Chapter 88
The sound of a fanfare rang out.
Then people entered the center of the arena.
First, knights in armor lined up.
Their white armor and helmets gleamed as they reflected the light.
The other side was the same.
Mages wearing white cloaks and hoods walked out and stood in a line, each holding a wand.
“T-those people are here!?”
Aris was astonished.
Did she know them?
Actually, I was much more interested in what they were doing than in who they were.
“What are they doing?”
“They’re guardian knights and members of the Imperial Court Mage Corps. Judging by their pure-white outfits, they’re all high-ranking mages and knights of Rank 5 or higher.”
“I know that, but what are they doing now?”
“You’ll see.”
The ten mages and ten knights faced one another and performed something resembling a salute.
“Is this a spar?”
“Something like that.”
All of a sudden, an immense amount of mana gathered on the mages’ side.
Even from these distant spectator stands, I could tell they were preparing some extraordinary magic.
A massive magic circle appeared in the sky.
From it, a boulder as large as a house, engulfed in flames, slowly emerged.
“It’s summoning magic!”
“A Meteor!?”
“That’s grand magic!”
“Seeing it in person is truly incredible… Incredible.”
A voice came from the seniors’ section.
It was no wonder. With ten people gathered together, the amount of mana was extraordinary.
Each one possessed as much mana as a high-ranking noble, and there were ten of them.
-Swooooooosh!!!
A falling mass whose sheer weight was frightening even to mention.
If that fell in the middle of the arena, it seemed impossible to deal with it even if we spent several hundred gold.
Blue, vivid aura burst from the knights’ swords.
It was darker and longer than mine by an incomparable margin.
The knights vanished from the ground.
They had reached the meteor through instantaneous physical enhancement.
I activated Dragon Eyes and took it all in.
“If you intend to face the knights of the Empire, watch closely.”
Robert said that while looking at me and the other students.
“That is the pinnacle.”
“Stellan Arts, Twelfth Form. Star Severance.”
The aura slashes fired by the ten knights cut across the meteor.
But that wasn’t the end.
The mana force released by the slashes tore through the inside of the meteor, destroying it from within.
Then it exploded.
—KWA-BOOOOOOM!!!
Arts.
I’d heard of them before.
They were the knights’ techniques for manifesting mana as mental imagery and wielding it.
The technique Richard had used last time belonged to this category as well.
But…
“That’s cheating.”
It was superior to most abilities.
“It’s also why knights are never outmatched by mages in combat.”
I wanted to learn it someday.
After the knights and mages finished their demonstration, they left in formation.
But the afterglow of such grand magic didn’t fade so easily.
“That was incredible…”
“With so many ordinary people here, they’re demonstrating their power at least once.”
Robert said that while watching the knights and mages leave.
Ah.
Was it similar to demonstrating a military operation?
I understood immediately.
“I want to use that too!”
I want to fire a Meteor too!
“Give it up. Proper summoning magic is difficult to learn even with several years of study. Large-scale summoning magic like that consumes an enormous amount of mana, too.”
“So?”
“Even if you’re a genius, you’d need to train for five years before you could use something similar by yourself.”
“What will you do if I use it within a year?”
“Then I’ll become your dog.”
“I won’t forget you said that.”
I really wouldn’t forget it.
Prepare yourself, Robert.
“Don’t fight like that, and let’s focus a little on what’s happening over there, too.”
“What are they doing over there?”
“Principal Patsteman is giving a speech.”
“Why does that crap matter?”
Grandpa’s speech wasn’t important right now.
Turning Robert into a dog was more important than that.
“Sheesh…”
“Actually, there is another way to turn him into a dog.”
Alcohol would definitely do the trick.
I wouldn’t even get drunk.
“Yaaawn. Take it easy, everyone. You’re disturbing my sleep.”
Linia mumbled while holding a pillow.
Her light-pink hair was all messy.
She must have been pretty tired.
I was in a good mood today, so maybe I should do my friend a favor.
“Want me to put up a soundproof barrier?”
“Please.”
A wand appeared in my hand with a poof.
“Domain Casting, Silence, Mobilize.”
I deployed a localized barrier and imbued it with an attribute.
I’d become quite proficient lately, so something like this was simple.
“You’ve improved so much. I still have trouble with mobile barriers.”
Aris stared at me as I cast the spell with a simple wave of my wand.
“I got a hint from watching Karnarof.”
Karnarof’s understanding of magic was incredible, whatever else one might say about him.
I’d used the weight-amplification spell he had cast on my arm last time as a reference.
“You copied that after seeing it once?”
“That much is easy.”
I put a sleep mask over Linia’s eyes.
Linia fell asleep within seconds.
While I was at it, I took a portable bed out of my Inventory and laid her down on it.
Looking at this, it was basically a bedroom.
“Where did you get something like that…?”
“I brought it over during one of my trips back and forth.”
I thought it might be convenient to have.
And so the principal’s speech—the ‘long one’ from my school days, if anything, was longer rather than shorter—continued.
