Chapter 47
“What, what did you say!”
“You dodged the mana bullet converging to a single point!?
“No way, can he even see that? It was almost instantaneous.”
“This... second place? Isn't he basically the top student?”
Man, this is the thrill of sparring.
This is a lot different from the sparring at the training camp.
For one thing, the cards I can use aren't limited.
That alone gives me freedom of choice.
But it seems my opponent wasn't showing everything either.
“Hmm. You dodged that? Lucky break!”
I kept my distance, looking to snipe Allen from afar.
This was a probing exchange.
He tried to close the distance by charging at me.
In a normal situation, my agility is much higher, so the distance should have been widening without me even running.
Instead, the distance was closing.
Movements that were clearly beyond what a normal person could do.
“So you learned body reinforcement too?”
That body has his own mana forming along a fixed path.
Then there was no need to kidnap anyone from Knight School after all.
That said, kidnapping him would still be easier than sweet-talking him.
I raised my wand.
“Casting, Bullet.”
“Casting, Shield!”
A white line streaked across the sparring field, and he blocked my mana bullet easily.
“Casting Bullet, Triple.”
I'll finish this with this one.
“Casting Shield, Flat.”
Then the barrier unfolded into a different shape.
Unlike the original form that wrapped around the body.
The flattened shield appeared right in front of his arm.
He angled the shield diagonally into the path of my mana bullet.
—Kaaang! Kaaang! Kaaang!
“Oh?”
“Ha. Did you think Allen couldn't block something like this? You were wrong.”
So that was another way to use it.
I didn't even know there was an extra spell like that.
If you know about it, tell me, Karnarov.
He immediately switched to offense.
“Casting Bullet, Penny!”
“Th, that’s!”
“I can’t block that! I have to dodge!”
A piercing spell packed with mana.
And one that had been chanted for several seconds.
Still, all I had to do was dodge it.
“Sigh. At least I should get something out of this.”
The good thing about being a magic-array mathematician is...
“Casting Shield, Flat.”
that I can cast a spell exactly the same way after seeing it once.
Of course, I don't need to let anything slip through.
He had a lot of mana.
But the shield's strength is determined by mana density.
In other words, I can even knock aside a properly cast piercing spell as is.
—Kaaang!
The mana bullet sank into the floor and vanished.
The stands rustled a little.
Allen shouted at me confidently.
“You're pretty good!”
“Really?”
I immediately launched a follow-up attack.
Five mana bullets.
Since I had just scattered them without any power behind them, they were blocked anticlimactically.
But this time is the real deal.
“Casting, Bullet, Penny, Octa.”
I chanted the spell in a low voice.
Gasps of shock rang out.
“Fourfold incantation! We weren't taught that!!”
“What kind of monster is this!”
“Idiots. Of course something like this should be easy...”
“Robert, you can't even do it properly either, you know.”
“Shut up.”
While Linia and Robert were bickering, the mana bullets traced agile arcs.
Eight mana bullets.
Each one was a piercing spell that could bore a vicious hole through a shield.
That wasn't my maximum firepower.
But I put quite a bit of power into them.
‘I shot at every possible escape path with timed delays.’
You can't dodge it.
You have to block it.
“You can't block that!”
Someone shouted, but
a low, heavy voice pressed down in rebuttal.
“Casting Shield, Flat Triple.”
“Another fourfold incantation!!”
—Kwachachang!!
All three shields shattered, kicking up a cloud of dust.
But he was fine apart from a few scratches.
It seemed to have killed the mana bullets' speed and deflected them.
Even so, it must have grazed him a little, since blood was flowing from his arm.
Doesn't the protector react to injuries that minor?
Then I can go to town on him without worrying.
“What, you fight pretty well?”
He seemed to be able to back up his big talk.
“Hmm. You can back up the talk. Go all out!”
He raised his wand.
Go all out and you'll really die.
The protector won't save you either.
Of course, my wand will die too.
Since my wand costs more than his life, I can't use dragon mana.
I can't end this here.
No matter what kind of duel this is, I win.
But Allen is a seasoned veteran at magic duels. He knows plenty I don't.
That's true.
Then if I beat him down some other way, something else should come out, right?
“Casting, Shield.”
I closed in on him in an instant.
I didn't need to use something like a reinforcement spell.
Unless it's a special case, first-years can't keep up with my speed.
He shouted in panic.
“Casting, Shield, Bullet!”
As the mana shield deployed, a mana bullet was fired.
