Chapter 26
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Midterm Sparring Evaluation (3)
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[Group 47, Arena 2! The winner is student Kang Hyun-sol!!]
The judge's voice echoed through the arena, and the stands erupted in cheers and roars as if they'd been waiting for it.
But Chae Yeon-hwa, who had been silently staring at the now-blank screen after the match ended, soon turned her head to gaze intently at Kang Hyun-sol's retreating back as he headed to the waiting room.
'...As expected of the man who caught my eye. It's only been about two weeks since he learned protective barriers... no, barrier arts, and he's already handling them at an advanced level.'
Chae Yeon-hwa was purely impressed as an authority on barrier arts—not as a succubus—by the performance Kang Hyun-sol had just shown.
No, anyone with even the slightest knowledge of barrier arts would have reacted the same way after watching that match.
He had effortlessly blocked Storm Burst from the lower wind spirit Sylphir and Inferno Chain from the lower fire spirit Flami with a protective barrier.
Of course, his opponent was a unique case of a dual-attribute spirit user, so he couldn't maintain the barrier for long.
Even accounting for that, the level of the barrier he demonstrated was far beyond what a student just starting to learn barrier arts should be capable of.
Moreover, novice mages who had just begun learning barrier arts typically showed obvious instability when deploying them.
Like a thin glass window rattling in the face of a typhoon.
But Kang Hyun-sol's barrier was different.
The protective barrier he created had completely overcome the typical instability seen in beginners.
And Chae Yeon-hwa could instantly discern the reason why.
"I never imagined he'd already succeeded in fully mastering Barrier Weaving as his own in such a short time."
Given his exceptional talent and overflowing passion, she had predicted that in about half a year, he would perfectly handle the Barrier Weaving she had taught him.
Yet Kang Hyun-sol had casually shattered those expectations, making Barrier Weaving his own in a mere two weeks.
"And that unique form of mana bullet he showed at the end, one I'd never seen before. It's making me greedier by the minute."
Everything he displayed in the match was fascinating and more than enough to excite her.
But what intrigued her the most was the finishing blow he had launched at student Choi Eun-min.
It was clearly a simple fusion spell combining a basic mana bullet with the 1-circle spell Wind Arrow.
Something any mage with a decent amount of talent could do.
But its power was on another level.
Flami's Inferno Chain, which was close to a 4-circle spell with wind attribute enhancement, had been pierced head-on by a mere 1-circle mana bullet, felling the spirit user. There was no need for further explanation.
"What clever trick did he use? No, before that, what exactly is your true identity?"
Chae Yeon-hwa licked her lips, unable to hide the smile creeping out.
At the same time, she recalled the information on Kang Hyun-sol that she had received from another demon who had infiltrated the academy with her not long ago.
His personal records weren't particularly remarkable, except for one standout detail.
He had awakened an "unmeasurable rank" trait, barely scraping into the academy at the bottom of the entrance exam by sheer luck.
Then, in less than a month, he topped the artificial dungeon conquest rankings.
Even more astonishingly, he had entered as a melee specialist, learned magic properly for less than a month, and now faced a magic evaluation match against a spirit user, deploying a barrier cleanly to claim victory.
Of course, most professors would simply marvel at his late-blooming talent and move on.
But Chae Yeon-hwa felt a faint sense of unease at Kang Hyun-sol's display.
As a demon, she had seen countless beings exhibit such irrationally rapid growth over a very long time.
And their common trait was simple.
They always obstructed the great ambitions of her demon kin.
Just ten years ago, during their third apostle descent attempt, where they had barely gathered the sacrifices, one S-rank hunter single-handedly held off tens of thousands of demons for a full five minutes until reinforcements arrived.
Because of that, the Apostle of Hypocrisy, De Nol, failed to fully complete the descent and died pointlessly.
Of course, scrutinizing the details, that hunter had entered the academy at the top from the start and shown remarkable growth throughout, so his foundations were incomparable to Kang Hyun-sol's.
Yet Chae Yeon-hwa couldn't shake the image of that S-rank hunter's back—facing De Nol alone—overlapping with Kang Hyun-sol's retreating figure.
And at the same time, a possibility that Apostle Beloa had worried about recently flashed through her mind.
『...What if my prediction is wrong? What if the one we're raising turns the blade on our necks?』
"..."
Honestly, when she heard that, Chae Yeon-hwa had been deeply offended.
Interpreting Beloa's intent directly, it was openly questioning whether she, a high-ranking succubus, couldn't control a mere human male—and what she would do if his blade turned toward them.
"...Pfft, hehehe."
Chae Yeon-hwa pressed her fingertips to her lips and let out a quiet laugh.
She wouldn't deny it.
Kang Hyun-sol, that man would surely one day stand before them as a dangerous blade.
But that's exactly why she wanted to seize him in her grasp all the more.
"My choice was right after all. You must become mine... no matter what."
The succubus's instincts whispered sweetly.
His talent was beyond mere curiosity or affection for a disciple.
A prey she must greedily, obsessively pursue to the end.
No, beyond prey—an existence she must pull to their side without fail.
