The Fact That Caitlyn Loses... Can't Even Imagine
The Fact That Caitlyn Loses... Can't Even Imagine
Ranking Match.
Viktor and Caitlin's Servitude Bet.
Over the past few days, a particular opinion had taken root among the upper-ranking students.
-Viktor? That guy is a bit arrogant...
-Yeah, there's definitely a feeling he's getting too big for his boots.
A public opinion campaign that started from Class B.
That current had swallowed up not just Class A and B, but even Class D.
Class C, at least, didn't join in because they had memories of having their souls utterly plundered by Viktor.
-Now I hear he's trying to measure up to the Class B top student?
-He's insane... For an E-Class top student, what makes him think he's so great?
-Besides, I heard his overall stats are E-grade too? What confidence made him charge in like that?
-I heard he can pull off some pretty neat tricks. They say he beat the former Class C top student in a really bizarre way last time?
-Well... I mean, I was impressed watching it back then. But still, that's nothing compared to the Class B top student!
Of course.
The Masked Boy was satisfied with this public opinion.
'Good... I told those Class C kids not to go around talking about how they got wrecked by me during practice. Looks like they listened well.'
Thanks to the cooperation of the Class C students, who had done commendably well.
Viktor had no intention of stopping the wave crashing towards him.
He just planned to drift and flow along amidst the fierce currents.
-No... If someone from a higher class picks on you, you should just take it quietly. A guy lacking ability doesn't even know his place.
-It is pretty annoying, honestly. He's probably just lucky, right? It must have been Lady Kihano, who was on his team, who did all the work.
-And I heard the point difference wasn't even that big? That settles it. He just piggybacked on Lady Kihano's score.
-And he's been walking around with his head held high like that?
The spreading public opinion.
Viktor did not respond at all.
At the same time, he only gave hints to other students he was on friendly terms with, telling them to do nothing.
To just let Class B do as they pleased.
-I hope Caitlin completely stomps him this time.
-For sure~ Those kinds of people need to be stomped so they never dare act up again.
-I definitely have to go watch this Ranking Match.
The stage where attention was focused.
At first glance, it seemed like a stage designed by Class B, but in reality, it was just rolling around on someone else's palm.
And, it didn't take long for the students to realize that fact.
Fizz-crack-!
A fiercely surging spark.
A visual effect that seems to crackle through the empty air fills the training hall.
The high-voltage current first dyes the vision white, then soon condenses into a bright yellow color and explodes.
A flash of light.
Kwaaaang-!
A bronze-colored fist shoots out like lightning.
A speed so fast it's hard to even follow with the eyes.
The next moment, the girl had narrowed the gap right in front of my nose.
"Got you, you bastard!"
"My, my."
Unfazed, I press the button on my pocket watch.
The world slows down along with the ticking clock hand.
Click-.
A world flowing like slow motion.
A noticeably fast fist, even after reducing the speed once.
I evade the girl's attack at a razor-thin angle.
"Ugh...!"
Fizz-crack-!
A light static shock travels up my cheek.
Black soot remains, and a small explosion occurs.
Kwaaang-!
"Kuhp."
"What the? You're still fine after that?"
Even within the blooming, crumpled smoke, the mask remains without a single scratch.
Caitlin furrows her brows and retracts her fist.
Ting-!
[The item 'Mask of the Evil God' has been activated.]
-Current remaining uses: 2/3
-Time remaining until charge: 47 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds
A blue window floats before my eyes.
I swing the jet-black scythe wide.
"Activate. Thorns."
Shwaaaak-!
Thorns spread out in all directions, and Caitlin steps back.
The stinging energy recedes. For a moment, a chance to breathe is created.
I sheathe Kkumteuli back into its scythe form.
"You... you're holding up quite well? I thought you'd go down in one hit."
Fizz-crack-!
Once again, current swirling around bronze skin.
The girl leaps forward with a bright yellow flash.
"This is getting fun to play with...!"
Zzwaaaaek-!
Chain-like static electricity extending out.
I had to press the watch without a moment's rest.
Each time, a scene of slowing down for 3 seconds, then accelerating and replaying.
Click-.
Click-.
Click-.
By a narrow margin, I deflect the fist several times.
The surrounding air is heated by the crackling current.
Before the swarming, pouring lightning, I unfold the Kkumteuli in my hand into a wide, broad form.
"Activate. Umbrella."
Click-.
It unfolds into the size of a parasol.
Since Kkumteuli was made of a non-conductive material, attacks like this could be easily blocked.
'What I need to watch out for... is speed.'
Caitlin was fast.
Within the category of speed, she was among the top three in the first year.
If I didn't have the Slowdown bug, I would have been beaten to a pulp and retired long ago.
Click-.
"Fuck! You rat bastard, you're dodging around so well!"
"Thank you for the compliment. On the contrary, Miss Gay Teeth seems to be having a hard time catching me."
"Don't call me by that name...!"
Kwaaaang-!
Flashes of light dye my vision several times.
Even though I spoke as if I were at ease, even I was starting to feel the strain on my body.
Even if my perception could keep up thanks to the bug, reacting accordingly was a different matter.
"You fucking bastard! I'm going to burn you to death...!"
"Wouldn't 'bastard with a dick' be a more accurate expression than just 'fucking bastard'?"
