Vol 5. Chapter 29: Training Match

“The second-year students probably don’t need me to read the match rules aloud, but for the sake of the first-year newcomers, I’ll explain them anyway.”

“Once the match begins, neither side will be able to enter or leave any area outside the combat zone. Any attempt to do so will be blocked and rebounded by the barrier.”

“The damage-taking belts will calculate whether damage is lethal. However, be aware that damage-taking belts do have limits. If your opponent’s belt displays a string of red numbers, that means the opponent has been eliminated. Pursuit is forbidden. In addition, once someone is eliminated, that person’s belt will issue an alert as well. The eliminated student may no longer cast magic or make any attacks.”

“Lastly, the match comes second, friendship comes first. Keep things restrained between both sides.”

“The permitted attack methods in this match are hand-to-hand combat, weapon combat, magic, and magic from enchanted items. Alchemy and anything related to scroll arts are prohibited.”

“You may use magic items you brought yourselves, but no more than two. The match ends once both members of one side have been eliminated. Did all of you understand?” The referee looked at both sides. “Do I need to repeat anything?”

Vinny and Aesphyra said nothing. Instead, they looked at Margaret and Connie.

As second-years, they had heard these pre-match reminders so many times their ears were about to grow calluses. This was mainly meant for the two juniors.

“I understand. Thank you for the detailed explanation.” Margaret placed one hand over her chest and smiled faintly.

“Ah, ah, me too!” Connie’s reaction was a beat slow. Only then did she realize everyone was waiting for her reply, and she hurriedly spoke up.

“Then I will raise the combat-zone barrier now. Everyone, prepare yourselves. Please do not move, in case the wave emitted by the barrier pushes you over.” With that, the referee retreated outside the field.

“CLACK, CLACK!”

After the field trembled slightly, the four combat zones were each surrounded by countless invisible barriers.

Once formed, those barriers swiftly dissolved in shape and became translucent, leaving only a faint sense of their presence.

Both sides held their breath and focused all their attention on their opponents. Only Connie fumbled a little as she took out her staff, then stood there hugging it, somewhat at a loss.

Quite a few spectating students felt some sympathy for Connie. This was completely like an ordinary person wandering into a god-tier matchup. The combat power simply did not match.

Vinny, however, paid Connie no mind. Ever since he entered the field, all his attention had been on the silver-haired girl opposite him.

It really was unexpected.

To think there would come a day when he actually had the ability to play opposite Aesphyra like this.

And.

Right now, his heart was surging.

Vinny removed his ice-crystal earring, and amid a flurry of snowflakes, he whipped out an ice-bladed spear.

Maybe he really did want to have a serious fight with Aesphyra.

To see how much of a gap still existed between him and the true fate heroine.

From having nothing at the very start to now being able to stand on his own, he urgently wanted to know just how much progress he had made.

And it was not only him. Across from him, Aesphyra’s attention was likewise entirely on him.

When she saw the look in Vinny’s eyes, the corners of Aesphyra’s mouth curved.

It seemed there was no need for her to remind him. He had already gotten serious and looked ready to go all out.

Neither side said anything. With only their eyes, they understood each other’s thoughts.

Then let me see how much you’ve improved?

Do you even need to say that? Just watch!

“Then the match officially begins.” The referee’s voice passed through the barrier and reached the ears of everyone present.

Vinny shook [Frostfang] in his hand and gazed solemnly at the girl facing him from afar. She gracefully and calmly drew from the sacred blessing a golden holy sword cast into shape by a sheet of golden divine light. If this were an online game, the special effects on the holy sword in Aesphyra’s hand would be VIP 18 exclusive.

Aesphyra let out a soft breath and lowered her eyes slightly. When she opened them again, those violet eyes, brilliant as stars, had withdrawn every trace of aura and fallen still. A wisp of wind that had appeared from nowhere stirred her silver hair.

Vinny knew this meant Aesphyra had corrected her stance.

He tightened his grip on the spear in his hand and stared at Aesphyra. He had clearly encountered many powerful enemies, including no small number of Demon Pillar minions who had walked out of the Demon God Abyss, yet when facing Aesphyra, he still felt a powerful, invisible pressure.

Was this the oppressive presence of a fate heroine?

As his realm and strength rose, he became increasingly sensitive to subtle changes in his surroundings. Vinny noticed that there was actually no wind direction nearby at all, yet the ends of Aesphyra’s hair were floating and swaying.

Was this energy leaking outward and lifting her hair?

