Chapter 90
Chapter 90
Is Wizard Ball Training Surprisingly Practical?
The House of Gustav had descended from the north, seized the Albion region, and established the Northern Kingdom of Albion, enjoying a golden age.
However, after the devastation brought upon Albion by the Dragonlord of Lancaster, Vueremhyde, the region was left in ruins…
The Gustav family abandoned Albion and relocated, becoming a vassal state of the Holy Eldar Empire.
‘To think our family’s sworn enemy is now an imperial prisoner… and a professor at a magic academy.’
‘I want to see his ability. They say he’s a legendary monster.’
Karl raised the bat like a sword and quietly focused his mind.
‘Formless Blade – Life and Death Extinction!’
—Thump!
His heartbeat surged.
The world around him fell silent, everything slowing down.
He could see the ball fired by Vueremhyde moving slowly toward him.
‘Good. I see it. Hm… the Tyrant of Lancaster shouldn’t be this weak.’
‘Is he going easy on me because I’m a student?’
Karl swung the bat like a blade, cutting through the incoming ball.
But—
The moment the bat made contact, his expression froze in shock.
‘Heavy?!’
An overwhelming weight and recoil surged through his hands.
‘Tch, most magic should’ve been neutralized by my formless blade aura… but this ball—’
—Crack!
The pressure forced the bat back, sending the ball flying upward.
Vueremhyde, hands behind his back, simply raised one hand.
The ball Karl hit was instantly drawn into his grasp.
“Wizard Ball Rule Two: From the moment the batter hits the ball until it is caught, fielders may use magic—but only on themselves or the ball.”
“In this case, it’s a pitcher fly-out. No further play.”
“I’ve roughly gauged your skill.”
“Oh, and you wanted to see my serious pitch, didn’t you?”
At that moment—
A streak of light passed right beside Karl’s face.
And then—
—Flash!
Before Karl could even activate his formless blade, the beam struck far across the plains—
And exploded.
—Ruuuuumble…
The expanding air pressure kicked up dust from the ground, forming a massive mushroom cloud.
“……”
Everyone, including Karl, fell silent.
Idnia was no different.
‘Not quite a nuclear bomb… but about MOAB level.’
‘This is insane.’
‘This is on a completely different level from the magic we use.’
A being like this fighting medieval armies—
No wonder he could destroy entire kingdoms alone.
The Tyrant of Lancaster. The Calamity of Albion. The Plague God.
Every ominous title suited him.
“Wasted a ball.”
“As you can see, I cannot use my full-strength pitch in Wizard Ball.”
“As I explained in Rule One, only the pitcher and batter may use magic during a pitch.”
“There’s no catcher who could receive that without magic.”
Vueremhyde casually picked up a new ball.
“Next?”
A chill ran down everyone’s spine.
Standing at bat in front of someone who could create explosions with a throw—
Who could do that calmly?
“I’ll go.”
Unexpectedly, Crown Prince Rudolf stepped forward.
Like Karl, he took a sword stance.
‘They’re not using Earth-style batting stances.’
‘Well… this is a magic-based sport.’
‘Still, swordsmanship and ball games aim for different things.’
As Idnia thought that, another pitch came.
Clearly weaker than Karl’s, but still fast.
“Hup!”
Rudolf swung cleanly and struck the ball.
It bounced once on the ground and flew past Vueremhyde.
“Oh. Good.”
Vueremhyde extended his hand, pulling the ball back with telekinesis.
“Excellent, Rudolf.”
“Rule Three: Once the ball hits the ground and becomes in play, only the fielder holding the ball may use magic.”
“From here, it’s pure running ability.”
“Are you fast?”
“I train every morning.”
“Good. Very good.”
“A bit of a contact hitter, but that’s useful in Wizard Ball.”
“…What’s a contact hitter?”
“I’ll explain later. Next.”
“Ah, I’ll do my best… please go easy on me.”
Lorenzo stepped up next, also holding the bat like a sword.
‘Home runs must be rare.’
‘With magic fielding, line drives or grounders are probably more effective.’
‘Unless…’
Idnia considered the rules.
“Here it comes.”
Vueremhyde threw.
Lorenzo couldn’t react at first.
