Magic Life in the Empire

They didn't waste any time and entered the available arena nearby.

Upon seeing that the two of them were about to fight, a crowd quickly gathered to watch the show.

Before they began their match, however, Cedric decided to say a few words. "Did you know that most people in our class are afraid of you?" His voice wasn't loud enough for the spectators to hear.

Cyril didn't see how this had anything to do with their duel, but he didn't interrupt him.

Cedric carefully deliberated his words before speaking "I mean, I understand them, you have that cold look in your eyes and I don't think I ever saw you smile before, there are also all these rumours about your family..."

"What is he even on about?" I am not sure; it doesn't feel like he is trying to insult me. His words only invoked confusion so far.

"I just thought you should know; you don't seem like a bad guy to me. This is probably a serious misunderstanding on their part." Cedric finished saying this with a beaming smile from ear to ear.

"...Thanks." Cyril wasn't sure how to feel about this. He simply readied his spear, willing to begin this duel as soon as possible.

"Sorry, I was being rude; let's not waste any more time." He didn't dwell too much on the subject and prepared himself for combat.

"At least he is self-aware to some extent."

Upon seeing that they are finally ready, the judge shouted for the duel to begin.

Cyril quickly shortened the distance between them and lunged his spear with deadly strength as usual.

Cedric managed to dodge this attack with some effort and retaliated with a sword strike; he was no longer smiling, and his face carried a serious expression.

Blocking the attack, Cyril found out that his opponent's swordsmanship was more than decent and Cedric was capable of meeting his spear in direct combat.

They exchanged several blows this way; Cedric tried to cast magic whenever he could, but few spells he knew proved to be ineffective against Cyril, who could dodge or block all of them.

To the students watching the show it even looked like an even fight, but Cyril could tell that Cedric was struggling to keep up the momentum, he was growing weaker with every attack

In the end, Cedric made a mistake and revealed an opening, which Cyril couldn't possibly miss.

With a properly timed twirl of his spear, Cyril managed to knock the opponent's weapon out of his hand and put the tip of his spear to Cedric's throat.

The judge considered this the end of the match and declared Cyril's victory.

"Haha, what an embarrassing way to lose; seems like I need more training." With a laugh, Cedric said this in a slightly disappointed voice, but other than that, he looked like his usual self.

"It was a good fight." Having achieved his goal, Cyril didn't stand on the ceremony and left, feeling slightly underwhelmed by the duel.

"Who do you think is the strongest opponent you have fought today?" With the ability to read his mind, Myra was aware of his feelings.

I would say it was Regina; while unorthodox, her combat style truly scared me during the duel. I am looking forward to seeing how she improves. Cyril passed by the excited students and stopped at a random spot, still unsure of what to do next.

"It makes sense; your physical attributes place you above all of your classmates by default. Unless there is a significant difference in skill, it would be foolish to fight you head-on." Rhamn stood in front of him, making a thinking pose.

"This should change in the future, as students learn magic, there will be less reliance on brute force, by then there should be more interesting fights for you"

She then placed her hands on her hips and added with an arrogant face, "Of course, they would still have no chance at winning."

She celebrated every victory Cyril got today as if they were her own as well, she really considered them to be a team more than a singular being.

They talked a bit more before moving on and continuing to issue challenges to whoever they could find.

At some point there was no other opponent to be found; this resulted in Myra getting her 10th point by challenging Cyril.

This fight played out in a similar fashion to their usual duels during the Combat Training lessons, but all the other students enjoyed watching the scene.

For some time now, many of the students had given up on gaining more points and went from arena to arena just to watch others fight.

They liked this quite a lot and the training hall was filled with an enjoyable atmosphere as a result.

Cyril felt like he was a part of some carnival with many people following him and Myra around, but he didn't mind it too much.

Eventually everyone took a quick food break in the cafeteria and then immediately returned to the training hall to continue.

After what felt like forever, the judges finally announced the end of the competition, asking everyone to gather on the spectator stands to hear the results.

There were no whispered discussions among the students who would take the first and second places; everyone would be more surprised if the people in question didn't win.

Over the remaining time of the competition, Myra managed to get her 11th point from Cedric, safely securing her position in first place.

