Chapter 149: Joint Practical Evaluation (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 149: Joint Practical Evaluation (6)
"You are special."
That one sentence...
It was the single phrase his stern father—who had ignored him until that moment—had uttered to Tristan. It was the catalyst that fundamentally transformed his wayward lifestyle.
From then on, he cut back on sleep to study and pushed his magic training until his nose bled. Believing he was improving with every passing day, his eyes remained fixed on the horizon, toward the man he was destined to become.
Living with such intensity, his strength grew daily, earning him the respect of everyone in the Humphrey mansion. Being placed on such a pedestal, he felt a burgeoning sense of responsibility; these were his people, and he was the one who had to lead them.
He felt a profound obligation to live in a way that ensured their respect was never in vain.
This was why Tristan laughed boisterously and constantly repeated the mantra, "I am special and superior!" He wanted to remind everyone just how magnificent the person they served truly was.
He hid the years stained with blood and sweat behind a mask of arrogance. He always smiled boldly, signaling for others to follow his lead. That was the attitude of one who stood at the top. It was the way of life Tristan Humphrey had carved out for himself.
*
Alexa, the student with the golden diamond mark etched onto her forehead, remained expressionless. Her extended right arm was locked onto Tristan Humphrey.
Tristan’s eyes saw the reality of the situation: an elemental disadvantage and a massive gap in mana. The girl standing before him was far stronger than he was.
But hadn't he seen it countless times here at Märchen Academy? Hadn't he watched those weaker than their opponents fight and win?
Indeed. That was Isaac’s way of fighting.
Tristan had fought that cocky bastard twice, and he hadn't won decisively a single time. But he had to accept the truth. If Isaac had provided him with a realization, he had to seize it. He had to become stronger.
That was why he had discarded the foolish notion that the best defense was a relentless offense. Instead, he had focused on his defensive magic.
Besides, this damned academy was crawling with students stronger than him. This underclassman possessed a mana pool comparable to Luce Eltania or Kaya Astrea.
But did that mean he would retreat?
‘Hah! As if.’
He had come to Märchen Academy to become a legendary wizard. Avoiding a battle was a cowardice he could not permit.
Everything inside this damn academy was merely fuel for his growth.
Whoooooosh!
Tristan’s light-green winds howled aggressively.
“Come and get some, brat.”
A confident smirk pulled at his lips.
“…”
Alexa didn't respond. Why would she? She simply followed Alice Carroll’s commands and fought for the kingdom. She intended to dispose of this arrogant, weak-looking blond in an instant.
Alexa’s earthen magic circle began to glow with a brilliant light.
Rumble!
Stone pillars erupted from the ground, slicing through the air toward Tristan.
It was a 4-star earth spell: [Rock Avalanche].
Tristan couldn't even begin to calculate the density of the mana packed into those ochre boulders. Most spells wouldn't even leave a scratch on them. In the first place, simply conquering one's fear in the face of an overwhelming enemy didn't solve the fundamental problem of the power gap.
But his objective was to fight on par with his opponent, regardless of their strength, and ultimately claim victory. Tristan had found the blueprint for that goal in Isaac’s combat style.
The results of countless days of contemplation and grueling training now surged through his body.
His wind was not directed at his enemy. It was directed at himself.
Crash!
Five stone pillars tore through the spiral of wind, attempting to crush Tristan, but he vanished in the blink of an eye.
Alexa blinked, confused. “Where did he—?”
Her eyes darted around, trying to track Tristan’s mana signature.
“…!”
Whoosh!
Boom!
Suddenly, a powerful impact slammed into her side, sending her tumbling across the ground. An explosion of concentrated wind magic and a flying kick had blindsided her.
Reflexively, Alexa rained stone pillars down on the spot where the attack had come from. But the intruder dodged her magic at a speed nearly impossible to track with the naked eye, repositioning himself instantly.
Grumble!
Alexa used [Rock Generation] to create a boulder, bracing her body against it to stop her momentum. Her eyes narrowed as she glared at the man who had attacked her.
His entire body was shrouded in wind mana. His annoying blond hair and the hems of his uniform and cape fluttered violently in the gale.
What wizard in their right mind would choose to fight at close quarters from the very start? Alexa couldn't comprehend his erratic behavior. Not only that, but the speed he displayed was remarkable—it was as if he had become one with the wind itself.
“Ag... rah... Damn, that hurt...!”
...However, it was a bit pathetic to see him clutching his own shin in pain after being the one to deliver the kick.
This was the method Tristan had developed to face wizards stronger than himself: using wind magic to drastically accelerate his movements, using that sheer velocity to overwhelm the enemy with physical strikes.
It was strikingly similar to how Isaac fought. Despite being in the Magic Department, that man always forced a close-quarters brawl. No matter how irritating the guy was, Tristan had to acknowledge his wit and skill.
Furthermore, the way he used wind mana explosions to amplify the power of his strikes was inspired by how Isaac utilized [Frost Explosion] in melee combat.
Though his hits only landed about four out of ten times due to the absurd difficulty of controlling himself at such high speeds, he had luckily succeeded on his first attempt today.
It was an inefficient way for a wizard to fight. But it could also be the most effective under specific circumstances—like his current situation.
“Ha! Was that all it took to knock you down? You’re a total weakling!”
The key criterion was that the opponent lacked high physical capabilities, just like the underclassman before him.
To reach this level, Tristan had emptied his stomach more times than he could count and shed oceans of sweat amidst severe convulsions and intense physical discomfort. Now, finally, he could use it in a real battle. He was ecstatic.
“…Grgh.”
Alexa ground her teeth, a vein popping on her forehead. Tristan’s taunts were working.
