Chapter 236
Chapter 236
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 236
Chapter Title: Combat Simulation (6)
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‘What's going on? Is Scent Magic useless in actual combat?’
Pandora shook her head.
While there weren't many Scent Mages, once certified, they received favorable treatment in the magical society. This was because scents were invisible, affected everyone in an area, and had unique effects.
However, to students who didn't understand the true value of Scent Magic, it felt almost nonexistent.
Pandora looked around at her competitors.
Boil, the model student, was training by the book, while Shirone's group, the troublemakers, were hunting as they pleased.
The strange ones were Dante's group.
Even though Zone 2000 was open, they were just sitting outside, watching the other students hunt.
“Hmph, what's with them? Are they saying they're on a different level? How arrogant.”
Dante nonchalantly met Pandora's gaze, then gestured with his chin to Closer and Sabina, who were sitting behind him.
“Hey, that girl's staring at us.”
“Heh heh, she must be getting desperate. I like her style, but her skills are terrible. Don't they teach her how to fight using scents?”
“They probably just told her she'll learn her major in the final year. Anyway, it's annoying. That country bumpkin is glaring at us, isn't she? Should I go crush her?”
Closer turned to Dante and said.
“Is it okay, Dante? If we give them a little demonstration?”
“Go ahead. Show them what Zone 2000 is really about.”
Only then did Closer and Sabina put on their bracelets. The virtual landscape was a vast plain. As they entered, the students who had already claimed spots stopped training and turned to look.
They had heard stories through magazines, but this was the first time they were seeing Dante's group's skills with their own eyes.
Sabina arrogantly lifted her chin and said.
“You guys, this isn't how you use Zone 2000. For real combat practice, you need something like this. Mr. Thadd, Package 17, please.”
Thadd, who had been killing time in a corner, yawned and sent the information to the core.
Package 17 could be called quite chaotic. But with a low sync rate, there wouldn't be any real danger.
With a sound like thunder, dozens of monsters appeared, covering land, sea, and air.
Golems rose from the ground, and Ulks and skeletons charged down the hills. The monstrous bird Nakchal, said to feed only on corpses, attempted a physical attack, leading with its long, spear-like beak.
The students' breath caught at the sight, which resembled a battlefield. It was an overwhelming offensive, so massive they couldn't even begin to think of a strategy.
“Huhu, now this is what I call a challenge.”
Sabina leaned back and cast a spell. A cold wind swirled around her body, and she soon vanished from sight.
Thadd, who had been watching with half-closed eyes, suddenly sharpened his gaze.
‘Huh? That's Haste.’
It was a major spell from the Air family, which used the power of wind to accelerate movement.
The Ulks chasing Sabina swung their claws, but she had already slipped behind them, unleashing a flurry of Wind Cutters.
Meanwhile, the golem, seemingly unaware that Sabina had even moved, approached Closer, who was in its line of sight.
“Heh heh, I'll show you why we're stars.”
The golem's fist slammed down on Closer's head. Though made of dirt, it weighed nearly a ton, a force no physically weak mage could withstand. But the system registered it as a block.
‘Earthrise? That's a major-level spell too, isn't it?’
A spell that drew upon the power of the earth to increase durability. While it had the drawback of immobilizing the caster, its powerful defense, which no other family could replicate, was its pride.
‘I see. The stars of the kingdom. So the secret was passive skills?’
If active magic focused on phenomena, passive magic focused on the concepts inherent to an element.
Wind is fast, and earth is hard. The spells derived from these concepts were Haste and Earthrise.
Their advantage was that the effect persisted after casting, allowing them to be used simultaneously with other active spells.
A representative passive skill for mages is Teleportation.
It's easy to see it as an active skill, but in reality, all it does is convert the mage into a state of photons.
How to move while transformed into light was purely a matter of sense, which was why Shirone had spent a month tumbling on the ground when he learned it.
“Hoh hoh ho! Too slow! Too slow!”
“Hahaha! This one's too weak!”
A cycle repeated: Sabina would inflict a fatal blow, and Closer would crush the enemy with the power of the earth.
In an instant, the number of monsters noticeably decreased.
Having mastered spells taught in the final year, they could clear an advanced class package with ease.
Thadd clutched his forehead and shook his head.
“Why on earth are they using passive skills? Is this the Royal Magic Academy's way?”
Shina approached and said.
“It must be a reflection of the capital's academic culture, which values individuality.”
“Individuality is fine, but what about diversity? They need to experience various types of magic to discover their aptitudes and talents. Passive skills can be practiced enough with Teleportation, so I don't know why they're in such a hurry.”
“It is efficient, that's true. Active skills have the weakness of not being able to cast two spells simultaneously. Iruki is an exception with his Double Spirit Zone, of course. Look at Sabina, firing Wind Cutters while under the effects of Haste. She's producing results far superior to the other students. Canis and Arin, who studied at Arcane, also use passive skills.”
“But Ms. Shina, at our academy...”
“Don't misunderstand. I'm not saying I agree with Bashuka's methods. I just want to understand why students across the country are so enthusiastic about them.”
Shina adjusted her glasses and pointed to a corner of Zone 2000.
“In any case... there are also students who can achieve the same results with just active skills.”
Thadd looked over at Shirone's group. They were facing Package 7, which consisted of a golem troop.
Lightning Bolt, Atomic Bomb, and Photon Cannon were striking, and while there were clumsy moments characteristic of active skills, it was admirable how they were managing to coordinate.
