Chapter 392
Chapter 392
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 392
Chapter Title: Combat Readiness (5)
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Shirone didn't look back. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't understand why she was acting this way.
“Maya.”
“Can’t we have our meeting over some delicious food? I’ve always wanted to try that.”
“Maya.”
At the second call, Maya turned around.
“Hm?”
Shirone closed his mouth.
The moment their eyes met, it felt like the words in his head scattered in every direction. He couldn't talk about something that wasn't clear. The problem was that it wasn't clear.
“If you’re fighting Screamer because of us, you don’t have to. You seem worried about it lately.”
He felt it was cowardly to borrow Iruki's words, but if it resolved the situation, there was no need to argue.
“Oh, that’s not it. It’s a group evaluation anyway. If anything, I’m the one who’s sorry for feeling like a burden.”
The moment Maya turned the doorknob to leave, Shirone realized he couldn't hold back any longer.
“Then why are you acting like this?”
Even though Shirone’s voice was raised, Maya wasn’t surprised. She just smiled awkwardly and scratched her cheek out of habit.
“No matter how much I think about it, I don’t get it. Why have you been avoiding me lately? I can feel it.”
“Did I… do something wrong?”
“That’s not what I’m saying.”
“Then why do I have to be nice to you?”
His steps toward Maya halted. It felt like a sharp blade had suddenly pierced his chest.
“What do you want from me? What do you want me to do? Do I have to just stare at you and giggle all the time?”
Shirone couldn't understand why Maya was acting this way. If there was a misunderstanding, they could clear it up. But this wasn't a misunderstanding.
“How you treat me is your choice, but…”
Maya gave a bitter smile. She felt she could now understand a little of what Amy meant about dying from frustration. But she had no intention of retracting the answer she had given her that day.
“Then, Shirone, can you love me?”
Shirone’s face hardened.
At the expected reaction, Maya lowered her gaze with sad eyes.
She, too, had held the wind that blew in the music room that day in her heart.
‘Shirone, I’m not like Amy. I’m not cool-headed or strong. If I can’t be in your arms, every day will be like hell. I’ll only be able to think of you. If you can’t love me, we have to end it here. We just have to let it go.’
Shirone’s trembling eyes gradually calmed. His face, which had been startled like a rabbit, also grew serene.
Maya prepared herself. Nevertheless, an undeniable sense of anticipation made her heart pound.
What answer would Shirone give?
I love you? The truth is, I’ve liked you too?
All sorts of heart-fluttering words came to mind, but she already knew the outcome.
I’m sorry.
A terrible feeling already washed over her. She wouldn’t be able to escape it for a while. She would spend her nights in tears.
‘But this is it. It ends here.’
Her resolve set, Maya lifted her head. But the moment she saw Shirone’s determined gaze, her heart sank without fail.
“Maya, I…”
“Ah, ahahaha!”
Shirone’s expression turned to one of disbelief. As if it were genuinely funny, Maya approached, wiping tears from under her eyes with her index finger.
“It was a joke, a joke! Gosh, you’re so naive.”
“A j-joke?”
“You were like this during the graduation event, and here you go again. If you keep acting like this, I’m telling Amy.”
Shirone couldn't make sense of it. He felt like he was standing in the middle of an unreal world.
“But you haven’t been talking to me lately…”
“Ahh, my head’s been a mess, so I haven’t had time for anything else. My family has high expectations, and my grades keep dropping. I’m sorry. From now on, I will never! Ab-so-lutely never ignore you.”
Shirone felt the tension drain out of him. He felt he needed to sort out his thoughts, but Maya didn't give him a moment's respite.
“Come on, come on! Let’s go! Iruki must be waiting. Capture the Hill! We’re definitely going to win, right?”
“Huh? Oh, of course.”
Maya pushed Shirone's back and left the music room. As she crossed the threshold, her face was a mask of gritted teeth and tightly shut eyes.
‘Haa, I’ve stepped inside. What do I do now?’
It felt like crossing the threshold into hell.
* * *
In the northeastern mountain range of Alpheas Magic Academy, there is a cave that descends 20 meters underground.
And from there, after navigating a complex labyrinth, one arrives at the Golden Wheel, where Fermi is the chairman.
The room was so spacious and opulent it could have been mistaken for a mansion.
The tables were laden with all sorts of delicacies, and waiters in tuxedos moved about with wine, filling empty glasses.
In the center, beautiful dancers performed, and the gentle music of a seven-member orchestra filled the air.
The number of top-tier staff permanently stationed at the Golden Wheel was 40.
The labor costs alone exceeded 700 gold per day, and this entire space was arranged for just five members.
Fermi sat on a sofa, enjoying his wine. On the carpet, a white-furred tiger lay sleeping soundly on a leash.
On the four sofas to his left and right sat the members of the Golden Wheel, the so-called Fermi's crew.
“Finally, our monthly profit has surpassed 7 million gold. Breaking the 10 million mark is now within sight.”
It was not an amount that students would normally handle, but Fermi was merely indifferent.
The quick-witted members kept their mouths shut. On a day like today, when an emergency meeting had been called, they had to choose their words carefully.
“Arian Shirone…”
As Fermi opened the discussion, the members, as if they had been waiting, began to speak their prepared lines.
“Is there really a need to worry about him? We’ll have to crush him eventually, but how about focusing more on our business for now?”
“I agree. He’s just a brat who doesn’t know how the world works. Wouldn’t it be better to just let him graduate?”
You can't tear down a house just to catch a gnat.
But now that Fermi had shown his emotions, there was no guarantee such a thing wouldn't happen.
“That’s precisely why we can’t leave him be.”
“Fermi, aren’t you getting too stressed out? You can just ignore provocations like that.”
