"…"
Leonel didn't know what to say.
This was the inner city. Everyone here thought themselves to be refined people of the upper middle class. Seeing a knight and a mage get into a screaming contest in the middle of a busy cobble stone street was definitely not the norm for them.
However, whereas they would scold and lambaste a commoner doing such a thing, none of them dared to offend a knight, and least of all a knight that didn't mind offending a mage.
Mages were rarer and thus more valued. Any knight who didn't mind arguing with a mage was definitely one with relatively high standing even amongst knights. As a result, instead of seeing these two as uncultured, those nearby were rather curious to find out just what could cause two individuals of such standing to act in this way without care for their image.
"What bullshit General Star? This young man is a born mage! Are you trying to waste his life away?"
"Nonsense. Do you know how rare General Stars are? Our Kingdom only has 31, and 13 of them are the Lords of the Round Table and His Majesty! I'll fight it out with you right here, old witch!"
"Bah, who's an old witch? This lady here is still very young! Say one more word of nonsense and I won't hold back any longer!"
Elys looked up toward the knight, Jarin, her hands on her hips. Like this, Leonel could finally catch a glimpse of her face and he had to say that she truly was a young lady. A gorgeous young lady, at that.
But, judging by the way Jarin kept calling her an old witch… he had a feeling there was more to this story.
At this point, the youths who had walked here with Leonel couldn't help but cast weird and somewhat envious looks toward him. By now, it was obvious to them all that these two were fighting over him. Even the crowd who had been standing around couldn't help but cast a few more looks toward Leonel.
General Star? They were all aware of how prestigious such a title was. And, even if they weren't, Jarin's words were more than enough to explain it to them.
"Old witch, are you really trying to fight me for a General Star? This matter will definitely be brought to His Majesty's attention within the week! Is this really the battle you want to fight?!"
"You understand nothing! Those bullshit captains know even less! They dare to give such a talent over to you block heads?! This young man could become a Three Star Magus given enough guidance and you're talking to me about a damned General Star?!"
Jarin's expression flickered wildly.
There were indeed 31 General Stars. However, a Three Star Magus…? There were only 7 of them in the entire Kingdom. Their statuses were so high that only His Majesty himself could order those old fogies around.
If things were like this, it was obvious which had the higher standing. But, Jarin was still unwilling to give up.
General Stars weren't just born like talented mages were. General Stars usually awoke later in life after one had experienced many things. One as young as Leonel… If he ignored King Arthur, this would be a first in their history!
However, Jarin was feeling incomparably aggrieved. How had the captains missed out on something like this?
Wait… How had even he missed it?
Seeing the confusion on Jarin's face, Elys sneered.
"You fool. How could you muscle heads be worthy of seeing through his talent? His Spirit Pressure has already reached the standard of a Three Star Magus! He just hasn't learned how to control it yet!"
Jarin grew ashen. Was such a thing really possible?!
"Dammit! Old witch! I'll definitely fight it out with you today!"
Jarin unsheathed a broadsword to his side, not even pausing for a second as he slashed out toward Elys.
"Damned muscle brained bastards! You think I wasn't ready for you?!"
An illusory aura surrounded Elys. Though Leonel was unaffected, the youths around him trembled, some of them even directly fainting.
Elys swept a glance over them and harrumphed. "Trash."
A wand appeared with a flick of Elys' palm. She drew a line in the air, sending a strike out toward Jarin's sword without a care in the world.
The result should have been obvious. A dainty woman holding something that looked like a tree branch. A big, hulking man swinging down a two-handed blade with all his strength. Which one came out on top was obvious… right?
BANG!
The reality was completely out of expectations. Both Elys and Jarin took one step back before they both moved once more.
Jarin charged forward to gain a head of steam while Elys retreated with light footsteps, her wand waving in the air with an elegant cadence as she mumbled beneath her breath.
Leonel's eyes shone. He was certain that what she was doing was invisible to most people, and even maybe invisible to Jarin, but he could see two Force Arts quickly forming to her back. At the same time, she sent out simple Force bullets to obstruct Jarin's path. All the while, she seemed calm and collected as though everything was in the palm of her fair hands.
Jarin caught Leonel's attention as well. His Force control was exceptional. Leonel could see that his whole blade was coated with Force, yet it was so tightly controlled that it was hardly perceptible even with Leonel's senses.
That wasn't all either. Jarin seemed capable of incorporating his Force into his every step, his every movement. There was nothing wasted and his actions carried a fluidity to them that could enrapture those with enough foresight. Though his actions seemed far less elegant than Elys' own, in Leonel's eyes, they both had the same amount of skill.
Their battle seemed fierce, their strength surpassing even what Leonel could do by a small margin. Yet, not only was there no destruction of property, even the people around seemed completely unaffected.
This was the true reason Leonel found them to be stronger than himself. This level of control… he most definitely didn't have it.
"Old witch!"
"Muscle brained rogue!"
'Should I stop them… Or…?'
Leonel was at a bit of a loss.
Just when he was going to try and mediate, he suddenly felt two overwhelming auras converging onto this place.. They were powerful to the point Leonel's blood ran cold. From the instincts he gained from the primitive man, he could tell that he would have to put his life on the line to fight these two…