Chapter 68
Chapter 68
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 68
Chapter Title: Mock Battle
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Right after securing the academy chairman's approval.
We immediately left the academy, tracked down Kayla, found her at an inn near Dmitri Square, and explained the situation.
“What? The academy?”
Kayla jumped in surprise upon hearing the story.
It was so sudden, her reaction was understandable.
“Yeah. They said if you just pass the evaluation, they'll enroll you right away. No fees whatsoever.”
“So, the chairman of Asion Academy said that?”
“Yeah. He's not one to lie, so you can trust him. What do you say?”
“……Of course I'm in. It's a free shot at a top-tier academy.”
“Great. I'll let them know you're doing the evaluation.”
We were just about to head back to the academy after getting her consent.
Kayla stopped me.
“……Hold on.”
She hesitated, reluctant to speak for some reason.
“Something bothering you?”
When I asked, Kayla replied in a quiet, faltering voice.
“But… can I really beat their students…? All I know right now is basic fire magic…. And the fee waiver's only if I pass for sure, right?”
Unlike Thompson, who excelled in real combat, Kayla seemed genuinely anxious.
But, well.
Was there really cause for worry?
“Kayla, [Minotaur]. Remember it?”
“Ah, that bird bastard…. How could I forget?”
“How many solid hits did you land on it?”
“I missed at first, but they ramped up as we went.”
We'd encountered the [Minotaur] a total of five times during those two weeks of hunting.
And just as she said, Kayla's spells started landing more often as time passed.
She was gaining real battle experience and getting smoother with her magic.
So what about Asion Academy's students?
Even if they attended a prestigious school, here's what I thought.
“Just one. Even landing a single effective hit will get you through the evaluation no problem.”
Kayla would overwhelm Asion Academy's students.
“……You're serious?”
“Dead serious.”
One hundred percent.
How could academy kids possibly defend against magic that worked on an upper demon?
‘Sure, someone on Roan's level might pose a challenge….’
But that was unlikely.
Roan was the academy's top student, a certified magic genius.
If there were a bunch like him, Roan wouldn't stand out to begin with.
Anyway.
“So quit worrying. The academy students are the ones who should be nervous, not us.”
“……Okay.”
The advantage was firmly ours.
***
The next day flew by.
We relocated once more that evening, crashed in the academy dorms for a solid night's sleep, and headed straight to the auditorium the moment we woke.
Three hours still until the evaluation…
“Ready?”
No downside to acclimating early.
Of course, the opponents weren't academy students.
They were me.
“Uh, y-yeah… Mr. First Place.”
“Phew. Sparring that guy was the one thing I hoped to dodge.”
“No need to freak. I'll take it easy.”
My comrades looked reluctant, but purely for results, facing me beat facing academy students.
I knew their rough skill levels, so I could push them right to the edge.
And you needed this kind of tension for practice to mean anything.
“Here we go.”
Step, stance.
At my signal, Kayla and Thompson snapped into combat ready.
Power gap meant a 2-on-1 spar.
Which was why.
‘I'm not exactly at ease either.’
I had to stay sharp.
Magic superiority or not, 1v1 and 2v1 were night and day.
Slacken off even a bit, and I could lose.
Did they sense that?
“Hah!”
Thompson lunged first, before I could move.
Rumble!
Massive rock magic cloaking his braced arms.
Felt like a giant boulder shield barreling in.
I countered with earth magic of my own.
Rumble—!
My body lifted off, vision expanding.
I'd raised a pillar beneath my feet with earth magic, shooting me skyward.
Just as the ceiling loomed close.
‘Now.’
No hesitation—I hurled myself forward.
Boom—!
Thompson's boulder shield pulverized my pillar with raw force.
Crack!
Stone pillar shattered to dust.
The sound alone screamed catastrophic damage.
I'd already cleared out, of course.
I yanked back the mana, switched attributes.
Water this time.
A wave erupted from the floor out of nowhere, catching my fall and slamming into Thompson.
Splash!
“Guh!”
Thompson got swept up, thrown by the unfamiliar element.
“Cough…! Cough…!”
Drenched head to toe.
But that was just the opener.
“Round two.”
“……Huh?”
Crackle!
Electricity surged along the water trail straight to Thompson.
Same trick I'd pulled on those request office thugs.
Except way more potent this time.
Thompson wasn't a total amateur, though.
