Chapter 39

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 39

Chapter Title: Comprehensive Evaluation Week (6)

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Time flew by in the blink of an eye,

bringing us to the final day of Comprehensive Evaluation Week before we knew it.

The spars with the essential subject professors that had continued from the third day,

and the duels with fellow cadets that had gone on from the fourth day,

had all passed without much trouble, leading us to the fifth and final day.

Since it was a day where you only had to face one randomly assigned opponent of similar skill level,

today was practically a rest day.

With that relaxed mindset,

as I headed toward the massive exam hall where we'd been attending classes for the past three days—

"Aden, hey!"

"Good morning, Aden."

Libia and Isabel, who happened to be walking together, spotted me and called out greetings.

"Hey, you two."

I greeted them back,

and naturally joined up as we made our way to the exam hall.

"How'd your duels go yesterday?"

It was just a casual question on the way, to fill the silence,

but the two exchanged subtle glances of rivalry before answering cautiously.

"I won all of them, obviously!"

"Me too."

Upon hearing that the other had swept all three duels from yesterday,

the competitive fire in their eyes burned even brighter.

'I wonder who'll come out on top...'

As the saying goes, watching a fight is the most fun of all,

and these two had been locked in a fierce battle for supremacy throughout the week,

so from my vantage point as an observer, it was nothing but entertaining.

'Especially since it's the last day...'

I didn't know how their professor duels had gone,

but assuming they'd both performed similarly,

the single duel today would very likely decide the winner.

That made today's matchup all the more intriguing,

from the random draw to the outcome itself.

With that cheerful anticipation,

we finally arrived at the waiting room.

Before checking my own matchup,

"Hmm..."

I turned at Libia's odd sigh from beside me

and checked her opponent first.

Today's foe for her: Cecilia.

'That's a tough one...'

Objectively, Libia held the edge in raw combat ability over Cecilia,

but considering the saintess's fighting style, it would be an uphill battle for her.

As I was feeling sorry for Libia over her draw—

"Ah...?"

Isabel's flustered voice from the other side drew my attention.

At that sound, the two of us checked her matchup—

"Uh..."

"Pfft...!"

My bewildered murmur was followed by Libia bursting into laughter she couldn't hold back.

Of all people,

Isabel's final opponent had to be me.

If Libia had drawn the lesser evil,

then Isabel had gotten the absolute worst.

"Why? Libia's the runner-up, isn't she...?"

Isabel muttered with a sense of injustice, staring blankly at the board.

Of course, as she said, if they were pitting top against second, Libia made more sense than third place,

but since Comprehensive Evaluation Week didn't heavily impact rankings,

duels with cadets were randomly matched within similar skill brackets...

'Libia and I both use swords...'

It was always the case in the game too during cadet duels,

but when matchups were set,

cadets using the same primary weapon were usually avoided as opponents.

"Ahem... I'll go prepare for my duel."

Leaving behind the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dejected Isabel and Libia who seemed a bit relieved,

I carefully excused myself and slipped away.

No matter how fun watching fights could be...

Being stuck between them right now felt awfully awkward,

so with silent sympathy for Isabel,

I headed to the waiting room ahead of them.

Libia and I checked each other's matchups

and headed to separate waiting rooms in opposite directions.

"Haa..."

As I entered the opposite waiting room,

thinking again of my opponent for today brought out a sigh.

Libia's foe was Cecilia, the Saintess of the Holy Kingdom.

Libia had the advantage in pure combat prowess,

but factoring in the saintess's abilities, I couldn't be sure Libia would win.

That was why I'd felt relieved...

But that relief crumbled the moment I saw my own matchup.

In the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠cadet duels of this Comprehensive Evaluation Week,

excluding Libia, Aden,

and Arbel Reina, the Princess of the Elf Forest with her utterly incompatible style,

I was confident I could beat any other academy classmate.

That didn't mean I wanted to avoid all three entirely.

