7 Chapter 8 -The Winner as it should be

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A few students parted ways to provide space for the duel that was going to happen between Takashi and Moroboshi.

Moroboshi smirked and headed towards the center of the sports ground, where students have started gathering to watch the duel unfold between them.

In the Academy, weapons could be found around the training grounds, and unlike weapons and armors, forged using the rare metal Mithril and Micro-Level Alchemy, most of the weapons provided by the Academy was made with a soft steel core, with hard steel on the outside, in order to obtain a balance of toughness and hardness. The soft core of the weapon would absorb the impact to prevent it from breaking while the hard surface prevents it from being crooked when delivering a blow. However, since the purpose of the weapons provided by the Academy were simply for the use of training, it could only destroy a magicians defensive magic to a limit.

While Moroboshi did not pick up any weapon provided by the Academy, Takashi swiftly brought out a sword he had carried along with him to the sports ground. It was a single-edged Katana. In modern times, the most commonly known sword was the Shinogi-Zukuri, a single-edged curved long sword, traditionally wielded by the Samurai from the 15th Century onward. However, even before that-----Among the history of Japanese Swords, the ancient swords forged during the Kamakura era was the strongest, and the most famous and legendary sword known to the majority was Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi(Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi), one of the three Imperial Regalia of Japan.

Although Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi was undoubtedly the most famous, another sword also left a mark in history. This sword was forged by Goro Masamune, widely recognized as Japan's greatest swordsmith, and the sword would later be known as Honjo Masamune, the legendary sword that was a symbol of the Tokugawa Shogunate.

Through the use of Alchemy and Magic refinement, this sword appeared once again in the present era.

Unlike the weapons provided by the Academy, which was easily broken due to the difference of hardness at the location where the two pieces of steel met, Takashi's Katana was forged with a single steel material.

The steels hardness was dependent and decided by the carbon content. A high level magic user would be able to control the amount of carbon content dissolved in the steel through fluid control of magic, to constantly maintain the balance of hard and soft; although many of the students did not possess such knowledge or skills.

Because there was no extreme difference of hardness in structure, Masamune had stuck together extremely tough. Furthermore, the steel could penetrate the defensive magic of enemies more readily and its lightweight nature made it easier for the user to wield.

The moment Takashi held the sword in his hand, the sense of familiarity came back. This sword had stayed with him for the past 8 years and the familiar feeling of the sword seemed to have become just like a part of his body.

When Takashi was first adopted by the Yagane family, Yukie did not recognize Takashi as a family member.

It was only because Takashi had continued to hone his own sword skills, allowing his own attitude to slowly conflict with Yukie during that period of time, that she unconsciously began to call Takashi 'Nii-sama'.

TapTapTap. Footsteps could be heard gathering around them.

As expected, the nature of their duel had naturally brought over a crowd of students who came over to observe after hearing the news.

"Hmph, although they do not need to specifically gather here, I will end this duel in a short time of period."

The duel was carried out in a situation where they were separated by a distance of 30 meters.

Moroboshi started chanting his own magic spell and magic poured out from his body. "Fire bullet!<Homura>" Unlike most Summoning Magic that requires time to chant, magic spells could be easily invoked. Although their speed was like a bullet, what the magic actually produced were a bunch of Fire Feathers. It carried a dual nature of fire and wind and flew over like a spiral. With its bullet speed, the Feathers would cause the inside of the enemy to burn if there was no defensive magic. However, what surprised Takashi most was the intensity of the flames. To think that Moroboshi could produce magic of such degree.

"Ha, unlike you who are deemed to be labelled as the worst, my magic is way above yours. Though i doubt i will be able to gain much from this battle with you."

Takshi displayed an Iai posture and produced heat that was coming out from the depths of his body----This was known in ancient times as life energy. With his high level of aptitude in Perception Magic, Taksashi evaded the Feathers by jumping to the side.

"Eeii!" As if unsatisfied, Moroboshi released more Feathers but Takashi had already grasped the flow of magic power----Just like how ancient sword masters read their opponents breathing, Takashi was able to completely read his opponents breathing and muscle tension. However, he was still not at the level that he could fully comprehend the flow of his opponent's magic power.

The instant magic power was produced, Takashi could sense the faint outline of the distortion in the air caused by the flow of magic, depicting an outline as if showing where the phenomenon was going to happen. Just as expected, if it's this kind of magic, i can dodge it.

The second wave of Feathers were also avoided and like the dancing wind, Takashi plunged within a few meters of Moroboshi.

His hand had already grasped the hilt of his Katana.

Moroboshi's face distorted ----- With a white flash, the horizontal Iai slash was unleashed. Takashi had poured all his magic power into the sword, granting it enough destructive power to break through defensive magic. I win...just as those words were about to be released by Takashi, he felt cold air around his feet. "Freeze Barrier!" He glanced at his feet and saw magic power swirling around it, ice particles were starting to gather around his legs, completely freezing him to the ground. "Shit, i did not notice he had already cast a second spell....i was too hasty!" Takashi did not expect Moroboshi to have cast two magic spells in succession so quickly.

Takashi looked up to find Moroboshi sneering at him. "You really believed you had won? I admit I was a bit surprised but this time...I guess its my win?"

Moroboshi leaped back a few meters and a magic circle formed at his feet. "This was...." Everyone was shocked. Although he was considered an exceptional student, to see a normal magician cast multiple magic spells so quickly still proved to be a shock for many students, who could barely manage one magic spell.

"Flame emperor creation!!" The magic circle expanded and radiated in all directions towards Takashi. It let out a crack and flames spewed out from there.

"Misteltein!" Takashi tried in vain to chant his own magic spell. The magic wrapped around his body and provided another layer of defense. He raised his katana and desperately tried to slash his ice encased feet but it was already too late.

The flames penetrated through both his magic spell and even his defensive magic. Takashi could do nothing but be sent flying; blue light scattered apart onto the ground due to his defensive magic being destroyed. He crashed into the wall of the school building before collapsing on the ground.

"With this match, it has proven that I am the superior one. Trash like you will always remain as trash." As he finished his parting sentence, Moroboshi turned around and headed back to the Academy.

The surroundings could only stare in amazement as he walked out of the training ground. This was the first time anyone had seen a Commoner Magician produce magic to such a degree before their very eyes.

Their gazes then returned to Takashi and they felt pity and mockery at the loser. The result was as expected. How could a magician with barely any magic power hope to win against someone who was levels above himself. However, there were still a few students who were impressed with the swordsmanship displayed by the loser.

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At the side of the sports ground, a young woman watched as the two students dueled on the training ground. One displayed a high level of magic even though he was simply a commoner, while the other was beaten terribly.

Naturally, one would appraise the winner but this woman had a strong perception of abilities in humans. President Iori glanced over at Takashi and smiled before leaving the scene.