Chapter 192: Proof 14
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 192: Proof 14
"Aha! It seems Student Sepia, just like Student Clara, intends to face all nine of her challengers at once!"
Professor Idra’s voice, brimming with amusement, rang through the auditorium. Naturally, the hall erupted into a localized uproar.
"What? Sepia’s taking them all on at once, just like Clara?"
"Is this for real?"
"That’s insane."
The students couldn't help but be shocked by Idra’s announcement.
It was true that Clara had just delivered an overwhelming victory against seven opponents, including third-years. Even those who had expected Clara to win hadn't anticipated such crushing, one-sided dominance against upperclassmen.
The students watching from the second floor began to wonder.
Wasn't that kind of performance only possible because it was Clara?
Could Sepia really pull off the same feat?
"Between Clara and Sepia, who’s actually stronger?"
"Hmm... in my opinion, wouldn't Lady Adelian be stronger? She’s a mage, while Lady Rivayden is a spiritist."
Spiritists could manipulate elements with more variety than mages because they received help from spirits—which were essentially nature itself. However, in terms of pure destructive power, mages were generally considered to be several levels above spiritists.
"Didn't Lady Adelian win when they fought before entering the Academy?"
"Sure, but it’s been quite a while since then. Lady Rivayden must have gotten stronger too."
"And what, you think Lady Adelian just slacked off after getting in?"
Clara was the daughter of the Adelian family and the disciple of the Tower Master. Sepia, though an adopted daughter, was a Lady of the Rivayden family. Naturally, the two had crossed paths several times at various social gatherings even before entering the Academy.
Of course, since neither Clara nor Sepia were the type to approach others first, they had rarely spoken.
The greatest magical talent in history.
The greatest spirit-using talent in history.
Unlike the two girls, who had little interest in each other, the people around them were always obsessed with the question of who was stronger whenever they were in the same room.
Then, a year before they entered the Academy...
At the Tower Master’s suggestion, the two had a sparring match.
The result?
Sepia suffered a narrow defeat to Clara.
The match was a shock to both of them. Sepia was devastated that she had lost to someone her own age when she needed to become stronger to avenge her family and village. Clara, despite her victory, was shaken because she had believed she could overwhelmingly defeat anyone her age except for Lucas—yet she had nearly lost.
Though a winner was decided, both girls trained even more ruthlessly after that duel.
Sepia trained so that she could surely kill the person who massacred her village once she finally found them. Clara, too, had her own reasons for needing to become stronger.
A year passed, and they both entered Croa Academy.
With their overflowing natural talent, iron wills, and Professor Elicia’s brutal lessons, the two grew at an incredible pace.
As the students speculated, Clara had been stronger than Sepia.
Until recently, that is.
Borrowing Loki’s mask, the special training, and finally, her Awakening.
The Sepia who had killed Katsudo after training with Loki was worlds apart from her former self.
But the students, unaware of this, believed it would be impossible for Sepia to win against nine people—or at least, they didn't think she could show the same overwhelming dominance Clara had.
"Setting aside who's stronger between the two, isn't magic more advantageous than spirits when dealing with multiple opponents?"
"Plus, Lady Adelian faced seven, but Lady Rivayden has to face nine."
Seven versus nine.
One might think it was only a difference of two people, but the students challenging Sepia were all second-years, with only one exception. The skill level of a second-year at Croa Academy was roughly equivalent to that of a mid-tier adventurer.
While most students were busy gossiping about whether Sepia could win, some focused on a different detail—like why Sepia had suddenly told Idra she wanted to fight them all at once just ten minutes before the exam.
"But why did Sepia suddenly decide to take them all on at once?"
"Maybe she just didn't want them arguing over who gets to go last, like Clara’s challengers did?"
"I don't know, Sepia’s expression looks pretty grim. Doesn't she look a bit... angry?"
"Look at you, acting like an expert on expressions when you got dumped because you didn't even realize your own girlfriend was mad."
"What? You want to die?"
"Tsk tsk! If you ask me, she definitely got triggered after watching Clara’s match."
"Oh! So it’s a 'Special Class pride' thing?"
"Hmm, I didn't think Sepia had that kind of personality."
Naturally, no student correctly guessed the truth: that Sepia was fuming because Loki had said he 'almost fell for Clara' while watching her fight everyone at once.
The students didn't know who was stronger, why Sepia had made the sudden change, or why the Special Class students had joined such a strange club.
But they were certain of one thing.
"I'm so glad I came to watch."
"Tell me about it."
This club entrance exam was incredibly entertaining.
The Special Class didn't even exist until last year. It was a place where geniuses, the kind who usually only appeared once in a blue moon, were all gathered together. While they shared afternoon classes with the general students, their morning classes were held separately.
