For Sale. Fallen Lady. Never Used.

Iona was a thorough pragmatist.

To the extent that instead of fighting as if to kill each other, she would actually push you to kill.

If it weren’t for the Blood Shift magic that transferred the damage to herself, Class A would have been annihilated, except for me.

Well… having experienced the War of the Gods and considering Iona’s own goals, it made sense, and it was actually effective.

But it was a different story when I was the one getting hit.

“Being a first-year, I think a one-on-one duel with a professor is too early for me.”

“It’s okay! It’s okay! Even if you were in your fourth year, dueling with me would be 300 years too early, right? I’ll go easy on you, so don’t worry!”

“…Then why duel with me?”

“That’s simple!”

Iona, smiling brightly, continued with a suddenly serious expression.

“Yandel. Be honest, does dueling with other kids help you?”

“Umm…”

Even when I only knew how to use Wind Cutter and not even a shield, the students in Class A were no match for me.

The exception was perhaps Elisha, but Elisha is now my slave.

In such a situation, not only had I learned most of the basic magic, but I’d also leveled up for reasons like dungeon exploration and social monster subjugation.

As Iona said, there was hardly anything to gain from dueling with students from other classes.

In fact, these days at the academy, we treat it as studying theory, and practical training was done in the dorms.

Iona seemed unwilling to just let me skip classes without any consequences.

I had no choice but to nod in understanding her reasoning.

“Yes… Please go easy on me.”

“Yep! Oh, I’m just asking, but is there any student who objects?”

Naturally… there were none who objected; they would’ve liked it, rather.

Cursed lot.

It’s not them getting hit, that’s why.

---

I arrived at the training ground with a slightly heavy heart.

While other students were gathering in small groups to prepare for their usual duels, I was a bit away, warming up alone.

“Are you done warming up?”

“My body is ready, but not my mind…”

“That means you’re ready!”

Iona, who had been crouching, suddenly jumped up and stood.

I reflexively took out my staff and dagger to take a stance, and Iona’s blood-red eyes gleamed mischievously.

“Hmm. You say you’re not ready, but your body is all prepared!”

“That’s not how you’re supposed to use that phrase.”

“I know! I know! But it’s a fun class activity, right? It’s just a joke to make you smile!”

Iona, pulling up the corners of her mouth with her fingers, made a playful expression.

Was it because of her looks that she seemed like a thug? Despite feeling depressed about getting beat up, I couldn’t help but let out a snicker.

“Shall we start then?”

“Ah, before that, I have a question, if that’s okay?”

“What is it? It’s not a weird question, right? Like Professor Iona’s age or something!”

“It’s 372 years old.”

“Whoa…”

Iona looked surprised, as if she’d been petting a cute platypus and then got pricked by its poisonous claw.

Knowing that I was aware of her age yet pretending to be surprised seemed like an attempt to change the subject, but I couldn’t let that happen.

“Anyway, getting back to the point… It’s not like there’s no one else to duel with me besides the professor.”

Behind me, Carla waved her hands in support, and Elisha, arms crossed, were both watching with a worried look.

Glancing at them, Iona nodded as if she understood.

“Ah? Carla is quite different, but Elisha would definitely be a good sparring partner for Yandel!”

“Then why…”

“She’s not a student.”

Iona sharply stated, shaking her head.

“Even though Yandel has the privilege to bring slaves anywhere, that doesn’t justify involving them in classes.”

“You’re strict about this.”

“Right! Right! The rules must be adhered to! Of course, there’s nothing I can do about learning by watching over someone’s shoulder!”

Iona smiled slyly and added.

From her hand, she extended a dark red light that intertwined me and Iona.

Blood Shift.

From now on, all types of damage I receive will be borne by Iona through magic… It was the only safety measure in this sparring class.

This meant she was telling me to come at her now.

I sighed deeply and gathered my mana.

Thump, thump.

A slightly faster heartbeat than usual. The flow through my core intensified as well.

I should put to use what I had learned immediately.

The core, tuned to the fire attribute, emitted mana, and a red magic circle appeared above the staff.

“Burning fire, explode. Fireball!”

A fireball was cast with the shortest possible chant for offense.

Thanks to being specialized in the attribute, despite the simplification, the fireball was larger and faster than usual.

“Yep. Good judgment. No matter how strong the opponent is, starting with a big spell without anyone to protect you is foolish.”

Iona waved her hand with a bright smile.

Crackle.

A mound of earth rising from the ground in a ‘C’ shape engulfed the fireball.

Boom!

There was a sound of something exploding. But the earth wall remained intact. Probably only the inside was slightly crumbled.

It didn’t matter. I didn’t expect this, but I assumed it would be blocked anyway.

