The seven ice rapiers struck me squarely in the torso. The attack left me with a serious wound. Blood flowed from the slashes inflicted by Irene. Everyone watching the match was shocked. They were shocked to see me injured for the first time.

  "I can't believe it. I've never seen Rid hurt before, but this time the Ice Princess managed to injure him."

  "You're right, but weren't the wounds pretty severe? Blood continued to flow from Rid's body."

  "Does this mean the Ice Princess won the match?"

  "That's not certain, because Rid is still standing and hasn't collapsed after being so badly injured. On the other hand, the Ice Princess looks like she can't continue," the students said, chatting among themselves.

  They were right, even though Irene had managed to injure me severely with her technique, she was extremely exhausted. She was even breathing rapidly, indicating she was exhausted. Even though she'd used many techniques against me before, she never grew tired after using them. But this particular technique seemed to drain Irene's mana and energy tremendously. It was understandable, as Irene channeled a significant amount of her mana into her seven ice rapiers to increase their power, and as a result, the attack successfully injured me.

  "Haaaahhh.....Haahhhh....Haaaaahhhh...it seems my attack just now wasn't enough to defeat you, Rid," Irene said breathlessly.

  "Your attack just now was powerful, Irene. It even managed to injure me this much. But..." I said.

  I held Irene's stomach with one hand.

  ~Mana Shock~

  I channeled mana into my palm and launched a shock attack at Irene. The attack was like an electric shock. Irene, already exhausted and drained of all her mana, was instantly knocked out by the attack. If Irene were in peak condition, an attack like this wouldn't have been enough to defeat her.

  "...Your attack just now wasn't enough to defeat me," I said, continuing my previous statement.

  Before Irene could fall to the floor, I immediately grabbed her and held her with my other arm. The students who witnessed the incident fell silent. They were all silent, but Mr. Alan understood what was happening. He immediately announced the results of the match.

  "The winners of this final match are Rid and Julie. With this victory, the Rid and Julie pair have achieved four consecutive wins and will earn a total of 3,000 points," Mr. Alan said.

  The other students, who had been silent until now, began to talk among themselves again.

  "So, in the end, Rid still won, huh?"

  "It seems it's difficult to defeat Rid, even the Ice Princess couldn't. But the Ice Princess deserves credit for being the first person to injure Rid so far."

  "You're right, even against the Elevrad leader and Princess Amelia, he didn't sustain any injuries," the other students said.

  I examined the wounds on my body, which continued to bleed. Then I used ~Camouflage Healing~ to heal my wound without removing the blood that had already flowed from my body so that others wouldn't know I could use recovery magic.

  "This is the third time I've been injured at this academy. The first was against Senior Vyn, when I was thrown against the wall and attacked by his artificial thorns. But I quickly healed myself while I was still covered in smoke. Then the second time was when I fought Princess Amelia and my leg was hit by a very sharp rose stem. I immediately healed my leg because no one else saw it. But this time, I was injured and everyone saw it. So it's natural for them to assume this is the first time I've been injured. This was my negligence. Negligence is indeed the root of defeat, and I almost experienced it."

  I was very confident that I could withstand Irene's attack just now, which resulted in me being injured like this. ~7 Ice Dragon Slayer Slashes~, huh? That was a very dangerous technique. I'm sure the technique Irene just used wasn't perfect, because if it had been, I would have been defeated by that attack. Moreover, if Irene uses a real weapon when using that technique, it will definitely be even more dangerous,"

  Then I used my other hand to heal Irene with my magic. I used the same healing magic I had used.

  "Mr. Alan, may I take Irene to the infirmary in the central building? Since this is the final match, I'm afraid it won't be allowed, as Mr. Alan has to conduct the closing ceremony for this second exam," I said.

  "The closing ceremony can be held later, ?your condition is the most important thing. I'll allow you to take Irene to the infirmary, but are you okay carrying her yourself, Rid? I mean, with your injuries like that, are you strong enough to carry her alone?" Mr. Alan asked.

  "It's okay, Mr. ?Alan. I can still carry her myself, but I might need someone else to help me with Noa. I'll ask Charles to carry her. She needs to be treated too," I said.

  "Okay then. Once you and the others are done, be sure to come back here. We'll hold the closing ceremony for this second exam," Mr. Alan said.

  "Okay, Mr. Alan. Julie, I'm going to take Irene to the treatment room. We won the match, but I'm sorry we can't celebrate together," Rid said.

