Chapter 39: Class Representative Ranking Battle (3)
Chapter 39: Class Representative Ranking Battle (3)
The nameless female student, realizing I was going to use her as a human shield, grit her teeth.
“You… you son of a—!”
“Uh-uh. No naughty words!”
The magic spells reached us in the blink of an eye.
I curled my body as much as possible, hiding behind her narrow back.
A moment later, a thunderous roar erupted.
Boom!
Whoosh!
Splash!
“Kyaaaaah!”
The sound of various elemental spells colliding and exploding echoed, punctuated by a short, sharp scream.
…I’ll remember you!
Offering a silent prayer for the friend I had just made, I used the brief window of time to prepare my next spell.
“Whirling wind. Dwell in my hand and sharpen your blade even further.”
Wind Cutter—the most powerful spell in my current repertoire.
Instead of a standard chant, I used a strengthened chant to pour more mana into it than necessary.
Vroooom—!
As the mana overcharged, the translucent blade of wind held at the tip of my staff began to swell in size.
Just as it started to vibrate slightly, as if reaching its limit and bleeding excess mana into the air…
The roar that had been ringing in my ears ceased all at once.
The spells aimed at me must have all detonated.
I peeked my head out. Thick dust clouds billowed around the area, a testament to the fact that every single one of those spells could have easily killed a person.
Through the haze, I saw a faint red glow. It was likely the light signaling the elimination of the friend who had served as my shield.
As expected, she didn't look seriously injured, though she was a bit scorched.
I shifted my weight forward, preparing to dash out the moment Iona moved to retrieve the eliminated student.
Then, perhaps growing anxious because the dust wasn't settling quickly enough, someone uttered the one phrase you should never say.
“Did we get him…?”
Aiming precisely toward the source of the voice, I swung my staff—which had been vibrating so hard my arm felt numb—from left to right like a sword.
“Wind Cutter!”
Swish—!
The blade of wind sliced through the dust. Through the gap, I saw a scrawny-looking male student with a look of pure panic on his face.
He raised a short wand as if trying to prepare a spell, but…
Wind-attribute magic had a lower destructive power compared to other elements, but its advantage lay in its projectile speed.
In the end, he couldn't even finish a single line of his chant before the Wind Cutter struck him directly.
A shield seemed to stop the blade in mid-air for a split second, but it was soon followed by the sound of shattering glass and a scream.
Crash!
“Aaaaaagh!!”
The boy rolled on the ground, clutching his chest, his body flashing with the red light of elimination.
Good thing I fully charged it, just in case.
With a satisfied smile, I sprinted toward the large man closest to me.
After watching Iona retrieve both my human shield and the guy I just took down, my next opponent shouted.
“You coward! Not only did you use a fragile lady as a shield, but you hid behind her to launch a sneak attack!”
“Whatever. This is a free-for-all. Isn't it cowardly for a bunch of you to team up just to take me out first?”
“An alliance is a legitimate strategy!”
“Then what I just did was an act of friendship. To think she’d go that far for someone whose name she doesn't even know… She’s a truly great friend. Right?”
“You bastard…!”
The distance between us closed rapidly. While we were talking, the guy gathered his mana and leveled his staff at me.
“Shine! And pierce through!”
Orbs of light began to manifest around him one by one.
Light Bullet?
It was a spell that fired solidified light with physical force. It was a tricky spell, boasting high speed and significant power.
Light-attribute magic was on a completely different level of difficulty compared to elemental magic… Was he really confident he could finish the spell before I reached him?
…Wait, I recognize that face.
Wilhelm Trikia. His overall stats were mediocre, but he had an exceptionally high affinity for the light attribute. He was a companion I often recruited when doing themed playthroughs.
If he was the Wilhelm I knew, he was more than capable of finishing that Light Bullet in time.
Which meant I had to interfere.
I aimed my staff while running at full tilt.
“Light!”
The gaudy, gold-glittering staff glowed. A cluster of pure white light gathered at its tip.
“Light!”
At my trigger word, the light exploded in all directions.
Flash—!
Because I had intentionally added a line to the chant, the intensity was far greater than when using the trigger word alone.
On top of that, it was boosted by 10% due to the Sun God's Blessing trait. I had even detonated the light orb, which was originally meant to be maintained like a lamp.
At this distance, it was more than enough to serve as a flashbang.
“Urgh!”
Most projectile spells required the caster to see and aim at their target.
Using intuition based on sight was the most efficient way to cast.
But what if you couldn't see?
