Chapter 29

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 29

Chapter Title: Midterm Sparring Evaluation (6)

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15 minutes later.

"Ah, seriously, can you stop already... You gotta think about how the people listening feel, damn it..."

I had just won this match fairly easily too, but instead of heading to the waiting room I'd been using until now, I was guided to a different space.

A lounge that felt a bit more upscale.

The speaker and screen placed off to one side were three times larger than the ones in the regular waiting room, continuously replaying footage of my sparring match.

I glanced at the screen for a moment before shaking my head and sinking back into thought.

'...Still, now that the game world has become reality, I'm seeing a lot more things I couldn't before.'

The first opponent, the dual-attribute spirit user, and just now, the student named Kim Sung-jun.

All of them were extras whose names I'd never even heard once in the original game.

Yet surprisingly, every single one had talent and solid skills to back it up, but because of their role as extras, none of them ever appeared in the main story.

It felt like a real shame.

They'd put this much effort into making the characters so unique and appealing... They could've shown up at least once.

Why hadn't their names even come up in the game?

And at the same time, it really drove home just how insane the main story difficulty of this game was.

Even with so many promising rookie hunters overflowing with talent, they still ended up losing the war against the demon race and facing extinction.

That fact gripped my somewhat loosening mind tight again.

'Right... Don't forget why I used the Book of Restraints, why I'm pushing so hard and taking risks to win these matches.'

I reaffirmed my resolve once more and turned to the screen playing the next match.

"Kim Do-yoon vs. Lee Soo-hyuk, huh..."

Magic users and melee fighters were so numerous that we'd done plenty of evaluation matches, but with Yoon Seo-rin's match against Sophia just wrapping up, the midterm evaluations themselves were over.

From here on, the spars were purely for show, unrelated to individual student grades.

Matches between top-rankers, ungrouped by class, to showcase the academy's prestige.

"Who do you think will win?"

I asked Sophia, who was reading a magic tome beside me, which of Kim Do-yoon or Lee Soo-hyuk would come out on top.

"Hm..."

Sophia stared intently at the screen for a bit before losing interest and returning to her tome, answering nonchalantly.

"Kim Do-yoon, probably? Even if Lee Soo-hyuk has the edge in close range with his longer reach and years training with the spear, Kim Do-yoon's arsenal is too diverse."

"Fair enough... But aren't you getting tired? Reading such thick magic tomes all the time?"

"I am tired... But it's rewarding enough. Plus, thanks to your help, my magic circle research has picked up speed, so I don't have time to rest."

"Yeah? Anyway, keep it up. Let me know if there's anything I can help with."

I'd been visiting Sophia after classes whenever I had time, bit by bit helping complete the Form Gate magic circle.

Of course, the circle itself was still at a toddler stage.

But at this rate, I figured we could finish it before the full-scale demon war began.

"......"

Sophia, who had been devouring her tome, suddenly closed it and looked at me.

"By the way, Hyun-sol. Aren't you nervous at all? We're up against each other soon, but you look so relaxed. It's kinda annoying."

"...Me? I'm super nervous right now."

"Really? From my view, it looked like you were on guard against Kim Do-yoon, who you'd meet after beating me... Was I wrong?"

"......"

'What's with that? Why is everyone so perceptive?'

They said you couldn't ignore a woman's intuition, and it seemed true.

I hadn't let it show much, so how had she picked up on it?

It was pretty disconcerting, but getting dragged in like this could lead to the worst outcome.

So I cleared my throat and smoothly changed the subject as naturally as possible.

"Ahem, that's probably your imagination. Anyway, how was Yoon Seo-rin? Looked like ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you struggled quite a bit."

"Mm..."

At my question, Sophia seemed to replay her recent match against Yoon Seo-rin before slowly speaking.

"...First off, her understanding and power of mana bullets far exceeded my expectations.

I thought the mana bullets she used in the artificial dungeon were at least 50% of her full power, if not all...

"And?"

"Fighting her made it clear. Those were just the tip of the iceberg. What she showed this time was her real strength.

If Seo-rin hadn't given me a chance to swap mana stones and kept pressing, I probably would've lost. Hate to admit it, but her combat ability as a mage—not just a mana bullet user—is impressive."

"Whoa... That high? Quite the praise."

