Academy Midterm Test: Facing Class 1's Magical Girl Prodigy?! (9)

She looked just like a veteran mercenary who had returned alive from the depths of hell.

The petite girl who emerged at ease, slicing through the heat and dust, yawned and flaunted her complete nonchalance.

Yun Yuri was flustered but quickly spun her thoughts into action. Magic wasn't working. She had no idea why, but it wasn't. Her most effective and powerful means of attack was magic, yet that previous strike had been completely shut down. Or rather, was it even a strike? More like a casual brush-off?

Should she try again? Maybe the last one had simply failed by chance.

But Salbyeol told her that her reasoning was wrong.

"Magic absolutely doesn't work on Lady Cosmo, you know~. It's her exclusive specialty—magic circle analysis. It finds the weaknesses in the opponent's magic and stops it from activating properly, you know~."

"How is something like that… ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠even possible?"

"It is possible, you know~! For Lady Cosmo, who has mastered the very laws of magic, it's entirely feasible, you know~."

Yuri was so dumbfounded that she couldn't even process Salbyeol's words. Or more accurately, she didn't want to. Mastered magic? How could an academy freshman possibly manage that? Even her own homeroom teacher couldn't pull off such an absurdity. Which meant her opponent, Kim Jihye—Cosmo—possessed greater magical knowledge than Starlight's own teacher.

"She's seriously… a monster."

"I agree with you one hundred percent, Lady Yuri, you know~."

She had realized her opponent stood at a far higher realm than expected. But that realm was limited strictly to pure magic, wasn't it? It probably didn't extend to hand-to-hand combat.

Once more she extended her staff behind her with one hand. Her empty palm spread wide toward the front, legs set in a stance ready to burst forward at any second. It was the basic ready position for staff arts.

"I'm changing tactics."

"You're switching to martial combat. It's certainly a fight with better odds than a pure magic battle, you know~. But remember what I told you?"

"Remember what?"

"That the attack you suffered last time was, in fact, a martial arts technique, you know~."

"I know."

Salbyeol had explained it was a type of footwork that instantly circled behind the opponent's back. He had also said it was a move that absolute beginners who had never experienced it would inevitably fall victim to. But Starlight knew now. She had spent the last three days sweating alongside Salbyeol, training specifically to counter that footwork. She had to prove right here that the results of that training had been worthwhile.

To her opponent!

She poured powerful mana into her legs to strengthen her explosive force. The instant she kicked off the ground, the fierce reaction sent Starlight's body shooting forward. Overcoming the air resistance that came with her accelerated speed, she swung her staff at her opponent.

Clang—

The sound of metal striking metal rang throughout the entire sparring hall. It meant that her opponent, who had been calmly ignoring attacks while trusting only in her protective artifact, had finally drawn her personal weapon and blocked the strike.

"Now it begins!"

She spun her long staff like a polearm to reset her posture and launched another attack.

"Not yet!"

Power surged into her hands and feet. Her mana amplified fiercely as well. Even though her attacks were being blocked, the continuous barrage caused the arena's mana flow to shift in an unsettling way. It was as if the mana itself had taken Starlight's side, swirling and centering around her.

"That is…"

"Yes. That's the magic stance."

The spectator seats stirred. The magic stance being displayed was far too refined for a mere academy freshman.

By infusing the weapon with mana and scattering the unconsumed mana into the air, the dispersed mana would align in regular, consistent patterns according to the martial form. Repeating the process eventually caused the mana to draw a specific pattern around the caster. Once that pattern solidified and gained structure, a phenomenon akin to magic would emerge.

Just like what Starlight was doing now.

This was one of the martial faction's many techniques: the magic stance.

"Haaah!"

She whipped her staff toward her opponent like a raging typhoon. The sharp, star-shaped tip at the end of the staff stabbed fiercely at her target.

But it didn't work. Cosmo didn't budge an inch. She simply stood there, calmly deflecting every incoming attack with what looked like an old aluminum rod. None of the strikes reached her.

"Huff… haa… You're blocking all of this?"

Panting heavily, Starlight reviewed her attacks so far. It felt like punching a solid wall over ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and over. It wouldn't break through. The defense was too firm. She couldn't see a single opening to exploit. She had no idea where she should even attack to bring her opponent down.

"It's because Lady Cosmo is first-rate in martial arts too, you know~…"

"Isn't this seriously too hard?"

"It is, you know~. But the fortunate part is that Lady Cosmo still hasn't launched a single counterattack, you know~!"

"What good is that? Nothing's landing."

"That's not true, you know~. You can definitely reach her, you know~."

In this hopeless situation where no answer was visible, was her mascot really spouting such clueless nonsense? Just as she was about to feel deep disappointment in her partner, Salbyeol continued.

"There's still one final stance left, you know~."

"Really?"

Starlight's voice was thick with disbelief. She had never heard anything about a final stance during their training.