Naturally, your aim would be way off.
This was another tip for dealing with mages that I’d learned from Carla.
Grinning as I found yet another use for what I’d been taught, I accelerated my sprint.
Tap. Step.
Since I was already closing in, I decided to prepare a little surprise for when Wilhelm opened his eyes.
“Wind. Become a single sharp blade.”
Whoosh—
Wind gathered at the tip of my staff.
I didn't have enough time to charge it like before, but at least I managed to cast it while running.
…All thanks to the system correction.
The distance closed in an instant. By the time I was right in Wilhelm's face…
“What?! How?!”
The boy, finally regaining his sight, gasped in horror at my proximity—or rather, at the Wind Cutter I had cast while charging.
Taking advantage of his momentary lapse in focus, I swung my staff diagonally.
“Wind Cutter!”
I felt like I was becoming a bit of a one-trick pony with Wind Cutter, but what could I do? It was the strongest spell I could use right now.
The translucent blade of wind flew toward Wilhelm’s neck. Since he had been focused on me from the start, he wouldn't have had the leeway to keep a shield active.
I intended to eliminate him right then and there. However…
“Hup!”
The moment he realized I was close, Wilhelm leaned his upper body back sharply to dodge.
He didn't escape completely unscathed—his clothes were shredded where the blade grazed his chest—but that was it.
Right. I wasn't the only one who could dodge.
Carla had only taught me techniques that could be learned through cramming—things that weren't overly complex.
Naturally, others who had been practicing since childhood would be capable of similar feats.
In front of me stood Wilhelm, raising his staff with a triumphant expression. Behind me, I felt a violent surge of mana, as if a spell was about to be fired at any second.
At this rate, I’d either be hit by Wilhelm’s counterattack or toasted by the barrage of magic coming from behind.
But it was too early to give up.
Thump!
The mana core surrounding my heart pulsed violently, sending mana throughout my body.
“Shock!”
Small sparks erupted not from my fingertips, but from my entire body. It was nowhere near a million volts—just enough to cause a flinch—but that was enough.
“Guh…!”
Wilhelm, who had been about to use his staff like a club just as I had done earlier, froze.
In that opening, I thrust the Shining Lion Dagger in my left hand into Wilhelm’s side.
“Gah!”
“Phew… that actually worked.”
I felt a squishy sensation through the blade. It was different from when I had killed Pietro, the cult executive.
Rather than the feeling of stabbing a person, it felt weirdly like stabbing pudding.
It was likely due to Iona’s protection magic. Even if I pulled the knife out now, it would only reveal smooth, unblemished skin.
…I guess when you throw a bunch of amateur mages together and tell them to fight, you end up with people getting shanked instead of blasted with magic.
Regardless, Wilhelm glared at me, his eyes wide with indignation at being suddenly stabbed, unlike Iona, who had said anything was fine as long as the enemy was defeated.
But that was all he could do.
He was quite sturdy for a mage, but anyone would be momentarily incapacitated by a knife to the ribs.
I put my weight into him, pushing the struggling Wilhelm.
Spin.
In an instant, Wilhelm and I swapped positions.
“Do you want to be my friend too?”
“Don't give me that crap!”
He spat out a curse, clearly not a fan of the 'Friend Shield' strategy.
Watching him, I suddenly started to worry about my future academy life.
Is this really okay?
Surely they won't hold a grudge over something that happened during class, right?
Well, even if they do, it's not a huge problem… but I did feel a slight twinge of guilt. Or maybe I didn't.
As I stood there using Wilhelm as a shield, I realized something was off.
For some reason, no matter how long I waited, the spells from the people trying to gang up on me never came.
Then what was that intense mana reaction from before?
I peeked over Wilhelm’s shoulder to look at the other side.
“Aaaagh! Miss Elisha, why…?!”
“We were just trying to take out that coward first—kyaak!”
“Everyone, run! We can't beat her!”
For some reason, Elisha was firing spells indiscriminately at the students who had been trying to finish me off.
When our eyes met, Elisha gave a huff and turned her head away.
Then, she flashed a radiant smile at the other students who were fleeing in frustration.
“Oh my? Wasn't this a free-for-all? I certainly heard the professor say so.”
What? What is this? Is she taking my side? My heart's almost fluttering.
“More importantly… who gave you permission to lay a hand on my opponent? I will be the one to take Yandel down with my own hands, so please, step aside quietly.”
Ah.
She just wants to beat me up herself.
…If I start apologizing now, will she go easy on the magic?