I'll Use Cheats Too

"I'll need to hear the Goddess's answer before I decide. See you next time, Mr. X!"

Elia headed straight for the academy's main building.

The words she'd left behind roared through his mind like a storm.

A goddess named Elysia?

No such being existed in this world. There were other divine entities besides Deusrute — but a goddess by the name of Elysia? Absolutely not.

Which meant only one thing.

Author Elysia had gotten involved personally.

The instant he became certain, the System appeared.

I knew it.

Elia was a Probability-breaking element. Rank B, no less. From the look of it, this was Elysia's newest attack.

So she doesn't have enough points to actually change the plot.

X pulled up Elia's character information one more time.

You've got to be kidding me.

The stats were absurd. Even looking at the base numbers alone, she was at a level that could beat Leon. And the talents she'd been given were so vicious he wanted to know what the hell the author had been thinking when she slapped them on.

No titles, then?

The strange part was her intelligence — bizarrely, almost grotesquely low. A mere 0.5.

There's no way she couldn't raise it because she was short on points.

The number had to be deliberate. The moment he thought that, the answer arrived fast.

A weapon you use once and throw away doesn't need a mind.

In other words, Elia had been created to carry out a scripted set of actions and nothing more. Intelligence was unnecessary, so it had almost certainly been stripped on purpose. If she were smart, she couldn't be controlled.

How the hell am I supposed to fight something like this?

Whether it was a quirk of her personality or not, she hadn't finished him off. She'd simply turned around and left. Fortunately, her words had left a great deal of information behind.

No answer since last time. She'll hear it from the Goddess... Meaning she has a direct line of communication with Elysia.

For some reason, that channel seemed unusable at the moment.

There's no way she's this weak. This isn't a trial... Has she fallen into a hero complex? And if that's the case...

He reconstructed the situation from the information he'd pieced together. Within limited resources, a weapon had to be created to kill X. So how would you build it?

X found an answer that made his stomach turn.

I want to believe that's not it.

But if it was — then he had a way.

Nothing changed just because Elia had appeared. Every morning at six, Roxwell still dragged X off to the training grounds.

"Your focus has improved. Finally get your head on straight?"

"I've always given it my all, Professor."

"Don't even bother with that bullshit."

Whether it was the Probability Advantage or not, the training was landing far harder than usual. Work that used to take ten repetitions now took five, and once he learned something, he didn't forget it. And since he was putting in twelve hours a day, word started to spread.

"That's brutal. Absolutely brutal. He's still training in a situation like this?"

"Is that guy a weed or some kind of monster plant? And why'd he dye his hair?"

"Hey, shouldn't we be doing something too?"

A few students who'd been hanging back started showing up at the training grounds. Among them—

"Hello!"

—was Elia.

Roxwell, seeing her for the first time, scowled under the weight of that uncomfortably bright gaze.

"...The hell are you doing?"

"Surveillance? Observation? Anyway, I'm watching!"

With shameless composure, Elia stood off to the side and watched Roxwell put X through his paces.

"X. You know her?"

"I do not."

"Then why's she following you around?"

"I'd rather not know."

That was when Elia called out, perfectly cheerful and perfectly loud.

"I have to kill Mr. X!"

Roxwell considered how, exactly, he was supposed to take that declaration.

"X. This is on you. Do me a favor and die once."

"If I die, won't you get fired, Professor?"

"Might be worth a shot."

"Please tell me that's a joke..."

From then on, Elia kept watching X train. She was not the sort of person who would stop just because someone told her to. Once, he even asked her directly.

"Miss Elia, why are you watching me?"

"I don't have anything to do! The Goddess has gone quiet!"

That was the reason. Fortunately, aside from the sudden ambush on the first day, she stayed well-behaved. He'd spent a couple of nights wide awake, half-convinced she would come to assassinate him — but nothing of the kind happened.

When he went to watch her in the middle of the night instead, he saw something strange.

Elia sat in place, staring up at the night sky. That was all. He kept watch for a long time, but she did nothing else. Eventually she simply went to sleep.

Is she even human?

It was hard to call what she was doing a life. She did nothing except the bare minimum of physiological activity required to stay alive, and showing up to watch him. She was like a tool.

At this rate, getting information out of her is going to be a nightmare.

Time passed, and Sunday arrived — the last day of twelve-hour hell training. The results were more than decent.

His physical abilities had improved considerably. He'd hit 2.0 — the purchase cap at his current stage — which meant he could save his points. There had been a change in his talents as well.

Basic Swordsmanship had become Low-Grade Swordsmanship. He was more at home with a blade now. He could apply it flexibly, beyond the three stances of the Three Powers Swordsmanship.

