Chapter 87 - Joint Grade Mock Battle (4)

Theodore could not hide his bewilderment. Because Rain's magic power had disappeared for a moment, he could not track Rain's location.

“Damn it…!”

There were two cases where magic power suddenly disappeared. Either the owner of the magic power had vanished, or… they had used magic to block their own magic power.

And if one were to guess which one it was in this situation, it would naturally be the latter.

“Did he block his own magic power…!”

According to Milo's information, Rain Enlight couldn't use magic at all.

‘Did he know how to use magic?’

But, that was incorrect information.

Afterward, Theodore immediately withdrew the magic power of the flame that had formed in his hand. If he shot it now, the agile Rain Enlight would have already escaped the range.

‘If I had shot right away, I would have hit him…!’

Do not miss the moment of movement. That was the basic for a mage when facing a knight.

Theodore had actually been very wary of Rain's movements.

But Theodore was flustered by the disappearance of Rain's magic power.

And in the battlefield, that one moment of bewilderment was bound to be the culprit that made one miss a golden opportunity.

Theodore sorted out his thoughts in that urgent situation.

Rain Enlight was currently unmarked.

Therefore, the base was currently defenseless.

The allies were engaged with the enemy.

Thus, it was estimated that even if the allies won, it would take a considerable amount of time to capture the enemy's flag.

In such a situation, Rain Enlight had disappeared. Then where would he head?

It was a question even an elementary school student could answer.

‘……It takes time to acquire the flag, so I can catch up.’

The rule that one must be in contact with the flag for 1 minute to acquire it. That would hold Rain Enlight back.

It was true that Theodore was relatively slow because he was a mage, but…….

“I have to do something.”

Theodore muttered so and enhanced his own physical abilities.

With that, he should be able to achieve a speed of about C- grade.

If he went quickly from now on, he would be able to just barely block Rain Enlight, who had just captured the flag.

Tatatatak-!

Theodore, who had sorted out his thoughts in that short time, started running down the canyon to return to the base.

And, that meant that Theodore had been perfectly baited by Rain.

***

I had known for a while that it was possible to specify the enemy's location through magic power in this world.

In fact, in the original , the scouts who identified the enemy's location had mostly learned such techniques. Though that also required talent.

And in my case, the risk was considerably high if my position was discovered in battle.

‘It’s because I have a body like glass.’

In other words, I was vulnerable to being sniped or having magic spread over a wide area.

Of course, I could try to manage with the Knight Robe that Regina gave me, but that was just insurance when it came to a high-level fight.

Because of this, I had taken out one insurance policy in case I was tracked by magic power.

And that insurance was the magic, 『Magic Dampening』.

I used that 『Magic Dampening』 to block my own magic power from leaking outside.

‘When I asked Acaite, he said that actual knights also use it a lot.’

During the previous study period, I had learned a total of two types of magic from Arien.

Arcane magic, and abjuration magic.

And magic dampening belonged to one of them, abjuration magic.

You might think, what kind of abjuration magic is this, but… the reason was that it operated on the same mechanism as general abjuration magic.

If general abjuration magic was to block the magic power exerted on me from the outside, then magic dampening was to block the magic power extending from me to the outside.

In short, it was a difference in direction.

Thud-!

After erasing my own magic power with 『Magic Dampening』, I quickly ran across the mountain path.

‘Theodore, he didn’t shoot right away. He seems flustered.’

Milo had information about me so far, and he must have passed it on to his team.

And among that information, there must have been the fact that I couldn't use magic, that I was a so-called magic eunuch.

That's why Theodore wouldn't have even expected that I would use magic.

‘Having information turned out to be poison.’

If there had been no prior information, Theodore would not have closed off the possibility that I could use magic.

He would have also kept open the possibility that I could use 『Magic Dampening』, so he wouldn't have been surprised even if I suddenly disappeared.

I would have become a well-done piece of meat by his magic.

But, the result was as you see now.

Taat-!

I ran without stopping. Because I had a clear destination.

And that destination was not the enemy's base.

***

The battle on the mountain path was clearly turning to Team A's disadvantage.

“Ughhhh……”

Shasha, who had escaped the carpet bombing that had been raining down through the enemy's magic for a moment, let out a groan.

Of course, there was no actual pain, but she couldn't help the throbbing in her head.

“The remaining people are…… me, and the team leader……”

That was the number of people she had seen at the last moment. Of the five people who were defending the mountain path, a whopping three had been eliminated.

In contrast, only one person from the enemy had fallen. That was the result of the lure tactic that the team leader, Dejan, had come up with.

“Why couldn’t I refute that nonsense……”

Clutching her head, Shasha muttered so.

Shasha showed weakness in practical skills, but she had achieved rather prominent results on the written part.

