Chapter 46: Club 3
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 46: Club 3
Upon hearing that only forty minutes remained, Lucas immediately bolted toward the forest.
The other students watched him go, their expressions a mix of confusion and alarm.
"Forty minutes left? What is he talking about?"
"I don't know! Just run! Get to the forest, now!"
None of the other students had grasped the situation as clearly as Lucas, but seeing him sprint off after Professor Idra’s announcement was enough to send them all scrambling into the woods.
Lucas ran far faster than the rest.
Loki has likely already gathered a fair amount.
Twenty minutes.
For twenty minutes, Loki had been working without any interference from the other students.
He’s probably cleared out all the beads on the outskirts. I have to go deeper.
With that thought, Lucas plunged into the thick of the forest. Then, he skidded to a halt.
"Ha... ha... ha..."
A hollow laugh echoed through the dense, lush woods.
"Seriously... this is insane."
They say that when a person sees something truly shocking, their body freezes. For a moment, even Lucas’s thoughts ground to a halt. He had been trained never to stop thinking, but anyone in his position would have been stunned into silence.
"How much time is left—"
"Why did you stop—"
The students trailing behind Lucas burst into the clearing and froze just as he had.
"What is this?"
"Am I seeing things?"
"Just how many are there?"
An uncountable number of blue beads were scattered across the forest. They completely blanketed the ground, hiding the soil and weeds from view. Even the trees, from their trunks to their highest leaves, were covered in them.
The forest, which should have been a vibrant green, was now glowing with a surreal, shimmering blue light.
Professor Idra hadn't specified exactly how many beads were hidden in the forest. Driven by greed, the students lunged forward.
"They're mine! All of them!"
But as they reached out to grab the blue beads, the spheres vanished like mirages the moment they were touched.
"Huh?"
As the confused students faltered, one of them shouted, "They're fakes! That guy made them all!"
Only then did the students realize Loki was nowhere to be seen. They finally remembered his specific abilities.
"You mean he tricked us and went in first?"
"Then everything here is an illusion."
Realizing they were being played, the students prepared to head deeper into the woods.
"Dammit!"
One student, irritated at being fooled, kicked a blue bead rolling near his feet.
Thud.
"Wait, what?"
The bead, which should have vanished if it were a fake, simply rolled away after being struck. The student ran over and snatched it up.
"Hey, this one's real!"
The student stared blankly at the bead in his hand. The surrounding students swarmed him.
"It's real?"
"It's not an illusion?"
"If he made it with magic, it would disappear when you touch it!"
The students who were about to head deeper into the forest stopped in their tracks.
"Does that mean there are real ones mixed in with all these?"
"..............."
Once again, eyes filled with greed turned toward the forest floor, which was carpeted in countless blue beads.
There are real ones in there.
There were still an astronomical number of blue beads left. Most were likely fakes, but there was a chance some were real.
Stomp, stomp, stomp.
The students threw themselves at the beads.
Swish, swish, thud, thud.
They swung swords and kicked the air to dispel the fake beads. With dozens of students doing this at once, the illusions on the ground began to vanish rapidly.
"Huff... huff..."
"Phew... ha..."
The students moved with frantic desperation to claim the beads before anyone else. Before long, many were already exhausted.
Surely they aren't all fakes, right?
There have to be more real ones.
The students' gazes shifted toward the trees covered in blue beads. The greed in their eyes was slowly being replaced by a gnawing anxiety.
* * *
While most of the students were busy hunting for real beads that might not even exist, Lucas was racing through the forest alone. He moved with such speed that the fallen leaves swirled into the air in his wake.
There’s no way Loki would leave many real beads back there.
When the others had stopped at the sight of a single real bead, Lucas was the only one who kept running. They probably knew it too—that there were hardly any real beads left in that pile.
So why did they stay and search?
Because someone else might find one. Because they hated the idea of someone else finding a bead easily, they stayed behind to scavenge.
And that’s exactly what Loki was counting on.
Professor Elicia often told Loki that he was a master of mind games. Lucas had once asked his father what it took to be good at such tactical battles. His father had looked at him with a puzzled expression before answering: You just have to read people's psychology.
At first, Lucas hadn't understood. But after watching Loki’s duel with Rophri, he finally did.
