Chapter 50
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: The Final Showdown
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With Almon and Ludger eliminated, the situation turned in their favor more easily than expected.
“This is no time for us to be fighting amongst ourselves. Pernyan and Ruina took out Almon, which puts them in the lead!”
Under Carlo's lead, the remaining members of Team 1 and Team 2 formed an alliance and charged toward Team 3's formation.
But just after they departed, leaving only a small contingent behind, Team 3—having returned as quickly as possible after eliminating Almon—launched a surprise attack on their camp.
“Pernyan? Ruina?”
“What are you doing here?”
“Our team members just left to attack your camp!”
“I know. That's why we came here.”
Capturing the flag of the completely unguarded Team 1 was even easier than expected.
“We're heading back to our camp.”
Their timing was impeccable.
Dozens of lightning bolts rained down in succession, and the relentless assault from the enraged students had left their camp half in ruins.
Quite a few students had already been eliminated.
“Pernyan…!”
Carlo, the leader of Team 2, ground his teeth.
“You coward…!”
“You're not one to talk.”
“I challenge you to a one-on-one magic duel. If you have any pride as a mage, you'll accept.”
“You seem to be mistaken about something.”
Pernyan shrugged.
“I'm not a mage; I'm a merchant. And a proud merchant always pursues efficiency.”
Meaning, there was absolutely no reason for him to engage in a one-on-one duel with Carlo Deneve.
“Ruina.”
—!
With a resounding crack, the barrier protecting Carlo wavered. A bolt of lightning pursued its target, only to be blocked by a rock that shot up from the ground.
The battle had begun.
* * *
The ideal collaboration between a knight and a mage involves the knight holding the front line while the mage unleashes spells from the rear.
A simple yet powerful combination.
However, its simplicity meant that if the front line couldn't hold, it would crumble with astonishing speed.
Team 2 had the top mage in the department, but unfortunately, they had no knight capable of stopping Ruina.
And if Carlo tried to handle Ruina himself, the meddlesome Pernyan was too much of a nuisance.
A chaotic melee ensued, and in such a situation, knights held the advantage over mages. Having left some of their members at their camp, Team 2 was also short on numbers.
In the end, Carlo had no choice but to retreat after losing four of his team members.
“Should we give chase?”
“Hold on. We need a moment to regroup.”
From their camp to Team 1's, then to Team 4's, and finally back through Team 1's to return home.
They had fought fierce battles at every turn, and most of the team members were utterly exhausted.
They needed even a brief moment of rest.
“Won't giving them time be a problem?”
“It's a risk we'll have to take.”
Pursuing them now would only result in heavy losses for their side as well.
Besides, the enemy had members who had been resting comfortably and preparing their defenses.
After sending out a small scouting party and taking a short, twenty-minute break, Pernyan gathered his team for a meeting.
“What's our best move?”
“Do we really need to go to them?”
“Right. Defending our camp gives us a huge advantage. I don't think we need to risk a disadvantage.”
“But what if they don't make a move either?”
“It'll become a battle of patience, then.”
No one wanted to walk willingly into the enemy's camp. Pernyan agreed.
“Alright, first, let's shore up our defenses and…”
Just then, text appeared on everyone's map.
【The rules have been partially changed.
First, the stage will shrink.
Second, the flag must be held by a designated team member. If the flag bearer is eliminated, the entire team is eliminated.】
The field depicted on the map began to shrink rapidly.
【You have left the field. Return to the field within the time limit.】
【Time remaining: 30:00】
“Looks like we weren't the only ones with that idea.”
“…”
“…”
“First, let's decide on a flag bearer.”
* * *
Their luck was bad.
The shrinking field centered closer to Team 2's camp, forcing the exhausted team members to move inside without a moment's rest.
That slight difference, combined with other small misfortunes, culminated in a disaster for Pernyan.
“I've been waiting for you, Pernyan.”
Having designated Gert Grotz as the flag bearer, Pernyan and his team arrived at the new field only to find their enemies already in formation.
“You know, Pernyan? I'm the top student, not you.”
