Battle Royale (3)

My breath came in ragged gasps. My lungs burned like they were on fire. “...Haa... Ha...”

I leaned against a tree, barely holding my body upright. The Authority of Pride. Its recoil was hitting me all at once.

My body felt heavy. No—it was being crushed. The lightness I had felt just moments ago vanished as if it had never existed. My muscles refused to obey. My mana wouldn’t flow.

...I overdid it.

A bitter smile slipped out. Several battles. They were nameless extras who didn’t even appear in the original story, but fighting them had already pushed me past my limits once. To keep fighting repeatedly in that condition meant I had far exceeded those limits by now.

It wasn’t endurance. I had simply forced myself forward.

Whoever the next opponent is... dragging this out in my current state means I’ll lose.

At that moment, the air grew cold. The wind’s flow shifted. I slowly raised my head.

The forest remained silent.

“...Ha.”

I instinctively understood there was no escape. It was already too late. A perfect blind spot.

The air before my eyes faintly froze. Then frost began to spread—from the tips of my toes upward.

“Found you.”

A low but crystal-clear voice. I lifted my gaze.

Between the trees stood a girl. Silver-blue hair that caught the light with a sapphire tint, rippling like gentle waves with every breeze. Her eyes were as clear and blue as the sea itself.

She was beautiful, but that didn’t matter right now. Even without my knowledge of the original story, her identity was obvious. Among the freshmen, there was only one person in this exam capable of wielding ice magic at this level.

“Silverion.”

She made no effort to hide her presence as she approached.

Seirin von Silverion.

A name I had seen countless times in the original work. A wielder of freezing chill. A blunt, principled perfectionist.

...That was the usual image of Silverion.

But the Seirin standing before me didn’t fit that mold at all. Her face brimmed with mischievous playfulness unbefitting the Silverion Archduchy. Her gaze was relaxed and light. And—she ranked among the strongest freshmen at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the time of the academy entrance.

“...You weren’t specifically looking for me, were you?” I asked quietly.

She gave a small shrug. “No way~ I just—” She took one natural step closer. “—headed toward whoever looked ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the strongest.”

The moment she finished speaking, the ground froze over. Crack. The cold spread in an instant. I twisted reflexively, but I was too slow. My ankle was trapped. The ice bit into my flesh.

“Ha... Isn’t this a bit much?”

“It’s a test, you know~”

Her calm reply came as the air itself sank. Sound died. My breath lagged by a full beat.

Cracks spiderwebbed through the air like glass. Then—plop. A single small fragment fell out.

That was only the beginning. Two. Three. Ten. Dozens. Countless ice shards materialized and hovered in midair. Their edges were impossibly thin, gleaming like blades in the light. Every single one pointed directly at me.

Her fingers twitched again, minutely.

It’s coming.

The air tore with a sharp whistle. ...Insane.

I planted my feet and ripped the clinging ice away by force. My muscles screamed in protest. The first shard came straight ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at me. I twisted my body. It grazed my cheek—not with cold, but with the bite of a razor.

The second came from behind, aimed at my waist. I clenched my teeth and rolled across the ground. The instant I touched the earth, my skin began to freeze.

...Damn it.

My body wouldn’t move. I tried to force mana upward, but my exhausted flesh refused to respond.

“I’ll end this now.”

Her eyes narrowed with razor-sharp focus.

......

“Wait.” I raised my hand. Seirin’s gaze halted.

“...Why?”

“Let’s make a deal.”

“...?”

The ice fragments heading toward me froze in place. The frost-laden wind enveloping us eased slightly. I touched the metal bracelet on my left wrist, summoning a translucent window in the air with a faint glow, and continued.

“There aren’t many people left.”

“If we wear each other down here—” She tilted her head slightly. “—we’ll both be in danger when the next person shows up.”

She looked me up and down. “...You’re negotiating in that condition?”

“The math still checks out.”

A brief silence fell.

“...Well, you’re not wrong.” Her eyes sharpened again. “But still...”

She stepped right up to me. Too close. Her hand rose lightly. The air turned freezing in an instant.

“You’ve racked up quite a few points yourself, haven’t you?”

“If you were in perfect shape, maybe it’d be different. But right now, I can finish this without wasting much mana at all~”

Cold energy condensed around us. An ice spear took shape. The hovering fragments shot toward me once more.

I moved instantly, slipping away a half-beat ahead. But I was still too slow. The tip of my foot was grazed. Sensation dulled. Seirin didn’t miss the opening.

“You really are something, right to the end.”

The attacks continued without pause—straight lines, curves, falling strikes. The patterns weren’t simple. But I could read them.

The problem was my body couldn’t keep up. Each movement lagged by half a beat. At this rate, I would eventually get caught.

Then—just once.

I abandoned defense and charged straight forward. Seirin’s eyes flickered with surprise.

“...You’re forcing it.”

I knew that. Still, this gave me the best odds. Before her ice spear could fully form, I forced one more step and swung my sword.

