Chapter 52 The Forced Duel and the Green Heavy Tank
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
A single night had passed since the battle with the beastman assassination team, [Abyssal Claws].
The morning air was crisp, but the exhaustion from last night’s fight and no sleep at all made me frown.
Still, I walked toward Royal Magic Academy ‘Arcanum’ like any other day.
But just as I was about to pass through the school gates, two shadows blocked my path. The morning sun stretched their shadows across the stone pavement.
”Good day to you, Xenos Grimlock-kun,” Elliot greeted.
The blue-haired Elliot Valias stood there. Open hostility was written across his face.
(Is it just me, or is this guy in a terrible mood?) I wondered.
And the other one was—
”Yo! Long time no see, Xenos Grimlock!! Let’s get right to it—you and me, a duel!” Aldrick shouted, his voice echoing across the courtyard.
The large, green-haired man next to him, Aldrick Stonewall,1 suddenly challenged me to a duel. His voice was loud enough to drown out the chatter of nearby students.
…Not again.
This guy never learns. This is the second time he has challenged me to a duel.
I had just fought assassins last night, and my whole body still ached with fatigue…
”I believe I already declined your request for a duel before?” I replied, hiding his irritation.
”I am afraid that is quite out of the question. Your participation in this matter is strictly mandatory,” Elliot said coldly.
Elliot glared at me with clear hatred as he spoke.
(Forced? Give me a break! Why does this guy hate me so much anyway?)
When did I do something to earn his resentment? I searched my memories but found nothing.
There was another question too. Prince Liam, who was always with them, was nowhere to be seen.
If so, then this was entirely Elliot’s doing.
Aldrick’s loud voice drew everyone’s attention, and students began to gather quickly.
As the prince’s close confidants, the two were well-known figures in the Academy. Curious and excited stares fixed on us.
While I was thinking about this, Aldrick lunged at me without warning, swinging his large fist.
Wind from the strike grazed my ear.
”Whoa!” I shouted, pulling my upper body back.
Instead of taking the heavy fist head-on, I twisted my body at the last second and deflected it with one hand. Taking a direct hit from Aldrick—who far outmatched me in weight and size—was not a good idea.
Using the enemy’s own momentum to move my body. It was a defensive technique I was good at, similar to Aikido.
Using the recoil from deflecting his strike, we both pulled back and glared at each other. The students in the courtyard watched our confrontation.
(Was that just him testing me…?) I analyzed.
”Hahaha! To think you’d dodge that—you’re pretty damn good, ain’t ya?!” Aldrick laughed, showing his teeth.
Aldrick looked amused. His expression was filled with simple delight, like someone who had found something fun.
He loved to fight. He was a natural-born battle maniac.
”Even if we are to duel, I would prefer we go through the official procedures. At this rate, it’s nothing more than a private brawl.”
I replied while keeping a calm face. Honestly, I did not want to fight this guy.
I had no interest in showing my real strength in front of a crowd. It was better for me if everyone kept seeing me as “Zero the Loser,” a trash character with “Zero Mana.”
But it seemed I would not get my way.
”Like I give a damn about any of that! Official duel or street brawl, it don’t matter as long as I get to throw down with someone strong and have a good time!” Aldrick snapped, his fighting spirit fully exposed.
Aldrick’s words echoed across the courtyard.
His nature as a battle maniac was fully on display.
He attacked again. His large frame stomped against the ground, shaking the earth beneath my feet. Normally, Elliot would be the one controlling him, but this time, he seemed to be encouraging him.
Those eyes full of hatred…
It looked like this duel was unavoidable.
With that thought, I kept dodging Aldrick’s fists by the narrowest margin.
Evading at the last moment, I tapped the side of his strikes to redirect them. Each blow was heavy, like a boulder coming at me. Using that recoil, I kept my distance with minimal movement.
”You ain’t gonna win by just runnin’ away!” Aldrick provoked.
His words were correct.
From the moment the fight began, I had expanded my [Magic Seal] to its maximum radius of two meters. The moment he stepped inside this range, Aldrick’s physical reinforcement via Mana would disappear completely.
In other words, he was throwing this barrage of attacks using only his raw physical ability, without any magical enhancement.
In reincarnation stories, it was practically a cliché for the prince’s lackeys to become total jobbers2 early on, unable to keep up with the protagonist’s power inflation.
But this guy was different. He was, without a doubt, genuinely strong.
Channeling Mana to reinforce my body, I drove a counter-punch into Aldrick’s open abdomen.
A dull impact, like hitting solid rock, ran through my fist.
”Ghoooh! Not bad, bastard! But it don’t mean a damn thing!” Aldrick growled through clenched teeth, tightening his core.
No, there was no way it did not work. I felt a solid connection.
Yet Aldrick ignored the pain and threw a full-powered fist straight at me.
This was completely different from his earlier attacks. Both speed and weight were at full force.
The sound of it cutting through the air was far sharper than before.
Having just thrown a counter-punch, I could not dodge.
I blocked the blow with my left arm. Aldrick’s fist, backed by superior weight and build, was heavy and sharp.
An impact like a sledgehammer broke through my guard and shook deep inside my body. The sensation in my left arm went numb instantly.
I was sure I heard bones creaking under the strain.
Without giving me a moment to breathe, Aldrick raised his fist and charged again. A beastly roar echoed through the air.
While dodging his attacks, I drove my fists into his body at every opening.
