Head of a Snake
Just like Leon Nenphil, who had been thoroughly humiliated by Arina, Ilon Doyan was participating in this maze escape competition as the representative of Dominic Academy. He had one older brother. The age gap between them exceeded twenty years—so wide that it would be easy to believe they were father and son rather than siblings. In Ilon's eyes, his brother had been perfect in every way, yet even he possessed one glaring flaw. He had graduated second in his class from Benedict Academy. Despite possessing such extraordinary talent that he reached the fully matured 6-star realm in his early forties, his school days had been completely steeped in the role of perpetual second place, always overshadowed by Julia Evergreen.
I won't end up like my brother.
Taking his brother's school life as a cautionary tale, Ilon had given up on enrolling at Benedict Academy. Better to be the head of a snake than the body of a dragon. If he couldn't claim first place at Benedict, he would enter another academy and rule from the top. Some might dismiss it as the childish delusion of someone who still didn't understand the world. After all, while the Ellemental Kingdom was home to countless magic academies, Benedict Academy stood apart from the rest in sheer prestige. Others might argue that considering his future, it would be far wiser to ride along as part of the dragon's body, or accuse him of running away to a lesser academy because he lacked the confidence to shine at Benedict. Still, even in this moment, Ilon Doyan remained absolutely convinced that his choice had been correct.
In reality, everyone is only watching Aaron Dice.
The strongest student at Benedict Academy. Silvia Cristel and Baraki Nepiri were undoubtedly talented, having reached 3-star at a young age, but the one every participant truly feared was Aaron Dice—the one who had yet to compete even once. It was a world that only remembered the winner. No one spared a second glance for those who came in second or lower.
Rather than settling for second at Benedict Academy, it's far better to be first somewhere else.
Even with identical performances, that path would draw far more attention. Simply by fighting tooth and nail against Benedict Academy until the bitter end, one's reputation would soar. Ilon was confident he could pull it off. After all, he was certain his skills were second to none except for Aaron Dice and Chris.
Right now that guy Chris is stealing everyone's attention with his unexpected performance.
The plan Ilon had come up with first. That annoying bastard had beaten him to it. Why hadn't someone that talented gone to Benedict Academy? He must have enrolled elsewhere with the exact same mindset. In fact, that boy was currently receiving the most spotlight in the entire competition.
Ilon clicked his tongue in irritation. In any case, if he wanted to capitalize on earning the top spot at Dominic Academy, he needed to make his mark somehow starting now.
With that thought, Ilon strode forward boldly, but...
"......"
His grand plan hit a wall right from the start.
The first thing he spotted was a group of students frozen in the middle of the corridor. As he wondered why they were just standing there, an unpleasant dampness crept up from his ankles. At the same time, a heavy pressure bore down on his shoulders. The resistance was so intense that taking even a single step felt exhausting, and his gaze dropped to his feet.
What is this?
He was stunned. Why hadn't he noticed it before? Something flowing like a stream was slowly swirling around his ankles.
A spell formula?
Faintly, he could make out numbers and symbols tangled together, moving freely. The arrangement looked vaguely familiar. Could spell formulas really move around so freely? Was this a magic circle then? But there was no containing frame. A magic square? Some kind of formation?
His eyes shook violently at this utterly unfamiliar style of magic.
"Ugh."
He fought through the resistance and pushed forward. Yet the deeper he went, the heavier the pressure became, as if he were sinking into an ever-deepening swamp.
Is that girl the one behind this?
Beyond his blurring vision, he caught sight of a young girl glaring at them with an oddly adorable scowl. The fact that she was moving far more freely than the others made it obvious she was the culprit behind this bizarre phenomenon. He could only stare in disbelief that someone who looked much younger than the other participants had created such a scene.
Benedict Academy!
He couldn't fail to recognize those uniforms. Even without them, there was no way he could miss the first-year team that had become the biggest topic of the competition. Ilon knew roughly how skilled they were. His brother, who had been present during the Vivaldi Territory terror incident, had described it as an absolute nightmare. Anyone who survived something like that would naturally possess considerable power. But he had never imagined they would be strong enough to immobilize everyone here. He thought he'd heard that only two boys had been at the scene back then.
She's just a twelve-year-old first-year?
The mana he could sense from her didn't fall short of his own in the slightest. That meant she had reached the fully matured 3-star realm. Was something like that even possible at twelve years old?
She's a genius.
Another genius following in Aaron Dice's footsteps had entered Benedict Academy.
"......Impressive."
Ilon Doyan wasn't the only one admiring her performance. Humon Grant, who had moved to sit near Kain after lunch, was watching Arina on the screen with narrowed eyes. At first glance it looked like a glare, but the tone of his muttering revealed far more surprise than displeasure at her unexpected display.
"So she had talent after all?"
"Beats me."
