Duel

Only ten days remained of the three-month deadline. James looked countless years older, transformed from the Young Man he had been when they first met into someone with graying hair. It was the result of excessive mental exhaustion. James had previously maintained his youthful appearance with magic power, but at this moment, he no longer had the heart for it.

He slumped on the floor, waiting for Adam to finish constructing the final Meditation Method that had yet to undergo Empirical Verification. His heart was filled with despair. So many years of research, so many years of effort, were about to end. It was all about to end. In the end, he was merely a man without talent. Advancing to magehood through Mental Power alone truly had been nothing but a delusion. More tragically, even the total amount of his Mental Power had not increased by much.

"I'm about to die, aren't I? I'll just die quietly like this, won't I?" James thought in despair as he clutched the Experiment Report tightly in his hand, only for it to be shredded into Fragments by magic power leaking out unintentionally.

Adam's Mental Power collapsed once more, scattering the Fragments across the floor. He shook his head at James and said, "Still no good. It can't achieve Self-Consistency. The Mage's Armor constructed from this kind of Meditation Method has no way to bear magic power."

James stared at him with lifeless eyes. "Forget it. Starting tomorrow, you don't need to come anymore. The experiment on the stability of the Mental Power Solidification Rune structure and the construction of a complete Rune Array has failed. The laboratory will disband in ten days."

Each word James spoke was softer than the last. Even Adam frowned at the dejection that seeped from his voice. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, James spoke again. "In ten days, if you wish, you can come collect this month's payment. If not, I'll transfer it directly into your balance. Also, I'll probably be leaving."

Adam temporarily swallowed the words he had wanted to say and asked, "Leaving? Where to?"

James gave a miserable smile. "Leaving the Mage Continent. Finding an island. Leaving behind descendants. Then... that'll be it." James shut down every Optical Projection device in the laboratory and destroyed all the Experiment Reports. In the darkness, he said softly, "Adam, don't research Meditation Methods anymore. You're different from me. There's no need to waste your talent here. I really envy you. What does being a Formal Mage actually feel like?"

Adam opened his mouth again. Darkness could not block an apprentice's vision, but James cut him off directly. "You don't need to comfort me. At least compared to an Ordinary Person who accomplishes nothing, I've experienced the charm of magic. That's enough. Go on, leave first. I want to be alone for a while."

Adam walked out of the laboratory helplessly. He had actually wanted to tell James that, after countless rounds of Empirical Verification over the past two months, he was already confident he could summarize a Self-Consistent Meditation Method. He merely needed a few more days to organize it, but James had not given him the chance to speak. Still, it did not matter. Ten days would be enough. Once he sorted it out early, he could simply lend it to James.

Around three months had passed, and the atmosphere among the New Apprentices was no longer the same as at the beginning. Wherever there were people, there would be conflict, and this was even more true among apprentices who considered themselves heaven's chosen. In just three months, many apprentices had already joined together and formed organizations under various banners.

Most people had already exhausted their Energy Stones. While studying, everyone had turned their attention toward the Mission Hall, and the problem soon arose—there were very few tasks suitable for Newbies like them, and most involved cleaning, recording, or serving. There simply were not many such tasks, certainly not enough to meet the demands of nearly a hundred people.

By now, everyone had mastered more than one spell. With the academy's tacit approval, conflicts had become commonplace. The Formal Mages treated them as though they were air, and this tolerance and neglect made the apprentices with greater Forces and higher talent increasingly arrogant.

The Five People from Barren Island remained united. They had no choice but to stay together, because no other team was willing to accept them. Although several of them were fairly capable—William had successfully mastered three fire spells, and Ophelia's development along the path of a Body Refining Mage had gone relatively smoothly—their small numbers still left them on the bullied side.

At this very moment, a conflict was erupting in the Mission Hall. The cause was a short-term job organizing metals for a Senior Apprentice of alchemy. The job paid two units of Energy Stones, which was already quite generous. Randy wanted to accept the task, but at the same time, it had also been noticed by a local apprentice. Worse still, this person was the very one who had initially shown contempt for the Barren Island apprentices. Later, everyone learned his name: Sean, the descendant of two mages.

"What? Country bumpkins want to earn Energy Stones too? Hahaha, can you even recognize metals?" Sean took a step forward and blocked Randy's path, speaking arrogantly. Apparently finding his own words amusing, Sean's companions behind him immediately burst into laughter.

"Move aside, Sean. Do you want to taste some pain?" Randy's face darkened. He had no idea why this Sean kept biting at him like a mad dog. There had already been many similar insults.

