Can't You Tell by Looking?
Can't You Tell by Looking?
"The world of women is seriously brutal~ don't you think, Louis?"
Martin muttered from beside Louis.
They were seated a little apart from the other students, entirely by Louis's own wish to quietly focus on watching.
The two were in the middle of discussing the mock battle they had just witnessed between Becky and Hailey.
"The world of women?"
"Yeah, the world of women. Are you telling me you don't care because you're good-looking anyway?"
Clicking his tongue, Martin went on.
"You know Plan, right? Everyone's talking about him lately."
"Plan... yeah, I know him."
Louis nodded at once.
How could he not know him? If you had to name the person causing the most buzz among the A-grade students these days, it was unquestionably Plan.
There were rumors he'd cheated, he kept refusing to use scrolls, he'd nearly made a bet with Aria over dropping out—it was impossible for him not to be the center of attention.
"He confessed to Hailey before, but now he only hangs around with Becky. So Hailey just beat her down like that."
"Is there really a reason to go that far?"
"It's a power struggle. She's making a point: 'The girl you're running around with now is this pathetic.' A little confirmation kill, you know?"
Louis looked at Becky and Hailey.
Hailey was helping Becky to her feet.
To him, that scene looked like nothing more than the winner graciously tending to the loser after a mock battle.
"I really don't get it."
"You dense bastard. Just stay far away from women."
Martin shook his head, then suddenly grinned slyly and elbowed Louis in the side.
"Louis. But doesn't that Hailey like you?"
"We're just friends."
"Friends, my ass... Not from where I'm standing. Oh, the next one's starting."
Violet snapped her fingers, and the frog spat out a name card with a pop. The name was called.
"Aria Fontaine."
Aria swept back her pink hair and strode into the arena. Violet parted her lips.
"If you wish to designate an opponent, do so. If not, we will draw one."
"Give me Plan."
Aria designated Plan without a flicker of hesitation. Violet nodded as if she understood.
Martin, who had been watching, shouted in excitement.
"As expected! This is going to be entertaining in its own way!"
"What exactly is 'entertaining' about it?"
Martin answered excitedly.
"Plan's about to get absolutely thrashed. Is there anything more fun than watching a cheater show his true colors?"
"...You should tone down your words. We don't know anything for sure yet."
"At this point, it's basically confirmed. And I already toned it down a lot?"
Violet once more raised a barrier along the boundary between the audience seats and the arena. It was to prevent any violent magic from leaking out.
"Hm."
Meanwhile, Louis, having heard Martin's story, was mulling something over.
'His true colors, huh.'
The 'true colors' Martin spoke of struck Louis in a slightly different way.
Plan's unshakable attitude and the telekinesis that had silenced Aria's lips—both of those things.
'Could a commoner do that?'
Plan was completely devoid of anxiety or worry.
There wasn't the slightest trace of the self-consciousness a commoner ought to feel toward social status, nor any concern about the disadvantages of behaving this way.
Didn't Plan perhaps possess something else entirely? A speculation quietly bloomed from the depths of Louis's mind.
"Oh, there he comes. Are you watching, Louis?"
"I'm watching."
Louis looked at the male student walking into the arena.
His face and expression were exceptionally sharp. The aura of dignity and self-assurance emanating from that extraordinary appearance was immense.
His every stride seemed to transform his surroundings into a domain meant for himself alone.
As expected, wasn't there something about him?
However.
The energy felt from his wretched, emaciated body was utterly mundane.
So excessively mundane that...
"Haah."
Louis let out a deep sigh and closed his eyes.
As expected, there was no way that was possible.
◈
I inspected the three randomly drawn scrolls handed to me by Violet.
「Rapid Freeze」, 「Point Strike」, and 「Overwhelming Flames」—those were the three scrolls given to me.
Examining their formulas, they turned out to be an elemental-type freezing magic, a localized strike spell, and a destruction-type magic imbued with the fire element.
Ideally, I would rather not use any of them.
But Violet had emphasized using at least one. Even if we didn't use them during the exploration, we were apparently obligated to learn their applications.
"Plan."
The arena was devoid of obstacles. As I turned over various possibilities, Aria Fontaine stood before me.
"If you drop out of the academy, have you decided what you'll do for a living?"
I refined my mana without answering.
Since I didn't yet know what scrolls Aria had in hand, I envisioned and prepared for countless possible scenarios.
Violet glanced at me, then at Aria, once in turn.
"If you're both ready, move to the far ends of the arena."
We each moved to opposite ends of the arena. The distance was considerable, so she appeared to be no larger than a finger.
Violet spoke loudly.
"We start on three. One."
Hoooo, Aria Fontaine began taking deep breaths.
"Two."
She placed her hand on a scroll at her waist. I coolly predicted what kind of scroll it might be.
If she was fidgeting with a scroll, intending to activate it the moment this began, it was likely of the summoning or malleability type.
"Three."
Violet vanished from sight, and Aria unfurled the scroll with fierce momentum. A colossal shadow engulfed me in an instant.
Kuoooooo!
As expected, it was the summoning type. A golem that looked to be five times my size revealed itself on the other side.
Even at a distance, the overwhelming pressure from that giant frame was considerable.
This time, Aria threw a scroll at the golem. Fwoosh—flames engulfed the golem's body.