“Hmph. Can’t even hit that? That was a batting practice pitch.”
The second pitch was slower—he missed.
The third—he barely connected, sending a weak fly ball.
“Haha… I’m just a merchant’s son, after all.”
The moment he said that—
Vueremhyde extended his hand toward the ball.
—Whoosh!
The harmless fly ball suddenly curved sharply and shot back toward Lorenzo.
‘Danger!’
‘He’ll die!’
Everyone tensed—
But Lorenzo twisted his grip and deflected it like a spear.
—Crack!
What should’ve been a bunt shot forward like a laser beam.
The force drove his back foot into the ground.
“A capable hawk hides its talons, yes—but don’t lie so obviously.”
“Lorenzo. Save that for your friends.”
“Don’t hold back and drag the team down.”
“…Understood.”
He had tried to hide his skill—and exposed even more instead.
“So you really were going to keep that act up?”
Karl sneered.
“Haha. A merchant always keeps something in reserve.”
Lorenzo replied smoothly.
“Next—Idnia.”
At last, it was her turn.
‘Don’t hold back or you’ll hinder the team… troublesome.’
‘He must know I’m suppressing my tyrant aura.’
For a moment, Idnia considered releasing it—
Then shook her head.
‘My body would grow. The strike zone would widen.’
‘That’s a disadvantage.’
‘A smaller strike zone is always better.’
She took a proper Earth-style batting stance—sideways, bat loaded.
“Hm?”
Vueremhyde showed interest and threw.
At that instant—
Idnia stepped forward and swung, meeting the ball perfectly.
She had never played baseball—
But she had chopped plenty of wood.
‘Swinging an axe and a bat are similar.’
‘Add a bigger take-back and a proper follow-through…’
—Crack!
A clean sound echoed as the ball soared—home run trajectory.
Too perfect.
Vueremhyde casually used telekinesis again—
But then—
“…Hm?”
He frowned.
“Oh?”
A smile appeared.
The ball still flew into his hand—
But he nodded in approval.
“Impressive.”
“You’ll be our ace, Idnia.”
“You’ve truly never played Wizard Ball before?”
“No.”
“And yet this skill…”
“…What?”
“But that’s still a fly-out, isn’t it?”
Alice and Esther objected.
Vueremhyde simply dropped the ball.
It split apart mid-air.
“……”
“If the ball breaks on contact, the fielders must retrieve every piece.”
“Honestly, only I could catch that.”
“In pro leagues, that would be a home run.”
‘So home runs do exist.’
Idnia nodded.
“Now, fielding practice.”
“You’ve all learned telekinesis, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Then use it to catch the ball.”
“It sounds easy—but it isn’t.”
It wasn’t “not easy.”
It was extremely difficult.
There were multiple ways to use telekinesis—
Summoning a “mage hand.”
Applying force vectors directly.
Or forming a force-field structure.
All of them required high precision to catch a fast-moving ball.
What Vueremhyde did effortlessly—
Was something only a great mage could achieve.
“Let’s begin fungo practice.”
He tossed the ball and struck it—
‘That’s like badminton—’
—Crack!
The ball shot out violently.
Atos panicked in the outfield.
“Ugh! Mage hand!”
A translucent hand flew—
And missed completely.
Like trying to shoot down a bullet.
Having magic didn’t mean you could catch everything.
“…This won’t do.”
“I keep forgetting you’re freshmen.”
“I’ll teach you a simple suction spell.”
“Suction?”
“Yes. A wind spell that pulls objects in.”
“Don’t overdo it, or you’ll pull in the wrong things.”
They practiced.
‘A vacuum cleaner.’
Idnia clicked her tongue.
Even then, most students struggled.
The suction wasn’t strong enough to stop the ball unless used at close range.
But then—
—Crack!
Someone ran toward a flying ball—
“Ha!”
A girl leapt like a swallow over water—
And caught it cleanly.
Marie.
“Exactly.”
“Wizard Ball is about combining magic and physical ability.”
“If you can catch it by hand, don’t rely on weak magic.”
“Now then—about your opponent tomorrow…”
Everyone held their breath.
“You’ll be facing…”
“‘Dunais Civil Service Exam Squad.’”
“…What?”