Chapter 205
Chapter 205
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 205
Chapter Title: Team Formation
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There were no cheers or applause pouring out like every time a name had been called before.
Faint cheers could be heard here and there, but everyone stopped after glancing around.
A tense silence hung in the air.
The prominent first-place contender, who had been the center of attention for the past ten years, had yielded that spot to a complete novice who had only been learning magic for five months.
At this undeniable fact, the gazes of the first- and third-year students turned to Leo. Some even glanced at Elias and Yulia.
The second-years had already experienced Lucas Ascanien's skill to their bones over the past month, but the students from other departments, other years, the First Training Institute, and the Third Training Institute had not.
To them, Lucas was less a wizard and more a being who possessed outstanding abilities but still harbored the danger of a Pleroma.
‘Should I be grateful for this?’
That only we second-year students truly knew Lucas's worth.
Leo gazed calmly at the stage.
The second-year passing spot that no one had ascended yet. Lucas had the qualifications to stand there first.
He formed hypotheses without getting trapped by them. That was the decisive difference from the other team members—the utility of his thinking stemmed from this subtle factor.
Completely breaking free from an established framework of thought was difficult. Our Team 1's failure had come from forming a hypothesis based on the article before synthesizing clues from the victims.
‘…Elias must have predicted we'd get bogged down in the most plausible fountain hypothesis and approached the fountain accordingly.’
As expected, the school had used the article not as grounds for finding the frenzy source, but as a clue to locate the third victim.
In any case, it wasn't particularly upsetting that Lucas had beaten me and taken the stage. My touch had been involved in his magic from start to finish, and just as I revered and trusted Nikolaus, I could easily acknowledge that his judgment in crisis situations surpassed mine.
I was lacking.
I'd known it since the day I first saw Lucas's magic.
My magic was for saving lives rather than attacking people. I'd shed blood to overcome that, but every time, my childhood friend would catch up effortlessly with just a bit of learning, surpassing the arduous path I'd walked. At one point, Elias had been both a precious friend and a source of frustration and self-loathing for me.
Even if I died and came back to life, I couldn't manifest mana worthy of being called true mana like Lucas and Elias. Even devoting half my life to training as I did now, by my thirties—or perhaps even sooner—I'd be completely overtaken by Elias and Lucas.
From that moment, I'd never catch even the tips of their toes again.
But so what?
“…Joint first again?”
“…No… looks like he got pushed down…?”
Whispers came from the second-year seats in other departments.
Leo continued his thoughts, feeling the rude stares directed at him.
My talent, with its clear limits, wouldn't change unless I traded souls with a devil, and the only thing I could do was give my absolute best today, as if unaware of those evident limits.
Torment, jealousy, and contempt were poisons that ate away at time, and falling into the swamp of lethargy because of them would be the greatest insult I could offer my dreams and resolve. Instead, I'd marvel at their dazzling talents, applaud their fierce efforts and endurance that polished raw qualities into brilliance.
The highest courtesy I could show my own resolve was this, and I would choose nothing else.
In that moment, the students' gazes turned to me. Even the host, who had seemed flustered by the silence, looked my way.
Lucas's eyes, which had been coldly surveying the students with a blank expression, turned to me. Surprise instantly welled up in them.
Still seated, I met Lucas's eyes and clapped.
“…….”
Elias, who had been staring blankly at me, snapped to attention, cast an amplification spell, and went wild clapping and shouting.
“Woooah! Uwaaaah!”
“…?!”
There were 1,500 people here—what the hell was he doing?
Before I could stop him, applause soon started from the entire second-year section and spread to the first-years.
Before long, cheers and applause like before echoed throughout the vast First Training Institute auditorium.
“…Waaaah—!”
Lucas, who had been looking at me in shock, slowly turned to gaze at the vast darkness. His blank expression softened into a gentle smile.
[…Second place.]
Only after the applause died down did the host slowly speak. He glanced down at the sheet he was holding once more and met my eyes.
[Leonard Wittelsbach.]
“Waaaah—!”
Smiling, I stood from my seat. Elias playfully grabbed my hand and shook it wildly before slapping my back hard.
Yulia and Naruke were smiling at me, so I gave a simple greeting to my friends and ascended the stage as naturally as always.
From up here, the vast First Training Institute auditorium came into full view at once. Unlike the pitch-black audience seats, the stage was hot and excessively bright.
Standing in place, unlike before, I stared straight ahead.
I had no intention of shaking hands like last time to tire out Lucas. Besides, now I didn't need to declare war that way—there was a bit of a safety net.
At that moment, familiar mana spread out before me in the form of a soundproofing spell.
Puzzled, I turned my head.
My eyes met Lucas's, who was looking at me expressionlessly. But those unique pink pupils clearly held a smile.
Surprised by the unexpected scene, I slowly lowered my gaze.