"No, that couldn't even be called a duel."
It was like a perfectly choreographed stage play. From start to finish, Rophri had been dancing in the palm of Loki’s hand. Loki fought by considering his opponent’s origin, background, and even their personality.
Watching Loki and Rophri fight, Lucas had wondered several times: If I fought Prince Rophri, could I win?
He concluded that if he used that power, he could.
But could I win as overwhelmingly as Loki did, without taking a single hit?
He reached the conclusion that it was absolutely impossible.
Then, if I fought Loki, could I win?
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't reach a conclusion. When people spoke of someone's strength, they usually described their power, speed, or technique. Lucas recalled Loki’s abilities: his peculiar movements, his Innate Magic, his various magic tools.
Variables.
Everything Loki possessed was a variable.
Snap.
As he sprinted through the forest, something caught his leg. Without panicking, he kicked off the ground to dodge.
Boom!
A tree crashed down exactly where he had been standing a second ago.
[Testing, testing—can you hear me~?]
Lucas looked toward the source of the voice. There stood a small, palm-sized doll.
"Ha!"
A hollow laugh escaped him, born of sheer absurdity. The doll was wearing a white mask and a red cloak. Even the voice... anyone could tell Loki was the owner.
"Loki, is that you?"
[For your information, this doll only delivers messages; it can't actually hear you.]
How on earth did he make something like this?
[The person listening is probably Lucas, right?]
Is he really not able to hear me?
[If it’s not Lucas, then whoever it is has already fallen into a trap and wouldn't be hearing this voice.]
So the condition for the doll to speak was the trap being triggered.
[I’m sorry for tricking everyone and leaving first... actually, I’m not! This is my ability, after all.]
"............"
[I’ll give you this doll as a special gift.]
The doll muttered, "No way," before continuing.
[Wait, is nobody actually listening to this? That would be super embarrassing.]
Lucas picked up the doll and tucked it into his pocket.
"Yerika would like this."
Lucas’s voice drifted through the forest.
"To have come this far and not see a single bead... Loki must have found them all already."
Still, it was fun... No, it wasn't. It wasn't fun at all.
Clench.
His fists tightened involuntarily. He was frustrated. Deeply frustrated. He had been played.
"Whew..."
He looked around to make sure no one was there. He closed his eyes and concentrated. A golden aura began to envelop Lucas’s body. A single leaf falling from a tree landed on Lucas’s head; it was instantly shredded to pieces.
I don't have a talent for mind games like Loki.
He had no Innate Magic, nor the skill to handle various magic tools.
"I really didn't want to use this..."
Whoosh.
A spear imbued with golden energy pierced the air.
CRASH—BOOM!!!!!!
Every tree in the direct line of Lucas’s spear thrust was blown apart. Lucas stared at the destruction as if it were only natural.
"Shall I go all out from here?"
He might lose today, but next time would be different.
* * *
"First place goes to student Loki!! Everyone, please give him a round of applause!"
Clap, clap, clap, clap.
Lucas was the only one clapping at first. However, seeing Lucas clap, the other students began to follow suit, albeit hesitantly.
Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap.
"Wow~ it feels so good to be welcomed by everyone."
I walked toward Professor Idra amidst the lukewarm applause.
"Here! This is the elixir I promised."
I accepted the elixir Professor Idra handed me. With this, I should be able to consume the elixir I received from the Emperor as well.
"Student Loki, do you have any thoughts on winning first place?"
At Professor Idra’s question, I turned to look at the students.
"I dedicate this glory to all of you. Oh! Of course, I’m the one keeping the elixir."
Glare.
Every single student shot me a look of pure loathing.
Ah, how sweet it is.
* * *
"So, what is the name of the club?"
After class, we were talking in Professor Idra’s office. Since I took first place in the exam, Professor Idra had promised to become the advisor for the club I was going to create.
"Since you're the advisor, Professor Idra, I'll let you in on the secret. It's the Clown Union Club!"
I had planned to keep it a secret until the end, but I told Professor Idra first.
"Ack! Is it possible to cancel?"
Professor Idra made a face I had never seen before upon hearing the name.
What’s wrong with the Clown Union Club?