[Raul PoV]
The spectators simply sat in stunned silence after witnessing the previous match between Valeria and Prince Vlad. None of them understood what had happened, watching Valeria suddenly walk toward the prince with absolutely no defense whatsoever.
Earlier, Valeria's spell, which should have decided the match in her favor, had inexplicably missed with nothing interfering at all, allowing Vlad to turn the tables and defeat her with ease.
The other participants in the stands were now discussing what exactly had happened.
"That's got to be one of Prince Vlad's Profound Codexes!"
"He controlled Valeria's body however he wanted... could that be telekinesis!?"
"But isn't telekinesis a Profound Codex only Children of Destruction possess?"
Their discussion wasn't landing anywhere near the correct answer.
It was true—what happened had indeed been one of Prince Vlad's Profound Codex abilities, called Assimilate, a power that let its user match their own blood type to someone else's.
Vlad's blood-based Nature Mana already let him control his own blood however he pleased. But that alone wouldn't let him control someone else's blood, since it carried a different type entirely. With this ability, though, the prince could bypass that very limitation of his own Nature Mana.
There was one condition for Prince Vlad to activate Assimilate—he had to drink or lick the blood of the enemy he intended to mimic.
Thinking back to the match, Vlad had wounded Valeria's shoulder with his blood shuriken. He'd then licked the blood that clung to it, and activated his Profound Codex from there.
That's exactly how the prince had been able to move Valeria's body at will, exactly like telekinesis, during that fight.
This served as a clear example of how crucial information is in any battle. A person's chances of victory improve dramatically when their opponent has no idea what abilities they're dealing with.
I was confident Valeria wouldn't have lost, had she known about that particular ability of Vlad's beforehand. Still, I had to admit, gathering information on such a rare and unique Nature Mana and Profound Codex combination was extraordinarily difficult.
"Let's move on to the next match!"
The announcer resumed the tournament proceedings. "Up next, we have Brian facing off against Tesoro Devano!"
Ah, finally, it's that man's turn. Time to see how the "hero" has developed since surviving the exam. His opponent was a third-year student.
I wondered when exactly my own match in this first round would come up.
Sixteen matches were scheduled for the first day alone. This was shaping up to be quite a long day.
I glanced over at Elena—the seat beside her currently sat empty, since Vlad was off in the infirmary getting treated after his match.
I walked over to chat with her for a bit.
"Ah, Raul? You look uneasy. Are you nervous about your upcoming match?" Elena asked.
"A little," I lied to her. "If I lose, the Student Council's decision to cut the Lancer Club's budget gets reversed."
"Your opponent is Senior Emilia, isn't it? She's one of the strongest students in the third-year class, you know," Elena said, trying to caution me.
"Don't worry, President. I wouldn't have made this bet if I wasn't confident I could win," I said, trying to keep her from overthinking the situation.
"You need to win," Elena replied. "If you lose, the Student Council's reputation could take a serious hit, and it might encourage other clubs to start rebelling against future Council decisions."
I supposed that made sense.
Besides, if I lost, my whole plan to stir up enough resentment from the Lancer Club members would go to waste, setting back my progress toward unlocking new abilities from my Profound Codex.
Speaking of Emilia, she wasn't currently in the stands. If I recalled correctly, a middle-aged man in formal military attire had come to summon her not long ago.
Was her father wanting to talk with her briefly before her match?
Our attention returned to the ongoing match. Brian and Senior Tesoro were now standing in the center of the arena, the ground still somewhat torn up from the earlier fight between Valeria and Vlad.
"Are both competitors ready?" the announcer asked Brian and Senior Tesoro.
Both nodded, signaling they were ready to fight.
"The third match of the Grunbelt Academy Tournament, begin!"
Both fighters immediately used Accel magic to close the distance between them.
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Both belonged to the Swordmaster fighting style category.
There were three distinct sword-fighting styles.
The first was Sword Dancer, combat specialists using a sword with a focus on Agility. Their main role was typically protecting mages and healers, or serving as support during group battles.
The second was Warrior, combat specialists wielding a large two-handed sword, focused on Power. Within a team, they usually served as the finisher, delivering the killing blow against a monster.
The third was Swordmaster, a fighting style balancing Power and Agility evenly. This style was highly popular, since it carried no significant weakness in combat.
—Clang!
Brian and Tesoro traded blows back and forth. For now, Senior Tesoro seemed to be controlling the pace of the fight over Brian.
I supposed that made sense—right now, they were only fighting with physical-enhancement magic, an area where third-year students naturally held more experience.
Brian needed to seize the initiative and avoid getting locked into whatever rhythm Tesoro was setting, if he hoped to gain any real advantage in this fight.
Back to the match. This time, Brian launched a combo attack, trying to reclaim control of the fight's flow.
Tesoro managed to dodge four of Brian's combo strikes and parried the remaining two. Still, this shifted the fight's momentum, which had previously favored Tesoro.
This time, the senior took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He gripped his sword with both hands and shouted out a spell.
"Water Dragon Current!"
A stream of water formed around Tesoro's body, then wrapped itself around his blade. It seemed he was finally getting serious this time.
