Chapter 19: Elicia 3
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 19: Elicia 3
"What are you all just standing around for? Get in the fight!"
I shouted at the students, who remained rooted to the spot in a daze. It seemed they still hadn't quite recovered from the shock of my lie.
"Hahahaha! As expected, this Academy is full of lunatics!"
Kuran Isar was the first to snap out of it.
The bronze-skinned giant let out a booming laugh and lunged at Professor Elicia. He moved with such explosive force that the floorboards beneath him splintered and gouged.
It was a burst of speed that defied his massive frame. A fist, carrying the full momentum of his weight, swung toward Professor Elicia’s face.
Thud.
Professor Elicia caught the fist with a single hand. Her expression remained perfectly composed.
"Is this the extent of your strength?"
Unlike the relaxed professor, Kuran looked flustered. He clearly hadn't expected his punch to be stopped so effortlessly.
"What in the—?"
"Now, let's test your durability."
As Professor Elicia threw a counter-punch, Kuran couldn't even react. He took the hit squarely in the face and was sent hurtling into the wall.
Crash!
Earlier, I had managed to twist my body just before impact to minimize the damage, but Kuran slammed headfirst into the masonry.
"Is he... dead?"
"Urgh... A great warrior of my tribe... does not fall to something like this..."
A normal person would have been knocked out instantly, but Kuran’s tenacity was incredible. He regained his senses almost immediately and charged again.
The only reason Kuran could still stand was due to a specific trait unique to the Isar Tribe.
"Even if you have the will to fight, you cannot do so while unconscious."
Professor Elicia vanished, reappearing behind the charging Kuran in an instant. She delivered a sharp strike to the back of his neck, instantly knocking him cold. Wow. I’m seeing the kind of move you only ever see in movies right in front of my eyes.
"Come to think of it, I haven't mentioned the objective yet."
The students stared at her with wide eyes, paralyzed by the display of overwhelming power.
"I will not use mana while fighting you. Your goal is to force me to use mana before the end of the first semester."
Not using mana was a massive handicap. However, no one dared to scoff at the claim.
Just now, Kuran had reinforced his body with mana when he charged. Yet, Professor Elicia had caught that fist effortlessly without using a drop of her own.
If someone like her actually used mana, she could wipe us all out in less than a minute.
"Since Mr. Kuran is unconscious and can't hear you, I'll fill him in later."
Having caught my breath while Kuran was busy being a punching bag, I spoke up while tugging on a string hanging in the air.
"You should have realized by now that such tricks won't work."
It seemed Professor Elicia thought I was trying to bind her with strings again. But this time, I had something else in mind.
Swish!
Suddenly, a dagger whistled through the air toward her.
To be precise, it was a trap I had rigged; pulling the string triggered a hidden mechanism that launched the blade.
The dagger came from a perfect blind spot, but Professor Elicia caught it without even looking.
Snap.
Clap, clap, clap, clap!
"Wow~ catching that is truly impressive!"
I applauded her as if she had just performed a marvelous magic trick. I knew it wouldn't work, but I didn't expect her to block it quite so casually.
"Then, shall we see if you can block this as well?"
When I asked with genuine curiosity, Professor Elicia let out a weary sigh.
"Sigh... Loki, anyone would think you were the one testing me."
"Oh, come on~ surely not."
"Was the reason you stalled for time with that lie earlier to set up these daggers and strings?"
"Bingo! Correct! Unfortunately, I haven't prepared a prize for you."
The only reason I had lied earlier was to buy the time necessary to rig the classroom with various tricks.
"If you were going to set them up, wouldn't it have been better to do it while the others were attacking me?"
As she said, it would have been easier and safer to set the traps while she was distracted by the other students.
However, there was one flaw in that plan.
"Wouldn't it be suspicious in its own way if I was just standing there doing nothing while everyone else fought?"
"I suppose that's true."
At my words, Professor Elicia gave a chic, knowing smile.
"Then let's see these traps you went through the trouble of lying to set up."
"You won't be disappointed. I've prepared more than just one or two stage props."
I pulled a string, and this time, a dagger flew from behind her.
Professor Elicia reached out to catch it just like before, but the dagger vanished the moment her fingers touched it.
"Haha, that one was a fake!"
