The One Who Gazed into the Abyss
When I stepped into the waiting room, several people ahead of me in line were preparing in their own ways.
Some had their eyes closed, praying to the gods they followed. Others couldn't hide their nerves, their legs shaking uncontrollably.
Those who seemed more composed either maintained their calm through their own methods or practiced swordsmanship in the corners.
Everyone's working hard, huh.
Since conserving my stamina was the best way to preserve my strength, I decided to do nothing at all.
Standing near the entrance and scanning for a seat, I felt everyone's eyes turn toward me.
Some muttered something to their classmates, while others shot me wary glares before whipping their heads away.
What's their problem?
Not everyone was hostile, so I made my way toward the indifferent ones.
"Isn't that guy from Class D?"
"I heard Panzy personally requested a match with him."
"Probably just trying to leech some easy points. Looks like he wants an easy life."
Hmm.
I knew I wouldn't hear anything nice, but I didn't expect it to be this bad.
Jealousy really does flare up over the smallest things.
Panzy Vlad wouldn't have overlooked something like this. She must genuinely just want to fight me.
"Hey. That's my seat."
"Oh, s-sorry..."
I took the empty spot in the corner and checked on Silph, Gnome, and Undine.
Unlike Kasa, these three were still full of energy. Thinking of Kasa again, I slipped my hand into my pocket and gently stroked her.
Even in pain, she clung to her contractor's hand, rubbing against it.
She used to feel like a hand warmer, but now she was growing colder by the moment. It hurt to see.
Just hang in there a little longer, Kasa.
I'll find a way to save you.
"Delent of Class B. Please proceed to the arena."
"Cramer of Class B. Please proceed to the arena."
"Nereid of Class A. Please proceed to the arena."
"Class A..."
People were vanishing from the waiting room in an instant. With Class A's turn underway and fewer students overall, the room emptied quickly.
As I watched them leave in a daze, an unfamiliar voice spoke from behind me.
"Oh, so you're that Class D point leech?"
"First time hearing that nickname."
"It's all the talk in Class A. They say 'Panzy Vlad from the Martial Arts Department used her looks to farm points.'"
"What do you mean, 'used her looks'..."
I turned toward the voice and saw a girl with a golden bob cut and green eyes staring at me boldly.
She pushed up her angular glasses—clearly her signature pose—and spoke with a mocking tone. This was Elua Arcana, Shub's rival.
The mage who never escaped second place until Shub disappeared, only then claiming the top spot. In the game, helping Elua overcome her subsequent slump was one of the affection quests.
Still, she was far better than those gossiping idiots from earlier.
"Elua Arcana, right? You sure come on strong for a first meeting."
"Hmph. You should be grateful that someone of my caliber is even speaking to a loser like you~"
"...Right. Thanks."
She was the type I didn't want to keep talking to.
When I turned my head back to the front, Elua stammered in a fluster, trying to continue the conversation.
"W-wait... I mean... H-how dare you turn your head away! I'm bored, so entertain me a little longer!"
"Your face right now is hilarious. Got a mirror?"
"W-what?!"
I smirked at the flustered Elua before looking away again.
Before long, my name was called.
"Cain of Class D. Please proceed to the arena."
"You're up against Shub, right? Good luck."
"W-why is someone like you cheering for me?!"
This girl really is like a chihuahua.
Leaving the flustered Elua shouting behind me, I headed for the arena.
I hadn't noticed it from the stands, but the pressure from the spectators looking down like a Roman Colosseum was intense.
As I stood at the edge of the arena stretching, Panzy Vlad soon appeared from the opposite side.
She skillfully waved to the students before stopping in front of me.
With two wooden swords at her waist, Panzy smiled and gave me a cheerful wave.
I waved back, though the tension made it feel awkward.
After our silent exchange, Professor Faust, acting as referee, spoke up.
"Both students, please step onto the arena."
Professor Faust gestured for us to climb up. Once we were on the platform, he used magic to check for prohibited items, gave us a brief rundown of the rules, then stepped back.
"Surrender is allowed after three minutes from the start. Killing is forbidden. If the referee deems it dangerous, the match can be stopped. Understood?"
"Yes."
"Good. When I blow the whistle, the match begins."
Professor Faust retreated and blew the whistle.
As if she'd been waiting, Panzy drew both wooden swords and approached me.
