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[Congratulations to the winner, Reet!]
Once again, the announcement of Reet’s victory echoed across the training grounds.
Reet had defeated the Holy Knight Kait in the first round and had continued to defeat opponent after opponent, finally advancing to the finals.
“That guy’s insane, even though he’s Classless!”
“What—stronger than a Holy Knight? Is he even human?!”
The spectators who had initially been indifferent to Reet gradually recognized his strength. By the time he secured his place in the finals, many had become captivated by his overwhelming power.
“One more match,” Iris said as Reet returned to the waiting room.
“Yes…”
But there was something that concerned Reet far more than his own victory.
The next match. The semi-finals.
Sara was fighting in it.
Curious about his childhood friend’s big moment, Reet quickly moved to a place where he could watch the match.
“So his opponent is William Argyle?”
“He’s quite formidable, isn’t he?”
After watching the previous fights, Reet found himself saying so.
“Indeed. From my perspective, William is a distant cousin—the royal family and Argyle are not blood-related—but he’s been called a prodigy since childhood,” Iris explained.
Not that I know much about the royal family’s affairs, but at least I know the basics.
King Richard III currently has two children.
The eldest is the girl standing before Reet right now—Iris.
But she is not the king’s consort’s daughter.
She is an illegitimate child, the daughter of a mistress, in other words.
The younger daughter, on the other hand, is the king’s consort’s child, from the Argyle family.
Her name is Camilla Lorence.
William Argyle is Camilla’s cousin—and he is the one Sara was about to face.
[From the East side! William Argyle! His Class is Sage!!]
The announcer called out his name across the training grounds.
Sage.
It was a rare Class equal to the Holy Knight.
While the Holy Knight was a rare swordsman-class, the Sage was a rare Mage-class.
In other words, his Skills were certainly no weaker.
[From the West side! Sara Scott! Her Class is Holy Knight!!]
Sara entered the training grounds next.
She had advanced this far by fully demonstrating the Holy Knight’s overwhelming Skills and the results of her constant training, but whether her power would be effective against Argyle remained to be seen.
“A Sage versus a Holy Knight. A rare matchup indeed,” Iris remarked, nodding.
[Now then—let the match commence!]
The battle began.
“Sacred Blade—!!”
It was Sara who launched the opening attack.
She activated the Holy Knight Skill, Sacred Blade, and kicked off the ground without delay.
No hesitation. No observation.
She threw everything into a single strike, aiming to end it in one blow.
It was a strike containing all her speed and strength.
She closed the distance to William in an instant.
In a battle between a Mage and a Swordsman, the Swordsman wins if they close the distance.
But of course, it wouldn’t be that simple.
“Dragon’s Breath—!!”
William unleashed advanced magic.
It was a Skill that could be learned by Mages, but with a Sage’s doubled stats, its power was far greater.
The holy blade and the searing magic collided.
Force clashed against force, and the next moment an explosion erupted.
Dust swirled up and obscured the spectators’ view.
The sound of the explosion gradually faded, and slowly the arena came back into view.
Standing in the center of the training grounds was William Argyle.
[Congratulations to the winner, William Argyle!!]
Sara had been blown backward, protection barrier and all.
“Sara—!!”
Reet couldn’t help but cry out, but looking more closely, she didn’t appear to have any serious injuries.
After a moment, she stood up under her own power.
William had held back.
That was how it appeared to Reet’s eyes.
“To counter the Sacred Blade like that… he certainly is formidable,” Iris said approvingly.
Reet bit down on his lower lip.
With this, Sara’s chance to rise to Seventh Rank was gone. The fact that the childhood friend he had trained alongside all this time had been defeated was far too frustrating to bear.
“Take revenge for her, Reet,” Iris said, patting him on the back.
“Yes… I understand.”
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