Sleepy Bastard vs. Mr. Perfect — Round One

He turned toward me, expression dead serious, but not exactly full of faith.

"You're bluffing. Of all people, you couldn't possibly defeat Raigetsu. One look at your sorry excuse of a face tells me you're weak."

Pfft. This guy.

"Alright, alright, calm down, princess," I said, aiming to jab where it hurt. "We all know how terrifying Raigetsu is."

Then I jabbed my thumb at my chest and smirked.

"But haven't you heard? Saddler and I ended in a draw. Honestly, I should've won."

A lie. If that fight had gone on a few seconds longer, Saddler would've smeared me across the wall. I blew all my mana on God's Winds.

Salazar scoffed and turned away.

"Saddler isn't even in the same dimension as Raigetsu. If you tied with him, that says enough. Don't waste my time."

Yawning, he walked out of the classroom. I followed with hands behind my head, whistling.

"Hey, princess," I called lazily. "You talk like you want to challenge Raigetsu yourself. First-year or not, you got quite the ego."

"Don't call me princess!" he snapped. "You're insufferable."

"Seriously, though. You act like the main character and look down on everyone."

"Is that new for you? Atheron, was it?"

He stopped. His black hair swayed slightly as he yawned again.

"Don't walk where you don't belong. You'll be carried out like trash."

His tone was always soft, sleepy—but now it carried weight. The kind that makes you pay attention.

He walked off. I didn't follow. What a strange dude.

"We're headed the same way, genius!"

What a diva.

"Hey, Atheron!"

A familiar voice called from behind. Red-haired guy, waving at me.

"Ah, it's just you. Ramenoku."

"Remioku! Damn, you still can't get it right?"

His bruises were gone.

"Looks like the healers fixed that sorry face of yours," I muttered.

He scratched the back of his head as he walked up.

"Man, you really know how to sting. Anyway, I wanted to apologize. Shouldn't have bugged your sister."

And what about the other people you bug?

"Anyway," he sighed, looking regretful, "I wanted to tell you something about Salazar. He's untouchable, man. A prodigy. His family's a direct rival to Raigetsu's. Same business sector, same blood feud. It's generational. Now it's passed on to them. That's what I heard."

"Great. So we get to go to school with a celebrity."

"I just mean… if you're planning to fight Salazar, I'd back off. He's probably on Raigetsu's level. Way above Saddler."

Oh, so you were trying to give me friendly advice?

Stick it where the sun don't shine.

Why would I listen to a guy who hits on my mistress and chats it up with stalkers?

"You know what, Chinroku? Go screw yourself."

My glare was sharp. Authority dripped from every syllable. Remioku felt it—I saw the chill in his bones.

"Suit yourself," he said. "I warned you."

The strongest, huh? Good. Time to see what I'm really made of.

Next class. Salazar showed up late.

Word had already spread like wildfire. Something big was going down in the Fight Club.

Top 2 fighter vs. some mysterious first-year.

"He's dead meat," students whispered.

The campus basked in the red light of sunset. Crystal lanterns flickered on. The central fountain began its evening dance.

I knocked on the door.

"Come in."

The office of Professor Dean Hellmaine. A warm glow spilled from the windows. The young Archmage sat in his chair, poised.

"Professor Dean, you called for me."

I took a seat.

"Ah yes," he folded his hands, eyes locked on mine.

Silence.

"Sorry. Busy lately. First time I've called you in person, hasn't it?"

He smiled, sharp as a dagger.

"What did you want to talk about, professor?"

"Straight to it? Mugen Fight Club. Want to explain what the hell that was during your last match?"

"You mean that ray of light? Pretty intense spell, right?"

"Unmatched," he replied. "That's a Supreme-tier Light technique. Impressive. Last year you were dead weight. Now you're showing your cards? Quite the shift."

Oh great. The inquisition.

"This world hides a lot of talent, professor. Like Salazar. Like Lirael. You know them well."

"Yes," he said. "And I know you too. Your mistress is in your class. Normally, we don't admit Supreme summons. But even the Almighty Crystal agreed to let you in."

Right. They didn't even make me take the entrance exam. The Ataraxia family vouched for me as a High Spirit.

"So you slacked off all last year to be closer to your mistress, huh?"

What? Is he out of his mind?

"Your classes are boring. But yeah, there's truth in your words. Now that she's here, I can't slack anymore."

"Good. Atheron, all the teachers know who you are. The students won't. To them, you're just another guy. But there are terms now."

"Terms?"

He cleared his throat.

"You'll score straight A's this year!"

"Hell nah!"

"Kidding," he chuckled. "Allergic to good grades, aren't you? But seriously, one task. Summon a High Magic Entity. One week. Fail, and you're out. Your contract will break. Your mistress will banish you. We're done playing nice."

So that's it. A deadline. A threat.

A week to do the impossible.

I don't know a single High Magic chant. How the hell am I supposed to do this?

But it's a good chance for Dean to motivate me to progress.

"Guess I have no choice," I exhaled. "As you command, professor."

My eyes locked onto his, sharp and unmoving. He didn't flinch.

"Excellent."

"And professor, I wanted to ask something."

"I'm listening."

…Why the hell do I care? Seriously, why do I suddenly want to talk about it?

Evening fell. The Mugen Wars brimmed with students. All circled around the ring, buzzing with tension.

"Whoa, big crowd tonight!"

The voice of the Student Council President rang through the mic.

"We've got a hot match coming up. Who knows how it'll end? Maybe the underdog wins tonight."

Even from the locker room, his voice was clear.

Salazar sat alone, slipping into his black kimono. A flicker of something crossed his mind.

Then he stepped into the arena.

His opponent was already waiting.

The crowd roared. It was hard to hear anything at all.

"In the ring: Rank 2 on the leaderboard, Amon il Sunfrost! And his challenger—the dark horse, Salazar il Tsugihara! Who will emerge victorious?!"

*Mugen Wars Leaderboard

1st place — Raigetsu Kurogane

2nd place — Amon il Sunfrost

3rd place — Sylas Grimmveil

4th place — Saddler il Triumphant

5th place — Kaien il Draevenhart*