Chapter 239
Chapter 239
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 239
Chapter Title: Combat Simulation (9)
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“Kugh! No way. How could this...”
Boyle was shocked that he hadn't even managed to chip away 1 percent of Dante's mental power.
He hadn't fought a grand mage. Just a classmate of the same age, and he himself was a genius who excelled in summoning magic.
In the end, it was a difference in the details.
Dante had taken the thousands of minor variables that arose during the battle and made them his own, creating an extreme gap between them.
“How about you stop being a wimp and get on with it? You made a promise, didn't you?”
Dante waited arrogantly, his hands stuffed in his pockets.
Boyle, the official number one of the advanced class, now had to kneel in front of everyone.
Boyle was as furious as the weight of his number-one rank was heavy. But a promise was a promise, and he couldn't think of a way out.
“I... lost.”
The moment Boyle knelt and admitted defeat, a monsoon of gloom washed over the students' hearts.
Shirone's group, who had been cheering for Boyle, felt just as heavy-hearted.
But it was an undeniable defeat.
Iruki said.
“I have to admit it. Information magic... that's going to be really tricky to deal with.”
Sabina chimed in.
“No, it's only possible because he's Dante. We've been fighting under Miss Olivia since we were ten. Our level of real combat experience is different from yours. Dante's official record is 472 wins in 472 matches. Plus, he's an undefeated legend who has never lost even in unofficial duels. He's not someone the top student of a mere countryside school can challenge.”
472 official matches alone. Including unofficial ones, it meant he had fought over a thousand battles.
Any mage would develop practical skills after fighting that many duels.
But what made Dante so incredible was the fact that he had never suffered a single defeat in the process.
As Dante's record came to light, the students began to murmur. He transformed from an annoying classmate into a star of the kingdom in an instant.
No matter how terrible his personality, fame follows when one's skill is transcendent. No, perhaps that was precisely why they were even more enthusiastic.
All the students flocked to Dante. Though they didn't show it openly, their efforts to strike up a conversation, even just a word, were obvious.
In the space the students had vacated like a receding tide, only Canis and Arin remained.
It was their first time witnessing a 2000-point duel, but for them, who had fought to the point of exhaustion, it didn't stir any particular emotion.
“Interesting. So this is how they train at magic academies. Canis, should we give it a try?”
“Not really. I don't feel like it.”
“It's not because you're scared of losing to Dante, is it? Hehe.”
Though she said that, Arin's feelings were no different from Canis's. She wasn't keen on the 2000-point system either.
“What's the big deal? Shirone isn't doing anything, so there's no reason for me to get worked up.”
“Shirone is staying quiet because he naturally dislikes fighting. He's different from you, Canis.”
“Arin, you seem to be siding with Shirone a lot lately, don't you think?”
Arin stuck out her tongue.
Of course, anyone who was Canis's rival was her rival too. If the two were to clash, she would help Canis with all her might, but even so, Shirone was someone she couldn't bring herself to hate.
“Anyway, what do you think? Information magic, it seems to be a new trend. Do you think you can win?”
Canis snorted.
He didn't like the 2000-point system, but Dante's skill was definitely the real deal. The interesting thing was that he was a genius symmetrical to Shirone.
Iruki was also a genius, but he felt too skewed in one direction.
“Hmm, if we were to fight properly on a battlefield...”
“If you fought?”
Canis, who had been silent for a while, his face gradually grew serious.
Arin, sensing his wavering emotions with her ultra-perception, poked him in the side and urged him on.
“Hm? If you fought? What would happen?”
Canis turned his head, as if avoiding Arin's gaze, and said in a barely audible voice.
“It... it would be a great match.”
5. Match Point (1)
“Yes! I won. Hey, kneel. Now.”
“Damn it! Let's go again! If only I hadn't made that mistake!”
At some point, a new catchphrase had emerged in the advanced class. The command to kneel, spread by Dante.
Similar scenes were even popping up in Class Seven. It was just for fun, but the obsessive atmosphere around winning and losing was no joke.
If A and B fight, who wins? Can the winner of that match beat C?
Everything was turning into a system like the Royal Magic Academy's, where every student was ranked.
“Tch! I don't like it. Anyway, some weird headmaster came and is ruining the school.”
Lying on the grass, Mark grumbled as he watched the junior students dueling in the 2000-point practice area.
His current match points ranked him number one in Class Six. He had crushed every challenger who came his way. In the old days, he would have walked around with his shoulders puffed out, but ever since he started respecting Shirone, rankings in the lower classes meant nothing to him.
Maria, sitting next to him, plucked a blade of grass and said.
“Mark, he's still the headmaster. You can't call him a 'weird headmaster.' What if you get caught?”
“What do you want me to do? It's annoying! I don't like that Dante guy or whatever his name is either. Especially Closer—that bastard used a passive skill when he fought me. If we'd gone fist to fist, he wouldn't have stood a chance.”
Maria also vividly remembered the scene of Mark getting beaten up. Closer, in particular, had even teased her despite being younger.
“Shirone will take care of it. After all, they're in the same Class Four. If they bully us too much, I'm thinking of telling Mr. Thadd. What do you think?”
Mark's pride was hurt even by having to offer an opinion. He wanted to get revenge on the guys who bullied Maria, but their skills were the real deal. Of course, as a self-proclaimed member of the 'Shirone line,' he had plenty of monstrous upperclassmen. Shirone, Amy, Iruki...
It was because they were holding the line that he could ignore Dante's group, but at the same time, he was going crazy with frustration over not being able to handle the situation himself.
“I don't like it... I really don't...”
