The Midterm's Hidden Stage
"Seems I was underestimated enough that you could afford to look away. A little disappointing."
"...Who's underestimating whom, exactly?"
Whoosh!!
I leaned back and slipped past the fist that cut across my vision in a blur, then scowled and put real distance between us.
The throbbing that hit the moment I faced that attack showed no sign of fading with time.
What even was that? Pain from some ability similar to my Torture and Sadism, or simply the raw, off-the-charts strength of this teacher? Hard to tell.
Either way, standing toe-to-toe didn't look like a great option.
I focused on deflecting and dodging what I could, occasionally using Trap Installation to twist the shadows under his feet or suddenly spit pillars and spikes from his blind spots—anything to buy space. But the gap between us refused to open.
Getting out of here is the answer.
From my perspective, once Luicia and the others had left this place, there was no reason for me to stick around.
Watching the students get dumped into the sea one by one by the cloaked faculty—like they were being swept out by the tide—only made me sigh.
How was it that not a single person among that many cadets found any of this strange the way I did? Or maybe they'd taken one look at me facing him down and roughly figured it out.
Some of them were already racing toward the island as if throwing themselves into the sea of their own free will.
Creeeak...
Once a decent number of cadets had been tossed overboard, the listing ship slowly righted itself. For all how violently it had rocked, there wasn't a single major break or warp in the hull.
Everything returned to the way it had been—but the assault aimed at me showed no intention of stopping.
Whoom!!!
Far from stopping, the attacks grew more precise and earnest, and holding out alone started to get hard. I wanted to swap my gauntlets for a sword or spear, but the enemy gave me no opening.
The future where I rashly changed weapons and took a hit for it was crystal clear, and volunteering for that kind of risk wasn't my style.
No openings.
Honestly, it was irritating. Sending the Hive elsewhere to secure an escape route had been a mistake.
I didn't honestly believe the crows currently inside my shadow were enough to break this stalemate.
So this was how a summoner's weakness showed itself. Get pressed before you can call your summons and you become useless in an instant. My full strength included them.
I couldn't even launch a single offensive that leveraged my proud numbers, so stacking stats with Subjugator was lukewarm at best.
A restraint match against an enemy I wasn't even sure I could beat at full power—I sincerely hated it.
That kind of perverse play was something I'd only ever enjoyed on the other side of a monitor back in my student days in my previous life. That was more than enough.
"Isn't the play over with this?"
"Ah, they'll move again after a little time. Until then, I intend to watch whether any patients appear on the island, or whether anyone runs into an exceptional situation."
The man no longer even bothered to hide it. He traded words with me as casually as if it were only natural while throwing punches, and I let out a sigh.
"Academy work... faculty work... extreme job in a lot of ways."
"Mm. It's hard, but that is exactly why I hope you all grow into something magnificent more than anyone else."
I was putting everything into dodging each and every attack, while he was even closing his eyes for effect. It felt like he was treating me like an idiot, and it soured my mood.
"On that note, there is something I would like to ask the cadet."
Clang! Crack!!
"...Tsk."
After using only his fists, a sudden low kick startled me into reinforcing the shadows wrapped around my body—only for him to punch straight through them and shatter them completely.
The damage itself wasn't heavy, though. Looking closer, a magic circle was glittering and active on the foot that had struck me as well.
If the fists delivered ringing penetration damage, that kick seemed focused purely on destroying armor.
I rapidly restored the shadows with mana, retreated, and at the same time flung shadow spikes to restrict his movement.
Ting!
But the man decided the spikes weren't that threatening. He took them on his body without dodging and drove straight into my guard.
"Tch..."
"Why did the cadet not inform everyone about the illusion?"
"I'm not those bastards' nanny. I don't have any obligation to look after them."
"Yet you helped the cadet just a moment ago?"
"That's my business."
Shit. If you're going to fight, fight. If you're going to talk, just talk. Doing both at once was more than a little annoying. Proof he still had plenty of room to spare.
"Hmm. I thought you were rather altruistic, but it seems a clear sense of self-interest sits underneath."
Thud.
He mixed in a fake—pretending to think for a second—then threw a left hook while mana coiled around it at the same time. I took the blow on my arm at once.
Ziiing...
I hadn't even taken it head-on; I'd scraped past it while dodging, and still my body shook. I clenched my teeth, fixed my wavering center with shadows, and moved with the force as if yielding to it.
"So,"
I let the fist I'd caught slide off to the side.
"You don't like that?"
"No. I rather like it!"
KRAAANG!!!
From the deck where the fist landed, the entire ship rang as if vibrating. The tingling resonance made me think lightning-attribute magic had been layered on, but it seemed to be vibration-type magic instead.
Even after lightly blocking and redirecting it, the muscles in my arm trembled so hard they started twitching against my will.
My stance reeled badly because of it, but that was fine. The same went for him.
