Translator: RaidenTL

Chapter 96: Sepia Rivayden 6

Ae, one of Darun’s lackeys, had been relentlessly swinging his axe at Loki. He let out a strangled scream when he realized Loki was perched atop the very axe blade currently embedded in the ground.

"Where do you think you're standing, you arrogant brat!"

Ae took great pride in being a second-year, but he had lost his composure long ago. Loki had been dodging every single attack with his hands in his pockets, taunting him the entire time.

"Fine! Let’s see you stay up there!"

Ae decided to heave the axe ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠upward—and Loki along with it—to send the boy flying.

"Heave... hoooo!"

Confident in his raw strength, Ae reinforced his body with mana and tried to wrench the axe from the earth. However, no matter how much mana he pumped into his muscles, the weapon didn't budge an inch.

"Is there some kind of problem?"

A voice dripping with ridicule drifted down from atop the blade. Loki was still standing there comfortably, his hands still tucked away in his pockets.

"Aaaaaaaagh!"

Infuriated, Ae poured every ounce of his strength into moving the weapon, but it remained rooted to the spot as if it were part of the world itself.

"Yawn... It’s getting a bit noisy. Could you be a dear and quiet down?"

"Huff... Huff..."

Hearing the yawn, Ae stared up at Loki, gasping for breath. For some reason, the smiling eyes and upturned lips painted on the mask felt chilling.

"Tsk. Useless bastard."

Watching Ae being toyed with, Darun clicked his tongue and gave a sharp nod to the other students.

Shring.

At Darun’s signal, more than ten students standing behind him drew their swords and lunged at Loki.

'Even for Loki, that many people is...'

Sepia drew her own sword, intending to intervene. Even if Loki seemed to have the upper hand now, he could still get hurt if that many people attacked at once. Just the thought of Loki being injured brought back the trauma of the tragedy in her village, filling her with a cold sense of anxiety.

But just as Sepia was about to summon her spirits—

Pat.

Someone placed a hand on her head. Sepia turned her head in annoyance, only to be startled.

'When did he...?'

Loki, who had been standing on the axe just a second ago, was now right beside her. The moment she realized the hand belonged to him, her irritation vanished as if it had never existed.

"Ah, I’ve taken care of the one who was barking so loudly."

Without noticing the subtle coarseness in Loki’s tone, Sepia looked back toward where he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had just been.

"Mmph! Mmmph!"

The man who had been swinging the axe was now collapsed on the ground, bound tightly in glowing strings. He thrashed about, trying to break free, but the threads showed no sign of snapping.

"Miss Sepia, don't worry. Just wait here and have a drink. I’m about to show you something very entertaining."

Loki pulled a drink out of his Pocket Dimension and handed it to her. As he ran toward the students with their swords drawn, he looked... genuinely happy.

* * *

Sepia watched with dazed eyes as Loki moved, his hands still shoved deep in his pockets. Just as he said, there was absolutely no need to worry.

Swish!
Whoosh!
Zip!

More than ten students swung their weapons and unleashed magic with everything they had, but they couldn't even graze the hem of his clothes. The sight reminded her of the entrance exam, when Loki had gone around slaughtering artificial monsters.

The only difference was that his current opponents were humans with intellect, not mindless beasts. Yet, just like back then, not a single person could land a hit. He toyed with them without even taking his hands out of his pockets, like an adult playing with toddlers.

"Surround him!"

Realizing they couldn't do anything at this rate, one of them barked an order, and the others quickly encircled Loki. Darun’s subordinates thought this would finally force him to get serious, but Loki spoke up, his posture relaxed.

"Hmm. I didn't feel much when I was surrounded by girls, but being surrounded by men is making me feel quite queasy."

Just as Sepia suspected, Loki was enjoying himself.

If his [Poker Face] had been active, he wouldn't have even considered this fight. It wasn't a necessary battle, but the thought of how much this would rattle Darun made his blood pump with excitement. Even surrounded by students with bared blades, he felt no fear.

"Why are you just standing there after going through the trouble of surrounding me? You should be snapping at me like the loyal hounds of that... what was his name again? That forgettable guy over there."

