novelraw Chapter 40: A Duel at Night
Chapter 40: A Duel at Night
That night, at the dinner table in Fieron’s manor, only Fischer and the girls were having dinner. Nana and Fieron were nowhere to be seen—seemingly occupied with other matters.
“Did anything strange happen today?”
Fischer looked at Raphaëlle as he asked. She looked puzzled and shook her head.
“Nothing weird. Just us, the kids, and the maids in the house.”
“...That’s good. If anything happens, make sure to press the magic I gave you.”
Raphaëlle chewed her food and nodded.
“Got it.”
“What magic? Larr wants one too!”
Larr wiggled her little legs and called out, making Fischer reach out to pat her head.
“You two don’t need it.” Because they still had Raphaëlle’s Slave Mark, he could sense their location and condition at any time—no extra magic was needed.
Larr squinted, clearly disappointed.
“But Larr’s never used magic. Mama said if I used it, it’d burn my tail off like a grilled lizard... and then I’d never see her again.”
Hearing that, something clicked in Fischer’s mind. He looked at them and asked,
“Do you know a companion named Narl?”
Fieron had previously mentioned that all his information about the Dragonkin came from someone named Narl.
“Narl! He’s Larr’s big brother!”
“Narl’s my brother. When we got caught, he wasn’t far from us, but he was taken away by other humans. We don’t know where he is now…”
Mir glanced at the excited Larr, then turned to explain to Fischer.
“I see. Understood.”
Fischer nodded. Once everyone had nearly finished eating, he turned to Raphaëlle and said,
“Are you done? If so, it’s time to head out.”
Raphaëlle wiped her lips and smiled, her eyes full of confidence.
“Hmph, I’m more than ready.”
Fischer noted her confidence, picked up his cane and hat, and said, “Let’s hope so. Come with me. Mir and the others will stay here. I’ll be able to sense if anything happens.”
At night, the city of Fieron had a peaceful, tranquil air. Since the training arena was located past the demi-human residential area, Fischer and Raphaëlle passed by many relaxed and cheerful demi-humans sitting by their doors, curiously watching the humans and the red Dragonkin passing by.
It was truly a serene environment. Raphaëlle hadn’t seen such peace in a long time—perhaps only in her tribe in the past. But seeing so many races coexisting peacefully felt almost surreal to her.
And yet, she was captivated by that fleeting moment of calm.
Fischer, on the other hand, didn’t stop for a moment. After glancing around briefly, he quickened his pace, leaving Raphaëlle staring at his back. When she noticed, he was already quite far ahead, making her pout and hurry to catch up.
The training arena Fieron had mentioned was a spacious circular field near the inner city wall. Faint scorched marks marred the ground, likely remnants of some steam-powered machinery.
“This should be wide enough. We’ll do it here.”
Fischer walked to the edge of the field, took off his coat, folded it neatly, and set it down.
He wore a brown-gray vest over a white dress shirt. Tall and straight-backed, he held his cane and walked to the far side of the arena opposite Raphaëlle before turning to face her.
By now, Fischer had shown almost everything he had in front of Raphaëlle. She knew his physical capabilities and the magic carved into his cane. If she had properly strategized for this duel, she would likely prepare counters based on what she knew.
Still, Fischer had always meant it when he said he gave his all when sparring with her. An adult Dragonkin was in a whole different league. She’d charged into military lines single-handedly and emerged unscathed—that was all the proof needed.
So Fischer had prepared a trump card: an improved version of Dragonkin Magic.
Traditional Dragonkin Magic was crude but immensely destructive. Fischer found its usability too narrow and had spent days integrating human magical theory to improve it—with some early success.
He raised his cane toward Raphaëlle and said,
“Let’s begin.”
“Hmph, you better be careful!”
Raphaëlle took a deep breath and slowly opened her eyes. Under the moonlight, her jade-green eyes glowed faintly. Steam began to rise from her body—she was entering full battle mode.
Boom!
With a thunderous crack, the ground beneath her feet shattered. Like a red comet, she shot into the air, spiraling toward Fischer.
Fischer had expected this. With his current body, there was no way he could engage her in close combat like he had when she was still young. That would be as foolish as sticking his hand into a meat grinder.
So, first step: create distance.
He leapt backward, and in that instant, a glowing circle lit up around his cane. The familiar spell, Dance of the Bees, activated. The magic sigil on the cane glowed dimmer than usual, as buzzing energy blades swarmed toward Raphaëlle.
“That trick doesn’t work anymore!”
Steam burst from Raphaëlle’s body, and she spun like a high-speed top. The blades couldn’t touch her mid-air.
