Chapter 106

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Translator: MadScientist

Chapter: 106

Chapter Title: Guys, I'm Fucked! Suddenly the Big-Titted Backstabbers Are All Pressuring Me—What Do I Do?!

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Huuuuuh—

Mana drained out of me powerlessly.

Nothing was happening with the magic—it was just leaking away like water from a sieve.

I wondered how such a pointless spell could exist, but if this was what it was for...

Like that, I kept the spell going for about 124 seconds.

Just as ExtremeEfficiencyFanatic said, it consumed 360 mana per second, so by around 122 or 123 seconds, my mana was nearly bottomed out.

I had to stop before exhaustion hit, leaving just a little mana behind.

Checking the footage, the video captured me casting the spell perfectly.

It had appropriately mosaicked my face, too.

"Whoa, it's filled up a ton already."

I'd stopped when about 660 was left.

In that time, around 800 mana had regenerated.

Normally, I'd have to frantically use the breathing method to avoid exhaustion.

But with natural regeneration, this was so much easier.

Elves or dragons probably never hit mana exhaustion unless it was extreme.

Good thing I ended up eating that dirt.

Then I immediately uploaded the video— a little over two minutes long—to the gallery.

The gallery exploded with reactions once I posted the proof.

The gallery users who'd been half on the attack against me quickly switched sides.

The ones who'd been the most aggressively stirring shit mostly shut up.

And the floater who'd been the most vocal about doing a Grand Prostration? Nowhere to be seen.

No, I thought he'd run, but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that wasn't it.

Just like one gallery user said, running now would get him banned.

Unless he reincarnated, he couldn't change IPs, so breaking his word here meant that floater was gallery-banned for a while.

Honestly, I wasn't even that mad.

But the floater was seriously going to do a Grand Prostration.

Forcing it here might break his brain a little, but...

If he insisted, I'd let him ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be.

But then,

"...It's a girl?"

The mage in the floater's video was surprisingly a human female sorceress.

Her face was hidden, but the legs peeking from her draped-down robe and her figure made it obvious she was a woman.

The gallery reactions were explosive.

The floater's Grand Prostration proof got pinned as a shitpost in seconds, and I hit recommend on it.

I'd check it out in detail later.

No more time right now.

"30 minutes left..."

By the time I finished proving it, only 30 minutes remained until the second part of the awards ceremony.

They said they'd be right back, but I'd been gone for an hour and a half.

I was scared of getting chewed out by the others if I went back.

I rushed back to the venue, even using acceleration magic.

When I arrived, the party was in full swing.

They weren't kidding about hyping things up before part two—

tons of cadets and VIPs were already drinking and super hyped.

I searched through the crowd for Elrim and Hisenna.

Luckily, I spotted them quick.

Looked like Chayuri and Nayu had gathered to hang out with them.

No sign of Yuuna, though.

But,

"You guys were amazing today~ First-years, right? What're you up to after the awards?"

"You nobles? Perfect—we've got the numbers. How about hanging with us tonight? We'll show you a way better time than those other losers."

"Hey, Nayu. That's Nayu, right? Yeah, we can party with her today."

Some group of male cadets was hitting on the four of them.

Seemed like second-years, approaching via Nayu connection.

Hunting for girls, huh. Makes sense—they're all stunning.

Festival vibes meant this was happening everywhere.

Should I wait or just head to my awards seat?

Whatever, I needed to let them know I was back, so I headed over.

But Nayu spotted me first and suddenly yelled.

"Ah! Ian junior! Over here!"

The four guys' eyes snapped straight to me.

"...What the hell is that?"

"Oh. Ain't that the guy? The one who snagged the Rank-2 beast."

"Ah... the dude from their team?"

They checked me out and started whispering among themselves.

Something felt off, and up close, they just had those punchable faces.

"Loser! Where the hell were you?!"

"We were waiting, Ian...!"

"Why'd you take so long?"

All three lit up when they saw me and rushed over.

They were all flushed—definitely had a lot to drink.

More than that, the hunting guys' glares at me were terrifying.

Who the fuck is this guy? Should I kill him?

But the three ignored the hunters completely.

Instead, they reeked of booze and hit me with weird questions.

"L-Loser. You know my magic skills are awesome, right?"

"...? What're you on about all of a sudden?"

"Ian. Wouldn't fighting alongside me as a teammate feel the most reliable?"

"I-Ian. We won the Beast Subjugation Festival together all the way, right? I'm the most dependable? Right?"

"What the hell are you guys even saying? Ugh, you reek of booze."

Were they fighting over who had the best magic?

Friends brawling over something like that would be weird.

But it didn't feel like a simple ego clash over spellcasting prowess.

"Ian junior—if you could only pick one person to fight alongside, who would it be? I'm excluding myself, obviously."

