Selection Match? Going All Out (4)

“How’s your condition today?”

While I was warming up, someone I wasn’t particularly close with approached and spoke to me. The moment I heard her voice, irritation surged up, but I forced it down. There was no point wasting energy getting annoyed with her right now.

“…Average.”

“For someone who says it’s average, you look really good today, though?”

I was stretching and trying to collect my thoughts, yet she kept talking and interrupting. Did she not know the meaning of the word manners? I wished she would just shut her mouth.

“Shut up.”

“It was a compliment… Sheesh.”

The way she pouted and pretended to be nice was infuriating. It was also the reason I’d come to dislike her. She always painted me as the bad guy.

“Stop paying attention to me and mind your own business, will you?”

“I’m done preparing, so I’m talking to you, Dabin!”

“Preparing? You call that prepared?”

I asked again, genuinely dumbfounded. But she acted as if I’d heard correctly, carrying herself with total ease and claiming she had finished every last bit of preparation. She even wore a proud little smile, which only made her more irritating.

I hadn’t wanted to raise my voice, but in the end I couldn’t help it.

“You haven’t even stretched and you’re saying you’re ready? Are you out of your mind? If you’re not planning to make lame excuses later about losing the spar because you didn’t warm up properly, then start stretching right now. Transform ahead of time and check your mana circuits too! This is the first time I’ve ever seen someone claim they’re ‘ready’ without doing even the most basic things.”

“Wait… are you actually worried about me?”

“I’m not in the mood for jokes.”

My irritation had only grown sharper, so my words came out even more barbed than before. Yet even though I was being prickly, the way she slithered closer like a sly snake was as unpleasant as always.

“Aren’t you bothered that everyone’s calling them the favorites and ignoring us? Don’t you want to knock them down a peg?”

“Well… I just think, sure, whatever.”

“What?”

“We just need to do our own jobs. There’s no reason to care about what other people think.”

For a second I was so stunned I couldn’t speak.

“Even if they say the genius from Class 1 and the sleepyhead from Class 2 are the favorites to win, we just have to show our own magic. Let’s not worry too much about other people’s eyes, Dabin.”

Honestly. Did she think I didn’t want to do exactly that? There were mountains of things I wanted to say, but I held them back. As I’d told myself earlier, pointless energy waste was never a good idea.

“You… Sigh. Never mind. Let’s just stop talking.”

I closed my mouth, ignored her, and focused on the stretching I’d been doing. Act proud and ignore what others think. Easy for her to say. Did she have any idea how it felt to be pressured by the teacher to deliver good results? Had she ever noticed the way our classmates looked at her, wondering why only she received special treatment? The way she alone pretended to be kind and noble, acting all virtuous, made me sick. She thought she was so different from everyone else. As expected, I realized once again that I could never get along with this girl, Yesol, on a fundamental level.

While loosening the critical muscles in my wrists and ankles, I recalled the strategy I had discussed with the teacher once more.

About two months had passed since the midterms. Whether that was short or long depended on how you looked at it, but it had been more than enough time for each of us to prepare at least one secret move. At least, I had.

I clenched both fists tightly. I definitely felt more confident than before. The sense that I had grown was unmistakable. I had become incomparably stronger than I was at the start. A large part of that was thanks to Teacher Seoyeon giving me direct instruction. Receiving one-on-one guidance from my role model. Although it had only been two days, the time had been pure gold.

It was a shame that I couldn’t show this improved version of myself right away, but I had to endure. After all, this stage was nothing more than a reconnaissance mission.

“Everyone gather up. We’ll decide the sparring order.”

I finished stretching and headed toward where the teacher was calling.

“Are you okay today, sis?”

“Hm? Ah. Not bad. Huuuuaaaahm.”

“…It looks exactly like your usual self, though?”

“Whatever, it doesn’t matter.”

I let out a huge yawn. I always looked sleepy, but this was simply my default state. Nothing I could do about it.

“Even if my condition wasn’t great, I would’ve done my best. …Probably.”

“Right? I only believe in you, Jihye unnie!”

The way the little kid was clinging to me was something else. If she actually had a tail, it would be wagging so hard it would make a buzzing sound right about now. I stroked her head and wondered when exactly she had become so obedient toward me, and what had caused the change.

Just as I was about to sink deeper into those thoughts, a voice called out to us.

