The class was led to a separate outdoors area. It was an incredibly large open space with nothing in it. Like, even the floor was different from those reflective bricks on campus. It was like one giant white tile.
("This is the dueling grounds?") [Solace]
"Number Zero, please set the dueling grounds to one versus one. The environment will be neutral." [Tellen]
("Number Zero?") [Solace]
"Understood." [Number Zero]
I heard Number Zero's voice echoing from the skies. Within an instant, the empty outdoors area shifted into a flat grassy plain.
"Don't be alarmed, transfer students. That is an A.I. or artificial intelligence that handles nearly all the school's facilities. For this particular facility, it can set the environment, size, number of enemies, and number of allies. Pretty advanced stuff." [Tellen]
From the looks of it, they probably don't know Number Zero is a literal robot with physical form. It's still pretty impressive though.
"Well, you two are up. Just ask the A.I. if you want any weapons." [Tellen]
She looked to Fina and Silman before aiming a thumb at the grassy plains. As this was happening, I was beginning to feel a bit jittery.
"This should be interesting." [Leynha]
"...Are you not concerned?" [Solace]
"The fight's going to happen no matter what, so why worry?" [Leynha]
Once Fina and Silman entered the arena, Silman reached out to the air.
"Can you give me a sparring sword, Number Zero?" [Silman]
Within seconds a dull sword appeared in his hand. He then placed it on his shoulder while waiting for Fina.
"Aren't you going to call for a weapon?" [Silman]
"I'm thinking about it." [Fina]
Fina scratched her chin as she contemplated something. I wasn't too sure of what she was thinking, but the students were getting impatient.
"Number Zero, is it possible for you to give me the grimoire of Efrix the Fourth Archmage?" [Fina]
"...What?" [Silman]
Just like the dull blade, something appeared within seconds. It was a thick book with a black cover that seemed to float near Fina. No one spoke for several seconds until Leynha broke the silence
"The hell is that?" [Leynha]
Her words seemed to snap everyone back to reality.
"W-Wait, that's cheating! Her weapon is a grimoire of an Archmage level!" [Silman]
"I argue that to use a grimoire of a high level requires the condition of having enough mana, knowledge, mana manipulation, and skill to use it. If I wasn't at a high level of magic I wouldn't be able to use a single spell from this grimoire." [Fina]
"What if you focused everything into being able to use one of its spells? Even a single spell in that grimoire is more than enough to take out a knight order with ease." [Silman]
"That in itself would be impressive. To be honest, it would be more difficult to do that. You would understand if you knew how mages worked." [Fina]
Silman raised a brow.
"This is a Knight's academy. You're here to learn physical combat. Not magic." [Silman]
"Silman makes a good point. Fina, please choose a different weapon. Magic is banned from this duel." [Tellen]
I thought there'd be pushback from Fina, but she actually complied.
"Understood. Number Zero, please remove the grimoire." [Fina]
Just like how it appeared, the book vanished.
"Number Zero, please give me a dagger and a buckler." [Fina]
A small blade and an equally small metal shield appeared.
("The hell is that?") [Solace]
The dagger I understand, but a shield that's only a little bigger than your fist is crazy. Like, I get that she needs lighter weapons to accommodate her small frame. However, isn't this too much?
"...Interesting choice." [Silman]
"It's an effective one." [Fina]
"Are you two ready?" [Tellen]
"Yes." [Fina] [Silman]
The two took their combat stances.
"Begin!" [Tellen]
I expected Silman to attack first, but it was actually Fina who took the initiative. She rushed forward, causing Silman to release a flurry of slashes. In response, Fina deflected most of the attacks with her shield, yet couldn't find an opening to get within range of the dagger.
("He's using the sword's length to keep her at bay!") [Solace]
He was using the same principle as a spear. Use length to overcome versatility. Well, to be fair, the sword is already considered one of the most versatile weapons anyway so this was an uphill battle for Fina.
"|Gale Blade|!" [Silman]
Mixed within the flurry of slashes was a single air projectile. For many others, it was probably invisible. For me, I could see a clear crescent slash cutting through the air as Fina narrowly evaded it.
("Did she look at the blade's angle to predict its trajectory?") [Solace]
Though Fina was forced to be on the defensive, she tried to make a gap to turn things around. Flipping her dagger on its head, she threw it downwards at Silman's foot.
"She's throwing away her weapon?!" [Leynha]
Something like that was expected to miss and was considered throwing her weapon away, in which case, it did. Silman slid his foot back and successfully evaded the dagger before returning his focus to Fina.
"That wasn't a very smart move." [Silman]
Just as he was about to lay on the pressure, Fina kicked the dagger upwards. This led to her weapon striking Silman's sword arm mid-swing.
"Urgh!" [Silman]
Silman flinched. A normal reaction to pain. However, that seemingly normal reaction is what Fina calculated her movements for and predicted to capitalize on. She immediately smashed her shield on Silman's fingers wrapping the sword handle to force a disarm before unleashing a brutal beating with just her fists.
("Holy shit, she's beating his ass!") [Solace]
She was giving Silman straight belt to ass. Fina aimed for soft spots on the body and only used the edge of her shield to strike places with more bone like the chest or skull. Within seconds, Silman was on the ground.
"Stop! The duel is over!" [Tellen]
The weapons vanished within an instant, leaving Silman beaten and bleeding from cuts made by the shield. Fina, on the other hand, was completely fine. It was like she didn't spend any stamina whatsoever. Maybe she built that stamina from our travels?
"So, did I win?" [Fina]
"...Yes, you won. Someone take Silman to the infirmary, we'll continue class from here." [Tellen]
No one seemed to step up as if they were afraid of getting on Fina's bad side if they tried to help, so I stepped in instead.
"I'll take him." [Solace]
I approached Silman and pulled his arm over my shoulder for support as he groaned in pain.
"A little-Ugh! -Slower would've been nice…!" [Silman]
Silman was apparently so hurt that he didn't even bother raising his head. Or perhaps, he couldn't.
"The duel was your idea, man." [Solace]
I walked him out to the plaza, far from the class, dragging Silman pretty much everywhere. His groans were becoming constant as I walked around, eventually stopping in place.
"...Are we there yet?" [Silman]
"...Uh, not yet." [Solace]
I tried to get around again, searching for the infirmary. Unfortunately, I found myself back to where I started. Well, not as far back as the dueling grounds. I only returned to the plaza.
"...Fuck." [Solace]
Around then is when Silman decided to raise his head.
"...Why are we here? You've been dragging me around for six or seven minutes, and we're STILL here?" [Silman]
"Okay, to be fair, this is my first time on campus." [Solace]
"Then why did you volunteer to take me to the infirmary?! Wait, are you doing this on purpose?! I only challenged your friend to a duel! Besides, It's not like it was anything personal! I did it so that everyone would accept you guys into the class more easily!" [Silman]
Did this guy really plan all that? Did Silman guide the circumstances into a duel so Fina could prove herself? Was he really not that bad a guy? Well, I saved the thinking for later and just tried to get past what was happening in the now.
"...You have a lot of energy for someone so injured." [Solace]
"You have a lot to say to someone who's not very helpful!" [Silman]
Okay, maybe he was lying about trying to help earlier. A good guy probably wouldn't say that.
"You know I could break your legs right now and say it's injuries incurred from the duel from Fina right?" [Solace]
"Oh." [Silman]
We both just silently stared at each other.
"...You gonna tell me where the infirmary is or nah?" [Solace]
"O-oh, yeah…" [Silman]