquid that's full of one's own mana?
"Blood."
A grin tugged at the corner of my lips.
"I guess he ain't all that stupid."
[Status Window]
Name: Cassian Orion Raven
Title: The Fallen Star
Race: Human(100%)
Class: Mage/Swordsman
Talent Grade: 9 High Star
Current Mage Level: 1 Mid Star Mage
Strength: 9
Stamina: 16
Durability: 9
Mana: 89 (5)
Intelligence: E+
Affinity: Fire/Wind
Blessings (1): The Blessing of Eternal Frost]
It seem that her mana is almost all drain huh.
I narrowed my eyes, my gaze shifting away from Cedric's beaten form to someone far more interesting.
A black-haired guy in a red and black uniform.
Class A1.
The apex of geniuses in the first year. Those who stood at the very peak of the academy's hierarchy.
Normally, they wouldn't even bat an eye at something as trivial as a duel between Class D nobodies. Yet he was here. Watching.
My fingers tapped against my armrest as I studied him. He wasn't just some curious bystander.
No, something about the way he observed the fight, his posture, his expression it was calculated.
'Entertainment? No… that can't be it.'
Throughout the duel, his eyes were always locked onto Cassian.
When she was winning, there was a faint smile on his lips, and just before Cedric turned the tables, he had even been about to walk away as if the result had already been decided in his mind.
But then Cassian started losing.
His expression shifted.
The amusement vanished, replaced by something far more telling. Worry.
And now, as Cassian lay defeated, collapsed from mana exhaustion, his face had turned completely cold.
He didn't linger.
No words.
No reaction.
He just turned and walked away.
I watched his retreating back, my mind churning.
Who the hell was he?
And why did he care so much about Cassian?
'Maybe he fallen for Cassian? Who know?'
-----------------------------------
Cassian lay motionless on the infirmary bed, staring up at the plain white ceiling.
Her body felt heavy, her limbs weak, her mana completely drained.
Every muscle ached, and the dull throb in her chest reminded her of the brutal slam Cedric had delivered in the final moments of the duel.
But the pain in her body was nothing compared to the bitterness swirling inside her.
"I lost."
She clenched her fists against the sheets, her nails digging into her palms.
"How could I lose? I had the upper hand. I was stronger. Faster. More experienced."
Cassian gritted her teeth, a lump forming in her throat.
"I should have ended it faster. I should have never let it drag on. I should have end it"
A bitter laugh escaped her lips.
"No. I was arrogant. I underestimated him."
She had let herself get caught up in his struggle, in his desperation. She thought she was in control, but Cedric…
He was a cornered beast.
"He should have lost."
"But I let my guard down."
"And now look at me."
She shut her eyes tight.
"Pathetic."
Her vision blurred as hot tears welled up in her eyes.
"I fought my whole life to survive, to prove myself, to stand above those arrogant bastards who look down on me. And yet, in the end, I was the arrogant one."
A bitter laugh forced itself from her throat, but it came out broken, choked.
Her arms trembled as she tried to cover her face, but the tears spilled over anyway.
"I worked so hard. I sacrificed so much. And still, I wasn't enough."
Her shoulders shook as sobs wracked her body. She bit her lip, trying to hold them back, but it was useless.
Cassian was too lost in her despair to notice the approaching footsteps. Her quiet sobs filled the otherwise silent infirmary, the weight of her loss pressing down on her chest like an iron chain.
Then-
A shadow loomed over her bed.
She stiffened, her teary eyes flickering up, only to meet the cold, unreadable gaze of a black-haired boy in a red and black uniform, the uniform of Class A1.
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