Duel

He paused for a while then continued. "Name's Quyte. I hope for a peaceful three years." Everyone clapped. 

No one raised any questions. Quyte slightly nodded his head. "Everyone brings out their personal card. I'm going to examine them one by one and give instructions."

Everyone did as they were told. Somewhere in the middle, Akzel's turn arrived. 

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ID #17508421

Race - Human (Noble) 

Mage classification: 8-Grade Professional Mage

Warrior classification: High-7 Rank Warrior

Intelligence: 8.75582 (max 10) 

Raw strength: 40 (Proficiency - 89%, Control - 45%) 

Agility: 45 (Proficiency - 21%, Control - 98%) 

Endurance: 51 (Proficiency - 64%, Control - 70%) 

Mana storage: 76 (Purification - 84%) 

Mana Recovery: 6/s

Note:- If either the proficiency or the control rises to 100%, it increases the stats by 1. The factor through which the stat rises resets to 0% and the other is calculated accurately and lowered. Purification increases the stats by 12. 

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Looking at Akzel's card, Quyte showed an expression of amusement. "Hoh...You are quite talented. A strategic all-rounder, heh… Remember, an all-rounder may have the greatest advantage in any kind of combat, but it also has the greatest disadvantage. It's very hard to raise the proficiency in any of these traits, got it?"

Akzel seriously nodded. 

Quyte nodded with satisfaction. "Work on your raw strength. I don't think I need to explain how important that would be you. Now go back… oh wait. What's your name?"

"Akzel. Akzel Falter." Saying so, he decided to head back to his seat. 

Quyte looked at him for a while then shook his head for some reason. 

A few minutes later, Quyte ordered the students to move to the training grounds and wait for their instructor. The students did as they were told. Quickly changing their uniforms, they headed towards the training grounds.

There were many training grounds in TRAY. One for tier-3 classes, three for tier-2 classes, five for tier-1 classes and a 'special' ground for the S-class. 

Akzel, being an extremely talented mage as well as a warrior of fairly high rank, was put in one of the tier-1 classes. There were a total of 30 students in his class, including him with a slightly higher girls to boys ratio. 

Akzel, along with his classmates, arrived at the training ground. The ground looked nothing special with short slightly-yellowish grasses. However, the air was extremely rich in mana. 

Akzel, channeling his mana stream, he felt a soothing sensation. 

The instructor stood in front of his students with an eased expression. "Without wasting any further words, I command you to stand in a horizontal line. Y'all will have a mock battle with each other as your elementary training. Opponents will be selected by me."

…

..

Akzel sighed as he chanted one of the elementary spells ⟪Blink⟫ to shorten the distance between him and his opponent. It was an extremely fast movement skill. However, it was all in vain as the opponent backed off with a quick short teleportation spell. 

Seemingly expecting the outcome, he pursued directly going on the offense. His opponent, Wiyli, is a talented female mage who is very adept in space spells. Seeing Akzel slowly closing the gap between them, Wiyli quickly thought of a plan. 

She again used the same teleportation spell. This time, not to back off, but to catch him off-guard. Being in the offense made his defense low but he didn't look troubled by the sudden ambush. 

Wiyli, making full advantage of her chance, used three Air-type fist blows in succession. 

Thump! Thump! Thump! 

Akzel's body trembled as he stepped backwards with heavy steps. Finally, he fell on his buttocks. In front of him, Wiyli heaved a sigh of relief. She reached him and reached out to him with her hands with a friendly smile. 

"It was a close call. I don't have any confidence to defeat you if we duel again."

Akzel smiled and shook her hands with his while sitting. "I very much appreciate your chivalry and prowess. However…"

Suddenly, he grabbed her hands and pulled her down. Wiyli was in a disadvantageous position since she was slightly bending forward. As such, she had no resistance to give and lost her balance. 

Quickly pulling out the personal Energy Revolver from his waist with one hand and with the other hand and his shoulders assisting in 'helping' his opponent fall down, his eyes met with Wiyli.

"Was it really a wise decision to let your guard down before the instructor decided the victor?"

With the revolver pointed towards her throat, it was over. Mock battles were arranged privately with the only spectator/audience being the instructor. Surely there would have been a huge ruckus if their classmates were present. 

The instructor, who was previously watching the duel with a stern look, smiled. "Victor, Akzel Falter!"

Only when the instructor's words reached Wiyli's ears, she recovered from her daze. 

Akzel got up, letting go of his grip on her. Few seconds later, Wiyli got up. Her facial expressions showed no signs of anger or frustration. With a neutral expression, facing Akzel, she admitted. 

"I underestimated my opponent. It is my loss."

Akzel wanted to say the words "It was a close call" but couldn't as it would only make the other party feel that he was ridiculing him by repeating her words. With an awkward smile, he said. "Umm… I'm not ridiculing you but it was really a close call for me as well."

Smiling slightly, Wiyli again stretched her hands towards Akzel. Akzel shook it without any more words. After that, both of them turned to the instructor. 

The instructor's serious expression eased up as he acknowledged them. "I'm very satisfied with both of your performances. The main reason being both of your efficient and smart use of intelligence stats. Offensive spells are all nice and good but in order to bring out the maximum out of those spells, intelligence is crucial. Although both of you are neither the smartest nor the strongest in your class, you are good seeds. Now go and call out the next pair." 

Both of them nodded seriously as they went back to the training room where their classmates were preparing. Heading there, Akzel wondered. 

'Is it only my imagination or does my right hand feel a bit numb? Could it be…hm…nope, impossible.' 

All of a sudden, he became very worried as he cursed in his mind. 'Shit! Did I just raise an unknown flag!?'