Banquet (4)
Plip— plop—
Raindrops?
Seris tilted her head up at the raindrops wetting her shoulder.
Thick storm clouds floated in the air above, pouring down natural rain so convincingly that it was hard to believe they were indoors.
It's not weather manipulation. No freshman could activate a tactical-grade great magic spell like that in such a short time, even if it were magic.
Manipulating the weather wasn't as easy as it sounded.
Even with magic, it required a grand magic spell from a grand mage. Replicating it with divine power demanded a miracle from an archbishop or higher.
That was why Seris dismissed the idea that this phenomenon was weather control.
The range isn't too wide. Not the whole banquet hall—just about the size of the sparring area.
She didn't know the exact mechanism of the skill, but even if it was weather manipulation, such a localized scope was something she could handle.
Finishing her quick analysis, Seris channeled her mana toward the charging Noah.
"Let's start light~♪"
Colorful mana bullets followed her hand...
"…?!"
...only to miss Noah entirely, harmlessly striking the innocent wall.
Reacting instinctively, Seris erected a wall and immediately spread a sheet of ice across the floor.
A tall wall to block vision, an icy floor to hinder movement—it was a classic time-buying combo.
The fluid linkage unfolded in an instant, and as expected, Noah leaped high.
Yes, the ground's frozen, wall straight ahead—so jumping over makes sense.
Seris's eyes gleamed.
"Aha! That's exactly what I was waiting for…!"
She pointed her index finger like a gun at Noah mid-air.
Their eyes met...
"Bang!"
"……!"
Her finger flashed like a gunshot, and Noah, spotting it, leaped again in mid-air.
"She stepped on empty air…?!"
"Learned Fly skill?"
"No, she created a mana platform!"
This girl's the real deal…!
Ignoring the murmurs, Seris manipulated her mana bullets to pursue her.
The momentarily directionless bullets zeroed in on Noah at high speed.
"Tch!"
"Not letting you off that easy!"
The persistent bullets trailed Noah until she slashed them apart, finally dissipating.
In that gap, Seris bought time and chained another spell.
"Coincidence! I love rain too!"
Exploiting natural phenomena was a mage's specialty.
Raining right in front of an elemental specialist like me? Big mistake!
It wasn't a downpour, but enough to soak clothes.
With this, her already potent water magic would grow even stronger!
Judging swiftly, she surged mana through her body, weaving circuits.
"Waters—!"
She unleashed the mid-tier spell Aqua Splatter.
Normally, it created large water orbs that split into streams, but influenced by the rain clouds, it transformed into something entirely different.
Roooar—!
"Try blocking this!"
"Ngh…!"
The water streams took the form of massive water dragons, roaring ferociously as they lunged at Noah.
Dozens of them bore down to tear at her throat. Noah, plummeting from the air, widened her eyes and hurriedly adjusted her stance.
"Taking it head-on? That'll be tough."
Seris smirked bitterly at Noah bracing for a direct clash.
This wasn't a low-tier spell.
It was a mid-tier to end the duel.
Empowered by absorbing the rain clouds.
Noah might not know, but its raw destructive power rivaled upper-tier magic.
No student can block that.
Not even pre-grad heroes struggled against it.
Indeed, some watching heroes had been eyeing gaps to intervene, validating her assessment.
But Seris made three mistakes here.
Whoosh—!
"…Huh?"
First, her opponent wasn't an ordinary student—she was the protagonist.
Splash—!
"She slashed it!?"
Second, that protagonist wielded a holy sword.
"As expected from Lady Seris—I knew you'd pull out something powerful."
BOOM—!
"Sh-she reflected the magic…!?"
Third, Noah's rain clouds weren't mere distractions.
——
——It was a sight beyond Seris's expectations.
The water dragons charging Noah were sliced apart effortlessly, and with one flash of her sword, they reversed course—heading straight for her.
"Skill: Mirror Flower Water Moon."
"Th-that cheat skill…!"
Noah's smug skill announcement grated, but Seris had no time for her.
Not with those dragons hurtling toward her, ready to shred!
"Ngh…!"
Grasping the situation, she hastily wove a spell.
Her circuits heated up, her hand tracing a complex magic circle in seconds.
Magic Skill - Antrok's Shield
A hexagonal shield unfurled from her hand.
This makeshift shield won't block them all. Absorb the impact, then dodge!
Thankfully, Noah had slashed most of the dozens, leaving few.
That number was dodgeable while the shield held.
She lacks high-firepower skills. Survive this, and I win!
Pouring more mana into the shield, Seris braced.
As cracks formed, she discarded it without hesitation and leaped airborne, escaping the range.
"Hehe, that was pretty good. As payback, how about th—…?"
But she couldn't deploy her prepared spell.
"…Vice President?"
"That's far enough, Seris."
Sena stood blocking her path.
Seris blinked, uncomprehending.
"Move, Vice President. The duel isn't over."
