Taking the Fall

However.

"W-Who... what on earth are you?"

There is such a thing as compatibility in this world.

Ever since I delivered a heavy blow to his ribs, Dorara had lost his temper, casting wind spell after wind spell in rapid succession. Fierce, blade-like winds lashed against me repeatedly, and Dorara laughed, absolutely certain of his victory. But ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in reality, he couldn't leave a single scratch on my body.

The Mystery I possessed: Steel Skin. It was the absolute worst matchup for Dorara's wind magic. After all, my skin was completely immune to slashing attacks.

"You didn't even bother watching the team match properly, did you?"

Then ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠again, there was no way anything other than Sharin would catch this guy's eye. He was someone who wouldn't hesitate to spread malicious rumors just to bring Sharin down. Why would he pay attention to anyone else?

That was all the more reason to teach him a lesson. A guy who couldn't accept his own shortcomings and only knew how to look down on others was utterly useless.

As I lunged at him, Dorara panicked and whipped up a gust of wind. He quickly levitated himself, flying out past the edge of the Sky Garden's rooftop. No matter how strong I was, I had no way of catching someone who could fly. Realizing this, Dorara finally let out a sigh of relief. At the same time, remembering the humiliation he had just suffered, his eyes flared with rage.

"You bastard. I should have known the moment you started hanging around that bitch Sharin."

Now that he had secured his safety, Dorara's mouth began to run again. Wind began to howl around his body, and the staff gripped tightly in his hand gleamed as it caught the light.

He might look pathetic, but he was still the runner-up of Magic Engineering. Although an astronomical gap existed between the top student and the runner-up, he was still someone who had climbed above countless other mages to stand near the peak. His mana capacity was easily enough to overwhelm ordinary mages.

Watching this, I quietly dropped into a starting block stance. I placed both hands on the ground and lifted my back foot slightly off the floor. Observing my movements, Dorara's eyes widened in disbelief.

Tap!

Shattering Dorara's disbelief, I kicked off the ground and sprinted forward. The moment my foot planted on the iron railing—

Boom!

My body vaulted over the Sky Garden's fence, launching into the open sky. The Sky Garden was suspended high above the ground. Even for me, falling from here was practically suicide.

"You crazy bastard?!" Dorara shrieked in sheer terror. His panic created a massive opening. I pulled my arm back. At the same time, a magic engraving flared to life across my Steel Skin. The activated engraving was none other than Explosion.

"If you thought you were safe in midair..."

I had to show him how wrong he was.

BOOM!

With a violent blast from the magic engraving in my palm, my body leaped through the air once more. The distance between Dorara and me vanished in an instant. Caught completely off guard, Dorara frantically tried to cast another spell, but he was too late.

Once a mage allows a close-quarters warrior to close the distance, the game is already over.

Crack!

My fist slammed squarely into Dorara's jaw without hesitation.

"Ack!" Dorara gasped as several of his teeth shattered and flew into the air. The moment my strike knocked him semi-conscious, the levitation magic supporting him dissolved. Yet, proving he was indeed the runner-up of Magic Engineering, his physical resilience was decent; even with his mind half-blank, he flailed wildly to avoid plunging to his death.

"H-Help! Save me!" he screamed, his face turning pale as paper. Unable to focus his mind, he couldn't cast a single spell. Just as Dorara thought he was going to die—

Grab!

My hand clamped around the scruff of his neck. I immediately triggered another explosion with my other hand, propelling us back toward the Sky Garden.

Thud!

I slammed Dorara onto the floor, and he rolled across the ground before coming to a halt. Perhaps because he had just stared death in the face, his eyes were completely unfocused and vacant.

Step, step.

"Gasp!" At the sound of my footsteps, Dorara flinched and bolted upright. He stared at me, his face drenched in cold sweat. If I hadn't saved him just now, he would have died. Realizing that his survival had hung entirely on my whim, a deep, primal terror of me carved itself into his very soul.

"You had a lot of bold things to say earlier."

Crack.

