Skill Evaluation (4)
There were three rounds of sparring in total.
If you scored above average on both the written and practical exams, winning just one sparring match would keep you above average overall.
You might think that meant you needed to win at least two rounds to be safe, but that formula only held under one condition.
Lose a spar, and you forfeited your remaining chances.
In other words, if you dropped the first bout, the other two opportunities evaporated on the spot.
And so, after the very first round of duels, I got to witness the astonishing spectacle of half the students being eliminated on the spot.
My practical score was below average, which meant I needed two wins to be safe.
And my first opponent, of all people, was Arlan — the top student of the entire Academy!
It would've been so much better if she'd come up in the third and final round.
"It's good to see you, Solis. This is the first time we've met since training together in the practice hall, isn't it?"
"Ah, yeah."
Arlan, happy to see me, held out her hand for a shake.
Her fair, delicate skin settled into my rough, calloused palm.
"I never dreamed that out of all these people, my first opponent would be you, Solis."
Yeah, me neither, you damn天使 of bad luck.
I'd prayed with everything I had that I wouldn't be matched against any of the original protagonists, and the gods answered with malicious precision.
If it had been Ter, I might have negotiated my way out with a Divine Artifact, but with Arlan, that option didn't even exist.
"Well, I'm fucked."
{You're fucked.}
The Helper, watching from the sidelines, kindly chimed in.
It felt like hunting for a needle on a beach.
"Any ideas?"
{If you're asking me, here's your answer: dig your own way out.}
"Heartless as ever."
{I already helped you use mana. Finding the method is your job.}
"I know, I know."
At his words, I pressed my thumb hard against my temple.
I made a conscious effort to keep my breathing steady under stress.
Would the Writer have given me useful advice if I'd asked her?
No.
She'd probably have already decided on Arlan's victory and started cooing about it.
Then she'd have leaned right up to my ear and suggested I win her over some other way instead.
And the saddest part? The very fact that I was turning these thoughts over in my head meant I was already assuming I'd lose.
If only my body were in proper condition, this would be a game I could win.
The mana stored in my halo was, at best, a stopgap substitute.
Compared to what my heart was supposed to draw out naturally, it was heaven and earth apart.
Being able to use it and being able to wield it freely were two entirely different things.
"Have you been well lately?"
"I've been getting by. Boring classes, food, a little fun, sleep."
And a few novel experiences too — like dropping by Marin's place to help her study and getting violently seduced into sex.
"These days, every single day feels like a gift. I joined the group chat Chloe made, and I can't tell you how much joy it brings me, exchanging messages with everyone."
Back in the practice hall, I had forcibly orchestrated Arlan's meeting with the protagonist's party.
My brute-force push combined with Chloe's natural friendliness, and when Arlan saw Eva waving at her, she finally worked up the courage.
The result: a girl who wasn't supposed to join until Season 2 had been part of our circle from the very beginning of the season.
Now she chatted away with us in Chloe's group chat about nothing and everything.
Our relationships had progressed at a pace that left the original story in the dust.
"It's all thanks to you, Solis. Thank you, sincerely, once again."
"You said you were a Chloe fan and wanted to get closer, so I just gave you the opening. You're the one who grabbed it, not me."
"But it was that opening that gave my life a turning point."
Arlan had always diminished herself, wearing her pessimism like a second skin.
She insisted she was different from everyone else, that she had no right to stand beside special people like Eva in the first place.
The web novel had described that side of her often enough.
But contrary to all her worrying, Eva had been the one to walk up first, extend her hand, and ask Arlan to be her friend.
It was the chapter where readers got to see her growth after defeating the Part 1 final boss and shedding a sliver of her shut-in shell, and the praise had poured in.
I was sorry I never got to witness that famous scene with my own two eyes, but since the two of them had grown close this early, I was satisfied.
And with that, a new rival now stood at Chloe's side — the girl who'd had no equal in Part 1 — which meant my plan had taken another step forward.
"Hearing you say it helped that much is honestly embarrassing."
"I'll repay this debt someday, I promise."
If you're that grateful, how about showing me mercy and forfeiting this match?
The words climbed all the way up my throat, but that damned pride of mine kept them from spilling out.
"Solis. Arlan Carnelian. The two of you are to proceed to the arena as soon as you are ready."
"Ah, sounds like the instructor is calling us."
"Let's go."
At the announcement crackling through the speakers, we stepped onto the temporary arena set up on the training field.
Just as we had in the practice hall, we suited up in the gear the instructors had prepared and readied ourselves.
"I look forward to a good match!"
"Yeah, same."
Arlan's voice rang out so loudly it reverberated through the entire hall.
