Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Tumultuous Chairman
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“What’s this? What happened?”
“Have you calmed down a bit, Dean?”
“Yeah.”
Dozens of holograms floated overlapping in the air of the control room.
The faculty and assistants bustled about, flicking through the holograms.
“So? What’s going on?”
“Adel and Klaus are fighting.”
“I see. Damn… I should’ve come sooner.”
In the largest central hologram, two students faced off with swords drawn, tearing through the battlefield.
Swords and magic clashed, the shockwaves ripping entire swaths of forest apart.
“But… something’s different.”
“Who do you mean?”
“Both of them.”
“Both…?”
“Adel’s more serious now, and Klaus has grown even stronger.”
“Uh… Dean, while you were talking, other students have gathered.”
“Huh? Oh, yeah.”
Quite a few students had timed their approach to ambush while Adel and Klaus fought.
Their plan seemed to be to strike when the two were exhausted and eliminate them both…
But reality had turned out the opposite.
“Don’t interfere.”
Half vanished into light in an instant as Klaus’s sword traced a brilliant arc.
“Get lost.”
Adel’s single word eliminated the rest.
“F Class had a monster like that?”
“He’s shown explosive growth lately.”
“Hmm… I think I’ve seen him before too.”
“To go toe-to-toe with the top seat like that…”
“Impressive.”
Excited chatter spread among the faculty.
Time passed, and as the battle dragged on…
“…Something’s changed again?”
“Magic… isn’t working.”
“It’s not that the magic’s weakened… He’s built up resistance?”
That kind of thing existed.
Like people innately less sensitive to cold or heat, some had high resistance to magic.
But no one suddenly got that strong.
“Hoh… He might lose at this rate.”
Veronica’s eyes turned to Adel.
“What’ll you do…?”
Even magic didn’t work in this hopeless situation…
How would Adel turn it around?
As that question hung in the air, Adel moved in the hologram.
“Hm?”
Adel reached out a hand.
Mana gathered there, drawing a line in empty space.
“Magic?”
“Magic won’t work…”
Kaus couldn’t hide his unease either.
Magic had no effect on him right now.
Yet she deliberately drew another line and cast magic again…
“No way…”
Klaus’s eyes widened, chills running down his neck.
“Unique magic…?”
“Hmph.”
Veronica’s lips curved up.
The magic that manifested only by embodying one person’s life, beliefs, existence.
But what Adel embodied wasn’t conviction, justice, or ideals.
Just emptiness.
A silence that denied meaning itself.
Adel pointed his index finger at Klaus.
At the same time, his other hand brushed the edge of his mask’s mouth.
“…Event Horizon.”
With those words, space collapsed.
—Zzzt. Zzzzt.
“Ah…!!”
Something went wrong on the hologram screen.
Noise crept in, the center warping.
And at that center… lay the infinitely expanding space Adel had created.
“What’s happening?”
“No, this was the highlight…!!”
“Fix it quick…!”
But most screens turned a murky gray.
The holograms repeated only fuzzy distortions, unable to output data.
The space Adel created… rejected observation itself.
“Pfft… Kaus, can you do something like that?”
“…Absolutely not.”
“Yeah. Me neither.”
“…You mean that?”
“Nah? Really though?”
“…….”
“Insane… A unique magic that erases the very concept of existence…”
That’s how it looked to Veronica.
The space Adel made obliterated the definition of existence itself.
“That doesn’t even make sense… but he’s just a first-year. Dean. A first-year created unique magic.”
“What’s the problem, Kaus?”
“There’s a lot of problems, Dean…”
“Like what.”
“Whether it’s the Empire or beyond… everyone everywhere will come rushing to take Adel away.”
“Who the hell do they think they are? He’s mine.”
Of course.
No matter who it was, no one could take Adel from Veronica.
“Mine, mine.”
And…
The long, drawn-out battle finally reached its end.
“It’s over.”
In the hologram, Klaus’s body scattered into light.
He faded out quietly, leaving a relieved smile.
“Huh?”
Then… Adel staggered.
—Thud.
He faceplanted straight into the dirt and passed out.
“Oh my.”
***
Flick.
I shot upright.
‘What? Did I pass out?’
A small cave with sunlight filtering in.
‘Where the hell is this?’
Did I sleepwalk or something?
I’d clearly collapsed right there after the fight… but I woke up somewhere totally unfamiliar.
“…You’re awake?”
[Lev?]
【Yep! It’s Lev~】
Lament answered brightly.
I took a moment to catch my breath and sort things out.
I’d passed out, Lev found me and brought me here to this cave…
“…You were hurt bad, so I healed you.”
…And even healed me.
[Thanks.]
“…Yeah.”
Our brief exchange hung in an awkward silence.
I turned to check the system.
[You gave your all against the protagonist ‘Klaus’ and emerged victorious.]
[Unique trait 【Ten Thousand Calamities Under Heaven】 has been unlocked.]
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
【Ten Thousand Calamities Under Heaven】
All calamities under heaven kneel before you.
: 【Fragment of Wrath】
: 【■■■ ■■】
: 【■■■ ■■】
: 【■■■ ■■】
: 【■■■ ■■】
: 【■■■ ■■】
: 【■■■ ■■】
Embracing those fragments,
you are already a ‘king,’ even if you never call yourself one.
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
‘What the hell is this?’
The name, the description… all of it felt ominous.
