"Match Start!"As soon as the match began, Egil opened his Magical Inventory and summoned three skeletons.Kamibarez curled her right hand like a gun and aimed at Egil. It was the stance for 'Blood Bullet'."I'm sorry!"She apologized to her opponent even as she attacked.A blood-red magic circle unfolded at the tip of Kamibarez's index finger, and with a recoil, a Blood Bullet shot out."Oh, right. Egil has one important characteristic too," Dick said.Just before Kamibarez's exploding Blood Bullet hit Egil, his skeletons blocked its path.Pwoooosh!A crimson explosion erupted, engulfing the surroundings. Kamibarez hunched her shoulders, watching the smoke intently.[Kamibarez: 100%][Egil: 100%]There was no damage.Soon, the smoke cleared, revealing three skeletons holding large golden shields."Egil is incredibly rich," Dick said, brushing his bangs back."He gave his skeletons shields that cost hundreds of gold each. And his summons aren't just ordinary skeletons, they're Vanilla Brand 'Snowfield Golems'.""Hey! That's a super important detail!""Of course, I told Kami too."After guarding the long-range attack with expensive skeletons and shields, Egil now floated Jet Black Arrows in the air and fired them."Ah! Oh!"Kamibarez scurried around, dodging the attacks.At this moment, everyone watching the match, young and old, had the same thought.'...Cute.''Why is she so cute?'Though she wasn't hit, Kamibarez stumbled and fell to the ground with a tearful expression while dodging the last Jet Black Arrow.Her opponent, Egil, changed his mind.'Her movements are better than they look. I can't catch her with Jet Black Arrows.'Egil dismissed the Jet Black Arrows and drew a new magic circle on his palm.Dick's eyes widened at the sight."He's preparing a curse! Kami! Do something!"Kamibarez gritted her teeth and fired a Blood Bullet from a kneeling position.But no matter how explosive the Blood Bullet was, it was just a simple linear attack and was blocked by the skeletons with golden shields.At this rate, the curse would be completed.Finally, she also stopped her attack and began to unfold a new magic circle.Amidst the tense atmosphere, both Kamibarez and Egil prepared their magic circles, leading to a spell-casting showdown.<Blood Silk>Kamibarez was the first to complete her dark magic. A carpet made of blood fluttered up from her fingertips."Ugh, this is a mistake! What's she going to do with a spell that has no attack power?"Dick muttered, scratching his head, and Mei-rin snorted."If you don't know how to watch, just trust and observe. Idiot."Kamibarez took out three self-made potions from her Magical Inventory. The Blood Silk wrapped around the potion bottles and rushed towards Egil.'Something's coming.'Egil immediately sent his skeletons to swing their swords.Whoosh!Whoosh!But perhaps because he wasn't a Summoning Studies major, his control was clumsy.Their flailing movements couldn't stop Kamibarez's magic, which slipped away like a loach.'Just a little more!'The moment Blood Silk approached right in front of him, Egil barely managed to complete his curse.<Bahil Remake - Paralysis>A curse in the shape of black lightning shot out from the magic circle.Kamibarez, who was controlling Blood Silk, couldn't dodge and was directly hit by the curse.But she continued to control Blood Silk until the very end.The carpet of blood spread out, breaking the potions as they touched Egil's body.Clink!It happened almost simultaneously."...!"Egil, drenched in the potions, tried to move his arm, but the sensation in his body was extremely dulled.'Could it be that what Kamibarez prepared was also a paralysis potion?!'Egil frowned in distress, and Kamibarez gasped, her legs trembling.Both of them were paralyzed.'Between a curse and a potion, the potion will naturally wear off first. And above all,'Egil, sensing victory, extended his right arm.'I still have skeletons left!'Egil connected to the skeletons' thoughts and issued an attack command. At the same time, he prepared the next Remake Paralysis spell with his left hand.And Kamibarez's judgment in response was.'