Reborn As The Villain In A Game-Like World-Chapter 35: May The Duel Begin

An exceptionally sleepy wolfkin meandered through the busy university campus. He desperately tried to rub the fatigue accumulated from a late night of studying from his eyes. His wolf ears were pressed flat against his head, showing his depressed mood.

The boy cursed to himself, making others look at him strangely. "I was up all night for Professor Edward’s assignment, yet my Pyrokinesis is still at the D grade. If this keeps up, I will fail the year and have to stay behind." He let out a long sigh of defeat.

While lost in thought, he failed to notice the shouting around him.

"Student, get out of the way!"

He looked up from the frost-covered path and turned around toward the voice, yet to his surprise, he was met with a wave of freezing cold water. He stood there dumbfounded as a black carriage made from metal passed him. He looked down at his soaked clothes and black fur; instead of a mighty wolf, he looked like a drowned cat.

Feeling embarrassed, he quickly utilised his D-grade Pyrokinesis to create a warm breeze. Although it fluffed up his fur, making him look ridiculous, it was better than being drenched.

"Who the hell attacked me?" he said with a snarl as he looked around.

In the distance, he noticed his sister, who was a year below him. She ran over to him with a smirk. "Brother, you look ridiculous. Why didn’t you get out of the way?"

The boy just looked at his smirking sister with both love and annoyance. "Sister, who was it that attacked me just now?"

His sister gave him an odd look and then seemed to connect the dots. "Oh brother, you misunderstand. That was a water-powered carriage that passed just now. Nobody attacked you..."

The boy was dumbfounded. Was he defeated by a mere carriage?

"Sister, who owns that carriage?"

The cute wolf girl’s ears perked up. "It’s owned by a very handsome and arrogant professor called Jack. I witnessed him confront the head professor a few days ago outside the library. Oh, brother! There’s a duel happening today. Class is canceled. Do you want to go watch it with me?"

The boy was once again speechless. Class was canceled? What did he stay up all night for then? 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"Sure..." he replied with a defeated expression. He silently wished for Jack to suffer a defeat. Only then could he stomach this humiliation.

While walking toward the arena, the boy couldn’t help but notice how lively the university felt.

"Sister, is everyone here to watch the duel?"

On a typical day, he would see a few groups of people walking around, but today it seemed as though there were hundreds, if not thousands, all heading toward the school’s arena.

"Of course, brother," his sister quickly replied. "I am surprised you hadn’t heard about the duel. It’s all anyone talked about for the past week."

The boy showed an embarrassed expression. He was unwilling to admit he had spent the entire week trying to advance his magic to the next level yet failing so spectacularly.

In the distance, the duo could see a massive, gray-coloured building. It was surrounded by a swarm of students all excitedly placing bets on who would win. Some commoner students nearby were talking in a circle. They clearly had high regard for Edward and a low opinion of Jack.

"There’s no way the Head Professor could lose to some nobody. He is a B-grade mage with A-grade Mana Control!" a large man with tusks said.

A petite girl who was holding on his arm added, "I heard the assistant professor is some noble from a foreign country and bought his way in!"

"Tsk, I hate those noble bastards, always cheating their way through life with money," an ugly boy who resembled a beaver said with disdain in his voice.

The brother and sister ignored the group and walked toward the arena’s entrance. While waiting in line for seats, they overheard a conversation between a group of well-dressed noble humans.

"The head professor needs to go. He threatened to give me a failing mark despite knowing who my father is. The audacity of that fucking commoner," a short man with red hair said to a taller man with brown hair. It was obvious that the redhead was trying to curry favour with the brown-haired man, as he continued to say how awful the head professor was.

The wolfkin recognised the brown-haired man as someone who was called out for cheating the other week in one of Edward’s tests. The brown-haired man finally responded to the red-haired man, "I hope Sir Jack beats that bastard to a pulp. I saw him myself a few days ago—he almost seemed like a royal from somewhere. His aura was suffocating. If we can establish connections with him, I am sure our families will rise in the hierarchy."

"Unlike that commoner Edward, I am sure Sir Jack will understand noble etiquette and will accept our bribes to appear above the commoners," he added in a hushed tone.

The red-haired man nodded with a gleeful expression at the brown-haired man’s words.

The brother and sister pair had to listen to this deranged conversation for a full twenty minutes before they got to the front of the queue. A bunny girl who was only three feet tall, perched on a stool, looked between them and asked, "Hello, you two! What are your names and year group?"

The boy answered, "I am Eric, year two, and this is my sister Rachel, year one. Can we sit together?"

