The Transparent Barrier's Trials
A translucent wall, formless and rippling high into the sky, had golden spells pouring down over it like a waterfall. The characters and contents shifted without pause. It was a spell random box that cycled at random, presenting problems that had to be solved the moment a challenger entered within a certain distance. The difficulty of the problems rose in proportion from the first gate to the fifth, yet the problems each team had to solve were of similar difficulty. The reason different problems appeared was to prevent any possible cheating.
"Amy! Your turn!"
Aaron Dice released flames to grant propulsion. Thanks to that, Baraki Nepiri used his extending arms like oars to steer the boat racing forward at high speed. A dazzling driving performance put on by the two seniors together.
"Yes, seniors!"
Amy, who had been quietly holding her breath inside the boat so as not to get in their way—her skills were considerably lacking compared to the two, and even among all the academy tournament participants she was below average—shouted loudly at Baraki's words and stood up.
Amy Pewter had been selected as Benedict Academy's representative not for her combat ability, but for her outstanding computational skills. Although she had been overwhelmed by a junior in the same event yesterday, no one could disparage her abilities based on that alone. After all, the fact that she had received unanimous praise at the Magic Tower thesis presentation as a current student had not been achieved by luck.
"……."
Amy Pewter's eyes turned to the problem engraved on the front of the boat. A brightly shining magic circle. She had to interpret it in its correct form and reassemble it into the key that would let them pass through the barrier spread before their eyes.
"Take it slow. If you get impatient, it'll only get harder to solve."
Aaron lightly encouraged her as she began solving the problem with wide eyes. After all, the opponents would also take a long time to solve this problem, and he and Baraki would handle any interference that arose in the meantime.
"……."
Though the senior's reliable advice had been given with that in mind, it seemed Amy, already focused on solving the problem, did not hear Aaron's words at all. Her right hand moved ceaselessly without even giving a short answer. Maintaining that level of concentration in the middle of a sea rocking from various magical collisions was truly no easy feat.
"Hahahaha!"
Just as Benedict Academy's Team A, in the lead, began solving the first gate's problem, the trailing teams that had been chasing them one by one arrived at the first gate.
"We finally meet, Aaron Dice!"
At that moment, someone on Dominic Academy's representative team's boat pointed an index finger straight at Aaron.
"I know you've been avoiding me, Leon Nenfil, all this time! But now that we've met in the tournament, your winning streak ends here!"
Leon Nenfil, the young noble from Dominic Academy, struck a confident pose and struck a dashing figure atop the rocking boat.
"Stop with the nonsense and focus on the match!"
"Kuek!"
Ilon Doyan appeared from behind and smacked the back of his head. He glanced at Baraki beside Aaron, frowned, and abruptly turned his head away.
"Hey, Aaron. Do you know that guy?"
"No, not at all."
When Baraki asked while watching them, Aaron shook his head with a somewhat awkward expression. If he had ever seen someone with such a peculiar personality even once while passing by, he would never have forgotten them, so the person was clearly a stranger. That was why the claim that he had been avoiding someone he had never even met before was news to Aaron as well.
"More importantly, the guy who just hit the back of his head seemed to frown when he looked at you. Aren't you the one who knows him?"
"Who knows. Well, probably one of the guys who got beaten during the match."
Baraki merely shook his head nonchalantly, as if he did not remember Ilon Doyan's face at all—perhaps he had completely forgotten about grabbing the back of Ilon Doyan's head and slamming it into the ground during yesterday's maze escape match.
"Got you!"
The team that arrived at the first gate following Dominic Academy was Lorelei Academy. Ennya Dexspin, standing at the front, narrowed her eyes as she looked at Aaron Dice standing leisurely on the boat.
So they had formed a team again. A line of students from other academies followed behind Ennya.
"They never get tired of teaming up, huh?"
Baraki shook his head as if he was rather fed up with the sight. The act of allying as a team to attack them. It was a situation they had continuously faced since Chris yesterday and throughout this morning's matches. Rather than Ilon Doyan, those persistently pushing forward left a stronger impression.
"Well, it doesn't matter."
No matter how many of them swarmed together, they would not lose anyway. At Aaron's confident declaration, Baraki looked at him and let out a small chuckle.
"That's true."
If it were just him or Sylvia, it might be different, but as long as this friend was with them, defeat was unimaginable. That was why, even though numerous academies were surrounding them and targeting them, they felt no tension at all.
"This is actually perfect. Let's eliminate them all right here."
In this regard, Aaron Dice shared the same thought as Chris, who was participating in a different event. Everyone except first place gets last place. They would widen the score gap by ensuring no one else scored points besides themselves. Aaron's black eyes gleamed with red light as he looked at the late-arriving Sirionella Private Academy team's boat.
Whoosh. Blazing flames flickered above his palm. The intense heat expanded the air, and rough waves began to form around them.
"Move, quickly!"
Ennya shouted in alarm at the tremendous explosion. But even before she cried out, numerous academy students had already backed away from Benedict Academy's Team A in terror.
