Ivar vs Anna

Currently, I was inside a battle arena with a diameter spanning several dozen meters.

It was made of white marble, illuminated by enchanting blue lights, with stands on either side, making the place resemble a colosseum.

It would have been a beautiful sight if not for the deep crimson-colored ground, as if it had been painted with the blood of tens of thousands of souls.

And in fact, it was.

Unlike the academy, which used these arenas as proper spaces for student duels, the original owner of this castle—Duke of Tainted Blood—had a different use for these battlefields, or as they were once called, execution grounds.

Prisoners of war captured by the Duke of Tainted Blood were gathered and forced into death matches, with the victor promised freedom.

However, this was nothing but a lie. The winner received nothing but the "honor" of becoming a meal for the Duke of Tainted Blood.

Meanwhile, those who placed in the top ten were served as delicacies for the duke's close associates.

But that was in the past.

Now, these execution grounds—stained with the blood of tens of thousands—were nothing more than a stage for student duels.

Well, enough about the past. Let's return to the present.

Contrary to what one might expect, Ivar and Anna's duel didn't attract many spectators, and there were several reasons for that.

First, most students were still busy exploring the academy. Additionally, the *TU* recorded all student battles, allowing them to be watched at any time, eliminating the need to attend in person.

As a result, only a few dozen students had come to witness the duel.

Focusing on the arena below, I saw Ivar standing in one corner, dressed in a blue training uniform and wielding an emerald-green spear.

On the other side, Anna stood in an identical training uniform, holding a long katana in her hand.

Honestly, I wasn't sure why I even came to watch this duel. I was confident my plan would proceed smoothly, and my presence wouldn't change anything.

Maybe I just wanted to see battles—battles like the ones I used to write—come to life before my eyes.

Though, I never wrote this particular battle.

The first to attack was Ivar, who lunged forward at an astonishing speed, attempting to pierce Anna's heart with his spear.

But, of course, she dodged his attack effortlessly and retaliated by attempting to behead him with a diagonal katana slash.

He avoided her strike by tilting his head slightly backward, then attempted to widen the distance between them to leverage his weapon's longer reach.

However, Anna relentlessly pursued him, refusing to let him widen the gap.

While Ivar was preoccupied with dodging Anna's attacks, he failed to notice an ice statue forming behind him.

The statue bore a striking resemblance to Anna's figure but was made of transparent blue ice, wielding an ice-forged katana.

Yet before the icy statue could get close enough to strike Ivar, he slammed his spear into the ground, unleashing a storm of green wind that pushed Anna and her ice clone away from him.

And before Anna could regain her balance, an explosion of green wind erupted beneath Ivar's feet, propelling him toward her at insane speed.

At the same time, the tip of his spear—aimed at Anna's heart—was enveloped in a spiraling vortex of green wind, resembling a drill.

Yet, just before his spear could pierce Anna's heart, an ice statue materialized out of nowhere, taking the hit in her place.

Seeing the statue appear from thin air, Ivar felt momentarily confused, but he still tried to pull his spear free.

Of course, it wouldn't be that easy.

The ice statue clung to the spear, refusing to let Ivar retrieve it.

Naturally, Anna wouldn't let such an opportunity slip by. She dashed toward Ivar at full speed, aiming her katana at his neck.

"I surrender!"

Hearing Ivar's desperate shout, Anna—who had intended to strike him unconscious—stopped, dispelled her ice clone, and began walking away from the arena.

"Stop. Where do you think you're going?"

At Ivar's shout, Anna turned toward him. He had already stood up and was drinking a mana potion. She looked at him in confusion.

"I'm leaving. I've already won."

After finishing the potion, Ivar stored the empty vial in his spatial storage, then pointed his spear at Anna and declared firmly:

"I, Ivar Greywind, Rank Eleven, challenge you, Anna Earth, Rank Ten, to a ranking duel!"

Upon hearing this, Anna's expression turned strange. There was no rule preventing someone from challenging the same opponent twice, but declining a challenge was strictly forbidden—it would automatically count as a loss.

Watching this scene, I couldn't help but chuckle.

This might seem like a minor event, but it would cause complete chaos in the first volume's storyline… and could even lead to my death.

Once this news spread, nobles would start challenging commoners ranked higher than them, exploiting the fact that commoners lacked mana potions. They would exhaust them through repeated duels, winning by sheer endurance—even if it took ten consecutive matches or more.

One might wonder, Hasn't any noble thought of exploiting this before? It seems obvious.

In fact, there were precedents for this kind of scheme, but all previous attempts either failed or were too small in scale.

The reason was simple:

1. Commoners rarely held high ranks. Unlike this time, where they controlled four of the top ten positions.

2. Ranks gained this way were artificial and unsustainable. Eventually, nobles would lose their positions, making the effort a waste of resources.

However, this time was different.

First, commoners had taken over many top ranks, making nobles feel humiliated and desperate to put them back in their "rightful place."

Second, unlike past incidents that were isolated cases, this time nearly all the nobles were working together in an alliance.

By supporting each other, they could maintain ranks higher than their true strength for long enough, and by exploiting resources from superior ranks, they could grow stronger at an accelerated pace.

As a result, nobles would challenge commoners relentlessly to restore their honor and climb the rankings.

This would cause utter chaos—everyone would start challenging each other.

So, what do I gain from causing this chaos?*

Simple. I couldn't let events unfold as they did in the original first volume, where the main characters lived peacefully, slowly getting to know each other at a relaxed pace.

But my plan would put immense pressure on both nobles and commoners, forcing them to grow faster.

Additionally, the rising tensions between nobles and commoners would lead to faster formation of groups and alliances.

The constant battles would also grant everyone more combat experience.

And of course, this all depended on whether the academy's administration intervened.

But why would they interfere in something that made their students stronger?

I was confident they wouldn't.

There was also the risk that this pressure might break some of the main characters, causing them to fall.

But I didn't care about them.

The only thing that mattered was ensuring Soler remained in the academy.

And I was certain he wouldn't fall under this pressure.

Or more accurately, I was certain of his gift.

Ivar and Anna's battle continued for eleven rounds, with Anna winning every single time, though she left the arena utterly exhausted.

Ivar only stopped challenging her when he realized that consuming more mana potions would harm his talent.

As for me, I left the arena after witnessing the expected outcome.

After all, how could a mere side character like Ivar—whom I barely remembered—defeat one of the main heroines like Anna?

I had already wasted enough time watching this duel.

I needed to prepare for my upcoming fight against Alexander, who would undoubtedly push himself to become stronger as fast as possible after hearing about what had happened here.