Best of all, they weren't taking it too seriously.
Watching them gasp for breath while roaring with laughter made one reconsider whether the words "practical combat" and "school" truly belonged together.
“Ugh, I'm exhausted. Let's stop now.”
No sooner had Nade spoken than the half-destroyed golem's corpse began to absorb dirt and rise again.
Etella, who had activated Package 7 for them and then left, still hadn't returned.
Of course, Etella was an excellent teacher. But it was clear she was hopeless with machines.
What were they supposed to do when she left the reset function on and walked away?
“Let's take off the bracelets. That's the only way. Ms. Etella is too much.”
“Wait a second. I just thought of something I want to try.”
At Shirone's words, Nade and Iruki stepped aside. Still, they were curious how Shirone would handle it. To take on an entire package alone, it seemed the only options were to blast them with a laser or fire a continuous barrage of Photon Cannons.
But their expectations were off the mark.
Shirone floated a sphere of light, and from it, golden chains shot out like streams of water.
It was Shining Chain, a spell he had mastered in Heaven.
At the appearance of a spell no one had ever seen or heard of, all the students' eyes focused on Shirone.
Even Dante couldn't help but be interested this time.
Shirone bound the lead golem with Shining Chain. The tensile strength that had crushed even a Taboo could have easily shattered an earth golem, but that method wouldn't be enough to defeat all of them.
The chained golem rose into the air, then swung around like a whip, smashing the other golems into the ground.
CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!
No matter how large they were, they were fundamentally made of dirt. Struck by an object of equal weight, the golems were flattened into the ground without even a chance to fight back.
The students watched the scene, mesmerized.
“What in the world is that magic? How can someone even learn a spell like that?”
“It must be possible because of his Immortal Function. That's incredible.”
Having had the spotlight stolen by Shirone's group, Closer and Sabina gritted their teeth.
They had cleared Package 17 by showing off all sorts of tricks, only to find everyone's attention was elsewhere.
Even Dante was watching Shirone.
To be honest, as a fellow Light mage, it was shocking. The element of photons was difficult to combine, but shaping it was considered absolutely impossible.
‘So he does have a trick up his sleeve?’
As Zone 2000 grew noisy, Etella came running over, out of breath.
Nade crossed his arms and glared.
“Professor...”
“Oh my, I'm sorry. Have you been waiting long? Should I set up another package for you?”
Etella fumbled with her master bracelet, flustered.
The sight made Shirone's tension drain away, but he couldn't bring himself to resent her, knowing that even his respected teacher had things she couldn't do.
“Please, just turn it off.”
He was at the point of throwing up just from hearing the sound of the golems rising.
Completely exhausted, Shirone's group left Zone 2000 with slumped shoulders.
Dante was waiting for them at the exit.
“Is it a fractal?”
After a moment's thought, Shirone nodded.
“That's right. It's impossible to create complex shapes with Photon Shaping.”
“I see. It's a good method. Impressive.”
“Haha, thanks.”
“But you're wrong. Your method has a serious flaw.”
Nade scowled.
Shirone had overcome countless challenges until now. There was no way his abilities, which had evolved through real combat, could have a flaw.
“I acknowledge the power of an Unlocker, but the problem is that you have no other options. It seems you haven't learned any passive skills yet, and because of that, you're unbalanced.”
Iruki retorted.
“He has offensive magic, defensive magic, damage-over-time magic, and even binding magic. What do you mean he's unbalanced?”
“If you only look at the types, you might think so. But they're all costly spells. I don't know how much combat experience you have, but with that set, you can't fight for even an hour. Am I wrong?”
At the unexpected words, Shirone blinked. It was true; he had never been in a battle that lasted over an hour.
Iruki wasn't unaware of this fact, but he thought it was just a difference in style.
A carnivore can't run as long as a herbivore, but that doesn't mean it's weaker. If you can unleash immense power in a short time, endurance becomes a secondary issue.
“So what? Offense is far more advantageous than defense. We're not talking five or ten minutes, but an hour. Most magical battles are over within that time.”
“Of course, you could think that way... Well, it's too late to change course now anyway. I was just giving my opinion. For reference, the longest I've ever fought a desperate battle was ten hours and twenty-seven minutes.”
For Shirone, who was closer to a sprinter, this was a shocking revelation.
A desperate battle of ten hours and twenty-seven minutes. It was undoubtedly an unknown realm he had never experienced.
“So don't be in such a hurry. The world of magic isn't just full of short-distance races.”
Leaving behind those meaningful words, Dante walked away.
@
The Image Zone class was leisurely.
Just a month ago, it had been a practical arena for gauging the level of the advanced class, but just hitting targets was far more tedious than hunting monsters.
The students of Class 4 were no longer as motivated to raise their scores as they once were.
Unable to watch any longer, Etella gathered the students and chided them.
“Everyone, you can't improve your skills if you don't practice the Four Methods. You have to diligently polish the basics to become better at hunting.”
“Isn't that a good thing? We're probably just adapting to the advanced education of the Royal Magic Academy.”
“Dante is now officially a student of Alpheas Magic Academy. Please refrain from comments that promote regionalism.”
Etella's statement was uncharacteristically harsh, but it didn't have much effect.
The students still looked bored, eagerly waiting for the Zone 2000 class to come around again.
But Shirone was different. Lately, the field that ignited his passion wasn't Zone 2000, but Lifting.
He had realized that the secret to shortening his Ataraxia time might be hidden in Lifting.