Part 61: The Duel

Roxis decided he wanted to see which of us was the best today.

Video- “Roxis 5”

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I think this has been building for a while.



What’s wrong? Such a tired looking expression.
It’s almost graduation. There’s times when I get lost in my own thought.
Hoh? You feel sad parting with your friends?
…I won’t deny that. Compared to before, I have a lot more fun.
Hm. Good, good.
But… With regrets, I can’t graduate happy.
Regrets, you say?
…Right!
Huh, what’s wrong?
Vayne, I challenge you to a duel.
…Eh?
The date, tomorrow after class. The place, here… Got it!?

Anyway, I was pretty surprised.



What was that about?
No idea…
I new he was calm for a reason… Interesting! Indeed the man I saw!
His actions are too reckless. It’s your bad influence, I bet.
What are you going to do?
What am I supposed to do? What do you think, Flay?
Don’t ask me every single time! If you’re a man, decide on your own!
But…
You’re just surprised it came so sudden. But your heart’s already decided.
Yeah… You’re right.
That’s what I expected from you, Vayne! You are a man!

We ended leaving it up to Flay to decide what we’d do.



……
Well, let’s begin soon. Are you both ready?
Wait. How can we be ready if we don’t even know what the duel is about.
Don’t worry about that. As a witness, I prepared a worthy duel.
It’d be unfair if I chose, so reluctantly, I relied on him to decide.
Indeed! Relied!
Of all people, Flay…
It seems Roxis partially lost his cool composure…
You must win two matches for victory. The first task… Make a Cure Jar!!
A Cure Jar…?
Hoh…
But that’s so easy…
No. Because it is simple, an alchemist’s skills are tested. What a deep task.
Oh…
And the judges will be Jess, Nikki and Anna!
What? Us?
…Understood. I accept this important duty.
Wow, that’s a major responsibility there…

It’s odd, it’s almost like there’s some cosmic force that tries to minimize how many of us are in a scene at any given time.



Muu?
Things get too complicated when you’re involved. So this time, just watch.
Aww, you’re horrible… Fine then, Muppy, let’s go play over there.
This disgrace… I shall never forget this…
Now, let the duel begin!! Bring it to me as soon as it’s done!

I did the best I could with my Cure Jar.



I knew it’d have to be perfect to stand a chance against what Roxis would make.



Yes.
Th-thanks for your time…
…Yeah.
This is… Whoa…
Smell, texture, and taste… I see…
Hmm… They’re both…
If I had to make the choice…
I like this one better…
*gulp *
……
It is difficult to decide, so this match is a tie.
Phew… A tie…
What!? No way…!
Roxis’ has a little tweak I told him… How could it have been a tie?
Yeah, Roxis’ was more effective than Vayne’s…
Then, why?
It was bitter… Sure it worked, but it was so hard to drink…

I still can’t believe I tied with him in that first task.



An alchemist should never forget about the person who has to drink it…
Vayne’s medicine had an average effect, but it was really easy to drink.
Well… I only made it the basic way…
Nrhh… Sorry. My advice came out for the worse…
No, without your help, I would have lost… It was my error in the details.
No objections? Then the first match is a tie!
Phew… Good.
It’s too bad… What’s the next match?
This match is… Indeed! Man vs. Man, clash of the bodies, physical combat!
I knew this was it…
Combat, huh?
I shouldn’t need to say this, but both of you… Don’t dare go easy.
Okay…
When you’re ready, come to the Campus Grounds. We’ll be waiting for you.
Hope you do well!
Good luck to you both.
Try not to get hurt.

Everyone else left, but Roxis and I talked a bit longer. I understand now why he wanted to do this.



What?
I just wanted to know, why did you want to duel all of a sudden…?
…I’ve lost to you twice. You remember, right?
Yeah… But I had everyone else with me, so…
I’ve always wanted to defeat you.
Theofratus’ son who got into the school without even taking the exams…
…It’s only resentment, I know.
……
I somehow got forced into this workshop, and we haven’t fought since.
I only know of my two losses against you.
That’s why… I wanted to fight you one more time before graduating.
I want to know my own skill. And most of all… I want to win against you.
Roxis…
I’m going ahead. I’ll be waiting.
But, the past two years were fun. I guess I can thank you for that.
Huh…?
Hoh hoh. You’re so cute. Even your ears are turning pink.
Sh-You didn’t need to say that!
…Right!

I headed down to the campus grounds, where everyone was waiting.



Yes.
……
Um… Maybe we shouldn’t.
Oh, don’t kill the spirit. What we must do, is only watch over them.
It’ll be fine. You’re worrying too much.
If worst comes to worst, I will behead the other…
No, no! No beheading!
Anyways, let’s actually start now… Fight until you’re satisfied lads!
Let us, Vayne!
…Right!

Roxis has definitely been practicing.



Boss Battle: Roxis
Roxis doesn’t have that much health but he does hit hard, put an end to this with a Chaos Devotion quickly.

But he still couldn’t manage to win.



I won…
Ow…
Roxis…um…
Heh… Hehe… Hah, haha, ahahahahaha!
Roxis…?
I think he broke…
Ahahaha… hahaha…ahh--. I guess I still can’t.
Barely though.
Right. Barely… I didn’t make it before graduation, but I can win next time.
Next time…?
That’s right. I’m spiteful you see. I’ll follow you around until I win.
…I’ll be your opponent any day. Though, I’m going to win next time, too.
Then the time after that.
I’ll win that one, too. …I think you’re gonna follow me forever.
Wh-what!?
Heh…
Hah…
Ahahaha…

It’s amazing this ended like this, given that not too long ago Roxis had sworn to be my nemesis or something.



They’re friends now.
Well, it’s pretty close to what I aimed for.
You sure? It’s not that fun sticking around with just a plain talented kid.
I’ll just watch for the timing and mess things around a bit.
Hahaha, I shall happily lend you my hand when the time comes.
These two seem very close, too…
In comparison, they’re much more evil…