Chapter 91 - All on the Palm of My Hand

Shk, shk-

Pleta jotted down her thoughts in the evaluation report, then glanced in Hugo’s direction.

“……”

Hugo, who had been chattering away as if he had a motor in his mouth when Team B was doing well earlier, now had a considerably stiff expression. His complexion didn't look too good either.

“Ahem, still, it's not over yet. There's one person left, isn't there?”

“Ah, you mean the cadet named Milo. The B-seed……”

Even making a statement that blatantly favored Team B. It was perfect.

Pleta sighed inwardly and looked at the screen. Well, that may be true, but the match seems all but over... she thought.

However.

“……!”

What she saw on the screen made her think that maybe, just maybe, Team B still had a chance to win.

And Hugo, after peering at the screen…….

“A-ahem! I'm just going to use the restroom for a moment……!”

he suddenly exclaimed.

“Right…… now?”

Pleta asked, her tone dripping with bewilderment. It was, truly, a common-sense question.

The examination was ongoing, and the outcome was about to be decided. At a time like this?

“It's just a bit of an emergency……!”

“No, wait……”

Pleta tried to stop Hugo, but she was powerless to prevent him from hastily leaving the observation room.

‘What in the world…….’

And so, only the utterly dumbfounded Pleta remained in the observation room.

Meanwhile.

“That idiot…… he couldn't win?”

Milo, who had been hiding his body near the base, muttered as he watched the fight between Theodore and Rain.

His intention in hiding was nothing special. It was to watch the battle unfold and, if the opportunity arose, launch a surprise attack on Rain.

But…… the battle had ended in a rather absurd way.

‘He dragged it out, then stupidly got shot and lost? That moron……!’

At least, that’s what Milo thought.

It was the result of not understanding Theodore's intention to erase Rain's hiding spots while counting his bullets, nor Rain's intention to use a remaining-bullet trick.

However, this outcome wasn't entirely bad.

The flames that Theodore had spewed out in his final struggle had inflicted considerable damage on Rain.

“If it’s now……”

Milo slowly concealed himself, gradually approaching Rain.

If he was in a state where he couldn't even move properly after being hit by Theodore's flames, a surprise attack could surely take him down. That was his judgment.

In reality, Rain Enlight’s durability was nothing to write home about.

“……”

Holding his breath, Milo slowly closed in on Rain.

Tap.

“Take this—!!”

And, at that moment, as he approached Rain from behind and was about to bring his sword down.

Something absurd happened.

Tung!

Milo’s descending sword was, on the contrary, sent flying back.

By the protection magic, 『Barrier』, that had been cast on Rain to match Milo's attack timing.

“What…… is this……!”

***

Before heading to Team B's base, I had asked Shasha for a favor.

“When you think I’m in real danger, please cast a barrier on me.”

Well, it was a simple insurance policy.

I remembered from the original that the character Shasha specialized in support-type magic, so I thought she could certainly serve as an insurance policy. With that in mind.

And that insurance policy worked effectively.

Tung-!

The sound of something being repelled as the barrier activated.

My body was battered from Theodore's counterattack, but I mustered all my strength and got up.

Then, I slowly turned my gaze.

“You bastard……”

Just as I expected, there stood the last remaining member of Team B, Milo Gloss.

As a result of sacrificing his minions in the previous battle, Milo was in a relatively intact state.

Well, it was because he had fled whenever things looked dangerous.

“Tsk.”

I clicked my tongue lightly and raised my sword.

Seeing me like that, Milo opened his mouth.

“What do you think you can do in that battered state……”

Battered.

Well, it wasn't wrong. Thanks to this paper-thin durability, I had taken a big hit even from Theodore's incomplete magic.

However.

“This state is more than enough to subdue you.”

I responded calmly.

“……”

Milo looked quite displeased by my words, but he didn't rush forward first.

Sensing that Milo was trying to stall for time, I charged at him first and swung my sword.

Kang-!

“Keuk!”

And just as expected. Milo didn't counterattack, instead focusing solely on defense.

‘As I thought.’

It might seem like a hard-to-understand scene from a general perspective, but for me, it wasn't surprising.

