Chapter 21

A day had passed, but Iberia’s excited heart did not calm easily. She closed her eyes tightly and opened them again to steady herself.

Young Master Nesferos was standing in front of the dining hall. Iberia bowed her head slightly to greet him as she approached.

“Good morning, Young Master.”

“Good morning, Iberia. Did you do well in the preliminaries? I heard the results come out right away.”

“Yes, thanks to you. Thank you.”

He raised one corner of his lips. Even though he knew Iberia’s words were mere pleasantries, he was pleased. Tilting his head slightly, Young Master Nesferos spoke.

“Then wish me luck so I can pass the preliminaries too.”

“Oh, are you competing today?”

“Yes, I’ll take the test right after dinner tonight.”

Iberia’s mouth fell open.

She had thought that most students participating in the swordsmanship competition would fast several hours before their matches. Since today was the preliminary round, she couldn’t understand why he came out to eat dinner.

She had assumed he had already finished his preliminary round since he had come out for their dinner appointment. 

Could it be that he came out because of our meeting?

Iberia lowered her gaze quietly. That didn’t seem likely.

She pondered how to respond and chose words that seemed appropriate. Her gaze wavered with uncertainty.

“Oh, then you’ll have to eat just a little.”

“Why are you trying to starve me? It’s the preliminaries.”

At Young Master Nesferos’s words, Iberia blinked slowly. Among all the options she had considered, she thought she had chosen the most considerate response, but his reaction…

Iberia hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to say, and then apologized.

“I’m sor…”

“No apologies allowed.”

Or rather, she was about to apologize when he interrupted her.

Iberia furrowed her brows. Young Master Nesferos added unnecessary remarks to everything she said.

Judging by his expression, he didn’t seem to be joking, which made it even more frustrating. Iberia couldn’t tell whether he was joking or not.

Pressing her lips together tightly, Iberia could only manage the most basic evening greeting.

“Yes. Enjoy your dinner. I hope you pass the preliminaries.”

“Thanks. You enjoy your dinner too.”

At last, Young Master Nesferos smiled brightly. For some reason, Iberia found that smile unpleasant, so she lowered her gaze to the plate of food she had just received.

***

Cynthia came running to Iberia like a puppy wagging its tail. Although Iberia was the one participating in the competition, Cynthia seemed more excited.

“Iberia, Iberia! The match brackets are out. Let’s go see them!”

“Alright, alright. Let’s go.”

Iberia, who had been filling a notebook with magical formulas and calculations, took off her glasses and stood up.

Cynthia grabbed Iberia’s sleeve and dragged her along.

Iberia let out a small, helpless laugh.

She felt a bit guilty seeing Cynthia so excited, thinking, ‘I probably won’t win anyway.’

But Cynthia, oblivious to Iberia’s thoughts, scanned the bracket posted on the wall while still holding onto her sleeve.

“Let’s see… Iberia. Iberia Del. Ah, here it is!”

“Hmm, my opponent is Senior Cain.”

Iberia read the name Cynthia pointed to with a calm demeanor.

Seeing Iberia’s indifferent reaction, Cynthia began chattering away with information about her opponent. She claimed to know so much because she had bought tickets to watch the competitions both two years ago and last year.

According to Cynthia, Cain, a senior who was one year ahead of Iberia, was known for his abundant magical power.

“Then I’ll have to conserve my magic.”

Iberia replied dryly. While this wasn’t always the case, people with higher magical reserves often didn’t focus as much on calculations.

Such individuals were the ones Iberia envied most in the entire world.

“Make sure to go to bed early tonight, okay?”

Cynthia stared intently at Iberia’s face as she spoke, silently pressuring her to listen.

Iberia smiled reluctantly in response. She wanted to maintain her emotional composure, but it wasn’t easy.

“Okay.”

***

From the chatter of the students, Iberia learned that Young Master Nesferos had passed his preliminary round.

Iberia was currently in the waiting room inside the arena. Her first match was scheduled as the opening match of the morning.

For Iberia, who started her days early, this was a favorable time slot. In truth, no time of day was particularly disadvantageous for her.

‘I need to thoroughly review the spatial coordinates. Hmm, I’ll calculate in straight paths as much as possible and simplify the calculations when necessary.’

The length of a calculation formula and the amount of magic consumed were inversely proportional. Most students found a balance between the two to cast their spells, but for Iberia, who was always short on magic, it was more important to reduce magic consumption, even if it meant performing several cumbersome calculations.