Still, given the physical structure of the situation, the man positioned above me as if driving downward would recover his posture before I could, stuck as I was bracing as if falling backward.
Even so, it created an opening. Rather than restoring my stance, I condensed mana into my fingers and flicked.
Snap!
The man confirmed the burst of mana in my hand and thrust a fist out fast—but the name that slipped from my lips was faster still.
What I called forth was wind. The small, fierce storm that guided and protected me.
"Haze."
KRAKAKAKAKAK!!!!
Before fist and body could collide, something burst first—like fabric shredding in a gale.
I confirmed the man had been shoved far back by the recoil, then gasped for the breath I'd been holding and rose to my feet.
Finally got some distance. Fuck.
"Mm. I thought you were a little lacking on the pure combat side... but is the cadet a spirit mage?"
He accurately took in Haze, who was guarding my side while pouring fierce hostility toward him, and began to nod. Then he shook his head again.
"But that's strange. A spirit mage should give off a distinctive aura of nature, yet I sense none of that from you. Which means you are not a spirit mage, yet can summon a spirit. In other words—a summoner."
Sorry to interrupt his little game of guessing the answer by himself, but I had no intention of playing along any longer.
"Cawww!!"
"Caw! Cawww!!"
The Hive I'd released to check the escape route had returned and filled the air around me, and I had fully caught my breath. My body was still stiff, but not so bad I couldn't move.
In the first place, this had only ended at this level because the man had been going easy on me while we fought.
I condensed mana into my fingers once more. If I meant to settle things here, summoning everything would be correct—but there was no need. The reason I'd come to this island in the first place was to take the midterm.
Snap!
I flicked the mana and summoned Kallion.
"Grrrrngh!!"
Summons are linked through me. Naturally, Kallion synced with the emotions of Haze, who had been summoned to protect me, and showed hostility. A stark contrast to the man, who held no enmity whatsoever.
I soothed them halfheartedly and asked the man,
"If I fill a hundred points, can I leave early?"
"No. Once you evade the infiltrated 'villain' and acquire all the points, you will be transferred back to this cruise and learn the truth of the midterm at the same time. Think of it as a school trip and wait quietly to return with everyone else."
Well... this cruise was more than luxurious enough in terms of facilities, so it didn't matter. I just wanted to rest. Anywhere quiet would do.
I glanced at the man, who had stopped attacking the instant the Hive and Haze appeared, as if by some sixth sense, and sighed.
"A strong passion for education is worthy of respect, but I don't need it."
Our fields were different to begin with. I was the type who grew stronger by clearing dungeons and increasing my summons. No matter how much I trained alone, my main force—my summons—wouldn't change.
I let the empty words spill out like a complaint. The man gave a bitter smile and looked me straight on.
"Mm. I acknowledge that the cadet is outstanding, but I hope you will not grow too arrogant."
Apparently my words had been taken in a slightly different sense. I'd meant that our fields were different so it was useless, but to the teacher it must have looked like the cheeky remark of a young genius.
The faint nostalgia and slightly creepy emotion in his eyes were proof of that. I wasn't even a kid, and being looked at with those lukewarm eyes was more than a little unsettling.
"...I know. I know perfectly well how many people in this world are stronger than me."
You, for one. And that unpleasant woman who was probably watching me even now.
"Haha. Then that is a relief."
With those as my last words, I climbed onto Kallion's back and headed for the island. Let's finish this annoying exam already and get some rest.
Stepping across the ice Riri had shaped, Luicia reached the island safely and found Taewung collapsed on the shore as if unconscious. She immediately supported him and checked his condition.
Fortunately, there were no serious wounds. His blackout was likely the aftereffect of a deliberate strike aimed only at the mind, forcibly severing his thoughts.
Not many people could deliver an attack that delicate in the middle of combat. Given how little damage he'd taken, they had even controlled the force—high odds it was an Academy teacher.
Luicia gently stroked Taewung's wet hair as his brow kept twitching as if he were having a nightmare, and cast a simple drying spell.
"What in the world..."
Even so, what filled her mind was that man.
Hearing that the enemy was not an enemy, that this too had been part of the exam, had eased her worry for Taewung somewhat.
"I'm trying so hard, too..."
Once again, she hadn't been able to help. She had struggled desperately to be of use to Taewung.
Ever since that man had told her the secrets of this world—and of Taewung—she had agonized over how she could become someone who could help him.
She had thought and thought and thought again, and still nothing better than the path and information that man had offered came to mind.
It was so frustrating, so wretched, that she had deliberately looked away from it and walked her own road. The same way she always had...
But that alone had not been enough.
Things she would normally have brushed off started to bother her one by one after hearing those secrets from that man.
Incidents around Taewung were far too frequent. From trivial little things that meant nothing, all the way to major crises where lives were at stake.
The range was so wide that simply responding to them was exhausting.