A strange stalemate formed. Because of my [Magic Seal], Aldrick was cut off from his specialty—physical reinforcement magic. On the other hand, I could not use my physical reinforcement at full power because I had to be careful of the watching students.
I still did not want to break my public image as a “Zero Mana” nobody.
The back-and-forth continued, locked in equilibrium. As the fight dragged on, I took a few solid hits myself, even though they were blocked.
My left arm, used for defense, had lost almost all feeling, and a dull ache spread beneath the skin.
(…I’ll end this with the next move.) I decided.
For the final blow alone, I would raise my body reinforcement using Mana. That should end this fight.
Focusing my mind, I knelt and refined the Mana in my body. I felt a faint tingling at my fingertips.
”…You’re plannin’ somethin’ sneaky, ain’t ya? Fine by me. Let’s settle this right now!” Aldrick roared, lowering his stance.
Aldrick had also sensed my intention to end the match, thanks to his wild instincts. The grin left his face, replaced by the sharp gaze of a predator locking onto its prey.
”Here I come!!” Aldrick barked.
”Yeah, bring it on!!” I yelled back.
To exchange our final blows, we kicked off the ground at the same time and lunged. Dust rose as we rushed toward each other—
Right before we clashed.
”—Cease this immediately! Stand down, you absolute fools!!” Elenor commanded, her voice cutting across the schoolyard.
A dignified, authoritative voice silenced the courtyard instantly.
The Student Council President, Elenor Asgard.
Her voice had cut between us. Her gaze pinned us under a sharp, icy stare.
And just like that—
The duel that had started so suddenly was stopped by a single word from the Saint of Light.
—
Summary:
Xenos is unexpectedly confronted by Elliot and a boisterous Aldrick at the academy gates after surviving an overnight assassination attempt. A forced physical confrontation breaks out when Aldrick attacks despite Xenos’s strategic attempt to remain inconspicuous as a mana-deficient loser. The battle reaches a critical impasse inside a localized magic nullification field until a high-ranking authority figure abruptly intervenes.
—
Trivia:
1 The physical fatigue Xenos experiences stems entirely from a lethal nighttime skirmish against a beastman assassination unit known as [Abyssal Claws].
2 Aldrick Stonewall is characterized in the source narrative as a green-haired tank archetype who is exceptionally reliant on raw physical properties.
3 Despite being part of Prince Liam’s usual entourage, the prince himself is notably absent from this unauthorized courtyard ambush.
4 Xenos extends his [Magic Seal] to a strict two-meter perimeter, which implicitly completely strips away Aldrick’s active internal mana fortification.
5 The moniker ‘Zero the Loser’ serves a vital utility role by keeping the public eye completely blind to Xenos’s deliberate combat potential.
—
Translation Notes:
Notes:
• de – A particle used in the aristocratic name of the Margrave Albion de Blanchefort.
• Grimlock – As the mana-less heir to House Margrave Grimlock, Xenos manages his family’s military legacy and shadow network alongside his father, Gaius. While projecting deceptive noble etiquette, he uses tactical falsehoods, spatial magic, and the Collar of Submission to ruthlessly manipulate allies and foes. As a ‘Royal Phantom’ member, he maintains an analytical internal tone while navigating dangerous social circles.
• Elliot – A tall, slender student council member and loyal aide to Prince Liam, this blue-haired academy student is known for his sharp mind and piercing eyes. A close confidant to the Prince, he harbors deep, unrequited love for Elenor. He reacts with intense, visible fury and freezing hostility whenever he witnesses her intimacy with others, particularly Xenos Grimlock, often leaving him visibly distressed.
• Xenos – Xenos Grimlock, a Royal Magic Academy student mocked as “Zero the Loser,” hides his genius behind a facade of incompetence. The heir to House Grimlock and a calculating strategist, he wields a [Magic Seal] that nullifies mana reinforcement. A master of Teleportation and Ailment magic, he builds a vast empire while acting as a protective, dominant figure to his allies and seeking Beastfolk ties.
• Valias – The Valias family name, carried by Elliot.
• Aldrick – A hulking green-haired Royal Guard student and Prince Liam’s aide, he is a battle-crazed warrior who thrives on combat and physical intimidation. Defined by his towering frame and silver lion crest, he acts as an aggressive enforcer and vanguard. Despite his immense strength and thirst for battle, he remains completely cowed by Elenor and holds a history of failed duel negotiations with Xenos.
• Stonewall – The Stonewall family name, carried by Aldrick.
• Liam – As the calm, idealistic First Prince and game protagonist, he is officially engaged to Princess Elisabeth Adrastea while maneuvering against the warmongering Grimlock family. Dedicated to human and demi-human harmony, his leadership is supported by his loyal aide, Elliot Valias, and Aldrick Stonewall. However, a leaked recording revealing his secret pursuit of Cecilia now threatens his political standing.
• Elenor – The Student Council President, revered as the “Saint of Light,” is a noble princess with radiant golden hair and piercing, sharp eyes. Known for her cold, ice-like dignity, she hides a secret identity as the brutal arena gladiator ‘Princess Elenor.’ A skilled swordswoman, she uses past lessons with Xenos to defy foes like Grimlock, who notes her twisted, secret pleasure in their painful encounters.
• Asgard – Elenor Asgard, the esteemed Saint of Light, and Prince Liam share a prestigious royal lineage. While both belong to the noble Asgard family and maintain a high social standing, they navigate distinct public roles and responsibilities within the realm. Their shared identity defines their status, balancing the expectations placed upon them as they fulfill their unique duties to the kingdom.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
Leave a Reply