Chapter 72
Chapter 72
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: Crossing the Line
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“You’re really going too far, Roan.”
“…….”
After a brief silence, Roan grinned slyly.
“Hahaha, my apologies, President. I made a mistake.”
“……A mistake?”
“Yes, it’s been a while since I’ve sparred, so I… failed to control my strength.”
He even bowed his head as if it were truly an honest mistake.
But we all knew it wasn’t a mistake.
Me, the President, and Zairen.
After all that killing intent he’d unleashed, how could we not know?
“……We’ll talk later.”
Still, there was no point in pressing the issue here.
The President seemed to decide to wrap things up, walking forward with steady steps.
Then, out of nowhere, he raised Roan’s hand.
“This spar goes to… Roan.”
Applause and cheers erupted immediately.
Clap clap clap clap!
“Wooo!”
“As expected of Roan!”
“Our top student is the best—!”
Had the other students not sensed anything off?
They were genuinely celebrating for Roan.
“Phew… that really startled me. As reckless as he is, he doesn’t cross the line.”
Beside me, Jensen patted his chest in relief.
Meaning Roan’s acting had been flawless.
But he hadn’t fooled me.
“He already crossed it.”
“Huh…?”
And he would pay the price for it.
***
In the student waiting room inside Asion Academy.
Thompson and I were there comforting Kayla.
“Don’t be too down. Your opponent was just too strong.”
“Yeah, miss! Even I wouldn’t have stood a chance against that guy Roan! Who does he think he is?”
But the shock of the duel must have hit her hard.
Our words weren’t getting through to Kayla at all.
“I couldn’t do anything… Nothing at all.”
She clenched her fist tight.
Just like in that fight moments ago.
It looked like the defeat had cut deep.
Well, after two weeks of hunting and practice spars with me, ending up like this… it was understandable.
Of course, I knew exactly what kind of opponent he was, so it was only natural.
Empty words of comfort wouldn’t help anyway.
So I skipped the pointless reassurances and extended my hand instead.
“……?”
Kayla stared at it, wondering what it was.
“Come with me.”
No need for explanations.
I signaled for her to follow and headed somewhere without a word.
We arrived at the auditorium where the duel had taken place.
Now that it was over, the place was completely empty.
“……Why are we here?”
“When you’ve got a lot on your mind, moving your body is the best thing.”
With that, I immediately drew up my mana.
Then imbued it with two attributes.
Water and cold.
Hummm!
I attempted to combine the attributes.
Trying to fuse these two was a first for me, but it was no problem.
I’d watched Roan cast spells countless times during those two months at Aldeon.
Humm…! Humm…! Humm…!
The fusion succeeded effortlessly, creating a single small ice crystal.
Soon after.
I released cold air through the ice crystal.
Shwaaaaa—.
Cold spread through the auditorium in an instant.
“This is…”
A staple skill for any ice mage that he’d used.
[Ice Field].
Crackle crackle!
The spreading cold turned to ice, covering the auditorium.
It even bound Kayla’s legs tight.
“…….”
Remembering what happened earlier, Kayla grimaced.
But there was no time to stand around.
“Why are you just standing there like an idiot? Break it.”
“……Break it?”
“Yeah.”
She pondered my words for a moment, then drew up her mana.
Purple mana swirled around Kayla.
It soon took on heat, then erupted in an explosion.
Boom!
Crackle!
The ice binding her legs shattered amid the scorching heat.
‘Still not enough.’
Its durability was pathetic compared to Roan’s ice.
Which made sense.
No matter the [Prodigy of Magic] trait, she couldn’t match Roan’s level on her first try with a spell.
But.
‘Repetition will fix it.’
I had mana that regenerated endlessly.
Swoosh.
I crouched down, touched the ground, and cast [Ice Field] again.
Shwaaa!
Cold spread once more.
Crackle.
And binding.
But it didn’t end there.
‘One more.’
I cast [Ice Field] again over the ice already binding Kayla’s legs.
Crackle crackle!
Now two layers of ice.
“Break it.”
“……Got it.”
Had she figured out what I was doing?
Instead of asking, she immediately triggered an explosion.
Boom! Crack, crack, crackle!
The ice shattered again.
But it had lasted longer than before.
It hadn’t exploded in one hit—it cracked first, then broke.
‘Good.’
I was convinced this method worked and repeated the process.
Crackle! Crackle crackle!
[Ice Field] three times, four times, five times…
Thicker and thicker ice wrapped around Kayla’s legs.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The ice that once shattered instantly now endured the explosions longer and longer.
By the seventh [Ice Field].
Boom!
