The Calamities' Pact
Back during their first mock battle against the student council president, what had stood out most as their team's glaring weakness? Of course, there had been several issues scattered throughout, but if one had to pick the biggest mistake, it was how easily they had assumed the player in the "captain" role would be unable to do anything at all.
'There's no way to win this match by thinking normally.'
Sticking to a straightforward approach would never secure first place. Aaron Dice had shown them that truth, and Jeon Raydel had felt it deep in his bones as he watched the man overwhelm everything despite being unable to see a thing.
'This is a 3v3 team match.'
It would be incredibly foolish for the captain to hide himself and drag the team into an unfavorable 3v2 situation. The penalty given to the captain in this match wasn't something to simply endure—it was something to overcome. And Jeon Raydel had spent every waking moment since then pondering how to do exactly that.
'The best option would be to let Togun take the captain role, but...'
A Mana Rejecter. With that constitution, he could surely peel away part of the blinding magic inscribed on the bracelet. But Jeon Raydel had no intention of forcing such a handicap onto Togun, who had to fight in close combat. Togun Masao was, without a doubt, Benedict Academy Team B's ace player. Therefore, what they needed wasn't merely the best option, but something even better than that.
'I have to create it myself.'
A method that would let him move without hindrance, just like Aaron Dice, even while shouldering the penalty. With that thought in mind, Jeon Raydel had spent the past month agonizing over the problem, and in the end, he had succeeded in finding a meaningful solution.
Whoosh.
Jeon Raydel entered the virtual world wearing the bracelet that carried the vision-obstructing debuff. The first thing he felt was the scorching heat against his skin. The very air seemed to have been heated to a sweltering degree. The steam blowing in hot and the acrid smell of sulfur made it possible to guess where they were, even without sight.
'A volcanic zone, huh.'
Surely lava wouldn't actually appear, would it? If it did, this field would be far too difficult for a match that already carried a vision penalty. No, there was something even more concerning than that.
'This is the perfect field for the student council president to go wild.'
Elemental magic—specifically fire and heat. It was a field perfectly suited to the student council president. They were already at a disadvantage in terms of skill; now the fight was going to become even harder.
Thinking this, Jeon Raydel sent out a faint electric current around him. The current spread in all directions, colliding with structures and bouncing back. Sensing those returns, he roughly grasped the shapes and forms of objects around him. It was a principle similar to radar. Mimicking that with magic to replace his vision, Jeon Raydel slowly turned his back toward Arina and Togun, eyes closed.
"Ah, it's hot."
Togun fanned his uniform front vigorously, sweat beading on his skin. Because of his Mana Rejecter constitution, Togun couldn't feel the realistic heat of the volcano the way Jeon Raydel and Arina did. What he felt was the unpleasant summer heat of someone having cranked the boiler and heater to maximum. On top of that, unlike the others, his pain reception wasn't properly suppressed, so he was taking the full brunt of the field's heat—roughly more than twice what Jeon Raydel or Arina experienced.
If he'd known the field would be like this, he regretted not stuffing his mouth with ice before entering. In his hand was a sword he had never seen before. Its hilt was engraved with blue patterns. Unlike his previous sword, its blade shone with a clear, glass-like blue. It was an obviously expensive, famous blade, but the story behind how he had obtained it was nothing short of ridiculous comedy.
'It was absurd from the very start.'
It had begun when Marily received a text message from someone. For some reason, a message had been sent to Marily saying that the Grant family—Arina's main household—had reserved a famous nourishing food restaurant called "Haesinjeong" for her. When they actually went to the restaurant, they confirmed the reservation had been made under the name of Arina's uncle, Humon Grant.
Why had the notification gone to Marily when the reservation was made by Arina's uncle? And who had even sent that notification? Watching Marily keep her mouth firmly shut while glancing nervously at Arina, Jeon Raydel realized that the person who had disguised themselves as Arina that morning was the one responsible. After all, there weren't many people in this world capable of silencing the Elemental Kingdom's princess while simultaneously making Marily watch Arina's reactions.
Anyway, while they were eating at the restaurant, a waitress suddenly approached and handed the sword to Togun. When Togun asked what kind of sword it was, she smiled and said someone had left it for him to deliver. At that moment, Jeon Raydel, sitting beside Togun, saw it—the sharp, murderous glint hidden behind that gentle smile.
"……"
Unlike Jeon Raydel, who had only confirmed it with a sidelong glance, Togun had met that gaze directly. His hands trembled as he gripped the sword. Just what kind of bizarre master had he ended up with? Jeon Raydel had deliberately looked away at the time and focused on the food in front of him instead.
In any case, the sword that had ended up in Togun's hands through that process. Despite being in a volcanic zone radiating intense heat, it was surrounded by blue waves. While his previous sword had prided itself on durability, this one boasted a sharper edge. It was a blade that didn't quite match Togun's combat style, filled with Jealousy's personal tastes, and the thought that he absolutely must not break it sent a chill running down Togun's spine as he stared at it.
'Is this why people watch horror movies in the summer?'
The longer he stared at the sword, the more it felt like the surrounding temperature had dropped by about two degrees. In that sense, Jealousy's eye for gifts could be considered excellent. He had given Togun a present perfectly suited to a volcanic zone.
"……"
In contrast to Togun, who was complaining about the extreme heat, Arina's expression had looked somewhat dazed ever since entering the virtual world. She stared blankly at the sky, much like Chris, the representative from Sirionella Private Academy.