To reiterate, Yoon Seo-rin and Sophia were polar opposites in personality, habits, everything.

They used to have staring contests just passing by.

For Sophia to acknowledge Yoon Seo-rin as a mage... It moved me deeply.

"Anyway, that's enough talk. Time to prepare. Our turn's coming up soon."

Sophia stored all the scattered magic tomes into her subspace and stood.

I checked the match result on the screen and began preparing to enter the arena.

"...As expected, Kim Do-yoon wins. So whichever of us wins fights Do-yoon next."

"Yeah. I have no intention of going easy, so you better take it seriously."

"Don't worry. I'll give it my all too."

A crackle came from the speaker, followed by the announcement.

Hearing the broadcast, Sophia and I left the lounge simultaneously without a word.

The arena's atmosphere differed starkly from the previous Kim Do-yoon vs. Lee Soo-hyuk match—not even a whisper of cheers escaped.

From civilians to guild scouts and academy staff, everyone held their breath watching the two students face off.

That suffocating silence was broken by the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠referee's voice.

The referee's start signal echoed, but Sophia and I just stared into each other's eyes, neither moving first.

'...What's this?'

From what I remembered, Sophia—against Amelia too—always preferred to seize the initiative in these matches.

Her eyes said she had no intention of attacking first this time.

After a brief deliberation, I fired off a few 1-circle spells first.

The three spells shot rapidly toward Sophia, who stood defenseless.

But.

"As expected... Facing you directly confirms it. You could challenge 2-circle soon. Your circle's perfectly stable."

Sophia lifted a finger impassively, dissipating all my spells in midair without a change in expression.

Then the yellow? Golden? Light mana stone at her staff's tip began glowing, unleashing high-rank spells in an instant.

"Whoa, hold on!!"

I hurriedly deployed a double layer of mana field and protective barrier to block.

But as if such crude defenses were laughable.

My protections shattered effortlessly against her first spell, Chain Lightning.

The remaining two spells closed in right before me.

'...No ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠choice.'

I'd planned not to use Star Mana against Sophia to save it for emergencies, but without it, defeat was certain.

I immediately erected a new mana field.

A mana field on another level from ordinary ones, formed of Star Mana.

It shimmered with starlight and effortlessly blocked Sophia's lightning spells.

"Ooh... Now I'm even more curious. What trait did you awaken?"

Sophia widened her eyes slightly in surprise, admired for a moment, then prepared new spells.

With her incantation, a massive volley of lightning spells crashed toward my mana field.

Kwaaaang—!

Kwajik—!!

Deafening roars accompanied dozens of bolts slamming down, shaking my mana field violently.

Each flash shaved away at it bit by bit.

Judging it would break soon, I planted my foot and leaped back, widening the distance from Sophia.

I stared straight at her face.

"You know, isn't this a bit much? Against everyone but Amelia, you only use low-lethality stuff like water or earth magic, but with me, no mercy?"

As I grumbled like I was hurt, Sophia smiled faintly.

"You're a mage whose talent I acknowledge.

And watching your matches, I felt your unique mana could be dangerous if drawn out too long. I had no choice~"

"...Yeah? That's flattering. But you know..."

I gathered mana at my fingertips.

Soon, Star Mana sparkled, forming a new magic circle above my palm.

"I wasn't really hurt. Just buying time with some chit-chat."

Three Wind Cutters made of Star Mana appeared instantly above Kang Hyun-sol's hand, flying toward Sophia's neck, wrists, and ankles.

"I knew that."

As if she'd anticipated it all, Sophia countered with three lightning spells of her own.

Starlight and lightning clashed.

Kuwaaaang—!

Kang Hyun-sol's spells were mere 1-circle.

Sophia's were all 5-circle spells.

Yet neither yielded, locked in a fierce power struggle midair.

The ground cracked, the arena's barrier vibrated, and all spectators gaped in awe.

"...You're definitely strong, Hyun-sol. Overflowing with talent. But not yet."

Watching the clash, Sophia lowered her voice seriously.

"You can't beat me now. No matter your unique mana or powerful trait, your circle is just 1-circle. There's an unbridgeable gap with a 5-circle mage like me."

"...What?"

Her words snapped me alert, and I belatedly felt the chilling, heavy killing intent prickling my nape.

By the time I sensed it, it was already over.

Kwaaaaang—!!