Unquenchable flame. It was the same scroll Maybelle had mishandled before, landing her in the infirmary.
Taking a deep breath, she guided the direction of the flames. She spread the fire evenly over the golem's body.
And then she unfurled her third and final scroll.
Her body was enveloped in a blue aura.
'Interference Resistance, is it?'
It appeared to be magic that heightened resistance against external interference.
That took exactly three seconds. Having swiftly completed her sequence, Aria drew a massive formula in the air.
At that, the barrier at the boundary between the arena and the audience seats gradually darkened. Soon, the audience was completely out of sight.
Aria smiled, a thin smirk.
"It'd be a problem if anyone saw. Since I'm going to beat you to the brink of death."
Kuoooooo!
At the same time, the flame-wreathed golem began its charge.
I remained standing in place.
The caster, Aria, was under the protection of Interference Resistance. It would be the correct move to exploit the golem itself.
I spread my mana around me in a wide net. I closely examined the structure of the golem that had leaped into my range.
Just to grasp its operational principles and physical structure, more than half of my mana was consumed, but the value justified the cost—equivalent exchange.
I retracted the net of mana all at once.
Crrk—crack. The mana interfered through microscopic gaps in the golem that were completely imperceptible to the naked eye.
The golem's movements slowed noticeably, but its inertia remained. That giant frame was still hurtling toward me in a straight line.
Should I move and dodge? No, my pride wouldn't allow it.
I simply increased the speed of the mana boring into it.
Gradually, ever so gradually, the golem's charging speed slowed visibly.
The charge became a run, and the run soon became a walk. In the end, it stopped entirely.
Kuoooooo!
A golem's intelligence is not high. Frustrated only by the fact that its movements had slowed, it let out a roar.
"What's wrong? Keep going!"
Aria was just as frustrated, shouting similarly. But she was wholly occupied with maintaining the golem's life force.
Because the golem would collapse the moment she stopped supporting it, Aria was effectively a hostage in all but name.
Pushing in mana and prodding the golem's back with small nudges of telekinesis was all she could manage.
"What's wrong with this thing! Is it lacking mana?"
Aria poured her mana into the golem even more recklessly. All that did was make my interference easier.
The limitations of scrolls are this clear.
If the caster does not possess a level of skill superior to the scroll's magic, they cannot even examine the cause and will simply be consumed by the spell in turn.
I altered the paths of my mana that had sufficiently seeped into the golem. The mana that had burrowed in from all directions located the circuits that recognized Aria as its master.
And once I had found them, what to do next was already decided.
The golem, which had lumbered right up to my nose, raised its fist high.
Kuoooooooo!
The gigantic fist descended like a meteor.
In the very moment that massive fist reached the tip of my nose.
Tk.
I snapped my fingers, and the thing ceased all movement.
"......?"
A look of sheer bewilderment spread across Aria's face.
"What are you doing, what are you waiting for? Why are you hesitating, fuck!"
Aria had no ability to perceive the interference and defend against it. All she could do was screech in irritation.
Crreak—
"......?"
At that moment, the blazing golem turned its giant frame toward Aria.
The thighs, the shoulders, the heels... I had thoroughly interfered with every part of the golem. This giant summoned creature was now nothing but a puppet that moved in accordance with my will.
The golem's gaze was now directed at Aria Fontaine.
"......?"
The golem hurtled like an arrow toward Aria, who had been its master only moments ago.
Boom, boom, boom. With every step its giant legs took against the ground, chunks of rock shot into the air. Aria's face went pale in an instant.
"Wh-why is it doing this? Don't come. I said, don't come near me!"
To command the golem that was now charging at her, Aria poured in her mana with everything she had.
It was futile. Because the very density of my mana was different from hers.
Boom, boom, boom. Still, the golem took unwavering steps toward Aria.
"H-hiik...!"
In the end, Aria gave up on controlling the golem. She began sprinting toward a corner of the arena with frantic urgency, as if her heels were on fire.
At that moment, I felt the gazes of Violet and Leonard watching me from somewhere.
'I was told to utilize at least one, wasn't I.'
Rules were rules. I unfurled a scroll and activated Overwhelming Flames.
But not at Aria—I aimed it at the ground.
Fwoosh—!
Flames blazed across the ground, restricting the area Aria could move in. She could no longer bolt out into the open space.
"Ugh... uh!"
Being driven into a corner was Aria's only option left. Aria pressed her back against the wall.
Boom. The golem took one step toward Aria.
With no more room to retreat, Aria looked up at the summoned creature, her face drained of color. A giant shadow engulfed her surroundings.
Her legs were trembling as if from an earthquake. In contrast, I walked toward the golem with perfect composure.
I examined the magic Aria had used to darken the surface of the barrier. I located its core and activated the 「Point Strike」 scroll.
With a thunk, the magic that had embedded itself like an arrow caused a white crack to spread across the dark curtain.
The crack that had been a mere point soon split apart like a spiderweb. Before long, Aria's appearance would be fully visible to the entire audience.
I walked, and walked further, until at last I stood beside the golem.
Aria's eyes darted back and forth between the golem and me.
"Wh-what... what is this? What the hell is this?"
Toward Aria, who was muttering in a daze, I asked quietly in return.
"Isn't it obvious?"