The Final Hunt
Her lips refused to stop smiling. A foolish, giddy little giggle kept slipping out. 'This time, I can take first place!'
She could snatch first from Chris. The match had been designed so that numbers would always hold the advantage no matter how strong the opponent was. The only real flaw in teaming up was that only one person could claim first place, which might lead to infighting driven by greed at the end. But that wouldn't be a problem this time.
After getting thoroughly beaten by Chris and Aaron two days ago, every member of her group was burning with venomous determination. They had all declared that as long as they could defeat those two, it didn't matter who actually took first. The conclusion was unanimous: they would push their leader, Ennya Dexspin, into the top spot.
'I have to win no matter what.'
Because of how they felt, she absolutely could not lose to Chris in this match. Forcing down the smile that kept creeping up, Ennya Dexspin clenched both fists and steeled her resolve.
-Team A has acquired the red orb. This is Eiji.
Even she and every member of her group had thrown away the last scraps of their pride for the sake of victory.
'Amy Pewter.'
A member of Benedict Academy's A Team. A genius mage scholar who had already co-authored a Magic Tower thesis as an assistant at the age of a third-year student. The moment Ennya heard her voice coming from the makeshift magical device created through the liquidization of magic circles—the very foundation of Arina's Fluid Magic Circles—pure joy exploded inside her chest.
'We can do this.'
From Benedict Academy A Team's perspective as well, it was far more beneficial for Ennya to win than for Chris to take the championship. This was a temporary alliance born from perfectly aligned goals. Every participating team in the Academy Tournament, except for Benedict Academy's B Team, had joined hands for the sole purpose of taking down Chris.
-Team E has acquired the navy orb.
-Team B has acquired a duplicate red orb. Retrieved without Chris noticing.
-Team G has acquired the green orb.
Reports kept pouring in from the wireless communication device—the only form of long-distance contact possible in this virtual world where smartphones couldn't be used. Thanks to the team's frantic efforts, only one orb remained.
'All I need now is the yellow orb and victory is mine.'
The sweet taste of triumph was already dancing on her tongue. And perhaps the heavens themselves were cheering for her win. Something glittering yellow caught Ennya's eye between the tree trunks right in front of her.
"Found it!"
Jackpot! She snatched up the yellow orb and roared at the top of her lungs. Then she immediately spoke into the communication device.
"This is base camp! Yellow orb secured! Everyone return immediately!"
Done. Victory was right in front of her.
That's what she thought. But she still didn't know. She didn't understand yet that a victory not yet in your hands was no victory at all.
—Aaaaaaaaagh!
Instead of a reply, a bloodcurdling scream burst from the communication device as if to warn her against getting too excited. At the same time, an intense chill raced down Ennya's spine.
—What the hell is that!?
—Run!
—Damn it! It's already here?!
Incomprehensible shrieks poured in at intervals of only a few minutes. After the noise continued for quite some time, a heavy silence settled over the communication device for a long while.
—Teams A and B have been wiped out. Teams C through G share the same fate.
And... I have been eliminated as well. Any survivors, discard your communication devices immediately and run from your current location.
Amy Pewter's final testament. The moment those words ended, a violent explosion slammed against Ennya's ears.
Ennya, who had been sitting blankly on the ground for some time, suddenly shot to her feet.
"What the hell is going on?!"
She broke into a desperate sprint. What on earth had happened? How could something like this occur in just fifteen minutes? They should have been scattered and hidden all over the forest. Had he really taken out all of them in fifteen minutes?
'How did he even find them?'
Was there a traitor? Had someone leaked their positions? No, that couldn't be it. Even if someone had betrayed them, they wouldn't have known the locations of the others.
'Then... could it be Amy Pewter?'
If she was the one who created the device, wouldn't it have been possible for her to hide a location-tracking spell inside these orbs made from random stones lying around?
She suspected Amy for a brief moment, but Ennya quickly shook her head. From that last report, it was clear Amy had been taken out by Chris as well.
'Wait... location tracking?'
Why had Amy told them to throw away the communication devices and run at the very last second?
The moment that obvious question crossed her mind, Ennya finally reached the truth.
'That crazy bastard!'
The Eye that Sees Mana. He must have followed the lines of mana that served as the signal between the devices. Since every team member was carrying one, if Chris found even a single device, pinpointing the rest would have been child's play.
In other words, the tool they thought was their best means of communication had instead become their greatest liability.
The instant she realized this, Ennya tried to hurl the communication device away—but it was already too late.
From within the deep shadows created by the tree branches, a pair of eyes glowing a vivid yellow stared at her with the cold gaze of a predator.
"……!"
Ennya's breath caught in her throat. Those eyes slowly drew closer. The soft crunch of footsteps on the dirt floor. What emerged first from the darkness after the eyes was a mane of pure white hair spreading out in all directions.
"Last one."
Chris. He casually tossed the communication device in his hand to the ground and stared expressionlessly at the frozen Ennya.
"I heard you found the yellow one. Correct?"
