Chapter 79 — Isn’t This Going a Bit Too Far?

1

Mythos Academy was an institution created to produce the strongest.

Therefore, at every event, they demonstrated that ‘we have sufficient capacity to produce the strongest.’

This evaluation was no exception.

The professors came out and began preparing the venue for the assessment on the spot.

Massive materials aligned perfectly with just a wave of their hands.

Like conductors, they waved their hands, and the materials rose in neat rows and columns, creating a foundation in the central plaza.

Watching this marvelous sight, outsiders confirmed the prowess of Mythos Academy’s faculty.

It also gave assurance to families across the continent that they could entrust their next generation to this institution.

Performances, after all, were always carried out with a clear purpose.

[The duel evaluation will commence in 10 minutes from now.]

[Due to a special letter from His Majesty the Emperor, there will be 3 individual matches, 4 team matches, for a total of 7 consecutive matches.]

[Winning or losing doesn’t matter, but that doesn’t mean defeat will earn you a good score.]

[Fight spectacularly and prove your abilities.]

“There were individual matches too?”

“Yeah, what about those trying to coast by? Individual matches, seriously.”

“What can you do? They should blame themselves for not studying regularly. Did they think the professors were that easy?”

The announcement elicited mixed reactions of joy and sorrow.

The professors weren’t fools.

If the evaluation was conducted in groups of three, there would surely be those trying to coast by.

They might have thought that wouldn’t allow for a proper evaluation, or perhaps they wanted to break it down for a more objective assessment.

Either way, the clear message was that one should never hope for an easy way out.

The order was determined randomly for both individual and team matches.

Coincidentally, Manus’s group was scheduled to go first.

With seven consecutive matches to be fought, the atmosphere in the venue was tense and breathless.

“Caesar Manus, 2nd year Class A, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Sugaria, 3rd year, correct?”

“Yes!”

Manus’s first opponent was a male student from 3rd year Class C.

A typical, ordinary mage from the world setting.

Judging by the lack of a family name, he seemed to be a commoner.

Manus quietly prepared for battle, waiting for the instructor’s signal.

Meanwhile, the one called Sugaria broke the solemn atmosphere by speaking up.

Some casual conversation was allowed during the preparation phase.

“I won’t go easy on you just because you’re a 2nd year.”

“…”

“You don’t seem to understand the difference between 2nd and 3rd years, but you’re destined to lose to ‘that person’ anyway.”

Not feeling the need to respond, Manus simply aligned his mana and prepared to activate magic circles at any moment.

The unknown power coursing through his entire body.

Handling the powerful and massive mana was more thrilling than driving a high-performance sports car on a circuit.

On the other hand, Sugaria really disliked the junior before him.

They call him a tyrant, don’t they?

He hadn’t paid much attention because there was virtually no interaction between 2nd and 3rd years.

Who would have thought he’d be blocking his path like this?

“Both sides ready?”

The two mages nodded.

Manus waited for the count, thinking not of Sugaria, but of other battles.

Mana seeped out of Sugaria’s body, burning with fighting spirit.

3.

2.

1.

“Begin-!”

A hemispherical mana barrier formed, and the battle began.

Sugaria started with his most confident 2nd class fire magic.

Whoosh-!

Mana gathered, and the magic circle took its complete form.

An exhilarating sensation.

Basking in the thrill of successfully manifesting magic, he raised his head to aim at his target.

And then, he was shocked.

“You’re slow.”

Was this all that the name of a 3rd year amounted to?

Manus had already cast two spells, floating two massive ice spears.

He had planned to prepare by attribute, but refrained from showing that much to avoid drawing too much attention.

[Ignio]

[Glacia — Telum]

Fire and ice clashed.

The flames, unable to melt the solidly frozen ice, were consumed by the cold and disappeared.

When magic clashed with magic, the outcome was determined by two factors.

The attribute of the magic and the quality and quantity of mana.

The first method was to gain an advantage in elemental compatibility at the same level of magic, while the second was to overwhelm weaknesses and attributes with overwhelming mana.

Commonly known as “brute force,” one might say.

“Eek-.”

Crash-!

Sugaria rolled, hastily evading.

Sharp ice shards rattled against the mana barrier surrounding his body.

Since injuries could be treated with healing magic as long as one didn’t die, the instructor didn’t particularly intervene.

Sugaria began chanting magic again.

Was ice magic the opponent’s specialty?

If so, using lightning magic, which was faster, would suffice.

Crackle-.

Although the power might be somewhat lacking, he was confident in its speed.

“-Huh?”

“Still slow. How long do I have to wait?”

Ice, fire, wind, electricity.

The four elemental magics, known as the four great attributes, were poised beside Manus, ready to pounce.

The moment his casting finished, those magics would fly towards him.

It was overwhelming.

But how could he give up?

The professors had clearly said:

It’s okay to lose, but you should show your abilities to the fullest.

‘And for the sake of that person-.’

He gritted his teeth and completed the magic.

Boom-!

A searing heat engulfed him, piercing through the electricity.

He rolled his body to prepare the next magic-.

Crackle-!

He couldn’t prepare.

Sugaria saw it.

