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From the stands, cheers erupted for Moose: “He’s got him now!”, “Teach him a lesson!”

Moose muttered under his breath,

“Damn it.”

A closer look at his expression revealed a complex mix of fear of me, dread of the ridicule he’d face if he surrendered, pride, and concern for his reputation.

He glanced at the VIP seats, then turned back with a grimace, fixing his stance as he glared at me.

“Looks like you’ve made up your mind.”

His expression said he’d rather die than surrender.

I respect that.

The moment the referee’s whistle blew, Moose began forming hand signs. I lunged towards him and said,

“Moose.”

His eyes snapped to mine, and his pupils dilated in shock.

I had taken out the precious bottle of liquor I’d been keeping safe in my pocket.

Bad memories resurfaced, and Moose frantically shook his head, forgetting his hand signs.

But once started, there was no stopping.

I opened my Circle, converting mana into fire elemental energy, and channeled heat into the bottle.

The liquor warmed up, and the bottle glowed red.

Moose froze in place.

“Taaah!”

I leaped into the air, raising the heated bottle high.

Moose’s head tilted back, our eyes meeting for a fleeting moment.

Foreseeing a future where he’d be roasted once again, his legs gave way, and he collapsed.

“S-save me… No, I surrender!”

Did Moose realize?

That this time, his predicted future would become reality.

I plummeted from the air, smashing the bottle directly onto his head.

Crash— The bottle shattered, and the hot liquid ignited.

“Aaaaagh!”

His head ablaze, Moose instinctively jumped off the platform.

He plunged into the lake, and the fire was extinguished with a sizzle.

An effortless victory… Failed.

I couldn’t call it a true victory since I’d wasted the liquor. In many ways, this spar was a loss for me.

Suddenly worried that the referee might find fault, I muttered,

“Did I go too far? I thought Urgon would stop it.”

“…”

Perhaps he had no intention of nitpicking, as the referee declared my victory without any objections.

Even after I returned to my seat, having secured all three victories, silence hung over the audience.

This silence was different from before.

More and more eyes were now studying me with curiosity.

This, too, was part of my plan.

I could have stopped when Moose surrendered, but I didn’t. I deliberately struck his head hard.

Because… I wanted to gauge the reactions of the Urgon people.

But so far, there hasn’t been any significant response.

* * *

After the last spar, those with three victories were filtered out.

The External Affairs Manger, having organized the situation, looked towards the VIP seats, and Clan Head Balkan rose.

“It seems everyone has been sorted out. The formal matches were supposed to start tomorrow, but it didn’t take as long as expected.”

Balkan glanced at the bright, sunny sky and said,

“It’s still too early for a banquet, so we might as well have a few formal matches today.”

As Balkan sat back down, the external affairs manager immediately drew everyone’s attention.

“The qualification for the formal matches will be given only to those who have achieved three victories and those who have not been challenged by anyone. The match procedure will be the same as before. It will proceed in the form of designating an opponent. Of course, those who have lost can continue to challenge. And…”

The external affairs manager paused for a moment and continued,

“The match format is a duel. I believe you all understand the meaning. Once again, I ask you to refrain from any explicit killing intent, as this is for the purpose of exchange. Of course, those who wish to give up do not have to participate.”

Generally, there are three types of matches:

Sparring, duel, and decisive battle.

A duel means that some degree of head-bashing is allowed. Looking around, I could feel a solemn tension in the air from the audience.

It seems everyone thinks this is where the real action begins.

The external affairs manager raised his hand high.

“We will now begin the duels!”

Because the duels started so abruptly, no one stepped forward at first.

At that moment, with a fluttering sound, someone soared high into the air from the Urgon group.

The man leaped over the audience in a single bound, drawing an incredible arc in the air that no one had shown before, and landed on the platform.

It was Libre.

Everyone’s gaze towards him was similar.

Rather than seeing him as an opponent, they looked at him with admiration.

As if aware of this, Libre looked at the audience from the arena and said,

“First, I would like to express my gratitude to the esteemed Clan Head, Elder Parin, and all the distinguished guests who have joined us for this banquet. It seems everyone is feeling a bit too much pressure about the matches, so I’ve decided to step forward first. The opponent I choose is…”

Libre trailed off, slowly turning his gaze towards one spot.

“I challenge Lady Arin of the Samael Clan to a duel.”

A collective gasp of “Oh my” erupted from the women in the audience.

Arin stood up without a word and walked towards the arena, followed by the envious gazes of the women.

* * *

I closely observed Libre’s expression and nodded inwardly.

‘As expected, I was right.’

Once again, I was confident in my judgment.

He definitely had a lecherous nature.

“I will yield the first move.”

All eyes were on them, and Taylor and Blair were staring intently at the arena. I was also curious about Arin’s combat skills, so I focused for the first time in a while.

Arin’s Qi was the strongest among the White Horse members. Fighting isn’t always about clashing physically.

The natural flow of mana, gaze, and energy combine to form one’s Qi.

However, it was surprising that Taylor and Blair didn’t seem to know this.

With a whoosh, Arin shot forward like the wind, and I was slightly taken aback.

She was better than I expected.

The completeness of the ‘Wind Push’ she formed with her hand signs was almost at the level of incantation.

Libre, looking slightly surprised, stepped back and formed his own hand signs.

“Water Shield.”

A wall of water slowed Arin’s advance, and in that moment, Libre unleashed a torrent of water from his fingertips, showering Arin.

‘Hmm.’

