There was no earth-shattering fanfare, no flashy sword light.
Camilla took half a step forward, holding the unremarkable longsword in her hand, slowly extending it as the tip lightly tapped the side of the battle axe sweeping toward her.
Salina felt as if her strength had struck a spinning ball of cotton. The trajectory of her battle axe was deflected by a subtle force, sliding uncontrollably to the side.
At the same time, Camilla’s footwork shifted slightly. Her body rotated sideways, and the sword blade carried and guided the momentum. She directed Salina’s unbalanced battle axe toward Ludmila’s greatsword, which was coming from the other side.
Clang!
The crimson battle axe and the two-handed greatsword collided midair, producing a deafening roar. Both fighters were jarred by the unexpected impact, their arms going numb and their attacks faltering.
Camilla took advantage of that split-second gap to leap back several meters lightly, reopening the distance.
The students in the audience gasped again. As members of the Warrior Department and the Magus Knight Department, they could naturally see how incredible Camilla’s maneuver was.
Deceptively simple, it actually required precise control of timing, angle, and force to the millimeter, as well as a perfect prediction of both opponents’ attack paths.
“She’s from the Summoner Department, right? How is her swordsmanship this good?”
In truth, Camilla was much stronger than she appeared. Though she had suffered a crushing defeat against Ophelia, that didn’t make her weak. If anything, being able to fight Ophelia head-on and briefly hold her ground proved her worth.
Unlike Ophelia, who focused solely on the path of a Magus Knight, Camilla could be described as a master of all professions. Warrior, Mage, Sorcerer, Alchemist—she had dabbled in almost every class and achieved the level of a Fourth-Tier in all of them.
Combined with her extraordinary mental strength and mana control, she was far more formidable than she appeared on the surface. Any opponent who underestimated her would surely pay a heavy price.
“Oh?” Salina stabilized herself. A flicker of surprise crossed her blood-red eyes before transforming into even stronger excitement. She shook her slightly numb wrist, a delighted smile spreading across her face. “I didn’t think you could pull that off without that armor. That’s more like it! That pathetic fleeing act of yours before was nothing!”
“Come on, let’s see what else you’ve got!”
Ludmila’s pure black eyes were fixed on Camilla’s hand holding the sword, then shifted to her calm expression. She was silent for a moment before muttering softly to herself.
‘Her swordsmanship… is no worse than the teacher’s.’
Camilla didn’t respond. She simply adjusted her breathing slightly, raised her left hand, and spread five fingers. A short chant left her lips.
In the next moment, several scorching fireballs, a few sharp ice spikes, and several howling wind blades materialized almost simultaneously in front of her, then rained down like a storm on Salina and Ludmila.
Instant-cast low-level magic, and a multi-element mix.
“Tch!”
Salina clicked her tongue. Her high resistance to magical attacks made her unafraid of these low-level spells, but the sheer number was annoying.
She swung her battle axe, bringing up a bloody aura as she shattered and dispersed the incoming fireballs and ice spikes.
Ludmila was more cautious. She wielded her greatsword to block or deflect the spells one by one. A faint magical glow wrapped around the blade.
But this time, Camilla no longer retreated. She maintained a continuous stream of spells with her left hand—fireballs, ice spikes, wind blades, and even an occasional weak but dazzling flash of light to disrupt vision—while her right hand met Ludmila’s blade first.
Sword clashed against sword, producing a crisp ring.
Ludmila’s sword strokes were heavy, each one carrying the momentum of splitting a mountain.
But Camilla’s sword was like a serpent. She didn’t meet force head-on, always deflecting the power with subtle angle changes or dodging the attack with clever footwork. Occasionally, her counterattacks were vicious and precise, aiming directly at joints, wrists, and other weak points, forcing Ludmila to defend.
At the same time, Salina’s battle axe arrived.
Camilla seemed to have eyes in the back of her head. As she blocked Ludmila’s strike, she twisted her body like it had no bones, and the battle axe grazed past her waist.
She even took the opportunity to kick the handle of Salina’s axe, using the force to leap back, and with one hand, she fired three fireballs in a triangle formation toward Salina’s face.
Close combat entangled with long-range magic suppression was being carried out simultaneously, synergizing perfectly.
On the stage, sword energy flew, axe light flashed, and magic exploded.
Camilla, fighting two opponents alone, was on the defensive, yet it was watertight. Her occasional counterattacks forced Salina and Ludmila to be on high alert.
The audience in the stands was already dumbfounded.
“This swordsmanship, this casting speed, this battle sense… if you told me she was a battle-hardened combat mage, I’d believe it!”
