Manaless Mage

"I'm just focusing on my training… you know preparing for the ranking competition." Han replied. Although he appeared to be unfazed and calm, his mind and thoughts were anything but calm. 'Just go… walk away…' he kept repeating in his mind.

However, luck seemed to be against his side today as the grey haired boy stepped even closer.

"Don't give me that crap Han, we both that's just bullshit." The grey haired boy replied. His demeanour had completely changed, he sounded a lot angrier. He slowly released his mana pressure on Han as he walked forward.

Han gulped silently while trying to resist the pressure pressed against him.

Though a part of him already expected an outcome like this, he still hoped it didn't happen. Unfortunately, lady luck seemed to be against him today.

"W-what do you mean by "bullshit"?" Han stuttered. Though he was trying his best to keep up a strong front, the increasing mana pressure on his shoulders and knees wasn't making it easy for him.

The name of the grey haired student was Dan. He was a stage one wind Elementalist. Although his mana core was still in the first stage, it didn't mean he had the strength of an average stage one Elementalist.

He was already close to breaking through to the second mana core stage.

Dan was ranked twenty-fifth in the academy—he was also an elite student. He only got the twenty fifth position a month ago after the former owner of the rank suddenly transferred out of the academy.

If Han was still a stage two Elementalist, even double of Dan's pressure wouldn't faze him. However, because he was currently weak, Dan's mana pressure made his heart tremble.

A slight smirk appeared on Dan's face as he said, "These past few weeks, you've been strangely quiet, you're not the kind to 'focus' on training Han. And besides, it seems like you've been avoiding the rest of us."

Han gulped heavily when he heard those words. Everything Dan said was true, he was really avoiding the other elite students.

"That's not it…" He mumbled in a voice that barely seemed like a whisper. Dan had now released his full pressure on him and he was using every last bit of his will to stop his shoulders from trembling.

"And you know what's the most interesting… the amount of mana I sense from you has dropped considerably." Dan said as the smirk on his face grew. "What a coincidence, don't you think so?"

Han remained mute and simply stared at Dan.

"I heard about how you used magic spell overload, just like I thought you really got weaker." Dan said with a wide grin on his face.

"I challenge you to a duel Han!" Dan shouted.

Dan also heard the news about Han using magic spell overload. Although the academy didn't say anything about Han's condition, he knew there was no way that 'incident' didn't affect Han.

No matter how talented a person was, as long as magic spell overload was used, the mana core would surely weaken.

​ He saw this as a chance… his chance to finally advance in the academy rankings!

Dan had been trying to find Han for weeks, he wanted to challenge him and take over his rank.

The other elite students were more focused on the upcoming ranking competition so they couldn't care less about challenging Han. To them, it was simply a waste of time and energy.

However, Dan was different. He didn't care about the ranking competition, even if it was only two days away, he would still want to challenge Han and assume that new rank—even if it would be short-lived.

However, what Dan didn't expect was that Han would become this… weak. The amount of mana he could sense from Han was just a tad more than that of an early stage one Elementalist.

"I refuse your challenge." Han replied. There was no way he would accept Dan's challenge.

Though he knew sooner or later, the news about his weakness would spread around the academy, he still wouldn't accept the duel challenge.

He would rather wait till it was revealed 'naturally' than let it be revealed in shame and disgrace.

The duel of two elite students would definitely attract attention, every student wanted to witness the prowess of the top academy students—Elite students hardly duel with themselves, they didn't want to waste energy.

If people witnessed his defeat, he would become the biggest laughingstock in the academy.

Dan's eyes widened slightly when he heard Han's words.

"Who said you could refuse… huh?" He said while staring directly into Han's eyes. He suddenly released all his mana pressure, he didn't hold anything back at all.

Han's face squeezed in pain, his shoulders trembled slightly, however, he still didn't kneel down or give up.

Luckily for him, Dan was only a late stage Elementalist. Though the mana pressure of Dan was quite strong and it also affected him greatly, it was nothing compared to Trent's.

Han was quite experienced in withstanding mana pressures. As long as it wasn't too much too bare, he would be able stand his ground.

"I-i have every right to refuse… why don't you save that energy for the ranking competition?" Han said.

Dan gritted his teeth as he stared at Han. He hated how Han wasn't down on his knees yet. A sinister smile suddenly appeared on his face. "I don't think you understand…" He muttered.

His lips moved softly as he slowly moved his hand behind his back.

Low amounts of wind started circulating around his fingers, his uniform fluttered slightly due to the wind elemental mana accumulating close to it. 'Let's see what happens now Han…?' He mumbled inwardly.

A puzzled expression appeared on Han's face as he stared at Dan. He wasn't a fool to believe Dan sudden actions were normal and ordinary.

Just then, he sensed a sudden amount of mana behind Dan. His eyes widened slightly as he realised. 'Don't tell me he is actually chanting a spell…' Han panicked.

*****

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