Her cry dripped with confidence, and I answered it with a simple exchange of courtesies.
"Begin!"
Screech!
The instructor's whistle split the air, and the match was underway.
Arlan flipped open her dueling spellbook and began to chant.
"Clothe me in the veil of wind. Grant me the blessing of the roaring flame dragon."
Incantations poured from her lips without pause.
In their wake, an aura of mana blossomed around her body.
True to her title as the top of the support division, she layered multiple auxiliary spells, hardening her defenses into a fortress.
No silent casting, no abbreviated verses — she pronounced every syllable flawlessly, without a single slip. She was taking this completely seriously.
Not the slightest intention of going easy on me, apparently.
Well, this is a problem.
My head was starting to ache.
Too many thoughts tangled together, and I couldn't find my footing.
Should I use that method?
Truthfully, there was exactly one way to beat her.
A skill available to me, Solis, bearer of mana.
The Usurper — the ability that made mages drop dead on the spot.
A technique that seized ownership of an opponent's spell and bent it to my will.
With it, I could neutralize her magic outright.
If I played that card, I could overturn the gap between us entirely.
The solution was in hand, and with time this short I should've been moving already — but I couldn't bring myself to decide.
"Ignite!"
While I dithered, Arlan — thoroughly armored in support magic — turned to the next page of her spellbook.
Her crimson mana gathered into a single mass and raised a wave of flame.
A roaring inferno with a will of its own lunged at me, hungry to swallow me whole.
Oh, screw it.
I wound the halo's mana around my hand.
As the faint golden light wrapped my arm, I charged straight at her instead of dodging.
At the sight of me throwing myself into the flames like a moth diving into fire, bewilderment flickered across Arlan's face.
Seizing that opening, I caught the wave of fire with my mana-wreathed hand.
"I'll be returning this."
Here, I unleashed the Usurper.
Stolen of its ownership, the fire's trajectory twisted at my command.
The blaze meant for me curved midair and shot back toward its caster.
"My magic—!"
Arlan's eyes went wide as she watched control of her spell slip into my hands.
It was the kind of heresy no one but Solis could ever pull off.
Even her, a mage of the highest caliber, had never imagined her magic could be ripped away so easily.
Whoosh!
"Ghk!"
Arlan was struck down by her own spell.
But among the support magic she'd layered on her body was a spell that automatically defended against incoming attacks.
Fssshaa!
The moment the flames drew near, a barrier of mana snapped into existence like a reflex.
A shield so solid it seemed determined to permit not even a single ember wrapped itself around her.
Exactly as I'd predicted.
I'd seen through long ago that this wasn't where it ended.
That fire had merely been a smokescreen.
This is what I'm really after!
Concealed by the flames, I closed in on Arlan and thrust out my hand.
"Shockwave!"
My hand burst through the veil of fire — and Arlan, seeing me inches away, didn't waver.
She chanted the next spell she'd been holding in reserve and thrust both palms forward.
There it is!
Reading her timing, I swung my mana-laden hand like a man snatching something out of the air.
Her shockwave scattered against my palm and canceled.
Then, flowing seamlessly from one motion into the next, I seized her by the throat and shoved her over backward.
SLAM!
"Kyaaah!"
Arlan's back slammed hard into the ground under my momentum.
While she gasped for breath from the impact, I poured out my mana and canceled every spell she had draped over herself.
She was now completely defenseless.
But I'd also wrung the halo's reserves dry just now.
There was one way left to seize the win.
Beat her with my fists.
The orthodox method: rain down blows without granting her a single breath to chant.
Best of all was wrecking the area around her mouth so her pronunciation slurred — a mage with swollen lips and broken teeth couldn't cast worth a damn.
Unless she could cast silently like Eva, a battered mouth robbed a mage of all her power.
I don't want to.
Turn a woman's face into a bloody pulp — and not just any woman's, but the face of my most beloved heroine?
Impossible.
All I had to do was drive my fist straight in, and yet my will refused, absolutely, to carry it out.
"Um... aren't you going to hit me?"
Arlan had steeled herself ages ago; her eyes were squeezed shut.
But when nothing came, she cracked one emerald eye open and asked.
"I don't have a hobby of hitting women. I'd hate to scratch such a pretty face."
Psshhk.
Even as I spoke, my final dregs of mana evaporated into the air.
I no longer had the strength to block her magic.
If a spell landed on me now, I'd collapse unconscious without even the strength to resist.
I accepted my fate with resignation.
"I surrender! I surrender!"
Suddenly Arlan raised both hands above her head and hoisted the white flag.
...Huh. Why?
Why?