I Became a Murderer in the Academy.

Chapter 63

Iria and Sera were in a confrontation. Sera was looking down at Iria, who was seated.

Sera’s face showed a hint of surprise, as she had clearly expected to be refused. The situation was unfolding differently from what she had anticipated.

But it was fine either way. She didn’t have to use any other methods.

“Well, I’m not saying we should do it right now. I don’t have a hobby of bullying first-years. I’ll give you about a week. That’s enough, right?”

Nod, nod.

Iria nodded her head.

At that moment, Iria’s evaluation in Sera’s mind skyrocketed.

‘What’s this? She’s cute.’ Sera thought.

She really liked her easygoing personality.

Up until now, whenever Sera had requested a duel, most people would refuse with a terrified expression.

She had seen Iria’s duels before, as they were quite anticipated. Although majoring in Combat Magic, it was said that Iria fought by masterfully mixing swordsmanship and martial arts with superior physical abilities rather than mana.

It was an unusual fighting style, and Sera was already looking forward to seeing what kind of performance she would show against her.

The reason Sera gave Iria a week was because she knew Iria’s tactics.

If they proceeded as is, it would be a duel favorable only to her. She didn’t want such dishonorable talk about facing a first-year.

Regrettably, she decided to postpone the duel schedule a bit.

“Well then, see you in a week.”

And with that, Sera left.

***

After the strange senior left, causing a disturbance, the classroom became quiet.

Next to Iria was Rena, half-frozen.

“W-wasn’t that Senior Sera just now...?” She stuttered as she asked.

“Do you know her?”

Rena couldn’t continue speaking for a while. Her face was pale white. For some reason, she seemed to have received quite a shock.

“Know her? She’s at the top of the second-year Combat Magic department! Although overshadowed by Senior Ariel, she’s said to be no less than the top student of the third year!”

“...”

Iria tilted her head as if to say, “So what?”

But she understood why Rena was angry. Their eyes met earlier, and Iria knew what she felt.

Rena was worried about Iria getting hurt. Even if it was just a light duel, the opponent was a monster from a higher grade. Rena seemed to think she would sustain considerable injuries.

Although it was just a duel, and Iria wouldn’t lose her life, it might interfere with classes for about a week.

Just looking at Rena’s case, hadn’t she suffered from aftermath for a while after the practical exam?

Iria understood her thoughts.

“There’s no way you can fight her! Huh? Let’s go tell her you’re backing out now. It might not be too late...”

“She would’ve kept coming until I accepted.”

“Even so, this time is a bit...”

But I wasn’t particularly scared.

No matter how talented the students at the Imperial Academy were, they were still just at a student level.

‘Even the elite knights, the main force of the Empire, could barely scratch my body. The reason I had refused duels with others until now was because I was clumsy at controlling my strength.’

If there was something Iria felt from the duel with Lucia last time, it was that the level of the top students in this school was higher than she thought.

After checking several times to see if there was anyone around, Rena lit a small flame at her fingertip.

“Did you know that fire magic is the most aggressive among elemental magic? The temperature can rise endlessly depending on the caster’s capacity. Depending on how you use mana, it can produce enough firepower to turn a human into ashes in an instant.”

With a whoosh, Rena’s flame flared up.

It’s a flame that looks quite hot at a glance. More than enough to kill an ordinary person without resistance.

But Iria knew that her capacity was not just this much. She saw her dueling with Wendy on the day of the practical exam.

Fire magic can cause serious injuries even in light duels. Although you can receive treatment at the academy facilities, the pain of being burned is the same.

Rena enveloped her whole body in flames and continued her explanation.

“But you know, the fire element is ultimately strong because it’s hot. This is where it differs from other attributes. Fire magicians all have some kind of preparation process to raise the temperature of the flame. The method differs for each person, though.”

‘Come to think of it, that’s right.’ Iria searched through her past memories.

Although fire wasn’t Albert’s specialty, he seemed to release stored mana in an instant, while Eve boosted her firepower by rapidly exploding her output in a single moment.

That seemed to be the difference in methods that Rena was talking about.

“This can be seen as a common weakness of fire magicians. Figure out how the opponent raises the temperature of their flame, and interfere with that preparation process.”

“Interfere?”

“For example, I use a method of slowly preheating and building up the fire spell. If you run in and interfere before I can stack the spell, I become very vulnerable.”

“So the same could be true for Senior Sera.”

“That’s right. The problem is that she’s good at other magic too, but still, fire magic is what she uses best. She’ll definitely show her flames to decide the match.”

“Is that so...”

“If you aim for that moment, you can win easily,” Rena added to her explanation.

The information Rena gave was quite useful. In a duel close to actual combat, the presence or absence of information made quite a difference.

“...”

But there was something that bothered Iria quite a bit.

Rena was revealing her weakness to Iria, the top student in the same year.

It wasn’t something to be shared with someone who might compete for rankings later.

So she asked.

“Are you sure it’s okay to tell me that?”

Rena remained silent for a while. It was a windy day.

Her golden hair fluttered, tickling her cheek. Looking down the hill, she spoke.

“It’s okay if it’s you, Iria. You won’t tell anyone else anyway, right? And I’ve long given up on being the top student. I think it’s more accurate to say I’ve hit a wall against those with real talent.”

Rena stroked my head.

Iria looked up at her, but this time, their eyes didn’t meet.

It was because she was looking elsewhere. Maybe she hadn’t been looking at Iria from the start.

“So, don’t get hurt. Unlike me, you’re someone with talent.”

‘Talent, huh.’

Right.

She wished she was someone with talent.

“Let’s go back. We’ll be late for class.”

With those words, Rena left first.

Today, too, their gazes didn’t meet.