The Eye That Sees All
Bzzt! Lightning conducted right above the skin, wrapping around the boy's body. With a bright flash, the boy shot forward at high speed. BOOM! A club came flying along the trajectory of his charge. The massive weapon, several times larger than the boy, swung down vertically with tremendous force. It shattered stalagmites rising from the floor and struck the ground with crushing power. Yet the one who wielded it, a hulking monster, didn't stop there. It raised the club again and swung it horizontally with all its might.
"……!"
The boy, who had leisurely dodged the monster's attack, widened his eyes in surprise at the follow-up strike flying straight toward him. At the same time, he reflexively thrust both palms forward. CRASH! The lightning bursting from the boy's palms collided directly with the monster's club. The impact sent the boy flying backward.
"Guh!"
His body slammed into the cave wall, bending like a bow. Grrr. The monster had finally gained the upper hand against the human who had been scurrying around like a rat. Grinning at the thought, it charged toward the boy without missing the opportunity.
"……Trolls are supposed to have excellent regenerative abilities, right?"
It was exactly as he'd heard. Despite the barrage of attacks he'd unleashed so far, the monster's constant regeneration was enough to wear down any opponent.
"Let's see if you can regenerate after your entire body gets fried."
Just as the troll lunged at the boy, it sensed something was wrong. Its vision suddenly blurred, and a damp mist touched its skin. At the same time, an ominous crackling sound echoed intermittently. But by the time the troll registered the danger, it was already too late to turn back.
Bzzt!
The boy's right and left hands faced each other. Negative and positive charges met, creating sparks. It began as a weak current. But the moment that tiny spark met the artificially created thundercloud—the mist spread wide through the air—a massive surge of lightning violently engulfed the troll's body. The stench of burning flesh quickly filled the entire cave.
A moment later, all that remained before the boy was the troll's charred corpse. Watching it dissolve into polygons, the boy struggled to his feet, grimacing as he clutched his side.
This is annoying.
Had his muscles seized up from hitting the wall? Or had he cracked a rib? Though the pain wasn't severe in the virtual world, the discomfort with every breath suggested the latter. In reality, the injury would have been deep enough to force him to sit down and rest immediately. But the boy kept walking forward as if he had no time to rest.
That's three down.
It still wasn't enough. He needed to hunt more monsters. And he had to reach the room with the exit while Arina held it as long as possible.
I don't have time to waste here.
Jeon Raydel's footsteps quickened as he moved forward, breaking into a run. A sphere of light Arina had sent earlier clung to the back of his hand like a grain of rice, marking the location of the exit room.
＊ ＊ ＊
When humans see someone pulling ahead, they typically react in one of two ways: interference or submission.
"……"
Chris, representative of Sirionella Private Academy. Though he'd only participated in the obstacle race, that alone was enough to gauge his skill.
That's a monster.
Deep inside the cave, a virtual monster rose at the intruder's appearance but vanished in flames from a beam fired from Chris's finger before it could even roar. Ennya Dexspin, representative of Lorelei Academy, clicked her tongue as she watched the giant snake crumble into ash from behind a wall.
Trying to face something like that alone is just asking to die.
With a few casual flicks of his fingers, monsters disappeared. Even if they were weakened versions created for the simulation, taking them down in a single blow was no easy feat. A 3-star couldn't possibly manage it. At minimum, one needed to be a 4-star.
The gap between 3-star and 4-star is too vast.
In the world of ability users, the difference of a single star was enormous. Fighting head-on offered little chance of victory. Preparation was necessary. Thorough preparation to defeat him.
Throughout history, the most efficient way to fight the strong had always been to band together. Ennya quietly raised her hand. Of her five fingers, only two were extended—the index and middle. At the gesture, students in various academy uniforms hidden around her narrowed their eyes.
Teaming. A game term referring to forming an alliance even when the system marks participants as enemies who can attack one another. Though usually viewed negatively in games, teaming within the Academy Tournament wasn't considered improper. Mages pursued rationality. Finding a way to win in an unwinnable situation was only natural, and forming a team on the spot was also part of one's abilities. While some companies removed teaming users from their scouting lists, that simply reflected differing corporate philosophies.
If we don't do this, we can't win.
Aaron Dice and Chris. Two irregular 4-star mages participating in the current match. To stand against them, Ennya Dexspin had moved urgently the moment lunch break began. She had approached only the academies likely to share her goal and formed this alliance. A temporary pact that would only activate when either of the two participated, and would dissolve into normal competition once they were eliminated or neither joined. It was the weak's method of fighting the strong—by banding together.