Every time I cracked my knuckles, Dorara winced. Yet, it seemed he still had a shred of will to fight left, as his hands frantically scrambled along the floor. Only then did he realize that something vital was missing.

"Looking for this?"

When I held up his staff, his face froze completely. The most crucial rule when fighting a mage is to disarm them. It was the absolute basic of basics. Without his staff, Dorara's spell accuracy and casting speed would plummet. At this point, he was nothing more than a slightly fit ordinary person.

Clack.

So, I tossed the staff back to him. Staring at the staff that landed in front of him, he slowly raised his head. His face was a mask of utter incomprehension. After all, there was absolutely no reason to return a weapon to an opponent you had already defeated.

"Let's keep going."

I decided to become an even more incomprehensible monster to him.

"It'd be a shame to end things so quickly with the runner-up of Magic Engineering."

Dorara finally recognized the madness swirling in my eyes. Whether he had lost his will to fight or not was none of my concern. I had picked this fight to practice combatting mages. Ending it here wouldn't satisfy me in the slightest.

"Y-You crazy bastard..." Dorara muttered, as if staring at an inexplicable anomaly. But I was already poised to spring.

"We still have plenty of lunchtime left."

Soon, Dorara's agonizing screams echoed throughout the Sky Garden.

Whispers and gasps of shock and horror erupted all around me. Yet, I didn't bat an eye at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the commotion. Clutched in my hand was none other than a battered, bloody Dorara Korazin—the runner-up of Magic Engineering. We were currently inside the Magic Engineering building. Since my height was shorter than the average boy's, I was practically dragging Dorara along the floor. Naturally, this drew everyone's attention, and the students stared in utter bewilderment.

"What is that?"

"Is that Dorara being dragged like a corpse?"

"Wait, isn't that the guy? The one who took first place in the team match."

"Hanon, was it?"

The murmurs among the Magic Engineering students grew louder. Ignoring their stares, I walked straight into Dorara's classroom. I casually lifted him up and tossed him onto the floor. Dorara rolled across the ground, his eyes rolled back, completely unconscious.

Feeling the intense gaze of the gathered Magic Engineering students, I took a long, slow breath. The second semester of the second year—the beginning of Act 4. In the original game, Dorara's persistent efforts would cause the rumors about Sharin to spread like wildfire, leading to her being ostracized by the Magic Engineering department. This wasn't a particularly critical plot point in the main scenario; it merely served as a plot device to force the whimsical Sharin into joining the protagonist's team.

Act 4 would be incredibly easy to clear with Sharin's help. Which meant it didn't matter whether I resolved her bullying issue sooner or later.

"I never knew the Magic Engineering department had fallen to such a pathetic level," I remarked aloud.

The moment the words left my mouth, the eyes of every student in the room flashed with hostility. Every single student here possessed immense pride in their magic. Even the lowest-ranked student at Jerion Academy would be hailed as a genius once they stepped outside its walls. This place was a gathering of the elite among elites. Naturally, their pride was loftier than anyone else's. After all, there was no field that demanded purer talent than magic.

"Your precious runner-up here claimed that the only reason I won first place in the team match was because of Sharin."

Of course, Dorara had been too busy badmouthing Sharin to ever say such a thing. But seeing my arrogant attitude, the students naturally assumed Dorara had indeed made that claim.

"What a load of bullshit," I sneered, looking at the Magic Engineering students with pity. "Even if any of you had taken her spot, I still would have won first place."

"Huh?"

"What did he just say?"

The students' glares grew razor-sharp. Countless students in this department envied Sharin. She had shown them—people who had been praised as geniuses their entire lives—that there was a peak they could never hope to reach. Naturally, they couldn't suppress the burning inferiority complex in their hearts. Yet, despite their jealousy, they couldn't help but acknowledge her overwhelming talent deep down.

Sharin had defeated every single Magic Engineering student to claim the top spot. To deny her achievement was to deny the worth of everyone who stood far beneath her.

"Don't make me laugh!"