And from Shasha's point of view, the strategy that her team's leader—Dejan—had come up with was clearly trash.

It was only right to refute that this was not right, but at that time, Shasha's mouth just wouldn't open.

And the reason for that was in Shasha's disposition.

To people she was close to, Shasha showed a lively and peerless side, a so-called Amazonian figure… but she had no skill in dealing with people she found awkward.

That's why she couldn't actively say anything to Dejan, who was a type that clearly wouldn't listen.

‘Yuna's friend… I should have added a few more words to what Rain was saying…!’

Of course, even looking back, it didn't seem like Dejan would have bent his stubbornness.

“Aargh……”

I could feel it. The exam was already ruined.

It was truly a tactical defeat. The opponent's tactics weren't particularly good either, but it was nothing short of self-destruction.

Shasha slyly turned her head and looked towards the center of the mountain path.

“Oh my god!”

Flash-!

The last remaining mountain path defense team. The sound of Dejan being eliminated with a scream so awkward it could be believed to be an act was heard.

“We're screwed……”

Yes. This joint grade mock battle was ruined.

“This is too easy.”

On the other hand, a triumphant smile bloomed on Milo's face.

Because everything was flowing as expected.

First, the tactics worked very effectively. Thanks to the enemy's team leader, Dejan, groveling on his own, they were able to achieve the result of eliminating four enemies with only one mage as a casualty on their side.

Team B was composed of those who were all under Milo's influence through the manipulation of the match-up, so Milo, who received all sorts of support, had the highest number of enemy kills.

Thanks to that, he couldn't help but get excited.

“As expected of Mr. Milo, the enemy can't do anything!”

And, next to him was a lackey who was rattling on with flattery.

He was on the verge of his nose rising so high it was about to ascend to the heavens.

Considering the cold gazes from his surroundings recently, the poor treatment from the Crown Prince and Felix…….

‘This is normal, this is normal…!’

The feeling of reality, which had been twisted after the duel with that damn bastard, returning to normal.

Milo was fully enjoying that sensation.

“We didn't catch one of them, but… let's go and take the flag like this.”

Theodore must have taken care of that annoying Rain Enlight, so now there was nothing in his way.

All that was left was to proudly seize victory.

It should have been like that.

Trudge.

A footstep was heard in Milo's ear, who was soaked in the feeling of victory.

Milo's lackeys must have heard the same sound.

“……What?”

Milo made a sound as if he was doubting his own ears and looked in that direction.

No one should be coming out from that direction.

It had to be that way.

It had to be, but…….

“Rain…… Enlight……!”

From where Milo was looking, a boy was walking out confidently. Drawing his sword as if showing his full fighting spirit.

Screech-

An impression that was gloomy and sickly-looking. A pale complexion that looked like it would collapse at any moment.

That was the image of Rain that Milo remembered. In other words, it hadn't changed from his middle school days.

Milo enjoyed trampling on the owner of that face that looked like it would break at any moment.

The sight of him crawling up tenaciously, as if not giving up, was also a form of entertainment.

A flea that didn't know its place and ran wild. That was Rain Enlight.

However, there was one thing that had changed from middle school.

That was, the story about his eyes.

Eyes that went beyond the obsession of never losing sight of the goal, and even blazed with madness.

They were the eyes of someone who had crossed the line of death countless times.

Milo remembered those eyes.

And, he also remembered the result after recognizing those eyes.

The entrance examination.

Milo had no choice but to recall that nightmare again.

Because what he had experienced at that time was overlapping with his current appearance.

“No way……”

It was an absurd situation. Theodore's magic-sensing ability was at the top level in the academy.

He had shaken off Theodore's pursuit and come this far? There was no joke like that. It was in the realm of impossibility in the first place.

It didn't seem like he had defeated Theodore either. Because he was in a perfectly fine state without any damage.

If Milo had been a little smarter, he might have been able to reconsider the possibility of 『Magic Dampening』, but… unfortunately, Milo was not that smart.

That was Milo's limit.

“How did you get here…!”

Clink.

Ignoring Milo's shout, Rain raised his sword and took a stance.

Gulp.

At the sound of swallowing dry saliva, Milo looked back at his companions, his lackeys.

“……”

“……”

They were all looking at Rain with a tense expression.

How much had his exploits spread throughout the academy until now. It was no wonder they were scared.

“You pathetic fools… He’s just one person, don't get scared from the start!!”

“Yes, yes!!”

As Milo shouted as if nagging, only then did each of the lackeys raise their weapons and aim at Rain.

“……”

A moment of silence flowed between the two groups.

And.

“Attack!!”

It was truly a typical shout from Milo, announcing the start of the battle.

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