Ophelia sat quietly, her ice-blue eyes following the deep-blue figure on the stage. A hint of relief and joy flickered deep in her eyes.
‘My little sister is amazing.’
On the stage, the battle entered a fever pitch.
The more Salina fought, the more excited she became. Her battle axe swung with fierce energy, and bloody fighting energy coiled around her body like a flame.
Ludmila grew calmer, but her sword became more focused, more ruthless, each strike carrying the power to tear everything apart.
Camilla’s pressure mounted. Handling two opponents of equal or even slightly higher skill simultaneously while maintaining magical suppression was a huge drain on her mental and physical strength.
Sweat beaded on her forehead. Her breathing grew rapid.
‘It’s time.’
‘Rimuru!’
She called silently in her mind.
The blue slime, which had been hovering at the edge of the battlefield, occasionally deforming to interfere, received the clear command.
Squish!
Rimuru let out a high-pitched cry, its body suddenly expanded. Then, like a blooming flower, it split dozens of ping-pong-ball-sized pink sub-bodies from its surface.
The next moment, Rimuru’s main body rippled, and those pink sub-bodies shot out with a whistling sound like missiles.
This was a combat method Camilla had developed in her spare time. Though she had tested it in the training ground, this was the first time it was used in actual combat.
While the attack power of each individual sub-body was limited, the number was large, the speed was fast, and the angles were tricky. They immediately caused huge trouble for Salina and Ludmila.
The two had to divert some attention to deal with these annoying “little bombs,” and their offensive inevitably slowed.
Camilla took the opportunity to push off the ground and retreat rapidly, completely widening the distance.
She opened her left hand, palm up, and mana surged wildly. This time, instead of scattered low-level spells, more condensed, obviously more powerful spell models formed in front of her.
Fireball spell chain-fired, ice storm swept a small area, and wind blades formed a dense cutting network.
What should have been the magic combination of an experienced mage was casually used by her alone, like a raging storm on Salina and Ludmila.
At the same time, Rimuru’s sub-body launches became more organized, forming a crossfire that coordinated with Camilla’s magical bombardment, weaving a deadly ranged fire net that pinned the two firmly to the center of the stage.
“Damn it… these annoying little things!”
Salina smashed three sub-body lumps with one axe swing, but a wind blade grazed her arm, leaving a shallow wound. Though it healed instantly, it only increased her irritation.
Her gaze fell on Camilla, who was constantly moving and casting, then on the blue slime endlessly “producing” sub-bodies, and then on Ludmila, who silently deflected spells and sub-bodies.
Ludmila’s pure black eyes narrowed.
‘This won’t work. Defensive play will only drain us slowly.’
They exchanged a glance, and both saw the same decision in each other’s eyes.
‘Looks like we have to get serious.’
Salina acted first. She took a deep breath, and the blood-red fighting energy that had only faintly been showing suddenly surged, rising like burning flames. Her aura instantly spiked. Her eyes glowed red, and two small fangs peeked out from the corners of her lips. Her entire demeanor became violent and dangerous.
Blood Clan innate ability—Blood Qi Burst: temporarily greatly increases strength, speed, and recovery, but accelerates blood consumption.
Almost simultaneously, Ludmila let out a low shout, gripping the greatsword’s hilt with both hands.
Deep purple mana surged like a rushing river from within her, quickly wrapping around the blade, then spreading to her arms and torso. Wherever the mana passed, it seemed to cover her in a translucent purple armor.
This was the most famous Magus Knight skill—Magic Armament: highly condensed mana forms temporary enhanced armor and weapon enchantment, greatly boosting offensive and defensive capabilities.
Both released their true strength without reservation. The air on the stage seemed to grow heavy.
Camilla watched from a distance as their auras exploded, unable to stop her mouth from twitching. Her forehead was covered in black lines, and she raged internally.
‘Hey, hey, hey… isn’t that a bit much?! This is just an Academy stage match! Blood burst? Magic armament? Are you trying to kill me?! Big sister, do something!’
However, Ophelia below the stage remained perfectly calm. She even winked mischievously at her and gave her a thumbs up in encouragement.
Camilla: „›
‘Fine, let’s play along.’
After all, she was also curious how far she could go in her normal state if she went all out.
Salina’s scarlet eyes locked onto her. A wild grin split her face.
“Warm-up is over, Camilla! Next, it won’t be so easy!”
Before she even finished speaking, her figure had vanished, leaving only a blood-red afterimage.
Ludmila moved as well. The deep purple magic armament made every step heavy and powerful, yet her speed was astonishing. The greatsword dragged a purple streak as she charged at Camilla from the left and right in a pincer formation!