  "It's okay, Rid. Your health is the most important thing. Hurry up, you have to hurry to the treatment room too," Julie said.

  I immediately left the training ground, carrying Irene to the treatment room. Before leaving, I asked Charles to carry Noa to the treatment room as well. Charles agreed, and Kotaro also agreed to help. Two people are better for carrying Noa. Meanwhile, Lily and Leandra insisted on going with me to the treatment room to take Irene. But I told them it wasn't necessary.

  Finally, I arrived at the treatment room, and several staff members there seemed shocked to see my body covered in blood. They immediately tried to revive me with magic, and the traces of blood that had come out of my body disappeared. Irene had also recovered and regained consciousness after she had fainted.

  Actually, when I recovered Irene myself, she immediately regained consciousness, but I told her to pretend to faint until she was recovered in the treatment room. Not long after, Noa was also brought to the treatment room. And several staff there were even more shocked to see Noa's condition, with chunks of ice stuck to her body. They also immediately healed Noa with fire magic to melt the ice chunks. Then, after we were successfully recovered and healed, we decided to return to the training ground to participate in the closing ceremony for this second exam.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  -

  Meanwhile, the other year students had also completed their second exam.

  ~Fourth Year Students~

  "I did manage to beat you in this second exam, but I'm not satisfied because I only managed to defeat you with the help of my partner, the leader. Let's fight again next time, Alisha," said Senior Gretta.

  "Okay, I accept your challenge," said Senior Alisha.

  "Why are those two always so excited when it comes to a duel?" thought Senior Vyn.

  ~Third Year Students~

  "Young Master Florian, he's won all his matches again. When he was in his first and second years, he also won all his matches in the second exam."

  "You're right, no matter who Young Master Florian is paired with, he always wins," said the two students, chatting with each other.

  Meanwhile, a student with a gold badge approached Senior Florian.

  "Young Master Florian, thank you for helping me in this second exam. I didn't even do anything in this one," said the student.

  "It's okay. Were you hurt in the match just now?" asked Senior Florian.

  "Nothing, Young Master Florian. This is all thanks to Young Master Florian, who has always protected me since the first match," said the student.

  "That's good then," said Senior Florian.

  ~Second Year Student~

  "Tch, I lost again to Nadine. How can she be this strong?" asked Princess Amelia.

  "You lost because your partner was weak this time, Miss," said one of her subordinates from the same class.

  "My partner has nothing to do with it because I want to win against Nadine with my own strength," said Princess Amelia.

  -

  Meanwhile, we, who had previously gone to the infirmary, returned to the training ground. Upon seeing Irene return with me, Leandra and Lily immediately headed towards us.

  "Miss, are you better?" asked Leandra.

  "Is anything else hurt?" asked Lily.

  "I'm fine because I've been treated by the staff. You don't need to worry so much," Irene said.

  "They know I can use recovery magic. Didn't they think about it if I used it on Irene? Was it because they panicked when I found out Irene had fainted and didn't think about it? It's my fault for not telling them about this beforehand. Next time, I'll tell them first that I've healed Irene so they don't worry," I thought.

  Julie also approached us.

  "Thank goodness you're both okay," Julie said.

  "It seems like no one cares about me, not even anyone came to me, even though I was injured in this match," Noa said.

  "Do you want to be cared for, Noa? Then I'll tell Lillian that you were injured in this match so she'll care about you," Charles said.

  "No need for that, or she'll just worry too much," Noa said.

  "It looks like you're all back, huh? Then let's gather around because I'm going to close this second exam," said Mr. Alan.

  We all gathered as Mr. Alan instructed.

  "First of all, congratulations to you all on successfully completing this second exam. And congratulations also to Ray & Leandra and Rid & Julie for completing this exam perfectly with four consecutive wins," said Mr. Alan.

  The other students applauded us.

  "Some of you may have failed this exam, but as I said, if you fail one, you can try again in another. There are still two exams left in this school year. The next exam, the third exam, will be held at the end of March, which is three months from now. You can prepare until then. While the exam is important, the daily matches you play every day during school are just as important."

  "After this, you can go straight back to your dorms or stay at the training ground to train. I remind you again that the academy will be closed tomorrow, and you will return on Monday. I hereby declare the second exam of this school year officially over," said Mr. Alan.

  We all applauded, and Mr. Alan left the training ground.

  -

  "Let's have another celebration to mark the end of this second exam," said Noa.