The bunny girl manipulated her ears to point toward a doorway as her hand was full with a clipboard and pen. "Certainly, please enter the arena through the fifth entrance. Next!"

Eric and Rachel gave thanks to the bunny girl and walked through the fifth gate.

"Wow, brother, I have never seen the arena this packed!" Rachel exclaimed, taking in the amazing atmosphere.

Eric just nodded in agreement to his sister’s words. Almost every seat in the three-thousand-seat arena was filled. With a bit of difficulty, they found their seats. They were in between a burly man who was over two meters tall and a petite girl with green hair who was playing with a potted plant.

After another hour of waiting, everyone had finally taken their seats, and a loud, feminine voice echoed out across the arena.

"Ladies and gents of Velmira University, I will be your host for today’s duel! Are you all excited?"

The crowd roared.

"Great! Then I would like to draw your attention to the west gate, where Assistant Professor Jack will be coming from."

Everyone turned their attention to a door that opened on the west wall of the arena. A tall man who radiated the temperament of a royal casually strolled out. His devilish charm seemed to even capture the imagination of Rachel, as she had stars in her eyes. Eric just eyed the man with a little hatred. His humiliation of this morning was only amplified, seeing his sister so excited.

Jack just casually walked toward the middle of the stadium and stood with his hands in his pockets. He wore an indifferent expression, showing no signs of nervousness at having so many eyes upon him. His seemingly flawlessly tailored wine-red suit seemed to match his blood-red eyes and white hair, which only increased his noble aura.

Once the excitement died down, the announcer continued, "That was quite the entrance! Despite only being at the academy for a short time, it seems Assistant Professor Jack has amassed quite a number of fans. With that said, allow me to introduce his competition, the current Head Professor, Edward."

The eastern door opened, and a medium-height man wearing a suit and spectacles walked out. His hair was scuffed, and he looked deathly pale. Dark bags were under his eyes, and he looked like he could pass out any second.

The difference between the two’s temperaments was stark, and it seemed that Eric wasn’t the only one to notice. Many in the audience caught on to his odd condition and pointed their fingers.

Rachel muttered under her breath, "Is he poisoned?"

"Sure looks like it," Eric agreed. The head professor looked like he was barely grasping onto life. "Even though he appears ill, he is still a frightening mage with A-grade Mana Control. Jack still stands no chance," he said with contempt while nodding to himself.

The ragged head professor trudged into the arena’s center with shaky steps. All the spectators wore complicated expressions. Why did the all-powerful and respectable Head Professor seem so pathetic when compared to Jack?

Soon, the announcer’s voice was heard once again. "This duel is under the jurisdiction of Prince August. The stakes are as follows. If Assistant Professor Jack wins the duel, he will be promoted to the Head Librarian position within the Mage Tower’s library. However, if Jack loses, he will be forced to apologise for abusing his noble status to gain entry into the university and will have to resign."

The spectators were in an uproar. Many had no idea what the reason for this duel was, nor did they know it was a duel in the presence of the heir to the throne. All the commoners in the crowd had bitter expressions when they heard the duel’s reasoning.

’So this bastard did indeed cheat his way in!’ They looked at the indifferent Jack with resentment. ’How could he act so calmly after being slandered in front of the entire university?’ they all wondered.

Meanwhile, the nobles in the crowd paid no attention to the act of bribery, as they engaged in it daily. What truly caught their interest was the fact that Jack would be promoted to such a high position should he win. This heightened the value of a connection with Jack in the eyes of the greedy nobles.

The difference in authority between a mere Head Professor and someone working within the Mage Tower was like night and day. The university was well regarded in Velmira, but only for educational purposes. The Mage Tower, on the other hand, was a powerful organisation that had a monopoly on high-tier mages and combat techniques. Any mage that wished to reach the A grade had little choice but to sign a Soul Contract with the Mage Tower. Those who managed to ascend to the A grade without the Mage Tower’s assistance would be seen as "rogue" mages, and they would be treated with caution by the nobility of various kingdoms.

A good example of this would be Owl. He was one of the few A-grade "rogue" mages. He was despised within the top mage circle for his blatant traitorous actions and only being swayed by money. Unfortunately, because of his massive wealth and extensive connections to many dukes, he stayed safe despite the Mage Tower’s hatred of him.

Everyone’s murmurs were interrupted by the announcer. "The rules of the duel are simple. This is not a deathmatch due to the status of the participants. The winner will be decided if one side admits defeat, runs out of mana, or faints."

"May the duel begin."

With a roar from the crowd, the much-anticipated battle commenced.