Chapter 27
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Midterm Sparring Evaluation (4)
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A little time passed.
Having racked up two more wins in the sparring evaluation, I—the tearful rebel at 998th place—had become the underdog everyone's making a fuss over!
With all the hype and expectations focused on me, I was preparing for the next match.
"Haa... This is fucking exhausting."
When taking evaluation exams as a game every time, I didn't have to worry about the audience's reactions one by one.
Besides, when playing as Kim Do-yoon, the character was set to be exceptionally handsome with an S-Rank trait, so he was bound to draw stares and attention from everyone all day long. I guess I was just used to it?
I didn't think much of it back then... but actually receiving this kind of response in real life? The embarrassment was no joke.
"Dizzy. So dizzy~ Still, this Saint Magic and Star Mana stuff is the real deal... I love it."
My second opponent, a magic division student ranked 622nd in admissions, was either lucky for me or just a bad matchup—I couldn't tell which.
Even without using Star Mana, I took control more easily than against the first opponent, that dual-attribute spirit user, and won.
But the third student I faced... whether the bracket got messed up or the academy really wanted to prop up an underdog, who knows.
Suddenly, my opponent jumped to 202nd place—a magic division student, no less.
And among magic-type traits, one of the rarest to awaken: an illusion-type mage, who was also a side character matched against the 998th place nobody.
In the original story, Kim Do-yoon, who would have chosen the mage class, was supposed to face the illusionist Ha Yun-seok in the quarterfinals, struggle against him, barely win, and then build a friendship that let him acquire one of Ha Yun-seok's illusion skills, Fragment Mirror.
But whether Star Mana countered his A-Rank trait [Illusion Harmony] or something...
Ha Yun-seok couldn't even properly unleash his trait before losing to me outright.
So in the end, the friendship with Ha Yun-seok and the opportunity for the fateful skill Fragment Mirror went to me instead of Kim Do-yoon.
"...Well, the story's gotten twisted plenty of times before~ Kim Do-yoon has tons of other good stuff anyway? I can take Fragment Mirror. Let's think positive~"
Since Fragment Mirror wasn't some cheat skill or something Kim Do-yoon absolutely needed,
I figured everything would be fine as I leaned back in my chair.
"What club was Ha Yun-seok in again? I remember only meeting him through a club activity... Ah, so tired...."
With the adrenaline from my three straight wins and everyone's attention finally settling down, fatigue started taking over.
Even so, my head was a jumble of all sorts of thoughts.
'Haa~ I want to complete Saint Magic ASAP. When do I grind 10,000 SP for Accumulation Perseverance... and 50,000 SP for Split Reconstruction...'
Maybe I should call the trait I just got not Empathic Constitution, but Tease Trait.
Being able to use Star Mana only made me greedier to perfect Saint Magic.
My desire boiled so much that I even idly thought about visiting Chae Yeon-hwa's lab one more time.
If I could resist that seductive succubus's temptations thanks to the Vow of Purity, I could rack up SP...
But one slip-up, and forget Saint Magic—bam, purity gone, and I'd end up as the succubus's puppet.
I barely shook off the rising urge.
Then I lifted my head and looked at the screen on the front wall of the waiting room.
Right on cue, the announcement blared.
The next match is Magic Division's Sophia Litwell versus Amelia! Please enter the arena without delay!!!
The moment the announcement hit, the waiting room buzzed.
"Whoa!!! This matchup is insane!!!"
"Amelia versus England's Sophia?"
"Then what's the bracket even based on? Amelia was top-tier in admissions, but in practical rankings, she's around 200th, right? No comparison to Sophia."
"Who cares about all that!! Just enjoy it!! The academy's got a plan!!"
Caught off guard by this shocking bracket, I straightened up and fixed my eyes on the screen.
On the screen, two girls entered the arena side by side.
Amelia with her lime-green eyes and bright smile, and Sophia, staff embedded with three magic stones, grinning like a kid who found a fun toy.
Just their appearances had the stands filled with cheers and gasps.
"Wow... who do you think wins?"
Normally, I'd say Sophia wins without a second thought.
But after seeing Amelia's previous matches, I had to rethink it a bit.
I already knew Amelia could use holy power offensively, not just for punches.
I remembered scenes where she hurled holy spears at undead monsters from behind allies' protection.
But that was under the precondition of undead opponents.
Holy power worked on undead but had no effect on others—or worse, just healed their wounds.
So when the variable popped up that Amelia was doing sparring eval in the magic division, I was baffled at first.
I mean, making a healer who can only treat people fight? Makes no sense.
But no.
I couldn't say for sure without exact info, but if what I saw wasn't wrong...