"It is. You set conditions, remember?"
"…Ah."
Realizing she'd stepped out of bounds, Seris wore a dumb expression.
"Your loss, Seris."
"W-well… you did move, right?"
"…Haha. No excuses. Total defeat, junior."
Seris nodded with a hollow laugh. Noah finally sighed in relief and slumped to the floor.
"Uwaaah… I thought I was dead."
"An excellent duel. No wonder the President has his eye on you."
The Vice President's praise to the seated Noah sparked the watching heroes to swarm her.
"Hey! That was awesome! Wielding a holy sword already? First time seeing that!"
"Really a freshman? Not a senior?"
"Incredible. To beat the Seven-Colored Seris…!"
As heroes mobbed Noah with praise...
Seris, bitter-smiled, pushed through to the dazed Supreme Student Council President.
"Man, that junior's strong. Never thought I'd lose."
"You were great too. Without his skill, you'd have won."
"He…? Ahem! Anyway, I got cocky. Didn't expect a freshman like that."
Seris recalled the skill that reflected her magic.
Probably enhanced water control.
The rain clouds and holy sword flashing as her dragons reversed? Near certain.
"In hindsight, water magic was the wrong call."
Earth or wood magic might've countered it.
Insisting on water to exploit the clouds let Noah seize control.
Plus, she couldn't control it all from the start, so she slashed some to lower the output—to what she could handle.
Instinct or calculation? Either way, heavenly combat sense.
"Really got burned from underestimating."
"So, thoughts on tasting his skill?"
Seris pondered carefully.
"…Unique."
"Unique?"
"Yeah. Depends on her growth, but the skill itself? Game-changer."
The rain clouds alone parried a top hero's magic.
Tuned down for sparring, sure—but still beyond student level.
"Rain clouds aside, the sun's ridiculously OP too."
"As expected."
The President nodded at her assessment.
Obvious, really.
He knew better than anyone the value of self-heal on the front lines.
Growth-type, no less?
That's no exaggeration—it's a goddess's blessing.
Seris hummed thoughtfully.
Already heals light wounds.
Grown? Endless stamina.
Worse, continuous heal—not burst.
Chezen... On the front lines, love calls from everywhere.
Tanks with chezen were priceless.
Tanks were rare, but most needed priest heals—pure tanks.
Turning to Noah, Seris smirked at her floundering amid veteran heroes.
"Mark my words—that kid hits the front, and the continent erupts."
———
Finishing with Seris, I pushed through the heroes to Noah.
"Noah."
"Ah, President!"
Rescued from the crowd, Noah beamed and stood.
"President! I did it!"
"Yeah, good job."
Honestly, didn't expect a win—her skill exceeded expectations.
His talent played a part, but the key was this.
"New weapon, huh."
"This? Yeah!"
She grinned sheepishly, raising her sword.
"Ehehe, I went on a huge adventure without telling you!"
"……."
"Got this sword and the Sky Hero class!"
Why keep that to yourself—!?
Swallowing my scream, I deadpanned.
"So. Sword's name?"
"Sky Sword. Infused with sky power—dedicated weapon!"
Dedicated weapon!
I nodded, blood tears welling inwardly.
"R-right. Nice weapon."
"Hehe! Tough adventure, but worth it! Wanted to call you, but you're busy—so I handled it solo!"
"That's—!"
"…President?"
"Ahem. Next time, call anytime. I'll step in for anything you need."
Jealous.
Insanely jealous!
New season class quest.
What trials?
Sky, too!
Massive sky-related skills, for sure.
Just the name screams power.
Rivaled Alex's Light from the previous game.
Holy sword heroes adopt its epithet. Sky's top-tier among them.
Sky Sword, after all.
Sky symbolized goddess-level authority, rivaling light.
Symbolic epithets like sky, earth, sun pack strong authority.
Abstract ones? Weaker.
Dominion, Victory, Destruction—examples.
User skill varies it, but base holy sword specs favor concrete symbols.
More symbolic weight, stronger power.
Past top hero wielded Earth Holy Sword.
Makes sense.
Goddess blessed it personally—no weak sauce.
"President…."
Lost in thought, Noah gazed at me with sparkling eyes.
Like awaiting praise. I chuckled inwardly, about to speak.
If not for the rude intruder.
BAM—!
"Supreme Student Council President!"
The urgent voice with the boom drew eyes to the entrance.
"…Hm?"
A drenched student panted there, having sprinted in.
As concerned heroes approached...
"Huff… huff…! Sorry for barging in! Is the President here?!"
"…Here. What is it?"
His ominous tone hushed the hall like cold water.
"Emergency dispatch from the Hero Association!"
We—and all heroes—stiffened at the news.
"Death Devil invaded Lukidus Kingdom!"
It was—
"After battling one of the Seven Powers, Divine Spear Lucius, it killed him and retreated!"
"……What?"
Grim news for humanity.