The five students continued staring at me.
I continued staring at my berries.
For several seconds, neither side moved.
Then I sighed.
The berry bush was no longer providing emotional support.
A tragedy.
"You here for the duel requests?"
The student standing at the front stepped forward.
A tall guy.
Brown hair.
Spear.
Confident expression.
The sort of confidence usually found right before disaster.
"That's right."
I nodded.
"Good."
The five students looked relieved.
Then I pointed toward the pathway.
"Form a line."
Silence.
"..."
"..."
"..."
The spear user blinked.
"What?"
"Line."
I pointed again.
"There are five of you."
"Yes?"
"If everyone attacks at once, that would be rude."
The silence somehow deepened.
One of the girls nearly choked.
"You can't be serious."
"I am."
I ate another berry.
"Please keep the queue orderly."
Several nearby students started laughing.
The spear user looked offended.
Then he looked at the other challengers.
Then he looked at me.
Then somehow—
a line formed.
I felt strangely proud.
Civilization had prevailed.
"Name?"
The spear user frowned.
"Kieran."
"Good."
I stood.
Brushed berry juice from my fingers.
Then stretched.
Several students immediately stepped backward.
Wise decision.
"Ready?"
Kieran lowered his spear.
Mana gathered around the weapon.
The crowd grew quiet.
Unlike me, they apparently intended to take this seriously.
The spear user lunged.
Fast.
Actually fast.
The tip of his spear blurred.
Three thrusts.
Five.
Eight.
Each aimed for a different vital point.
Not bad.
Especially for a first-year.
I stepped aside.
The spear passed harmlessly by.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Kieran's eyes widened.
"Stop moving!"
"That's generally how dodging works."
The crowd laughed.
His face darkened.
Mana erupted.
The spear flashed.
Skill activation.
A dozen phantom spearheads appeared around me simultaneously.
Now that was more impressive.
I punched.
Pulse Breaker.
The phantom spears exploded.
The real spear bent.
Kieran disappeared.
Then reappeared twenty feet away after bouncing across the grass.
He stared at the twisted remains of his weapon.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Next."
The crowd lost control.
Laughter erupted throughout the garden.
Several students nearly fell over.
Kieran looked like he wanted to argue.
Then looked at his spear again.
And left.
Defeat accepted.
The second challenger stepped forward immediately.
A girl.
Silver hair.
Sharp eyes.
Beast Tamer.
Interesting.
Unlike Kieran, she didn't speak.
She simply snapped her fingers.
Mana flared.
A massive wolf appeared.
Nearly eight feet tall.
Covered in stone armor.
The crowd cheered.
The wolf growled.
I looked at it.
The wolf looked at me.
We both reached the same conclusion.
This wasn't going to end well.
The beast charged.
The ground shook.
Students jumped aside.
The wolf opened its jaws.
I punched it.
Meteor Impact.
The wolf became airborne.
The summon traveled through a fountain.
Destroyed half the fountain.
And disappeared.
The girl froze.
Then slowly looked at the empty space where her summon had once existed.
"..."
I pointed toward the exit.
"Next."
The third challenger was a support specialist.
Which was already concerning.
Support players were either completely harmless.
Or complete psychopaths.
There was no middle ground.
This one apparently belonged to the second category.
Buff.
Buff.
Buff.
Buff.
Buff.
The man spent almost two full minutes layering enhancements onto himself.
The crowd watched.
I watched.
The berry bush watched.
Eventually he finished.
Golden light covered his body.
His muscles doubled in size.
His aura exploded outward.
He pointed dramatically.
"I am ready."
"Good."
I punched him.
One hit.
Fight over.
The crowd exploded into laughter again.
The support specialist remained unconscious.
Still glowing.
The fourth challenger was a shield user.
A giant.
Absolute unit.
His shield looked large enough to stop a siege weapon.
Finally.
Someone with common sense.
Defense.
A respectable life choice.
He charged.
I met him halfway.
Wall Breaker.
The shield survived.
Mostly.
The owner didn't.
The giant flew backward through three bushes and a bench.
The crowd applauded.
I felt proud of the shield.
It had tried its best.
The fifth challenger was a mage.
Unfortunately for him.
Dragon Knights existed.
He ran.
I chased him.
He ran faster.
I chased faster.
The duel somehow turned into a lap around the Library Garden.
Students started placing bets.
The librarians started shouting.
Nobody listened.
Eventually the mage ran out of mana.
Then he ran out of hope.
Then he ran out of options.
A simple punch concluded the discussion.
By now the crowd had grown enormous.
Dozens of students.
Then hundreds.
People were arriving from every direction.
Some carried food.
Others carried notebooks.
A few had apparently started recording everything using mana devices.
One enterprising student had somehow opened a betting pool.
The Academy truly nurtured entrepreneurial spirit.
I sat back down beside my berry bush.
Victory tasted surprisingly similar to purple berries.
A pleasant discovery.
"Next."
A student stepped forward.
Then another.
Then another.
The line somehow became longer.
I wasn't entirely sure how.
Word was spreading faster than common sense.
Several familiar faces appeared within the crowd.
Tay Valen.
The Hero.
Looking confused.
Reasonable.
Beside him stood several classmates.
Farther back—
the dark-haired girl.
The same one.
Still completely ignoring him.
A battle even destiny couldn't win.
I respected that.
The duels continued.
One after another.
And slowly—
the atmosphere began changing.
The laughter faded.
The jokes became quieter.
The crowd became denser.
More attentive.
Then something unusual happened.
The line stopped moving.
That immediately caught my attention.
I looked up from my berries.
The crowd had fallen silent.
Students moved aside.
Making room.
Not because they were told to.
Because they wanted to.
Someone was approaching.
A single student stepped forward.
No arrogance.
No dramatic entrance.
No boasting.
No excitement.
Just confidence.
The dangerous kind.
The kind that didn't need to announce itself.
The academy badge on his chest glimmered beneath the afternoon sun.
And beside his name—
Academy Rank 10.
I slowly stood.
The student stopped several feet away.
The crowd held its breath.
Then he smiled.
"I've heard you've been collecting duel victories."
I brushed berry juice from my fingers.
"And I've heard you're interrupting my afternoon."
His smile widened.
Mine did too.
At last.
Things were about to get interesting.
To Be Continued...