Chapter 330
Chapter 330
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 330
Chapter Title: The Philosophy of a Battle Mage (4)
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“Red Eyes. Your photographic memory corrects errors in the shortest possible time. That's a truly incredible ability. In terms of talent alone, you might be the best not just in Alpheas Magic Academy, but on the entire continent. The countless geniuses your family has produced are proof of that.”
Amy couldn't refute it.
The pretenders of the Carmis family—no, even her brothers from the main house—had already made names for themselves across the continent in their respective fields at a young age.
“So what? I've never once thought of relying on my family! Are you saying I've gotten this far just because of my talent? I've always tried to stand on my own two feet.”
“Yes. And that's exactly what I call being childish.”
Amy's face hardened, turning cold.
“You'd be better off relying on your family. What you have, what your family has. You need to mobilize everything and face your challenges head-on. You were born with things others can't have no matter how much they want them, yet you're throwing it all away just to try and do it on your own? That's what I call being childish.”
“I… I never thought of it like…”
“Remember those kids we met at the skating rink? Jokre, was it? Einz Magic Academy isn't exactly a prestigious school. Their talent is probably far inferior to yours. And yet, they find their own ways to survive and become mages. Do you think you failed because of bad luck? No, Amy. You're competing in one of the kingdom's five great academies. There are countless people in the world who have it worse than you. If you want to be a mage, and the best at that, you have to fight and overcome whatever situation you face.”
Amy lowered her head.
Her anger had already vanished.
No, it felt like everything had returned to square one.
Dante was right.
The place she belonged to was Alpheas Magic Academy, where the kingdom's greatest talents gathered, and she was in the graduating class, at the very pinnacle.
It was no place for excuses.
In a battlefield where talents aiming only for the top clashed, any complaints she might have were nothing more than the ramblings of the privileged.
“Then… what should I do?”
Unable to overcome the wall, she was back at the starting line.
The second time would be faster.
But that was just a thought in her head.
Now, she had to overcome herself. And for Amy, this was her first real trial.
*Amy...*
Shirone looked at Amy with pity.
Dante's blunt way of speaking must have been a huge shock to Amy. But he couldn't intervene.
It wasn't out of an arrogant belief that he could help Amy.
It was because what Dante said was true.
Silence fell over the table.
The laughter of the chattering tourists around them didn't reach their ears.
Dante sipped his cold coffee, observing Amy.
He didn't have any particular affection for her. However, she was the one who had bothered him the most during the graduation exam.
“Shall I tell you why you failed?”
Amy looked up again.
Shirone, who had been lost in thought, also looked at Dante.
An analysis from Dante, who specialized in information processing, would be worth listening to, regardless of the situation.
“Of course, the only time I've seen you use magic was during the graduation exam. And that was for less than five minutes. But even in that short time, there was something I just couldn't understand.”
“Are you saying I made the wrong judgment?”
“No. It's a more fundamental problem. To get straight to the point, you have a fatal flaw. Something you absolutely must have, especially if you aim to be a battle mage, is missing.”
She had never thought she had a weakness. So, Amy swallowed hard and waited for what he would say next.
Dante picked up his coffee cup and turned his head. After choosing his words for a moment, he pouted his lips and spoke.
“You… don't have a style.”
“A style?”
Amy asked back, caught off guard by the unexpected words. But Shirone was nodding slightly.
No style.
It was a phrase that encapsulated the vague sense of unease he had felt while being with Amy all this time.
To have grasped Amy's weakness after watching just five minutes of combat was something only possible with the eyes of Dante, who possessed the kingdom's greatest defensive prowess.
Shirone added a word.
“To put it nicely, you're an all-rounder. I've felt this for a while, but you're so amazing it's a problem.”
Amy's face flushed at Shirone's words. Coming after the shock of Dante's direct criticism, the embarrassment was even greater.
“Are you teasing me right now?”
Dante shook his head.
“No, there's some truth to what Shirone said. From what I've seen, you have a tendency to want to control situations perfectly. Because you can.”
“Why is that a problem?”
“It's a very big problem. Your specialty is Sniper Mode. Most mages guide the situation toward an environment where their specialty can be maximized. That's where a style develops. Shirone likes strategies that crush opponents with brute force because he has Immortal Function. I like to counter because I enjoy analyzing my opponents. But you're different. If Sniper Mode isn't viable, you immediately look for a second solution.”
Amy felt as if she'd been hit on the head with a hammer; her mind went blank.
“Do you know what's really serious? You actually pull it off. You find that second solution. You're too resourceful. But how long can that method work?”
Amy's lips trembled.
*Idiot. Fool.*
*Why had she never thought of it before?*
“Normally, one would hit a wall at the student level. But your talent carried you all the way to the graduating class. Then, at the most crucial moment, you finally hit that wall.”
Dante opened his palm and struck it with his fist.
“That's when a situation arose where all the participants targeted you. Faced with a difficulty that spiked far beyond the graduating class lessons, you experienced for the first time a situation that couldn't be handled with talent alone. A hurdle that Shirone and I encountered early on appeared for you far too late. Fermi must have already known your fatal weakness. That's why you were chosen as the sacrifice.”
