Lucas wiped some blood from his knuckles onto his torn uniform. Around them, the battle royale was still in full swing.

Explosions echoed across the arena, and the flash of barriers eliminating students lit up the space like lightning.

"How many have you taken out?" Lucas asked.

"Twelve," Zacard replied casually. "You?"

"Just those three."

"Then you better get moving if you want to rack up points." Zacard gestured with his spear toward a cluster of students fighting near the center. "Plenty of targets left."

Lucas nodded and was about to move when a familiar voice called out.

"Lucas! There you are!"

Both Lucas and Zacard turned to see Carl Wayland storming toward them and his face was twisted with rage.

Behind him were five more students, all wearing the same expensive uniforms and noble house crests.

"I see you've dealt with my advance party," Carl said. "But let's see how you handle the real thing!"

Lucas couldn't help but laugh. "The real thing? Carl, you brought backup. Again. Do you ever fight your own battles?"

Carl's face flushed crimson. "You dare mock me?! I am the heir to House Wayland! I don't need to dirty my hands with mongrel blood!"

"There's that word again," Lucas said. "Mongrel. You really love that one, don't you?"

Zacard stepped forward. "Six on two. Still not great odds for you, Carl."

"Stay out of this, Zacard!" one of Carl's companions shouted. "This is between Carl and the half-breed!"

"Actually," Zacard said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes, "I think I'm already in it."

Before anyone could react, Zacard moved.

His spear became a blur of motion as he closed the distance to the nearest of Carl's group. It was a stocky boy with a hammer.

The attack came so fast that the boy barely had time to raise his weapon before Zacard's spear tip slammed into his chest with precise, devastating force.

The barrier flashed. The boy was eliminated.

"One down," Zacard said cheerfully.

"You bastard!" Another of Carl's group charged forward, dual swords drawn.

Lucas didn't wait to see how that fight would go. He was already moving toward Carl himself.

"You wanted to face me so badly?" Lucas said. "Here's your chance. No cronies. No backup. Just you and me."

Carl's face flashed with fear, anger and indignation before settling on a mask of false confidence.

"[Earth Armor]!" Carl shouted.

Stone materialized around his body, forming a protective layer that covered him from neck to toe. It was an impressive defensive spell, especially for someone who was only Common rank.

"Interesting," Lucas said. "But defense won't help you win."

"I don't need to win," Carl sneered from behind his armor. "I just need to outlast you. My allies will wear you down, and then..."

Lucas didn't let him finish.

He surged forward, faster than Carl expected, and delivered a straight punch to the stone armor covering Carl's chest.

Pain exploded through Lucas's knuckles as they met solid rock, but he'd expected that. He wasn't trying to break through the armor with one hit.

He was testing it.

The stone cracked slightly where his fist had landed. Not much, but enough to tell Lucas what he needed to know.

"Oh, I see," Lucas said. "It's not continuous stone. You're layering it, probably to reduce mana consumption. Smart, but it leaves weak points."

Carl's eyes widened behind his armor. "How did you...."

"Because I actually study magic theory instead of relying on my family name unlike some people." Lucas interrupted.

He circled Carl, forcing the armored noble to turn to keep him in sight.

As Carl turned, Lucas noted how the stone plates shifted and moved. He realized that it was at the joints where the armor was thinnest.

Carl fired an Earth Bullet, but Lucas was already moving. He dodged left, then right, weaving through the barrage of stone projectiles with practiced ease.

His training with Celeste was paying off. All those hours of dodging her impossibly fast strikes had honed his reflexes to a razor's edge.

"Stand still!" Carl shouted in frustration.

"Why would I do that?" Lucas replied.

He closed the distance again, but this time instead of attacking the armor directly, he swept Carl's legs out from under him.

The stone armor made Carl top-heavy. He fell hard, hitting the ground with a satisfying THUD.

Lucas was on him immediately, driving his knee into the weak point at Carl's elbow joint. The armor cracked, and Carl cried out in pain as Lucas's knee connected with flesh beneath.

"You see, Carl," Lucas said conversationally as he grabbed Carl's arm and twisted, "the problem with relying too much on defensive magic is that it makes you slow. And predictable."

He wrenched Carl's arm behind his back, applying pressure to the joint in a way that made the youth scream.

"And the problem with hiring your fights out," Lucas continued, "is that you never actually learn how to really fight."

Around them, the battle continued. Lucas caught a glimpse of Zacard dispatching another of Carl's allies with brutal efficiency.

The dark-haired youth was laughing as he fought, clearly enjoying himself.

"Please!" Carl said in pain. "Please, I give up!"

"Oh no," Lucas said softly. "You don't get to give up. Not after everything you and your friends said. Not after you bribed someone just to get matched against me. Not after you sent three people to ambush me."

He increased the pressure on Carl's arm.

"Not after you called me a mongrel."

CRACK.

Carl's shoulder dislocated. The noble's scream was cut short as his protective barrier flashed and he vanished in a burst of light.

[Host has +2 Points. Current total: 8 Points.]

Lucas stood up slowly, rolling his shoulders. His hands were bruised and bloodied, his uniform was torn, and he was starting to feel the accumulated damage from multiple fights.

But he was still in the game.

"Nice work," Zacard said, appearing beside him. The dark-haired youth was barely winded despite having just eliminated three opponents. "Though I have to say, that was a bit brutal."

"He had it coming," Lucas replied.

"Oh, I'm not complaining." Zacard's cold smile widened. "I completely approve. In fact, I think you went a bit easy on him."

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