Chapter 12: Spirit Sparrow
"Hey, have you heard the rumors?"
"Is this about that low‑mana‑affinity freshman?"
"Yeah."
"Hahaha! I don't know what got into his head. Maybe he's fed up with the mockeries and finally standing up for himself. Either way, I respect him for accepting, though he'll probably lose."
"Hahaha! He's stupid, in my opinion. Why accept if you know you'll lose? He even gave that three‑star freshman a month to prepare. By then, the gap between them will be huge."
The rumors of a wizardry duel between two freshman students, one probably among the academy's least talented in history and the other a de facto average three-star student, spread like wildfire across the academy.
Even some third and fourth-year students were intrigued.
As similar conversations occurred across the campus, one of the rumored duel participants was back in his dormitory room.
Hal eagerly locked the door and sat on his bamboo cot, snapping his fingers.
It was time to draw cards again.
Hal hadn't even noticed when it started, but he found the mere thought of trying his luck with the system's draw function exhilarating.