Why is this happening to me?
I am standing there in front of that annoying girl and everyone in the College is watching.
Was this duel so anticipated?
Dammit! Why I have to accept such an unreasonable condition.
I need to do this fast. If I can't do this fast then I can say goodbye to my happy and quiet life.
Marriage? More like the worst case scenario for life. No wandering around, no going outs, no sleeping outside, and most importantly, no lollygagging!
"Fine... Moonblade girl, I won't be going easy on you."
"I never asked for you to do so."
"Tch! Are we fighting already, Judge!"
"Dammit! You two, I forbid you from harming each other. Ready! Fight!"
This has already reached this far... better finish it quickly.
After all, this is the only way to survive the marriage trap they set me up in last night.
Remembering last night gives me a headache.
********
[Last night]
"... if I lose to you Jonhild Firemane, I, Alina Moonblade, will be your wife."
"Pffft!" (Me)
"Huh?" (Nurina)
"....." (Hilda)
"Waitwaitwaitwaitwait! What?" (Jull)
"You Cat to be Kitten me!" (Nefertiti)
That girl said some crazy weird shit!
"Dafuckafuckenfuck is that? You, You, You, You think you can get away with such a prank?" I completely lost my cool.
"Prank? I made that condition a long time ago to avoid getting married without my consent. Auntie knows about it too! I will get married to a person with a good background and can surpass me in talent." She casually said.
Everyone looked at Hilda.
"I, I knew! But I didn't think she was that serious!" Hilda's face turned pale she then looked at Alina. "Are you serious?"
"Dead serious!" Alina said as it was natural. "Originally, when I came to Winterhold to look for someone that goes by the name Darth Vader. He managed to defeat me at Mount Anthor so I thought I could find anything about him in Winterhold but no one knew anything at all."
I slapped my forehead and covered my eyes!
This is not happening
This girl is nuts after all. Why do I always have to deal with girls that have mental problems?
"Hmmm!" Nurina was thinking about something. "If we compare Jon's and Alina's talents, they will come very close to each other. It is hard to tell who is more talented but Jon has the lead in creativity."
Hmm? What are you talking about? Is this the time to compare our talents now?
"Maybe you are right! But Alina's speed of improvement is astonishing." Hilda said. "She may get lazy sometimes but give her the right motivation and she will create wonders!"
"Okay, what's going on here?" I was a bit confused.
"I think Master and Auntie are right. Even without comparing talents, the identity of Jonhild Firemane is already high enough to outshine mine. Even without revealing his real identity, Jon Dare is the disciple of an Arch-Wizard and a new powerhouse in Skyrim, that of course, if he managed to defeat me."
You are annoying!
"I don't agree! I am not accepting that whatever 'become your wife' thingy. Offer something else and go look for that Darth Vader away." I said.
"Huh? Why?"
"Because you are winning either way like that. You will either become the legacy disciple of an Arch-Wizard or get to marry the most handsome young man in Tamriel."
"Huh? Why are you talking like you are not going to get any benefits here? You will get to marry the daughter of a very influential family and also the most beautiful young lady in Tamriel."
"Ain't you a little bit too arrogant? Calling yourself the most beautiful young lady in Tamriel!"
"Right back to you!"
""Grrrrr!"" We were growling and staring daggers at each other.
"I think I have a solution!" The one who was silent all the time finally has spoken.
"Jull?"
Jull came and stood beside me at the table.
"Excuse my rudeness, Lady Nurina, and Lady Hilda! I want to say that I have seen Alina's magic and I must say it is very hard to deal with, but I am more familiar than anyone else with Jon's current strength. My suggestion is... if Alina can withstand Jon for five minutes, then she can get to apply her condition. Other than that... her loss."
Genius!
"Agreed!" I instantly agreed with Jull. Five minutes are more than enough.
"Agre..." Alina was about to agree but...
"Disagreed!" That was Nurina.
Eh! Why?
"Jullanar! Oh, little naive Jullanar! Don't even think I don't know what you are planning..." Nurina said with a grin.
Everyone looked at Nurina questioning what she has realized.
"... in a prolonged fight against Jon! Very few people will be able to take advantage against him, Even some Masters don't have a chance against him that way! Alina will run out of Magicka midway. Everyone in the College is well aware of Jon's ridiculous amount of Magicka."
Hmmm! She is right.
"So what do you suggest?" I asked.
"We will go with Jullanar's suggestion! With a small tweak."
Okay!
"Let's make it one minute..."
"Eeeeh! Come on!" My crisis sensor reacted immediately.
"... but..." Nurina continued. "... it will be an all-out fight! You two can use anything from weapons to even the magical methods other than casting!"
"....." Everyone went silent for a second.
"But, but that won't be a suitable fight for being your legacy disciple at all." I said.
