Chapter 62
Nyaaak! That wasn't in the rules!
I wailed.
You brought this on yourself...
Robert muttered, but I couldn't hear a thing.
Then there's no point in watching the first thirty seconds!!
Of course, watching the other students get crushed is always fun.
Sigh.
Guess I'll just watch the other students.
We were given a booklet and a defensive magic artifact.
After making sure everyone had theirs strapped on, Karnarov said in an amplified voice.
The defeat condition will be when the artifact's durability is completely exhausted and it breaks. Until then, I'll measure you by how long you last.
Karnarov looked around.
There were many people around.
Headmaster Petstemen, with his long white beard.
Isabel, smiling brightly as if enjoying herself.
Medical Professor Celine, yawning as if tired.
They were all an impressive lineup.
This test will also be watched by the other professors in charge of first-years. Do not disappoint them.
Looking at the stands, there were not only professors, but also upperclassmen and a few people who looked fairly high-ranking.
Everyone, get inside the barrier around the waiting seats.
As soon as Karnarov gave the order, the students surged into motion.
Everyone looked extremely tense.
Tch. If you're this tense already, you're only going to make things worse.
They don't know anything.
Nerves are only for when you're fighting, when you glare hard and focus.
If you're burning energy from the start... as expected, they're all amateurs at fighting.
There can't be many people as unflustered as you.
Is that so? I think I do get tense when I'm fighting.
Strictly speaking, I just activate my dragon eyes and heighten my senses.
That way, I can deal with various variables.
Even so, when I saw your eyes while you ambushed the upperclassmen...
Robert was trembling like a leaf.
Mm?
Why is he so scared?
I never knew a person's eyes could get that cold and vicious. I thought I was gonna piss myself. Jeez.
I didn't know how my fighting looked to other people.
Still.
Robert, you've just got no guts.
What did you say?
Be a man, damn it!
Yeesh!
Just tough it out with spirit.
Mm-hmm.
Thinking that, I stepped into the waiting seats.
The waiting seats.
A place below the stands where you could watch and also easily go out when your turn came.
Two large crystals were embedded around the waiting seats.
Without thinking, I activated my Observation Eye.
[Unable to inspect because the rank is too low!]
No, what do you mean, too low a rank?
This also seems like a pretty good artifact.
So even an SR-grade trait won't cut it anymore.
Grab a front seat first!
I ran off to secure a good seat.
Then I looked back.
Idiots, do you really think a front-row seat would stay open for an event this ridiculously fun?
Sure enough, there were students already claiming the front row.
Mostly nobles.
But... the instant I sat in the very front row.
Hmph, ahem. This spot has bad vibes.
I, I suddenly have to use the bathroom!
The people in front of me started sneaking away.
...Eh.
Thanks to that, Aris and the others who arrived late could sit comfortably in the front row.
Once everyone had taken their seats.
Then I will begin this final exam. Pour everything you have into it and give it your all!
A look that said he'd personally wreck anyone who didn't give it their all.
At Karnarov's words, everyone tensed up.
Then I will call you one by one. Jamie!
Yes!
Come with me.
Jamie followed Karnarov with a very nervous expression.
Hm.
I was a little curious.
How would Karnarov handle this, exactly?
The sparring match will begin! Both sides, prepare!
The two contestants prepared for the match.
Jamie, looking extremely nervous, had one potion and one artifact at his waist.
He said you could bring up to three artifacts...
The clothes you're wearing are an artifact?
[Enchanted Cloth Garb (SR)]
Last only thirty seconds and it's a perfect score.
Right.
Lasting until 30 seconds is a perfect score.
At least in [Basic Attack Magic].
That's why, while Karnarov's output is restricted, they're trying to hold out with an artifact if they can.
Begin!
Casting, Bullet Triple.
Karnarov chanted the spell.
The spell completed at a fairly fast pace.
Before Jamie could even do anything, three mana bullets rushed at him.
C-Casting, Shield!
Jamie deployed a shield, but it shattered on the second shot.
And the artifact's defense was exhausted.
T-Triple casting right from the start!
Professor, isn't the pace a little too fast!?
Voices erupted from around them, but...
I, however, was watching with a bored expression.
Then, at some point, I shouted.
What the hell! Why are you shooting so weakly!?
The shield was deployed again.