"I don't care who you are, you won't survive this. Everyone, attack at once!"

The students swung their swords and lunged from all directions. They took pride in their coordination, believing that even Loki, who had dodged everything so easily until now, wouldn't be able to escape a simultaneous strike.

Swish.
Whoosh.

But miserably, the result was the same. Their attacks failed to reach him.

Zip.

Swords swung at him from the front and back simultaneously, but Loki avoided them with a simple, casual duck of his head.

"Surely that wasn't it? Not after all that posturing."

Even Askal, the youngest Imperial Knight, had struggled to land a hit on Loki. There was no way he was going to be caught by weaklings like these—people who weren't even on Johanna's level. Just by looking at their eyes, shoulders, and footwork, it was obvious how they would move and where they would swing.

"Come on, now. Put some effort into it. I haven't even taken my hands out of my pockets yet. If you keep this up, your master might abandon you, and I won't be held responsible."

Sepia hadn't noticed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠yet, but Loki’s personality and speech were slightly different from usual. The version of Loki the students were seeing now was influenced by two traits: [Poker Face] and [Clown].

Normally, [Poker Face] suppressed Loki’s personality and emotions. If he only had [Poker Face], he would appear as a cold-blooded individual who showed no emotion. The [Clown] trait sat on top of that.

However, with [Poker Face] currently inactive, Loki was being influenced solely by the [Clown] trait. He maintained his polite speech, but his true personality was leaking through the gaps.

"Huff... huff... They said he was weak as long as he didn't use magic tools..."

Loki let out a chuckle as he overheard a student muttering to himself, exhausted from the futile attacking.

'Do they really think I got first ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠place in the practical exam just because of magic tools?'

The only reason he used magic tools during the exam was because it was the most efficient and certain way to secure the top spot.

* * *

Darun began to panic as he realized that even with everyone attacking together, they couldn't even touch the hem of Loki’s clothes.

'What do I do? Should I stop now?'

He had thought that if they all swarmed him at once, they could catch him before he had a chance to use his magic tools, but they were completely outmatched.

Grit.

Darun bit his nails anxiously, debating his next move.

"Did you really think I’d allow you to just walk away?"

Of course, Loki didn't miss the look on Darun’s face. He had no intention of letting this end so anticlimactically.

"Take a look around. What do you think will happen if it ends like this? Try using that dim wit of yours to think for once."

Loki slipped through the circle of students as if they weren't even there, approached Darun, and whispered in his ear. Darun looked around. The passing students had all stopped to watch, whispering among themselves.

It was already a problem that a group of second-years was attacking a single freshman, but the bigger issue was that they were being unilaterally humiliated. If they lost after ganging up on him, the disgrace would be unbearable.

Buzz, buzz.

He couldn't hear exactly what the spectators were saying, but Darun’s face turned bright red, certain they were mocking him.

"Everyone, use your artifacts!"

At Darun’s roar, his subordinates began pulling various artifacts from their pockets.

Artifacts. This was the reason they had become Darun’s lackeys in the first place. Magic tools that reinforced the body, tools that sped up incantations—once these students had tasted the power of artifacts, they couldn't give it up. They served Darun either because they were addicted to the power or to maintain their grades.

Clap, clap, clap, clap!

As the subordinates revealed their artifacts, Loki began to clap with exaggerated flair.

"Exactly! That’s the spirit! Watching you all gang up on a single freshman, get thrashed, and then pathetically try to win using artifacts... it really brings a tear to my eye. Bravo!"

The students' faces looked ready to explode with rage at Loki’s sarcasm, but they had no intention of stopping. Driven to a frenzy by his provocations, their minds were consumed by the single goal of taking him down.

Because of this, neither Darun nor his subordinates noticed the camera already rolling in the corner.

"Goodness. I really had no intention of fighting my seniors. But to avoid getting hurt, I suppose I have 'no choice' but to draw my weapon."

Since this is strictly self-defense, after all, Loki thought. He pulled his weapon from his Pocket Dimension. No one could see the grin spreading beneath his mask.

Hell yeah! Now I can beat the shit out of them.