Just as Adonis contemplated leaving the crowded courtyard to checkout his new dormitory, a large green magic circle manifested itself beneath his boots.

"Hm?"

The sudden emergence of the magic circle was soon followed by an eruption of thick tree roots that forcefully emerged from the ground, shattering the stone slabs.

"Nature Magic: Vines of vengeance!"

Keeping his composure, Adonis swiftly launched himself into the air, swiftly landing a few meters away to evade being caught in the sudden onslaught of vines.

"Magic?"

John van Ani, a tall and well-built young man with a fair complexion, had cast a spell aimed at Lutz.

The wild roots hurtled towards the blonde noble with remarkable velocity. However, displaying a sense of grace and skill, the cyan-eyed Lutz, effortlessly dismantled them using his rapiers.

The malicious appendages were sliced apart as if they were nothing more than benign weeds in a garden.

"So you don't greet family friends anymore, dear Lutz?!" With a frenzied grin adorning his face, John shouted out, before summoning a fresh onslaught of vines directed at his opponent.

"Is this the greetings the van Ani family teaches its heir? No wonder your family is a joke." Lutz replied

"Gale magic: endless lacerations."

Lutz continued to enhance his Earthly Aura-infused rapier, enveloping it in a thick layer of Gale magic. This augmentation further heightened the weapon's strike velocity as well as its attacking properties; enabling him to exert greater force and deal more critical damage.

Employing this empowered rapier, Lutz thrust repeatedly, inflicting substantial and deep gashes in the vines that assaulted him.

"I don't get why they put you over me! You're pathetic!"

John imbued his grand spear with the same vibrant blue hue, then he hurled it through the tangled mass of roots that confronted Lutz.

The spear cleaved through the obstructing vegetation with remarkable ease, as if cutting through paper. As it connected, the vines disintegrated into minuscule particles of mana, dissipating into the air.

"Ani arts: Conquer!"

John's mighty spear didn't lose any speed even after it dissipated the large vines, in fact, it seemed to speed up.

ZOOM

Lutz looked at the spear that signified impending doom and gripped his rapier tightly as he raised it above his head.

"Alexian Armour."

With the spear rapidly approaching and closing in to within three meters, Lutz swiftly executed a jab with his Aura-coated rapier. His strike targeted the very tip of the javelin's blade.

" Ahh, so this was all about jealousy? That's not surprising considering your family's history."

Upon contact, John's spear was sent flying back in his direction at a much faster speed than he had initially thrown it.

{Kukuku... Are mortal children usually this fun? Looks like I picked the wrong one!}

'Ouch!'

{Say, Adonis. Isn't tha-}

'Yes, it is... It's Lutz. Lutz van Alexia, my brother.' Adonis smiled bitterly, his eyes gleaming with nostalgia and pain as he observed his best friend fight.

"Impressive, but don't think you've won!"

John's confident grin remained as he observed his approaching spear. However, in a surprising turn of events, the noble youth, John, executed an unexpected action.

Stretching out his hand, he deftly intercepted the spear's trajectory, capturing the large weapon with seemingly effortless nonchalance.

Swiftly recovering his weapon, John promptly closed the gap between himself and his adversary.

Within striking range, John thrust the spear towards Lutz's abdomen, aiming to conclude the encounter in a single decisive blow.

Anticipating John's move, Lutz responded adeptly by using his blade to deflect the incoming attack.

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Unwilling to be deterred, John adjusted his strategy and wielded the opposite end of the spear, aiming a forceful strike at Lutz's head.

BAM

The blunt end of John's spear collided with Lutz's face, resulting in a nosebleed for the young man.

"Fuck!"

Using the other end of the spear: the one with the blade; John continued with his combo and slashed at Lutz's thigh causing it to spray blood onto the stone paving.

SPLURT

"Lutz!" A cry of concern escaped Adonis's lips as he witnessed his friend get wounded.

{He doesn't know you, idiot.}

Despite Adonis' screaming, John wasn't distracted; he was determined to win the fight.

As Lutz endeavored to retreat and recuperate, the skilled magic spearman seized the opportunity to assist, delivering a swift kick to Lutz's abdomen.

THUD

"You've gotten stronger van Ani..." Lutz admitted as he softly rubbed the spot where he was kicked.

"You say that as if you're superior!" John chuckled as he began to circle his wounded opponent.

"Is that not the case?" Lutz asked casually as he straightened his back and got into a fighting stance.

"This fight says otherwise."