Immediately, another dagger flew toward the hand she had just extended. It was at an angle that was physically impossible to catch from her current position.
"Tch."
Realizing she couldn't catch it, Professor Elicia kicked off the ground to dodge.
"I see. An attack that mixes the real and the fake using your Innate Magic. Creative."
Just as she said, I had used an illusion to create a fake dagger heading toward her at the same time I pulled the string for the real one.
She tried to catch the illusion, and as a result, she lost the window to catch the real blade and was forced to move.
"The first stage prop was a failure. But that's alright! I still have plenty of props left in the wings."
"It's an excellent method of attack. But why didn't you use it when fighting the golem?"
"I have plenty of string, but do you have any idea how expensive daggers are?"
A decent dagger costs a fortune. And on the day of the entrance ceremony, I was flat broke.
"If it weren't for the money I received from you last time, Professor, I was seriously considering stealing knives from the cafeteria to throw."
"Sigh... if you don't want another demerit point, fix that mindset of yours."
"Of course! Now that I have money, there's no need for such petty theft!"
Professor Elicia lightly warmed up her shoulders while talking to me.
"Loki."
"Yes! Professor Elicia!"
"The daggers only fly when you pull the strings. Correct?"
"That is correct!"
"What will you do if I charge at you without giving you the time to pull a single string?"
As she spoke, she began walking toward me. If I tried to reach for a string, she would likely dash forward and end me instantly.
But Professor Elicia walking toward me was exactly what I had anticipated.
Creak.
Professor Elicia took a step forward, and her leg caught on a tripwire installed along the floor.
"The daggers only fly when I pull them, but that's not the case for everything else, is it?"
Boom!
A heavy desk, boasting a mass incomparable to a dagger, came crashing down on her from above.
"Tch."
Professor Elicia clicked her tongue and threw a punch at the desk, shattering the wood into splinters.
"The Principal will have something to say if he finds out about the furniture."
At the mention of the Principal, I asked her in a worried voice.
"I'm broke—is that thing expensive?"
"Don't worry. You won't have to pay for it."
"Wow, that's a relief. I was worried since it's already been triggered, but I'm glad I'm not on the hook for the bill."
Creak. Creak. Creak. Creak.
With the first desk launched, the other tricks connected to the rest of the furniture began to trigger in a chain reaction.
"I've connected every single desk in the classroom to the strings, and I certainly don't have the money to pay for all of them."
"All of them?"
"Yes! Every single one!"
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
As soon as I finished speaking, every desk in the room swarmed toward Professor Elicia. Dozens of heavy desks piled onto her position, turning the center of the room into a chaotic mountain of debris.
I turned to Clara, the disciple of the Tower Master, who was staring blankly at the scene.
"Miss Clara!"
"...Yes?"
Clara spoke while looking at me with deep suspicion.
Why is she acting like that? It's not like I suddenly shoved my handsome face into hers.
Since that wasn't the priority, I spoke to her urgently.
"Hurry up and fire off a spell before the Professor recovers!"
"There's no reaction... isn't she already defeated?"
Indeed, Professor Elicia was buried under a mountain of desks and there was no movement, but I knew all too well that an attack of this level could never take her down.
"Not a chance."
"Sigh... Fine, I get it."
Clara let out a short sigh and began her incantation. Fire erupted from her staff, growing at an incredible speed.
'Her incantation has gotten much faster than last time.'
"Fireball!"
A Fireball that looked more like a falling meteor slammed into the pile of desks where Professor Elicia was buried.
"It would be nice if this was the end."
Crash!
No sooner had I spoken than one of the desks covering Professor Elicia came flying toward me as if it had been kicked.
"Eek!"
I threw myself to the side to dodge the flying furniture. Professor Elicia walked out from the smoke and debris, her body without a single scratch.
Seeing this, Clara took a step back, her face pale.
"What... what exactly is that professor?"
"I don't know either."
In truth, I knew exactly who Professor Elicia was.
The reason she was so strong even without using mana. The reason she didn't have a single scratch even after that combined attack.
Professor Elicia's true identity was a Dragon.
Her strength ranked within the top five in all of Croaka.
I spoke to Professor Elicia as she approached me, pointing a finger toward the mage.
"The person who attacked at the very end was Miss Clara! Get her!"