It was one of the Seven Wonders of the Academy that several students who had ventured into the basement to see what the Special Class did in the morning never returned.
For the record, Loki’s face behind the mask was also considered one of the Seven Wonders.
The spectators watched Sepia and the other Special Class students with eyes full of anticipation, wondering what they would show next.
* * *
The Special Class students were also surprised to hear that Sepia was taking everyone on at once.
However, they differed from the other students in one key way.
They didn't for a second think Sepia would lose to nine people, nor did they think she was weaker than Clara. Unlike the rest of the school, the Special Class knew that Sepia’s strength had skyrocketed starting from a specific day.
You can't help but notice when you're fighting alongside her against Professor Elicia every day.
Instead, the Special Class was in an uproar for a different reason. It wasn't about whether Sepia could win or why she was doing it.
It started with a comment from Gashurin, who was scheduled to fight after Sepia.
"I find that I, too, can no longer restrain myself."
"Restrain yourself from what?" Lucas asked from beside him.
"This one shall also face all eleven challengers at once, just like Sepia and Clara!" Gashurin declared, jumping to his feet.
"Ehh?"
"Hahaha! That’s a great idea, Gashurin! Me too! I’ll fight like that too!"
Unlike the horrified Frederick, Kuran laughed boisterously and immediately followed Gashurin’s lead.
"The Lord said to trust and not doubt the choices of one's companions."
Ren’s words essentially meant he was also going to fight all his challengers at once.
"I-Is that really okay? I-If you lose, more than ten people will j-join the club at o-once!"
Seeing Kuran and Ren join in, a panicked Frederick spoke to Loki in a rapid-fire stutter. Frederick expected Loki to stop them, but contrary to his expectations, Loki spoke with nonchalant amusement.
"It would be a problem if that many people joined at once. But... it’s not a problem if they don't lose, right? You know their skills well enough, don't you, Frederick?"
"W-Well, yes, b-but what if they g-get careless...?"
"Aiyee~ If they did that, Professor Elicia wouldn't leave them in one piece. You guys aren't going to be careless, right?"
Hearing Loki, Kuran, Ren, and Gashurin nodded and chimed in.
"This one does not know the meaning of carelessness."
"Don't worry! I won't let a single one of them into the club!"
"The Lord commanded us to always be humble. How could I commit the sin of arrogance and make a mistake?"
"See? No problem at all!"
"B-But..."
Frederick tried to stop them at the last second, but Kuran, Ren, and Gashurin were already walking toward Idra.
"Alright! The exam starts in three minutes, so Student Sepia and the nine challengers, please come to the center of the hall... Eh? Do you have something to say to me? What? Really? Hehehe! Pfft! Ah, I'm so glad I took the lead on this exam. My clock-out time might be pushed back, but if it's this much fun, I can live with that."
Since Idra was using a magical microphone, the students on the second floor couldn't hear the voices of Kuran, Ren, and Gashurin. They watched Idra with puzzled looks as she seemed to be talking to herself.
After laughing for a good while, Idra spoke with an even brighter smile than before.
"Following Student Sepia, Students Gashurin, Kuran, and Ren have also decided to face all their challengers at once!"
The expressions of the students on the second floor were the exact opposite of Frederick’s. They were grinning ear to ear.
"Loki, you're not going to fight everyone at once like them, are you?"
"No, I don't really feel the need to."
Even if he fought them one by one, he could finish each match so quickly that there wouldn't be much of a time difference anyway. Besides, he wanted to see the students bickering over who had to go last.
"Phew... thank goodness."
"Why?" Loki asked the sighing Frederick.
"I-It would be w-weird if I was the o-only one fighting one-on-one. W-What if the p-people challenging me ask why I'm n-not fighting them all at once...?"
"Aha! I see."
Suddenly, a chill ran down Frederick’s spine.
"W-Wait, you're not... right?"
"Not what?"
"D-Don't smile like that!"
"I'm wearing a mask. How do you even know if I'm smiling or not, Frederick?"
"I can h-hear the mischief in your v-voice!"
"Aiyee~ what do you take me for? But hey, if I say I'll fight everyone at once like the others, are you going to do it too?"
"P-Please, no!"
"Hehe! I'm sure you could do it, Frederick!"
"N-No!"
Just as Loki was walking toward Professor Idra with a snicker...
"Then, let the exam for Student Sepia versus nine challengers begin!"
The match started.
I should probably focus since it's Sepia's turn, right?
Loki decided he would tell Idra about his plan to fight everyone at once after Sepia’s match was over. But when he turned his gaze toward the arena...
All nine students who had challenged Sepia were already collapsed on the floor.
And Loki’s eyes met Sepia’s, who was looking at him with an expression that clearly asked, 'How was that?'