“Why did it have to turn out like this…”
A month had passed since the entrance exam for the magic academy in the Wenoost Region.
In a section resembling a schoolyard, known as the mock battlefield, a girl with light blue hair muttered.
In just one month—a period unimaginable by Earth’s standards—preparations for enrollment had progressed, and today was the day of the entrance ceremony.
On this day, which should have been the first memorable step towards becoming a great mage… she had been challenged to a duel.
“Are you ready, commoner?”
“…Yes.”
Standing before Paula was a boy, also a new student.
Large and with a face that looked like he could kill two or three people, he had challenged her to a mock battle—a duel.
The cause of this was a gray-haired girl standing in the spectator area.
Looking timid, she had been harassed by the boy as soon as the entrance ceremony ended.
The gray-haired girl was a commoner, and the male student, a noble’s son, was unilaterally berating her.
Unable to stand by and watch, Paula had intervened, and now here she was.
“Hmph, there are quite a few spectators.”
“Well, there aren’t many people who would start a duel on the first day… or rather, people who are so hot-blooded…”
She muttered, sounding exasperated.
Before speaking up, she hadn’t expected things to escalate this much.
She had thought it might lead to a bit of an argument, but that the other party would eventually back down.
Her thinking was naive.
As soon as the boy learned that Paula was a commoner, he became even more overbearing. When he found out she was a Second Canon, he became even more aggressive. Before she knew it, she was in a duel.
(Maybe I should have looked for Shiitsia-chan first…)
She reflected. Since they were in different classes, Shiitsia wasn’t nearby, and she had jumped in alone.
However, the mock battle was about to begin. She refocused her attention forward.
“Okay, let’s explain the rules. You win by incapacitating your opponent or making them surrender. We’ll stop it if it looks dangerous. Prohibited actions are—”
The teacher acting as the referee spoke languidly. His attitude seemed to convey his dissatisfaction at having to deal with this trouble when he was busy.
Paula gripped the training staff tightly as she listened.
In order to safely inflict physical damage and protect themselves from dangerous attacks, special wooden staffs were used in mock battles at the magic academy.
“—Now, for the final confirmation. Do both of you agree to the conditions of the mock battle?”
“Yes.”
“Alright, begin!”
With a half-hearted shout, the battle began.
The distance was about twenty meters. A distance Paula could cover in a second with her raw physical abilities. However, her opponent’s attack was faster.
“〖Ice Arrow〗, Quadruple!”
“Whoa.”
Seeing the four ice arrows flying at high speed, Paula thought, “That’s fast.”
Not just the projectile speed, but also the interval between when he started gathering Mana and when he released the arrows. Most mid-level adventurers wouldn’t be able to react to this attack.
(But, at this distance, it’s not going to work, is it?)
Mid-level adventurers wouldn’t be able to react—meaning Paula, who had a Level equivalent to a high-level adventurer, was different.
She instantly recognized the tracking ability with her Spatial Awareness, and taking that into account, she jumped to the side.
Three arrows missed their mark, and the one that was barely on target was knocked down with her staff.
“Did you see that? This is my power! The difference between us and the lower class!”
“No, no, no, I completely blocked it!?”
She couldn’t help but retort at the smug boy.
However, the boy let out a mocking laugh.
“Fuhahaha, as expected of a lower class, you don’t understand anything. How did you block my previous attack?”
“How? I just dodged and blocked it with my staff…”
“Exactly, you blocked it with your physical abilities, not magic, how barbaric. You probably just have a high Level, and your magical skill is nothing special, right?”
“It’s just that there was no need to use magic—”
“Enough with the excuses. No matter how many words you gather, the fact that you are inferior to me will not change!”
The boy interrupted Paula.
In cities covered by a Political Territory, Spatial magic consumed a lot of Mana. Therefore, it was avoided when unnecessary… but it seemed there was no time to explain.
A large amount of Mana erupted from the boy.
“〖Ice Field〗!”
“Whoa!? Whoa…!”
The boy’s magic covered the ground of the mock battlefield.
Appearing was a smooth, ice-covered surface like a skating rink. Except for the area around the boy, no soil was exposed. It was a magic of tremendous scale.
Paula jumped back in a hurry, avoiding having her feet frozen, but she slipped on landing and stabbed her staff into the ground to regain her balance.
“How is it? This is the real magic of a noble who has reached the Third Canon. My magic, which has Sublimated to the Ice Attribute, is on a different level than you commoners. If you’re going to surrender, now is the time!”
Hearing those words, some of the spectators frowned.
Most of the hundred or so new students were from noble families, but less than ten had reached the Third Canon.
Those who were still stuck at the Second Canon felt as if they were being ridiculed as being on the level of commoners.
However, regardless of their dissatisfaction, the battle continued.
“It’s certainly impressive in scale, but just freezing the ground isn’t going to win you the match, is it?”
“If you want to be defeated by my hand, then so be it! 〖Ice Rain〗!”
The boy raised his staff.
Pouring in a generous amount of Mana, he activated a single spell.
More than thirty ice bullets, launched into the sky, rained down on Paula in an arc.
Since the impact points were scattered, there was no time to dodge even if she started moving now.
“Well, I guess I have no choice but to use it. 〖Space Hole〗.”
