In the audience seats, an eighteen-year-old girl sat quietly, her posture composed yet unassuming.

Her dark auburn hair was braided neatly to one side, the simple style fastened with a plain ivory pin, tasteful, but unremarkable enough for a merchant's daughter.

She wore a modest teal dress, tailored well enough to suggest wealth, yet not so ornate as to invite questions.

A thin veil of lace rested around her shoulders, softening her features without hiding them. But it was her eyes, a clear shade of sapphire blue, calm yet discerning, that made those around her glance twice. She was simply called Rachel, a name that was quite normal.

Sitting beside her was a man wearing rather shabby clothes with a short sword at his waist and a shield on his back. When people saw them together, the first thing that came to mind was that the person was her bodyguard.

The two of them simply looked like a merchant's daughter and her bodyguard. She came here because she was interested in the warrior culture of Norvaegard that regarded honor, strength, and martial skill above all else.

Yet she was deeply disappointed by what she saw. Even though it was true that most people from Norvaegard were warriors, there were also quite a few who liked to scheme and hide in the shadows.

These nobles here were no different from the nobles back in her homeland. They use the words honor and dignity as cover for what's hidden deep within them.

Still, watching the Royal Academy Tournament made her feel a bit better. It was not a lie that commoners were among the students in the Academy, and their skills were able to shine today in this tournament.

She, too, was quite a good warrior, as back in her kingdom, she was considered to be a genius who had reached the second mantle at the age of seventeen, but when she saw the students of Norvaegard's Royal Academy, she felt her pride took a hit.

In her homeland, her talent was considered to be one of the best, but in Norvaegard, there were many her age who were at the second mantle or the second circle. It was like she had become just a normal person, not a genius.

'Well, I do have more talents outside of battle.' Rachel comforted herself as she continued watching the subsequent matches.

***

After a few matches, one of the heirs of the Four Dukes finally took the stage. The person who stepped foot on the arena was the youngest of the Heirs, Mireya Aeromont.

She had no weapon at hand; it was rather weird seeing that even other mages had a weapon like a knife or a staff just in case, but Mireya was barehanded.

Her opponent was another mage, but unlike her, he was holding two daggers as weapons. Seeing as this was the first heir to appear on stage, the audience became quiet and focused on the match, not wanting to miss a single thing.

Mireya's opponent, Marco, was feeling intense pressure. To think that his first opponent was one of the heirs of the four dukes. Still, wasn't this also a chance?

Among the four heirs, Mireya was the youngest, and she was a mage of the purple tower, which was known for illusions.

Most of the purple tower spells were support-type spells and had the least offensive type of spells.

After thinking about it for a bit, Marco felt his confidence surging. The referee raised his hand, and Marco's pulse quickened.

"Begin!"

The very second those words were said, Marco unleashed a fireball spell that flew through the arena towards Mireya, who didn't move.

When the spell was about to hit the girl who looked like a doll, she suddenly burst and turned into butterflies.

Marco was momentarily stunned, but he quickly focused harder than before. He knew that those were an illusion. He looked around, trying to find where Mireya had gone.

The arena was a simple circular stage, and there was nowhere to hide, but he could not locate Mireya. Marco tightened his grip on his daggers, his heartbeat echoing in his ears.

It was at that moment that Marco noticed the mist that was surrounding the arena, which had very faint signatures.

"Behind you."

Marco suddenly heard Mireya's voice whisper in his ear. Marco quickly spun around while chanting a spell under his breath.

Dozens of Mireyas stood around him, each identical, their blank lavender eyes fixed on him. They all tilted their heads in perfect unison.

"Ember volley!"

Several smaller balls of flame appeared around Marco and came flying towards the dozens of Mireya's, but upon contact, the balls of flame simply phased through her.

It was at that moment that he felt something cold touching his throat.

"Game over."

The real Mireya stood behind him, her hand glowing faintly with violet light. Her tone was serene, almost gentle.

Marco's vision started to fade, and as he was losing consciousness, he heard the referee's voice.

"Winner, Mireya Aeromont!"

***

Rachel, who was watching among the audience, found the entire match bizarre from her point of view.