“Hey, you two over there. Did you hear the entire explanation just now?”

“Ah, yes! We heard everything.”

“…We probably heard it all?”

Before I knew it, the teachers were glaring at us. They seemed to think we’d been fooling around by chatting among ourselves, and their expressions looked quite displeased. Except for our own teacher.

“Sigh… I’m not explaining it again. I clearly said at the beginning that I would only say it once, and you two were the ones messing around.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Same here!”

“……Then that’s fine.”

My indifferent reaction stood in stark contrast to the energetic little kid. The woman—who appeared to be the Class 3 teacher—grabbed the back of her neck, apparently not having received the response she wanted.

“Aigoo… Duya.”

“Teacher Boyoung, shall we begin?”

“Ah. Could Teacher Chaekyeong take over? I suddenly feel dizzy.”

“Hmm… I suppose that’s understandable.”

“Teacher Boyoung, are you all right? Should we take you to the infirmary for a moment…?”

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

“I’m fine, Teacher Eunji. It’s temporary. It’ll pass soon.”

What was this? The teachers had suddenly launched into their own comedy routine. Was it because of us? When I glanced sideways, the kid remained completely unaware and was only absorbed in the fact that she would soon get to spar with me.

The teacher with the sharp eyes and impressive short bob haircut looked at the excited kid for a moment with an odd expression, then spoke.

“The first match is between Yun Yuri of Class 1 and Lee Yesol of Class 4. Both of you, step up onto the arena.”

“Yes.”

“Understood.”

The pair strode up without waiting for further guidance from the teachers. Both of them looked completely confident, showing not the slightest trace of nervousness.

I took up two seats in the audience section and half-lay down. I needed to conserve my stamina, so it was an unavoidable choice. The teachers didn’t comment on my posture. The friend sitting beside me, however, seemed thoroughly displeased.

A provocative remark flew my way.

“Is it funny to you?”

“Huuuahm… Huh?”

“Lying down and watching like it’s your own living room just because it’s not your turn?”

Hearing my friend’s words, I thought, Well… I suppose someone could see it that way. Even though the other person had thrown the first verbal jab, I decided to let it slide. She was a sensitive girl in the middle of puberty, after all.

“It’s not so much funny as it is interesting.”

“Like watching animals do tricks at the zoo?”

“…No. I’m curious to see how much everyone has grown. It’s been two months since the last official spar. I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of effort each of them has put in.”

“……”

I had chosen my words carefully to avoid any misunderstanding, but even that didn’t seem to sit well with my friend. Her head no longer turned in my direction.

“Anyway, let’s enjoy the show. Puuuhaam.”

I awkwardly tossed out the remark and turned my attention back to the arena.

The teacher checked that both contestants had properly put on their protective gear, then immediately announced the start of the match. It was exactly like her to dislike unnecessary formalities and refuse to drag things out.

The moment particles signaling transformation swirled all the way to the audience seats, the two children rushed straight toward each other.

Clang—

The clear ring of twin swords meeting a staff echoed across the arena.

“Is this the current meta? Charging in the instant transformation finishes?”

Or maybe it was simply because the kid was naturally aggressive and preferred this kind of style. I wasn’t sure.

After exchanging one set of blows, the pair immediately clashed weapons again without pause. From then on, the arena was dominated more by the movement of weapons than by magic. It made sense; the opponent was a close-combat fighter who used swords. The kid wasn’t completely without talent for martial combat either, so at first glance the fight appeared evenly matched.

“They’ll start revealing things one by one soon.”

“…Revealing what?”

The friend beside me had her question answered almost ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠immediately. Magic circles began to glow one after another at the spot where the kid had just been standing.

Three fireballs flew toward the opponent and circled her like juggling balls. They weren’t meant for direct attack; they were being used to restrict her movement.

Naturally, the opponent didn’t stand still. She wrapped mana around her twin swords and began erasing the fireballs one by one. There was an unnatural gap between the movements of her left and right hands. She probably hadn’t been using dual swords for very long.

The kid didn’t miss the opening. She immediately launched an ice spear. The spear struck the remaining fireballs, causing an instant explosion.

“What kind of combat sense…”

She must have studied attribute magic pretty seriously, that kid.

Behind the opponent, who was still reeling from the sudden blast, the kid appeared. Staff gripped tightly in her hands.