It wasn't the basic footwork Alex had shown—it was erratic and unpredictable.
Mages fight by designating coordinates and launching spells.
That's why in large-scale battles or wars, they fire from the rear after securing coordinates through observation.
Precision spells were one thing, but even area spells carried the risk of hitting allies.
One of the greatest dangers to a mage is close combat.
That's why assassins target the rear to strike mages, and why frontlines are constantly reinforced to protect them.
And right now, in this duel, Panzy had seen straight through that weakness, charging at me with erratic steps.
Using area magic would drain a lot of life force, and trying to snipe her wouldn't work—she was too fast.
[I need to at least slow her down... Gnome. Undine.]
-Got it.
-GnomewillraisethegroundandI'llspraywater tomakeit hardtomove! As expectedofCain, it'sobviousbutdefinitelyasolidplan!
Gnome cracked the ground while Undine sprayed water, turning it into slippery mud.
Panzy's movements faltered slightly. I quickly retreated using Silph and unleashed a blade of wind.
Without Kasa, the power would be weaker, but Silph's wind blade alone was still threatening.
"Ugh...!"
Caught off guard by the sudden attack, Panzy instinctively sensed the danger and threw herself aside, dodging Silph's strike.
Without giving me a moment to breathe, she charged again.
Even as the terrain changed and closing the distance became difficult, Panzy kept finding ways to approach.
If the ground turned to mud and hindered movement, she simply leaped over the range of Gnome and Undine.
Since they were still lower-tier spirits, their area of effect was limited, but Panzy had seen through it after just a few observations.
She's terrifying. My life force kept draining, but I'd only managed to slow her steps—she was still getting closer.
"As expected, you're strong, Cain! But you're not using that fire magic from before. Did something restrict it?"
"Telling you would be giving away trade secrets!"
I combined Silph and Undine's attributes to shoot high-pressure water in multiple streams.
Panzy skillfully twisted her body to dodge, but one of her wooden swords was pierced through, leaving a gaping hole.
She stared at the ruined sword, let out a dry laugh, and stopped in place.
"With this level of power, you'd beat most novice mages easily. My family employs quite a few mages too."
"I've been putting in some effort. Since we're fighting anyway, we might as well go all out without regrets."
"No regrets, huh... Haha... Full power. Sounds good."
Panzy squinted with one eye and smiled awkwardly.
Then she reversed her grip on the holed sword, assuming a throwing stance like a spear.
"Then take this! Cain!"
Panzy hurled the damaged wooden sword with all her strength.
It tore through the air with a sound like it carried mana, shooting toward me like a bullet.
Before I could even react, the sword flew straight at me. If not for Undine and Gnome, it would've pierced my head.
-Snap out of it! What are you doing?!
Only after hearing Gnome's shout did I realize they'd blocked it.
Even so, the barrier of rock and water they'd created was completely pierced through, the tip of the sword stopping just inches from my face.
Panzy didn't miss the opening.
She closed the distance in an instant and swung her sword at me, my vision blocked by the crumbling barrier.
Gnome formed an exoskeleton to defend, but the shockwave still reached me, making me grit my teeth.
As expected, Panzy's skill far surpassed mine.
"Haa... haa... You really don't leave any openings."
"Thanks. But more. Put in more effort, Cain."
Panzy said this and swung again.
Fortunately, Gnome had poured all her power into the exoskeleton, so I didn't take heavy damage.
But now that she'd figured out how to approach, keeping my distance and harassing her from afar was no longer viable.
[If it's come to this, I have no choice.]
-Cain. Then...
[If I want to win, I have to do something. Silph. Create a blade of wind around my body.]
Silph hesitated for a moment, but soon closed her mouth and nodded.
A sharp wind began swirling around me. At the same time, I felt my life force draining at an alarming rate.
I infused Undine's water into the wind blade. The rapidly spinning high-pressure water cut into my own body, but it also wounded Panzy.
Operating three attributes at once made my head spin, and I could feel my life force being siphoned away, but there was no other way.
It was a dangerous method, but sometimes you have to give flesh to take bone.
"I'm serious too, Panzy. Don't hold back."
"Yeah! That's the look! Here I come, Cain!"
Using Gnome's power, I created a stone sword and layered Silph's wind over it.
Panzy and I put distance between us, then charged at each other once more.