Humon turned his head toward Kain, who sat beside him. Maybe he was annoyed that the man hadn't left after lunch and was hogging the space where he could have lain down. Kain whipped his head away with a slightly pouty expression.
"Once the competition ends, she'll get flooded with scout offers."
But Humon had grown used to these reactions. He smoothly ignored Kain's grumpy reply and continued.
Creating an instant dungeon with nothing but a single magic tool. A divine feat that could bind even 3-star mages at the same level as himself. While it had been prepared beforehand, the result was outstanding given the short preparation time. Just this accomplishment would have skyrocketed her value. The Magic Tower might even offer them a fortune for the unique magic she possessed. As a merchant, Humon assessed her worth with clinical precision.
"Don't just jump at the first offer that comes along. Think carefully. Unless you want to ruin that girl's entire life with one badly written contract."
"......"
At Humon's unexpectedly concerned advice, Kain's eyebrows twitched with mild surprise.
Is he actually worried?
Why? He'd been planning to abandon her anyway. Why worry about the little brat's future now? It was completely unnecessary meddling. Part of him wanted to tell the man to get lost immediately. But there was one reason he held his tongue—another meaning hidden behind those words.
He has no intention of bringing Arina back to the Grant Company.
Was he feeling guilty about the past? Or did he simply dislike her? What mattered was that even after discovering her exceptional talent, he wasn't foolish enough to consider taking her back.
For that display of wisdom, Kain decided to let it slide just this once. But Humon kept piling on more advice.
"If you're not sure, send the contract to me or my brother Huren. We'll take a look at it."
"Forget it. Mind your own business. It's unnecessary meddling."
Letting it slide once was the limit. A second time was out of the question.
"Hmph. Do whatever you want, but remember this clearly. If something happens to that girl later and the damage reaches our side, I won't stand by quietly."
"That won't happen."
If anyone tried to scam Arina, Pride would cut them off long before any damage could reach the Grant Company.
It can't happen.
Just as Humon Grant had predicted, Arina's performance far exceeded everyone's expectations. The evaluation of her in the hearts of all those watching the competition rose another level.
Although he couldn't see the outside situation directly, Ilon had predicted it perfectly. He ground his teeth hard enough to taste blood.
He could accept it with Chris. A 4-star mage appearing out of nowhere was practically a natural disaster. But not that girl. She was only a first-year. Being overpowered by a child like her was an unbearable humiliation.
I'm not some background character.
He hadn't abandoned Benedict Academy and chosen Dominic Academy just to make a girl like her look good. The one who should shine in this competition was him, not her.
With a savage scowl, mana exploded outward from Ilon in all directions. He activated the three stars engraved in his body to the brink of overload. By releasing his power, he forcibly resisted the opponent's spell formula. It was a simple, brute-force strategy to smash the trap before him with pure strength. Nothing more than stubbornness given form, yet it produced surprisingly effective results.
Crack.
The magic circle that had flowed like a mountain stream lost its shape. A violent repulsion surged between it and Ilon's mana, sending a shockwave rippling through the surrounding air.
Change-type magic Silver Fang—partial transformation. Borrowing the power of a wind-manipulating monster, Ilon offset part of the magic circle's effect and resumed his halted steps, advancing forward once more.
Arina's eyes widened in genuine surprise at the sight.
How about that!
Ilon bared his sharply protruding teeth in a fierce grin. But the smugly smiling boy had no idea.
The real reason for Arina's shocked expression wasn't the sight of him walking toward her—her gaze was fixed on something much further behind him.
"Wrapping the air around yourself like a curtain to offset the pressure. That's certainly a clever idea, but..."
A large hand suddenly dropped onto Ilon's head with a heavy thud. Before he could identify its owner, the man who had approached from behind continued speaking.
"If you're going to do it, you should have wrapped yourself up like I did before stepping into the trap. Trying it after you've already fallen into our junior's trap just creates pointless backlash and scatters the wind everywhere."
His vision suddenly plunged into darkness. With a loud bang, his face slammed into the ground. The massive man who had pinned him down grinned as he watched Ilon's body pixelate and vanish.
"Get rid of anyone flailing around in a trap without knowing what's going on. They're just getting in the way of the real fight."
Wearing a neat uniform of white with sharp blue accents—the attire of a current Benedict Academy student—the massive man moved through the dungeon Arina had created without the slightest hindrance. He waved lightly at her.
"Hey, junior. Looks like you've gotten a lot stronger while I wasn't looking."
"Thank you for the high praise," Arina replied politely.
Baraki Nepiri. The representative of the Ellemental Kingdom's most prestigious academy, Benedict Academy. Though he was also a 3-star mage, scouts evaluated him as a powerhouse on an entirely different level from Ilon Doyan. As Arina stared quietly at him, a single bead of cold sweat trickled down the side of her face.