"...Kang Hyun-sol, that talent of yours, that power... I'll lock everything you have in my arms, Chae Yeon-hwa's embrace."
Chae Yeon-hwa's eyes began to flicker with a red glow.
Behind the professor's mask, the demon's instincts smiled.
"I won't let you go. Never."
Exiting the arena, I headed straight to the waiting room.
The crowd's heated cheers and roars still seemed to ring in my ears.
"...Haa, not exactly a great experience."
I let out a short sigh and pushed open the door. The atmosphere inside felt completely different from before the match.
A strange tension and sharp exchange of nerves hung in the air?
"You fought very well. As expected of England's once-in-a-generation genius mage. But that Aqua Burst you used at the end was a bit regrettable."
A familiar cold, stiff voice.
I turned my head slightly to confirm the face: Yoon Seo-rin, with her usual expressionless face, was giving what seemed like praise? to someone, devoid of emotion.
"...Huh?"
Sophia, standing before her and silently receiving the unclear words, smiled faintly and shot back.
"Thanks for the praise. You fought great too, you know? Piercing an elementalist's earth wall with just three mana bullets? That was impressive!"
"..."
Muscles twitched slightly on Yoon Seo-rin's expressionless face at Sophia's seemingly sarcastic praise.
But Sophia didn't back down, instead flashing a more provocative smile and continuing.
"If I had to break that elementalist's earth wall, I would've used Aqua Stream easily, as befits a mage... Oh! Sorry, you're not a mage—you're a mana bullet user! My mistake."
"Ha?"
Yoon Seo-rin's impassive eyes flickered for a brief moment.
And at the same time, sparks began to fly between the two like actual flames.
I stood frozen at the waiting room entrance, watching the scene.
'Whoa... Staring contests sparking like in comics really happen in real life too?
No... This is a game world, so maybe not real life... Anyway, I need to stop the fight first.'
The two female students were exchanging glances like they were about to duel to the death.
The other students quietly spectating began subtly backing away to create distance.
Judging that this could lead to a real incident, I took a deep breath and deliberately spoke loudly.
"What's going on? Did something happen while I was gone? ...Ah! Were you talking about my match and got into a fight? Did you watch it? How was it?"
Sophia, recognizing my voice first, turned to me with a smile.
"...Of course. The barrier you showed was impressive. I never felt the need to learn barrier magic, but seeing you makes me want to give it a try."
Yoon Seo-rin also composed her expression and turned to look at me.
"...I have to admit implementing barrier arts at that level in just two weeks. And fusing an immature mana bullet with Wind Arrow to boost its power was impressive."
"Thanks for the praise. For my first match, getting this much attention makes me feel like a celebrity all of a sudden."
I deliberately laughed lightly and slipped casually between them, taking a seat as if nothing had happened.
As I naturally claimed the spot, the fiery glares in the two female students' eyes gradually softened.
Of course, the underlying competitive rivalry toward each other still gleamed sharply...
But I'd succeeded in preserving the waiting room's peace for now, so I was satisfied and grateful.
"Speaking of which, since it came up, how did you pierce Inferno Chain with a mana bullet and 1-circle Wind Arrow?"
Sophia leaned toward me first, asking.
Her eyes sparkled oddly, like a scholar who had found a research subject.
And right after, Yoon Seo-rin tossed in a puzzled remark.
"...I'm curious too. A fusion spell is stronger than a basic one, but it shouldn't reach that level of power.
Especially breaking something near 4-circle level by fusing two 1-circle spells is even harder to understand."
"..."
One gaze was like a persistent explorer's curiosity, soft but probing. The other was a hunter's cold, piercing scrutiny.
'...They're bound to be curious, huh?'
Fusing magic spells is something any properly trained average mage can do, unless they're a total idiot.
Of course, completely mixing opposing elements like...
Well, blending fire and water magic to create something new is a whole different story.
Anyway, both of them already know fusing spells isn't that hard.
So their questions probably mean they've vaguely noticed I added something extra in the fusion process.
I shrugged nonchalantly, brushing it off as no big deal.
"Just got lucky. That guy, Choi Eun-min? Anyway, there was a mistake in his Inferno Chain. Probably mana shortage—he substituted a lightning note for one of the fire notes. That's how I won, I think."
"Hm... If he didn't perfectly execute one note of Inferno Chain, the structure between chains would destabilize... So breaking it wasn't impossible."
Sophia, having heard my explanation, seemed to mentally replay the scene before nodding in acceptance.
Yoon Seo-rin also nodded slightly in agreement, adding,
"Lightning and fire are similar yet different... Definitely not impossible."
"Yeah, anyway, the first round's over, so let's not dwell on it. Time to analyze our next opponents."
Relieved at having smoothly changed the subject, I quickly shifted topics before the two could clash again.
"My next opponent's some 600th-ranked mage. Who'd you get matched with? Looks like everyone top 50 advanced."
"Mine's this American guy named Alex, 24th in the entrance exam. A druid with that build..."
"My opponent's Choi Min-tae, 31st in written, 14th in practical. A shaman, apparently."
"Alright, let's finish analyzing before the remaining groups finish their matches."