“Very well, lead the way.”
Ophelia’s reaction was shockingly calm, as if she’d just accepted an ordinary invitation.
Elena snorted coldly, head held high as she walked ahead. Her extravagant dress swayed with each step, radiating an aura as tense as a drawn sword.
Holding Camilla’s hand, Ophelia followed unhurriedly, her pace steady and composed, forming a sharp contrast to the pressure Elena tried to project.
Little Princess Lilian hesitated for a moment, but in the end, she lifted her skirts and, like a startled yet curious little rabbit, quietly trailed after the group.
Her pale golden eyes lingered on Ophelia’s back, a complex light flickering within.
The Baldia Family’s Training Ground was vast, its floor paved with a mix of sturdy Obsidian and enchanted metal. Surrounding the field were strong Energy Barriers and an Observation Stand, sturdy enough to withstand the aftermath of battles between high-level professionals.
Ophelia released Camilla’s hand, signaling her to wait safely in the observation area. Then, she strode slowly to the center of the field.
She didn’t even draw the sword at her waist, simply standing there with Golden Hair gently fluttering in the unique breeze of the Training Ground, her Ice-blue Eyes calm and untroubled.
Elena soon entered the field, stopping about twenty paces away from Ophelia.
In her hand, the Rose Thorn whip began to crackle with fine blue-white lightning, letting out a soft “crackling” sound. Her Violet Eyes locked tightly onto her opponent, the previous elegance now entirely replaced by fighting spirit.
“Here, then? Villett, the rules are simple: we stop only when one side admits defeat or loses the ability to fight. Relax—on account of the Academy, I’ll try not to hurt you too badly.”
Elena lifted her chin, her voice thick with confidence.
“……”
Ophelia didn’t reply, simply staring silently at Elena. Her calm gaze seemed to ask when the fight would begin.
“Tch.”
Elena frowned in annoyance, dark blue lightning elements brewing noiselessly around her.
On the Observation Stand, Camilla felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
In the game, Ophelia would publicly duel Elena in the third month after school started. That duel would serve both as Ophelia’s rise to fame and as Elena’s “redemption arc.”
But thanks to Camilla, their head-on duel had come much earlier—and for very different reasons.
Of course, someone was more than happy to see this play out.
Fight, fight, the fiercer the better! Let Big Sis show her invincible prowess! In these kinds of duels, it’s almost guaranteed the loser will think, ‘Ah, she’s so strong,’ which then twists into, ‘Such strength is captivating!’
Camilla cheered inwardly, practically itching to shout, “I want to see blood everywhere!”
The Housekeeper appeared as if from thin air, raising his hand and announcing in a loud, neutral voice, “The duel begins!”
“Thunderclap: Rose Bloom!”
With a clear cry, Elena sent a surge of lightning racing down the length of her Rose Thorn whip. She held nothing back, opening with what Camilla privately called the “Fivefold Lightning Lash,” a powerful spell.
Her wrist flicked at high speed, the long whip not striking directly but tracing countless arcane paths through the air.
In the blink of an eye, a giant Rose of Thunder—over three meters in diameter, composed entirely of blinding lightning—burst open above Ophelia’s head, accompanied by a scalp-numbing, thunderous crackle, descending on her with crushing force!
The range was so vast it covered nearly half the field, sealing off every possible route of escape.
From the Observation Stand, Camilla nodded to herself. Yes, in the game this was Elena’s signature early-game ultimate: an AOE with paralysis and impressive damage, though it quickly became obsolete as the numbers scaled up later.
“What exquisite lightning shaping and control… The Secret Arts of the Baldia Family truly live up to their reputation.”
Standing next to Camilla, Little Princess Lilian couldn’t help but exclaim, a touch of gravity flashing through her pale golden eyes.
Even with her untrained eye for battle, she could see just how dangerous this strike was.
So, how will you defend against this?
Lilian watched Ophelia, quietly curious about her response.
Facing such a formidable attack, Ophelia’s face remained utterly calm.
She didn’t even look up at the terrifying onslaught. Her right hand, resting on the hilt, moved—her thumb pushing lightly.
Sching—
A clear, dragon-like sword cry rang out.
It wasn’t the earth-shattering sound people might have expected; Ophelia didn’t even draw her sword completely—just pushed the blade out about three inches.
Yet, in that instant, a chill as if from the Frozen Northern Tundra silently spread outward from Ophelia.
The air instantly froze, the temperature plummeting. Even Camilla and Lilian on the Observation Stand felt an icy sting hit their faces.
The mighty Rose of Thunder, just a few meters above Ophelia’s head, seemed to crash into an invisible wall of sighs.
For a moment, time itself seemed frozen.
In the next second, before Elena’s disbelieving eyes, the wild lightning rose began to be tinged with crystal-white frost from its outermost petals, the ice spreading inward at an astonishing speed!
In the space of just a breath or two, that massive Rose of Thunder had been completely frozen into an exquisite yet lifeless ice-sculpture rose, suspended in midair, unable to descend any further.
On the Observation Stand, Little Princess Lilian had already covered her mouth with her small hand, her pale golden eyes wide with shock, full of disbelief. “Instantly freezing a constructed elemental attack… Is this for real? Can you really just freeze raging thunder elements like that?”
Lilian began to question whether she was still conscious.
Meanwhile, Camilla was doing her best not to grin too obviously.
Ha! That’s the expression! Now you know what it means to have protagonist-tier stats, huh? How does it feel to be used as a speed bump by main character luck, Elena?
“This… this is impossible!”
Elena’s pupils contracted as she cried out in disbelief. Her full-strength secret technique had been so casually frozen by her opponent?
No way! Wasn’t I the genius magus? How could my strongest spell fail so easily?
Before she could recover from her shock, Ophelia launched her counterattack.
Crack… BOOM!
The massive ice-sculpture rose shattered instantly, breaking into a flurry of glittering ice crystals. Under the sunlight, they refracted into a rainbow of colors—a cruel sort of beauty.
Before the last of the ice flakes had finished drifting down, Ophelia’s figure darted through the “ice mist” like a phantom, appearing right in front of Elena in an instant.
Elena didn’t even have time to react before the heavy sword hilt slammed into her stomach like a battering ram.
“Urgh!”
Elena grunted as her body was thrown backward, crashing hard onto the unforgiving Obsidian ground, rolling several times before she finally stopped.
She tried to push herself up, but her qi and blood were in chaos, her mana in turmoil, and she couldn’t muster the strength to stand.
Ophelia walked slowly to her side, gazing down at the golden-haired girl sprawled on the ground. Her Ice-blue Eyes were as calm as ever as she uttered two words, quietly.
“Is that all?”