IRM Chapter 128

The Combat Academy was very close to the Magic Academy, located at the center of the seven profession academies. Central Street ran directly through the two campuses of the Combat Academy, and anyone attending the profession academies had passed by the Combat Academy’s gates many times.

Ji Chi was no exception, but he wasn’t someone with much curiosity in the real world, so he had never gone in to visit even once—after all, he would eventually spend several years at this academy anyway, so there was no rush to satisfy his curiosity.

Ji Chi found a place to change into the uniform Harvey had given him and smoothly entered the academy. At this time, there were many students coming and going, wearing uniforms of various colors but with identical styles and badges.

As they passed by Ji Chi, they cast quite a few subtle glances his way, curiously sizing up this tall man who carried a longsword on his back yet wore a mage’s uniform.

Because dual-profession individuals were still relatively rare at this time, and there weren’t many mages who were so tall and upright.

Ji Chi paid no mind to their gazes. He walked slowly through the academy, familiarizing himself with the buildings and terrain while pondering Harvey’s earlier words.

But before he could think deeply, his train of thought was interrupted by a sudden commotion.

A warrior in a red uniform ran out from ahead, incongruously draped with a white holy robe over his rear shoulder, currently pulling at another warrior and shouting loudly.

The holy knight roared at him, “Why didn’t you come to the church yesterday? Do you know how long I waited for you there?”

The warrior found him baffling. “When did I ever say I would go? What exactly do you want? I will never join the Church—are you trying to force me?”

The holy knight looked at him contemptuously. “The way you are now, aside from the Church, where else would be kind enough to take you in? Becoming a holy knight who believes in the God of Light is your best choice!”

The other warrior’s face changed at his words.

He had been injured during a recent mission and suffered some rather serious aftereffects, resulting in a pale complexion and weak body now. His warrior career had indeed been significantly affected.

However, this wasn’t a reason for others to look down on him. His face turned cold. “What choices I make are none of your business! If you could just stay away from me, that would be the God of Light’s greatest blessing to me!”

Their argument attracted quite a few onlookers. Students wearing various colored uniforms stood to the side, whispering and discussing.

“It’s people from the Church again. How many times this month? How can they still be so audacious… Isn’t the academy a neutral zone where different factions aren’t allowed to forcibly recruit members? How dare they do this? Aren’t they afraid the Enforcement Committee will come arrest them?”

“They’re probably being so bold precisely because Young Master Elliott isn’t at the academy right now, right?”

“But I still don’t understand why they’re so crazy… Won’t they get disciplinary records if caught? Is it worth it for the declining Church?”

“The Church isn’t worth it, but the resources are… I heard the Church recently increased the rewards for recruiting people. If you can find a full hundred believers, you can even get an excellent weapon! If you can find even more people, you can even be promoted to Knight Commander and enjoy higher status and compensation.”

“What? An excellent weapon! Now I’m getting a bit tempted! But is it really okay for the Church to do this… I somehow feel it’s a bit, uh, sinister…”

The two looked at each other and involuntarily shivered, inexplicably feeling a chill creep into their hearts.

As more and more onlookers gathered, the argument between the two became increasingly heated.

The warrior said impatiently, “Get lost! I’m going to train. If you keep pestering me, I’ll report you to the Enforcement Committee!”

The holy knight’s expression turned grim. “Heh, don’t try to pressure me with their name. I’m just one person short of my quota… If you keep refusing, you’ll definitely regret it.”

The warrior frowned. “Are you crazy? Actually, aren’t you the demons? How did the Church become like this!”

The holy knight released his collar, staring at him with a gloomy gaze for a long while, then suddenly curled his lips into a smile. “You really won’t agree? Fine, how about we have an Honor Duel then?”

Hearing these words, the warrior’s face turned pale, and he turned to leave. “Duel with whoever you want, I won’t be accompanying you!”

The holy knight sneered. “Have you forgotten? This month, do you still have the chance to refuse?”

The warrior froze, his expression suddenly becoming very unpleasant.

To increase competitiveness among students, the Combat Academy had designed two-person Honor Duels. People of the same profession could challenge each other to duels within a specified time period and earn victory points. Those with too few points might be eliminated by the academy.

The academy placed great emphasis on cultivating students’ will to not fear hardship, so each person only had three chances per month to refuse combat.

And just yesterday, the pestered warrior had already used up his last chance to refuse.

The holy knight wore a triumphant smile as he reached out and pressed on the badge at his chest. A seven-pointed star magic array bloomed beneath their feet, and a red magical barrier rose around the perimeter of the array. People outside couldn’t enter to stop the fight, and those inside couldn’t leave before the duel ended.

