Chapter 20: Elicia 4
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 20: Elicia 4
Dragons.
In fantasy novels and games, they are often depicted as arrogant and powerful beings, and Croaka was no exception.
Blessed with infinite mana, dragons possessed lifespans and strength on a completely different dimension from any other creature. While magic was their specialty, that didn't mean their physical abilities were lacking in the slightest.
In the world of Croaka that I knew, only two dragons ever appeared. And one of them was currently walking toward me.
"The last person to attack was Clara."
"You're the one who made me do it!"
Professor Elicia ignored the bickering between Clara and me and lunged. Her target wasn't me, however—it was Clara.
Professor Elicia threw a punch.
"Tsk."
Clara clicked her tongue and manifested a Mana Shield to protect herself.
A blue shield flickered into existence in front of her. Unlike an ordinary Mana Shield, this one was exceptionally large and dense.
However, the moment Professor Elicia’s fist connected, the massive shield shattered into a thousand pieces.
"Clara, you need to develop a way to stop a close-quarters opponent other than just relying on a Mana Shield."
Professor Elicia offered this advice even as she extended her fist toward Clara again.
Just before the punch could land, I used my strings to pull Clara toward me. Elicia’s fist struck nothing but thin air.
Pulled by the strings, Clara naturally ended up in my arms.
It was what people usually called a 'princess carry.' I looked down at her and spoke in my most charming voice.
"Well? Don't I look like a prince on a white horse?"
Though my status wasn't that of royalty, I was confident that my face was handsomer than any prince from a fairy tale.
Clara’s expression crumpled at my words, and she whacked me on the head with her staff.
"Whose fault do you think this is in the first place? Put me down, now."
"Yes! Understood!"
I immediately let go. As a result, Clara plummeted to the floor. Having hit the ground in an instant, she glared up at me.
"I only did what you asked and put you down. It hurts my feelings when you look at me like that."
Even while Clara and I shared that brief exchange, the other students of the Special Class were being dismantled by Professor Elicia.
"All for God!!!!"
"The method of fighting by bestowing blessings upon yourself is novel, but your style is far too crude."
In Croaka, priests usually played the role of healing others or casting blessings to temporarily boost stats.
However, the bald priest charging at Professor Elicia was different. He had cast every blessing imaginable on himself and was swinging a morning star.
Whoosh. Whoosh.
The morning star possessed enough destructive power to make the air howl with every swing, but not once did it touch Professor Elicia.
"Kuran over there might look like he's swinging his fists mindlessly, but his movements contain the refined techniques of his tribe."
Professor Elicia thrust her fist forward, striking the bald priest in the solar plexus and sending him collapsing to the ground.
"But you rely solely on strength without any technique, which is why you're defeated so easily."
After the bald priest, Professor Elicia’s next target was the swordsman from the East.
Holding two swords curved like crescent moons, he swung them at her in tandem.
"You rely too heavily on Eastern swordsmanship alone."
The two blades traced dazzling arcs as they flew toward her, but she evaded them with ease.
"Are you mocking the swordsmanship of the East?"
"It's not that. You are simply too obsessed with it. It looks flashy, but paradoxically, it appears simple to anyone who actually knows the style."
The two blades, which looked like a blur of steel to me, were both caught in Professor Elicia’s bare hands.
"Don't just obsess over Eastern swordsmanship; create a style of your own. Only then can you become stronger."
With those final words, Professor Elicia delivered a kick. The swordsman was knocked unconscious instantly.
Professor Elicia then turned her gaze toward Clara and me. It was as if she were saying we were next.
"Miss Clara, it looks like it's our turn."
"I can see that much for myself."
Professor Elicia kicked off the ground and charged. Just before she reached us, the earth rose up to form a barrier between her and me.
"…A spirit?"
As Clara said, the only person capable of such a feat was a spiritist, and there was only one in the Special Class.
Sepia Rivayden.
Brushing her pink hair back, she appeared and spoke to me.
"With this, you owe me one, okay?"
Boom!
With a single punch, Professor Elicia shattered the earthen wall and closed the distance.
The four elemental spirits were hovering around Sepia.
"Attack!"
Sepia commanded them, but the spirits were trembling as if paralyzed by fear.
"This has never happened before! Why aren't you attacking?"
Spirits are beings close to nature, and as such, they instinctively felt a primal terror toward a dragon.