Amelia was clearly using her S-Rank trait [Authority of Purification] to purify and seize control of the opponent's mana, turning it against them.
"...Well, no idea why I never saw that ability in all my playthroughs till now, but whatever at this point."
Seeing Amelia's ever-cheerful smile on the screen, I decided not to overthink this variable.
Not because my head hurt or I had too much else to worry about—it just wasn't bad.
A heroine who could protect herself without Kim Do-yoon or me helping? Good news.
"So it comes down to whether Amelia can interfere with Sophia's mana?"
Not just me—the other students in the waiting room were debating too,
arguing over which girl would win.
Would Amelia, using holy power in an unexpected way for combat, take the win?
Or would history's genius mage Sophia, who can use every spell, prove it again?
All eyes in the arena were glued to Amelia and Sophia.
In the center of the circular arena.
Amelia, lime-green eyes sparkling as she clenched her fist, beamed and spoke first.
"Long time no see, Sophia Litwell!! I never thought we'd get to fight officially this soon!!"
Sophia across from her tapped her staff expressionlessly.
"Yeah. Never imagined it either? But didn't we agree to keep that hidden until becoming official hunters? Why the sudden change?"
"Hmm~ Once I actually enrolled in the academy, it felt like a waste to just heal all the time!
Well, smashing a goblin's skull changed my mind a bit too!
But the biggest reason? I wanted to fight you officially, Sophia!
They call this 'good for both sisters-in-law and good for both brothers-in-law,' right!?"
"Pfft! No."
Sophia let out a small laugh at Amelia's bold statement.
"Whatever, I wasn't that curious anyway. What I need to focus on now isn't you—it's that damn... friend Yoon Seo-rin I'll face after beating you."
"Damn? What's that supposed to mean? And making friends without me is unfair! Introduce me to Yoon Seo-rin too!"
"Beat me, and you'll meet her. Then I'll introduce you."
"Deal! Now I have even more reason to beat you!"
The two girls smiled at each other, but beneath it simmered the subtle rivalry and tension only longtime friends could share.
[Now, let the sparring match between Magic Division's Amelia and Sophia Litwell begin!!]
The referee's shout drowned the arena in cheers again.
"I won't exploit your weakness? Gotta give the crowd at least some show."
Sophia said that as she channeled mana into the red and yellow magic stones on her staff.
"Thunder Jaster! Prominence!!"
Kwaaang—!!
A massive bolt of lightning and pillar of flames erupted from Sophia's staff tip, surging toward Amelia.
"As flashy as ever from the start! But..."
Amelia clasped her hands, took a short breath, then flashed her lime-green eyes and shouted.
Holy light exploded from her hands.
"Authority of Purification, Mana Break!!"
A wave of transparent light swallowed the lightning and flames. Inside, the spell's mana structure shifted and rearranged,
then veered around to fly back at Sophia.
Kwaang-!
"Hmm? Mana Break's faster than last time I saw it? So that's why you're so confident stepping up here."
Of course, Sophia casually blocked the whole attack like it was nothing and prepared new spells while asking.
"Still, I just don't get it? How do you reverse-engineer spells with holy power?"
Amelia clenched her fist and grinned brightly.
"Faith makes everything possible! And now I'll get a bit more serious too! Seems like there's something I need to check!"
"...Check? Check what? Eh, whatever. Bolt Strike!!"
"Right! Just focus on this fight! Mana Break Divine Field!"
And so the two girls' spar began in earnest.
Spoiler on the result: As expected, Sophia won overwhelmingly.
At first, Amelia held her own against Sophia, even gaining some edge.
But whether it was stamina limits or trait limits, as Sophia unleashed more spells, Amelia struggled,
and ultimately retired after five Chain Lightnings.
Up to here, it was great.
No idea how it happened, but I got to witness a matchup between the saintess and genius mage other players couldn't dream of.
But why, just why...
"No, I watched you fight hard with both eyes wide open. So why are you doing this to me... And seriously, how many times have we even met? Why act all chummy?"
"Please, tell me! Why doesn't my holy power work on your mana? No, just being near you, this prickly feeling—I really want to know!"
"You crazy bitch! Get off Hyun-sol! How many times have you even seen him to cling like this... I'm still... Anyway, let go of his arm!!!"
Instead of heading back to the dorms, Amelia returned to the waiting room and latched onto my right arm, refusing to let go.
And Sophia, for some reason furious, kept yanking Amelia's waist to pull her away from me.
'Haa... I just wanna go home. I miss Mom and Dad so much it's killing me...'
Book of Restraints, you damn thing—show up again and I'll rip you to shreds...