‘This monstrous bastard-!’

As one magic flew at him, a new magic circle formed in mid-air.

Witnessing magic manifesting with virtually no interval, Sugaria could only desperately roll his body.

Tap tap, like a cat playing with a ball with its front paws, Manus toyed with the 3rd year mage with an expressionless face.

The 3rd year mage who had come up with high hopes.

The process of breaking his fighting spirit was carried out as if playing with a toy.

It was miserable and desperate, but what could be done?

“Huff-. Huff-.”

“I was a bit tense because you’re a 3rd year, but…”

Manus sighed softly and demonstrated magic for the finale.

The 4th class wind attribute magic [Tempesto] that he had shown before.

Sharp gale winds bared their fangs to tear apart the fragile human flesh.

2

“Not bad at all. Manus, was it? The other 2nd years too.”

“If that’s all he’s got, he won’t be a match for me.”

Vertically split pupils followed the magic that toyed with the opponent like a cat’s paw.

Easy.

Her eyes allowed her to see more delicate things than others.

Dragons have been called the progenitors of magic since ancient times.

Inheriting that blood, Abrel Nia gained eyes that could predict the opponent’s magic.

Though the speed was certainly fast, if that was all, he could never surpass her.

She crossed her arms and looked at the man called Sugaria.

[Hello! You’re from the Abrel family, aren’t you?]

[I admire you!]

[How arrogant. A mere 2nd year-. I’ll take care of them!]

[We can’t let the 3rd years’ dignity fall here, can we?]

“…How pathetic, really.”

Rolling on the ground unsightly, he ran out of stamina and retired after being hit by a massive spell.

She was displeased with both his skills and attitude.

The reason she wanted to reach the pinnacle as a mage wasn’t to trample on others.

The revival of her family.

She only craved the strongest position for the sake of her family’s resurgence to greatness.

This Sugaria had acted like her follower.

Disliking that, she always maintained an expressionless face.

“If I had known it would be like this, I should have used rougher methods to keep him away.”

“That’s how it is when you become famous. Flies start swarming. That’s why I like him.”

“Is that so? I should learn from that.”

Indeed, the title of tyrant suited Manus well.

From toying with people as he pleased to his cruel dueling style.

At least, that’s how it appeared to them.

Not knowing what kind of nuisance this Sugaria had caused.

As the matches were conducted simultaneously, Nia had already finished her match cleanly with a single spell and come down.

Soon after, Manus’s match ended as well.

“Abrel Nia, Caesar Manus. Prepare for the next match.”

Manus was still standing on the stage.

Sugaria, hit by a 4th class spell, was being carried away on a stretcher.

Abrel Nia smiled slightly as she looked into those blue eyes.

His confident attitude, even when looking at her, was quite irritating.

Well then, she’d have to show him how terrifying dragon blood could be.

Even breathing, stable mana.

‘As expected, he hadn’t used his full power.’

Mages were the same as warriors and guardians.

Using a lot of mana naturally leads to fatigue and exhaustion.

Yet with such breathing, he probably hadn’t even used half of his mana.

Her pounding heart awakened her senses.

As she stepped onto the stage, the gazes from around intensified.

Yes, perhaps she had needed this attention.

“Everyone’s focusing on us, can you feel it?”

No answer came from Manus.

He merely glanced around once.

Expecting no particular reaction, Nia suddenly burst into laughter.

She saw it.

Deep mana gathering in those blue eyes.

He too was an inevitable noble.

One who had inherited the blood of a great family thickly.

“Haha! You’re excited too! Good, let’s have some fun. Don’t worry about winning or losing.”

“-Sounds good.”

Manus pulled up the corners of his mouth into a grin.

Some say:

In real battles, you should hide 30% of your skills.

Others say:

Overwhelming power is what makes life easier in this world.

Manus decided to choose.

If his opponent was a mage striving towards a great family, he would be a worthy opponent.

“Ready?”

3.

2.

1.

The instructor’s count fell.

Boom-!

Without anyone taking the lead, they deployed their magic.

Creating a massive explosion in the center.

Manus immediately realized that she possessed a special ability.

Golden, gleaming dragon eyes.

If those eyes could be used to save the world-.

[Interference begins.]

“Shall we make a bet?”

“-A bet?”

“If I win, you join our club.”

“And if I win?”

Manus pondered for a moment.

All the while, his mana moved faithfully, continuously producing new magic.

Overwhelming computational ability.

Unprecedented mana.

Nia realized she had been mistaken.

It wasn’t just fast.

It wasn’t just strong.

Sometimes, she learned, the crudely simple can be the most difficult to deal with.

‘To think it would be this overwhelming even when I’m countering with foreknowledge-.’

“You can ask for anything you want.”

“-Is that really true?”

Manus nodded.

Such an overwhelmingly confident attitude.

She felt the urge to crumble that lofty and beautiful demeanor.

The dragon blood sleeping within Abrel Nia responded.

The catalyst was Manus’s final words.

“It’s not like that will happen anyway.”

She was determined to bring this arrogant junior to his knees.

Nia’s golden eyes shone even more intensely.

–TL Notes–
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