"Do you think the top student of Magic Engineering is a joke? Without Sharin's magic, you would have never achieved that record!"

"What do you even know to spout such nonsense?!"

Sure enough, the atmosphere shifted as they began to defend Sharin. Only by protecting her achievements could they protect their own dignity. Thus, they began to advocate for her. Watching them, the corners of my mouth curled upward into a blatant sneer.

"It was all calculated. If someone else had joined, I would have structured the team and prepared differently. Sharin wasn't some irreplaceable key. You clueless fools."

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

The Magic Engineering department had a subtle tendency to look down on Martial Arts students as brainless brutes. Thus, hearing a Martial Arts student like me call them "clueless" made them completely lose their minds.

"You sure talk big for someone with a big mouth."

"What do you even know about magic?"

"What an arrogant piece of trash."

The students' remarks rapidly grew hostile. Yet, my expression remained completely relaxed. I casually pointed a finger at Dorara, who was slumped in the corner.

"No matter how much you bark, all of you are still inferior to the runner-up rotting over there."

Sparks practically flew from their eyes. Their collective irritation shifted toward Dorara. They looked at him with sheer annoyance, unable to comprehend why he had gone out, gotten himself thrashed, and dragged their department's pride through the mud. Consequently, the number of students who looked at Dorara with disdain multiplied. If it were me, I wouldn't have ended up like that. Their thoughts were written clearly on their faces.

"I'm not even the top student of the Martial Arts department. Since your runner-up got absolutely destroyed by me, doesn't that mean the rest of you are completely worthless too?"

A murderous tension filled the room, as if they were ready to pounce on me at any second. Even in the face of their wrath, I casually shrugged.

"Then again, what's the point of talking to ignorant fools who can't even read the flow of a team match?"

Several students began drawing their staffs, signaling that they would no longer tolerate my insults.

"...Hanon?"

Right on cue, she appeared. The top student of Magic Engineering, Sharin Sazaris. She pushed through the crowd, staring at me with a look of utter confusion.

"Sharin!"

"What is wrong with him? Why did you ever team up with a guy like that?!"

"Damn it, does he think the top student of Magic Engineering is a joke?"

"If you had fought Sharin instead of Dorara, you'd already be dead!"

The moment Sharin appeared, the students' voices grew deafening. Sharin looked bewildered by their intense reactions. Amidst the chaotic uproar, I locked eyes with her.

"The top student and the runner-up are only one rank apart anyway. As if there's any real difference."

My mouth didn't stop. Their eyes flared with even greater fury.

Ding-dong-dang-dong—

At that moment, the chime signaling the end of lunchtime echoed through the building. Hearing it, I began to walk toward the crowd of students surrounding me. Though the atmosphere remained hostile, none of them dared to block my path when I glared back coldly. After all, the fact that I had turned Dorara into a bloody pulp was undeniable.

"Hanon."

"Sharin, don't hang around someone like him."

"How did you even win first place with a piece of trash like that? You really carried him."

"He's not even worth talking to."

Sharin tried to call out to me, but several female Magic Engineering students immediately crowded around her, chattering away.

From now on, the target of their vitriol wouldn't be Sharin—it would be me. Sharin would be placed on a pedestal by the Magic Engineering students. They had to turn her into an idol to protect their own fragile pride. To achieve this, I had intentionally stoked the subtle rivalry between the Magic Engineering and Martial Arts departments. No matter how much they disliked their own representative, they could never tolerate seeing her insulted by an outsider from the rival department. That psychological defense mechanism now dominated the Magic Engineering students.

Thus, instead of Sharin, I would be the one getting cursed out day and night. And as a bonus, Dorara, who had been thoroughly beaten by me, would share in the blame. I was already used to being hated thanks to the incident with Isabel. A few more haters wouldn't make a difference.

Consider my debt for the magic engravings paid.

I had repaid her for helping me with the magic engravings and the team match. Having settled my dues, I turned on my heel and walked out of the Magic Engineering building.