Cyril almost didn't find anyone else he was eligible to challenge. Thankfully, Rose managed to climb her way up the rankings, and with her help, he ended up with 10 points in second place.

In third place came Cedric with 8 points; there was potential for him to achieve a better score, but he wasted too much time during his remaining duels.

The three winners were called to come forward and receive their prize.

Standing in front of the cheering crowd Cyril didn't feel too special, but Rhamn was making all sorts of victory poses next to him. "This is only the beginning! Next time is first place!"

After saying more congratulatory words towards the winners, the main judge brought over three vials with dark blue liquid inside.

"It is time for that special prize we have promised; this is a 'Dragon's blood' potion. Drinking this will significantly enhance your physique, your mana will flow smoother, and your body will be stronger."

The three bottles differed slightly in their color; it looked like the quality of the potion received depended on the placement.

With the reveal of this prize, the students observing exclaimed in surprise; few even heard of such potions, let alone had a chance to see.

"If I knew there was a reward like that, I would've tried way harder."

"Yeah, why did they have to hide it like that? The competition could've been even more fun to watch..."

Many cries of discontent could be heard coming from the spectator stands; the professors had to interfere to quell the outrage.

Few expected the 'special prize' to be such a valuable potion; one could buy a small-sized mansion with a single bottle.

After the winners were given the 'Dragon's blood,' they were let out of the building ahead of time. The staff recommended drinking the rewards as soon as possible to avoid any accident.

"Well, it makes sense; there's no use postponing it." Cedric drank the potion without hesitation, and the others watched his reaction to see what would happen.

As he downed the vial, his expression changed—his face became twisted, and tears could be seen coming out of his eyes.

"Aahh, it tastes so bad! Gods, it's like I drank sewage water." He held his stomach with both of his hands in pain. "I think I need to lie down."

With these words, he found the nearest bench and assumed a comfortable lying position.

Seeing how he ended up, Cyril and Myra were in no hurry to drink this valuable potion.

"I say we go back to our dorms first; the process of changing our physiques will not go without issues." Her words made a lot of sense to Cyril. "Agreed."

Saying their goodbyes, they left the suffering Cedric alone and each came back to their respective rooms

"How interesting. Do you think it will actually enhance your strength?" Rhamn was observing the bottle in his hand.

Only one way to find out; either way, it shouldn't harm me, right? Given his already different physique, Cyril was not sure what effect 'Dragon's blood' would have on him.

He first took a shower and changed his clothes before he sat on his bed, waited a few breaths in contemplation, and finally downed the vial. "Here goes nothing."

The taste was not as terrible as he thought it would be; in fact, the longer he tasted, the better it seemed. He could see himself drinking it from time to time.

It reminded him of sugary drinks that are popular in the city right now; the sweetness was overwhelming. "I think it's pretty good."

Having finished drinking it, he waited a few more moments, but nothing was happening still.

Cyril didn't feel anything different about himself; he was the same as usual.

Did it fail? "Maybe it takes a while for it to work." Rhamn was similarly clueless.

They decided to wait some more to see what might happen, so Cyril took a seat before a table and started to read the Spell Making textbook, with Rhamn sitting on the second chair by his side to help.

His experience from today made him aware that only relying on martial arts will not be enough for the future. He needed to know a variety of spells to handle any situation.

Cyril was talented when it came to magic, but he didn't like how it made him feel when he used it—the sensation of mana leaving his body was unpleasant.

Maybe I should take a few spell books from the library... They spend about an hour studying when Cyril heard a knock on his door.

He came over and opened the door, only to find Edmund behind it.

His face was filled with excitement; this is the happiest he looked in a while.

"Hey there, second place, guess what?" By his smug look Cyril gleaned he must have received good results.

"I am in the top 10! Haha, this is great progress! There is no doubt; we must celebrate tonight! Get ready and let's go; we still need to pick up the girls." His mood was over the moon, and Cyril didn't feel like ruining it today.

"Sure, I don't mind, but Myra might not feel too good right now." While he was fine, Myra probably got the full experience of drinking 'Dragon's blood.'

Hearing that, Edmund's expression didn't change. "Don't worry about that; she met us outside the training hall. Myra did mention how vile the potion was, but she is good to go; you are the only one left."

"Is that so?" In that case... After gathering everything he might need, they left the dorm to meet the others.