[Trantor - Kiteretsu]


    [Proofreader - Kyros]


    Chapter 28


    The second day of the preliminaries.


    Aside from Kaylen’s Group D, the day had turned into an unofficial holiday, with no challenges from other groups.


    Kaylen, however, was at the training grounds to fulfill a promise he had made to the princess.


    “Good! Harder! Hotter!”


    Whoosh!


    Violet, engulfed in mes, smiled brightly as she looked down at her burning form.


    “Your Highness! You’re getting too excited!”


    “Jane, can’t you see? My face—the ice is melting. How can I not get excited?”


    “Y-yes… but still, don’t move, Your Highness. The curtains might catch fire.”


    “Ah, you’re right.”


    After shifting restlessly behind the curtains, Violet finally held still following Jane’s advice.


    Kaylen was currently using fire magic as per Violet’s request to "burn her thoroughly."


    However, as burning her body inevitably required exposing bare skin, maids had set up curtains for privacy.


    “Fireball.”


    Kaylenunched fireballs over the curtain, letting them descend to engulf Violet.


    ‘Well, not that it hides much.’


    The curtains were thick but not specially treated, so for Kaylen, a Swordmaster, they were essentially transparent.


    ‘Let’s control the intensity.’


    Adjusting the me''s strength, Kaylen cast twenty consecutive fireballs.


    ‘This should suffice.’


    Using fire magic twenty times consecutively was a considerable feat, even for a 4th-circle mage. It was a suitable disy of his capabilities.


    “It’s too much now, Your Highness,” Jane said cautiously.


    “Is it?”


    Swish.


    The curtains parted, and Violet, now wearing a robe, stepped out with a satisfied expression.


    “Casting fireball twenty times… Lord Kaylen, you’re remarkable.”


    Violet removed the mask covering her face, revealing pale, ice-free skin where the frost had previously been.


    Looking at herself in a mirror, she smiled softly.


    “It feels like 10% of the ice has melted. You’ve done a great job.”


    “You tter me. Was the number of casts appropriate?”


    “Yes, it was perfect. Oh, thest one was cutting it close—cia almost resisted.”


    “I’ll keep that in mind. It seems twenty fireballs is the optimal limit.”


    “Indeed, it aligns with your maximum output. Jane, prepare the tea table.”


    “Understood.”


    “Lord Kaylen, if you’re not busy, would you care to join me for tea?”


    “dly.”


    “By the way, you caused quite the stir. To think you were hiding such strength.”


    “My group’sposition wasn’t ideal, so I had no choice but to exert my full power.”


    “...I see.”


    Violet’s eyes gleamed with profound curiosity.


    The man standing before her.


    She knew he wasn’t ordinary, but he turned out to be even more formidable than she had imagined.


    ‘How did someone like this suddenly appear?’


    A 4th-circle mage in his second year.


    Such talent was something that might appear once in a century.


    Up until the first semester of his second year, Kaylen had been known merely as a mediocre 2nd-circle mage.


    Though there had been some incident involving Lina at the start of the second semester, the progress he had shown since then waspletely beyondmon sense.


    ‘And… there’s something about him that makes it impossible to treat him carelessly.’


    He maintained impable politeness.


    However, the way Kaylen looked at Violet was unnervingly profound, making it impossible to read his thoughts.


    On the contrary, Violet felt as if he could read her own.


    Closing her eyes briefly and then opening them, she steered the conversation to her greatest rival within the academy—Lioness.


    “You met Lord Lioness of Group D for the first time this time, didn’t you?”


    “His striking red hair left quite the impression.”


    “What did you think of him?”


    At Violet’s question, Kaylen briefly recalled yesterday’s events.


    After defeating Ruth in their duel, Kaylen had been descending the stage when Lioness blocked his path.


    His face had been shining brighter than ever.


    "You. I really like you."


    “......”


    "I apologize for earlier. I just wanted to see your true abilities. Can we let it slide?"


    Lioness’s smile, revealing his teeth, was so captivating that it drew admiration from everyone around, regardless of age or gender.


    However, Kaylen had responded casually.


