It takes them a few more lines of conversation and provoking each other before they finally reach where Medea plans for their spar to happen, a place within the vast academy that the freshmen aren’t allowed access to yet.

"Now that I think about it, didn’t you say that only upperclassmen are allowed in this place? Wouldn’t it cause trouble for you to bring me here?" Only now recalling the words she said when she suggested this place as the location for their interrupted spar, Novus asked Medea, who just smiled confidently as if it wouldn’t be any trouble at all.

"Don’t worry, I got this~~" showing him a confident, no, prideful smile as she flashes a white-colored card at him, the lady just walks through the entrance of the facility, nodding at the person guarding said entrance as she points towards him and speaks.

"That junior is with me, Old Man Ricky," she announced to the old guard as she handed the white card towards said guard, the card being returned to her a moment later after it was scanned, and some student points were transferred without any complications.

"I thought it was accessible to everyone other than freshmen?" Having an idea about the fact that even this place is basically a rental, Novus couldn’t help but feel a bit curious, asking the lady as the two of them walked inside, heading towards one of the empty areas where they can test their strength as much as they want.

"Ah, yes, I said it’s free for all, but of course, there’s a limited spot, so the academy placed a pretty nasty fee for anyone planning to use this place..." Medea answered as a matter of fact, keeping the white card back on her sleeves again while the two of them continued their idle talk.

"How much?" the young man asked.

After all, despite not being all that sharp in social matters, he has enough decorum not to allow a lady to pay for everything all by herself, especially when in his mind, it is more him than her that will benefit from this particular proceeding as they expected.

’Hmm~ gotta give credits to him, he might be a bit dull, but he’s more of a man, or rather, a decent person than I thought~’ Medea remarked to herself as she heard him asking, however, she has no intention of sharing this financial burden with a junior, especially when she’s basically the one who forced this little duel upon him.

"Forget it, given the freshmen’s allowance, even if you save points for a couple of months, you will hardly be able to afford it." Hence, she answered in dismissal, her words intending to scare the young man who just pressed on even more as he felt like she was challenging him instead.

"Really, Senior Medea, how much?" he insisted, thinking that no matter how expensive the fee for the usage of this place is, it won’t be all that much to the point that he won’t be able to afford it.

He was proven wrong.

"Two hundred points for an hour of access, so we’d better make the most out of it." Seeing that this junior seems to insist even when he doesn’t know what he is getting into, Medea realized that this might be a good opportunity.

’Mn, a good opportunity to get a little bit back from how he’s basically verbally abusing me, that is~~’ she thought with glee in her mind as she replies those words, making sure to look at this always calm and collected guy, waiting for his mask to crack.

"Two... hundred..." and it paid off, a brief moment of shock was displayed on his face as she just so exactly turned around, allowing her to witness it as well, before he managed to press down on this surprise.

’You can get one really good meal in the cafeteria for two to three student points...’ he thought to himself as despite how good his life is being right now, not needing to worry about resources to improve himself like other mages would, he was still hit by poverty all of a sudden, all because he agreed to spar with this senior who entered the academy way ahead of him.

"Told you right? It’s real expensive~" she smiled, not the teasing one she is used to, but rather a satisfied one as if she just won on something big. That smile was kept on her face as she turned back once again.

"I’ll pay half of it once the points from the exam are converted into student points" he replied in a bit of annoyance as he saw that victorious smile on her face, still insistently refusing to let her pay for their use of the combat grounds.

"Where did you even pick that information up?"

"From a senior buying something in a shop."

They finally reached the location they are going to use, the epitome of privacy being displayed as amidst the plain, white wall that blocks anything happening inside, there’s only a single door entrance, and in front of it, a place where one can scan their card to open said door. What they meet is more than just impressive compared to how it looks outside.

Air changed as soon as he stepped inside, sound stretched far back as echoes that he should’ve heard immediately take a few more moments to return, making him realize that inside, the space expands, providing not only a training ground, but rather a true place for duels to be held.

It’s like a colosseum, only, there are no stands for any audience to watch on, as it is just an open field of dry, barren ground, this completely open, seemingly perfect for duel against mages, since they focus more on affinity with mana and creativity in chaining their spells rather than utilizing the environment to their advantage.

Of course, the Heavenblade Family, being mages, are still used to this style of combat as well; however, different from the others, their very unique magic itself forces them to utilize close-quarter combat as well, as it is where their unique magic truly shines the most.

Meanwhile, while Novus still doesn’t realize it himself yet, it is the kind of battlefield that is the most disadvantageous to his physical way of combat, after all, other than his physical prowess that overwhelms every single one of his peers there’s nothing for him to use to his advantage to close in distance against mages who would prefer not to be approached by anyone else in a fight.

"So? What do you think of it?" she asked, walking forward before finally stopping as she stands right in the middle of this barren field, the faint, controlled smile on her beautiful face unable to hide the light of excitement lurking deep underneath her gaze, one of her hands already on the hilt of her blade, her slender fingers impatiently tapping on it as if she can no longer wait for the exchange about to happen.

"Huge... is it Spatial Magic?" he asked as the follows her, standing near the center of the battleground as well, his question being answered by a nod from the noble lady.

"There’s a monster of a genius in the professor’s faculty who plays around with Spatial Magic like it’s just any other basic elemental magic there is, I heard it’s even more powerful and potent than usual because of a unique magic she awakened herself" she explained, a tinge of fanaticism in her eyes as she tells him of a certain genius within the professors’ ranks. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"Well, enough about that for now, we’re not here just to admire how big this place is." Snapping out of her daze a moment later, she pointed out as she started to prepare herself, putting one foot forward and placing all her weight on her back foot, bending her knees a bit as her free hand reached for the blade’s handle.

"Senior Medea is right." Novus replied as he prepares himself as well, instinctively bringing his arms just enough so it is totally blocking his front but still allowing him vision to see what his opponent is up to.

No warning or a countdown, no one even knows who moved first, only a loud clang that marks the start of their duel.

Blade and fist clash once again.