Immediately after casting the fireball, I continued with the chant for the next spell.

“Shine brightly. And quickly proclaim my feats. Thunderbolt.”

Although the core’s wavelength was still tuned to fire, using the opposite attribute wouldn’t be a problem unless it was completely opposite.

Lightning shot from the staff’s tip, tracing a trajectory impossible in nature and circumventing obstacles.

“Amazing! Amazing! Your chant is always so fast!”

“Then how about you take a hit for once?!”

“Ah. But I’m a professor, you know? This level is not enough!”

Iona waved her hand towards the lightning again. The lightning dispersed after hitting an invisible barrier.

But there was no next spell.

Well, there was, but it wasn’t directed at Iona.

“This arm shall be strong, unstoppable by anyone. Strength. These legs shall be swift as a thoroughbred, cutting through the wind. Haste.”

I cast two auxiliary spells with a kick off the ground.

My body, now enhanced in strength and agility, naturally accelerated.

“Aha! So you’re coming in for close combat?”

I lowered the dagger towards the rapidly approaching Iona.

Conversely, I lifted the staff high, pulling mana more forcefully.

Hmm.

Ignoring the soreness felt in the core, I recited the incantation for a spell loaded with a massive amount of mana.

“Light!”

Flash!

The view whitened blindingly. Given the massive mana and the enhancement from the blessing of the Sun God, even Iona might flinch…

“Hey, hey. I’ve been quite lenient, haven’t I?”

In a world filled with whiteness, I heard Iona’s voice.

A shiver, as if ice were poured down my back, made me dart to the side instead of forward. But then…

Scrape.

“Argh!”

I felt a burning agony in my left knee, as if my leg had been sliced through entirely. Was it Wind Cutter?

Thanks to Blood Shift, my leg wasn’t actually severed, but moving properly amidst this pain would be difficult.

However, it was true that exchanging magic head-on with Iona wouldn’t give me a chance of winning.

Gritting my teeth, I stood up, putting pressure on my aching leg.

With my mobility compromised, I was about to chant for a shield instead of another spell when…

“But, but. Remember, Yandel. Your opponent can also find your weak point!”

Iona, who had suddenly appeared right in front of me, swung her fist down from above.

More precisely, she swung a floating rock located a short distance from her fist.

Boom!

The impact was like being hammered down.

My head felt like it was being crushed, and my vision flickered.

Frozen by the sudden shock, Iona’s whisper reached my ears, her lips close to mine.

“No, no. You mustn’t lose focus until the very last moment. You can’t relax just because one attack is over, right?”

As the rock that had been hammered down began to rotate suddenly…

“Rock Throw!”

With Iona’s unnecessarily cheerful voice, it soared upward.

Thud!

There was a dull sound, like hitting a leather pouch. The problem was that I was that leather pouch.

I was unable to scream a second time, perhaps because I had expelled all the air from my lungs. Now, I just gasped, enduring the pain of my chest being crushed.

Despite everything, the system’s correction silently completed the spell I had been casting.

“Shield!”

I was floating in the air, and Iona had her blood-red eyes wide open below.

What I had to do was clear.

“An invisible force shall become my limbs. Force Grab!”

As I did in the fight against Edmerek, I threw myself using the psychokinetic spell, Force Grab.

The target, of course, was Iona, right below me.

Scream!

My body plummeted swiftly.

Wrapped in a shield, I was practically a living cannonball at this point.

Even if blocked, I figured if the shield broke, I could land at least one hit with my dagger.

“Ha!”

I seized the opportunity I had literally thrown myself into, wide-eyed with determination. However…

All I saw was Iona, wearing a satisfied smile.

“Your concentration to use magic in any situation is truly amazing! But have you thought about what to do if you fail? Terra.”

A small clump of earth rising from her feet disrupted Iona’s balance.

Thanks to that, Iona tilted her body as if falling, narrowly avoiding a shield bash.

I extended my dagger, but even that missed.

Eventually, I was the only one to crash to the ground, scrambling to get up when…

“Fireball.”

Boom!

“Ugh!”

A burning sensation on my back forced my head back to the ground.

After that, no matter how desperately I struggled, I was thoroughly beaten in all sorts of ways.

Even when I managed to bring it to close combat, it was the same.

One curious thing was that Iona didn’t use her specialty, blood magic, or any intermediate or higher-level magic.

Only up to low-level spells. And she fought with familiar magic, excluding special types.

It felt like she was adjusting to my level.

This must be what she meant by going easy on me.

Of course, that didn’t change the fact that I was in severe pain.

After being beaten up by Iona for the entire class, I was finally released.

…Did I have to do this every day?

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