'The greatest advantages of flames are their powerful destructive force and rapid expandability.'
Even a tiny spark could spread at high speed and engulf an entire mountain in less than a day. No matter how widely something spread, nothing could expand faster than flames.
Whoosh! Hair that rippled redder than flames. The spark Aaron threw fell onto the sea surface and dyed it bright red. The sudden expansion of heat. Steam caused a secondary explosion, helping the flames spread even farther.
"……."
This was literally a calamity unleashed by a 4-star mage. No, it was the overwhelming divine might displayed by someone who had set one foot into the realm of 5-star, the starting point of expert-level mages. Fragments of shattered boats floated on the violently churning waves. Numerous students who had fallen into the sea retired and were expelled from the arena. Leon Nenfil watched the scene from the side and swallowed dryly.
'What kind of monster is this?'
His skill was astonishing enough to make one's eyes pop out. Chris, whom they had faced in the morning, had been monstrous enough, but this guy was on an entirely different level.
'So this is Benedict Academy's Team A.'
Ilon Doyan, swallowing beside him, felt the same. He had fortunately escaped Aaron's attack range by maximizing Silver Fang's wind ability, but the fear of what would have happened if he had been hit gnawed at his mind.
'I'm glad I came to Dominic Academy.'
If he had gone to Benedict Academy where such a monster was firmly entrenched, he would not even have had the chance to participate in the academy tournament. Ilon once again praised his past self and swallowed dryly.
"Ha, hahaha! A-as expected of my rival! What magnificent skill!"
On the other hand, Leon's stiffened body seemed to have finally relaxed. He wore his usual triumphant expression and applauded Aaron.
Whoosh. Aaron's response was to summon another fireball. Ilon, flustered by the blazing sphere of flame, quickly waved his hand.
"C-calm down, friend! How about we focus on solving the problem for now!"
"Is there any particular reason to do that? It would be easier to eliminate them here."
Cold sweat ran down Ilon's back at Aaron's words.
"Besides, you're not my target."
Aaron added in a low voice while looking at the bewildered Ilon. Then, without hesitation, he hurled the fireball toward him. While Leon grabbed his head in panic, a massive waterspout shot up into the sky in front of them.
Boom! The sea and steam collided, spewing hot mist in all directions. Emerging from beyond the mist was a single boat.
"Tsk, how did you notice? Damn seniors."
Benedict Academy's Team B. The boat that had been swimming underwater like a submarine using Arina's Fluid Magic Circle surfaced due to Aaron's attack.
"Maybe he detected body heat like before?"
"Who doesn't know that! He just wanted to vent his anger!"
Marily answered irritably to Togun's kind explanation. She then gritted her teeth and glared at Aaron, who was leisurely smiling in their direction.
"I've solved it."
At that moment, Amy, who had been focused on the problem amid the commotion, turned toward Baraki and Aaron. A brightly shining spell rested on her hand. Their boat passed straight through the translucent barrier blocking their path.
"Then we'll be going first~ juniors~!"
Baraki waved his elongated hand as if teasing them. At the sight, Marily's lips twisted into a crooked smile, as if her temper had flared.
"Where do you think you're going!"
They arrived before the translucent barrier. Without even looking at the problem that began to appear, Marily started moving her hands. A magic circle completed before the problem was even fully presented sent their boat beyond the wall, just as Benedict Academy's Team A had done earlier.
"If it's about problem patterns, I already confirmed them with a side glance before arriving here. Looking at what problems other teams got makes it simple to predict what problem our team will get."
"That's cheating! What do you mean it's simple!"
It was an absurd statement. Predicting what problem would appear by looking at the opposing team's problems? That was no different from having a meal with an academy professor, grasping their personality completely, and predicting all the exam questions.
'Is this really the same species as us?'
She had felt it yesterday as well, but this princess was not human. How was it possible? It was the same distant feeling one could only sense from a truly untouchable genius. Amy was feeling toward Marily the exact same emotion Ilon Doyan had felt toward Aaron Dice.
"Now's our chance! Hurry and row, Togun!"
While everyone was stunned by Marily's great performance, Togun quickly rowed the oars and began widening the distance. Veins bulged on his arms. He poured his superhuman strength entirely into rowing, creating speed comparable to most magic. Watching their backs as they reclaimed the lead and raced forward, Baraki unconsciously let out a hollow laugh.
"This is bad. At this rate, we might really lose to the juniors."
"Yeah."
It was the appearance of an unexpected formidable opponent. With that brain, the gap would continue to widen every time a new gate appeared. To beat them, they would have to eliminate them before that happened.
"I'm sorry, seniors. My abilities were lacking."
"No, it's fine."
It was simply that the juniors' abilities were incomparably superior. Aaron lightly patted the head of the dejected Amy and smiled.
"Even if the juniors perform better than expected, there's no problem. We won't lose, no matter what."
Yes, it had been an unexpected performance, but they were still the ones with the advantage.
"Yes!"
Amy nodded vigorously, comforted by Aaron's words.