A love for fighting knows no age, so the students of Class Four were just as interested in the combat rankings.
However, since Dante had already sorted out the rankings in Class Four, their gazes were set even higher.
“If Miss Etella and Miss Shina fought, who would win?”
“Come on, obviously Miss Etella. She's renowned throughout the kingdom.”
“You don't fight with fame. Miss Etella may have achieved a Triple, but Miss Shina is an authority on ice magic. In a real fight, someone who masters one thing is the best.”
“By that logic, it's Mr. Thadd. If they're both Grade 6, fire has an advantage over ice, doesn't it?”
Unable to block out the conversation, Shirone stepped in.
“Where is this coming from? They're all wonderful teachers. There's no way people like them would fight to prove who's stronger.”
The students looked indifferent. Since Boyle had knelt, the center of gravity in the advanced class had shifted from Shirone to Dante.
At first, the students had thought Shirone would step up and restore the school's tarnished honor. But that never happened; instead, he even seemed to be avoiding it. Recently, rumors had even started to circulate that he was using tricks to avoid fighting Dante.
“We're just talking about fighting in a safe environment, what's wrong with that? To be honest, you're the same. You're so scared of fighting Dante that you don't even participate in the duels.”
“I'm not scared. I just don't want to fight without a reason. I'd understand if it were tactical training, but these duels don't even affect our grades.”
“Tch, grades, grades. In the end, you're just a big shot within the school. A real mage has to be strong in actual combat.”
Thinking that further words would be useless, Shirone shrugged.
The classmates who had held a sliver of hope turned away with disappointed expressions when even taunts didn't work.
“Tch, Shirone's nothing special after all.”
“What can you do? In front of a star from the kingdom, Shirone's just a star from the boonies.”
Shirone couldn't understand what meaning there was in setting rankings among students. The strength he pursued was on a different level from simply overpowering others in a fight.
On the other hand, there were students for whom that was the only thing that mattered. A prime example was Pandora, the second-ranked student in the advanced class.
After Dante defeated Boyle, she had actively started following Dante's group and was now practically their lackey.
“Hey, Pandora! Hurry up! I'm dying of thirst here!”
At Sabina's sharp voice, Pandora came running frantically with a cup of water.
“Sorry. The line was too long.”
“You could have just said it was for me and cut in. You're so inflexible.”
“Hehe, you must be tired. Want me to massage your shoulders?”
“Would you? I'm a bit stiff from running with Haste so much.”
Pandora massaged Sabina's shoulders with all her heart. It would be a lie to say her pride wasn't hurt, but she believed they would soon recognize her true worth.
If she got close to Dante's group, she would instantly join the ranks of the kingdom's top prospects. A rise in status from the second-best student in a provincial school to the fourth in the entire kingdom. Wasn't it a gamble worth taking?
Closer fanned himself with his hand as he cooled his sweat and said.
“Hey, Pandora. I'm a bit thirsty too.”
“Oh? Okay! I'll go get some water.”
Pandora immediately ran to the portable water tank. The sun was especially hot today, and many students were lined up.
It would be easy to cut in line using Dante's influence, but such an act lacked class. Her specialty was to annoy the person in front of her so much that they'd choke on their water.
“Hey, are you guys elephants or something? Drink a reasonable amount and move! You have to think about the people behind you.”
“Here, drink my water.”
Boyle offered his cup of water. Sabina gave him a displeased look, but thinking of the waiting Closer, there was no reason not to take it.
“Hmph, thanks.”
As Sabina was about to return to Closer, Boyle called out to her.
“Wait a minute. You're not actually going to give that to him, are you?”
“What's it to you? Don't tell me you're holding a grudge against them just because you lost to Dante?”
“I accept my defeat. But what's with you lately? There's nothing wrong with getting close to Dante, but you don't have to act so servile.”
“I'm asking what it has to do with you. What, are you getting nervous already? Afraid I'll surpass you?”
“That's not it! You've been my rival since we were kids! It just pisses me off to see you stooping like this!”
“But not anymore. I'm going to join Dante's line. I'll be published in an academic journal soon, and when I graduate, people will be clamoring to scout me. If you're jealous, just say so. You've already lost, so nothing you say is convincing, is it?”
Boyle fell silent. There was much he wanted to say, but he knew none of it would reach Pandora's ears. It was the unavoidable fate of a loser.
“Damn it! Do whatever you want!
Watching from a distance, Shirone's group understood how Boyle felt.
All the social dynamics of the advanced class were revolving around Dante. No one challenged the absolute number one, and the more that was the case, the more Shirone wanted to escape the current situation.
He believed that success would come naturally if he just kept working on his own path, without needing to fight.
What currently filled his mind was how he could master Ataraxia even a little bit faster. For him, duels were the last thing on his mind.
He diligently practiced the lifting training every single day without rest, and finally, he was able to hold the target for a full 20 seconds.
At this point, it was practically a stunt. He was maintaining a mental state for a whole 20 seconds that others couldn't hold for even one.
“Wow, that's Shirone for you. His Spirit Zone is getting bigger too. No matter what you say, he's got incredible talent.”
“That's just because he's an Unlocker. So what? He can't even make eye contact with Dante.”
“Honestly, Dante is just too strong. I can understand Shirone's position.”
“Why are you so sure Shirone is running away? When Shirone actually gets competitive, he's terrifying. Besides, there's still Canis and Iruki.”
“Hmph! If he's so confident, why is he avoiding it? If I had that kind of skill, I'd be so frustrated I'd challenge him right away. He's running away like a wimp, that's why all the girls are going for Dante.”