The warrior trapped in the magic array furrowed his brow tightly. With no other choice, he could only reach out and grasp the long sword at his waist. He couldn’t back down, nor was he willing to back down in front of such a person.

Even if the person he faced was much stronger than him, even if he had heard how cruel the person before him was.

Not only did the warrior look displeased, but Ji Chi carefully looked around and found that all the onlookers were frowning. Some had already lowered their heads to activate communication arrays.

Ji Chi had just arrived at the Combat Academy and didn’t yet understand the rules here. Even though he had sensed something was wrong, he didn’t act on his own and just stood to the side silently observing.

The magic array was set up at the very center of the Combat Academy, where people came and went. It attracted a large crowd in no time.

The two people in the duel had already engaged. The battle situation was almost completely one-sided.

The holy knight was well-equipped and physically robust. He seemed to have received considerable training, with exquisite sword skills and fierce techniques.

The other warrior was different. He struggled to block the holy knight’s longsword left and right. When the two weapons collided, countless sparks flew and scattered, hitting the barrier and leaving scorch marks.

Before long, the victor could be determined. The warrior was gasping for breath, constantly covering the wound that had opened on his left side below his ribs. Cold sweat poured down his face as if he was enduring tremendous pain.

At this point, some timid alchemists couldn’t bear to watch anymore and asked their companions. “How is it the Church people again? How many times has it been this month? How can they be getting more and more brazen… Where are the Enforcement Committee people? Won’t they come stop this? If this continues…”

“Shh, did you forget? Young Master Elliott isn’t at the academy during this time. The Enforcement Committee people are definitely slacking off while they have the chance.”

“Oh, that’s right. He disappears for a period every year, just like those other two. By the way, where do they all go…”

“I don’t know… But there’s no need to worry. When the young master leaves, he always entrusts one of them to manage things for him. If I’m not mistaken, the Chief happens to be at the academy today. He should arrive soon.”

“Chief Evan? Wow, he detests the Church more than anyone… Let’s stay far away so we don’t get caught up in it.”

They discussed the rest in very low voices that Ji Chi could barely hear. However, he wasn’t paying attention to them anyway. All his attention had been drawn by the bloody scene in the magic array, and his expression was extremely unpleasant.

The red magical barrier was already splattered with thick blood. The warrior staggered inside, struggling to raise his hands to block, but couldn’t stop the sharp sword edge attacking from various tricky angles.

The sword edge didn’t attack his vital points but carefully avoided all positions that would be fatal with one strike. With vicious intent, it sliced at the warrior’s limbs and back, one cut left, one cut right, like a malicious cat toying with a mouse in its paws.

Soon, the warrior’s body became such a mess it couldn’t be looked at closely. Blood poured from countless wounds on his body, pooling at his feet and covering even the seven-pointed star pattern of the magic array.

Ji Chi couldn’t watch anymore. He took the demon sword from his back, walked forward, and under the strange gazes of the crowd, gripped the sword with both hands and struck the magical barrier fiercely with the scabbard.

“Crack!” The red barrier instantly shattered into fine specks of light that scattered throughout the academy street.

The onlooking students were instantly dumbfounded.

“The magical barrier… was shattered?”

“Someone can actually shatter the Honor Duel barrier? Wait… those few could also do it, but who is this guy?”

Ji Chi coldly stared at the equally shocked holy knight. “What exactly is this duel? Must someone die for it to end?”

The holy knight was both shocked and furious. Holding his blood-stained longsword, he pointed it at Ji Chi’s nose and cursed. “Who the hell are you? You don’t even know what an Honor Duel is, yet you interfere in my business?”

He didn’t bother to explain, but someone nearby couldn’t help but complain quietly. “Of course no one will die. During combat duels, the magic array blocks fatal strikes and automatically determines victory… But what’s the point of deliberately torturing someone? Is this the compassion that comes from the Church?”

The onlooking alchemist had already helped the semi-conscious warrior away, and one who knew him even took precious potions from a magic bag for him to take.

Ji Chi glanced over then turned his face back to continue looking at the holy knight. “So, how is an Honor Duel initiated?”

The holy knight had his plan all laid out. He could use torture to force the warrior to join the Church, and could also use the time before the Enforcement Committee arrived to intimidate other students in the most conspicuous place in the academy, letting them know the consequences of defying him.

But this mysterious person before him had ruined everything.