Nayu asked from the side, munching on popcorn she'd gotten who-knows-when.

Who did I want to fight with?

In other words, if I had to entrust my back to just one person, who would it be?

"Why are you asking this outta nowhere?"

"Just answer. Ian junior. Wrong answer here and you're in deep shit."

Paaan—

Hisenna, Elrim, and Chayuri all stared me down piercingly.

Super pressuring vibe.

Mages are supposed to go solo anyway, right?

And picking one would make me feel bad for the others.

I'd never even thought about it.

"Now, now, ladies and gentlemen, tonight let's all—"

That was when the hunters tried chatting up again,

"Hold on! We're having an important talk right now, so don't interrupt?!"

Hisenna—who never yelled—snapped sharply.

Looking closer, her eyes were especially weird.

Drunk as hell.

"We have no time, so leave."

"Seriously, loser..."

Chayuri and Elrim's glares were scary too.

The hunters slinked away under the pressure.

And those scary glares turned back on me.

"Loser. Answer right and I'll forgive you for being late."

"Ian. Think about how in sync we were at the festival."

"I'm the most trustworthy, right Ian?"

Why the hell are they asking this?

I wanted to say that, but the mood wasn't for it.

I subtly averted my eyes.

"Where's Ian?"

Right after part one of the awards ended.

As the party kicked off, Chayuri and Nayu immediately went looking for Ian's team.

But Ian wasn't there, so Chayuri asked the other two.

"Said he went to the bathroom? Loser's got weak guts."

"He said he'd be right back. Shouldn't he be here soon?"

Hisenna and Elrim answered while munching party snacks.

There was a variety of food and drinks, including booze.

The ceremony had been long, so everyone was enjoying the grub.

Chayuri and Nayu grabbed wine glasses and joined them.

"Where's the princess?"

"She said she's meeting the princes."

"Tough job, Chayuri. You too, Nayu senior. How was the festival?"

"Didn't win shit—such a shame."

The four caught up late on festival stories.

The teams had only bumped into each other briefly during it.

Chatting over drinks flew by.

"But when the hell is this loser coming?!"

"Yeah. Was his stomach that bad?"

Half the break time was almost gone.

Ian still hadn't shown.

While looking around, Nayu tossed out a question.

"Ian junior's amazing. Even if everyone helped take it down, who thinks to attack a Rank-2 beast by falling from the sky?"

"Hehe. That was all thanks to me!"

"For sure. Elrim junior was incredible too. Hisenna junior as well."

"Falling was scary as hell."

That moment had everyone's eyes on it.

Hisenna and Elrim remembered it clearly.

"Loser definitely thinks he won 'cause of me too? He can't do shit without me!"

"B-but I worked hard too, Elrim."

"Ah, not that you sucked, Hisenna..."

Elrim boasted, accidentally hurting Hisenna's feelings.

Nayu slipped in a jab.

"Hmm? So Elrim junior's the best partner for Ian junior?"

"Partner?"

"If Ian junior had to pick one person to fight with, he'd pick you."

"W-well..."

Elrim eyed the other two at Nayu's question.

She couldn't say for sure.

Chayuri her direct heir and Hisenna were both amazing.

But if it was just one person to fight with.

If the festival had been 2-per-team?

Loser would've picked her for sure, Elrim thought.

Sorry to the others.

"O-of course!"

It had to be.

Elrim had leech now, after all.

"Shouldn't we hear Ian's opinion on that?"

Silent Chayuri stepped in.

"W-well, sure, but obviously he'd pick me?"

"I think differently. Ian would want to fight with me."

"Wh-what?"

"I can support Ian perfectly in every way."

"That's just your opinion, Chayuri!"

"But didn't Elrim abandon the team mid-festival to catch that Redlight Stitch? That's irresponsible."

"Th-that was...! But..."

Elrim lost confidence at Chayuri's words.

He was right. It was irresponsible team-wise.

Chayuri, meanwhile, wouldn't flake, so he declared himself best fit.

Hisenna, who'd been watching, spoke up.

She didn't want to fight, really.

But imagining Ian ditching her for a duo with someone else hurt.

"Noooope!"

Truth was, Hisenna was just wasted.

"Friends shouldn't fight!"

"Then you think it's okay if Ian ditches you, Hisenna junior?"

"N-no, he'd obviously team with me!"

Bicker bicker.

While the three squabbled verbally,

three guys who'd been watching approached.

But the trio barely noticed them.

And right on cue, Ian appeared.

"Loser. Answer right and I'll forgive you for being late."

"Ian. Think about how in sync we were at the festival."

"I'm the most trustworthy, right Ian?"

The three each demanded he pick them,

and facing their onslaught, Ian

was desperately shitposting that gallery thread.