"Justice Spirit!"
Not wanting to fall behind, Brian activated his own spell as well. This time, a golden light enveloped both his body and his sword.
Both fighters charged toward each other again, continuing the fight.
[Emilia PoV]
The spectators' cheers grew louder throughout the arena. I could also hear several explosions coming from the direction of the dueling arena—it seemed the match between Tesoro and that student named Brian had grown increasingly intense.
But I trusted Tesoro would win. He was one of the best in the third-year class.
Right now, I was heading toward the stands reserved specifically for visiting nobles and military officials attending this tournament. That was because one of Father's aides had come to summon me to see him.
Arriving there, I found Father seated among the other nobles, watching the matches unfold.
Father's aide approached and whispered something to him.
Father turned around and smiled at me, then rose from his seat and walked over to where I stood.
"Emilia, my apologies we couldn't talk much yesterday," Father said gently. "I had to speak with several nobles at the time."
"It's fine, Father," I answered him. "I hope this won't take long, though—I need to get ready for my match."
Honestly, I could already guess what he wanted to discuss with me. He was likely going to bring up my desire to join the Calvatra Knight Order after graduation.
Given that I ranked in the academy's overall top ten, I'd almost certainly qualify to join that elite Knight unit, the strongest in the Empire, without any conditions attached.
By joining that Knight Order, I'd be just one step closer to fulfilling my long-held dream—becoming one of the Grand Espada, the seven strongest knights in the Empire.
That's because only someone who achieved Master rank within the Calvatra Knight Order could actually challenge a Grand Espada for their title.
"Ah, speaking of your match, who's your opponent for this first round?" Father asked.
"Raul de Garcia, son of Duke Alvaro," I answered him.
Why was he even asking me this? Hadn't every guest already been given the tournament bracket by Headmaster William?
"Raul de Garcia, is it...?" Father murmured quietly.
"Are you here to stop me from joining that Knight Order?" I asked him, without bothering to dance around the subject.
"Of course I am, Emilia," Father answered casually. "You're my only child. I want you focused on managing our territory once you graduate."
"I've already told you, haven't I? I want to chase my dream of becoming a Grand Espada," I said firmly.
One of the requirements for becoming a Grand Espada was staying constantly available near the Emperor, ready to receive his orders at any time. There was no way I could do that if I had to remain at home, managing our family's territory indefinitely.
"Why can't you have one of your subordinates manage our territory, the way several other Grand Espada do?" I asked him earnestly.
Hearing my words, Father simply sighed. "You know exactly why, Emilia. You're a woman," Father answered seriously. "The military personnel in our territory will look down on you if you don't hold real authority there."
The territory ruled by the Cataluna family was a small city on the Empire's northeastern border. Since it bordered two other nations directly, the Empire had turned the city we governed into a fortress city, serving as the main military headquarters for the northeastern region.
Roughly 10,000 soldiers were stationed in the city we controlled, not even counting the families who lived there alongside them.
Two-thirds of our city's population consisted of soldiers, with the remaining third being the city's original residents.
Women were often sidelined from holding military leadership positions within the Empire currently, since soldiers generally resented having a woman command them, particularly men, in combat.
Which was exactly why Father insisted on keeping me at home, encouraging me to spend more time among the soldiers so I could effectively command them once I eventually took over from him.
But I wanted to chase my own dream. Given my abilities and talent, I believed I genuinely had a shot at becoming only the second woman ever to hold the position of Grand Espada, after Liana de Grantz.
"Alright, I won't force this on you any further after today, Emilia," Father said, seemingly having reached his decision. "But on one condition..."
"What condition would that be, Father?"
"I want you to at least reach the finals of this tournament," Father answered coldly. "If you can't manage that, it'll prove conclusively you simply don't have what it takes to become a Grand Espada, and you'll do as I say from that point on, understood?"
The finals, huh? I think I can manage that.
"We have a deal," I told him. "I believe in my own abilities—that's exactly why I refuse to give up on this dream of mine!"
Father simply nodded in response to my words.
—Boom!
Suddenly, we heard a loud explosion echo from the direction of the arena.
Father and I both rushed to the stands to see what had happened, and I was left utterly stunned by what I saw in the arena.
"The winner of this tournament's third match is Brian!" the announcer declared, calling the match.
There's no way Tesoro just lost to a second-year student!
What is going on here? Two third-year students have already lost to them now.
Are our juniors really this strong now!?
"The next match will be Emilia de Cataluna versus Raul de Garcia!"
The moment the announcer made that declaration, I suddenly heard a loud roar of cheering erupt from one section of the stands—a group from the Lancer Club, shouting something in unison.
"Leader Emilia's finally going to fight that rotten noble!"
"If she wins, our budget won't get cut!"
It seemed everyone here was rallying behind me, hoping I'd defeat that man. Seeing this, I couldn't help but smile at how much attention their enthusiasm was drawing.
I can't afford to fail. Every single club member is counting on me.
If I lose, it won't just be my own dream that comes to an end—my juniors' futures at this academy next year will look bleak as well.
"Raul de Garcia, I will defeat you!"
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