“Yumia, is student Yumia here?”
Someone was looking for me.
It was a staff member wearing an operations badge.
“Yup?”
“Why are you here? Hurry over this way!”
“Huh?”
“Didn’t you hear that the top students were supposed to come down?”
“I didn’t hear… Ah.”
I vaguely remembered hearing something like that.
But I hadn’t known they were calling me.
“Just follow me for now!”
“I’ll be back!”
“Have a good trip!”
Aris waved at me.
* * *
The waiting room behind the stage was bustling.
And I saw the red-haired pain in the ass again.
It was Richard.
“We meet again.”
“Yeah.”
“Have you thought about my offer from last time?”
“What offer?”
“That we should both take it easy.”
“Haha.”
This kid still hadn’t come to his senses.
“Does an opponent promise to take it easy in a real fight?”
“Not exactly… Still, injuring a lady would go against chivalry.”
“Let’s see if you can say that in the arena, too.”
You were the first person to provoke me like this.
“I can’t help it if you get angry.”
“Can you control dragon mana? It must be difficult, with all the backlash.”
“Huh? How do you know that?”
“It’s time.”
We stepped out from backstage and walked to the front of the stage.
Principal Patsteman and Karnarof, the representative professor from Reinhart, were there.
And over there seemed to be the head professor of Lunaris Knight School.
His name was… Robin Schwertz, I think.
I didn’t know him.
As soon as we stepped out, the announcer began introducing the top students.
“Let us introduce the top students from each school’s combat division! First up are the fourth-years!”
I’d heard that fourth-years were mostly already active in the field.
Apparently, the practical school years only went up to the third year, but there were still top students among the fourth-years.
“First, the Flame Magician who brings glory to Reinhart! Aurelius Valerian! He recently passed the Rank 5 mage examination!”
The blue-haired man raised one hand.
The announcer went on to list his accomplishments.
Each time, the cheers from Reinhart’s side grew louder.
“Also, a Rank 5 knight serving as one of the Empire’s guardian knights, Julian Castillo! She wields Arts freely and is a veteran well into the middle of Rank 5!”
She had a brown bob and blue armor.
She was quite beautiful as well, and responded confidently to the cheers.
This time, a roar erupted from Lunaris’s side.
“Now for the third-year top students! Lunaris’s Walter Karlstein and Reinhart’s Ignis Windsore!! Both are an astounding Rank 4! Talents who have attained Rank 4!”
Rank 4, huh.
“Not bad.”
To be honest, I didn’t know how strong that was.
I felt like I might be able to manage it, too.
How difficult was Rank 4?
The announcer continued by introducing the second-year top students.
Then it was our turn.
“Now for the top first-years!! These are the talents who will shoulder the future of Reinhart and Lunaris!”
The moment he shouted that, cheers erupted from the spectator stands.
“Lunaris’s top student, Richard Schneider! A half-dragon descended from a Tier-Five Dragon, and a living legend!!”
The announcer knew how to work a crowd.
The moment he called Richard’s name, a roar erupted from Lunaris’s side that was incomparable to the one before.
“And it’s not just his bloodline! His talent and mana are also at the highest level in history! At this rate, he may even be able to aim for Rank 6 in the future!”
Then the announcer looked at me.
“Reinhart’s top student is… Yumia!… That’s all!”
“…Pardon?”
The announcer checked the script again, but didn’t read anything further, apparently because there was nothing else written.
There were no cheers from Reinhart’s side…
Those bastards.
I’d deal with them after I got back.
Richard looked at me and said,
“You understand the difference in our levels, yes?”
The difference in our levels?
I considered calling Adrian, but there was no way she could come here, right?
Sigh. I’d let it go this time.
“See you later.”
“There isn’t much information about Miss Yumia. Would you show us a spell? Even one you’re good at would be fine!”
The announcer was doing his best to somehow save my dignity.
…How was I supposed to do this?
‘Should I do something moderate and end it, or cause a little incident?’
I glanced toward Karnarof.
Karnarof wore his usual expressionless face.
However, someone beside him was talking.
My sensitive ears caught every word.
“Well, well, it looks like we’ll win easily again this time. With a gap this wide, after all.”
It was the head of the Knight School’s faculty.
Robin Schwertz.
Every time he said something, the vein on Karnarof’s forehead grew more prominent.
Ha.
I couldn’t help it.
This one’s for you, Karnarof.
“There is something I can show you.”
“Yes! Even a simple spell would be…”
The nice thing about Leokan was that it could be activated even while it was in my Inventory.
“Drop.”
[Leokan’s Essence (UR) is being used!]
At my word, a house-sized monster dropped down and smashed the entire wooden stage to pieces.
—KWA-AAAAAANG!!!!
“WRAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!”
Leokan screamed like mad, displaying its presence throughout every corner of the arena.
‘How about that? At this level, I’ve definitely seized the initiative…’
The veins on Karnarof’s forehead swelled more than ever.
‘Huh?’