He should have realized sooner that Carlo's incomprehensible words were just a tactic to buy time.
“I never claimed to be the top student.”
“Right, that's always been your way. Always standing back, observing everything with those eyes that seem to know it all.”
Carlo's eyes gleamed.
“But I doubt you can afford to be so relaxed this time.”
He raised his staff.
“This time, I've won. You've walked right into your own grave.”
Twenty mages stood with him.
“Grave? Don't be ridiculous…”
Pernyan let out a dry laugh as he sensed the immense flow of mana converging around Carlo.
Neither Carlo nor any of the other mages in Team 2 could wield that much mana alone. It meant only one thing.
“Don't tell me it's joint magic.”
A magic circle links the mages, amplifying their power to create a larger, more potent spell.
The more mages participating and the more mana invested, the stronger the firepower. But it didn't only have advantages.
Combining the power of multiple casters required complex calculations, incantations, and magic circles. Naturally, the resulting exhaustion lasted for quite some time.
“That's right. We have to settle this, don't we?”
This meant it was normally unsuitable for an exam where multiple teams were competing.
Unless, of course, the other two teams had already been completely eliminated, as they were now.
“Too bad for you, though. You've figured it out.”
Joint magic also had the drawback of requiring a very long preparation time.
This meant there was still time before the spell could be unleashed.
“Ruina! Stop them!”
“Not so fast!”
—!
Ruina charged toward Carlo, but her sword was intercepted by Alia.
“Charge!”
“Kill them all!”
“Joint magic? What a cheap trick!”
The students charged, clashing with Team 2, who held the front line. The battle, which seemed evenly matched at first, quickly tipped.
It was only natural. One side had its mages occupied with preparing the joint spell.
But then, something unexpected happened.
“Everyone, fall back!”
The preparation for the joint magic was completed far more quickly than Pernyan had anticipated.
“…How?”
“You're not the only one who uses Mana Stones.”
“Scatter!”
Pernyan immediately slammed his staff into the ground. A wave of mana spread through the earth.
Rumble—
The field shook as if an earthquake had struck. A massive rock wall rose, and then another.
Pernyan hastily swallowed a mana potion and raised the earth once more. In the sky above, a massive dark cloud had already formed.
Crackle—
An ominous sound filled the air.
“This is the end, Pernyan.”
“Wait! A spell of this magnitude could kill people!”
“Ruina Bercefe, that's not my problem. The teaching assistants and professors are here to prevent that.”
He wasn't wrong.
In that moment.
“The top student of the Magic Department this time will be me. Just like always.”
─────!
A flash of light, more akin to divine punishment than a lightning bolt, engulfed the world.
Kuuuuugggggg—
The ground collapsed.
* * *
“…”
Pernyan pushed himself up.
“Carlo, that damn bastard.”
Team 2's joint magic had smashed straight through five layers of rock walls.
His defensive magic circle had been shattered, and the protective artifacts covering his body had lost their light after serving their purpose.
“…One of them is completely destroyed. Do you know how much this cost…?”
Still, thanks to them, his map was intact. So was Ruina.
But the aftermath caused the ground to collapse, and Pernyan had fallen along with Ruina.
Other students had been swept away as well, but he had no time to worry about them all.
“Ruina, are you alright?”
“I'm fine.”
Contrary to her words, Ruina's face was quite pale.
“But the others…?”
“I don't know. I never knew a place like this existed here.”
The cavern was vast. Piles of dirt and rock from the collapsed ground were scattered everywhere.
“First, we need to get out of here.”
“Yes.”
As Ruina dragged her aching body to assess the situation, she suddenly froze.
“What is it?”
“There's something where I was lying.”
“Something?”
Pernyan's gaze followed Ruina's.
There really was something there. A faint light glimmered from between the mounds of fallen earth.
Pernyan carefully dug it out.
It was a door. A metal door set into the floor, leading underground.
“…This is?”
It wasn't very large, but its surface was engraved with the crest of an eagle.
No, it wasn't an eagle.
“Armian…?”
