A True Battle

[Ding!]

[Host has been acknowledged]

[System Achievement: Unwavering Determination]

[Curse has been temporarily removed: 144 hours]

[System commends the host's determination]

[System Notification: New mission]

~~~~~~~~~~

Mission(Mythical): Magic Tournament

Description: You have been acknowledged by the system. Earn first place in this year's Magic Tournament to prove your worth. Make your mark in the history of the Kingdom of Wizardry.

Reward: Based on method of completion

Failure: System removal(removes power obtained from the system)

~~~~~~~~~~

'A Magic Tournament...'

I knew this could be the stage for my debut but I was wise enough to stop that train of thought. My curse was only temporarily removed and after that time frame, I would still be affected by it. What I wanted was a permanent removal, not a temporary one.

'Can you remove it permanently?'

[Beep!]

[Curse is linked to this system type. To remove, system needs to be evolved]

Systems evolving... Where have I seen that before? I sifted through my memories for a while.

'Found it.'

'Open coupon store.'

~~~~~~~~~~

Coupons:

Skill Upgrade Coupon - 1000 mp

Skill Evolution Coupon - 5000 mp

Weapon Upgrade Coupon - 2000 mp

System-Type Evolution Coupon - 50000 mp

~~~~~~~~~~

Upon reconfirming the cost, my mind had a bit of a brain fart.

'How many Merit Points do I have?'

[Merit Points: 9400]

How the h*ll am I supposed to scrape together 50000 Merit Points? Are you joking?

"The next pair is Rachel and Melissa. A whopping talent of 8.89 and 9.02. This is the final duel for today." Said the professor.

The professor's voice woke me up. I looked at Rachel and she was already on her way to the stage. I knew I shouldn't be too worried since she could manage herself but upon seeing her opponent, I started to think otherwise.

She had long golden blonde hair that looked too natural to be dye. That golden hair was in the same shade as Sams. She had heterochromia, with her left eye being blue and the other green. There was no trace of any freckles or anything else on her clear white skin. What shocked me the most wasn't her appearance, but her class and her spells.

~~~~~~~~~~

Name: Melissa Lize

Race: Human

Title: Magic Prodigy

Class: Master of Magic(???)

Life Force: 110/110(11 years)

Strength: 36

Agility: 79

Mana: 250/240(+10)

Physique: Knight Student(Beginner) - Lvl.3

Magic: Magus(Expert) - Lvl.8

Spells: Time - Enhanced Processing | Lvl.1 - Earth Manifestation, Wind Manifestation, Water Manifestation, Fire Manifestation, Lightning Manifestation, Ice Manifestation, Light Manifestation, Darkness Manifestation | Lvl.2 - Earth Blast, Wind Blade, Aqua Ball, Flare, Zap, Freeze, Light Orb, Smoke Bomb | Lvl.3 - Vine Bind, Wind Arrow, Summon Water, Fire Ball, Lightning Arrow, Ice Wall, Flash Bang, Blinding Curse | Lvl.4 - Mud Blast, Wind Blast, Water Implosion, Fire Blast, Shock, Ice Blast, Heal, Hearing Curse

Techniques: Mana Circulation(Rare-Lvl.3), Keen Observation(Rare-Lvl.8), Mana Body(Epic-Lvl.4), Void Absorption(Mythical-Lvl.3)

Active Skills: Magic Analysis(Supreme)

Passive Skills: Motivated(Rare), Photographic Memory(Godly), Instant Comprehension(???)

Blessing: Apostle of Arcanus(Mythical)

~~~~~~~~~~

Normally, spells are only recorded in the status window when they are completely mastered. What that meant was that this person had mastered almost all the spells up to level 4. There's also her class which has a ??? rarity.

As I continued to examine her, I felt a slight chill on my back.

Turning my eyes, I saw Rachel glaring at me with a devilish smile for no reason whatsoever.

"This'll be an interesting fight. The guy Melissa usually fights only had a 6.98 talent." Said a guy next to me.

I looked around and everyone was watching them in anticipation.

"START!" Announced the professor.

—Rachel's PoV—

I put on my gauntlets and tightened my grip.

That b*tch seduced my Daniel, I won't let her off easy.

"START!" I acted immediately without wasting anymore time.

I had the immense urge to destroy that pretty face of hers. Rushing at her to close the distance, an Ice Wall appeared in front of me. I was surprised at first since I did not hear any chanting or see a magic circle. But as I thought it through, it would only make sense for someone with a level 9 talent to be this strong.

Instead of going around the Ice Wall or breaking it, I directly scaled over it. The moment my eyes met with hers, a Wind Blade was already in front of me. I quickly utilized my blink skill and moved behind her.

I thrust my arm forward only to be met with air. She had preemptively ducked. Her current position was perfect for me to execute the third movement of the Mountain Shattering Art.

I brought both hands down like a hammer and smashed as hard as I could.

BOOM!

In place of Melissa, was a bunch of smoke. The loud bang I heard was the impact from smashing the floor. As the smoke dispersed, a huge dent could be seen where my hands previously were.

The crowd went wild when they saw the floor.

"How does she hide all that strength in her slender arms?"

"Holy sh*t! Our Goddess Melissa would have been obliterated if she was hit. How ruthless!" Said some overweight guy.

A nerdy guy pushed his spectacles up, "Goddess Melissa would never fall for such a petty attack."

I ignored them and looked around. She was next to the Ice Wall that I had previously jumped over. I blinked forward and took aim at her f*cking face.

Just as my fist touched her forehead, I felt a shock running through my right arm to my body. I tried to pull my arm back but she used both of her hands to hold it. In my current suppressed state, I found it hard to contract the muscles required to pull my arm back. The electricity channeled its way through my body and slowly got more and more intense.

I held my left arm up and punched her left temple. Only then did she let go. Taking the chance, I blinked a couple meters away.

Glaring at her delicate face, blood was flowing down from the left side of her face. She squinted her eyes at me.

My body was already in tatters after her level 4 Shock spell ravaged my body.

"STOP!"

We both looked towards the speaker, Professor Mace.

"It is a draw! It's already time so class is dismissed!" He announced.

A bunch of students started scorning him for interrupting the match but they couldn't do anything since he was the professor.

"I look forward to beating you up." Melissa turned her attention back to me and said evilly.

"Till tomorrow, b*tch." I followed up.

It didn't look like anyone heard our short exchange since everyone was focused on trash talking the professor.