She stood up shakily, one hand clutching the side Tristan had kicked, and glared at her blond senior. If she hadn't been protected by [Basic Protection Magic], she would have been coughing up blood. Fury flooded her like a landslide.
“So... annoying...!” Alexa shouted.
Because of her shy personality, the shout lacked volume, but the intent was clear. Once again, the magic circles around her spat out seven more stone pillars. [Rock Avalanche]. The attack lunged toward Tristan at a terrifying speed.
But the difference in their velocity was clear. Tristan vanished in a split second. At a speed Alexa couldn't track, he evaded the [Rock Avalanche] and pounced.
「Rock Wall (Earth Element, ★4)」
Rumble!
Alexa pulled up a wall of stone, encasing herself in a defensive shell.
[Rock Avalanche] continued to rain down on the area, but Tristan flew freely through the air, leisurely weaving through the stone projectiles.
“You’re slower than a snail! I could dodge these in my sleep!” Tristan bellowed, taunting the girl as he concentrated his attacks on a single point of the [Rock Wall].
Wind spells [Wind Sword] and [Gale Fang] hammered the defense, accompanied by punches and kicks imbued with wind mana. Even as the [Rock Wall] repaired itself, Tristan did not cease his barrage.
His leg felt like it was breaking. Blood trickled from his mouth. His physical limits were being pushed to the breaking point. Yet, Tristan did not stop.
Faster. Even faster.
Tristan’s attacks progressively gained speed.
“You little...! You little gnat...!”
Beneath the stone, Alexa gripped her dark brown hair with one hand, trembling with intense irritation.
Just then—
CRACK!
“…What?!”
A section of the [Rock Wall] collapsed, and a violent gust of wind penetrated the gap. Alexa couldn't believe it. Tristan’s attack speed had surpassed her regeneration rate and pierced her defenses.
Tristan’s hand shot through the breach, grabbing Alexa’s jacket. Using the moment her mana wavered, he unleashed [Gale Fang]—a series of wind strikes as sharp as a wolf’s teeth—to shatter the rest of the [Rock Wall].
CRASH!
Immediately after, Tristan prepared to detonate the concentrated wind mana in his palm. In Alexa’s vision, she saw a laughing madman, blood spilling from his ears and mouth.
An inexplicable sense of disgust and dread swelled within her. Her face contorted violently.
“Caught yo—!”
KBOOM!
Alexa’s magic was faster. A [Rock Avalanche] she had prepared in advance surged upward, slamming into Tristan and pinning him against the ceiling.
With a deafening Bang!, it sounded as if something had exploded. The stone pillar collided mercilessly with the roof of the labyrinth.
However, the cyclone Tristan had generated was still spinning in the air at incredible speed. He had managed to slip away just before the final impact.
“Kehahah!! Not bad!!”
Crazy bastard.
That was the only way she could describe him. Even with his bones likely crushed and blood pouring from him at a dangerous rate, Tristan continued to laugh manically, bordering on hysterical.
Why? Why was his laughter starting to scare her?
Even though it was clear he was weaker than her.
“…Argh!”
Thump, thump!
Alexa once again surrounded herself with a [Rock Wall], then used stone pillars to seal off every entrance to the chamber.
Then, a massive, light-brown magic circle appeared on the ceiling. The mana density was staggering. Tristan felt a primal chill run down his spine.
The magic circle being drawn was for the 6-star spell: [Meteor Shower].
“She’s only a first-year, yet she’s using 6-star magic…”
A dry laugh escaped Tristan’s lips. The sight was almost absurd. A first-year would be hailed as a once-in-a-generation genius just for casting 5-star magic. Using 6-star magic meant she was already on the level of someone like Luce Eltania.
He should have retreated into a side passage to dodge, but Alexa had already sealed them with stone. She had also cleared away any pillars he could have used for cover. Light-brown speckles of mana glittered in the air like lethal stardust.
Tristan stared up at the majestic 6-star circle etched onto the ceiling. Unfathomable amounts of mana poured from it.
"You are special."
That single sentence had changed Tristan Humphrey’s life.
However, he had never once truly believed he was special. He knew his father—a man who struggled to offer even a single compliment—had only said those words out of desperation because Tristan was the next head of the Humphrey family.
Tristan understood that reality perfectly. When he thought about it, "You are special" might not have even been intended as a compliment.
But just hearing it had been enough. To change Tristan’s life, those few words were all he needed.
The more he trained within his privileged environment, the more Tristan realized he was simply a lucky person born into wealth and influence. Because of that, he felt a debt of gratitude to the Humphrey family and vowed to become a truly special person.
That was why he always blustered about being superior, special, and legendary. Even if it was all just a mask.
He believed that "specialness" was something a person forged for themselves.
That was why Isaac had caught Tristan’s attention at Märchen Academy.
Grade E mana. A pathetic grade that suggested he hadn't even tried to use magic in his youth. A poor commoner. A lowly status.
A man who should have amounted to nothing showed no hesitation in battle, poured his entire soul into training, and had earned the genuine respect of the student body.
So, Tristan disliked Isaac. Because Isaac was the one living out Tristan’s beliefs as a reality.
Whooooooosh!
Tristan’s wind mana erupted into another fierce whirlwind. He cast the 4-star defense spell, [Wind Wall], pushing it to its absolute maximum output.
He was the one who would become the most special, the greatest wizard in this academy. He refused to lose to someone like Isaac. After all, hadn't he been born with better conditions? It was only natural for him to be ahead.
“Ha!”
This underclassman had likely been called a genius her entire life.
Genius? What a ridiculous word.
He would crush it.
“Come at me, brat!”
The magic circle on the ceiling flooded the labyrinth with light.
Then, countless meteors began to rain down like a storm of arrows.