"Sepia Rivayden, your Spirit Affinity is high enough to contract with all four elemental spirit types, but because you've contracted with too many, you cannot perfectly control each one."
Professor Elicia gave her advice even as she threw a punch.
Just as she said, if Sepia had known how to control the spirits perfectly, they would have overcome their fear to attack.
"With this, the debt I just owed is repaid!"
I used my strings to slightly alter the trajectory of Professor Elicia’s fist. Consequently, her punch struck the air right next to Sepia instead of hitting her.
"Lucas! Now!"
No sooner had I spoken than Lucas’s spear came raining down fiercely from the sky toward Professor Elicia. She kicked off the ground and moved backward to dodge the flying weapon.
Lucas quickly snatched his spear and swung it at her. Compared to the entrance ceremony, his movements had become incredibly fast and sharp.
It was clear how much effort he had put in over the past week. It was a piercing attack, but it failed to reach Professor Elicia.
"Lucas, I have no particular advice for you regarding the spear. However, why are you not using that power?"
"That's…"
"Do you honestly think you can survive the Academy without using it?"
Lucas seemed stung by her words and couldn't find an answer. Professor Elicia grabbed his spear and threw it, along with him, against the wall.
"That is your arrogance. A weakling must do whatever it takes to face the strong. Like that fellow over there, for instance."
Professor Elicia looked at me as she spoke, and the students who hadn't passed out yet followed her gaze.
"Have you finished picking up all the daggers?"
"Yes! I've got them all!"
Just as she noticed, I had been moving around the classroom picking up the fallen daggers to replenish my stock.
"Unlike the other students, Loki, you seem accustomed to facing those stronger than yourself."
"It's because the people who taught me were all incredibly powerful."
The two people who had taught me were the Emperor and Duke Adelian.
And those two were strong beyond comparison to me.
In the Emperor's case, he overwhelmed me with Shadow Step.
Duke Adelian tormented me while his entire body was shrouded in magic.
Fighting those two had caused my ability to set traps and read the flow of battle to improve exponentially.
"I haven't finished setting up the stage yet. Could you give me a little more time?"
Professor Elicia had noticed sooner than I expected, so I hadn't finished setting my tricks.
"I'm afraid I can't do that."
"Is that so? Well, it can't be helped! Unfortunately, I couldn't set the stage, but I've prepared something else so you won't be disappointed, Professor!"
"Something else?"
Before Professor Elicia could express her doubt, a voice came from behind me. It was stuttering, but filled with conviction.
"I-I succeeded."
Professor Elicia immediately felt something change within her body.
"This… is it a curse-type spell?"
"Ding-dong! Correct."
While I was picking up the daggers, I had asked the sorcerer to cast a spell on Professor Elicia. With her level of skill, she could probably break a curse instantly, but…
"You said you wouldn't use mana, didn't you, Professor?"
Without using mana, even Professor Elicia couldn't break the curse immediately. Of course, the curse wouldn't last long.
I activated Shadow Step, lunged at her, and swung my cane.
Though her movements were slower than before due to the curse, she was still incredibly fast.
I focused on dodging rather than attacking. If I got hit even once, it was over.
As I focused entirely on evasion, an opening appeared in Professor Elicia’s defense. I attacked that gap without hesitation, but I was the one who got caught.
Professor Elicia, suddenly accelerating, threw a punch at me. My posture was broken, so I couldn't dodge and took the hit directly.
'How?'
How did she suddenly get faster?
The curse couldn't have worn off yet.
"Unfortunately, I have more experience than you. No matter how good you are at reading the flow, you're still lacking compared to me."
Only then did I realize. Professor Elicia hadn't suddenly gotten faster.
The curse hadn't been broken either.
She had intentionally hidden her true speed while under the effect of the curse.
Then, she purposely showed an opening, and when I went for it, she used her actual speed to strike.
Realizing why I had been defeated, my consciousness flickered out.
.
.
.
.
I opened my eyes.
'Did I pass out?'
I recalled the situation before I lost consciousness.
I had been completely outplayed by Professor Elicia in our battle of wits.
Currently, Professor Elicia was dealing with Kuran. How much time had passed?
Wham!
Kuran took a punch from Professor Elicia and fell unconscious again. She looked at the clock with a relaxed expression.
"About two hours left, I suppose. Anyone who wakes up in the meantime fights me again."
I closed my eyes again.
"Loki, I know you're awake."
I'm still unconscious, Professor.