"You''re going to fight him again after battling a dragon?"
"Then we''ll stay here too."
"Rudy! What kind of trouble are you getting into now!"
Everyone chided me in their own way.
I sent them all away.
Fighting alongside them would be helpful, but it was meaningless.
The reason I wanted to fight Evan was not to steal his points.
I looked at Prisci, who was sitting beside me.
"Prisci, can you do it?"
"As long as that elephant fights properly."
Prisci pointed to Behemoth, who was rolling around in the distance.
"Pwoooh."
Behemoth seemed pleased with the mud he had created, rolling around in it.
"Prisci, go y for a bit. You like walks."
"Is that okay?"
"Why not, Evan won''t being now."
Even if he did, Prisci could quickly return, so it wasn''t a big issue.
"Just don''t use your powers too much. I''m tired too."
"Got it. I''ll just walk around nearby."
Prisci walked away with a pleasant smile.
I looked up at the sky.
The sunset was slowly setting.
With all the trees gone, the red sunset was clearly visible.
I was mentally exhausted from using Prisci''s abilities to fight the dragon.
Freezing the dragon''s entire body, it seemed Prisci also used her abilities significantly for the first time in a while.
I try not to use Prisci''s abilities when I fight.
I knew all too well the fate of those who had used Prisci before.
It was well documented in books, and Cromwell had warned me several times.
But Prisci wasn''t a bad entity.
She was just like a dog... no, more like a puppy.
She liked walks and readily helped with anything I asked.
The previous contractors simply didn''t use Prisci properly.
If asked whether I know how to use Prisci well, I would shake my head.
I wasn''t sure to what extent I could use Prisci, and it was difficult to gauge her limits.
Mental exhaustion wasn''t something you could calcte numerically.
It had to be sensed intuitively.
Prisci seemed unaware of these limits as well.
"To use Prisci better... I need to understand this too."
She was so obedient and her abilities so useful that I called upon her in almost every fight.
Prisci had now be a significant part of my strength.
I needed to learn how to use not just my abilities but all of Prisci''s as well.
I should learn about spirits, but the only person around me who handled spirits was Rie.
The problem was that I couldn''t learn from Rie.
Prisci and ordinary spirits were practically different entities.
I pondered deeply and then remembered someone.
Serina.
Didn''t Rie say she received teachings from Serina not long ago?
I heard she was staying near the academy.
Serina''s mother was definitely a former contractor of Prisci.
Then, could Serina know something about Prisci?
But...
Serina wasn''t the one who contracted, it was her mother, so I wondered how much help she would be.
Still, once this assessment is over, I should ask her.
There''s no one else to ask about Prisci but Serina...
Though I was making various ns on my own, there was something else I needed to do first.
Dealing with Evan.
It wasn''t something I needed to do right away.
I was just resting and waiting for Evan.
Evan was sitting in one spot, meditating.
He was healing his body by absorbing energy from the surrounding trees through nature magic.
Then, a loud explosion was heard from the top of the mountain.
The sound was followed by half of the mountain burning.
Fortunately, the opposite side of the mountain burned, so Evan was not greatly affected.
However, it was highly irritating.
Such amotion at the mountain''s summit meant someone fought a dragon.
Only one person could fight that.
''…Rudy Astria.''
Always someone who takes actions that astonish everyone.
Among the students, he was likely the only one who would think to catch a dragon.
His abilities, too, were capable, and he was the only person bold enough to make such a choice.
Did Rudy Astria catch the dragon?
He didn''t know.
He had to see it with his own eyes.
As these thoughts filled his mind, something boiled inside Evan.
Some might call it jealousy, others inferiorityplex.
Regardless, the result was the same.
Evan picked up his sword.
''Tomorrow, I go to the top of the mountain.''
If Rudy Astria was defeated by the dragon, he would catch it.
If victorious, he would find and ovee Rudy Astria.
He wasn''t sure what it meant, but he had to do it.
He wanted to be the top student.
Yeniel told him to wield the sword with conviction, but changing his mind suddenly was impossible.
To stand above Rudy Astria.
That was Evan''s goal, his ideology, the only purpose in his life.
Rudy had done nothing wrong.
He wasn''t a bad person.
Evan knew this.
He even knew that he was the strange one.
Yet, Evan took up the sword.
He had no choice but to direct it at Rudy Astria.
As Yeniel said, Evan''s sword has no meaning if it''s not aimed at Rudy Astria.
Without aiming for the top, he would lose his way.
He wasn''t driven by a greater cause or conviction.
Even if it was disgraceful, even if he was pointed at, there was only one thing to do.
He could only hope.
If he became the top student and defeated Rudy Astria, then he might find another goal.
See the next ce.
And… be an ideal person like Rudy Astria.
Evan''s goal was Rudy Astria.
Both as a target to be surpassed and as an ideal to aspire to.
Rudy Astria was enviable.
A person respected by everyone around him.
Someone with the courage to risk danger for others.
A person with such skills and character.
That''s why.
"I will surpass Rudy Astria."
It was all about striving to exceed Rudy Astria.
If he could surpass him, a different perspective might be revealed.
But, if even after defeating Rudy Astria, or if he fails and still can''t find his path,
Then there would be no reason to stay at the academy anymore.
He would have to leave and find a new goal.
As Yeniel said, a lost sword only cuts down the innocent.
The next day, Evan headed to the mountain''s summit.
The trees along the path to the summit were all burned down, and the ground was charred ck.
There were also signs of intense fighting, with the ground deeply gouged in ces.
''What happened to the dragon?''
Evan looked towards the summit.
With all the trees burned down along the path, the view was clear.
However, there was no sign of the dragon.
If yesterday''s fight resulted in a victory over the dragon, its corpse should have been visible.
''Did they lose?''
The thought didn''tst long.
In the distance, he saw a person sitting on a small rock, apanied by a small elephant and a silver-furred wolf.
"It''s been a while since we''ve faced each other like this, Evan,"
said the blond man, smiling in greeting.
"It''s our first time having a conversation like this. Rudy Astria,"
Evan said to Rudy.
The two had never talked before.
The only interaction they had was during thest joint assessment when they collided.
"Did you earn many points?"
"Not as much as you, who caught a dragon, but I earned enough."
Seeing Rudy sitting there unharmed amidst the destruction, it was clear he had caught the dragon.
Rudy''s expression changed from a smile.
"You didn''t just bully kids and steal their easy points, did you?"
"What concern is that of yours?"
"Why harass other students with your abilities? You could have caught an enormous number of magical beasts."
"I dealt with whoever was in front of me."
Their conversation wasn''t awkward, though they had never spoken before.
It felt like talking to a long-time friend.
Rudy stood up.
"I respect you, Evan, and think there are things to learn from you."
He knew the extent of Evan''s efforts to be stronger and im the top position.
Rudy himself had reduced his sleep and exerted bone-grinding, blood-spilling effort for good grades.
Evan was no different.
Evan''s abilities were unique, but not a talent.
Uniqueness doesn''t mean talent.
It was more of a curse.
Instead of following a pathid by others, he had to forge his own.
While carving his own path, Evan also bnced regr studies.
This wasn''t a matter of talent.
It meant investing his time, foregoing rest andfort, and enduring.
"But now, I think you''re straying a bit off course."
Evan said nothing in response.
Rudy clenched his fist, channeling mana.
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