Finally, ice that didn’t break under Kayla’s explosion was born.
My cast ice magic had surpassed Kayla’s fire attribute in power.
“From now on, this matches Roan’s ice. Meaning if you can break this, his ice won’t be a problem.”
It was a brute-force method, sure.
Just layering spells to boost intensity and practicing through that.
But it was better than her moping around no matter what.
Boom!
“Damn it…!”
Kayla was fully focused on shattering the ice now.
Her earlier gloom was completely gone.
How much time passed?
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions rang out in succession.
Sweat beaded on her cheeks and trickled down.
Yet despite her efforts, the ice didn’t budge.
Magic couldn’t grow that strong in such a short time—it was only natural.
Didn’t matter.
I hadn’t brought her here to produce results anyway.
Just to blow off steam and get some feedback in the process.
That’s when.
“You’re working hard.”
A familiar-looking middle-aged woman entered the auditorium.
It was Professor Zairen.
“What brings you here…?”
“I kept hearing noises from outside.”
“Ah, sorry if we were too loud.”
“No, that’s not why I came… Are you a flame mage by any chance?”
Zairen asked abruptly.
Her gaze was fixed on Kayla.
“Yes, that’s right?”
Kayla nodded, and Zairen glanced around with a faint smile.
“I might be able to help… What do you say?”
“Help?”
“Yes. Fire is my favorite attribute too.”
Whoosh!
A small flame flickered to life at Zairen’s fingertip.
‘Come to think of it…’
When Thompson had charged at the ice mage, it was Zairen who’d stopped him.
‘A massive crimson pillar of fire shot up back then.’
Stronger than any flame I’d seen so far.
Professor Zairen’s main attribute must be fire too.
No reason to refuse.
This could lead to unexpected gains.
***
As I left the auditorium, leaving Kayla and Zairen behind.
“Is it really okay to leave the top student like that…?”
Thompson said worriedly.
Fair concern.
‘Who knew Professor Zairen was like that.’
The Zairen in the lecture hall and the one in the auditorium were totally different.
The lecture hall version was a kind university professor, but just now…
-This is disappointing. Losing at that level is only natural. Accept it humbly.
-Controlling fire mana is all about bending it to your will. With that kind of control… you might as well quit.
-Giving up already? If not, get up now.
She was like a strict tutor drilling a high schooler a week before exams.
No telling how long it’d take, but Kayla was in for a rough ride.
Still.
“It’s working, isn’t it?”
Zairen’s teaching was as effective as it was strict.
Even in the short time I watched, I could feel changes in Kayla’s explosions.
A 7th-circle mage’s instruction was impressive, as expected.
And most importantly.
“Her expression’s brighter already.”
Forgetting the defeat even temporarily through training was enough.
Zairen showing up was perfect timing all around.
“…Yeah, she does look better. Since it’s come to this, I hope the miss’s skills skyrocket.”
“You should train too, old man.”
“Huh?”
“The President said to drop by when you have time. Something about scheduling body transformation magic lessons.”
“R-Really?”
“Yeah, probably head to his office.”
“Oh, got it!”
Thud thud thud!
The moment I finished, Thompson bolted toward the President’s office.
I had no idea what body transformation magic was, but he seemed thrilled.
Of course, sorry Thompson, but I’d made that up.
It just felt like the right thing to do.
“Come out.”
I stared at the alley behind the building I’d ducked into.
After waiting a moment.
“Hahaha, as expected. You noticed right away.”
A familiar blond man appeared.
It was Roan.
“With you leaking mana like that from hiding, how could I not?”
“I wanted to talk for a bit.”
“About what?”
“Just… checking in. How’ve you been?”
Idle chatter.
He probably had something else to say.
I didn’t respond and looked away.
Blue mana rippled around Roan.
Completely different from the mana he’d had before.
What level was he at now?
5th circle? 6th?
Or… higher?
Unable to contain my curiosity, I asked first.
“What the hell did you do?”
It’d been just a few weeks since I last saw Roan.
Changing this much in such a short time meant something was up.
Illegal drugs, forbidden magic, something like that.
Whatever it was, it wasn’t normal.
Ping grrr—.
He spun an ice crystal on his fingertip and spoke.
“Who knows? Curious?”
His lips curved into a sly smile.
“…….”
Honestly, I thought we’d gotten close.
But this Roan felt like a total stranger.
What had changed him like this?
I didn’t know exactly, but…
“If you don’t want to say, fine. But.”
Crackle! Crackle crackle!
“If you misuse that power, you’re dead.”
If his changes threatened me or my allies.
I wouldn’t just stand by.