Chapter 22

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Volume 2 + Chapter 22: Is This Teaching?

“Oh? Look, isn’t that so-and-so? What’s he doing at the arena??”

 

“What else could it be? He got challenged for his ranking, right? Otherwise, we never saw this spoiled brat at the arena. He must have been forced to come here because of the challenge.”

 

“Speaking of which, that red-haired girl who challenged him is quite pretty. What’s her name? Which class is she in?”

 

“Winnie is only now getting challenged for his ranking? I thought someone would challenge him right after the midterm exams. With his admission score, 23rd place? Tsk tsk, there must be a lot of water in there. He’s probably a paper tiger who’ll fall at the first touch, easy to beat.”

 

“Eh? Why isn’t anyone asking me? I’m in the same class as him. I know some inside information. A few days ago, Winnie saw this red-haired classmate was good-looking and went to hit on her. But his words were vulgar and he offended her, causing a conflict. That’s why she’s here to give him trouble.”

 

“Got it, thanks for the info, bro. If you hadn’t said that, I’d still be in the dark. Poor girl, she got entangled with this disgusting rat of a spoiled brat.”

 

“Exactly. After failing to entangle with Princess Mirexia of the Camella Kingdom, since she completely ignored him, he had to change targets, right??”

 

“Shameless, and completely lacking self-awareness. Flaunting that ‘descendant of the goddess’ label everywhere, acting like he’s so popular.”

 

“Haha, speaking of which, does Goddess of Radiance and the subsequent saintesses know they have such a descendant? They probably don’t know about this guy who popped out of nowhere claiming to be their descendant.”

 

Seeing that one of the main characters in the arena was Winnie, and learning that this was a ranking challenge, many people in the arena stopped their matches and gathered together to mock him.

 

The discussion naturally caught Isatia’s attention. Her almond-shaped eyes, cold as frost, silently shifted to the nearby arena, looking at the blue-haired young man standing on one side.

 

After the two entered the arena with the tokens given by the combat instructor acting as referee, an invisible energy pulse rose from the ground.

 

This was to prevent their battle from causing large-scale destruction and injuring other students in the arena. The grand setup also indicated that this was no ordinary match, but a ranking challenge.

 

“First-year student Fanya Cassian, ranked 48th, has actively initiated a ranking challenge against first-year student Winnie Varelis, ranked 23rd. Since this is the first ranking challenge for both of you, I’ll explain the rules.” The combat instructor paused.

 

“When a ranking challenge is initiated by the lower-ranked party, the higher-ranked student cannot refuse unless under special circumstances. Otherwise, they will lose their ranking.”

 

“Both parties can use any compliant personal skills in the duel, including their own magic, soul armament, weapons, and combat techniques, until one side’s token is broken, at which point the match ends.”

 

“Neither party can continue attacking after the token is broken. Otherwise, the lightest punishment is invalidation of the match, and the heaviest is expulsion. In short, friendship first, competition second. Understood?” The combat instructor solemnly announced.

 

“Don’t worry, I swear in the name of a Church Knight that I will not violate any match rules and will not pursue a defeated opponent.” Fanya placed a hand over her chest and declared solemnly.

 

A duel is a duel, why all this flashy stuff?

 

Winnie watched Fanya’s actions from the side, his mouth twitching.

 

She’s not even a knight yet, but she’s already swearing in the name of a knight.

 

“Alright, both sides take your positions.” As the referee, the instructor raised his arm and swung it down.

 

“Ranking challenge, begin!”

 

The spectators were chattering, but Winnie couldn’t hear what they were specifically discussing, though he could roughly guess.

 

Strictly speaking, being challenged for one’s ranking isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and being watched by so many people like a monkey isn’t necessarily bad either.

 

After the midterm exams, among these spectators, there might be those who wanted to challenge him but lacked confidence.

 

Everyone says his admission ranking has a lot of water, but who dares to actually try it out??

 

The admission competition at Carillian Academy might allow for some degree of trickery, but it’s mostly a test of hard power.

 

People can stubbornly claim that Winnie cheated his way to his ranking, and that their lower ranking isn’t their fault.

