Chapter 146: Joint Practical Evaluation (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 146: Joint Practical Evaluation (3)
Forty-six times.
That was the number of times my bones had fractured during winter break.
It made me realize the greatness of healing magic all over again. It could mend shattered bones perfectly within a day or two.
During the break, I frequently visited the Stone Turtle - Gormos. Fighting the golem minions he created was invaluable for honing my practical combat skills.
I suffered countless defeats at the hands of those minions. I seized dozens of victories, only to face the next tier of minions, confronting them over and over again.
Before winter break ended, I finally managed to duel the compressed golem, which had been my ultimate goal.
It was a two-meter-tall golem—small compared to the dinosaur-sized regular minions. However, its rock fists were blindingly fast, and every impact felt like my internal organs were about to burst.
It was agile. Its attacks were skillful, and its magical output was the strongest I had ever faced. It was a grueling challenge.
But that excited me. I was certain that defeating it would elevate me to a new level.
So, I fought with the mindset of wrecking my own body.
No matter how many times my bones snapped, no matter how much blood and sweat I shed, I poured every ounce of my strength into defeating Gormos’ minion.
Finally, the day before winter break ended, I took down the compressed golem.
I was so thrilled that I forgot the pain entirely, shouting in jubilation until my throat went hoarse.
*
[Status]
Name: Isaac
Lv: 110
Gender: Male
Year: 2nd
Title: Skilled Second Year
Mana: 30,000 / 30,000
Mana Recovery Speed: (A-)
*
The lamplight spilled over the scene.
There were three enemies in front of me now. Originally, there had been four, but the paladin Shera was currently acting independently. I knew this because I had been observing them with [Clairvoyance].
The first opponent was Snow White, level 39. Her element was wind. She was an opponent who required a moderate amount of caution.
Next was Abel Carnedes, a first-year from the Knight Department, Class B, Rank 1, level 90. His elements were water and fire. He was a swordsman of immense talent who prided himself on agile movements and reflexes reminiscent of an apex predator. He knew how to harmoniously weave sharp sword strikes with powerful elemental magic. He truly possessed the skills befitting an aspiring magic knight.
Incidentally, he played a significant supporting role in the second year of ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱.
Lastly, there was Roanna Shelton. She was in the upper ranks of Class B, level 87. Her element was wind. Anyone she targeted could forget about evading her arrows; even if they tried, she would subtly adjust their trajectory with her wind to ensure a hit. She even amplified the piercing power of her shots with wind magic.
Her vision was naturally excellent, as expected of an archer, and her ability to track the flow of mana was exceptional. Additionally, she was the girl who eventually became Abel’s lover.
In the original ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱, this specific team definitely didn't exist. The entrance of the four paladins had clearly caused a significant ripple effect on the team compositions for this joint practical evaluation.
Regardless, my task remained the same.
My objective was to hold my ground and refuse to budge until the Abyssal Sea Monster appeared. I had to prevent anyone’s mana from being absorbed into the Ring of the Abyssal Queen, which was held by the mid-boss of the Abyssal Sea Monster section.
◈ vs. Race Combat Power
– vs. Human Combat Power (D+): 20/100 [UP]
I had obtained the unique trait [Rapid Growth] by maxing out my ‘Growth Rate’ potential. The effect was simple: it doubled the stat points gained with each level increase.
As a result, from level 106—where I had maxed my growth rate—to level 110, I had gained a total of 16 new stat points. I invested every single one of them into [vs. Human Combat Power].
The effect of ‘Vs. Race Combat Power’ was universal. For every 10 stat points invested, your effective level against that specific race increased by 5, and the magic used against them was amplified. When you hit the MAX of 100 points, you gained a new unique trait that further inflated those bonuses.
My unique trait [Hunter] doubled the effects of [vs. Demon Combat Power]. I assumed the same logic would apply to others.
Currently, my [vs. Human Combat Power] sat at 20. Thus, my effective level temporarily increased by 10.
*
[Status]
Name: Isaac
Lv: (120)
*
White might have noticed that my mana had increased, but an increase of this magnitude could reasonably be passed off as a buff from Zhonya’s Staff, a 2nd-tier magic weapon. I had already laid the groundwork for a situation like this.
Two weeks ago, during a discussion about magic weapons, I had explained what Zhonya’s Staff was, mentioning that it enhanced the power of my magic and increased the density of my mana.
And there was one more thing I had prepared in advance for today.
The glasses I just took off were ‘Ribella’s Glasses,’ a magic tool with a unique effect. The longer one wore them, the greater the buff to mana tracking they received once the glasses were removed. Of course, there was a limit to the effect.
It was similar to the sensation of your legs feeling incredibly light—as if you could fly—after removing heavy sandbags you’d been wearing for a long time.
I rapidly circulated my mana, exhaling a breath of cold air. I prepared for battle and looked at White and her group with a sneer.
These juniors were the eighth group I was going to take down.
Isaac’s chill dominated the space.
The surroundings began to freeze over in a terrifying display, turning an eerie, pale white. The shallow seawater pooled on the ground quickly hardened into a sheet of ice.
Splash—!
A flash of light poured from Abel’s scabbard, etching his silhouette into the air. Drawing his sword, he slammed a strike wrapped in water mana into the ground. A wall of water rose, momentarily blocking the encroaching frost.
“Roanna!”
Whooooosh──!
Roanna’s light-green wind surged forth as if waiting for the signal. The gale lifted White and her companions into the air. Hoisting multiple bodies with wind magic consumed a significant amount of mana, causing Roanna to squint one eye in strain, her body feeling as if it were being twisted.