Yeah. The patterns are popping up like crazy.
Dodging at this range would be impossible for other people, but
the combination of Dragon Eyes and high agility could make the impossible possible.
—Chiiing.
The mana bullet skimmed past under my ear.
“Casting Bullet.”
I kept up the offensive, matching Allen's pace.
I repeated dodging and firing while using only a fixed amount of mana.
The difference was that I had room to spare, while Allen was barely managing to block the torrent of mana bullets.
If I kept pushing, the winner would be decided.
Then Allen's eyes began to glow gold.
“Casting Royal, Completion!”
A strong current surged between Allen and me, and with a sudden feeling of lightness, the distance widened.
I was thrown back without even realizing it.
“Hey, wait. That's...”
I've never seen that spell before.
Which means...
“That's the Valtor family's unique magic!”
“Waaaah!”
“Valtor!!”
“No, what do you mean, unique magic!?”
“That's cheating!”
Golden mana was forming a barrier around him.
The speed at which he controlled his own mana also increased.
‘Observation Eye!’
[Royal Casting]
I hereby declare the Valtor family's domain!
Within the domain, allies' mana is strengthened, and attacks from outside it are repelled!
An area-wide buff.
I can't imitate that.
Because it needs the unique-magic circuit.
“I didn't expect to have to use this too! I'll give you credit for it!”
He declared confidently.
Sigh. I should finish this.
If he'd had to use his unique magic, that meant he was out of cards.
“Casting Bullet, Explode, Guide, De...”
A deca-cast infused with homing and explosive properties.
Ten shots packed with mana were my maximum firepower, aside from Dragon Mana bullets.
“Casting Shield, Triple, Flat!”
An intermediate shield should block this, right?
That was the thought as I cast it and watched the crowd react.
“Di-did you hear the chant?”
“Isn’t he going to die?”
Apparently not.
Still, more than ten consecutive shots was impossible.
At eleven shots and beyond, the wand started to give out.
You could see it straining.
I tried to dump in maximum firepower just like I usually did when training in the western forest.
“Take this.”
Then.
—빠직.
Ah.
Why is this wand so fragile?
My wand couldn't withstand the mana and died.
Guess I have to pay for another one.
Allen, who had been staring straight at me, let out a sigh.
“Your wand broke? What a shame, but we can settle this next time...”
He tried to put away his wand with a disappointed expression, but
I had no intention of stopping.
“What are you saying.”
You think a monster will go easy on you because your wand broke?
[Status Enhancement Choice Ticket (7th Floor, SR) is used! Strength increases!]
The enhancement choice ticket in my inventory was used immediately.
“Wind Riding.”
The wind rose fiercely.
I closed the distance in an instant, and ended up above the back of his head.
“Pretty nice, that movement skill.”
“Wh-what...!”
I kicked him straight into the ground.
“Guhk!”
The protector activated right away.
But it seemed it hadn't anticipated a sudden close-range attack, because the impact got through pretty well.
“Winner: Yumia.”
I looked toward the stands.
The two students at the very front whispered after looking at me.
Of course, I heard everything.
People with abilities have good ears too.
“…You saw it?”
“What?”
“You saw it? The second-place student approaching Allen.”
“If I had, would I be standing here like this?”
“The skill gap between second place and tenth place...”
“What are we even competing against!?”
Both of them were staring at each other with their eyes wide.
Hmm. Good reactions.
Karnarov said flatly and walked up to Allen.
He pulled the face-planted Allen up with one hand.
He was buried pretty deep, and he just yanked him out like that?
He hadn't even used body reinforcement.
Let's see.
‘Observation Eye.’
[The gap between you and your opponent is enormous! Information cannot be accessed!]
“…What?”
Observation Eye had even been able to read Isela's information normally.
So it still doesn't work on Karnarov.
Then it won't work on Adrian either.
Karnarov confirmed that Allen had his eyes open properly.
“Allen, it's fine to use your unique magic, but don't get complacent just because you used it.”
“Yes, yes!”
“And when fighting an all-rounder, avoid close-quarters combat. Don't think of him as a mage. Think of an opponent skilled in close combat as a knight.”
“Understood.”
“Your proficiency in basic attack magic was lower than your opponent's, but that doesn't mean your effort was lacking. Keep training.”
“Y-yes, sir!”
Allen glanced at me once, smiled, and then returned to his seat.
“...?”
He seemed to think we had had a good match.
What an interesting guy.
“And Yumia.”
Karnarov looked my way.