But Jamie couldn't endure the continued pressure and broke the shield.
The attacks kept coming.
He lost without even lasting ten seconds.
Jamie, 7 seconds!!
He has the basics, but he's seriously lacking in improvisation.
If he had a tank, he'd pull his weight, but without one, it'd be rough.
The students after him were similar.
They couldn't endure Karnarov's refined, dense attacks.
Even if they held out, they'd sometimes get hit by clever moves that slipped through and lose durability.
Oliver, 11 seconds!
Tren, 13 seconds!
Lily, 6 seconds!
Even after the casting-speed portion ended, it was the same.
From the outset, the difference in fundamentals was just too great.
But...
But the output is lower than the other students' too, isn't it?
Wouldn't it be manageable?
That was what they were saying from the waiting seats.
In fact, that was true.
Each shot was weaker than the mana bullet Aris fired.
Sometimes he raised the power for the nobles, but even then he only fired mana bullets with one step lower mana density.
It was certainly manageable.
But none of those who thought so and went in lasted thirty seconds.
They were all thoroughly ravaged by Karnarov.
I'd just learned that mana density could be controlled, but putting that aside...
'Was this what Karnarov wanted to show us?'
That a certain difference in skill can be overturned by overwhelming technique.
The students' goal became to somehow defend and survive until the 30-second mark.
They no longer even looked beyond thirty seconds.
And then Aris's match ended.
An upset.
Aris, 28 seconds. That's a new record.
Grrr! I'm frustrated!
Aris handled a lot of mana very effectively.
'Aris fought that well?'
Rather than getting flustered, Aris calmly dealt with Karnarov's feints.
Honestly, I'd wondered when Aris got fourth from the end.
But this... this isn't healer-level, is it?
You've really grown up.
Third from the end was Robert.
Robert... fought impeccably.
Honestly, I hadn't watched his sparring because it was a pain.
I thought he couldn't fight because he wasn't useful when fighting the third-years.
But that wasn't it.
Wow... that's really fast.
I can't even guess how much practice went into that casting speed.
He deflects every incoming mana bullet with shields, and in the meantime fires his own mana bullets to pressure Karnarov.
Karnarov can't use any more mana on defense than a student can.
So it creates plenty of pressure.
Using that, he managed solid exchanges with Karnarov.
Robert, 31 seconds. Your practice is enough now.
The moment it hit 30 seconds, he lost purely because his firepower wasn't enough.
Waaah!! Robert!!
How do you deflect mana bullets!? I want to learn too!
Cheers erupted from the waiting seats.
Well done.
Linia praised him.
You punk, that's unexpected.
I gave Robert's back a hard smack.
Kraaaah!
Ah.
Right, I wasn't exactly an ordinary person in terms of strength anymore.
Now it's my turn.
Good luck!
Aris healed Robert and, smiling, saw Linia off.
Linia smiled our way once and stepped out toward Karnarov.
Honestly, I was curious too.
Even during sparring class, Linia had never once gone all out.
Linia would simply overwhelm opponents with basic attacks while yawning.
Linia had mana on the level of a professor, if not Karnarov.
And that unique magic.
'What is her ceiling?'
Both sides, prepare yourselves!
Karnarov and Linia raised their staffs.
Begin!
Casting, Bullet, Triple.
A low voice rang out the instant it started.
Sure enough, up to now, the pattern had been this.
Karnarov only fires mana bullets one step weaker than what his opponent uses.
He deflects all of the opponent's attacks and keeps up constant pressure to create an opening.
Then he calmly slips in for the win.
That's all there is to it.
A simple but very powerful strategy.
However.
That's only under the assumption that the opponent can use basic defensive magic.
Linia's unique magic.
Index, Shield.
A step beyond basic defensive magic.
A mana barrier empowered by unique-magic amplification.
Its strength is several times that of a normal barrier.
That doesn't make it unbreakable, but at the very least it's much easier to block.
Excellent. So few openings.
And magical combat skill on par with Robert's, if not better.
Karnarov tried pressing from every angle, but in the end, the 30-second mark approached.
Wow, as expected of the top scorer.
But this isn't the end?
Didn't you see the second-place student's match?
Even if he pushes with mana like that, he can't beat the second-place student's casting speed and hand-to-hand skill.
The waiting seats buzzed.