It was the symbol of the Armian family, the Saint Bird, often called the White Eagle due to its similar appearance.
A sacred bird with two pairs of wings.
“It really is the Armian crest. Why would it be down here…?”
Ruina looked puzzled, but Pernyan instantly understood what this meant.
“…This madman, with his obsession for all things underground.”
A provision.
A provision from the first emperor.
How could he have placed all his provisions underground? Was he a knight or an earth mage?
‘No, wait, one was on an island. Anyway, that Aint. He should have been quicker about finding all of these…!’
Regardless, there was no time to investigate it further right now.
“Anyone there?!”
“Is everyone okay?!”
“Someone help me!”
Hearing the shouts from all around, Pernyan collected his thoughts.
‘I can't let anyone else have this. It can't be revealed yet.’
Aint had to be the one to find it, no matter what.
Pernyan drank a mana potion and drew a magic circle with a reagent.
“What are you doing?”
“A concealment circle. I'm going to make sure no one can find this.”
“Why…?”
“I'll tell you why later. For now, we need to rescue our team members.”
“Understood.”
After completing the magic circle, Pernyan and Ruina began searching the area.
“Are you alright?”
“Th-thank you, Ruina.”
“Pernyan…!”
“I-I'm alive!”
They managed to find a total of seven students. However, the maps of five of them were burned.
“We survived, thanks to the artifacts you gave us.”
“Same here.”
The two survivors were the flag bearer, Gert, and his partner, Neria. Distributing the artifacts in case of an emergency had been a brilliant move.
“Those crazy bastards…! Who uses joint magic in a test like this!”
“Aargh, my leg!”
The rest had injuries like broken arms or legs, but there were no life-threatening casualties or deaths.
It seemed the magic embedded in the maps was more powerful than Pernyan had thought.
“Pernyan. Do you have any potions?”
“Potions?”
“Shouldn't we treat their injuries?”
“There's no need to use potions.”
“Pardon?”
He sensed people approaching.
“Where is everyone!”
“I sense life signs over there!”
It was Professor Grad and three teaching assistants.
“…Stingy.”
“I simply refuse to make unnecessary expenditures. Get ready.”
“Ready for what?”
“The exam isn't over yet.”
Because we're still alive.
* * *
“I've won…!”
Carlo was ecstatic.
Just a short while ago, he never would have imagined feeling this way over a victory against someone like Pernyan.
Tenth place. It was certainly high, but compared to him, the top student, Pernyan was clearly an inferior mage.
That's what he had thought. But he was wrong. Pernyan had been hiding his true skill and was now breathing down his neck.
He couldn't let his guard down. He couldn't let his top position be stolen.
Especially since Ludger Schwaben was both interested in and wary of Pernyan.
That's why this victory was all the more precious.
He had lost in the practical exercise and fallen behind in the midterm exam.
“That's right. We won…!”
“I can't believe we actually took first place!”
“But those guys who fell... you think they're okay?”
“It's not over yet! Take care of the ones who are down!”
“We just need to find Team 3's flag bearer!”
The Magic Department students were too exhausted from the joint magic to move, so the Knight Department students began searching for the scattered members of Team 3 to finish them off.
About half of them had already been eliminated with burned maps, but there were survivors.
But that was all. They were eliminated without putting up any real resistance.
Carlo was certain of his victory.
Rumble—
If only a pillar of rock hadn't shot up from the collapsed ground.
If only a knight and a mage hadn't been standing atop it.
“Ruina!”
“Yes!”
Ruina Bercefe. The knight who, aside from Almon, had no equal among the second-year Knight Department students, charged straight for Carlo.
She was fast. So fast that the Team 2 knights scattered around couldn't even follow her.
“You son of a…!”
Those were his last words.
The map's barrier blocked the sword strike, but at the same time, Carlo's map burst into flames.
“You let your guard down, Carlo Deneve.”
The sneer of the mage he had desperately wanted to defeat mocked him.
“I won.”
Pernyan taunted him.
“Though… I don't really care about being the top student.”