Ennya's gaze dropped to Chris's waist. Six orbs dangled openly from his belt, not even attempting to hide. The hunter who had stolen every orb her teammates had painstakingly gathered on his way here now looked at the final prey in her hands and spoke.
"You're not going to hand it over nicely, are you?"
Without waiting for her answer, photons began gathering around Chris. Elemental magic—his laser, which compressed the movement trajectory of light using mana into a single point—blasted straight toward Ennya.
"You lunatic!"
She only recognized the attack after it had already been launched. Ennya reflexively rolled across the ground, covering herself in dirt. As she tumbled down the sloped forest floor, a brilliant beam of light streaked just above her head.
Whoosh!
The tree behind her instantly burst into flames and collapsed. The heat was intense enough to scorch her face. Before she could even feel relief at her narrow escape, another laser came flying. Ennya threw herself flat on the ground in a panic.
'If you're not going to give it to me anyway, at least try asking nicely instead of giving up! You impatient bastard!'
She would have given it! She would have handed over the yellow orb out of sheer terror! He could have at least asked once! How could he not ask even once?! You rotten jerk!
'Now I'm so pissed off that I absolutely refuse to give it up easily!'
Hmph. What's so great about being a 4-star? She was a woman who had reached 3-star before becoming an adult and had been called a genius! Ennya, burning with stubborn pride, grit her teeth and sprang to her feet.
"Uwaaaah!"
At the same time, she let out a scream and leaped into the air as another laser sparkled in front of her eyes. All her earlier momentum had vanished, and her eyes were now filled with nothing but tears.
'She's dodging better than I expected.'
Chris tilted his head after she had already evaded his attacks three times. Her movements were as nimble as a fly dodging a flyswatter. Perhaps she had good instincts. Watching her continue to slip away by the narrowest margins, Chris nodded and extended his hand forward.
"Ah……."
A small gasp escaped Ennya's lips. Like light reflected in a mirror, the lasers that had been fired earlier suddenly bent sharply in midair and flew toward her again. A simultaneous strike from three directions. Faced with an attack that left no room to dodge, Ennya instinctively realized—Ah, this is really the end……
'I really thought I could win this time!'
In one last act of defiance, she hurled the yellow orb she had been clutching tightly behind her. She hoped it would roll into a burrow or between the trees, making that monster suffer even a little while searching for it.
"……."
In the end, Ennya was struck by Chris's magic, turned into polygons, and vanished. Chris watched her disappearance with the same indifference as always before shifting his gaze.
His eyes landed on the boy who had appeared behind Ennya at the last moment and accidentally caught the yellow orb she had thrown.
'So this is how it turns out.'
Togun clicked his tongue as he met Chris's pale, four-white eyes staring directly at him.
While searching for orbs earlier, he had seen a brilliant flash of light in the distance. Togun had immediately realized it was caused by Chris. Normally, he would have avoided the area entirely. Chris was certainly an incredible mage, but there was an even more dangerous enemy in this match.
However, once he realized that Chris's opponent was the large-scale teaming organization created by Ennya Dexspin, and that Chris had hunted them all down on his way to victory, Togun had no choice but to reveal himself.
"……."
Togun slowly pulled something from his pocket and dropped it onto the ground with a few soft thuds. Including the orb Ennya had thrown, there were five in total—red, orange, yellow, purple, and navy.
Seeing this, Chris wordlessly removed the six orbs from his belt and tossed them lightly to the ground as well. The orbs rolled toward the center from opposite directions. Although there were duplicate colors, all seven colored orbs had now gathered in one place.
"It seems we had the same idea."
Winner takes all. The one who wins this confrontation claims everything. Watching Chris silently accept his suggestion, Togun slowly drew his sword.
"Still, this is unexpected. I didn't think you'd accept so easily."
Jeon Raydel. He was the closest friend he had at the academy, and he wanted to show his older brother—who had fallen into deep despair after fighting Chris—that even against a 4-star mage, victory was still possible.
By defeating Chris head-on himself. That was why he had half-forced the man into this one-on-one duel. Yet the opponent had calmly accepted his provocation.
Was it confidence that he could win no matter the situation? Or simple curiosity about the power he had glimpsed during that obstacle-course race? Or maybe he just hadn't thought about it at all.
Whatever the reason, it didn't matter. No matter what, this was a golden opportunity. One that would never come again... No, an opportunity he absolutely could not miss if he wanted to break Jeon Raydel's trauma.
"You're not bringing out that dark thing from last time?"
Recognizing Togun drawing his sword as the signal to begin, Chris began drawing mana from the four stars within his body. Light sparkled and swirled around him. The condensed photons formed multiple lasers aimed at Togun, waiting to be fired.
"If you're going to use it, do it now. Otherwise you'll be eliminated without even getting the chance."
Chris's pale pupils narrowed to slits. At that signal, the photons gathered around him all fired toward Togun at once.
Beast Imitation Footwork — Tiger.
Explosive leg strength erupted as Togun gripped his sword tightly and charged without the slightest hesitation toward the dazzling spectacle filling his vision.