It was enough to wring a compliment out of Roxwell.

"So you do put ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in effort."

"Thank you."

"The amount of effort it takes to breathe, that is."

"..."

Roxwell wrapped up the session with an evaluation.

"You're a mage. What I'm teaching you is the most basic swordsmanship and the combat experience that comes with it. The difference between having that experience and not having it shows itself in a real fight."

At present, X was known around the academy as a mage — a reputation born from his battle with Circe. He'd used magic in public, so being labeled a mage was only natural.

Nobody knows I can use Auror yet.

Rung might know, but the man kept his mouth shut. Nothing to worry about on that front.

The evaluation ended, and they were about to close out the training for good when a voice piped up from the sidelines.

"Mr. X, you've finally gotten stronger!"

Elia, who had been watching the entire time, came walking over.

"A duel? A match? That's what this is!"

"...Do we really have to?"

"The Goddess said so! The harsher the trial, the stronger the hero becomes!"

It was a fight he was obviously going to lose. The outcome was written on the wall. Even so—

"All right. Let's spar."

"It's a spar!"

X accepted. He needed to see how much his growth was actually worth in a fight. Roxwell was standing right there, so dying wasn't a concern.

"If you think you're about to die, say so. I'll at least hear your last words."

A little concern crept in after all.

With Roxwell looking on, the spar began. Elia settled into her stance, still smiling that bright, easy smile. X wound tension through every inch of his body. The power packed into her sword was beyond anything he could imagine. Blocking it was something to be avoided at all costs.

In that case...

He dropped his stance and drove in. Defense was a losing game; offense was his only shot. He swept an upward cut at her shoulder, and Elia raised her blade to meet it.

A ringing clash — and her sword didn't budge a millimeter. She just watched him, smiling, as if she were savoring the moment.

"You've got a hidden trump card, don't you?"

"I don't have anything like that!"

He couldn't break her guard, so he switched to a thrust. One step back to set his stance, then he drove the blade straight out. The point shot toward her head, fluid and clean.

"What kind of trick is this supposed to be?"

Elia simply turned her head and let it slide past. He tried the thrust again, and again, and again — every one of them read, parried, or slipped with insulting ease.

Her physical specs are insane...!

He shifted his stance at once, hunting for a different opening — but she was faster.

"I learned it too, you know!"

Her sword came down.

I didn't even see it!

X threw up a hasty guard. The block was off-angle, and the impact kicked his blade sideways on the rebound.

What kind of strength is that...!

In the split second it took him to recover his sword, Elia had already settled into a different stance. Her blade carved a horizontal line straight for his throat.

"So this is how you do it?"

"Kh—!"

He threw himself backward. The edge whispered across his Adam's apple. He'd dodged the killing blow, but his stance had completely collapsed, and Elia was far too seasoned to let a gap like that go.

Clang! Clash! Clang!

Blow after blow, every strike lethal, every edge razor-sharp. The force packed into her blade made his grip go numb.

She's good. There's no way this is a beginner.

Compared to the first day, when she'd been swinging a sword like a club, the improvement was impossible. Her base stats are already monstrous — and her growth rate is monstrous too?

The pace of the fight had gotten completely away from him. He was so busy surviving each strike that he couldn't even set his feet. Her physical ability outstripped his by a wide margin, and opening the distance was meaningless. To flip this, he was going to need something sharp.

I have to break her rhythm. In that case...!

X pointed at Elia's toes.

"Watch your step. There's a rock."

"Ah! A rock!"

Because he'd used Ten Thousand Lies, the deception landed cleanly — and it only cost him a hundred points. The instant she tried to shift her stance around the rock, he would steal the tempo back. That was the idea.

"I can just smash it!"

The ground cratered with a thunderous crash. Elia drove her stepping foot down with raw force, and the earth split and sank beneath her. If there had been a rock there, it would have been pulverized.

What the...

Her stance didn't break. If anything, it settled even more solidly. The exact opposite of what he'd intended. From that rooted position, Elia brought her sword down in a vertical cut — a descending strike thrown from a stance packed as tight as packed earth. A sloppy block would split his blade and his body together. Worse, Elia had no intention of stopping the sword. She was bringing it down with the single-minded purpose of actually killing him.

You've got to be kidding me...!

Plans and schemes could wait. Survival came first. X wrenched his mana up in a surge. In a split second, a calculated spell formed as a magic circle, resolving into two arrows of mana. Circles bloomed at both of his sides and fired faster than Elia's hands could move, one arrow at her hand, one at her head.

"You can use magic!"

