Half an hour ago, Lin Yue was sitting on a rock, sharpening his dagger with a whetstone.
Unconsciously, this nameless weapon had accompanied him for quite a while, sometimes acting as a kitchen knife, sometimes standing by his side against enemies, never once complaining.
This blade was almost ready to retire.
He could clearly feel it—after so many hard-fought battles, the weapon was growing weary.
Should I ask Gus to get me a decent weapon…?
Just as he was lost in thought, Charles, carrying his magic staff, stepped onto the clearing.
“Good, it seems you haven’t run away at the last minute.”
Charles looked up at Lin Yue, who sat on top of the rock with a look of disdain, and couldn’t help but feel like he was being looked down upon.
“There’s no one else here, right?”
Charles checked with Lin Yue once more.
“Of course.”
I don’t want anyone else to see my tricks either.
One blabbermouth was already troublesome enough; he didn’t want everyone to know he could use spatial magic.
“So, when are we starting?”
Lin Yue couldn’t be bothered with any pre-fight trash talk; he still had to meet with Lia tonight, so settling this quickly was best.
Since this wasn’t a public duel, Lin Yue could choose not to hold back and defeat him outright.
But he was more curious—why was this little villain causing him trouble, and not Allen?
…
In the original novel, Charles couldn’t stand someone as ordinary as Allen being admitted to Avilina, so he repeatedly picked fights.
In the end, under the power of Allen’s awakened Law Blade, he chose to escape reality and return to his family to pursue his literary dream.
“We can start now… but let me warn you—ugh!”
Before Charles could finish his threat, Lin Yue, who was just sitting atop the rock, exploded into action, using wind magic to leap right in front of Charles.
Charles was on guard.
He drew a circle on the ground with his staff, forming a magic array that crackled with electricity, sending bolts outward in an attempt to slow Lin Yue’s advance.
Still the same as before—a madman!
Having suffered at his hands once, Charles immediately leaped backward, conjuring a spear of lightning behind him and hurling it at Lin Yue.
Lin Yue dodged his head aside, conjured a fireball in his hand, ready to repeat an old trick.
“Wishful thinking!”
Zzz!
The lightning spear burst into a shower of electricity above, scattering like falling rain—this was intermediate magic: Thunder Umbrella.
Like a rain-soaked parasol, it randomly struck enemies within a certain area with electricity.
“Thunder Umbrella…”
Lin Yue recognized the move from the game.
He rolled out of the spell’s range, but missed his first chance to end the fight quickly.
“Last time you beat me, it was just luck. I really did underestimate you,” Charles straightened his back, pointing his staff at Lin Yue.
“This time… it won’t be so easy.”
Charles had already made up his mind: he would use Lin Yue to make a decision about his own uncertainty!
His past experiences had taught him: some people, just because they have a bit of talent, think they can snatch up resources at will, putting everyone else in danger to cover for them.
Mediocre yet foolish people could be even more harmful than those who acted with malice.
They followed blindly, ignorant as sheep.
So he was a lone wolf, a noble by right.
Yes, only people like him deserved to study magic…
At some point, his personality had changed dramatically.
In the eyes of others, he’d become a typical playboy.
He didn’t care about what commoners thought, nor did he care about the accusations of other foolish nobles.
He only knew that if mediocre people forcibly occupied resources meant for geniuses in the name of so-called fairness, it would spell disaster for everyone else.
Allen, Lin Yue—it made no difference.
They were both average, unremarkable.
Why should the useless share in what was meant for the gifted?
He hated mediocrity, and he hated commoners.
And now, the kind of person he hated most was pressing him down, making him unable to lift his head, suffocating him… How could he allow that?
“Lin Yue Hawk!”
The two had been locked in battle for a while, neither able to gain the upper hand.
This was troublesome…
Charles had actually advanced to a second-rank mage, with nearly double the magic power as before—now he was truly difficult to deal with…
Without Gus and Allen’s support, defeating this guy was much harder.
Lin Yue panted heavily.
Though his stamina was still fine, if this kept up, he’d run out of magic soon.
He never had much magic power to begin with; after a few exchanges, he would easily run dry.
“You’ll never become a Magus in your lifetime—what makes you think you can stand in my way!”
Charles lashed out angrily, lightning flashing as the sky darkened above them, making this place feel like his own domain.
“Why… why!”
The oppressive aura of advanced magic felt like the grip of death, enough to make most people’s knees buckle—so why could this guy face the crisis so calmly?
“Why! I’m supposed to be the protagonist who settles this! I’m the genius!”
Allen! Lin Yue!
What right do you have!
“…”
As Charles’ words flowed, the once ferocious assault gradually weakened.
Lin Yue had no choice but to lift his head and shake it helplessly.
This kid was still hung up on that day.
He’d thought, back at the tavern, that Charles had made peace with himself.
But clearly, his values were still so twisted.
Just like in the original—arrogant and self-important, never once standing up for anyone else.
For people like him, you had to prove him wrong with the plainest, simplest facts.
Otherwise, he’d become the saddest, most pitiful kind of person in the world.
“If you were strong enough, then the person standing in your way that day would never have been me.”
Thud…
The brief sentence was like a sharp blade, stabbing straight into Charles’ heart.
That sentence showed that he was no different from those he despised.
“Ha… haha… heh, hahaha!”
And you?
What makes you think you can handle everything!
“You really piss me off! Every time I see that calm look on your face, I just want to strike you down, you know that?”
“Arrogant, overconfident—you’re nothing but a good-for-nothing stallion!”
“You’re just lying to yourself! What’s the use of practicing all this anyway!”
Lin Yue hadn’t expected a casual remark to break Charles’ composure so completely—he raised an eyebrow.
“Your mind is in chaos…”
Lin Yue’s eyes sharpened.
He seized on one of Charles’ rare openings, scooped a handful of sand from the ground with a burst of magic, and flung it at Charles.
Instinctively, Charles used lightning for defense, accidentally blasting the sand into fine glass shards.
At the same time, Lin Yue gathered wind magic, ready to launch the glass fragments like a fragmentation grenade.
Pain!
A jolt of electricity shot through Lin Yue’s head.
His magic was exhausted.
Unable to control himself, Lin Yue collapsed to the ground.
Charles immediately snapped back to his senses, took two steps back, and prepared to strike back.
“See? People like you can’t accomplish anything at all!”
Magic exhaustion meant he’d reached his limit.
Without magic, a mage’s combat ability was no different from that of cannon fodder.
“Got you now!”
At last, Charles caught Lin Yue’s slip.
A bolt of lightning struck down from the sky, hitting Lin Yue square on the head.
Without magic protection, Lin Yue was instantly knocked flat, unable to move…
“Ha… ha… Did I… win…?”
Charles was nearly drained himself; that spell had been his last.
In the end, he had still won… hahaha…
As expected, I was right!
Trash should remain trash!
A normal mage, after losing their magical protection and taking a blow like that, would be down for two days.
Not like a warrior, who could take a dozen hits and still be fine.
But Charles seemed to have forgotten—this guy was no ordinary mage.
Before Charles could celebrate his victory, Lin Yue, who had just collapsed, slowly got up.
It seemed that because he had landed on one foot when struck, he’d filtered out most of the damage.
And…
“You’ve got to be kidding me…”
Charles stared at Lin Yue, who was still standing.
The magical energy radiating from his body was more familiar than anything, shattering Charles’ entire worldview.
Lin Yue clenched his fists, feeling an unprecedented surge of power coursing through his body.
“So this is… my official breakthrough?”
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