Even once would be enough.
Victory itself wasn't important. If they could effectively hinder those two even once, it would leave a strong impression on the scouts gathered in the stands. After all, Benedict Academy was always predetermined to win the tournament. Unlike Arina's team, which sought to overturn the impossible and claim victory, these students focused on building their resumes while treating the championship as secondary. Though it was regrettable for the Majoan who had created the Academy Tournament to foster growth through competition, this was the mindset most participants held in the modern era.
Now, turn your back.
The moment he let his guard down and turned his back to them, they would strike all at once. The danger posed by his eyes had already been thoroughly demonstrated in previous matches. A surprise attack from an unseen position was the only way to defeat him. If they could take him down, they could force him to waste a full ten minutes.
Suppressing their breathing, they waited for the opportunity. Tension had risen to the point where sweat beaded on their foreheads. Yet unlike them, Chris, their target, merely gazed indifferently at the monster dissolving into polygons with his usual calm demeanor.
Why isn't he moving?
Impatience stirred at the sight of Chris standing motionless. Was he spacing out? If they attacked now, could they take him down? No, they should still wait for the perfect moment. Temptation and indecision swirled in Ennya's mind until Chris slowly turned his head toward the wall where they were hiding.
Swish!
At his gaze, those hiding pressed themselves flatter against the wall. They held their breath, flattening themselves against the surface. Ennya was no different. Just as she considered peeking out again, Chris's flat voice echoed from afar.
"Hey, I'd like to get going soon. If you're going to attack, could you hurry up?"
Ennya flinched. They'd been spotted? How? No—had he known from the beginning? Her mind went blank from the shock.
"Not coming out?"
Chris's eyes reflected Ennya's figure clearly. Manipulating light was synonymous with manipulating vision. Sight itself was created when light reflected onto the retina. If one could manipulate light to forcibly penetrate walls, seeing through to what lay behind them was entirely possible. Since Chris had already been erasing every wall in the maze to find the exit room, discovering their hiding spot was trivial.
"If you won't come out, should I come to you?"
At Chris's casual words, which sounded like a final warning, Ennya's mind snapped back to clarity.
"Everyone, attack!"
The ambush was already lost. At Ennya's signal, the students unleashed the spells they'd prepared. Chris watched the incoming magic without so much as blinking, his hand moving slowly. Whoosh! Light gathered around Chris and shot forward in a straight laser. Normally, gathering this much light in the depths of a cave where not a single ray could enter would be impossible. But this wasn't reality—it was a virtual world. The existence of vision meant light was also part of the world's composition. As if proving this, the laser Chris fired began shooting down each incoming spell one by one.
"Insane."
The bombardment of heat created by condensed light. The way it precisely targeted the weaknesses in the spell formulas made profanity slip from Ennya's lips.
Bang!
But there was no time to be surprised. After shooting down all the spells, Chris fired one additional laser. It struck a stalactite on the ceiling and scattered in all directions. A shower of light rained down on the students below like a downpour. Without even time to scream, the students struck by the barrage of lasers dissolved into polygons and vanished.
"……"
After confirming no survivors remained from the students he'd retired in a single strike, Chris finally turned around. His characteristic white eyes scanned the surroundings. Gazing through the walls, Chris followed the shimmering traces of mana flowing through the virtual space with his eyes. Using his ability to perceive it, he roughly pinpointed its destination—the location of the exit room.
"This way."
Lucky, perhaps. Along the path, he spotted a teammate who seemed lost. Shubi, looking around frantically as if he hadn't noticed Chris yet, hidden behind a wall. Chris watched as Shubi failed to see a rock on the floor and tripped over it, then slowly began walking in that direction.
I can just pick him up on the way.
After all, escaping alone wouldn't count as a win. It would be fine to take him along.
That saves me some trouble.
Unlike the exit, whose mana flow was clearly visible, finding Shubi in this vast maze was like searching for a needle in a desert. And it would have been unreasonable to escape first and hope Shubi made it out on his own. It was fortunate those guys had found him first—if Shubi had been discovered instead, they would have been delayed for a full ten minutes.
Something seems to be happening over there too.
The shimmering near the exit had been growing stronger for a while now. Proof that something was occurring. Being delayed for ten minutes in such a situation would be a significant penalty.
I wonder what's going on.
Chris's white eyes gazed straight ahead. Within those emotionless eyes, a hint of interest and curiosity began to gather.