Elia twisted her head aside, dodging the arrow even as she marveled — but the one flying at her hand she couldn't avoid. It struck true.

A sharp crack rang out.

"Ow, that hurts!"

The impact shuddered through her sword. No matter how rooted the stance, a surprise hit like that was going to rattle anyone.

Now...!

He didn't let the moment slip. He drove into the opening, blade rising in an upward cut—

Roxwell stepped between them. The spar was over.

"You."

Roxwell fixed Elia with a look sharp enough to cut.

"Were you actually trying to kill him?"

X saw it then: Roxwell had Elia's left arm in his grip. The captured flesh creaked and trembled under ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a hold that strong. A beat later, X understood what he'd been looking at. That left hand had been aimed at his heart.

I actually almost died...!

The instant the magic had struck her wrist, she had gone for his heart at a speed he couldn't even perceive. If Roxwell hadn't been there, he would have died without ever knowing what hit him.

Elia smiled through Roxwell's furious question, as ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠if she were enjoying every second of this.

"I don't tell lies!"

"Do you even hear yourself right now?"

"But Mr. X is an evil being who will destroy the world. Just now he tricked me and used a hidden trump card!"

"...Unbelievable."

Roxwell let go of her arm. He no longer saw any point in talking.

"Go back and cool your head. If you threaten another student's life like this again, I won't let it slide."

Elia looked at him with genuine puzzlement. She seemed to turn something over in her mind, and her expression grew complicated.

"...I got scolded."

Then she turned and left. Only after she had vanished from sight did the taut wire of tension finally slacken.

I'm alive...

"I couldn't watch that with my eyes open."

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

That was Roxwell's assessment of the spar he'd just witnessed. A complaint slipped out before X could stop it.

"I gave it everything I had. That thing is off the charts."

"That's because you handled it sloppily. Honestly, it makes everything I've taught you look like a waste."

There was plenty he wanted to say. He kept it to himself. The atmosphere said that running his mouth would earn him a beating.

Roxwell was quiet for a long moment. When he spoke again, it was in earnest.

"X. You need to be on edge."

"I know. The Grand Feast Day is coming up soon—"

"That's not what I mean. I'm talking about that girl."

Roxwell stared at the place where Elia had disappeared.

"She copied every sword technique you've learned so far just by watching. In less than a week."

The words landed with a chill.

So that's what the Analysis Eye talent meant.

Analysis Eye (S), listed among Elia's talents. Recalling the description, that staggering rate of improvement suddenly made perfect sense.

"X. I don't know what you are to that girl. But I can tell you this for certain."

Roxwell raised a single finger.

"One month. In that time, the gap between you will become enormous."

"One month?"

"That's what a 'genius' is."

Put differently: if Elia came for him a month from now, he would die. Guaranteed. His situation was already precarious, and now it was about to get worse. A chill ran down his spine. The fact that she'd taken an interest in magic was dangerous too.

If she has a System, using Auror and magic together is only a matter of time.

The worst case would be if she started using holy power as well, like the Hero Leon. If that happened, it was over. Completely.

Even so, he already had a countermeasure in place.

Elia believes in Elysia with fanatical devotion.

That much information was enough. With just this, making Elysia eat shit wasn't some wild fantasy.

The moment a god bleeds, they cease to be a god.

X steeled himself. There was a mountain of preparation to do first. He called out to Roxwell at once.

"Professor. Would you take a look at this?"

Until now, no student at the academy had used Auror and mana together. It was considered impossible. Starting now, that was no longer true.

"You...! That on your sword...!"

Roxwell stared at the blue light wavering along X's blade, stunned.

"A mage using Auror... How...?"

A mage wielding Auror was a situation in which Probability should not have held. But there was no penalty. Roxwell, like Circe, was a man whose memories had been sealed.

I should've done this sooner. It isn't without problems — but there are bigger problems now.

Until this moment, Roxwell had known X as a mage who happened to know his way around a sword. That was why he hadn't taught him the things a martial artist actually needed. There had been no way to learn them. But if he could use Auror, that was a different conversation entirely.

"How far can I go against someone with this?"

"...Can you still use magic in that state?"

"Of course. Why would I have learned it otherwise?"

"Hah... You absurd little bastard."

Roxwell laughed as if he couldn't believe it, then answered in complete seriousness.

"If you're my disciple, I won't accept you losing — not to a Hero, not to a genius. I don't care what your academic ranking is anymore."

It was the first time the word disciple had come out of Roxwell's mouth. X smiled at that small, enormous change, and answered.

"Of course not. Master."

Then X made a declaration — to Elysia, who would be watching through Roxwell's eyes.

I'll use cheats as freely as I like, too.