The Useless Prince Is A Gangster
Chapter 147. Rin Vs Berend (1)

Chapter 147: 147. Rin Vs Berend (1)

As Leo and Mori ascended the stone steps, the roar of the arena sounded like a flood, and the raucous applause of the audience reverberated off the walls.

Students’ voices were loud with excitement as they shouted, clapped, and waved from the crowded stands. Heads turned as Leo arrived at the upper level, and rumors quickly spread.

Leo held onto the iron railing, leaning forward to see the dueling ground below.

Rin pushed her staff forward on the arena floor, aiming a flaming burst of mana directly at Berend Laros’s face. In a clumsy roll, the gold-class giant dove aside.

Leo’s eyes went wide with astonishment. In the forest incident, he had witnessed Rin defeat an A-rank monster, but this was a totally different side of her.

Mori, beside him, stared, and muttered,, "I had no idea Rin could wield magic like this."

"Big Brother!" A voice cut through the arena’s noise, eager and familiar.

Leo turned, spotting Lucian waving from a quieter part of the stands, Velmera sat beside him. Lucian’s grin was warm, his hand waving them over with excitement.

Leo and Mori pushed through the crowded stands, dodging waving arms.

Leo sat next to Lucian, while Nimbus leapt onto an empty chair, his purple eyes fixed on Rin’s fight.

"When’d you roll in?" Lucian asked him.

"Just now," Leo said, his tone dry, as he crossed his arms. "Barely set foot in the Academy, and I’m greeted with this chaos. You two couldn’t stop that stubborn girl?"

Velmera sighed, her voice soft but heavy with worry. "I tried, brother in law, truly. But Senior Rin wouldn’t budge. She was adamant—said she’d fight Berend herself, no matter what."

Leo’s jaw tightened, a spark of frustration mixing with deeper unease. He needed to talk to Rin, but now she’d thrown herself into this reckless duel.

Lucian tilted his head. "Why don’t you stop her? She’d listen to you, Big Brother."

Leo shook his head, his eyes narrowing as he watched Rin dodge another of Berend’s heavy swings. "She’s in the ring now," he said, his voice low, firm. "She has to finish what she started."

Velmera’s brow creased, her voice barely a whisper, full of concern. "Rin’s mana reserves is huge, raw, but she never trained. Berend’s been drilled for years—technique, stamina, all of it."

Berend charged, his boots pounding the dirt, the long sword carving a rough trail in the ground. Rin stood still, her face strangely calm, her staff held loosely. The sword swung down in a fierce, bone-crushing arc, aimed to end the duel in one brutal hit.

The crowd held its breath, expecting a cry—but Rin’s form shimmered and vanished into a wisp of mist, disappearing like a puff of cold air.

"What—?!" Berend stumbled, his speed throwing him off, eyes wide with shock.

She was already behind him.

A cluster of sharp ice shards appeared around her, their edges gleaming like deadly gems. With a quick flick of her staff, the shards shot forward like a flock of hungry birds.

Berend twisted, dodging with frantic speed, each shard missing by inches—until the last sliced his shoulder, drawing a thin red line. He grunted, ignoring the sting, and charged again, weaving through the icy attack with rough speed, closing the gap with a roar.

Rin’s eyes widened, her calm slipping as the sword swung back for a final blow. But the ground beneath Berend shook, a deep rumble trembling the arena.

A huge stone fist burst from the earth and slammed into Berend with a thunderous crash. The uppercut threw him backward, his body tumbling across the dirt, kicking up a dust cloud as he hit hard, the sound echoing like a drum.

The arena went quiet, a stunned silence covering the stands. Then, voices exploded, wild and shocked.

"Did that rock just punch him?!" a silver-class boy shouted, his jaw dropping.

"No way—she’s bronze-class?!"

"Get up, Berend! Don’t let her humiliate you!" a gold-class girl screamed, her voice high with anger.

Rin exhaled shakily, lowering her staff, her hand trembling, sweat dripping down her face.

"Too close," she muttered, her voice barely heard, her pink eyes flicking to Berend’s as he getting up.

He staggered up, brushing dust from his arms, his pride more hurt than his body. His lip curled in a snarl, his voice thick with anger. as he throws away his long sword.

"Enough games, bronze girl." Golden mana burst around him, and a war hammer with chains materialised in his hand.

Gasps spread through the stands, students leaning forward, their eyes shining looking at his soul resonance.

"That’s his Hammer of Dawn!"

"She’s done for now," a girl whispered, smirking.

Berend raised the hammer high, and slammed it down, it was like a meteor hitting the earth.

Rin thrust her staff forward, a glowing barrier flaring up.

The hammer hit with a deafening CRACK, shattering the barrier, the shockwave blasting dirt and wind across the arena, ruffling the front row’s hair.

Rin was thrown back, rolling through the dust.

She gritted her teeth, pushing herself to her knees, her breath rough, her legs shaking from the effort. Blood dripped onto the dirt, but her pink eyes still fixed on Berend’s towering form.

He slammed the hammer into the ground again, the earth cracking with a roar, a wave of flame bursting out, rushing toward Rin like a fiery river. Heat scorched the air, reaching the stands, drawing gasps from the crowd.

Rin didn’t move. She swung her staff, her voice steady as she chanted a spell, mana swirling around her. Water burst from the ground beneath her, a sudden flood crashing over the flames, hissing loudly as steam rose, swallowing the battlefield in thick, blinding mist.

The arena went eerily quiet, the crowd squinting, leaning forward, their voices hushed with suspense.

There was a flicker of movement in the fog. Berend saw a shadow and his eyes narrowed. With a roar, he swung the hammer with crushing force, slamming into the figure, only to have it vanish into fog, a trick that faded and shimmered.

"Fuck it!" As he spun around, searching the haze, he growled.

His shoulder burst with pain. His uniform was stained with blood as a shard of ice buried itself deep. He spun, locking onto Rin’s form—but it was another illusion, vanishing with a taunting flicker. Before he could react—

CRACK!

A solid hit slammed into his ribs, the force stealing his breath. Rin’s real form emerged from the mist, her staff crackling with mana, her strike sharp and relentless. Berend staggered, coughing blood, his warhammer slipping in his grip as he fought to stand.

Rin’s pink eyes were cold as she stood over him. With a low voice and a steel-encased command, she said, "Yield."

Berend cleaned his lip of blood. He raised the hammer and growled, "I’ll put an end to this now." Its glow intensified, not only with mana but also with something deeper—a golden aura that covered the weapon, heavy and bright, the energy bursting out where the mist vanished.

Leo leaned forward and spoke in a low, quiet murmur that was barely audible over the roar of the crowd. "....Aura Coating."