The Spotlight on First Place
Being in first place, the lead position, was naturally a spot where all eyes and checks concentrated. That much was obvious. And Togun was no exception.
"……"
The other teams' trappers, who had been standing around dumbfounded by Marily's performance, finally began to move. Their target was Togun Masao, running at the very front, and Chris, who was rapidly closing in behind him. But just as they had failed to stop Marily, Chris shattered every spell by reading the flow of mana, while Togun endured all the interference with nothing but his body.
'It's not as heavy as Marily said it would be.'
The weight amplification penalty. It was a handicap like strapping heavy sandbags to a runner's limbs. But even that standard of "heavy" was nothing more than an evaluation made by mages. Togun was a monster who had built physical abilities rivaling those of a martial artist with a body that could not handle even a single strand of mana. This kind of weight meant nothing to him. It made almost no difference to his running. On top of that, his cursed trait, the Mana Rejecter, was doing its part to offset some of the penalty's effects even in this situation.
Despite the interference, Togun continued sprinting at the exact same speed as before. 'There he is.'
Even so, the distance between Chris and Togun kept shrinking, and before long, Chris caught sight of Togun running ahead.
'He's already caught up?'
Togun noticed Chris chasing from behind as well. Remembering how confidently Marily had boasted before the match, he had thought she would buy him more time. Judging by the fact that Baraki still had not caught up, it seemed the opponent was simply that skilled. As if to prove it, Togun frowned at the brilliant shimmering surrounding Chris.
Among elemental magics, "light" shared some techniques with spatial magic. Scholars generally described the world they lived in as four-dimensional. One axis, a single point representing the first dimension. Adding the y-axis to the x-axis created the second dimension, expressed as a plane. The z-axis, passing through the intersection of those two axes, expanded the plane into the realm of space. Scholars further defined the dimension by adding the axis of "time (t)" as another component of space. If three axes were involved in forming space itself, the time axis defined the direction in which that space progressed. That was why scholars defined time as "actually not flowing, but standing still." And light was closely tied to the axis of time. In most contexts, the speed of light was treated as synonymous with the speed of time. The idea that moving faster than light could reverse time and return to the past existed precisely because their speeds were equal.
In other words, manipulating the element of light was equivalent to manipulating one of the axes that composed spatial magic. Simply distorting the trajectory of light was one thing, but directly handling light itself required a correspondingly high level of technique. It was high-difficulty magic that only experts or above could wield. But that common sense did not apply to Chris at all. His innate ability, the Eye that Sees Mana, allowed him to observe part of the flow of time that no one else in the world could perceive. He could not interfere with or influence that flow, but simply seeing it opened up countless possibilities. For example, directly interfering with light through mana, just as he was doing now.
Possessing a powerful innate ability meant the talent one was born with was correspondingly immense. According to Kain, one of the absolutes standing at the pinnacle of the world, it was an innate ability on the level of at least 6-star, possibly approaching 8-star. Since it did not manifest as stars like other disciplines, an exact evaluation was impossible, but one thing was certain. Following the underworld's Seven Deadly Sins, Gluttony and Pride, another superhuman-level innate ability user had been born.
Whoosh!
A talent comparable to Aaron or Arina among mages. Such a genius stepped on the light raining down around him and rapidly closed the distance to Togun.
'Impressive.'
Up close, the distortion surrounding Chris had lessened. And there he was. Marily must not have given up yet. Countless obstacles kept flying toward him, but Chris, having already grasped every pattern, shattered the penalty magic circles with light before they could even fully form, targeting their weak points in advance.
"Damn it! Are there no stronger traps?! I still have points left, but there's not a single useful penalty! What a useless shop!"
For some reason, it almost sounded like Marily's angry grumbling from inside the virtual reality was reaching them here. Togun gave a wry smile at that and drew the sword at his waist.
'I have to stop him here.'
Weight amplification, terrain changes, monster summons, and so on. All sorts of traps had been prepared for the race, but the opponent was crushing them with monstrous divine might before they could even appear. The Eye that Sees Mana. That bug-like ability. Those emotionless, indifferent white eyes staring straight through him. Meeting that gaze, Togun swung his sword swiftly at the approaching Chris.
Swish!
Togun's sword cut through empty air. At the same time, confusion filled his eyes. He had clearly swung toward where Chris was standing, yet the blade's trajectory had curved in a completely different direction. It was not as if he had felt any repulsive force strong enough to twist the sword's path. The trajectory had simply been drawn as if Togun had aimed that way from the start. At the same moment, Togun realized there was an inexplicable disconnect between what his eyes saw and where Chris was actually standing.
The elemental magic Visual Distortion. It twisted the angle of light's reflection to alter the image projected onto the opponent's retina.
