My Magical System

The sparring match between Eman and Marco ended with a result that no one had expected. For a few moments, the training courtyard was wrapped in complete silence.

The spectators stared blankly at the two figures standing in the middle of the arena. Some still had their mouths hanging open, unable to process what they had just witnessed. Even the palace guards stationed around the courtyard remained silent, their expressions frozen with disbelief.

Nobody had imagined that an ordinary academy student could push a Hero to such an extent. More importantly, Hero Marco had been the one who suffered injuries.

When Hemina saw the puncture wounds scattered across Hero Marco's body, a memory immediately resurfaced. She remembered the subjugation mission.

Back then, countless Ratmen corpses had been discovered with the exact same type of injuries. Instead of being cut apart by swords or blasted apart by spells, many of them had died from mysterious holes that pierced straight through their vital organs.

The wounds had puzzled everyone.

At that time, nobody could explain what kind of weapon had produced such terrifying precision.

Now she finally understood.

So it really was him…

Her eyes warmed as she looked at Eman's relaxed figure. He had been the one who killed those monsters. The person she assumed had been slacking off during the mission had actually been silently eliminating enemies one after another.

Hemina couldn't help but smile bitterly. She remembered how she had doubted him several times. If Big Sister Mayu hadn't stepped forward and revealed part of the truth, nobody would have believed that it was Eman who had defeated the Ratmen Lord.

Even Hemina herself had been skeptical to believe.

Mina quietly watched Eman. Despite winning the duel, there wasn't the slightest hint of pride on his face. He simply walked toward Marco and extended his hand to wrap up the duel in peace.

Unfortunately…

Hero Marco slapped his hand away.

"I want a rematch."

His voice was filled with frustration.

"No." Eman shrugged. "That's enough for today. I'm already tired."

Marco stared at him as if he had just heard the biggest joke in his life.

"Tired my ass. Are you kidding me?"

He almost coughed up blood from pure irritation.

The person claiming to be exhausted wasn't even breathing heavily. Eman's breathing remained steady and calm. He didn't even have a single drop of sweat running down his forehead.

Anyone looking at him would think he had just finished taking a relaxing nap instead of fighting one of humanity's Heroes. The contrast was simply ridiculous.

Meanwhile, Marco's clothes were torn in several places. The difference between them was painfully obvious.

Seeing Marco's helpless expression, several students couldn't help but laugh. Even Mina covered her mouth as a soft chuckle escaped her lips.

Eman's blunt excuse was simply too shameless. However, her smile gradually faded. A complicated emotion welled up inside her heart. She was genuinely happy for Eman. His growth was beyond anything she had imagined.

Yet at the same time…

She felt inferior.

Ever since the Ratmen subjugation mission, her own strength had barely improved. She had trained every day. She had never skipped a single lesson.

Yet somehow…

It felt like she was standing still while Eman continued charging forward without stopping.

The gap between them kept widening.

She hated that feeling. What frightened her was that someday she wouldn't even be able to stand beside him anymore.

She lowered her head.

How can I improve myself?

Was talent alone enough? When she was little, she was praised as a genius. Future elites. And the family's golden child. But compared to Eman, she seemed ordinary. Or was there another reason she simply couldn't see?

She unconsciously clenched her fists.

No.

Feeling sorry for herself wouldn't solve anything. If Eman could become stronger, then she had to work even harder.

Someday…

She would catch up.

Meanwhile, the remaining Heroes shifted their attention toward one particular girl in their group. Their gazes practically screamed for an explanation. The girl wearing red-rimmed glasses immediately stiffened. She looked overwhelmed by everyone's expectations.

If there had been a hole in the ground in front of her, she probably would have buried herself inside it without hesitation.

"Emily…"

One of the Heroes called softly.

Before Emily could panic further, Eline stepped beside her.

"Emily, please."

Hearing Eline's gentle voice, Emily timidly nodded.

"O-Okay…"

She took a deep breath. Then she lightly twisted her wrist.

Puff!

A cloud of blue smoke appeared.

When the smoke dispersed, an old dark red book floated quietly in front of her. Its leather cover looked ancient, while strange silver runes glowed faintly across its surface.

The surrounding students didn't seem surprised, only Mina looked in surprise.

"A Divine Artifact…"

Someone whispered.

Emily carefully adjusted her glasses. The lenses suddenly emitted a faint crimson glow. She directed her gaze toward Marco's injuries.

For several seconds, she remained perfectly still.

Then…

An image appeared within her vision. It was as though her glasses had taken a perfect snapshot of Marco's injuries.

Without saying a word, she gently touched the floating book.

The blank page flipped by itself. The image immediately transferred onto the empty page.

Moments later…

Lines of glowing text slowly materialized beneath the picture.

The Divine Artifact had finished its analysis.

Emily quietly read the results.

Then her eyes widened.

"F-Flick Shot?!"

The others immediately gathered around her.

"What is it?"

Emily swallowed nervously.

"The analysis says…"

"Those wounds were caused by a technique called Finger Gun or Flick Shot."

She continued reading.

"It describes the attack as an extremely high-speed projectile launched through the user's finger using stones or any small objects and overwhelming physical force."

Silence followed.

"…"

"…"

One of the male Heroes scratched his head.

"Damn…"

"So academy mages can do something like that?"

His innocent question made Princess Liya and Mina exchange awkward smiles.

Neither of them knew the answer.

Because…

There was no such spell taught in the academy. Not even the combat instructors had ever demonstrated anything remotely similar.

In other words…

Eman had created it himself.

Or perhaps…

He had learned it somewhere else.