Just Aden,

the one among them where I couldn't see a path to victory...

'Of all people, Aden...'

As if mocking my thoughts,

the academy had gifted me the absolute worst matchup.

'It's okay, Isabel! Aden isn't invincible!'

As I dwelled on that nightmare draw,

Libia's parting words came back, irritating me all over again.

'Right... Aden isn't invincible...'

No changing it now anyway.

Aden was just another first-year academy cadet like us.

If I looked hard enough, I'd find even the tiniest opening.

Now that we'd come this far,

I wanted to beat Aden somehow and snatch runner-up from Libia.

With that resolve,

I reviewed all the fights I'd seen of Aden, searching for a chance at victory—

The announcement calling my name—now quite familiar—rang out,

and I rose to head to the arena.

Passing through the dark tunnel revealed the vast dueling ground.

Unlike previous days, though,

since only one duel was happening today, the spectator seats were already fairly filled with cadets who had finished theirs.

Standing in the arena alongside Aden entering from the opposite side,

the cadets in the stands greeted us with cheers.

Aden, across from me, also gazed curiously at the crowd, experiencing such cheers for the first time yesterday.

'Gotta get used to it...'

From the academy's midterms onward, all cadets would watch duels from the spectator seats instead of waiting rooms,

so this was a scene I'd need to acclimate to from now on.

As the cheers rang out, I circulated mana through my body and finished preparing for battle.

The exam proctor, seeing this, signaled the start of the duel.

The moment he did,

Aden kicked off the ground almost simultaneously, closing the distance in an instant.

His training sword, infused with mana, swung at me—

'Fast...!'

I blocked the swift, aggressive, yet precise assault with a barrier,

and activated Haste.

Even with Haste active,

winning a speed contest against Aden's overwhelming mana control was impossible.

The purpose of activating Haste this time wasn't to create distance,

but to dodge his next swing and deploy another spell.

Using my boosted speed from Haste, I narrowly evaded Aden's attack and summoned an ice wall on the ground.

Then, imprinting another spell onto that ice wall,

I immediately closed my eyes and triggered the layered magic.

At that instant, the overlaid,

max-reinforced {Light} formula on the ice wall activated, emitting a blinding brilliance that made it hard to even open one's eyes.

That light halted Aden's advance for a moment,

and without missing the opening, I cast another spell.

{Blink}.

A basic short-range teleport,

the foundational spell for true translocation magic.

With it, I widened the gap,

placed my hand on the ground, and deployed a new spell.

{Ice Field}.

A simple spell that froze the surrounding ground

to hinder the opponent's movement, but

Aden, facing it, sensed something off and hesitated to approach.

'He noticed.'

The basic hindrance spell {Ice Field}

exhibited far greater efficiency when layered.

Just like now,

the lightning magic overlaid on my {Ice Field} would strike Aden the moment his foot touched the ground.

Not on the level of a saintess's sanctuary, perhaps,

but devised specifically to counter close-range fighters like swordsmen or spearmen,

so even Aden couldn't rush in easily.

Of course, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I couldn't move recklessly either,

but unlike a swordsman, a mage gained an advantage in spellcasting by staying put if no approach was allowed.

Thus, swiftly,

before Aden could devise a counter, I prepared to unleash a barrage—

when Aden's momentum shifted.

'Ah...'

The power I'd seen three times now—first at the entrance exam,

then in his duel with the alchemy professor—

its mere presence made the air around us tremble.

And soon, Aden raised his sword and brought it down—

Boom—!!

With that single strike,

the {Ice Field} on the ground shattered with a deafening roar.

'Quick, Blink...!'

Stunned for a split second,

I tried to teleport away again with Blink, but—

Boom—

Aden charged in instantly, disrupting my casting,

and I lost my balance, tumbling backward.

Then, as he thrust the tip of his now-mana-free training sword toward me—

The proctor's voice announcing Aden's victory echoed through the arena.