“Provocations can be ignored. But this is a risk. A risk that threatens the very existence of the Golden Wheel.”
Though they would follow Fermi's every word, they couldn't quite agree with classifying Shirone as a risk factor.
“Of course, Shirone is a great rookie. But you know, we’re pros. Not just because we make money, but our skills are professional too. We can control him easily enough in the graduation exam.”
Fermi swirled the wine in his glass with cold eyes.
“Do you know why you can’t make big money? It’s because you don’t realize that the problems you face today started long ago. Or you know, but you overlook them. Today’s risk becomes an unbearable one in the future. If you don’t prepare now, you’ll have no solution when it finally hits.”
The members fell silent. As expected, Fermi was right again.
“From now on, Shirone is classified as a top-tier risk factor threatening the Golden Wheel. We’ll start with a proper analysis. I hear he’s going up against Screamer. Who are their teammates?”
Hershey of Sona reported the results of his wiretapping.
“Screamer, Pony, Ruman, Suabi, and Eider. The team was finalized yesterday.”
“Hmm, Ruman and Suabi. A 2-utility, mage-killer combo.”
As expected, it was a team formed by mobilizing all of Screamer's connections. Dorothy’s absence was surprising, but it was highly likely she had refused. The woman's intuition was uncannily sharp.
“With his strong pride, he’ll want to prove himself. It’ll be completely different from strategic tactics. Even for someone like Shirone, it won't be easy to defeat Screamer's team with Maya on his side.”
Unless it's a team-centric confrontation like an annihilation mission, the mage-killer strategy is extremely powerful.
In the strategic tactics scenario, Shirone's team annihilated over three hundred monsters in 3 minutes and 28 seconds, but Screamer's team had Screamer alone take down over one hundred and fifty.
It involves extremely buffing one person to create a balance break.
This strategy will shine even brighter in a five-on-five battle, and for Shirone's team to win, they need to establish perfect balance. In such a situation, Maya's presence couldn't be anything but poison.
“That’s not enough. I’m going to use this opportunity to grasp all of Shirone’s strengths. Scrape out everything he’s hiding inside.”
“How are you going to do that? The group evaluation gives a lot of points, so the participants always do their best. Screamer’s team is also fully prepared.”
Fermi tapped the sofa a couple of times. A bluish aura flickered from his body, and beneath his raised hand, dark things shuttled back and forth with a whirring sound.
Unregulated Formula—Transaction of Depreciation.
Ting! With a sound, a casino chip spun and shot up into the air.
Fermi snatched the vertically falling chip horizontally and tossed it back to Hershey.
The center of the chip was engraved with a swirl, and its edge had an alternating black and white pattern.
“This is…”
Hershey studied Fermi with a surprised look.
It was a rather valuable chip to be used for something like this. Its market value exceeded 400,000 gold.
‘He’s serious, Fermi.’
Shirone will definitely become a future arch-enemy. It was a chip that would never have been brought out without that conviction.
“Go make a deal with that. The condition is to make Shirone go all out in Capture the Hill. If you scratch the surface gently, he’ll show his true colors.”
“Got it. Anything else to add?”
After a moment of thought, the corners of Fermi's mouth split into a wicked grin.
“Tell them to go all out, and not to worry about the consequences.”
Capture the Hill (1)
It was the day of the Capture the Hill evaluation.
After the 30 students gathered at the training grounds, the first thing they did was check the members of the opposing teams.
Shirone also checked Screamer's team.
Pony was Screamer's strategic ally, while Suabi and Ruman were the key factors in their mage-killer strategy. Finally, with the inclusion of the reliable Eider, they seemed to have formed a solid team.
With six teams gathered, the evaluating instructor began to explain.
“Today is Capture the Hill. You should already know your opponents. Six teams will be evaluated simultaneously, and there is no time limit. The first team to score 5 points wins, earning 20 points, while the losing team will have 20 points deducted. The venue for the match is the Capture the Hill Main Arena, Number 2000.”
Shirone surveyed the arena.
It was a rectangular area, 200 meters long and 50 meters wide, enclosed by 20-meter-high glass walls. Inside, on each side's territory, stood a 10-meter-high hill with a flag planted in the center.
The match proceeded in rounds, with the rule that the moment a flag was pulled, the round would temporarily end, and the next would begin.
“To deepen strategic and tactical thinking, spatial movement is prohibited. Also, flight altitude is limited to the 20-meter height of the barrier; flying higher will result in disqualification. If your body touches the flag, you will be unable to use any magic due to its built-in mana control device. Remember that clearly so you don’t come crying about it later.”
While holding the flag, a person is defenseless, making them highly vulnerable to enemy attacks.
Therefore, to pull the flag, it was crucial for at least two people to capture the hill and work together.
The instructor's explanation continued.
Upon entering the arena, the two teams' formations are divided by the 100-meter center line, and team members will each choose a position and carry out their duties from their designated spot.
There were a total of four positions: Forward, Winger, Linker, and Guard.
The Forward starts at the 10-meter mark, the forefront of their own territory from the center line, and is responsible for charging toward the opposing team's flag.
Wingers move along the left and right lanes, typically starting from a more defensive position at the 20-meter mark from the front line compared to the Forward. However, as they face relatively less defense, they often have higher movement speed.
The Linker starts at the 50-meter mark on the center line and is responsible for coordinating the balance between offense and defense.
In other words, depending on the opponent's strategy, they could assist a winger or charge with the Forward. They were multi-players who could even retreat to the flag to help the Guard defend against opponents.
Finally, the Guard protects the flag on the hill. Even if an opposing Forward infiltrated, they couldn't cast magic while holding the flag, making it a defensible, defensive position.