Duel in the Downpour
The Evergreen Lake gate that he'd cleared in his previous life was among the lowest-grade gates. Even as a hidden event boss, the Urok was on the weaker side.
Of course, that was by the standards of his past life. Through his artifact glasses, the Urok's danger level was considerable.
A Rank 3 boss monster.
Zien's body mana was depleted, and with his magic tool being a sword, he still lacked the attack power to take down the Urok. But Isabel was different.
Earlier, Zien had checked Isabel's stats.
'What a glass cannon character.'
Isabel's physical ability stats were 2 to 3—around the level of an ordinary person, the absolute weakest at the academy.
But her mana potential—the comprehensive indicator of mana max capacity, aka mana pool, mana sensitivity, and various other mana-related talents—was shocking.
9.7 out of 10.
Even in his previous life, Zien had never seen a Saber with mana potential over 9.
She was an incomplete glass cannon for now, but by Zien's calculations, Isabel could easily dispatch the Urok.
"Yup! Zien!"
Aria came running up with a joyful face.
Surprisingly, she called him by name. Considering she'd started the exam calling him "hey" or "dead last," this was a huge step forward.
"I heard on the broadcast! Just Isabel left now, right?"
The gloomy aura she'd shown at first was completely gone, replaced by pure brightness. Like she'd run into a close friend, Aria poked at Zien.
"Didn't expect this much, but color me impressed. What happened? I love a good twist like this."
Grinning ear to ear. Zien was briefly flustered by Aria's affectionate reaction but nodded.
"Yeah. Did you set up the device I asked for?"
"Yup. Made it as thorough as I could... but it's my first time drawing something like that, so no clue if it'll work."
"As long as it activates, we're good."
"No problem there."
Zien asked Aria about Chris's whereabouts, since he'd vanished. He'd heard about the dropout on broadcast, but taking out Rita too was unexpected.
"Her mentor had to show up right then. If it weren't for that idiot dog, we'd have been busted."
Aria sighed, inwardly irked by Chris's dropout.
"Chris..."
"But even as the top seed, would she really come fight two of us? Uh... she's coming to fight."
Aria backpedaled while eyeing the birds circling overhead. Arrows made of fire roasted the birds mid-air.
"I'm total trash at fighting, so..."
"I'll signal you—just make sure to trigger the device."
Aria flashed an OK sign with her hand, then bolted away.
Zien and Isabel faced off.
Whoooosh.
A tumbleweed rolled between them like something out of a Western.
In that short time, Isabel was covered head to toe in dirt and grime from whatever ordeal she'd endured.
The ferocious mana aura she'd been emitting had noticeably weakened. It was the backlash from forcibly using an advanced magic tool with the artifact's help.
"Get the gift alright?"
Zien's blatant provocation.
He'd meant to rile her hot temper and force an opening, but Isabel responded flatly.
"Yeah, the fish was tasty. We ate two, and I wouldn't have noticed if one died."
It really did die.
Recalling Lake reduced to powder, Isabel crouched low.
Flames spread from where her gloves, Blaze, touched the ground. Before long, the fire enclosed Zien and Isabel, forming a circular arena.
"Not planning to run, are you?"
"Of course not."
Zien tossed the orb pouch he'd gotten from Aria onto the ground. Isabel peeled off her cumbersome pouch and stacked it on top.
Both teams' earnings from hunting, plus the Urok kill reward.
High risk, high return.
The stakes were all-in on the table. A strange tension hung between them amid the silence.
Isabel, capable of long-range bombardment.
Zien, sword user, needing to force close quarters.
This tension stemmed from their distance.
One step.
Just one step, and battle would erupt. Both knew the weight of it, so neither moved rashly.
'Let my guard down, and it's over.'
Zien felt a pleasant tension. Every effort over this short period—recovering his memories—had led to this moment.
"Now!"
Yes, now.
Time to throw everything at it. Zien's signal.
Hiss, hiss. Hiss.
It started with the sound of an empty spray can. Then—
Shwoooooaaaah!
A deafening roar assaulted the ears as jets of water blasted across the area.
"'Rain?'"
Startled, Isabel looked skyward. Clear blue skies. No rain fell from above. The lake beside them was still.
Like a localized downpour, the rain hammered only Isabel and Zien.
"Not rain."
Zien smirked and pointed beside her.
There stood a bizarre machine jutting from the ground.
Shwoooooaaaah—!