"Shut up!"
Of course, it seemed I wasn't the only one getting tired.
It had already been 10 minutes since the duel started.
The situation continued like a game of tag.
By now, Caitlin's breathing had also become quite rough.
"Haa, haa...!"
"Oh? You seem oddly tired?"
"I'm pretty sure I told you to shut up."
Caitlin's weakness.
In exchange for overwhelming explosive power, she discharged quickly.
It was also the decisive reason why she remained the Class B top student instead of moving up to Class A.
"What should we do~ I haven't even broken a sweat yet."
"Damn it, you son of a bitch...!"
Kwaaaang-!
The bronze fist and the scythe clash.
Perhaps because it was an unexpectedly fierce composition.
The students in the audience seats were also uncharacteristically excited.
-What the... it's way more intense than I thought?
-Insanely fast! He's dodging all those attacks by a hair's breadth!
-That's impossible. He's matching the Class B top student? Not going down in one hit...?
-How is he dodging like that, twisting only at the exact necessary angles?
Voices of admiration.
A high-level duel.
Caitlin's flashy lightning, and me dodging it all.
It was a scene captivating eyes regardless of upper or lower class divisions.
-What's going on! Caitlin can't beat one E-Class top student?
-Idiot, does that look like just an E-Class student to you? How is that movement from an E-Class top student!
-Besides, his sense for utilizing his weapon is good too. Is he unfolding his weapon into its widest form to prevent electrocution...?
The audience's murmuring is conveyed intact to us on the training hall stage.
Admiration, praise, interest, enjoyment directed at me.
Doubt, suspicion, disappointment, pity directed at Caitlin.
The many voices soon settle into an atmosphere.
"Kkhuh...!"
The increasingly focused gaze of the audience.
Was she getting impatient without realizing it herself?
Caitlin was gradually increasing her speed.
As if overloading, the color of the current deepens.
Kwajijijik-!
"Just get hit...!"
"Ah."
Kwaaaang-!
The moment my footwork tangled briefly, I get hit directly by the bronze fist.
A light incomparable to before. A flash detonates.
I briefly shake off the black soot remaining.
Ting-!
[The item 'Mask of the Evil God' has been activated.]
-Current remaining uses: 1/3
-Time remaining until charge: 47 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds
Two stocks already consumed.
I couldn't help but click my tongue.
'I knew she was excellent, but I didn't expect it to be to this extent...'
It was certainly outstanding skill.
Solid fundamentals.
Well-polished sense.
Reach that doesn't distinguish between close and long range.
And even the speed that flashes like lightning...
'......But, only to that extent.'
Insufficient to be called the best.
Difficult to call a genius.
Hence, the girl remained in Class B, not Class A.
What was incomplete, she desperately pulled up through her own efforts.
"This bastard... why doesn't even a scratch appear when my attacks land! What trick are you pulling!"
"Well."
I shrugged my shoulders.
Razor-thin-.
A tense composition continuing like a tug-of-war.
Caitlin pressed on like crazy, but the situation yielded no significant gains.
Instead, her mana was increasingly running behind, and even the fierce current was gradually losing its momentum.
"A trick, you say..."
Tag.
It was about time for the tagger to change.
"I haven't even shown you a proper trick yet."
Wriggle, wriggle-.
I sharpen Kkumteuli and return it to its original scythe form.
Perhaps because of my changed posture.
Caitlin hesitates for a moment.
Unlike before, which was focused solely on defense, it was clearly a posture preparing for an attack.
"......"
"Come on."
A lightly thrown remark.
Was that alone enough to scratch the girl's pride?
Caitlin clenches her teeth tightly, then wraps lightning around her fingertips.
"Fuck... you bastard, that bastard, you're all ignoring people and talking shit."
Her characteristic golden eyes flash.
"Now even E-Class trash..."
Kwaaaaa-!
A voltage dyeing the air inside the training hall with high temperature.
Caitlin pushes off the ground, then soon kicks off from her position.
Fizz-crack-.
A feeble flickering sound. The girl's afterimage disappears.
Soon, a bronze color appears before my eyes.
A speed believable even if called teleportation.
"Uwaaaaaah!!"
She thrusts out a fist with a rough shout.
My vision dyes white and flashes.
But, I did not retreat.
Click-.
I merely smiled.
As if I had been waiting for just this situation.
"......"
Caitlin's magic, Lightning.
Among them, the most basic high-speed movement.
A magic that wraps the body in current, accelerating oneself.
'And.'
This is considered applying a buff to oneself.
In other words, it receives the same judgment as a status effect.
"Got you."
Zzwaaaaek-!
I swing the scythe towards the surging bronze fist.
Its trajectory curves as if shaving off the attack.
Simultaneously, a status window rises before my eyes.
Ting-!
[The bug 'Status Effect Parrying' is activated.]
Immediately after.
The light shimmering around Caitlin goes out.
As if a switch was flipped, the swarming current subsides.
"......?!"
Caitlin stops in her tracks.
Frozen in a daze, not understanding what just happened.
Before the girl with the stunned reaction, I throw out an irresistible remark.
"Oh my?"
Caitlin Retus.
A battlemage who employs martial arts based on self-buffs.
For her, compatibility with me...
"Caitlin's current... disappeared?"
Could be said to be the absolute worst.