His outstretched hand was before me.
“Beating the teacher is tough.”
My eyes must have shown surprise. Lucas said it with a straight face, yet his eyes still gleamed with satisfaction.
“It was fun.”
“…….”
Dazedly looking down at him, I smiled with the greatest respect I could muster.
“Me too.”
* * *
“…….”
Seeing Leo's radiant smile left me so dumbfounded that I withdrew my hand.
‘No way, this guy….’
I said shake hands, not advertise how chummy we are? Might as well go door-to-door announcing we've been close for ages.
Fortunately, I saw Naruke in the front row snap his fingers urgently. An illusion spell must have been cast in front of Leo.
Confirming no exam grudges remained, the host professor, who had been watching us warmly, turned away.
[Good. Next….]
While maintaining the soundproofing spell, Leo quietly asked.
“Lucas. Who do you think third place is?”
Third place.
Who knows.
I scanned the first and second rows of seats—the second-year exam participants—and replied.
“Not Naruke.”
“Yeah, you think so too. It's Elias.”
As soon as Leo finished speaking, the host's announcement came.
[Third place. Elias Hohenzollern.]
“Woooah—!”
“Whoa, what?! I'm third~?”
Elias shot up from his seat, waving his hands wildly all around.
“Yeees~ Thank you~! I thought I'd be sixth, but third? Totally didn't expect….”
[Student. Be quiet.]
“Yessir!”
He wasn't quiet at all, despite his reply.
Elias bounded onto the stage like his feet had springs and stood next to Leo.
“Leo! I'm third!”
“I know.”
“Handshake with me too!”
Elias grabbed Leo's hand and shook it.
“Good work~ You made my brain spin from start to finish. What do you eat to turn east into south~?”
“Yeah, you too. Thanks to you, I've been backstabbed so much I can't trust anything now, so I'll just look ahead.”
Leo cut him off.
I chuckled lightly, and Elias waved from beside Leo. Leo thickened the soundproofing spell.
“Luca! We can team up all the way till graduation now. Exciting~”
“Yeah.”
Whether I'd be here till graduation was another story.
Once this ceremony ended, I'd check my survival odds for once.
“Who do you guys want to team up with for victim processing from now on~? We won't be able to come to school as often anymore.”
“Hmm….”
Who else did I want to team with?
The strongest students possible. If even slightly under skilled students were deployed to the field, who knew what could happen. Even veteran wizards in this line of work came back injured from fieldwork—that was reality.
Unfortunately, reality wasn't as clean as Mimesis.
Of course….
“We don't even need to think—it's pretty much decided, right?”
Leo said, looking down at the students.
His amplified, solemn voice spread widely.
[Fourth place. Naruke Farnese.]
Exactly.
Who we'd work with was already set.
Smiling, I watched Naruke ascend.
At least it was reassuring that such strong friends were joining the team handling the highest-grade frenzy users.
Naruke stood next to Elias on stage and whispered.
“Haha, guess I relied too much on my unique ability.”
“Fourth out of a hundred~? Don't say that~”
Naruke nodded at Elias's playful words.
It was natural for Naruke to be below Elias.
In my view, Team 3's win this time was over eighty percent Elias's doing.
Throwing me into the enemy camp was the worst for me personally, but the best for the team.
I briefly wondered if memorizing coordinates while thinking of answers would work, but there was an issue.
For example, overusing coordinate memorization would let Naruke spot the pattern of ‘Team 3 is thinking important info and hiding it.’
Since he could read all incoming thoughts, he could read thoughts between coordinates too if he tried.
So better to lull them into complacency and strike.
‘Anyway, my turn should be coming up soon.’
[Fifth place. Yulia Cheringen.]
Cheers erupted loudly.
“Congrats, Yulia!”
Like with Leo, big responses came from the Third Training Institute, first-year, and third-year seats. It was a scene that easily revealed what kind of life he'd lived.
Cheringen rose with a proper smile, clapping. His gaze turned to me, so I mirrored his smile. He then did a high-five motion toward me and grinned.
‘Good.’
Satisfactory.
A team needed at least one proper guy for balance.
To me, a "proper guy" meant someone not as loose-screwed as Elias or Leo, with less eccentricity….
Of course, since I'd only known Cheringen a short time, I still needed to stay cautious around him.
‘He might turn out crazy like Leo somewhere down the line.’
I hoped not.
Cheringen ascended the stage and bowed toward us. His reddish hair swayed.
“Haha, it's a fresh feeling. I'm glad to be teamed with outstanding friends like you all till graduation. Let's do well.”
“Please take care of me too~”
“Whoa~ All my childhood friends are here.”
Come to think of it, excluding Naruke and me, all the students had known each other since childhood, so team life would be much more welcoming for them.
Of course, knowing each other well meant better coordination on deployments, which was safer.