Observing the ensuing exchange, it was clear that Libre had also trained extensively in hand sign magic. They weren’t wrong to call him Urgon’s top talent.

A powerful surge of mana emanated from Libre’s body.

He retreated, crossing his arms, and shouted,

“Frost Ring.”

A 4-star hand sign, Frost Ring.

With a whoosh, a ring of white ice expanded from Libre’s fist.

Arin’s hands moved swiftly, crossing each other, and Taylor and Blair shouted in unison,

“Dodge it, Arin!”

I looked at them as if they were barking dogs.

Couldn’t they see? There’s no way Arin couldn’t block something like that. Those idiots didn’t even understand Arin’s true strength.

As expected, Arin’s mana surged, and she completed a 4-star hand sign.

At that moment.

I was so bewildered that I stood up involuntarily and said,

“What is that?”

The power of the hand sign was absurdly weak.

I frowned, staring at Arin.

Meanwhile, Libre’s fist stopped right in front of Arin’s nose, and her veil fluttered dramatically.

Libre’s eyes widened as he saw Arin’s face…

“…”

Libre shook his head and raised his hand, a smile playing on his lips as if he had achieved his goal.

“You’re impressive, Lady Arin. Thank you for holding back.”

“…”

“I think this is a good start for the first duel. I’ll stop here. I forfeit.”

Cheers erupted from the audience, particularly loud from the women.

Everyone knew Libre had intentionally stopped his attack.

‘Hmm.’

I couldn’t help but feel bewildered. It wasn’t because of Libre’s antics.

Setting everything else aside…

The mana fluctuation when Arin activated the 4-star hand sign was incredibly unstable.

It was completely different from when she used Wind Push.

Lost in thought, I heard Arin’s uncomfortable voice.

“…I’ll choose Layla as my next opponent.”

Layla smiled and descended into the arena.

She whispered something to Arin, and Arin’s body trembled.

I’m guessing that’s a tremble filled with rage.

* * *

I watched Layla and Arin’s fight intently.

As expected, the moment Arin activated a 4-star hand sign, her mana fluctuation changed completely.

How could this be possible?

It felt like someone who was a once-in-a-millennium genius up to 3-star hand signs suddenly became a dull mediocrity at 4-star.

Perhaps it was because the surroundings were so quiet.

Suddenly, someone’s muttering voice from the VIP seats pierced through the wind and reached my ears.

“That woman, Arin, has clear limitations.”

I shook my head.

‘No.’

Those symptoms couldn’t simply be defined as having clear limitations.

At least I, if no one else, knew for sure.

It wasn’t a limit, but instability.

To confirm my intuition, I continued to observe their fight.

Whoosh— A strong wind swept through the arena.

The hand signs for Wind Press bloomed from Layla’s hands.

4-star mana fluctuations rippled around Arin.

As Taylor and Blair jumped to their feet, I also rose almost simultaneously.

“No, dodge it, Arin… Urk!”

I smacked the two men on the back of their heads and then widened my eyes, focusing on the arena.

A brief silence, followed by a tremendous roar.

Boom— Caught in the blast, Arin was pushed to the edge of the arena. A trickle of blood flowed from behind her veil.

“…”

Layla, her head held high, returned to her seat amidst cheers from the audience.

Taylor and Blair comforted Arin as she returned, her aura cold and sharp, and she said,

“I’m fine, don’t worry.”

Her tone was somewhat subdued.

“…Arin.”

The two men looked at her with pity.

I watched the scene and smiled inwardly.

Everyone here, even Arin herself…

They were all misjudging her.

It wasn’t their fault.

Even the most skilled mages would make the same mistake.

Because from the start, they were bound to see it wrong.

‘This is interesting.’

* * *

After a few more duels, as the day drew to a close, the external affairs manager addressed the audience.

“Today’s duels will conclude here.”

The crowd poured out of the stands and headed towards the banquet hall, where the evening feast began.

The banquet would continue for some time. Duels in the arena, and outside, free interaction and socializing.

I sat in a corner of the banquet hall, gnawing on a few pieces of meat and observing the people.

Everyone seemed to have become quite friendly in just one day.

People were enjoying the feast and chatting about today’s matches.

Even among them, there was a division.

Those who passed the sparring matches and those who didn’t.

Perhaps because of this, some people showed interest in Taylor and Blair. Surprisingly, the two of them blended in well with the others.

Arin had retired to her quarters early, leaving me alone in the corner.

No one approached me.

Was it because I had been too assertive today?

Occasionally, I only caught curious glances, as if I were a strange monkey.

I found it strange too.

At least a few hot-headed guys from Urgon should have come over.

To warn me to watch my mouth.

Or to tell me to know my place.

That would be the normal reaction, but there was surprisingly none.

Perhaps…

This was also connected to Urgon’s scheme.

But I wasn’t worried. If they ignored me, I could just do whatever I pleased.

That’s the true fear of the Crazy Mage.

I left the banquet hall and started walking.

Since I was alone anyway, no one cared whether I left or not.

I strolled along the lakeside, enjoying the fresh air. The estate was so vast that I hardly encountered anyone. As I walked, the bushes on both sides grew thicker.

As the signs of people dwindled, I suddenly turned my head to the right.

With a rustling sound from the bushes, a figure emerged.

“Hello there.”

A woman appeared out of nowhere, smiling as she approached me.

“It’s been a while.”

I let out a chuckle as I recognized her face.

What a sly woman.

———-