  "As usual, you're very enthusiastic about talking about this," I said.

  "Where do you want to do it?" Charles asked.

  "How about back at my dorm?" Chloe asked.

  "That's good, then let's go to Chloe's dorm," Noa said.

  "Do you want to come, Irene? Do Leandra and Lily want to come too?" I asked.

  "It's up to miss Irene. If Miss Irene come, then I'll come too," Leandra said.

  "Me too," Lily said.

  "Okay, I'll come," Irene said.

  "What about you, Julie? Do you want to come too?" I asked.

  "Me? Is it okay to invite me?" Julie asked.

  "It's okay, besides, the others don't seem to mind," I said.

  "Okay, if the others don't mind, then I'll come too," Julie said.

  We all decided to join the celebration. However, once again, Enzo couldn't join. Charles and Chloe had also invited their partners to the exam, but they couldn't come. After that, we left the practice area. When we reached the first floor where the classrooms were located, Noa decided to part ways with us to pick up Lillian first. Since Lillian wasn't in her class yet, Noa decided to wait in front of her classroom and join her later when she saw Lillian. Then we arrived at the shopping area and bought what we needed. After that, we went to Chloe's dorm. The celebration party began.

  -

  After the celebration was over, I returned to my dorm. Irene also decided to stop by.

  "Are you really okay, Rid?" Irene asked.

  "I already told you that I'm fine," I said.

  "I don't believe it. Take off your clothes so I can see for myself," Irene said, forcing my shirt off.

  "Stop, what are you doing?" I said, stopping her.

  But Irene finally managed to remove my shirt and look at my body.

  "You're right, your body looks fine. There's not even a slash wound," Irene said.

  "I told you. You don't really believe me," I said.

  "You're a person who likes to hide things, so it's natural that I want to check it myself. I realize that the attack I launched earlier was very dangerous and even caused you quite serious injuries. But strangely, there's no scar on your body. Is that all because of your healing magic?" Irene asked.

  "Yes, you're right, it's all thanks to my healing magic," I said.

  "I didn't expect you to answer honestly," Irene said.

  "There's no point in lying when you already know I can use healing magic," I said.

  "Tomorrow morning, please teach me this healing magic of yours. I think it would be useful for me if I could use healing magic like you," Irene said.

  "Okay, I'll teach you tomorrow, so could you please put your hands down and stop lifting my shirt?" I said.

  Irene had been holding my shirt up with her hands while we were talking.

  "Ah, I'm sorry, but you have a nice body, Rid," Irene said.

  "Stop looking at my body. How can a Duke's daughter talk like that?" I said.

  Irene then lowered my shirt.

  "Speaking of which, about your family's secret technique, ~7 Slashes of the Ice Dragon Slayer~, where did that technique originate? Were your family is a dragon hunters in the past?" I asked.

  "Yes, you could say that. You yourself have a technique related to dragons, right?" Irene asked.

  "Yes, you're right. I learned that technique from a book my parents left me, but I don't know what my parents were like. Well, if they had a technique like that, let's just say they were Dragon Hunters too," I said.

  "I see, then let me tell you about the origins of my family's secret technique."

  "Do you know about the Ice Dragon that lives in the mountains north of San Lucia?" Irene asked.

  "I've heard about it from Miss Karina, an Ice Dragon that lives in the Orokho Mountains, north of San Lucia," I thought.

  "I've heard about it, but it's just a rumor, right?" I asked.

  "No, it's not a rumor. It's true," Irene said.

  I was a little surprised after hearing Irene's words, because it turns out there are Dragons living near the kingdom of San Fulgen.

  "In the past, my grandfather and great-grandfather hunted the ice dragons that lived there because they often caused chaos and destruction in the surrounding area. This technique was used to kill them. That's why it's called that."

  "But my grandfather and great-grandfather didn't eradicate all the ice dragons. There was still one remaining among them, the leader. No matter how many times they searched, the leader was never found. However, what's certain is that the dragon still resides in those mountains, as they are still covered in snow and extreme cold. Back then, those mountains weren't the ice mountains they are today. The reason they became ice mountains was because the power unleashed by the leader turned them into ice mountains. And those ice mountains also affected the climate of the San Lucia region, which has become cold to this day."

  "I don't think I've ever told you about my dream. Defeating that ice dragon is my dream. One day, I will find and kill that ice dragon and return the climate in the San Lucia region to normal," said Irene.

  -To be continued