Chapter 122: The Battle Goddess and the Beginning of the Battle

Qianye Allen—that was the name of the petite girl Lube had encountered that day. She was not only the Seventh Princess of the Black Stone Empire but also hailed as the closest individual to a Battle God in the empire’s history.

Ever since she pulled the Battle Spear of Beana from the ground in the Imperial Plaza at the age of seven, she had become an object of national veneration. The Emperor of the Black Stone Empire had long been convinced that his daughter would one day become the avatar of a Battle God. However, when the prodigy of the Magic God emerged later on, the rumors about Qianye faded; no matter how much she had been touted before, she had ultimately arrived a step too late.

A girl of such illustrious status had come to the Rhine Academy of Magic naturally for Lube’s sake—or perhaps that was a misunderstanding. It would be more accurate to say she had come to see the only human in the world born without magical power. These details, which should have remained confidential, had been leaked by that goblin the day before due to a slip of the tongue.

Upon learning this, Lube could only sigh that fame brings trouble. He decided it would be best to keep a low profile and avoid going out for a while. Despite this intention, when he went to feed Aqua and Red Bean early that morning, he was surprised to find Red Bean, who usually detested strangers, being ridden by someone.

Judging from the rider’s back, it was not hard to guess that it was the very person Lube had been trying to avoid. The petite girl stared motionlessly at the lake’s surface, as if trying to see something beneath the shimmering water.

"What are you doing?"

"Looking for something."

A voice as crisp as an oriole’s song emanated from the girl. Although she was already seventeen, her voice remained as childlike as ever.

"You won't find anything other than fish no matter how you look."

Lube didn't know if Aqua had done something foolish to arouse her suspicion, so he could only sidestep the issue. Qianye glanced back at Lube and hopped off the horse’s back. Red Bean immediately scurried to Lube’s side, looking aggrieved.

"This unicorn attacked me."

Seeming to realize that Red Bean was complaining, Qianye explained to Lube why she had been riding it, her words as sparse as ever.

"I apologize, it’s a bit shy around strangers."

Lube knew Red Bean’s personality well. He had told it repeatedly not to attack humans randomly, but it never listened. Now that it had kicked an iron plate, he had no choice but to offer an apology.

Qianye nodded, accepting the apology. She then pulled a silver iron rod from her spatial storage and plunged it into the lake, stirring the water as if mixing mud. Lube could not fathom where such a tiny girl found the strength to create a vortex in the lake.

"Stop, why are you doing that?"

Lube grabbed the girl’s slender wrist, barely managing to stop her. He knew that if he didn't intervene, Aqua would likely be spun into dizziness.

"Because I want to."

"You really are self-willed..."

Lube found himself unable to refute her. Doing as one pleased was human nature, and in the absence of constraints, that was indeed how it went. Seeing that she could no longer find what she was looking for at the bottom of the lake, Qianye retracted her weapon and left.

After she departed, the lake rippled, and a disoriented Aqua surfaced, giving a middle finger in the direction Qianye had vanished.

"Lube, hold me~"

The mermaid then retracted her rude gesture and began acting spoiled toward Lube. Seeing that she was truly pitiful, Lube reluctantly pulled her out of the water.

"Do you know her?"

Lube had a nagging feeling that Qianye knew Aqua was in the lake all along. Avoiding the mermaid’s small face as it pressed against his, he asked curiously.

"Don't know her."

The encounter between Lube and Qianye was but a fleeting accident. After a day of rest, the bald giants from the Beana Battle God Academy couldn't wait to begin their friendly sparring. To them, watching the students of Rhine Academy of Magic get beaten down every year was a delightful pastime.

"The first individual match: Ximei versus Kelly. The match ends when a combatant loses the ability to fight or concedes."

In the academy’s courtyard, Vice Principal Shudall presided over the match personally. While they had won more than they had lost over the years, battling against battle mages provided valuable experience for the students to broaden their horizons and improve their strength. The same went for their opponents, which was why this activity had been maintained—it was a way for them to sharpen each other.

"You brat, I knew I’d run into you. Today, I’m going to beat you until you can’t find your teeth!"

Ximei looked at the boy of similar age across from him, his fury burning. The reason was that Kelly had encountered Ximei’s girlfriend, Ailian, while wandering the academy the day before. Since it was common knowledge to strike up a conversation with a cute girl, the two had naturally become rivals.

"A mere mage dares to talk big? It was just a few words with your girlfriend; the people of the Holy Empire are truly petty."

Kelly didn't feel he had done anything wrong. Ailian wasn't anyone’s property. Being young and hot-blooded, he couldn't resist the verbal provocation and immediately drew his weapon—a rod. For battle mages, the preferred weapon was typically a rod; although the tradition left behind by the Beana Battle God was the battle spear, in times of peace, blunt weapons were used instead of sharp blades, only to be swapped for spears or lances when a real fight became unavoidable.

"Earth Magic: Bottomless Swamp!"

One must not let a battle mage get close—this was a principle every student in the academy understood. Ximei raised his hand and cast a combination of water and earth magic. The ground in front of him seemed to lose its support, sagging and turning into a yellowish mire. The area was unusually large, thirty meters long and ten meters wide, separating the two and limiting his opponent’s mobility to the greatest extent. Ximei then took a moment to cast a magic shield on himself, casting a provocative look at Kelly.

"This is what you call a 'bottomless' swamp?"

Kelly let out a scornful laugh. To the astonishment of the onlookers, he sprinted forward and leaped. Just before he was about to fall into the swamp, he plunged his rod into it. The two-meter-long staff sank halfway before hitting the bottom, and using the principle of pole vaulting, he easily cleared the barrier between them.

Kelly had known from the start that with Ximei’s mana, it was impossible to create a truly bottomless swamp. Since he wanted to make the area large, he had to make the depth shallow to conserve mana. For a battle mage, it took not just strength, but the courage to trust one’s own judgment.

"This is trouble."

Ximei’s expression turned bitter. The opponent had seen through his little trick at a glance and had closed the distance in one move. Now was not the time to engage head-on, so he chose to cast a Lightness spell on himself and bolted.

"Too slow!"

Seeing Ximei run, Kelly pursued at a leisurely pace. Although Ximei had trained his stamina, how could he compare to a battle mage who trained their body year-round? This profession was twice as difficult to cultivate as a mage; while ordinary mages only needed to meditate to cultivate mana, battle mages had to train both their mana and their physical bodies. The immense power gained from such double the effort was no mere decoration. Everyone knew the Lightness spell, and with conditions being equal, Kelly quickly caught up to Ximei, gripping the end of his rod with both hands and swinging it with force toward his waist.