While thinking carefully about her calculations, Iberia meticulously tightened her armor.

Though it was her first tournament and her first time wearing armor, she didn’t struggle, thanks to the guidance provided by professors and senior graduates during the preliminary round.

In magic department competitions, victory was determined when one participant became incapacitated, admitted defeat, or lost more than half of their armor.

She had no intention of surrendering. She tied her armor doubly and triply to ensure it wouldn’t come undone. There probably weren’t many students at the academy who could undo it with magic. Most students weren’t that obsessed with calculations.

Iberia’s eyes gleamed sharply.

At that moment, her opponent entered the waiting room. Iberia bowed slightly in greeting.

“Hello, Senior.”

Her opponent responded with a slight nod and extended his hand for a handshake.

Iberia removed her gloves, clenched her fist once, and then shook his hand.

“Your hand is quite cold.”

“Yes, I tend to have a low body temperature.”

There was no need to take his words personally and waste energy. That would only drain her unnecessarily. Iberia smiled gently.

He smiled back as he released her hand.

“This is your first tournament, right? I remember hearing that it’s unusual for the top student not to participate.”

“Yes. Last year, I didn’t even think about participating.”

Nodding, he glanced at the source of an announcement and gestured toward the waiting room door.

“It seems the announcement will come soon. Shall we stand at the front?”

Iberia stood quietly beside him.

Shortly after, a bell rang loudly, and Iberia walked onto the arena.

After exchanging greetings, the match began.

Most of Lacanel’s students had far more magical power than Iberia. Her relatively low reserves always held her back from the starting line.

But the situation wasn’t entirely bad. During practice, she had always relied on the surrounding magic and calculated meticulously, almost to the point of obsession. As a result, she could sense others’ magic well and had developed calculation skills far beyond average.

This allowed Iberia to plan for possibilities that others couldn’t even imagine. Her eyes glinted with sharp focus.

Standing on the arena, Iberia cautiously began her calculations while watching her opponent.

Since it had been announced that losing more than half of one’s armor would result in defeat, she decided she would strip her opponent’s armor if necessary.

Unconsciously, a smile crept onto Iberia’s lips.

At that moment, small water droplets flew toward her. If they touched her body, they would likely transform into massive water spheres, engulfing her entirely.

Realizing it was too late to cancel the spell, Iberia summoned small flames. The flames flew precisely into the incoming water droplets. Not a single flame or droplet was wasted.

Her opponent looked slightly flustered. He had neither seen nor heard of anyone countering so precisely, matching the exact number of droplets.

Iberia gripped her armor tightly and conjured a small illusion near the ends of her opponent’s hair.

Earlier, when summoning the small flames, she had considered adding another spark but opted for the illusion instead, just in case he didn’t concede defeat.

Using the illusion consumed less magic as well.

By summoning only a tiny illusion with her magic, Iberia allowed it to absorb the surrounding magic and flow naturally, like fire spreading with fuel or water falling downward due to gravity.

The rules also specified that one didn’t need to use their own magic for auxiliary effects of spells, which worked in Iberia’s favor.

Iberia overlaid the space with her illusion. To both her opponent and those unfamiliar with magic, the illusion would appear entirely real.

As the illusion clung to her opponent’s hair, Iberia focused on defense while subtly manipulating the knots of his armor.

A man in the audience suddenly stood up, his face filled with excitement. Such precise calculation of coordinates!

The illusion burned brightly. Seeing the fire spread dangerously close to his scalp, her opponent hastily raised his hand.

“Iberia Del, victory!”

With a small victorious smile, Iberia removed the illusion from Cain’s hair.

To the untrained eye, it looked as though the burnt hair had been restored. It seemed as if time itself had reversed in that space. Her opponent appeared to think so too, judging by his expression, but Iberia didn’t bother correcting him. He touched his hair absentmindedly.

Iberia took a step closer and extended her hand for a handshake.

“Thank you for the good match.”

After tidying his hair a few times, he smiled with clear focus in his eyes and replied.

“I’m curious why you didn’t compete last year.”

“You’re too kind.”

Iberia smiled sheepishly.

Cain shook hands with her one last time before trudging off the arena.

Iberia reflected on the match. It had been a very satisfying performance. There were no errors in her calculations, her magic consumption was efficient, and the illusion she had conjured was so detailed that even she had almost believed it.

With a satisfied smile, Iberia stepped off the arena.