What are they talking about?
That'd be tough to break through even for me.
And then thirty seconds passed.
Casting, Bullet, Penny, Deca.
A ferocious amount of mana gathered on Karnarov's staff.
The maximum output of basic attack magic.
At this point, though, whether you could still call that basic attack magic was questionable...
Index, Barrier, Wide!
Linia seemed to have planned ahead too.
Advanced defensive magic!
A wide barrier sprang up in front, centered on Linia.
—KWA-KWA-KWA-KWAANG!!
A barrier sturdy enough to brute-force block a piercing technique without even redirecting it.
It was obviously an enormous mana drain...
Casting, Library, Amplify!
Indeed.
It wasn't a waste of mana.
Preparatory work to use the mana you already have with even greater amplification.
Index, Bullet, Explode, Hecto!
Linia raised her staff high.
More than a hundred mana bullets were fired.
They poured down like rain.
I-Is that the unique magic!!
'Insane.'
Is that S-rank mana!?
—BOOM!!
Karnarov blocked a few shots, but this was just buying time from the start.
He used an explosion technique, sacrificing all offensive power.
After all, Karnarov is human too.
It flung him to the far side with considerable momentum.
At the very least, it was definitely buying time.
Hm. Without a weight-enhancement spell, that's a little tough.
Karnarov muttered.
Karnarov's mana bullets were battering Linia's barrier.
But it still had a long way to go before breaking.
Linia was already preparing to deploy another barrier like that.
She split the arena in half and forced knockback to control the approach.
I'll grant that.
Karnarov stomped his foot.
—KWAAAANG!
His figure shot forward at tremendous speed.
A speed so fast I nearly lost sight of it myself for a moment.
Ungh!
With only the magic I can use right now, it would be impossible to finish you within 55 seconds.
At blinding speed, he closed in right in front of Linia.
Mana concentrated in his legs.
'Body Enhancement!'
I need to learn that!
Casting, Bullet.
Index, Spell Jamming!
The barrier was broken, and there wasn't enough time left to cast.
Let me teach you one thing.
The way to not be affected by Spell Jamming is to cast in sync with its wavelength.
'...That works?'
What followed was Karnarov's relentless barrage.
Linia tried to block it somehow with the artifacts on hand while widening the distance...
But Karnarov never gave her any space.
In the end, around the 46-second mark...
...I lost.
Linia dropped her staff.
And Karnarov was still pointing his staff at Linia with an expressionless face.
Good work.
'...He's really that strong, huh.'
He's simply strong, in the most straightforward way.
Whether it's battle sense, magic, or martial skill.
There isn't a single flaw.
Is that what experience is?
I was genuinely impressed for the first time in a while.
* * *
Once Linia's exam ended, the area got a little darker.
To be honest, it had taken quite a while.
Even switching out and getting ready took surprisingly long.
And Karnarov, with the composure of a strongman, waited until his opponent had finished preparing.
So even though the exam started in the daytime, my turn didn't come until a little before dinner.
Last up, Yumia.
Even after going through such a fierce magical duel with Linia, he showed no sign of fatigue.
The good news was that Karnarov, up to the 30-second mark, was actually pretty lenient with students.
He let most openings slide and only settled the match when there was a really big gap.
'Maybe he'll go easy on me too?'
My mana output isn't that high.
Even when I used dragon mana, against anyone A-rank or higher, it was only enough to land a decent hit.
Even including martial skill, I don't feel like I'm that strong.
'I still don't know why I'm the last one.'
And so I stepped onto the arena.
Match, begin!!
Karnarov said it so loudly that the entire arena shook.
Casting, Bullet, Guide, Explode, Deca.
Huh?
A five-part incantation.
The casting speed, excluding the chant time...
0.001 seconds.
And yet the mana contained there was, surprisingly, about the level of an ordinary noble student.
However.
The density was insane.
Each one was a mana bullet packed tight like a heaping bowl of rice, with incredibly high mana density.
Those mana bullets, with guidance and explosion techniques applied, poured down on me like a meteor shower.
Making a ferocious sound as they came.
—FWEEEEEEEEEEK!!
Even with Dragon Eyes maxed out, they were still coming at me fast!
Shit.
I thought as I dashed straight for the wall.
Haha.
"Gyaaaah!! You crazy bastard!!"