5.13.

He pointed his staff at her.

Reese maintained a dignified smile.

"Dracx," he introduced himself.

"Reese Rine. It's an honor to fight you, officially."

"Truly is."

["The semi-finals between student Reese from Riestallia and Dracx from Saint's Academy!"]

As the emcee narrated the performance comparisons of both students as the two strode towards their starting zones.

Reese spun the silver tag in her arms a couple times.

"Almost there. Wait for me my hero, I'll definitely stand by you this time," she smiled in the shadows.

["Will Reese's adaptability be superior, or will Dracx's command of magic outmatch her?!"]

From the privileged seats, the royal family and the heroes observed the match.

"There's only one way to find out.." Risa muttered.

"I feel that Riestallia Academy might win this," Evelyn said.

"Hm? Really?" Risa queried.

Evelyn nodded with a bitter smile.

"Big brother, what do you think?"

"Hm? I don't know, perhaps."

"Eh.. are you still thinking about that?"

Shiro nodded.

"The demons huh.." Evelyn muttered.

By some unruly coincidence, Shiro bumped into a demon yesterday– what's worse, a true vampire. Offering to 'help' by exchanging information for information, the demon promised to keep things a secret between them. While Shiro took the offer not simply out of fear for his life, there was no way he would just let something so important be left under the dark.

"On the evening day of the award ceremony, at Simeon's Good Vibes.."

"Should we tell Sequencee about this?" Risa asked.

"No," Before Shiro could give his answer, Evelyn spoke.

Risa pouted.

["You may make your move and begin!"]

Simeon's Good Vibes, a tavern located towards the side of the Black Ravine. A place where many mercenaries or adventurers as some call them typically gather before setting off to hunt monsters or artifacts.

It made little sense why a demon would pick this spot to gather. It was like driving themselves right into a hornet's nest.

Leaving white trails of light, spinning magic arrays fired towards Reese like a saw. Reese easily dodged the first wave, however, the spinning arrays made a loop and as if they were homing missiles.

As Reese broke each spinning array with her own magic, realizing how they weren't going away anytime soon, Dracx slammed the back handle of his staff on the ground as a huge magic circle expanded from beneath him.

Gold dust hovered around, a strong pulsing glow resembling that of a heart, wind currents that sent his hair and coat drifting.

He opened his eyes and pointed his staff towards Reese.

[Activated Trait: Ancient Magus]

His eyes glowed in a platinum-gold light, the mana in his surroundings spiked.

Multiple layers of magic circles coiled around the orb, many more floated behind him, numbering in the hundreds.

"Jeez," Reese, who finally broke the last annoying spinning array, turned to Dracx.

Multiple arcing white lasers fired from his staff. Reese swept her hand like a conductor to conjure gravity blades to intercept the projectile.

The hundred or so magic circles behind Dracx began vibrating.

[Shadow Magic: Shadow Empress]

She melted into the shadows.

An unending barrage of laser projectiles rained hell upon earth. Concentrated firing aimed at the moving black mass on the ground, and while she remained unscathed from the hit, the mana consumption thanks to the intense light that came with each projectile sapped away at her mana greatly.

Whenever a chunk of earth with a portion of her shadow, it would halt her advances. Dependent on the surface area of objects to move, she had to weave her way through the destruction of the ground. In a shadow state, she was no different from a two-dimensional creature.

Dracx was quite literally a walking fortress, the ground riddled with holes and craters. He could single handedly cover the firepower of a hundred mages.

"Come out already."

A black harpoon homed in on Reese from the tip of Dracx's staff. Like stabbing a fish from a spear, Reese, in disbelief, was pulled out of her shadow domain. Before she could collect herself, the continuous barrage poured down upon her from above.

Reese pulled off a quick anti magic barrier to protect herself as she once again attempted to melt into the shadows.

Dracx tugged again at his staff, reeling in the string which coiled around her wrist, she was again dragged out of her domain.

With Reese having to keep maintenance of the anti magic barrier, and her inability to escape with her shadow, Dracx thought this was the perfect time to end it.

Spinning golden magic arrays condensed around him similar to the white ones earlier. Dust clouds slowly enveloping the area of Reese's barrier, the magic array roared.

It was also at this time a glint appeared amidst the dust. It pointlessly bounced off Dracx's barrier.

A black tag, which was somehow connected to the end of black string of his staff. He had just reeled in a monster.

The golden magic array along with the endless fire of lasers broke through Reese's barrier– but she was no longer there.

A shadow extended from the tag moved to his feet, tripping him over.

His magic crumbled, nausea hit him from the unforeseen disruption of mana flow within him.

Extending from the shadow, a pale hand grabbed his ankle. In horror, he tried to pull away.

Like quicksand, the more he struggled, the faster he sank. He tried using magic, but the shadow beneath him at it, and grew bigger. He sank all the way to his knee. The hand which had restrained him earlier moved to interlock his fingers.

He had studied Reese's abilities extensively, but this was the first time he had seen her assault in half human form and half shadow.

