“Eh? Monica?” Ramona laughed nervously. “Don’t you think someone else should handle this, Monica? I don’t think this is…” she paused and looked between them, “fair,” she finally got out.

Monica's face remained stoic as she approached the center of the arena, her eyes locked onto Lucian's.

"Just sit down," Monica ordered her colleague, her voice cold.

Ramona quickly scurried away and took a seat right next to Eleanor. She started to chatter with his sister, and he vaguely heard some murmurs among the crowd.

Lucian tuned it all out.

He didn’t care who Monica was. He wanted to win.

He expanded his senses and allowed the paranoia to consume him. His body screamed at him that Monica, who stood deathly still with a hand on one of her two swords, was extremely dangerous.

But he had an advantage. Monica couldn’t kill him. She had to measure her strength in order to not break him. He could use that.

He had no issue attacking with intent to kill.

“Come,” Monica ordered.

Lucian channeled the magic inside of him. In this world, using magic was as simple as breathing in the magic and then exhaling it as a spell.

He couldn’t do that. His magic was a series of formulas. He had incantations that helped shape his magic into certain attributes.

In his third life, he never waited for anyone to prepare for a fight. Giving an opponent time was a cardinal sin. If she was going to wait for him then he would take his time to prepare his incantations.

After a minute, he was ready.

Earth shifted around Monica and spikes of hard rock shot towards her from all sides.

He rushed towards her, eager to catch her off guard.

In a blur, the rocks attacking Monica shattered, and Lucian grinded his charge to a stop.

The tip of Monica’s sword was only an inch away from his nose. He barely saw it coming. She was so fast and precise that he couldn’t even read her moves.

Spinning under the outstretched sword Lucian swung his blade towards Monica’s elbow, but she parried it effortlessly with a flick of her wrist. Lucian retreated and swung again, but Monica sidestepped the attack and kicked him in the side, sending him flying across the room.

Lucian rolled to his feet, gritting his teeth as he watched Monica approach.

Monica shot towards him like a missile.

He channeled his magic, summoning a wall of fire to block her path. She sliced through it easily, but it gave him enough time to dodge and counterattack.

They traded blows back and forth, the clash of their swords ringing throughout the room. Lucian was forced to defend more than he attacked, struggling to keep up with Monica's lightning fast strikes.

Despite his best efforts, Monica was slowly wearing him down. His movements became slower, his breathing labored. He knew he couldn't keep this up much longer.

Fighting a close combat master in a head on collision was a bad idea. He needed to change the playing field.

He baited her with an overextended swing, inviting her to kick him in the side and send him flying away. Her magically reinforced kick knocked the breath out of him, but he had gained the space he needed.

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Lucian stabbed his sword into the ground and placed his palm onto the dirt.

He wanted to do more than just impress the school. He wanted to win.

His internal reserves started to drain, but he knew he had to take risks.

Monica assessed him, not knowing what he was up to.

Suddenly, the ground started to shake as pillars of earth shot up all over. They rose high into the air and greedily clogged the arena.

It was his best attempt at creating a jungle he could hide in. Monica looked around, trying to find him among the pillars, but couldn’t. He was too good at hiding his presence.

She quickly sidestepped, dodging a flash of lightning.

She was accustomed to sensing mana being drawn from the outside, which left a clear signature. But Lucian couldn’t do that and produced it all internally. She could only react to his spells after he had cast them.

Which made it only more impressive that she could dodge his lightning spell.

Monica darted around the pillars of earth, evading an onslaught of lightning that shot towards her. She could feel the power behind them, but with her expert reflexes, she managed to avoid being hit.

Her agility was beyond impressive but Lucian refused to give up. He continued to channel his magic, determined to find a way to catch her off guard.

With a sudden burst of energy, Lucian emerged from behind a pillar and summoned a powerful gust of wind not from his body, but from below her own feet.

Monica was taken aback by the unexpected attack, and for a moment, she lost her balance.

Lucian charged at her side and shot his sword towards her ribs. Monica, with no time to parry, viciously slashed her sword towards his neck.

Her move was brilliant. It left him with no choice. If he continued his attack he would stab her, but he would get slashed in the neck as a result.

The right move would be to dodge the blow then try to find another opening. If he didn’t it could be fatal for the both of them.

Lucian did not care. He wanted to win. He continued his stab towards her.

Monica’s eyes widened in shock. Her body erupted into light as she channeled all her magic into her reinforcement.

Lucian’s sword helplessly bounced off her side.

Somehow she stopped her sword from slicing his neck. Her free hand grabbed the back of his collar and swung him in the air and then painfully into the ground.

She then rammed her fist straight into his chest.

The ground under him broke from the impact of the blow. Lucian felt his body erupt into pain and basically shut down.

He gasped for air and desperately tried to get up, but Monica drove her foot into his chest harshly, pinning him into the ground.

“How dare you,” she snarled. “You were willing to die just to hit me?”

He struggled against her pin.

Monica’s expression was full of fury. She was livid. Her breaths were short and her fists clenched as she tried to think of what to say.

“Do you know how important life is? How important your life is?” she hissed, her voice seething with anger. “You really tried to risk it just to prove a point?”

Lucian groaned, still struggling to catch his breath as he lay on the ground. He knew he had taken a huge risk, but he couldn’t help but feel a pang of resentment towards Monica’s words.

“It’s not about proving a point,” he gasped out, his voice strained. “I just wanted to win.”

“Winning is not everything,” Monica spat back. “What would you have even gained by having me slash your neck?”

She stepped off his chest and walked away. Lucian felt a surge of frustration at her words.

“You wouldn’t kill me, it’s your job. That second of hesitation was my only advantage.”

He knew what he was doing. It was a valid strategy in his opinion.

She spun around, her eyes blazing with fury. “What did you just say?” she demanded, her voice icy.

Lucian hesitated, not knowing why that set her off so much. He could feel the tension in the air, and for a moment, he was afraid Monica was going to attack him again.

“Courting death is not an advantage,” she said, her voice firm but clearly hurt, “Is that how you lost your arm? You fight not caring about your life or safety. Not caring about those waiting at home for you. That’s unfair.”

With that, she turned and walked away, leaving Lucian lying on the ground, defeated.

“He fails,” she declared.