    "I’m afraid you still didn’t get to see my full abilities."


    "That attitude makes me like you even more. Next time, I’lle with a good offer and a smiling face."


    “He’s an ambitious man,” Kaylen remarked.


    As though she had expected this, Violet nodded.


    “He holds you in very high regard. It’s evident in the way the main tournament has been arranged.”


    She pulled a slip of paper from her pocket and handed over the bracket for the final 32.


    The most prominent names on the list were:


    - The first seed: Violet.


    - The sixteenth seed: Lioness.


    - The veryst seed: Kaylen.


    “Originally, he and I intended to face off in the finals. After all, aside from the two of us, no one else in the academy had the qualifications to be a Supreme Mage.”


    The Supreme Mage.


    A title granted to the winner of the selection tournament, recognizing the most outstanding mage among the Superior Mages.


    This title came with numerous privileges as the academy’s representative, making it the ultimate ambition for many.


    This year, however, thepetition for Supreme Mage had long since narrowed down to two contenders:


    - Violet, a 4th-circle mage equipped with an S-grade mana suit.


    - Lioness, a 4th-circle mage equipped with an A-grade mana suit.


    No one else even dared to dream of victory.


    Everyone had expected Violet and Lioness to face each other in the finals.


    Though the bracket for the tournament was said to be randomized, it was impossible for the influence of the First Prince’s and Second Prince’s factions not to seep into the process.


    However, the finalized bracket for the top 32 differed from everyone’s expectations.


    “With this arrangement…”


    “Yes, Lioness and I will face each other in the semifinals.”


    “That’s surprising.”


    “…In truth, it was his request.”


    Kaylen tilted his head. Though his demonstration of the Lightning Bolt spell had been impressive…


    ‘He’s a 4th-circle Meister with an A-grade mana suit, after all.’


    From an outsider’s perspective, Kaylen’s chances of defeating Lioness were nearly zero.


    Even so, Lioness had deliberately adjusted his cement.


    “He wants to prove himself in peak condition. However, he knew that if he faced you, he would have no choice but to expend a significant amount of mana. So, he moved himself.”


    Hearing that, Kaylen understood that Lioness held him in high regard.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Still, a question lingered.


    “What exactly does he want to prove?”


    Tap. Tap.


    Violet lightly tapped her frost-covered face.


    “That he canpletely melt the ice on my face.”


    “He’s aware of that?”


    “The top-ranking nobles have a general idea. They’re privy to information about S-grade mana suits, after all.”


    “I see.”


    However, considering Lioness’s alignment with the Second Prince’s faction, he didn’t seem to have any reason to assist the First Prince’s princess.


    Just as Kaylen began pondering this, Violet gave a bitter smile and added,


    “He’s one of my potential fiancés.”


    “Politically, his ranking as a candidate is low due to factional rivalry. But if he manages to melt the ice on my face, the story changes. My father, the king, is deeply concerned that I might sumb to the frost. Should Lioness aplish this, he would be the strongest contender for my hand.”


    Violet, often referred to as the mastermind of the First Prince’s faction, knew what that would mean for her position.


    If she were to marry the third son of a duke, her current freedom of action would be severely restricted.


    Even her standing within the First Prince’s faction would weaken significantly.


    “Is that something you’re considering?”


    “Not at all. I’d rather die than marry into the Duke’s household.”


    Violet’s firm reply carried a sharp sense of anger toward the Duke’s family.


    ‘Is this more than a matter of royal session? Is there deeper enmity here?’


    Though the conflict remained under the surface, her strong animosity hinted at something significant in the past.


    Kaylen spected that there must have been a critical incident between them, one that had nevere to light.


    ‘It wouldn’t be surprising if a dispute erupted at any moment. I’ll need to tread carefully between these two factions.’


    The brewing tension between the First Prince’s and Second Prince’s factions was palpable.


    With the ongoing suspicion about the connection between dungeon cores and the Demonic Realm’s colonies, Kaylen had no desire to entangle himself unnecessarily in their strife.


    His approach was clear:


    Take what he could.


    Build his power.


    And maintain neutrality for as long as possible.


    ‘Still, this bracket works to my advantage.’