Reese appeared from within the shadows with an alluring smile. Dracx now sunk to waist level was looking at her beautiful aureate eyes. The slender touch of her fingers, the pleasant dread springing up from within him, a side of himself he didn't even knew he had–

"Are you still going to try and dominate me?" Leaning in, Reese whispered.

Dracx, doing his best to not fall for her temptations, used his remaining consciousness to build a magic circle above them.

"How proactive," her giggles were like the sounds of a chiming bell. Dracx's eyes grew hazy.

The magic he conjured struck down, dust shot into the sky.

The crowd held their breath.

["W-What just happened?"]

As the smoke settled, Reese could be seen standing gracefully on the field. While there were a few places of her clothes torn, her gentle smile showed that she had won with energy to spare.

Dracx was nowhere to be found.

["The winner of this duel goes to Reese from Riestallia Academy!]

The crowd went into a frenetic frenzy.

Reese waved to the audience, slowly stepping off from the battlefield. She headed to the break room.

"This way miss," the priestess in duty called out to Reese.

"Okay~"

After every duel, both the winner and losers would have to be treated for any injuries, external or internal.

"You were splendid. I was surprised by how you handled him at the end. What did you tell him?" curious, the priestess asked as she tended to her wounds at the med bay.

It looked like they were having an intimate moment.

Reese giggled, "Oh, nothing."

"Don't be like that.. there. There is a change of clothes here, please rest well before your next fight."

"I know."

["The semi-finals between student Seketh from Eluive's Prestigious Academy for Heroes and Matilda from Saint's Academy shall begin in..!"]

"Mn.." Reese stared out to the battlefield from the window.

"Hey."

"Hm? Oh, congratulations for getting well again," Reese smiled teasingly.

Dracx rolled his eyes.

"Do you have anything for me?" Reese asked.

"You're horrifying. Who knew a hand could just grow out like that."

"Of all things you could say, that's what you have to comment on?"

Dracx shook his head with a wryly smile.

"Do you have free time later in the evening?" Reese asked.

"Evening? For what?"

Dracx's ears reddened. Reese's lips curled up in delight.

===

"Team 4 and Team 5."

"No looking into its eyes! Anyone who notices an ally petrified must pull him out of the battle zone!"

The enforcer students of class E2A were back in the dungeon for practical training.

The B-rank blind basilisk charged forward. Adrienne threw her Chakram, aiming for its eyes.

Kashaaa!

It screamed, body stretched upwards. The four mages from the team fired their magic.

One mage casted a net spell, the second created hell flames, the third generated a magic spear made from condensed mana and earth, the last evoked a wind projectile which burst into a small cyclone the moment it touched the target.

The net spell restrained the beast, the hell flames ate into the flesh, the magic spear bounced off its belly, the cyclone synergized with the red flames.

Even after the net had disappeared, the red flames continued raging. The blind basilisk screamed and writhed, the pungent smell of boiling mucus and blood permeated the space.

"Remember to not touch the flames!"

"There's no need to charge in– not yet. The flames will kill it soon wouldn't it?"

"As expected of the class representative."

"We don't get to really practice coordination if this keeps happening though.."

The red flames vanished, the burst scent of flesh perfused into the air. Legs shaking, the basilisk hissed with its blackened tongue.

"She gave us a chance! Time to charge in!"

It was a guaranteed kill for the group with the basilisk injured to such a state. Death came from the accumulation of wounds and fluid loss.

"Student Schwii, are you not feeling well?" Jonnathan, their instructor asked.

"I'm doing alright, instructor," Schwii said with a smile.

"They probably got into an argument," a student whispered.

"But they're still cooperating in the fight though?"

"Take note of the way they treat each other, you'd notice the subtleties."

Sequencee went to lean against one of the walls. This excursion was part of the leadership class led by instructor Jonnathan, a beastkin. As part of the curriculum, he would every so often bring the students into the dungeon to subjugate monsters in the red zones.

There hadn't really been any severe injuries reported till now. There were priests on site to treat any wounds that the student incurred.

"Care to share?" Brown skin, white hair; Carlsim came to stand beside Sequencee.

"Not particularly."

"I'm glad that there are human aspects to you as well."

"Human aspects? What.. do you mean?"

"Many people look up to you. With your level of talent, some would think that you're too perfect."

"Okay..?"

"Imperfection makes us feel more real, approachable, and vulnerable. Everyone is flawed in some way," he muttered.

"How philosophical.."

"Do you not like it?"

"No. I think it was good advice."

"It's a tendency to think that if a person is good at one thing that they'd be good at everything else, that isn't true."

"Right."

"We'll advance down this path! Everyone keep vigilance, don't slack!" Jonnathan announced.

"How short of a break," Carlsim pushed away from the wall, then turned to Sequencee, "I pray that the situation between you and your fiance will resolve itself."

"..."

Sequencee peek in Schwii's direction.

He could tell that she was lonely.