'Something feels different.'
Was it because she had trained with her uncle? Every tiny detail that hadn't caught her eye until yesterday now stood out clearly. It felt as though she could directly perceive the magic formulas composing the virtual world. It was the same sensation she had experienced during the boat racing event, when she had indirectly projected and observed the wall of magic formulas.
That realization sent a thrilling sense of pleasure down Arina's back. Just yesterday she had been anxious because her mana restriction cuffs had broken, but now she felt confident that she had grown since then.
"Everyone, gather up for a moment."
At that moment, Jeon Raydel called Togun and Arina over.
"You haven't forgotten the plan, right?"
This match was one they absolutely had to aim for first place in, and it would be a far more difficult fight than any they had faced so far. The reason was simple. Whether it was Aaron Dice or Chris, unlike previous matches where they only had to deal with one of them, this time they had to defeat both of the so-called calamities—two 4-star mages.
'Charging straight at them isn't the answer.'
Even the fact that they had managed to defeat them until now had been due to luck. Even if they tried to take them down one by one, after fighting one, they wouldn't have the strength left to face the other. Therefore, there was only one choice available to them here.
"We need to hide as much as possible until the time limit is almost up."
They would aim for the mutual destruction of the two 4-star mages. Just as they themselves would have no mana or stamina left after fighting them, the two mages would also be exhausted after fighting each other, making them easier to take down. In other words, until the two of them met and fought, their top priority was to avoid their eyes, hide, and secretly rack up points by taking down other team captains without being noticed.
"So let's find a place to hide first. It'll be much easier to operate with a hideout as our base."
Like a proper leader, he guided their direction and raised his closed-eyed face toward the two of them.
＊ ＊ ＊
As always, things in this world didn't go as one wished. Just like a rubber ball thrown with all one's might bouncing off in unpredictable directions, that was the charm of life. In that sense, this incident was clearly an "anomaly" that defied the common sense of every participant in this match.
"So, what I'm saying is, I'd like us to form a temporary alliance until we've taken down all the other kids."
Aaron Dice sat leisurely atop a rock spewing sulfur like a pressure cooker, looking down at the ground below. The bracelet on his wrist and the cloth wrapped around his eyes made it clear he couldn't see anything ahead, yet he was staring directly at the boy in front of him.
"……"
And the same was true for the boy looking up at Aaron—Chris. Vision was a phenomenon caused by light reflecting into the eyes. The artifact on his arm blocked the signals from the optic nerve, preventing visual information from reaching the brain. Yet he forcibly embedded visual information directly into his brain by operating the sparkle within his body. It was an absurd act made possible only by his special ability, the Eye that Sees Mana. In a way, it was an act that completely defied common sense, something that wouldn't be strange to call black magic rather than magic, but he had actually succeeded in it.
Unlike Aaron, whose eyes were closed, Chris's eyes were wide open, showing the whites. Though his focus was somewhat off, those pupils were accurately aimed at Aaron Dice. The two of them were the leaders of their respective teams. Both were under penalties, yet they clearly recognized each other's forms without the slightest difficulty.
"As you know, if the two of us fight, even the winner will be completely drained of stamina and mana."
And he had no confidence in defeating his juniors in that state. Without hiding anything, Aaron voiced his thoughts and asked for Chris's agreement.
"You feel the same, don't you?"
Togun Masao and Arina Grant. Could he defeat them after fighting Aaron? At that question, Chris silently shook his head with a blank expression. Chris acknowledged it as well. Even if he defeated Aaron Dice, fighting those two consecutively would be an extremely difficult task.
"That's why I'm saying this. Let's join forces first and eliminate everyone else. Then, at the very end, the two of us can settle things."
"Not a bad idea."
Indeed, from Chris's perspective as well, that was far better. Unlike Aaron, who specialized in fighting multiple opponents, Chris was thoroughly specialized in one-on-one combat. In a one-on-one fight against Aaron without variables like Togun Masao interfering, he was confident he wouldn't lose. Of course, whether he could accumulate a higher score than Aaron before that was questionable, but it was still a much better situation than exhausting all his strength right now and getting stabbed in the back by Benedict Academy Team B.
"Then it's decided?"
At Chris's words, Aaron smiled leisurely and hopped down from the rock. Perhaps because both sides had been caught off guard by the variable that was Benedict Academy Team B before, neither of the two 4-star mages wanted any variables to interfere in their fight. This was the result of their thoughts aligning. It was the butterfly effect born from the powerful wingbeats Benedict Academy Team B had swung throughout the tournament period. An unexpected variable that no one had foreseen. At the same time, it was the worst possible situation for Benedict Academy Team B, who had been aiming for the mutual destruction of the two mages.
Watching the two strongest mages of this academy tournament shake hands and form an alliance, Yura Aquiz of Sirionella Private Academy clenched her fist with delight.
'Yes!'
They had won. This time, they could win. If it was Chris, he would never lose to Aaron Dice at the very end. If he lost to Benedict Academy Team A again this time, the chances of a comeback would be slim, so he would desperately try to win. Buzz. In her pocket as she clenched her fist like that, an ominous black aura leaked from the black stone Professor Repli had given her—unnoticed by anyone, including Chris, who was sensitive to mana—and began to mix with the surrounding sulfur, slowly seeping into the virtual world.