Dante recalled the graduation exam and gave an example.
“The moment you sensed the tide turning, you gave up on Sanuel and targeted Fermi. You must have judged that with Schema, you could gain the upper hand even in close combat. But that's where things went wrong. The moment you felt something was off, you should have unconditionally created distance. You should have somehow guided the situation to one where you could specialize in Sniper Mode. But you didn't.”
Shirone picked up the thread.
“Because you were confident you could handle it somehow.”
Dante nodded.
“In a chaotic battle, it's impossible to control every situation. In combat, even one second is too long to make a decision. When your options split, delays are inevitable. That's why a style is important. You have to trust your style and bet everything on it.”
Amy recalled the time in Kazura when she was bound by Jenoger's spiderwebs.
She had been overthinking then, too.
But if she had focused only on what she could do, she could have melted the webs with Ignite and escaped.
“You probably analyzed everything in the graduating class. The combat power, judgment, habits, and behaviors of all the participants. You analyzed all of it and judged that you had the advantage, right?”
Amy readily admitted it.
“Yes. That's right.”
“But you didn't consider their styles. That's just as important as combat power. If you have a bad matchup, you need to know how to avoid it and wait. If I went back in time right now and fought the Shirone of the past, I'd probably win with a 90 percent chance.”
Shirone nodded in agreement.
There are no 'what ifs' in history, but if his past self were to face the current Dante, it would be an uphill battle nine times out of ten.
“Combat is something where superiority can't be determined by skill alone. To put it bluntly, even Shirone's Ataraxia can be destroyed before it's complete. So why couldn't I succeed? Because Shirone was also constantly guiding the situation in his favor. A clash of style against style. That's a mage's battle.”
Amy kept her head down, motionless.
Her mind was so full of thoughts about magic that nothing else registered.
Dante spoke.
“Well, I might sound arrogant, but if I were in a similar situation, I might fail too. But I wouldn't be eliminated early without even putting up a fight like you were. Anyway, that's my analysis from watching you in the graduation exam.”
Amy finally raised her head. Her expression was still steeped in sadness, but the agitation was gone.
“Thank you, for being honest with me.”
To have an opponent who would be her competitor next year analyze her strengths and weaknesses was something to be grateful for, no matter the reason.
Dante, perhaps feeling awkward in the solemn atmosphere, wrapped up the conversation and stood up.
“Looks like I brought up something unnecessary during your date. Anyway, I'm going to head out. You two have fun. See you at school later.”
Shirone walked him to the door.
Outside the cafe, Dante glanced at Amy through the window.
Seeing her sullen expression, he turned back to Shirone and scratched his head.
“Sorry. It looked like you two were having a good time, but I came along and ruined it.”
Dante, who had his fair share of romances at the Royal Magic Academy, had sensed the subtle current flowing between Shirone and Amy.
The fact that Amy had come along on a trip for two meant she also had some feelings.
If the mood from the skating rink had continued, Shirone and Amy's tomorrow might have been different.
But because of today's advice, Amy's thoughts were bound to become complicated.
As a fellow man, it was natural for him to feel a bit of pity.
But Shirone didn't think that way. On the contrary, he was grateful to Dante for not holding back his advice for Amy.
“It's fine. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have been able to identify Amy's problem. You've been a huge help. Of course, Amy will have to find the solution on her own.”
Dante gave a wry smile.
Shirone seemed completely untouched by the ways of the world.
Then again, in a way, Amy was in the same category as Shirone, so perhaps they were a good match.
Dante had only ever had instant-style romances. It suited his personality, so he had no complaints about it.
But on the other hand, he thought that matching emotions slowly, like a slug, might be an interesting thing too.
“It's not like I gave that advice just for Amy. Fermi's group will still be around next year, after all. It's better to have more rivals to go against them. Anyway, see you next time. Have fun.”
Dante waved and walked away.
Watching him leave as lightly as he had arrived, Shirone could feel the ease and freedom of a traveler.
*I hope you have a good trip, too.*
A Midwinter's Night (1)
Being winter, the sun set early.
The old castle ruins closed to tourists at 6 PM, so Dante ended his sightseeing for the day and headed back to his lodgings.
*It feels a bit plain to just go back. Maybe I should grab a beer?*
At eighteen, he could buy alcohol outside.
He wasn't fond of hard liquor, but Dante enjoyed sipping beer while traveling.
The shopping district was bustling with people coming from the tourist sites.
As he walked down the street looking for a place to drink comfortably, he saw a young woman protesting in front of the entrance to a third-floor pub.
Her conspicuous attire caught Dante's eye.
She wore loose-fitting clothes with sleeves that came down past her wrists, cinched tightly at the waist with a white sash. The ankle-length outer garment was sharply creased, and her skirt was red.
Dante guessed she was someone involved in rituals.
Seeing the large backpack, which seemed out of place on her slender frame, meant she had either been traveling for a long time or had come from far away.
*Maybe in her mid-twenties?*
She had fair features and pure white skin that looked as if it had never seen the sun. Her black hair was tied high on her head, cascading down below her waist.