 

But if they actually try and get beaten by him, then the title of ‘inferior to Winnie’ will be solidified.

 

Therefore, most people who think Winnie’s ranking is mostly due to trickery are afraid of public humiliation and don’t dare to challenge him, all waiting for someone else to test the waters first.

 

That’s why no one has challenged Winnie for so long. For those ranked below Winnie, he’s a tough nut to crack. There’s not much meat to gain from beating him, and it’s not particularly glorious to win against him. But if they fail, they’ll lose face.

 

Before challenging Winnie themselves, many students who are dissatisfied with their rankings are happy to see someone else test Winnie’s strength first.

 

So, if he defeats the challenger under their watch, letting them know he’s not an easy target, many will be deterred, and he’ll have more peace in the future.

 

The official match began. Fanya drew the two-handed sword hanging at her waist, a heavy sword as ornate as a church’s cross.

 

After drawing her weapon, Fanya took a deep breath and stared at Winnie, not making any further moves.

 

She seemed to be waiting for Winnie to draw his weapon before she would act.

 

This surprised Winnie. Normally, all attacks are valid from the moment the referee declares the start of the match.

 

Being slow to start is a lack of skill, and no one else is to blame. But she didn’t take advantage of this opportunity to attack.

 

This inflexible, naive child seems like the type who sticks to principles, insisting on a fair duel without taking any extra advantage.

 

Winnie took the ice crystal earring from his ear and transformed it into an ice crystal spear, twirling it in the air.

 

All eyes were on him, and many in the audience clicked their tongues at the fact that Winnie had quite a few good treasures.

 

Seeing that Winnie was ready, Fanya initiated her attack. She raised her sword high but didn’t swing it down or close the distance.

 

Winnie instinctively felt that this starting stance was familiar. When he remembered what it was, a strong white light erupted from the knight’s sword, blinding Winnie.

 

Oh no, it’s [Strong Light]!

 

Winnie never thought he’d fall victim to [Strong Light] one day. Fortunately, he had used [Strong Light] many times himself and was somewhat prepared, so he wasn’t completely blinded.

 

He also knew that while he was blinded, Fanya would certainly take the opportunity to attack.

 

So he immediately swung [Ice Fang] around him, unaware that his haphazard defensive measures were completely within Fanya’s expectations.

 

Fanya silently watched Winnie, who was flustered by her [Strong Light] and wildly swinging his weapon. In her eyes, he was full of openings, like prey waiting to be slaughtered.

 

Her sword glowed with light elemental magic as she pushed off the ground, the knight’s sword drew a brilliant arc in the air.

 

[Charged Light Strike]

 

At this point, it was clear to everyone that the match was decided.

 

It had just started, and Winnie didn’t even have time to make a move before being instantly defeated.

 

Many watched students shake their heads, not out of pity for Winnie’s defeat, but out of regret that such an easy target had slipped through their fingers. If they had been braver in the past, the 23rd rank could have been theirs.

 

Now, the 23rd rank has been taken. From Fanya’s smooth movements, it’s clear that this girl is not easy to deal with, and her soul art is [Saint], meaning she’s from one of the prominent families within the Church.

 

The opportunity to take the 23rd rank was missed.

 

In the spectator stands, Isatia calmly watched Winnie, who was being beaten without being able to fight back. Just as she was about to expressionlessly shift her gaze and turn to leave, a loud ‘clang’ echoed from the arena.

 

Feeling her sword being deflected, Fanya’s face was filled with astonishment.

 

Since this was just a duel, she was afraid of injuring Winnie, so she hadn’t used her full strength in this [Charged Light Strike], only about half.

 

She never expected her magic to be deflected.

 

“What is that??” Those who saw the change in the arena were stunned.

 

Only Isatia realized it was magic resistance and magic defense.

 

Since the Terraria continent doesn’t have an overall elemental resistance system, defending against others’ magic uses the ‘magic resistance’ method. Simply put, it’s using one’s own magic to counter the opponent’s attacking magic, neutralizing the magic coming at them.