"Don't get cocky..."

Lutz's brows furrowed, his gaze sharpening with intensity as he directed his focus toward his adversary.

With purposeful intent, the blonde youth unleashed a potent and concentrated Aura, channeling it solely towards his opponent.

DUMMMM

"Hm?" An eyebrow raised in John's expression as an unfamiliar sensation began to manifest within his stomach.

'This is stronger than before.' A bead of sweat developed on John's eyebrow.

"Let me demonstrate...Why the van Alexia family is superior!" Lutz declared before his rapier greedily absorbed all the aura he manifested.

{Tier 10 Mid rank.} Eos observed

'He's that strong?' Adonis marveled.

The moment Lutz moved all the tiles underneath him ripped apart in all sorts of directions.

In a matter of seconds, he was already in front of his opponent, ready to end the whole fight.

"You think I'd just let you do as you please?" John spat as he slammed his spear into the ground.

"Nature Magic: Sanguinary Creepers!"

The vegetation that lived peacefully deep directly below the first year was interrupted for the first time since its inception; John's spell caused the peaceful tap roots to rise causing even more of the stone tiles to scatter.

Abruptly, four sizable vines adorned with formidable thorns materialized before John, rapidly lunging out in disparate directions towards the advancing blonde youth.

"You only have one trick?" Lutz snarled as he fearlessly approached the wild vines.

"Alexian art: Assail."

The once-bright blue rapier in Lutz's grip quivered with intense vibrations as he initiated his assault. He executed a brutal thrust towards the first vine, obliterating a substantial section of the plant.

However, Lutz's assault was far from concluded. He pressed forward with unwavering determination, launching a series of rapid thrusts that reduced the vines to mere fragments. His Earthly Aura-infused rapier relentlessly pierced each vine, the aura diminishing with each successive strike.

After dismantling four of the vines, Lutz's rapier was devoid of its aura, leaving him seemingly vulnerable. The final, largest vine lunged in his direction, adorned with numerous thorns, intent on impaling him.

"Not so tough now, Idiot!" John laughed menacingly as he channeled more mana into the vine.

Unexpectedly, instead of trying to attack the vine without the aid of Aura, Lutz chose to simply sheath his weapon and do something completely unconventional.

"Going down without a fight? How boring!"

Lutz accelerated once again and leaped a few meters in the air before he landed on the large vine.

{Kukuku... That kid's insane.}

Disregarding any attempt to evade the thorns lining the vine's surface, Lutz surged forward in a sprint towards his adversary.

"That was almost smart!" John scoffed as he aimed his Aura-coated spear at his opponent.

"Gale magic: Mercury's maneuver"

As soon as Lutz uttered those words, a cyan magic circle materialized beneath his feet. Accompanied by a fierce gust of wind, the circle propelled him forward with his rapier poised towards John.

The gap between the two swiftly diminished, becoming almost negligible in an instant.

Recognizing the imminent threat, John's composure faltered, causing him to hastily launch his spear at Lutz.

In midair, Lutz swiftly enshrouded his rapier with Earthly Aura, swinging it to intercept John's attack. However, this situation differed significantly from their previous encounter.

With John's spear thrown from close range, its speed remained largely intact, leaving Lutz with inadequate time to muster sufficient Aura to fully counter the strike.

The result saw both combatants' weapons flung in opposite directions, leaving them unarmed.

Undeterred, Lutz continued his rapid advance towards John. Just before impact, he summoned a small dagger, prepared to decisively conclude the skirmish upon collision.

John, however, displayed a contrasting state of mind. Still somewhat bewildered by Lutz's heightened speed, he found himself momentarily frozen in place after hurling the spear.

"ENOUGH!" Marie commanded as everything and everyone suddenly became still.

"Gravity Magic: Forced Armistice." A soft feminine voice said.

Every single person including the fighters in the courtyard experienced an immense pressure fall on them and they all froze.

"ARGHH!" John took a knee as the pressure became unbearable.

"AH," Lutz who was on a trajectory to pierce John fell to the ground from where he was middair, landing a mere one meter in front of his opponent.

The only ones who didn't take collapse immediately upon experiencing the increase in gravity were the top three Rising Stars, but that doesn't mean they weren't unaffected. They all seemingly couldn't move.

"Oh look it's princess party pooper." Luna voiced her retaliation toward the princess of the empire.

"Luna, it's because of mindsets like yours this world is constantly in conflict," Marie said calmly with her palms still clapped together.