The rain hadn't fallen from the sky.
It was surging up from the earth.
"...A sprinkler?"
"Something like that."
Aria's drawn trap. Unlike a real sprinkler, it needed no pipes—just Aria's mana as fuel to spew lake water.
The power of mana, turning the absurd into reality.
An impossible volume of water shot from ground to sky. The mana-infused water soaked the earth, Zien, Isabel.
And turned her raging crimson blaze into fading embers.
"Ha..."
Isabel's short sigh. Maybe because she wielded fire, but she hated getting wet.
"Nice one-shot. But you don't seriously think some puny water jets will beat me?"
Water countered fire.
But a gap still existed between Zien and Isabel.
Even with recovered memories, the 17-year chasm between genius and everyman remained unfilled.
'One more chance here.'
A ring adorned Zien's finger. Ring of Patience. Its original purpose: an instant curse that burdened the body to amplify training gains.
But its hidden effect.
Remove it, and recover stamina unnaturally depleted.
A fraction compared to what the curse stole. But over nearly a week, even scraps added up.
Zien eyed the ring.
He'd used it in his previous life too.
'Previous life.'
His mind cleared. Not the ring's effect. That faint heartbeat in his chest since earlier. Pulsing. He'd chalked it up to battle excitement.
No.
'Fun.'
Yes. Fun.
This emotion was joy.
Drenched to the bone, muscles screaming. One mistake, and he'd go flying. Yet Zien was thrilled.
Evan.
Would it be weird to call myself that on round one?
In his past life, he'd charged ahead single-mindedly. His head filled only with clearing gates. Duty played a part, but mostly the promise with friends dying in his stead. A grand vow to save the world for her.
He'd kept it. Saved the world, died as a pilgrim. No regrets. Just...
Gates.
Other worlds.
He'd closed his eyes at 27 in a demon king's castle devoid of light. Only now did Zien understand.
That final moment. The emotion he'd felt was regret—and what he'd desperately craved was life.
The life his past self yearned for.
The power his current self craved.
Now, Zien fulfilled both lives' desires. More fulfilled than ever. An exhilarating high swept his body.
His gaze fell to the ring.
"Isabel. Remember what Lake said?"
Smiling, Zien slipped the ring off his finger.
Fatigue eased; his body lightened.
"Oops~ Can't recall?"
"Don't let your guard down."
Zien finally understood the feeling he'd sensed since recovering his memories. That he was truly enjoying this second life.
"Conditions and state are perfect for me. Worst for you."
At Zien's words, Isabel conjured flames in both hands.
"Sick tiger versus stuffed rabbit, huh? Pfft, scary stuff? Any last words?"
Zien kicked off from the muddy, rain-slicked ground.
"I win."
'This is first-year combat?'
Aria wore a yellow raincoat manifested from her magic tool and watched their fight from prone position in a rock crevice. Even from afar, the coat's yellow gleamed.
She'd considered camouflage—gray would've been better. But a drab gray raincoat for a teenage girl? No way. Yellow was always right.
'Anyway...'
She'd heard Isabel was strong plenty of times. But Zien matching her blow-for-blow...
"Looks so innocent, but he's sneaky."
'Dead last with skills like that.'
Sudden power-up?
Aria didn't buy such contrived nonsense.
Far more plausible: Zien had hidden his strength all along.
And there was a perfect explanation that fit.
SP (School Points).
'Low-rankers get SP bonuses to encourage improvement.'
Rank 1 gets 3 points.
Then drop to 162nd—hide strength to hit dead last—before flipping the rankings in the crucial virtual gate exam?
That nets over 300 SP easy.
'Abusing school rules to trap Isabel... He's got skill, but he's a strategist type too. Charms folks like with Chris... Gotta recruit him first for group projects.'
Aria lay in wait like a beast before a pounce.
'If I land a witch shot at the decisive moment? We could really win... No, we will win! Just one worry...'
The rock was too comfy.
Moss under her belly was plush.
Arms pillowed under her head in prone position felt perfect. Rain patter was basically a lullaby.
'So... sleepy...'
Mana use tired her out, tiredness brought sleepiness. Peak of the needs pyramid: sleep.
'Just close eyes a sec?'
The sleep demon whispered sweetly. She nearly gave in but shook her head to snap out of it.
"Yawn, no way, logically... Who falls asleep mid-exam...? Not like I'm an idiot or..."