Even the water wall Abel had raised froze solid in an instant.
As Isaac’s chill enveloped the area, turning the floor into a skating rink, Roanna retracted her wind, allowing everyone to firmly plant their feet on the frozen ground.
“Ha, we almost got wiped out right at the start…” Abel let out a chuckle, his breath visible in the freezing air.
The water pooled on the ground from the beginning must have been prepared by Isaac, likely using a water element scroll. The fact that water remained despite so many students already being eliminated by the ice-wielding senior allowed Abel and Roanna to discern Isaac’s strategy.
Simply spreading cold air could quickly freeze their feet to the floor. That was his plan to create an opening.
Abel and Roanna were certain: the moment they showed even a brief gap against Isaac, their defeat would be sealed.
Abel dropped into a defensive stance, adjusting his grip on his sword. Roanna drew her bowstring, aiming directly at Isaac. Behind them, White deployed a light-green magic circle.
The fiercely blowing wind was bone-chilling. Cold numbed the body, so Abel ignited fierce flames along his blade, seeking warmth as if standing before a campfire.
There was no time for conversation. They needed to gather information on the enemy immediately.
Abel shouted, “Princess White, do you know who that senior is?!”
“Yes, he’s my mentor! Senior Isaac…! But this is the first time I’ve ever seen him use ice magic…!”
White focused her sight on her mentor through the frigid haze. Isaac. His primary element was ice, and his secondary was rock—or so she had heard.
“We need information! Anything! Tell us about him!”
“Information…? Huh…?”
Suddenly, a sense of incongruity struck her. White realized she had no useful information to aid them in this battle.
She had never seen Isaac use ice magic before. Hadn’t he only ever used simple rock magic in her presence? Why hadn’t she ever questioned this?
She reflected on their almost daily mentoring sessions. It seemed as if Isaac had deliberately hidden his power, never once showing or discussing his full capabilities.
“I’m—I’m sorry! I don’t have anything! Ahh!”
Whooooooosh───!!
Isaac’s chill thickened into a white mist, obscuring their vision and building an intensity that made even breathing feel difficult. The cold wind was imbued with the two-star spell, [Snow Pellets]. The frozen shards bounced wildly across the ice rink, creating a chaotic, deafening noise.
Before Isaac disappeared from sight, Roanna loosed an arrow imbued with wind magic. As if he had anticipated it, an ice wall sprang up at the perfect moment to intercept the projectile, which bounced off with a dull thud.
The flames blazing on Abel’s sword finally succumbed to the overwhelming chill. He shouted, “Roanna! Support!”
“Got it!”
“I’ll join in too!”
Fwoosh──!
Whooosh──!
Abel unleashed a wave of fire, cleaving through the frost as he charged. White augmented the flames, stirring up the wind around him to fan the heat.
Roanna drew her bowstring again. While Abel cut through the white haze with his flaming sword, her eyes tracked Isaac through the gale.
The dense cold air, formed from pure ice mana, swirled savagely. Even with her mana perception and tracking abilities, locating Isaac was proving difficult.
Tracking by sound? Useless. The clatter of [Snow Pellets] drowned out everything else. Securing visibility in the pale fog was nearly impossible.
But Roanna only needed to wait for a single moment of vulnerability. The moment Isaac exposed himself to confront Abel was when she would release her arrow.
Or, she just had to wait for him to cast magic. Whether he attacked or defended, as long as he used mana, she could swiftly identify the source and aim her shot.
Roanna was confident. The thought of Isaac trying to hide from her seemed almost laughable.
“Go ahead and use your ice walls or whatever, Senior! Or are you scared?!” Abel taunted boldly, swinging his flaming sword in wide arcs.
He was confident in his own mana perception. No matter how chaotically the ice mana swirled, he believed he could pinpoint Isaac’s location by sensing the spike in mana right before a spell was cast.
Then, a cold sensation hit him. Abel felt a surge of dense mana directly behind his head.
“…!”
Abel skidded to a halt and spun around urgently. His eyes widened. With a startled expression, he screamed, “Everyone, dodge!!”
Roanna and White’s eyes also went wide with shock. They felt Isaac’s mana—somehow—coming from beneath their feet.
Tracking the source of mana was the fundamental basis of battling a wizard. They had arrogantly relied on that principle. But there was no way Isaac wouldn’t have anticipated that.
Time seemed to slow down. As a pale blue radiance burst from the ice beneath them, Roanna instinctively summoned a gust of wind to push White back.
「Wind Generation (Wind Element, ★1)」
Whoooosh!
“Aaah!” White was sent flying back, screaming.
At the same time, Roanna tried to retreat, but—
「Frost Explosion (Ice Element, ★5)」
Boom─────!!
A pale blue mana explosion erupted from the ground. Shards of ice sprayed in every direction. Within the mass of ice that appeared in a flash, half of Roanna’s body was instantly engulfed. Her body, lifted by the force of the magical blast, was pinned by the rising jagged frost.
None of White’s group understood what had just happened. They couldn't have known that beneath the ice lay the Sheath of Disaster, imbued with just enough mana for use in human combat.
Abel bit his lip in regret. Had he been there, he could have helped Roanna evade the [Frost Explosion] or blocked it with a fiery strike. He was confident he could have countered a spell of that magnitude.
Suddenly, a question arose. Why hadn't Isaac activated that magic tool from the beginning?
It was as if he had been waiting for Abel to be separated from the group. It was as if he knew the exact extent of Abel’s skills.
At that moment—
Whoosh─!
“…!”
A man with silver-blue hair burst through the pale, freezing wind.
It was Isaac.