A murmur passed through the students as they began speculating on the result of the coming fight.

Of course, the result was overwhelmingly in Princess Ines' favor.

The news of what had happened earlier this morning had spread, and they knew all about it, so they were of the opinion that Ines would use this opportunity to teach Noah a lesson.

"Tch." Frederick scoffed from where he stood. "We already know the winner of this duel. But it'll be fun to watch."

Ines said nothing, walking down the stairs and into the arena.

"You're not going to fight?" Arlo raised a blow, tilting his head towards Noah, who still leaned against the railing, staring down into the arena.

Noah blinked, as if he'd been jarred out of his thoughts. Then, without another word, he turned away.

"Noah?" Arlo said to him. "Take it easy on her, okay?"

Noah said nothing, continuing down the stairs and into the arena.

However, when the other students saw Noah's slow pace, they began to chuckle among themselves.

"He's cooked!"

"Yeah. Even he knows he can't defeat Princess Ines. She's the strongest first year student."

"Really? I heard that it's Arlo."

"We wouldn't know until we see them fight. But Princess Ines is strong. Noah doesn't stand a chance."

Noah paid them no mind, walking until he was standing a few paces away from Ines.

Professor Oliver was saying something, but Noah's attention was on his hand.

He looked at his palm, a small frown on his face.

The truth was he couldn't go all out in this duel. If he did, there would be no Princess Ines left to heal. He would utterly destroy her.

So, he had to pick and choose which skills and spells he could use in public, before everyone.

He didn't want to show how overpowered he was compared to his peers. He simply needed to draw out the fight long enough for everyone to think they were evenly matched, then end it.

"Status," he muttered under his breath.

[Status:]

[Noah Webb]

[Race: Dark Dragon]

[Rank: FF]

[Potential: FFF]

[Affinities: Darkness, Fire, Void, Decay, Hunger]

[Core Attributes:]

[Strength: FF+]

[Endurance: F-]

[Agility: F+]

[Mana Capacity: S]

[Magic Control: S]

[Skills: Roar (FFF-Rank), Dark Furnace (SS-rank), The King's Dominion (SS-rank), Decay of a Thousand Ages (SSS-rank)]

[Spells: Fireball (F-rank), Flame Spark (FFF-rank), Devour (B-rank), Rot (D-rank), Blackflame (D-rank), Pillar of Judgement (A-rank), Void Bolt(S-rank), Utter Annihilation(SSS-rank), Frigid Hunger(F-rank), Eternal Cradle(B-rank), Null Stride(A-rank)]

Even though he had advanced to FF-rank, he knew he still couldn't safely use his higher ranked skills. His body just wasn't strong enough.

So that left Roar. However, Roar was FFF-rank, and he doubted that the Princess was still that same rank.

She was probably now FF-rank, so the skill won't have much of an effect.

His eyes traveled down to his collection of spells.

Everything above D-rank was off the table. It was, in a word, overkill.

That meant he could only work with Fireball, Rot, Blackflame, and Frigid Hunger.

They would have to be enough.

"Is that confidence or arrogance?" Princess Ines said, and Noah blinked, looking up at her.

"You're not paying any attention." She said. "Not to me, not to Professor Oliver, and not to this duel. Is everything so far beneath your notice?"

Her expression was blank as she studied him.

It was his eyes. They looked but they didn't see. It was as if everybody else in the class around him were props. Everyone except Arlo Kael.

It somehow managed to touch her pride, sending anger rising through her.

The darkness deep within her heart rattled, but she locked it away, tightening her mental grips on the chains holding it down.

'No! Not here. Not now.' She took a deep breath, calming herself.

She wouldn't want to unleash it here, but she also wasn't about to let this slide.

"I'm sure you didn't even notice that the duel has already begun. That professor Oliver declared it to begin a few seconds ago."

"Very well, Noah Webb," she nodded to him. "Prove it to me."

The young man blinked, tilting his head as he stared at her. Now, he was actually seeing her.

A small smile appeared on his face and he tilted his head. She could see the notes of interest in his eyes.

"Prove what?" He asked.

"Prove that you're strong enough that we're barely grains of sand in your attention." She said. "Prove that you're not just a condescending asshole."

"Interesting." He took a step forward, his smile widening into a smirk. "I was going to take it easy on you, but I guess you don't want that."

"Take it easy on me?" She scoffed. "Very well. Let us see what you've got."

"Hmm." He hummed. "You know what? I'll still fight with the restrictions I've placed on myself. But I won't be... merciful."

She didn't wait for him to finish the sentence, surging towards him.

In a blink, she was in front of him, a spell formation activated, and flames coating her hands as her fist streaked towards his face.

"What the hell?!" One of the students yelled as they all looked up in surprise. "How is she so fast?"

That was one of the gifts of Ines' Phoenix, the merged beast of the Royal family.

Right from the beginning, it boosted physical stats. And right now, even though she was FF-rank, her stats sat at an average of E-rank, including her mana capacity and magic control.

Although this boost would later even out in the higher ranks, it was enough to put her a cut above the rest right now.

Her fists streaked towards Noah's face, but surprisingly, he simply smiled.

Just before her fist made contact, he tilted his head to the side, the flaming fist missing by inches.

Her eyes widened as she stumbled forward, and Noah stepped towards her too, their bodies colliding.

And in that instant, he placed a hand on her shoulder, leaning down to whisper in ears, a wide grin on his face.

"Booyakasha."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.