It connected.

“....”

Seirin’s expression shifted—subtly, toward irritation. “You really are a pain in the neck, aren’t you?”

My decisive strike had been stopped by the 2nd Circle spell Ice Veil she had cast.

“...Still.” Her voice dropped slightly. “At least you’re not completely helpless.”

She gave me a light push. My balance collapsed. I fell. My vision tilted.

Is this the end?

There was no point in forcing myself to hold on any longer. The decision was already made.

At the last moment, those blue eyes looked down at me.

“...Next time, come in better condition.”

It wasn’t mockery. Just a simple statement of fact.

I let out a small laugh. “...I agree with that.”

The completed spear of blue light hurtled forward. Consciousness slipped away.

It was cold. There was no sensation.

...No. There was, but it felt impossibly distant. Like sinking deep underwater. Sound didn’t reach me. Neither did light or the passage of time. Everything was blurred.

And then—thud.

Something fell.

Consciousness rose very, very slowly.

My vision gradually refocused. A white ceiling. Neatly arranged mana lamps. And a wide training ground spread out before me.

I lay there for a moment, letting my gaze wander. I drew in a breath. Everything felt normal. Lungs, heart—no pain. I sat up. My muscles moved smoothly.

“...I’m completely fine.”

Of course I was. This wasn’t a real battle. It was a mental world—a test that connected only consciousness. The physical body remained unharmed.

Then—

“You’re awake.”

A voice came from the side. I turned my head. A man in a black uniform stood with his arms crossed. Professor Valterion Cruel.

“Overall, not bad.”

I rose slowly to my feet. “Have I been eliminated?”

“Yes.” His answer was curt. “The moment the mental link was severed, you were out.”

A straightforward explanation without unnecessary emotion. “Your final choice wasn’t bad.”

“....”

“Maintaining your reason while fighting a top-tier opponent in that condition holds more value than raw points.”

I let out a light breath. It wasn’t praise so much as assessment. That suited him better.

“Dismissed.”

“Not many participants remain.”

I nodded and turned to leave. At that moment—

Ding.

My eyes narrowed ever so slightly. ...Extra rank?

The ability to view other people’s status windows—

“If it works on anything other than the user...”

My gaze naturally drifted around the room. Not just people, but magical beasts, spirits, and objects too.

So it really can do all of that.

I raised my left hand and focused on the silver bracelet around my wrist.

“So that’s how it works,” I muttered. It wasn’t just listing functions—it even revealed the exact materials.

“The information range is wider than I expected.”

I looked away from the bracelet and tapped it again.

Ding.

“I really ate up a lot of points.”

After the battle with Aurelia, I had soloed several four-to-five-person teams. Points were bound to pile up.

...Appraisal confirmed.

Now for the last one—Six Senses. It felt like a toggle-type skill. I took a light breath and focused my mind, activating it.

In that instant, the world changed.

Or rather, it hadn’t changed at all. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠This was how it had always been—I simply hadn’t been able to see it before.

The air. The empty space. Something flowed within it. Thin lines. Not quite light, not quite solid form, yet undeniably present—currents.

My breath caught for a fraction of a second. Visual sight and physical sensation overlapped. Mana. Its flow filled the entire space.

The training ground floor. The walls. The ceiling. And—people.

My gaze moved naturally. Valterion.

In that moment, ...it’s different. The very nature was on another level. Thick. Deep. Heavy. It didn’t flow so much as simply existed. Like a completed structure, utterly unshakable.

So this is what professor-level looks like.

The difference in dimension was overwhelming. I focused a little more and used Appraisal.

I was momentarily speechless. So this was one of the highest-ranking powerhouses—a professor at Arcadia Academy. Even considering Valterion was among the top professors, the others would likely be just as strong.

Hoo... I still have a long way to go.

I closed his status window and reactivated Six Senses. My field of vision expanded. This time my gaze dropped to the floor and stayed there.

The training ground’s magic circuits. Layers upon layers of intertwined flows. So this was the academy’s barrier? Things I had previously perceived only as “structure” now revealed themselves with clear meaning—where they began, where they connected, where they weakened. It all came naturally.

“...Ha.” A short breath escaped me.

This wasn’t mere sensory enhancement. The world itself looks different.

In battle, I wouldn’t need to wonder what my opponent would do next. Just reading the flow would provide the answer.

I closed my eyes for a moment, then opened them again and deactivated Six Senses. In an instant, the world returned to normal. It was quiet. Nothing was visible. The things that had existed moments ago had vanished like a lie.

Even though it was the same space as before, it felt like an entirely different place.

This is...

I exhaled slowly. I didn’t dwell on it any further. I simply walked out of the training ground.

What lingered in my mind were the golden and blue lights. The spear that had poured down like sunlight, and the one that had frozen coldly in the air.

“...Aurelia. Seirin.”

I muttered their names under my breath.

Next time—I will definitely win.