...One stack is still okay. I can move.'It was a charge.She began to run, dragging her paralyzed body.Egil's skeletons swung their swords to block her, but Kamibarez either lowered her stance to dodge or took the hits with her body, continuing to run.'Close combat, no way?'Egil hastily stopped his curse and floated Jet Black Arrows in the air.Kamibarez covered her head with both arms and charged relentlessly. Jet Black Arrows scraped past various parts of her body.[Kamibarez: 58%][Egil: 100%]'She's taking all those hits with her body and still coming in?'Egil, sensing the seriousness of the situation, hastily gathered Jet Black into his fist.He was decent at Martial Arts, and he was confident he wouldn't lose to such a small girl.Moreover, both were paralyzed."Aaaah!"However, the moment Kamibarez was right in front of him, Egil realized something was wrong.Her two pupils were vertically slit, like the eyes of a beast.Grab!Kamibarez, who had leaped forward with open arms, clung tightly to Egil's body. Egil staggered and fell to the ground."W-what is this?!"A flustered Egil's face turned red, and Kamibarez opened her mouth wide. Her fangs glinted, emitting a sharp aura.Chomp!And then she bit Egil's neck. Of course, the protective suit's barrier also applied to his neck, so it didn't hurt.'What was she doing, just biting?'Egil, with a bewildered expression, tried to push Kamibarez's head away. But she clung to him like a leech and wouldn't easily let go."Ugh, hey! What are you doing in a sacred duel evaluation...! Huh?"[Kamibarez: 58%][Egil: 84%]Just by biting, his gauge was decreasing!Egil, realizing the situation belatedly, wrapped Jet Black around his fist and furiously struck her head. However, a bluish barrier also applied to her side, only reducing her gauge, with no actual impact.[Kamibarez: 51%][Egil: 64%]'...This is impossible!'The gauge was decreasing at an incredibly fast rate. Her biting strength was no joke.A flustered Egil tried desperately to hit Kamibarez and make her let go, but she absolutely wouldn't retreat.[Kamibarez: 43%][Egil: 21%]"You crazy! What is this?! Let go!"In addition to the paralysis effect, perhaps because his posture was broken, he couldn't put much power into his punches.The rate of gauge loss accelerated, and finally."Match End!"The referee shouted. The final results were out.[Kamibarez: 37%][Egil: 0%]"The winner is student Kamibarez!"Everyone's mouths hung open at the unexpected development.'...I-I lost.'Egil's face was blank.He had been confident of victory the moment both were paralyzed, but he never expected to be so easily breached by a single charge.'It was my carelessness in the end. I took it too lightly.'As Egil sighed inwardly, Kamibarez, who had been biting his neck, carefully detached herself.'Come to think of it, I was almost bitten by a vampire just now, wasn't I?'He felt a shiver run down his spine as he looked at Kamibarez. By now, her earlobes were red, and she was on the verge of tears."I'm sorry!"She shouted, bowing her head."I'm so, so sorry! My desire to win got the better of me...! Are you hurt anywhere?""Uh, no.""Waaah! I'm really sorry!""No, it was a fair duel evaluation, what are you sorry for? You made a really good decision."Suddenly, the loser, Egil, was consoling the winner, Kamibarez. Laughter erupted from various parts of the audience at the sight.Watching Kamibarez, who was tearfully checking his injuries, Egil suddenly felt his heart lighten.'...Wow, was there such a cute person at Kizen?'Time passed, Kamibarez calmed down, and the two stood up. The staff were wiping the floor with mops, preparing for the next match.'S-should I try to say a few words to her?'Egil, wanting to get closer to her, subtly approached Kamibarez."Kami! Are you okay?"Just then, a male student's voice was heard from the audience. She, who had been burying her face in her palms out of embarrassment, quickly turned her head towards the sound and waved her hand."Yes! Simon! I won~!"She bounced around, smiling like sunshine. Then, belatedly, she turned back to Egil, startled, and bowed her head with an apologetic expression."Ah! I'm sorry! I didn't even realize you were next to me! I'm sorry!"Egil nodded coolly, saying it was fine. At the same time, he cried inwardly.'