A black hole opened up above her, as if she had given up on dodging.
It shielded the girl from the rain of ice bullets like an umbrella.
“Kuhahaha, is that your magic? Such a flimsy shield won’t stop my magic—”
“〖Space Hole〗.”
Ignoring the boy’s mockery, she opened another hole just before the umbrella and the ice bullets collided.
The color and size were exactly the same as the first one, but the only difference was the location.
Not above, but in front. The black hole appeared facing the boy.
“What!?”
Before the boy could understand its purpose, the ice bullets that had fallen into the hole above flew out of the hole in front, baring their fangs at their original master.
The boy hastily created an ice barrier to defend himself, but the ice bullets were released one after another.
The boy jumped to the side in a panic.
Immediately after, the sound of the ice barrier shattering was heard.
“W-what… is your magic…?”
“What do you think?”
“Guh, don’t underestimate me, you commoner!”
The subsequent events were one-sided.
The boy attacked unilaterally, and the boy was unilaterally attacked.
Paula was only maintaining the 〖Space Hole〗, which consumed very little Mana, and was hardly depleted.
On the other hand, the boy, who had unleashed magic above the Second Canon level, was nearing Mana exhaustion.
“…Isn’t it getting tough? I think you should surrender soon.”
Paula advised him to surrender.
Without doing so, she could have ended the match by teleporting and hitting him with her staff. However, she didn’t want to incur his hatred by injuring him, and she also wanted to hide her abilities as much as possible.
“Shut up! You can keep that cool face… for now! Noble Blood Crest, activate!”
A red pattern on the back of the boy’s hand. As soon as Mana gathered there, the pattern began to glow.
Seeing that, the audience stirred.
“Oh man, is he serious? He used his Noble Blood Crest.”
“Against a commoner? He’s too desperate.”
“Using a Noble Blood Crest in a duel just because he’s not strong enough, does he have no pride as a noble?”
While the boy’s face was contorted with anger at the spectators who were gossiping, he used the power of the crest.
Paula felt the change brought about by its glow with her Spatial Awareness.
(This feeling is…)
“Kukuku, I’m finally starting to understand the nature of your Attribute. You’re good at defense but can’t attack, right?”
“…………”
The girl ignored his misguided deduction.
Her attention was solely focused on the effect of the Noble Blood Crest.
(It’s probably interfering with the Political Territory… but if that’s the case…)
“Silent, huh? Seems like I hit the nail on the head. Fufufuhahahaha, then this match is mine! The Noble Blood Crest given to us nobles is not only proof of our noble lineage, but it also has another power.”
The boy spoke, confident in his victory.
“It is the control of the Political Territory! We can achieve many miracles through the Demon Lord’s domain. One of them is the rapid recovery of Mana!”
As he said that and thrust his arm up, Mana began to flow into him from the surroundings.
It was a power equivalent to the ‘levy’ of the Zone Control. He was using it on a territory-wide scale.
Though it’s a severely limited authority compared to what a lord possesses, even so, the Mana is visibly increasing.
At this rate, his Mana will likely be fully restored without much waiting.
“…Ah, just as I thought.”
“Hm? What is it? Have you finally decided to amend your behavior, you lowborn?”
As if she didn’t hear the boy’s voice, Paula reaches out into the void.
Then, as if grasping an invisible bundle of threads, she gripped and pulled.
“With this, I can do it—〖Area Edit〗.”
Devouring an amount of Mana that dwarfs even a 〖Space Hole〗, the girl’s magic activates.
The effect was dramatic and obvious.
The Mana that had been flowing towards the boy began to gather towards the girl.
“…Huh?”
“Yesss…! It’s not a dream, I, I’ve become a 〖Third Canon〗!”
The boy is dumbfounded, while Paula jumps up and down, forgetting that the ground beneath her is frozen.
The girl’s demeanor clearly showed her joy at becoming a 〖Third Canon〗.
〖Barrier〗. That is the Attribute that Paula has awakened to.
A barrier is, in other words, a partitioned space.
Like how in religious rites, ropes are strung to indicate that the space beyond is sacred. Defining the nature of a space is what a 〖Barrier〗 is.
From the start, she knew that a 〖Political Territory〗 interfered with spatial magic.
Paula thought it was the same principle as why spatial magic was less effective on living beings, but… seeing the activation of the Noble Blood Crest up close, she realized her mistake.
A 〖Political Territory〗 is a power that acts upon space itself.
Once she understood that, things moved quickly. She meticulously observed with 〖Spatial Awareness〗, discovered the flow of the 〖Political Territory〗, and then experimented with magic to touch that flow, finally achieving 〖Sublimation〗 into a 〖Barrier〗.
“Th-that’s… the power of the Noble Blood Crest, to be, to be stolen….”
The boy falls back on his rear, as if retreating. Perhaps affected by the encroaching cold, his whole body is trembling.
It seems his mental strength, as well as his Mana, has reached its limit.
Remembering the rule that the referee would step in if it was deemed impossible to continue, Paula looks towards him.
What was reflected in her eyes was the figure of the noble-born teacher, his eyes wide with terror.
“A, a demon…!”
“…Eh?”
Paula, not being a noble, couldn’t imagine it.
How much fear the act of a commoner interfering with a 〖Political Territory〗 would inspire.