 

Just now, Winnie used this method to neutralize Fanya’s light elemental magic.

 

As the white light faded, a cold air suddenly rose. A figure clad in luxurious silver scale armor walked out of the dissipating light, the scales covered in a layer of snow.

 

He carried a spear, casually shaking off the snow on his shoulders. Even those who looked down on Winnie had to admit, ‘That was a cool move.’

 

[Ice Steel]

 

Realizing that the opponent will take advantage of his flustered state to attack, Winnie summoned [Armour Fortress].

 

Of course, [Armour Fortress] couldn’t resist magic attacks. He summoned it because he wanted to use [Ice Steel] through it.

 

As Fanya’s light-charged sword was about to strike him, he used [Ice Steel], countering Fanya’s light magic with his ice magic in a magic resistance manner. What remains is just the cutting power of her sword.

 

Unless it’s an exceptionally powerful sword, like Aesphyra’s holy sword, any sword that hits Winnie’s 100% compatible luxurious [Armour Fortress] will be deflected, and lower-quality swords might even get their edges rolled.

 

“Didn’t hurt a bit.” Winnie moved his neck, not forgetting to add a mocking tone as he leisurely commented.

 

Fanya gritted her teeth, thinking she shouldn’t have held back.

 

At this point, all the spectators began to gradually understand that Winnie had some strength to him, which was why he could stand in Carillian Academy and study alongside them.

 

Seeing Winnie also use his soul armament, Fanya held her sword with one hand and closed the distance.

 

Winnie, of course, wouldn’t let her get close. The spear is meant to control the combat distance at mid-range, not close range.

 

In close combat, the longer the weapon, the stronger the advantage. A spear has a significant advantage over a sword.

 

Just as Winnie thought Fanya was about to launch a straightforward knight’s attack, the sword behind her back flashed with strong light again.

 

Another [Strong Light].

 

Although Winnie was prepared, he still had to lower his head and shield his eyes with his arm.

 

Another [Strong Light] and [Charged Light Strike]? Is that all she’s got??

 

It’s useless. If [Charged Light Strike] is ready, so is his [Ice Steel].

 

However, Fanya didn’t use [Charged Light Strike] as Winnie expected. This time, she thrust her sword into the ground.

 

Three light crosses surrounding Winnie on three sides, trapping him.

 

[Holy Wood Seal]

 

What kind of skill is this??

 

Winnie was a bit confused.

 

It’s a bit embarrassing to say, but as a direct descendant of the Varelis family, Winnie was seeing so many [Saint Envoy] skills for the first time.

 

This naive girl, though she doesn’t seem smart, actually knows so many [Saint Envoy] skills??

 

Is she really a first-year student like me?

 

Winnie secretly admires Fanya’s talent, which might be among the best in the entire Carillian Academy, and her compatibility with [Saint Envoy] might not be low either.

 

After trapping Winnie, Fanya wasn’t in a hurry. She stood five meters away, holding her sword with both hands, its light growing brighter.

 

[Charged Light Strike]

 

The difference was, this time, Fanya wasn’t in a hurry to attack. The light element on her sword continued to gather, and its power apparently increased.

 

Wait, what??

 

[Charged Light Strike] can be played like this??

 

Winnie was stunned, feeling like Fanya had just taught him how to use [Saint Envoy].

 

So [Charged Light Strike] can be charged to increase its power? This was the first time he knew about it. When he was Vanessa, he just threw it at the enemy without charging.

 

If she keeps charging like this, even [Ice Steel] might not hold.

 

But he’s not immobilized. He won’t just let Fanya charge up and hit him.

 

So Winnie immediately tried to rush forward to interrupt Fanya’s charging, but suddenly hit a light barrier and was bounced back.

 

What the hell is this??

 

Winnie looked at the three light crosses surrounding him. They had created three light barriers, trapping him inside!

 

This skill is used to restrict the enemy’s movement!

 

But normally, this magic is hard to land, so Fanya used [Strong Light] to make him shield his eyes briefly, unable to dodge this move. This way, she can charge up safely and ensure her next magic will hit him.

 

This little fool, is her combat talent really this high??