He clocked the shock risk and hunkered down.
His body morphed into one massive boulder.
Crackle…
The lightning fizzled harmlessly against the rock.
‘Bad matchup, as expected.’
Reality followed the game's rules.
I filed away the new intel, reset my stance.
Lightning ineffective? Fine by me.
Plenty of other elements in my arsenal.
Hum!
Glistening lights danced over my gloved hand.
They coalesced into a sword with a razor edge.
Only then did Thompson drop his rock spell.
“Mr. First Place. That thing… safe to take, right…?”
“You won't die.”
Dialed it to agonizing-but-not-lethal.
That's when.
“……!”
Roar!
Scorching heat blasted from behind.
I whipped around—a colossal fireball hurtling my way.
‘Damn it, a feint…!’
Thompson's chit-chat was bait, I realized too late.
Point-blank range.
No dodging.
In that split second, a memory flashed.
—…Why?
The Slicked-Back Man's shocked face as his flame magic unraveled.
Same deal here.
One way out.
‘Disrupt the spell.’
-Magic computation maxed out.
Attribute of the cast, mana flow, embedded formula.
All laid bare.
My brain—no, the mana I'd already loosed—rewound the process at impossible speed.
Shimmer…
“Huh…?”
The fireball scattered inches from my face, revealing Kayla behind it.
Her expression blank, utterly baffled.
First-timers always reacted like that.
Your own spell vanishing into thin air? Soul-crushing shock.
“Wait, what the hell just….”
She missed one key detail, though.
The spar wasn't over.
-Bladed weapon proficiency +300%
Shing—!
Shing—!
Light daggers whipped out, streaking for Kayla.
Assassin's signature throw.
Boosted proficiency made it assassin-grade.
Could she evade?
‘No chance.’
Thompson, who'd trained his body with me, might've.
But then.
“Hup!”
A grunt—ground surged up before Kayla.
Thompson's danger sense kicked in; earth magic shield.
Ting!
The dagger fizzled against the pillar.
Pointless, though.
“Too slow.”
I'd thrown two.
“What?”
Rumble.
Thompson retracted the pillar.
“…….”
Kayla's face, more dumbfounded than ever, came into view.
A glowing white dagger hovered stock-still right before her eyes.
I murmured low.
“Kayla, out.”
“……Shit.”
2v1 down to 1v1.
I spun back around.
“Heh heh… just you and me now, eh, Mr. First Place.”
Thompson leered at me.
God knows what scheme next.
He struck first.
Boom!
Explosive leap.
Thompson vaulted high, rewrapping in rock.
The move I'd named—now his signature.
“Ham-ber-ger.”
The Hamburger.
Dozens of demons had crumbled to it.
Facing it head-on, no wonder why.
Faster drop than spectating, way deadlier.
And.
Thompson's Hamburger had leveled up.
Rustle rustle!
Floor spikes erupted around, jabbing my vitals.
Pins to trap me for the smash.
‘…This is dicey.’
Hack the spikes, get pancaked by Thompson.
Counter the drop, skewered by thorns.
Disrupt magic? Same bind.
No room for both.
Classic no-win.
Pick your poison.
Pancake or pierce.
Pierce it was.
‘Dodge vitals, live.’
Light sword summoned.
Hum!
Dazzling blade aloft.
If I paid, so would he.
‘Carve.’
Impale the boulder-Thompson clean through.
Nonfatal, naturally.
But.
Rumble!
“W-wait! I surrender! Surrender!”
Thompson bailed mid-drop.
I sheathed the blade, sidestepped.
He landed clean.
“Whew….”
Hand to ground, heaving.
Then he snapped his head up.
“Mr. First Place, you nuts…? Were you seriously gonna kill me?”
“Haha, nah. Just a light stab?”
“……Stab with that? Might as well!”
“Top-tier healing here. Saw the medical setup last time—insane. Plus.”
Click.
I hoisted the item at my belt.
Pre-spar loan from the chairman: [Chronos's Pocket Watch].
Legendary artifact—rewind time thrice.
‘Only one second, but….’
No major injury worries.
So.
“Alright, prep up.”
Reset stance, beckoned my comrades.
Hadn't tapped their limits yet.
“Huh? For what?”
“What else? Round two.”
We had stamina to burn.
“Ready!”
“Eek…!”
Time to kill.