‘All calamities kneel, and you’re a king without claiming to be? What bullshit.’
Was the system trying to turn me into a calamity?
‘Dizzying.’
I shook my head.
【Looks like it hurts a lot, Lev. How about going and blowing on it?】
“…….”
[I heard that.]
【Oops.】
Whatever.
Just thinking about this weird unique trait gave me a headache.
I’d just take it as gaining a useful trait and call it good.
It was useful, after all.
[How long was I out?]
“…A day.”
A day.
That meant… the end of the final evaluation was approaching soon.
The relief outweighed the shock of being out a full day.
‘Points…’
I’d racked up plenty.
But… just in case, better keep moving.
[Wanna come with, Lev?]
“…Where?”
[Hunting points.]
“…Yeah.”
[Oh yeah, where’s your team member, Lev?]
“……In a trap—”
【Lev killed them!】
Lament cut Lev off.
Cheerfully, brightly, casually.
[I see.]
“…Yeah.”
[It happens.]
Well… I’d taken out my own teammates too.
Couldn’t blame them.
Even on the same team, if they got in the way of surviving… team kills happened sometimes.
[Let’s go.]
“…Yeah.”
But the peace didn’t last.
The relief that the evaluation was ending soon didn’t hold.
“NyaAaAaAah!! Save me, nyaa!!”
“Stay right there, you cat…!!”
Just as I stepped out of the cave, a calamity rampaged in the distance with a cat in tow.
“Uh…!”
And… Carnel’s gaze locked onto my mask.
“You…!!”
The same as always.
Never a dull moment.
I was screwed again.
***
[Why not catch Neru or Lev?]
“Heh… You’re enough.”
I ended up caught by Carnel.
Fortunately, there was no elimination… but I couldn’t relax.
‘What’s “enough” supposed to mean?’
Carnel tied my limbs tight and floated me up.
Then she looked around, searching for something.
[What about Erwin?]
“……Eliminated.”
…Erwin got eliminated?
By S Class kids?
But… if Erwin was with Carnel, it should’ve been S Class getting wiped.
“……In a trap.”
Carnel muttered guiltily without prompting.
‘Ah… a trap.’
Got it.
For reference, the traps in this pocket dimension… only an utter idiot would fall for them.
Even if Erwin played outside the norm… hard to imagine him hitting a trap…
“Ah, this spot’s perfect.”
Carnel and I arrived at an open plain, a vast blue meadow.
“Hup.”
She’d somehow procured a log, bound me firmly to it, and propped it upright.
[What’s this about, President?]
“Hmph… You’ll be the bait!”
[Bait?]
“Yes, bait!”
With that, Carnel scampered off to hide in distant bushes.
She camouflaged so thoroughly only a few strands of hair poked out.
‘Way too visible.’
A pure white silhouette smack in the middle of green grass.
Clear as a dot on a map.
And after a bit…
“Hey! It’s the top seat!”
A student spotted me and approached.
Tense at first… but relaxed upon seeing me tied up.
“What’s this?”
[Hi there?]
“Uh, hi?”
[Mind helping me out?]
“Of course.”
He said “of course” while aiming a magic circle at me.
Looked promising.
And…
—Shwooom… Kaboom!!
A fireball from the distant bushes engulfed him whole.
He vanished into light without a word.
‘Aigoo.’
Too bad.
If he’d helped when asked, he might’ve avoided elimination.
At the same time… flames erupted around my log, starting to burn.
‘No idiot would fall for a trap like this, right?’
…I was the idiot for thinking that.
“Hey, top seat!”
“Points, points!!”
“Huh?”
“Why’s she tied up?”
Surprisingly a lot took the bait.
They all thought I’d triggered a trap and gotten bound… but they were the ones trapped.
“Heh heh heh… This is plenty.”
The calamity emerged from the bushes.
Carnel strode up confidently, raising a finger triumphantly.
“I’ll give you a special chance!”
[A chance?]
“Yes!”
[Oho.]
“Join the student council now, and I’ll overlook your elimination!”
I looked up at the sky.
The evening sun dipping low.
I roughly calculated the time in my head.
[President, how much time left till evaluation ends?]
“Time? Hm… About five minutes.”
Pretty helpful answer for someone playing calamity.
[Come closer, President.]
“Huh? Why.”
[I’ll give you my answer.]
Carnel approached with zero suspicion.
Still bound, I tuned my mana and turned the whiteboard toward me.
Then… slowly… toward Carnel.
[One lemon contains a whopping one lemon’s worth of vitamin C.]
“……Pardon?”
I didn’t miss her stunned pause, moving my hand.
—Flick!
I’d loosened the ropes bit by bit earlier; now I snapped them free in one go, brushing my mask’s mouth as I spoke.
“Sleep.”
Blood tried to spill from my mouth, but 【Silent Step】 concealed it.
“…Huh?”
Carnel’s eyes slowly… drifted shut.
‘Easy.’
The president fell for it so simply.
Did that mean she trusted me that much?
Or just pure innocence.
‘That’s the honey trap for you.’
And… with eyes closed, Carnel’s body tilted toward me, pinning me down.
‘Ugh.’
I hit the ground, her weight crushing me.
At that suffocating moment…
—Beep!!
A shrill sound rang out, and before my eyes, Carnel’s body and mine dissolved into light.
…Thus, in a clatterbang tumble with Carnel, the final evaluation came to an end.