The second the referee announced the start of the match, both students used a spell. That was certain since she felt the traces of mana from the two of them, but Mireya was a little bit faster.

Rachel did not know that kind of spell Mireya used, but it made Marco's fireball spell miss the target.

After Marco used the fireball spell, he suddenly got into a defensive stance with his daggers while scanning the entire arena looking for something.

On the other hand, Mireya simply walked towards him. When Mireya was close enough, she whispered something in Marco's ear, making the other party spin to look behind him and unleash the Ember Volley spell.

Rachel understood that Mireya must have shown Marco an illusion, as his spell was hitting nothing but air.

Now with his back in front of Mireya, the doll-like girl simply stretched out her hand, touched his neck, and the other party fainted.

Rachel understood in her mind that Mireya was using illusions the entire battle, but when you look at it from a third person's perspective, it was truly a weird sight.

Most commoners watching did not understand what was happening the entire match; some even thought that Marco simply threw the match away.

***

The next Ducal heir that took the stage was Elyra; she, too, won in an overwhelming manner. The second the match began, Elyra did not even allow her opponent to finish chanting when she burst out at an incredible speed, cutting down the opponent before her.

Unlike with Mireya, were most audience were confused as to what had happened, this time it was clear to them that Elyra cut down her opponent with a move that was hard to track with their eyes.

The audience burst into cheers. Rachel, who was also at the second mantle similar to Elyra, could barely follow her movements.

She imagined herself fighting Elyra and understood that even though she would be able to block the first strike, she would eventually lose within three to five exchanges.

'As expected of the daughter of the battle-crazed Duke Kaelvar.'

***

After a few more matches, Evander Judicar took the stage. He was wearing the student uniform, and in his hands were a mace and a shield. His opponent was Ashter Mikron, who was using a rapier and dagger as his weapons.

The referee raised his hand. Ashter's body tensed up as he was getting ready to attack, while Evander simply stood in a neutral position.

"Begin!"

Ashter sprinted towards Evander, who was now surrounded not only by his second aura mantle, but a golden light which was most likely a divine blessing. As a holy knight apprentice, Evander was able to use the basic blessings granted to him by his patron deity.

When Ashter was close enough, he unleashed a flurry of strikes. Piercing, slashing, he continued attacking, but for some reason, Evander did not even bother to raise his shield and took the strikes.

Ashter gritted his teeth as he saw the outcome of his attacks... Nothing. There was not a single wound or even scratch mark to be found on Evander's body, and even his clothes remained untouched.

Ashter could not get through Evander's aura mantle, enveloped by divine blessing. Ashter then gathered his aura and enveloped his weapon.

This time, when Ashter struck, Evander raised his shield to block. Seeing that Evander made a move, Ashter felt his confidence coming back.

Ashter began attacking more intensely, but Evander easily blocked each move or evaded. The match was already five minutes in, meaning there were five minutes more before it ended, but Ashter was already sweating profusely, and his breathing was ragged.

On the other hand, Evander remained the same as he was from the beginning of the match. He did not even move from his spot.

Ashter wanted to continue to attack, but his legs gave in and he knelt on the ground. His continued offensive with his aura at maximum had taken a toll on his body. The referee, seeing Ashter's state, raised his hand.

"Winner! Evander Judicar!" A roar of cheers echoed through the arena. Evander then approached the fallen Ashter and helped him up. Seeing this scene just made the audience clap even harder.

***

"That was an incredible match," Rachel mumbled to herself, as a faint smile appeared on her face.

Evander Judicar was what she thought every citizen of Norvaegard was like. A man of true honor and discipline.

***

The matches continued, and Rachel watched. It wasn't just the Ducal heirs that stood out; some other noble children were also quite good, but there was the commoner who caught a lot of attention.

Eisen Terre, the commoner who was said to be one of the favorites to win the tournament. The second the match started, his opponent looked like he had been hit by something hard to see, and fainted.

Rachel, with her enhanced eyesight using aura, was able to barely see the object that flew at the start of the match. It was just a tiny rock that Eisen flicked toward his opponent.

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