Around them, the battle royale was starting to wind down.

The chaos of a hundred students had been whittled down to maybe thirty or forty who were still standing.

Watching the students fling spells around, it seemed that everyone except himself was aware that they could learn spells through outside means.

I'm relying way too much on my knowledge of the game to survive in this world but the truth is that it's just a game.

No matter how thorough it is, there will always be a gap of knowledge between a fictional world and a real one.

In the game, the exams were such a breeze for the important characters that it wasn't really focused on at all. It was the end of term exams that would be the real trouble.

Professor Hendricks' voice boomed across the arena: "FIFTY STUDENTS REMAINING! THE PACE IS PICKING UP!"

Lucas looked around the battlefield, looking for his next target, when his Danger Sense suddenly activated.

He threw himself sideways just as a massive fireball streaked through the space where he'd been standing. The heat singed his torn uniform as it passed.

"What the..."

"Well, well," a new voice said. "If it isn't Lucas Estellan. The filthy half-blood who thinks he's special."

Lucas turned to see a tall, elegant young woman with flowing red hair and eyes that glowed like a fire.

Her uniform marked her as part of the A-class, and the mana radiating from her body indicated she was at least Mid-Stage Copper, possibly even High-Stage.

"Clarissa Lavn," Zacard said. "A-class. Fire specialist. She's dangerous, Lucas."

"I've heard so much about you," Clarissa said, flames dancing between her fingers.

"The infamous son of Duke Estellan. Locked in the mansion for years in the company of the servants. A child made purely to lift his family out of debt. You are an absolute disgrace to the Estellan name and to nobles as a whole."

"First of all, none of those things were in my control so I'm not sure why you guys are blaming me. Second of all, I don't think I'm that infamous since before you guys started bothering me about it, no one really seemed to care," Lucas said, taking a defensive stance. "And thirdly, Are you sure you want to do this, I suggest you walk away."

"Oh, but I can't do that," Clarissa replied with a sweet smile that didn't reach her eyes. "You see, a mere mongrel like you was spotted talking to the princess, a higher class being than yourself. I'm here to send you a message."

Her hands erupted in flames.

"I'm going to make you wish you stayed in whatever hole your commoner mother crawled out of."

Lucas felt a understanding when he heard Clarissa's words.

So that is what this is all about. Honestly, that whole conversation with Leyla felt like it happened so long ago so I absolutely didn't expect it to comeback to bite me in the ass.

But now that he knew the cause of these doofuses attacking him, it gave him a strong suspicion of who sent them. The only question was what on earth did he do to offend her that he didn't realize?

There was only one way to find out.

"Who sent you?" Lucas said. "In fact, who are you guys anyways?"

A smug expression came up on Clarissa's face."We are the Pureblooded Society. We are headed by Rayon Ylois. A powerful student in the S class and my fiancee."

These guys don't have any use. I'm pretty sure this Rayon guy is who I have to talk to if I want to figure out what is going on. Since she's useless, I might as well ragebait her into giving some more information.

"Tell me, does your fiancé always send women to fight his battles for him? Must be a family trait among nobles."

Clarissa's smile vanished and it was replaced by a snarl. "Watch your tongue, mongrel."

"There it is again," Lucas said. "You people really need to expand your vocabulary."

"[Flame Lance]!"

Three spears of compressed fire shot toward Lucas. He dove behind a nearby stone pillar and he felt the heat wash over him as the flames impacted where he'd been standing.

The pillar partially melted from the residual heat.

Okay, this is different from Carl's weak Earth magic. She's actually somewhat dangerous.

"Lucas," Zacard called out. "Want some help with this one?"

"No," Lucas said. "This is personal."

He heard Zacard chuckle. "Suit yourself. I'll go find some easier targets."

The sound of Zacard's footsteps went away as Lucas looked at his situation.

Clarissa was clearly stronger than him in terms of raw mana and magical ability. Her fire spells were fast and powerful, and she had the advantage of range.

But she also just told him exactly what he needed to know.

She's here to humiliate me, not just eliminate me. That means she'll try to toy with me first. That means she'll make mistakes.

Lucas peeked around the pillar just as another Flame Lance streaked toward him. He pulled back, and the spell exploded against the stone.

"Come out and face me properly!" Clarissa shouted. "Or are you too much of a coward? I suppose that's to be expected from someone with commoner blood!"

There she goes again. She's trying to provoke me. She wants me angry and reckless.

Lucas took a deep breath. He felt the Flowing River Style mana circulation technique do its work.

His mana reserves, which had been depleting throughout the battle royale, began to replenish faster than they should have been able to.

One of the benefits of an S-rank circulation method

He closed his eyes for just a moment, focusing on his Danger Sense skill.

The information of the arena around him came into his head. He got the positions of other students, trajectories of spells, and most importantly, Clarissa's location and stance.

She's preparing another spell. Multiple targets this time. She's trying to flush me out.

"[Flame Burst]!"

A wave of fire erupted around Lucas's pillar, forcing him to move.

He rolled out of cover, already knowing where the follow-up attack would come from because his Danger Sense had warned him.

Lucas twisted mid-roll as three more Flame Lances streaked toward his new position.

One missed completely. The second he deflected with a desperate mana-reinforced backhand that left his knuckles scorched and aching. The third....

He didn't dodge it.

Instead, he ran toward it.

At the last possible second, Lucas dropped into a slide, going under the fire spear as it passed overhead.

The heat was intense, making his eyes water and his skin feel like it was blistering, but he was through.

And now he was closing the distance to Clarissa.

Her eyes widened in surprise. She clearly hadn't expected him to charge straight at her through her attacks.

"[Flame Shield]!"

A barrier of fire erupted between them but Lucas had already committed to the action. He wasn't going to back down now.

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