Chapter 185: Proof 7
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 185: Proof 7
“Just come at me together. I’ll take you all on at once.”
At Clara’s remark—which was nothing short of blatant arrogance—the faces of the students hardened. Only moments ago, they had been bickering because none of them wanted to be the first to face her.
Among the seven who had challenged Clara, there weren't just freshmen. There were sophomores and even a junior.
Croa Academy was a world-renowned institution; even a commoner could secure a prestigious future simply by graduating. However, admission was no guarantee of a diploma. Every year, many were expelled, and students fought tooth and nail to avoid that fate.
Since the bottom tier had long since been purged, being a second or third-year at Croa Academy was proof of having survived a cutthroat competition. Furthermore, they had personally chosen Clara as their opponent. They were confident they could take down a lone mage.
They tried their best to look unfazed.
Yet, their tightly pressed lips, the faint heat of shame rising to their cheeks, and the hostility burning in their eyes made it obvious to everyone that their pride had been wounded.
Clara, however, looked at them with the same gaze she’d held from the start.
Her eyes were filled with nothing but indifference, contempt, boredom, and cynicism.
One of the students, stung by that look, opened his mouth to snap back, but Clara beat him to it.
“If your pride is so hurt, then someone just step up. I don't want to waste any more time on you people. Whether it’s one person or seven, it’s all the same to me.”
“…”
Despite the blatant provocation, no one stepped forward to fight first.
Unlike the challengers, who had forgotten to manage their expressions and were now wearing their inner turmoil on their sleeves, the students watching from the second floor found this to be the ultimate entertainment.
“Whoa, check it out! Isn't there a third-year in that group?”
“I know Lady Adelian is amazing, but it’s not just freshmen. There are second and third-years too. Can she really handle seven of them at once?”
“Hey! You’re an embarrassment to all third-years! Amra! Just be a man and fight her first!”
The atmosphere among the spectators, which had grown dull while the challengers bickered, suddenly surged with excitement.
A one-on-seven battle between the girl the Tower Master claimed had talent surpassing his own and academy students, including upperclassmen? A duel between a Special Class student and a regular student was fun, but a one-on-seven was far more provocative.
A student approached Idra, who was also watching the scene with deep interest.
“Is she allowed to just do that all of a sudden?”
The question came from one of the applicants who had chosen to fight Frederick. He had picked Frederick because he was a sorcerer, a class typically weak in one-on-one combat. Had he known Clara would fight everyone at once, he would have chosen her instead.
Aside from the student who spoke to Idra, several other applicants looked dissatisfied with the current situation.
“It looks like it’ll be fun, so it’s fine!” Idra replied with a bright smile, leaving the student speechless.
“More importantly,” Idra added, her voice shifting. “Are all seven of you going to charge at once? Or is someone going first? If you don't decide within ten seconds, I’m disqualifying all of you.”
Unlike her usual cheerful demeanor, her voice was now laced with coldness and disappointment.
“Ten.”
Idra began the countdown.
The moment of decision arrived for the students who had chosen Clara.
“Nine.”
They didn't want to be the first to fight her.
“Eight.”
The person who fought later would have the advantage in stamina and could devise a strategy after watching Clara fight.
“Seven.”
But to fight all seven at once? Setting aside the question of winning, their pride would be in tatters.
“Six.”
One-on-one? Or all together?
“Five.”
But what if I go first in the one-on-one rotation?
“Four.”
In truth, they knew the answer. What did pride matter? This was a chance to get close to the Crown Prince.
“Three.”
But surely someone else will speak up even if I don't?
“Two.”
Please, please, please, please, please.
“One!”
“All together!”
The student who finally spoke turned red, as if the words themselves were a source of deep shame. “We will fight all together.”
* * *
Clara stood in the center of the auditorium with her usual impassive expression, facing seven students armed with various weapons—swords, spears, and maces.
Among the seven who had chosen Clara, there were no mages, spiritists, or sorcerers. All seven were warrior-types who fought with cold steel.
The contrast was stark: Clara, holding nothing but a single wooden staff, against seven burly students wielding sharp blades. To an outsider, the match might have seemed unfair, but those who knew Clara didn't think so.
The students facing her gripped their weapons tightly, trying to steady their nerves.
“Will you defeat Student Clara and join the club, or will Clara win and you’ll earn the title of the seven who lost to one! Now then, let the first match begin!”
Ignoring the boos from his peers in the stands, the third-year—the man who had overcome his shame to shout "all together" with only one second left—thought to himself:
Now that it’s come to this, we have to win no matter what.
The only reason he had hesitated after Clara’s provocation was pride. He never entertained the thought that they might lose if they fought together.
There were two famous strategies for dealing with a mage: either endure until they run out of mana, or overwhelm them before they have time to chant.
The former was a strategy usually employed when the enemy mage had a frontline protector. But standing across from them was a lone mage. There was no one to protect her. Furthermore, against Clara, who possessed nearly infinite mana, the strategy of waiting for her to run dry was useless. It was more likely their own stamina would give out first.
That left only one option.
“Charge!”
A blitz. Overwhelm her before she can finish a single incantation.
Starting with the third-year’s thunderous roar, the other six students screamed and lunged toward Clara. The leap of a skilled warrior, their body reinforced with mana, was like a fired arrow.
Even as he rushed forward at high speed with his heavy axe, the third-year didn't stop thinking.
She’ll definitely try to block with a barrier and use that time to chant a advanced spell.
The man prepared to pull a red crystal fragment from his pocket. It was an artifact from his family that could instantly shatter barrier-type magic. Though it couldn't be used again for five hours once activated, it was perfect for catching a mage off guard.
He would wait for her to start chanting, believing in her barrier, then shatter it and strike her down while she was panicked. Even if she didn't panic, it wouldn't matter. His weapon would reach her throat faster than she could manifest a new barrier.
The man’s plan was simple but excellent. Predicting the mage’s strategy, preparing an artifact to counter it, and launching a surprise attack—it was a tactic even a magic professor would have praised. He had originally intended to use it in a one-on-one, but with seven people attacking at once, Clara would have more to worry about, increasing the success rate of his plan.
However, there was one thing the third-year had failed to consider.
His opponent was no ordinary mage.
“…”
Clara’s strategy was the same as the man’s: a blitz.
All seven students, who had been charging with terrifying momentum, came to a dead halt. No, they were forced to halt.
“…Does this even make sense?”
Along with a hollow voice, the sound of weapons clattering to the floor echoed through the now-silent auditorium. The students on the second floor, who had been cheering and shouting just a moment ago, were all staring with their mouths agape.
Magic Missile.
It was the most basic spell a mage first learned, creating a bolt of blue mana to strike an opponent. Any noble child could use it by the age of ten, and depending on the caster’s skill, it was enough to kill an ordinary person or a low-level monster.
But these seven students were all warriors. Normally, being hit by a Magic Missile would result in nothing more than a sharp sting.
However, the story changed when those Magic Missiles blanketed the entire auditorium.
Starting from right in front of them, whether they looked down, up, left, or right—no matter where they turned their heads—all they could see were Magic Missiles. Thousands of them.
The man’s strategy hadn't been bad. But no matter how well an ant plans, it cannot defeat a whale in the middle of the ocean.