The holy knight was very angry. He looked Ji Chi up and down again and, seeing he was still wearing a mage’s uniform, became even more furious. He said through gritted teeth. “Don’t think I’ll let you off just because you’re a mage! Even if we can’t have a duel, I’ll definitely keep my eye on you. You’d better not step out of the academy alone!”

Ji Chi looked at him for a while, then suddenly curved his eyes with a smile. “Why can’t we have a duel? Why don’t you try?”

The holy knight, as if having nowhere to vent his anger, actually slapped the badge on his chest hard. “You should be grateful for the rule that different professions can’t duel, otherwise I would have already—”

Whoosh—the red barrier rose up once again. Ji Chi lowered his eyes with a smile. He had just tried it, and didn’t expect he actually had a warrior identity… It seemed Harvey had arranged all the professions for him in advance?

Ji Chi had pretty much figured out the duel mechanism. He gripped the demon sword and glanced up at the holy knight. “Otherwise you would have already—what?”

The holy knight’s anger froze comically on his face as he stared at him in disbelief. “Im-impossible… You’re clearly a mage. Even if you’re dual-profession, the academy wouldn’t easily acknowledge it… And there are only two people in the entire academy with dual professions. Who exactly are you?”

Ji Chi raised an eyebrow. “Only two people? Let me guess—Saintess Coralie and Brandon?”

The holy knight’s expression clearly confirmed this statement. Hearing these two names, he couldn’t help but look around fearfully, as if deeply afraid.

Ji Chi was too lazy to continue talking with him. He said lightly, “Don’t worry, raise your sword. I won’t use magic against you.”

“But you should know this better than I do.” Ji Chi rubbed the blood on the ground with his foot. “Sometimes, a quick decisive victory is a form of mercy.”

Hearing him say he wouldn’t use magic, the holy knight stood up. Close-combat mages—as long as it wasn’t Young Master Elliott, the rest were all jokes!

He grinned. “Draw your sword!”

Ji Chi sighed and shook his head. “You’re not worthy.”

After speaking, he bent forward in a flash and in the blink of an eye appeared beside him, lightly bumping the scabbard against the position below his left ribs. There was no torn flesh, no spattering blood, but the holy knight’s face suddenly twisted, and a wail caught in his throat.

If the holy knight could also see health bars, he would discover that the health he lost was exactly the same as the previous warrior.

Ji Chi didn’t use an extremely bloody scene to demonstrate cruelty. Instead, he used the scabbard and hilt to tap and bump wherever there was an opening. It looked light and casual, but the pain the holy knight experienced was no less than what the warrior had suffered.

The onlookers were somewhat confused. There were no flashy sword techniques in the barrier. Every move Ji Chi made was very ordinary and simple, yet the holy knight was like a punching bag, pathetically dodging and wailing, suffering terribly.

Ji Chi had no preference for torturing people. He just wanted to let the holy knight experience the foolish thing he had done, so he controlled the health extremely well. When the holy knight’s health dropped to about the same level as the warrior’s, he put away his sword and stopped attacking.

How boring… Ji Chi coldly looked at the holy knight on the ground who couldn’t even crawl. If such a person didn’t provoke him, he wouldn’t spare him a second glance.

And was the current Church filled entirely with trash like this?

“Hey! That mage! Hurry and leave here!” An alchemist in the distance suddenly called out to him in a low voice. She looked anxious and pointed in the distance. “Quick! The Enforcement Committee people are coming soon! Getting involved with them is very troublesome!”

But it was already too late. A figure in a dark blue uniform appeared from around the corner, the badge on his chest different from ordinary people’s—more ornate and brilliant.

The alchemist girl’s face became even more unpleasant as she murmured. “It’s over. Why is it the Chief…”

Evan’s face showed no expression. His features looked warm and gentle, but his azure eyes were like cold ice, without a trace of excess emotion.

He slowly directed his gaze over and met eyes with the black-eyed mage standing amid the blood on the ground.

Ji Chi hadn’t expected to encounter Evan under these circumstances. Feeling somewhat uncomfortable, he put the magic sword back on his back and pulled out a smile. “Long time no see, Ev—”

The wind stirred up by Swift Movement Spell slightly lifted Ji Chi’s somewhat long bangs at his forehead, revealing his eyes full of surprise.

Under everyone’s horrified gazes, Evan rushed forward and embraced him, desperately suppressing his trembling voice as he said through gritted teeth. “If there’s ever a next time you leave without saying goodbye… I’ll ask Professor Joseph to give you a private several-day lecture on pre-departure precautions.”

Ji Chi: “…” I know I was wrong, please don’t.