'If that's the case……!'
If it could change the visual image, then conversely, it could also deceive one's position. By twisting the reflection angle like a mirage, it could create a false form. Furthermore, being able to change the reflection angle meant one could hide their body from sight entirely. He could not trust what his eyes saw.
'Where is he?'
He spread his senses. Fortunately, the one who had trained him for the past few months, Jealousy, was a specialist in stealth techniques. He was the continent's foremost master of concealment, and Togun, who had been relentlessly beaten while hidden from sight, had unintentionally become highly skilled at detecting opponents concealed by stealth.
Beast Imitation Footwork 'Snake.'
Togun's feet slid rapidly. Moving like he was skating, he shifted his steps to an unexpected spot. Then, gripping his sword in a reverse grip and using the centrifugal force of his turning body, he thrust the blade in a surprise attack.
Swish!
It connected……! He felt the sensation of the blade tip cutting through something. Along with that feeling came the image forming on his retina. Chris had tilted his head to the side to dodge Togun's attack and was now staring at him with his characteristic white eyes, looking somewhat surprised.
"How did you notice? I didn't see any sparkle from you at all."
Every ability user in the world used mana when manifesting their abilities. But just now, Togun had not shown even a single particle of mana movement. Yet he had accurately detected Chris's movements. How was that possible? It was a question Chris could not help but find perfectly natural, but Togun only frowned, unable to understand what he meant.
"What do you mean by 'no sparkle'?"
"Just that there was no sparkle."
"……"
He could not understand. So Togun gave up trying. Chris had already launched an attack without even waiting for an answer, as if he had no intention of hearing one.
Boom!
A laser that had instantly incinerated a virtual ogre passed by Togun and carved across the ground. Scorching flames rose from the earth. Even the slightest graze would mean certain expulsion from the virtual world. Cold sweat ran down Togun's back as he gripped his sword tightly with both hands.
Beast Imitation Footwork 'Monkey.'
Togun's footsteps shifted once more. It was too late to dodge by sight. Relying solely on his senses, he evaded every laser Chris fired. At that miraculous movement, Chris's eyebrows twitched slightly.
"How are you dodging so well?"
Something was wrong. He could not understand. There was clearly no sparkle at all. How had he noticed Chris's position and continued to evade his attacks?
'I wasn't planning on fighting seriously……'
His curiosity had been piqued, and he wanted to test just how far his opponent could go. 'This won't work.'
Unlike Chris, whose interest had been reignited, Togun's eyes had sunk low. He was managing to dodge the attacks somehow, but the distance he had been overtaken by kept widening. At this rate, he would never overtake him.
'Marily told me not to use it if possible……'
Should he use it? Or should he give up on this match and save it for another event with higher points? If Marily were here, she would have calculated it instantly and given him the answer. Togun's mind could not accurately weigh which option was more advantageous.
In that moment, seeing the opponent showing signs of changing his attack pattern, Togun nodded as if he had made up his mind.
'I'll use it.'
Just as he resolved to draw the Masao family's heirloom, the Anti-Magic Sword, and extended his right arm to the side—
Boom!
Something burst through the burning ground that Chris's lasers had set ablaze and suddenly intruded between them. It writhed and sprang upward, instantly encircling Chris like a cage and gripping his body tightly.
"Run, junior!"
What followed was Baraki Nepiri's voice. Since victory in this event was already out of reach anyway, he had decided to assist his academy junior instead. At the same time, the fully summoned monster-type penalty that Baraki had created in that brief opening crashed down toward Chris with a heavy thud.
Beast Imitation Footwork 'Tiger.'
It was the perfect opportunity created by Baraki and Marily, two people from completely different teams. The finish line was right in front of him. Thanking Baraki inwardly, Togun dashed past Chris toward the goal. But—
"What was that thing you were about to use at the end?"
The voice right beside his ear made Togun's entire body break out in goosebumps. He turned his head to the side. There, he saw those emotionless white eyes. Chris's gaze was right in front of his face.
"You erased all the sparkle."
He had not expected anything since there was no sparkle at all. But this guy was more interesting than he had thought. Maybe even more so than that girl who sparkled so brilliantly.
"If we get the chance during the match later, show me. What that thing you were about to use was."
Togun turned his head at the intense heat he felt from behind. Before his eyes was a raging inferno, all red flames. Baraki and the monster had been burned away along with the space itself in an instant.
Obstacle Race Winner: Sirionella Private Academy
Congratulations!
Togun stared blankly at Chris, who had passed him and crossed the finish line. Above his head, the artificial intelligence AI appeared, spinning in circles as it declared the winner of this event. The name of the academy Chris represented—Sirionella Private Academy.