"Well, it is my legacy and I am the one to decide!"
Good grief!
********
[Present Time]
And that's how we reached this moment!
In order to avoid some weird marriage arrangement and keep my position as Nurina's Legacy Disciple, I have to defeat Alina in a minute or less.
We were standing in the northern side of the Hall of the Elements, this place was the usual place for duels as it is wide enough to hold a basketball match in.
Between me and Alina, Hilda was standing. She wasn't in her usual armor but in a dark fur clothing. She was saying a lot of match instructions mixed with some motherly ones.
I and Alina kept nodding every time she speaks. Honestly, I felt happy to see Hilda acting like that. Nurina, on the other hand, was making a fox smile for some reason. I don't know what is she planning but it doesn't feel good about it.
Other than Nurina, most of the people I know and a lot of other students were here.
I could see that Shinobi-like guy, the one who acts as Alina's attendant, Skywalker. There were the guys from the creation club as well as Rusning and his group of Faralda's disciples. The heads of the departments were all here except for that grumpy librarian. The most surprising enough was Savos Aren, the see no evil Arch-Mage, he was sitting there and beside him was a strange looking man dressed in a white robe and funny looking hat as was acting so high and mighty.
Not that any of it matters anyway. I was facing Alina who was in her red dress and face veil. She also was holding a black staff that can use Wind Magic.
I myself was wearing the 'Savior's Hide' that got some new extra modification by Wulfur such as a fur hood and extra pieces of chain-mail. My Skyforge Sabre was on my side, and Fire Magic and Conjuration Staves were on my back.
"This duel is between Jon Dare and Alina Moonblade for the title of 'The Legacy Disciple of Arch-Wizard Nurina Aren'. In the case of Alina's victory, she will take the title. In the case of Jon's victory, he gets to keep the title and gains the benefits of a commitment Alina swore on herself. In case of Jon's victory under the time limit of one minute, he gets to keep the title and can free Alina from her commitment if he wishes. The rules are clear, no lethal magic to be used, no harming one another. I swear on the bone of Shor, if one of you brats..."
"Cough!" Nurina made a fake cough.
"... oh, I got carried away! Anyway, you know what I want to say... Now, I don't know how things get done here but by traditions, the challenger presents themselves first. Alina!"
Alina nodded and was about to speak but...
"May I present the young lady of our house?" The man who was sitting beside Arch-Mage Savos Aren stood up from his place and walked beside Alina.
"Steward Ornulf! I don't really think this matter needs..."
"Ahaha! The Young Kady is right! This small fight is nothing to you anyway. But the formalities must be kept, so please allow me..."
The man turned around faced me with a smug grin then turn to the crowd...
"Venerable mages and students of the College, I present to you challenger for the title. She is Alina 'Crimson Moon' of Clan Moonblade, Favored Child of Kyne, Seer of Fates, Breaker of Lies, Lady of the Storms, and the undisputed victor of this duel." He then paused and looked at me. "The Young Lady kindly accepts your surrender."
"....." Everyone was speechless.
This man... he is so thick-skinned.
Despite the impressive long introduction of Alina, I don't understand why he had to ruin it like that.
I was provoked to the limit!
The crowd was also provoked but no one dared to utter a word against the man who was just sitting beside the Arch-Mage.
The people who were irradiated the most were Nurina and Hilda.
The man took a deep breath and spoke once again. "To tell the truth, I wasn't really thinking it would be such big deal when I took the liberty to arrange this duel between the Young Lady and a nobody, but to see that even the Arch-Mage is attending the duel made me feel guilty for wasting his precious time, everyone here knows the result of the match already, so please, don't waste our time, young man."
"....."
Oh boy!
This man's provocation skill is godly. I can remember the last time I was provoked like that was when Wulfur and Jon Battle-Born got arrested for a day during the tournament.
I can see that Nurina and Hilda are about to jump and beat this guy up, Savos Aren was covering his face with his palm and sighing while Alina was holding her head.
This guy was surely living under a rock the past couple of days.
Well, I'll just ignore him!
I'll ignore him and just don't think about it.
I am not angry at all.
Anger is a sin!
"Fufufu!" A laugh leaked out and I was about to speak but...
"Jon, I'll introduce you." A voice came from behind me.
I turned around and saw Jullanar coming. She stood right in front of me facing that clown.
I couldn't see her facial expressions but I am sure she was grinning.
She then faced the crowd and pointed at me.
A beautiful wide smile appeared on her face. Her lips parted from each other and her clear voice sounded.
"This is Jon Dare!"
The place became silent.
"...... BOSS!"
"CLUB PRESIDENT!"
"""JON DARE!"""
""""""Jon! Jon! Jon! Jon! Jon!""""""
Jullanar turned to me with a smile.
Hahaha!
How in Oblivion can I be angry after seeing that smile?