After the match began, Margaret also took out her own weapon so she would not hold Vinny back. It was a one-handed hammer shaped almost like a scepter, with a blue gemstone embedded in the golden cross-shaped flanged head.

This was an enchanted weapon. It had been the coming-of-age gift the Pope had given her at her birthday banquet, and she had always treasured it dearly.

As a high-grade [Magic Tool] weapon, this gemstone flanged hammer also had its own storage function. Normally, it could be stored away as a gemstone that was convenient to carry. When used, mana could be infused into it, allowing it to reveal its original form.

“That sword is?” After Aesphyra released her weapon, Margaret looked in surprise at the golden-glowing holy sword in Aesphyra’s hand. For some reason, she felt as though she had seen that sword somewhere before.

Also, when Aesphyra summoned that weapon just now, it seemed as if she had directly grasped empty space and pulled it out?

It seemed different from the enchanted weapons that she and Upperclassman Vinny used.

Margaret’s gaze gathered on the ice-bladed spear in Vinny’s hand.

So this was Upperclassman Vinny’s weapon?

A flicker of doubt passed through Margaret’s eyes. She had thought Vinny’s weapon would be the same as hers, a one-handed hammer. After all, the Dawn Saintesses of past generations had all liked hammer-type weapons very much, though she did not know whether that was because they suited them or for some other reason.

For example, the previous Dawn Saintess, Sophia Facilis, most commonly used a one-handed hammer paired with a holy shield.

So Upperclassman Vinny’s specialty was the spear?

Vinny, beside her, had focused all his attention on Aesphyra after the match began and did not notice Margaret’s gaze at all.

The referee had clearly already announced the start of the match, but strangely enough, neither Aesphyra nor Vinny moved. They simply observed each other’s actions and maintained guarded stances.

What was going on?

The spectators were all baffled as they watched. They had come to watch the fourth-ranked second-years fight, not to watch the two of them stand there motionless like wooden statues.

It couldn’t be that, because of their usual friendship, these two could not bear to attack each other, right? Surely not?

Some of those who knew the inside story were aware that Vinny and Aesphyra actually had a fairly good relationship. However, there were still plenty of hotheads in the class. In their eyes, Vinny and Aesphyra were sworn enemies. At a time like this, they should not have been so peaceful.

After a slight hesitation, Margaret realized that the two of them were searching for each other’s openings. She also maintained her own stance, worried that she might reveal some flaw and become a breakthrough point.

“Eh? Ehhh?” This left the only outsider on the entire field completely confused.

No, what was going on?

Wasn’t this supposed to be a training battle? Why was everyone except her not moving at all?

Could it be that everyone had reached a perfect tacit understanding that fighting would hurt the harmony between them, so they had chosen to play wooden statues instead?

Of course, that explanation was far too forced. Even Connie herself did not believe it.

So what exactly was going on? Should she move or not? If this was a training match, then she probably should move and release a few spells, right?

But everyone else was not moving. If she moved, wouldn’t that make her seem a little out of step with the group?

The situation on their side not only aroused the spectators’ curiosity, but also drew the attention of the other students who were similarly in matches.

Whether first-year students or second-year students, they were all very curious about how the champion player from their own class was performing. As a result, when they glanced back in the middle of their own busyness, they discovered that those four people were playing wooden statues in place. They were all dumbfounded, and each of them stopped moving.

“Hey, hey, everyone. Losing focus during a duel is a very serious mistake. If this were actual combat, it would cost you your lives.”

Only after hearing the teacher’s stern reminder did the students in their duels react. They miraculously discovered that they had not been attacked. When they looked over, they realized their opponents were also watching the match. They barely managed to pull their gazes back and ended up staring at each other.

Fine then. Their eyes had met. Time to continue the duel!

“Student Vinny.” Shicodale watched from the side, eyes fixed closely on Vinny. Isatia, arms folded beside Shicodale, did the same, focusing only on the battle between Vinny and Aesphyra.

She could naturally tell that compared to last time, Vinny had improved again. His strength had once more advanced by leaps and bounds.

Sometimes, even she was curious about where his limits lay.

As for who had the greater advantage between Aesphyra and Vinny.

Even Isatia found that question difficult to answer. She often faced Aesphyra as an opponent in combat class, so she knew exactly how strong Aesphyra’s pressure was.

And that was only when Aesphyra was not using magic or [Saint’s Favor].

If Vinny did not use Blessing Angel’s blood, Isatia felt the situation would be very dangerous. Vinny most likely could not beat Aesphyra. Of course, that did not mean using it would give him any major chance of victory either.