Either possibility was equally unbelievable.

Marco, meanwhile, still looked dissatisfied.

He pointed at Eman once again.

"One more round!"

"I wasn't even using fifty percent of my strength!"

Eman looked at him expressionlessly.

"I don't care. I already won."

Marco twitched.

"You…!"

Just as he was about to rush forward again, a tall young woman calmly walked between them.

"That's enough, Marc."

Her voice wasn't loud.

Yet Marco immediately stopped.

She possessed long dark hair tied behind her back and sharp, narrowed eyes that gave her an intimidating appearance.

She was Jessica.

"If you don't stop…"

Jessica looked at Marco with an emotionless expression.

"I won't heal your injuries."

Marco frowned.

"Don't interfere, Jess."

Without changing her expression, Jessica slowly reached out.

Then…

Poke.

She pressed one of the puncture wounds on Marco's shoulder.

"Aaaaaah!"

Marco nearly jumped into the air.

His glasses slipped from his nose.

"A-Alright!"

"Stop!"

"Stop!"

"I surrender!"

Jessica ignored every word. Instead, she grabbed one of his ears and began dragging him away.

Marco struggled desperately.

"Ow!"

"Jess!"

"My ear!"

"It hurts!"

The surrounding Heroes laughed at Marco's pitiful situation.

Apparently…

This wasn't the first time something like this had happened.

Eman watched the scene with amusement.

Jessica…

He remembered her.

Back in high school, she had been the daughter of the school infirmary doctor. She had always been calm and mature compared to everyone else. Then another memory surfaced.

Marco back then had been completely different. He had been an extremely gloomy boy who rarely talked to anyone. Unless Jessica was nearby, he usually kept to himself. He never initiated conversations and avoided crowds whenever possible.

Looking at the loud, hot-blooded Hero being dragged away by his ear, Eman almost couldn't believe they were the same person. No wonder he couldn't recognize him a while ago.

Gaining divine powers had changed Marco's personality more than he could have imagined.

Just before disappearing into the crowd, Jessica suddenly stopped. She turned her head toward Eman.

Their eyes met briefly.

"You…"

She spoke in a quiet, indifferent voice.

"You remind me of someone."

Before Eman could ask what she meant, she turned around and continued dragging Marco away.

"…"

Eman blinked.

He couldn't blame her. Eman was actually a constant customer to the infirmary where her mom worked. There were many times that Jessica helped her mother tending the student patients.

And yeah, Eman and Jessica met several times in the infirmary. However, the two didn't really talk a lot. Most of their conversations revolved around injuries and conditions.

And just like that…

The sparring match between Eman and Hero Marco officially came to an end.

The tense atmosphere gradually disappeared.

Since everyone was already gathered in the training courtyard, the remaining Heroes decided to continue sparring among themselves.

They wanted to test each other's abilities while also allowing the spectators to observe how Heroes fought.

Unexpectedly, Mina stepped forward.

"Eline. Would you like to have a duel?"

The gentle Hero smiled warmly.

"Sure. It'll be good practice."

The two girls entered the arena.

Unlike Eman and Marco's unpredictable battle, this match unfolded almost exactly as everyone expected.

Eline displayed outstanding marksmanship supported by overwhelming divine blessings.

Although Eline's movement wasn't of the seasoned warrior, her innate power as a hero was more than enough to overwhelm Mina.

Mina fought with everything she had. She refused to surrender easily.

Unfortunately…

The difference between them was simply too great. After several minutes of exchanging attacks, Mina was forced into a corner before finally admitting defeat.

She smiled bitterly.

"I lost."

Eline smiled apologetically.

"You fought really well."

The Hero group collectively let out a sigh of relief.

Finally…

Their confidence returned.

For a moment earlier, after witnessing Marco lose to Eman, they had honestly begun questioning themselves.

Were they really Heroes chosen by the heavens?

If Heroes could lose to ordinary academy students, then what was the point of their blessings?

Fortunately…

Reality proved otherwise. Eman was simply an exception. An anomaly that couldn't be judged using common standards.

Besides…

Marco hadn't unleashed even half of his true strength during the duel. It wasn't an excuse but the truth.

Standing quietly at the edge of the arena, Eman observed the remaining sparring matches. He carefully analyzed every Hero. Each possessed a unique Divine Blessing and Divine Artifact.

Some specialized in overwhelming offense. Others excelled in defense, healing, or support. Simply watching them provided valuable insights.

Among the group, the strongest was undoubtedly the young man with the distinctive apple-shaped hairstyle.

His physical abilities were exceptional, and his control over mana surpassed everyone else present.

Eman recognized him almost immediately. Back in high school, the young man belonged to one of the athletic clubs.

Thinking about it now…

Quite a few of the Heroes actually came from the same high school as him. Then they became classmates again when they entered the same university.

Life truly worked in mysterious ways.

Who would have thought that former classmates would one day reunite under such extraordinary circumstances?

As the sun slowly descended toward the horizon, the training sessions finally came to an end.

The group dismissed naturally, and the spectators gradually left the courtyard while discussing the unbelievable duel they had witnessed.

Even after the duel, Eman and Hero Marco's duel still lingered in spectators' minds. Those who knew Eman's identity as the young commander, couldn't help but feel proud. After all, unlike the heroes, which were summoned from another world, the young commander was a person born in the empire.

That means…

They have someone comparable to heroes among their side.

Their views of Eman grew higher.

Later that day, after all the duels had concluded and everyone began going their separate ways, Eman unexpectedly found himself walking alongside four young women, wondering how exactly he had ended up in such an unusual situation.