While the host was giving other instructions, Elias excitedly spoke up.
“But, guys.”
“Yeah?”
“We've got five from Class 1-B now. Isn't that insane? Kinda exciting though?”
I clicked my tongue and whispered.
“Nothing's insane…. I still can't forget drinking from that fountain.”
“Hey! That was just spring water!”
“But there were leaves in it.”
“And sand.”
Ah….
Why bring that up?
Cheringen, who had drunk the same water, said with goosebumps.
“Ah, so that's why it tasted…. You strained out the grit but left the flavor?”
“We don't need to know that much, Yulia.”
I replied, feeling nauseous.
Seeing our sour faces, Elias seemed remorseful and said seriously.
“Sorry, guys. Since it's done, no helping it—let's wash it down with whiskey later.”
“…….”
“Sigh….”
Leo shot Elias a warning look at his nonsense.
“Listen to the announcement. Last one now. Sixth place.”
“Yeah.”
I already knew who it would be, actually.
First through sixth could shuffle around, but the lineup wouldn't change. Everyone probably knew.
Sure enough, Cheringen replied to our words.
“The only one from Class 1-A. Good thing our team has lots of her friends.”
As soon as Cheringen finished, the host, who had dragged out the time since it was the last ranking, announced loudly.
[Sixth place. Ulrike Klaist.]
“Yeees~”
Someone in the darkness flashed green eyes and shot up from her seat.
She'd been like that at the magic potion experiment contest too—still the same. The two Class 1-A guys we'd gone with were both that type. At least only one this time—relief.
Leo sighed deeply beside me, reminded of Elias. He looked daunted at the prospect of teaming with her.
‘Same here, honestly.’
We'd hear the exact team activity details from the school announcement, but I knew for sure we'd be stuck with these people day in and day out from now on.
At least with Yulia and Naruke, the atmosphere should hold.
“Professor! I really thought I failed and got scared.”
[Haha, congratulations.]
She casually addressed a professor she'd only just seen today and climbed onstage.
‘Thought she failed?’
Well, fair.
Her results from round two to three hadn't been great.
Ulrike had been Team Elias's original leader in round two. She'd nearly tanked the team by failing to control Gunter and his friend.
Definitely lacking in leadership and tactics.
However, her practical skills were solidly passing. I'd heard later she'd single-handedly subdued three students in the sewers at the end.
Strategists were needed, of course, but as combat magic roles, fighters like Ulrike were essential too. Her overly bubbly personality was a bit much, but she'd be a good asset.
“Guys~ What, you had soundproofing up? Couldn't see well from there, but you were chatting the whole time?”
Ulrike peeked curiously, and Naruke, standing midway, laughed and replied.
“Haha, we had illusion magic on too!”
Oh, really….
No wonder they talked so much.
The professor must have known and let it slide.
Raising wizards must be tough. One guy's refilling beer infinitely with magic, and now these guys layering illusion in the auditorium to whisper….
“But you guys are all Class 1-B? Wow, impressive but kinda lonely. At least Elias was originally 1-A….”
“Would've been nice if we were all 1-B. Shame.”
Ulrike smacked her lips at Elias's unusually dry tone and ended it with a silent laugh.
Cheringen glanced at them, smiled, and lightened the mood.
“Haha, but it's settled like this, so let's do well from now on. Drop the soundproofing. Time for the 2nd Team guys from seventh onward.”
“Yeah, curious about 2nd Team lineup.”
Naruke grinned expectantly.
Leo snapped his fingers to dispel the spell, as if he'd only been waiting for quiet.
[…The strategy section showed weakness, but in direct combat, the method of quickly assessing and subduing the opponent was highly proficient.]
The commentary on sixth-place rationale was wrapping up briefly.
[That concludes first through sixth place.]
Thus, the second-year 1st Team was formed.
Applause poured from the audience.
[Next….]
“Won’t say ‘that concludes’?”
Elias whispered playfully.
‘That concludes the third-year 1st Team announcement.’ The phrase the professor always used for third-years.
“Must’ve forgotten.”
Contrary to Leo's nonchalant reply, Naruke sounded flustered.
“…Huh?”
“What?”
[Seventh place. Heike Ainsidel.]
“…?!”
Heike, who’d been sitting expressionlessly expecting not to be called, widened her eyes.
Seventh?
Heike?
Of course, her skills were top-notch. Excellent unique ability too. With bonus points, she'd edged out similar players from 2-4 teams.
Considering powerhouses like Auguste, Hildegard, Josephine, etc., the ranking still raised slight questions.
‘But something’s off.’
I frowned slightly, replaying the professor's words.
Introducing seventh right after—that meant….
My eyes met my teammates', including Elias. Their faces mirrored my confusion.
The professor, looking at his cue sheet, lifted his head to the audience.
[That concludes the second-year 1st Team.]