She had thought this was another one of those. In truth it hadn't been... and in that brief span of fretting and tension, that man had resolved the matter so easily it made her feel like a fool.
At this point she rather wanted to grab him and demand answers. How, and since when, had he been able to handle all of this behind their backs without them knowing?
Had he imposed that horrific, spine-chilling trial on Taewung in the past because he had already anticipated this?
Luicia was afraid.
Afraid she couldn't protect Taewung? No—afraid she had no confidence she could surpass that man.
She had felt it since she was still young.
That man, the same age as her, had been a strange child who gave off the same atmosphere as her father when he was working.
It wasn't only the atmosphere that was strange. His personality, the knowledge he possessed, even his preferences were strange. But he was outstanding.
A genius.
So that was the kind of person you called a genius.
Having taken heir lessons since childhood, Luicia had instinctively understood that Jang Sinwoo was the sort of person you must never turn into an enemy if you could not keep him at your side.
And that was exactly why she had been drawn all the more to Ban Taewung.
Unlike that man—outstanding yet foul-tempered, wanting nothing to do with anyone—Taewung was a hard worker, sincere, a figure who led everyone like a bright light, the complete opposite.
He wasn't incompetent, but he clearly had shortcomings in various ways. People couldn't be perfect at everything; that was only natural. But he never felt ashamed of his lack and worked even harder to learn.
In the end, the way he bore the fruit of that effort and rejoiced in it was what Luicia loved most.
She had fallen for him at first sight, and the more time she spent with him, the more she learned about Ban Taewung as a person, the more she found herself falling deeper.
That was why hearing Jang Sinwoo's words had been such a shock.
She had even worried that perhaps even that feeling itself had been toyed with by transcendent beings called gods.
If she thought about it for even a moment, she could realize that such facts didn't matter—that it was enough that she liked him... but even that realization had come from that man's advice.
The difference in their vessels was far too great.
Luicia knew now. How vast the darkness supporting that man from behind truly was.
Last night she had heard about a certain incident from her father.
Somehow she had ended up spending the weekend with the head of the Dragonia Group, who had been clinging to that man, and at dinner she had told her father about the things that had happened that day.
She still could not forget her father's face turning ashen when he first heard those words.
Just recalling the conversation from that time raised goosebumps on her arms. Because if her father's response had been even slightly different, she would not be standing here now.
A disaster in which a city they had believed a safe zone was reduced to a wasteland by monsters.
An incident in which three of the world's top ten groups, the so-called Top Ten, went bankrupt in an instant and were newly merged into a single group.
The numerous new companies that appeared as if to fill the vacancies of the three vanished groups, and the Dragonia Group standing behind them.
At first she had simply thought of her as an eccentric fiancée who suited that eccentric man—but when she heard she was a monster who transcended human cognition, she should have seriously agonized over whether she had ever been rude to her in the past.
And so the weight on her heart grew even heavier.
In other words, the incidents Ban Taewung brought with him were the kind that naturally involved figures of that caliber.
...Even so, she could not give up.
Even if it was impossible, she would cling on until it became possible. As long as her grit held out, she would never quit. That was the strength of the man she loved, and the reason she had come to love him.
Would she, who wanted to stay by his side, be the one to give up?
"Next time I see him, I'm definitely going to demand answers."
First, she would tear the information out of him. Every last bit. She would learn enough that she could help even without that man's aid.
And she had to grow stronger still.
She had no idea how many more monstrous people would stand in his path. Each time, she would help him when he seemed ready to give up and sink to his knees.
Hadn't that man said it himself?
I am a star.
When it grew dark, she would become the lamp that lit his road ahead.
When he lost his way, she would become the landmark that showed him where to go.
When he lost his bearings, she would become the compass that told him where he stood.
All of it for him—for the Taewung she loved.
For that, she had to remain unchanging. She needed an immutability that would not yield to any hardship.
If the thing that pointed toward the destination broke down, those who relied on it would lose their way as well.
"...I will overcome this. Without fail."
And she would achieve it. She would yield it to no one else. This, at least, was something she had to do herself.
No matter how many trials and hardships descended upon him, she too would endure and help him. She would neither give up nor break.
Was that not why she had made it her final Influence?
"Oooh, Luicia, hang in there~"
"...Riri. You need to put in a little more effort yourself."
At some point Riri had latched onto her back like a cicada. Luicia set her down to the side.
"Eeh... too much work..."
At that deflating reply, Riri flopped about and, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, pulled a massive book from midair and sat on it. Luicia let out a faint sigh.
She was a precious friend as well. If she got hurt, Taewung would surely grieve, so Luicia would look after her properly.
"Luicia...? Even Riri... ah, everyone... mph?!"
For now, she would soothe her beloved prince.
As if shaking off the sorrow and the fear of whatever was coming, Luicia pulled Taewung tightly into her arms.