Sean turned back and cried out theatrically, "Oh! Heavens, listen to what he's saying! He wants to teach me a lesson!" Then he turned back to Randy. "You? A country bumpkin? Oh, right, right, right—I forgot you're also a genius with a soul affinity. What was it again? Curse affinity? Hahaha! Want to try cursing me? I doubt you can hurt even a single hair on Lord Sean's head!"

Randy clenched his fists, veins bulging. Three months had been enough for the apprentices to gather information. Everyone who had displayed a soul affinity during the aptitude test had been remembered, but Randy was the sole exception, because curse affinity was simply too obscure and too useless. It had made him a laughingstock, and it was also his Reverse Scale.

"Damn it, you bastard!" Randy lost his reason and charged at Sean with bloodshot eyes. Quentin, who was almost inseparable from him, hurriedly grabbed hold of him. Fighting here was not allowed; the Senior Apprentices would not permit it.

Sean stood where he was, watching them mockingly. Surrounded by his companions, he directly shoved past them and accepted the task.

The Senior Apprentices watched this scene lazily. It was too commonplace, so commonplace that it could not stir even the slightest interest in them. They had gone through this stage themselves. Once the Newbies experienced their first dose of cruelty, they would understand just how childish and foolish these current conflicts were.

Randy stood where he was, panting heavily like a beast. In a low voice nearly resembling a growl, he said, "Bastard, do you dare duel me?"

The Mission Hall fell silent. Conflicts happened often enough, but until now they had remained verbal. No one had engaged in a true duel. After witnessing the power of magic, they knew that an apprentice duel could not possibly be conducted by trading punches and kicks. The slightest accident meant death.

Sean, who had reached the doorway, turned around and stared at Randy in disbelief. "What did you say?"

Randy broke free of Quentin's grip and walked step by step until he stood before Sean, glaring at him almost face-to-face like fighting cocks. "I said, a duel, bastard."

Sean instinctively took a step back, panic rising in his heart. But in the next instant, he became furious with shame over his own reaction and snarled, "Fine, then let's duel, you piece of trash. Since you want to die, Lord Sean will grant your wish!"

The first duel among the New Apprentices became the hottest topic among the Newbies over the next few days. Adam knew nothing about it. He had resumed his old routine of traveling only between the dormitory and the library. He only learned the news during a casual conversation with Elliot. Seeing Adam again after several months, Elliot expressed regret over James's circumstances and the time Adam had wasted.

"Come to think of it, you're from Barren Island too, right?" Elliot asked casually.

"Mm." The book Adam was reading was called Discussion of Rune Stability. Its explanations of runes were somewhat helpful for his construction of Meditation Methods.

After receiving Adam's confirmation, Elliot leaned closer with great curiosity and said, "I heard that today, that Barren Island apprentice with curse affinity is going to duel someone. Don't you want to go take a look?" Although curse affinity was useless, it was still a conspicuous label. Elliot had no impression of Sean whatsoever.

"Oh." Adam responded perfunctorily and continued turning the pages.

Elliot curled his lips and moved closer. "Isn't he from the same place as you? Don't you want to go watch?"

Adam turned to the last page, closed the book, and properly returned it to the shelf before saying, "No."

"Why? It's the Newbies' first duel. Haven't you seen one either? Tsk Tsk, it really brings back memories. We were like that back then too." Elliot absentmindedly slipped into reminiscing.

"Boring. They've only just come into contact with the most superficial form of power, yet they're already setting their minds on showing off their bravery and fighting. Foolish. Besides, what is there to see in their duel? Two people standing opposite each other and desperately constructing Rune Arrays?" Adam said as he turned and left.

"Uh..." Elliot imagined such a scene and immediately found it rather uninteresting as well. But he was simply too bored. With so few apprentices, it was rare to find someone like Adam who was willing to chat with him. "Come on, let's go take a look. Aren't you heading back to the dormitory? It's right on the way. It won't delay you for long."

Adam was helplessly dragged along by Elliot. Fortunately, the other threads were continuing their calculations day and night, and his daily thread did not delay the task's progress. There was no need to spoil Elliot's enthusiasm, so the two left the library and headed toward the dueling site.

Along the way, Elliot chattered endlessly about his achievements as a Newbie and repeatedly retold the glorious tale of how he had poisoned an opponent unconscious. In this way, they reached the dueling site.

People continuously greeted Elliot along the way, while looking at Adam beside him with surprise. They did not know how this "abandoned apprentice" had ended up with a potions instructor.