    The two strongest contenders for victory, Princess Violet and Lioness, were opponents who could draw significant attention if faced too early in the tournament.


    Even though they were both 4th-circle Meisters, the presence or absence of mana suits could be a critical factor, and careless handling could lead to unexpected oues.


    ‘Thanks to this bracket, I should have a smooth path to the finals.’


    From participants 17 to 32, the lineup was filled with Meisters equipped with mana suits, including Zaik.


    However, Kaylen remained calm andposed.


    Among all this, his first opponent, someone named “Lina,” didn’t catch his interest in the slightest.


    ***


    The First Day of the Finals


    “Ugh…”


    Lina bit her lip involuntarily.


    Thanks to extraordinary luck in the preliminary rounds, she had managed to advance to the top 32 despite being only a 3rd-circle mage.


    But luck had clearly abandoned her now.


    ‘Why do I have to face him of all people?!’


    Her chest tightened as she looked up at Kaylen standing confidently in the arena.


    Him? A 4th-circle mage?


    ‘This has to be a joke!’


    She thought back to the time when she had confidently demonstrated Fireball magic before him, asking him to teach her magic.


    ‘I don’t even want to step into the arena…’


    Her steps grew heavier as she climbed up.


    Lina’s original reason for joining the Superior Mage Selection Tournament wasn’t even to win. It was to figure out why Kaylen had gained the princess’s favor.


    She had already uncovered her answer during the preliminaries, so the tournament itself no longer held much appeal for her.


    She wanted to quit.


    But there was a problem—there had never been a case of someone forfeiting a match in the history of the tournament.


    Wearing the Florence name, she couldn’t bring the dishonor of being the first to forfeit.


    ‘In that case…’


    Lina adjusted her expression, putting on the most pitiful and vulnerable face she could muster.


    In a intive tone, she begged,


    “Kaylen…”


    “So, you’re my opponent for the top 32.”


    “Please, go easy on me.”


    But Kaylen turned away without a word.


    “Hah…”


    Lina was speechless.


    Hadn’t he seemed to like her so much before?


    Her tear-filled eyes, which had been carefully staged to look pathetic, suddenly hardened with venom.


    ‘You jerk…!’


    Fine, then. She’d endure as long as she could.


    Resolving herself, Lina began casting her spell quickly.


    “Fire, heed my call…”


    “Wind Burst.”


    Before she could even finish her incantation, Kaylen extended his hand indifferently.


    A 4th-circle wind spell manifested without a single word of incantation.


    BOOM!


    A massive air explosion erupted right in front of Lina''s face.


    The sheer pressure distorted her features, and her body was lifted into the air, sent flying uncontrobly.


    In that instant, Lina realized what was about to happen.


    ‘No, no, no! If this keeps up, I’ll lose in record time…!’


    She iled desperately to avoid falling out of bounds.


    But no mere human could resist the force of the wind.


    “Kyahhhhhh!”


    Thud.


    She crashed headfirst onto the ground, her consciousness dimming.


    Ah…


    Record-time defeat, confirmed.


    The scouts, holding their pens, worked furiously.


    “His mastery of wind magic is remarkable…”


    “Could he have the potential to be a Meister as well?”


    The evaluation of Kaylen, already considered the standout talent of the tournament, soared even higher in their minds.


    If he truly possessed the qualifications to be a Meister…


    ‘Casting Wind Burst without incantation? Was he originally specialized in wind magic?’


    ‘With this level of skill, he could achieve greatness as a Meister.’


    ‘Coming from a modest family makes him even easier to recruit.’


    The wind-aligned Tower scouts were internally cheering.


    Meanwhile, the fire and other elemental Tower scouts were left disappointed.


    ‘A shame, really.’


    ‘Considering he used lightning earlier, I thought he might also have talent in fire magic…’


    However, their feelings of regret quickly shifted the following day.


    The next day, Kaylen revealed yet another talent.


    “What… What is that?”


    “How is that even possible?”


    Kaylen showcased yet another aspect of his incredible potential.


    [Trantor - Kiteretsu]


    [Proofreader - Kyros]