Victoria’s eyes narrowed as she began to have an idea of the person Noah was talking about; after all, there was only a certain someone who had surpassed him.

"But now that I think about everything... it had never been in my nature to be below someone. And you, Victoria Frost—"

Noah paused while raising the index finger of his right hand to point towards Victoria.

"Your existence is now giving me the same feeling as that of your brother... that son of a bitch."

Noah uttered each word with clenched teeth, the boiling anger in his heart clearly visible for Victoria to see.

"It isn’t the best feeling to be compared to him."

Victoria was referring to Kael as she analysed the guy standing before her.

She could fight Noah now, even defeat him... but Victoria was currently debating whether she should engage in a fight or solve things with words.

After all, Victoria had no reason to fight, but—

Noah didn’t seem to be in the right state of mind for her to make him truly understand the consequences of his actions.

"Thrashing you would be the only thing that could possibly elevate my—"

Noah’s pupils dilated as he sidestepped before raising his sword diagonally against his chest, only for another blade to clash against its sharp edge.

"You may not know about it, but disciplining kids like you is a forte of mine."

Victoria’s voice was as soft as it had been at the start, with no change in its tone whatsoever.

Currently, the both of them were in an area that was quite deserted, with no students in her vicinity.

That was because it was still early in the morning and the lectures of all years were being carried out, though that wouldn’t be the case for long, as the fight that was happening at the moment would soon attract the attention of everyone out there in the buildings of the academy.

Victoria had to finish the fight before any sort of audience gathered around her, and for that she had to take the initiative instead of being on the defensive.

"Hahaha... I would love to be disciplined by you... Victoria."

Noah had dropped all pretense of formality, as the mana in his body surged before swelling his arms with strength beyond Noah’s rank.

Victoria too had channelled mana through her core, and now the raw power of a Gold 3 was crashing against a kid who was just a Silver 3... at least he was supposed to be.

But—

"Mana Blast!"

Noah used the same ability for the second time, resulting in another explosion, the only difference being this one was far more lethal than the last.

Still, Victoria wasn’t someone who would fall for the same attack twice.

The first time had been a surprise for her, resulting in Victoria having to go on the complete defensive, but now—

Erecting a sturdy barrier before her within a fraction of a second, Victoria stepped further into Noah’s range, making the latter frown.

The entirety of the blast was absorbed by the barrier, while Victoria stayed in the same place.

As for Noah—

The guy had been thrown a few metres away due to the impact of the blast against the barrier.

Victoria had used her Gold mana to implant herself into the ground in order to tank the aftermath of the explosion.

Noah, on the other hand, had no idea about it.

His own attack had now been reversed on him, and that too with a chilling efficiency that made Noah understand who he was fighting against.

It wasn’t only the difference in ranks, but it was Victoria’s wide pool of experience in live combat that had given her the desired edge.

"Cough... cough—"

Just as Noah coughed to remove the particles of dust and smoke that had entered his lungs, his eyes widened once again, as Victoria was quick on her move.

A silver blade tore through the dome of smoke before heading for Noah’s abdomen.

Using his instincts that had never failed him, Noah sensed the attack before moving his own sword sideways in order to deflect Victoria’s attack, but—

The silver blade never reached him, as a lightning-fast kick was aimed at the left side of his neck.

The movements were being played in an interval of a few seconds, but for Noah it was enough time to sense and respond to each of Victoria’s moves.

Bang!

Victoria’s kick was blocked by Noah’s left hand, and this time it was the latter who took the initiative, as Noah grabbed the leg placed against his hand before lifting his opponent into the air—

"You have a lot to learn... newbie."

Victoria’s voice echoed in Noah’s ears before the silver blade was aimed at him from above.

Clank!

Still, Noah’s physical strength wasn’t something to scoff at.

Even while having lifted Victoria with one hand, Noah raised his blade with the other hand and aimed its tip at the flat surface of Victoria’s sword.

Seeing her attack fail, Victoria twisted her right leg before freeing it from Noah’s monstrous grip, but—

Just as the dust from the explosion had begun to settle, a hand shot out before aiming for Victoria’s throat.

"Early celebration is the cause of doom... Miss."

Noah chuckled as he increased his grip on Victoria’s throat, making the latter choke under his immense grip.

But instead of the despair that he had expected to see on her face, Victoria managed a small smile before mumbling some incoherent words.

Reading her lips—

’Lancelot Ifermia.’

Gritting his teeth, Noah quickly channelled a vast amount of mana through his core and erected a barrier before him, but—

He was a second late.

Victoria’s spell had already formed its entire circuit as it shined with the mana flowing through it.

Boom!

Numerous ice lances formed in the air before crashing against Noah’s barrier, resulting in the guy being thrown away... once again.

"Cough... cough."

Victoria coughed before standing on her feet as she took deep breaths to steady her pulse.