...Ugh, I liked her for a short time.'Meanwhile, in the audience, the conversation about Kamibarez was in full swing."Hahahaha! Amazing! Only Kami at Kizen could win like that!"Dick said, bursting into laughter.Simon added,"When she was paralyzed, her decision to charge forward, taking all the attacks with her body, was incredible.""Hmm, I'll admit that! Come to think of it, the paralysis was a move for this too.""Our Kami can do it when she puts her mind to it!"Just then, Kamibarez came up to the audience seats. She had a very relieved expression."Everyone~!"As she scurried over, everyone stood up to greet her."Well done, Kami!"Mei-rin hugged Kamibarez tightly."Aww, so small and precious~!""M-Mei-rin! I can't breathe!"Simon and Dick also laughed boisterously and came over, stroking Kamibarez's head and congratulating her.Thus, all four members of Group 7 secured their important first victory in the duel evaluation.All four of them would start the duel evaluation in the Middle Squad.***Now, a happy weekend awaited them tomorrow.Since he had been running non-stop until now, Simon had planned to rest this weekend. He thought about leisurely window shopping at the Necromancer shop in Rochester..."No, no time to rest," Mei-rin cut him off decisively."You know midterms are after next week, right?""Uh...?"He snapped out of it and realized that midterms were only about a week away.Simon, who had been solely focused on the duel evaluation, felt like he had been hit over the head. Moreover, for these midterms, he had the mission of confidently surpassing Mei-rin in Summoning Studies. 'This isn't the time for this.'Simon realized he was in a tight spot. As soon as he returned to the dormitory, he tucked his textbook under his arm and headed to the study hall.'...Wow.'They say great minds think alike.Even though it was the night after the duel evaluation and tomorrow was the weekend, the spacious dormitory study hall was packed with students. It was so quiet, as if everyone was studying without even breathing, making the surroundings chillingly silent.Feeling a sense of urgency himself, Simon quickly found the only remaining empty seat and sat down.'I'm somewhat confident in Summoning Studies. Today, let's focus on my weak subjects.'He opened his Jet Black Mechanics textbook and began to study.And about 10 minutes later.'...B-but I definitely learned this in class? Why don't I understand anything?'It was different from the summoning magic training he had been doing all along. Studying alone had very clear limitations.He needed a plan.***The next morning."Yawn."Mei-rin, in her pajamas with a toothbrush in her mouth, walked languidly down the hallway with a sleepy expression."...These roommates, why do they take an hour to shower?"It was obvious. Midterms or not, they were probably going to Rochester to meet boys again.As Mei-rin grumbled continuously and headed to the communal bathhouse."Student Mei-rin!"A dormitory administrator she knew ran up to her. Mei-rin stopped and turned to her."A male student is looking for you at the dormitory entrance this early morning!""Huh? Who, this early?""I didn't catch his name, but he was a cute-looking pretty boy. He said he'd wait at the entrance until you came out."The dormitory administrator winked and walked past Mei-rin. Mei-rin made a 'bleh' face.'...No, the only boys I know are just two.'The communal bathhouse was too far.Mei-rin quickly ran back the way she came and returned to her dormitory room. The bathroom door was still firmly shut. Mei-rin kicked the door hard and shouted,"Stop it and come out, you brat! I need to poop!""Kyaaaah!"Mei-rin, who had forcibly chased out her roommate, quickly finished getting ready in the bathroom, looking effortlessly put-together. Then, she threw on her Kizen uniform jacket over her shoulders and ran out.A moment later."..."Mei-rin let out an incredulous smile."You're that cute-looking pretty boy?"Simon scratched the side of his head."Who said that?"
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