"Yes. Every stance you've used until now was preparation for this last one, you know~. Can you feel the lingering traces of mana scattered in the air right now, you know~?"

"Yeah. It's drawing a circle centered on me… No way."

"Exactly, you know~. Doesn't it resemble a magic circle, you know~?"

It was just as Salbyeol ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠said. The mana traces swirling around Starlight were regular, consistent, and intricately structured—like a magic circle. It was hard to believe mere mana had created it.

"All of this is centered on you, Lady Yuri, you know~. The moment you unleash the final stance, everything will activate like true magic, you know~!"

"Salbyeol. Tell me the final stance. Now."

"Understood, you know~. I'll explain right away, you know~. It's very simple and easy, you know~."

Fortunately, her opponent was still waiting without attacking. Her yawns had grown even bigger, making it clear she was more exhausted than when the duel began. Just a little longer. It was almost time.

"Have you been waiting?"

"…Yawn. A little? Strategy meeting finished?"

"What? Can you see me, Lady Cosmo?"

Thinking his concealment magic had failed, Salbyeol panicked and flapped his wings frantically. He kept twisting his head to check whether his magic was still active.

But Cosmo's gaze wasn't on him. She seemed to sense something but couldn't see it.

Starlight asked to confirm.

"Can you… see him?"

"No. But I know what it is. It's a mascot, right?"

"…"

"We've been discovered, you know~! We're finished, you know~!"

Shut up. Be quiet. The words boiled up inside Starlight's mind. After observing him carefully for the past year, she had concluded that Salbyeol's greatest weakness was his tendency to get overly excited and make a huge fuss. Just like right now.

"After the test ends, tell him to come see me separately. …Though I suppose he can already hear everything."

"Gasp! Lady Cosmo… summoned me. What do I do now, you know~?"

"You're being noisy. Focus on the duel, Salbyeol."

"U-understood, you know~, Lady Yuri."

With that, Starlight naturally assumed her stance. It was the charging ready position of a spearman preparing for an all-out assault.

"…Hoo. So you're going with that after all."

Her opponent's provocations no longer reached her ears. Only focus remained. Starlight was aware of nothing but the flow of mana within her body and the air around her.

"I'll assist you, you know~!"

The moment Salbyeol's signal made her feel as though every gear had clicked into perfect alignment, Starlight kicked off the ground.

"Uwaaaaaah!"

With a fierce battle cry, her speed increased with every step. The acceleration magic activated first.

"Go, Lady Yuri!!"

Next, mana condensed into her unique weapon—the staff. It vibrated so violently that her hand shook, practically begging to be unleashed.

The distance between them was now less than a meter. All that remained was to release the condensed mana in a single explosive burst.

"Take thisssss!"

Starlight thrust the staff forward with every ounce of strength in her body. The result was as follows.

"You blocked… this too?"

"Using the magic stance so blatantly without even trying to hide it makes the whole thing pointless. Besides, this mana isn't yours alone."

"Eh… eh?"

"Once the mana pattern is completely visible, stealing control is easy."

All the mana enveloping Starlight stopped obeying her. The spell canceled naturally, and the staff that had brimmed with intense power returned to an ordinary state. The mana that had vanished into thin air in an instant had all gathered into Cosmo's grasp.

Squeeze.

When the small hand clenched lightly, the clumped mana scattered irregularly in every direction. It had become chaotic mana, impossible to use any longer.

"Sorry, but your strategy was flawed."

Kim Jihye spoke with icy detachment and raised the staff—which was now closer to a club—high above her head.

"Lady Yuri! Above you, you know~!"

And just like before, the staff swung down toward Starlight's head. A clean, unhesitating strike. The sound of bone meeting metal rang out immediately.

The process had been long, but the conclusion was identical to their previous spar.

"I'm tired. Still, it's good that it ended right before I hit my limit, I guess?"

Now Starlight would faint from the impact, and victory would belong to Cosmo.

"…Who said it was over?"

Just as even the judges were about to declare Cosmo the winner, a voice burning with malice leaked out.

"At this close range, you can't dodge, right?"

Starlight, who had somehow forced herself back to her feet despite the heavy blow to her head, gripped her staff tightly and shouted.

"Fireball!"

The spell detonated at zero range. Both the caster, Starlight, and the target, Cosmo, should have taken damage. Normally, both would suffer identical harm.

But the outcome was different. Starlight's protective artifact flickered, signaling it was still active. Cosmo's, however, had lost its light completely.

Cosmo's protective artifact had exhausted every last bit of its durability blocking Starlight's earlier barrage and had shattered entirely.

Cosmo let out a genuine sound of admiration. To calculate and control the output in that brief window of time—enough to destroy the opponent's artifact without breaking her own… it was nothing short of genius.

"Ah… So that's what you were aiming for. Pretty impressive. You got the right answer."

In the end, Cosmo, whose protective artifact had been completely destroyed, raised both hands in surrender.

"Congratulations on the win. Magical Girl Starlight."