But Fischer hadn’t meant to defeat her with those simple blades. All he needed was to delay her advance.
A new white ring lit up—his Four-Ring Gravity Spell, ideal for dealing with speed-based opponents like Raphaëlle. A crushing force settled around her, slamming her spinning form into the ground.
“Hah... This move again…”
Raphaëlle gritted her teeth, exhaling slowly. Then, her scales burst into radiant light—blindingly intense in the dark.
Unlike when she was younger, this glow was scorching, even warping the surrounding air.
This was the first time Fischer had seen the Dragonkin’s method of enhancing physical abilities in such a dramatic way. The ground around her cracked as she forced herself to move under intense gravity.
Cement and gravity alike were rendered meaningless in the face of her blazing heat. Her body turned into a meteor and launched toward Fischer again.
Her strategy was simple: get up close.
Human physique couldn’t match hers. His only edge was magic—but casting took time and distance. If she closed in, he’d have no space left to fight. He’d lose.
Fischer’s eyes flickered. While retreating, he tore off his left sleeve. With sharp eyes, one could spot a transparent, fang-shaped magic sigil etched inside.
After tweaking the mana input and output method, his Dragonkin Magic no longer emitted a glow until activated—just like human spells.
As the sleeve flew through the air, the magic sigil ignited. From the linked void, a massive wall of blue flame erupted.
Roar!
With a sound like a dragon’s howl, the blazing wall rose, cutting Raphaëlle off from Fischer. Though less exaggerated than during the night test, the fire still soared dozens of meters high—more than enough to block her.
“Aaaahhh!!”
With a roar, her glowing claws punched through the wall. Then, grabbing the flames, she tore the wall apart as if it had substance. Her crimson horns shone in the night, like an unseen force enveloped her.
So that was it—the exposed Magic Circuit was giving her a semi-magical body, allowing her to interact directly with spell constructs.
In Fischer’s eyes, he saw Raphaëlle physically grasp the magic woven into the air. As she moved, the spell unraveled—its power fading.
Anti-magic plus overwhelming physical strength—this was an adult Dragonkin. No, not just any Dragonkin. Only Raphaëlle could be this extraordinary.
Fischer’s expression stayed calm, but he began retreating faster.
In his view, the glow of her scales had begun to dim. She tried to chase again, only to be slowed by another spell—keeping a steady gap between them.
Fatigue crept in. Her body felt heavy. Gritting her teeth, she focused all her energy in her legs, pushed off the ground—and appeared before him in a blink.
“You’re not getting away!”
Her claws shaped like blades slashed straight toward his fox-like black eyes—
Wait...
Why wasn’t he panicking?
Seeing Fischer’s calm face, Raphaëlle realized something was wrong. But she refused to give up such a golden opportunity and lashed out.
In the next instant, countless glowing threads sprang from the void, wrapping tightly around her—legs, torso, arms—binding her in midair.
Four-Ring Spell: The Spinner.
Even so, her attack came close enough to send a gust of wind past Fischer’s face—blowing his hair wildly and shaking the calm off his expression.
Then silence fell over the training arena.
Bound tightly in place, Raphaëlle couldn’t move. Her scales dimmed with exhaustion.
She had lost.
After a second of awe at her strength, Fischer clapped his hands and said,
“A well-fought battle. You’ve learned to play to your strengths. That’s good.”
“But you made two mistakes. First—you activated your scales too early. I hadn’t even used my trump card yet. You blew your full power too soon, shortening the fight and lowering your margin for error. Second—you hesitated. You knew something was off with my calm face, but you still charged in. You were greedy for a chance to attack and fell into my trap.”
Raphaëlle puffed her cheeks and looked away from Fischer’s scolding, as if his gaze could burn her.
Still, she didn’t argue. Everything he said was true. Upon reflection, she knew those were her weaknesses.
“But...”
The threads vanished. A large hand landed on her head.
“Apart from that, no major flaws. You did great.”
“...Eh.”
Fischer walked back to where he’d left his coat, cane in hand. His calm voice drifted back.
“You owe me two punishment chances. I’m using one tonight.”
Raphaëlle froze, reaching up to rub her red hair with trembling fingers.
N-No… don’t touch me...
Stuff like that...
A deep blush spread across her cheeks. Her armor seemed to shiver under his touch, her tail wagging in excitement. Her heart raced.
Was it from the fight—or from that man's touch? She didn’t dare think too hard about it.
And when it came to “punishment,” for some reason... Raphaëlle suddenly remembered the sounds she’d overheard last night from Nana and the Lord.
If... if Fischer’s punishment was like that... what would she do?