Aesphyra, this woman, was unfathomable.

That was Isatia’s evaluation of her.

Very soon, everyone watching could not help wanting to shout and ask whether they could at least make one move, even though the barrier was soundproof and their voices could not get through.

“WHOOSH, WHOOSH!”

It was at that moment that movement finally appeared on the field.

Vinny had originally been holding his weapon with one hand. In other words, his other hand was free. In an instant, three ice shackles shot out from that empty hand.

They seemed to be flying toward Aesphyra.

However, upon seeing the attack coming at her, Aesphyra did not move.

Vinny’s pupils constricted.

Did she have some other plan, or had she seen through it?

Yes. This move was one of Vinny’s usual tricks. The ice shackles seemed to be aimed at the enemy, but if the enemy tried to guard against them, they would be in trouble.

That was because these ice shackles only looked as if they were flying toward the enemy. In reality, their target was the ground near the enemy.

The ice shackles struck the ground near Aesphyra, and the extreme cold swiftly welded the shackles to the ground.

Then, the ice shackles pulled Vinny’s body and dragged him toward Aesphyra as though he were flying.

Whether Aesphyra had seen through it or had some other plan, the move had already been unleashed and could not be taken back. Thinking about that now was useless.

Vinny swept toward Aesphyra as if he were flying, raising his ice spear at the same time and thrusting in Aesphyra’s direction.

His speed was extremely fast. If the opponent’s attention had been on the ice shackles earlier, then this spear would be very difficult to dodge.

He struck in front of Aesphyra like a bolt of lightning, the extreme cold wrapping around her limbs.

“Aaah?” Connie, standing to the side, gaped, completely unable to react. She was still agonizing over whether she should keep playing wooden statues with everyone else. When had those ice shackles flown over?

By the time the slow-reacting Connie was thinking about how she could help Aesphyra, Vinny was already less than three meters away from Aesphyra.

Mid-range was the most comfortable distance for a weapon like a spear.

“CLANG, CLANG!”

Just as the tip of [Frostfang] was about to strike Aesphyra, there came a single clang.

Vinny only felt his arm go numb. Then the head of his spear was forcibly knocked off course, almost taking his field of vision flying up toward the sky with it.

Aesphyra, who had shown no movement before this, remained in the posture of having swept her sword upward. She held the sword elegantly in one hand, while the other gathered a lock of hair by her temple. Ice crystals fell onto her frostlike hair as it flew.

What?!

Vinny understood.

A moment ago, he had still been guessing whether Aesphyra had seen through his intention or had some other plan. Now, there was no need to guess. It was both.

Aesphyra had completely read his thoughts, but she was in no hurry to act. Instead, she had simply waited like that. Only when the spear blade was within inches of her did she make her move. With one simple upward °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° sweep, she knocked aside the incoming spear blade and easily broke Vinny’s lightning-like offensive.

The enormous force left Vinny almost unable to steady his own weapon. He hurriedly exerted strength to balance it. Otherwise, the spear in his hand would have flown straight out.

However, Aesphyra would not be idle during this interval.

After gathering her flying hair, Aesphyra raised her hand. Scorching heat gathered in her palm, aimed at Vinny.

Damn it!

Vinny knew that with one hand still occupied by the unretracted [Congealed-Ice Shackles] and the spear in his other hand nearly out of control, he had no room to dodge.

In his urgency, he could only release [Ice Skin], covering his whole body in ice-element magic to resist.

Margaret, not far away, saw this and was not idle either. She immediately cast [Light Protection] on Vinny.

“BOOM, BOOM!”

Aesphyra’s fire magic exploded against Vinny. Vinny was blasted backward by the impact, then landed steadily.

When he looked at Aesphyra again, Vinny still felt lingering fear.

He knew he had still underestimated Aesphyra.

In that moment just now, he had seen exactly how absurd Aesphyra’s control over magic was.

Vinny could sense that the temperature in Aesphyra’s palm had been changing the entire time. It was as if she had known he would use [Ice Skin] to block it. At first, the temperature had not been very high, as though she had deliberately lowered it so he would not be injured.

After that, when she saw Margaret layer [Light Protection] over him, the temperature in her palm rose significantly in an instant.

In other words, Aesphyra had been controlling the degree of force the entire time. She had also predicted that Margaret would cast [Light Protection] on him. So she had measured out the exact level of power that would shatter both layers of his protective magic without injuring him.