Well, it was because he was waiting for something.

Something that would surely happen if he just stalled for time, and if it happened, it would guarantee victory.

How did I know that?

It was simple. It was a development that had also appeared in the original .

***

Before the Joint Grade Mock Battle began, Milo handed an object to Hugo.

“Is this…… a seal?”

As Hugo said, what Milo handed over was a seal with a rather antique appearance.

“It’s an artifact, Professor. A piece I bought for a pretty penny at an auction.”

Milo recalled secretly taking this artifact from his mansion’s warehouse.

Whether it was taking it out or handing it over to Hugo like this now, if he got caught, it wouldn't be a matter he could just brush aside…… but to Milo, something was more important than that.

“An artifact, you say……?”

“Well, just listen.”

With a swaggering tone, Milo recited the artifact’s effect.

“The artifact's name is 『Brand of Panic』. And its effect is…… to launch a mental attack on a person who is directly branded or possesses an item with the brand on it. It activates when you channel magic into it.”

“B-but why are you giving this to me……”

“I won’t beat around the bush. You know the bracelet we wear when going to the Otherworld? Stamp it on the one Rain Enlight will wear.”

“What……?”

“And at the crucial moment, just channel your magic into that bracelet.”

“Uh, umm……”

At those words, Hugo couldn't help but show his reluctance.

And for good reason; just manipulating the match-ups to Milo's liking was a huge risk. He'd probably be fired on the spot if the academy's academic affairs found out.

However, what Milo was asking for this time was even more serious.

He said to just channel magic into it, but it was practically the same as attacking a cadet during an examination.

If this got discovered? It wouldn't end with just being fired. He would probably have to be prepared for some jail time.

However.

“Hmm, well, if you don't want to, you don't have to.”

“No, no! Of course not!”

Hugo had no right to refuse.

He had already taken the risk of cheating, so refusing this request and getting on Milo's bad side?

Then Hugo would have nothing to gain. He would have cheated for nothing and lost his connection to Milo.

That was the worst-case scenario Hugo could face.

“Ugh……”

Hugo left the examination hall and headed toward an empty examination hall nearby.

It was to use the 『Brand of Panic』 out of people’s sight.

“To think I got mixed up in something like this……”

Grumbling like that, Hugo activated the 『Brand of Panic』.

And, just as he was about to return to the observation room.

Creeak-

The door to the empty examination hall where Hugo was, opened.

Even though there was no way anyone should have been able to enter here.

***

The situation I was in was similar to the one Yuna or Khan faced in the original .

When playing as Yuna or Khan, the main character would confront Milo, and the one who was repeatedly defeated in the process was Milo.

As a result, Milo developed all sorts of inferiority complexes and hatred towards the main character…… and those feelings would explode in a certain event.

And that point in time was the same one I was in now.

The Joint Grade Mock Battle.

Milo committed all sorts of fraudulent acts in the Joint Grade Mock Battle.

Like bribing an academy professor, Hugo, to manipulate the match-ups with the intention of crushing the protagonist, or filling his own team to his liking.

And using an artifact to weaken the protagonist during the match.

Of course, none of it worked, and Milo ended up losing to the protagonist, getting caught for cheating, and being expelled from the academy along with Hugo.

When I saw that my opponent for the Joint Grade Mock Battle was decided to be Milo, I couldn't help but recall this.

‘Could this be a coincidence?’

Well, Theodore appearing was different from the original, but it was still a suspicious situation.

Because of this, I had made a request to Regina.

-……I need information on the proctor for this examination.

In the original work, the professor who conspired with Milo was Hugo.

If the proctor for this examination was Hugo, there was a high probability that things would follow the original story…….

And indeed, the proctor was Hugo.

Seeing that information from Regina, I was certain.

‘It’s exactly like the development in .’

The current situation was exactly what Milo had plotted in the original work.

The only thing that had changed was that the target was me.

Chaeng-!

As mentioned before, Milo was consistently on the defensive. As if waiting for something.

‘His intentions are so transparent.’

The Milo of the original work uses an artifact called 『Brand of Panic』 to weaken the player.

It was an artifact that was activated by roughly stamping a brand and then channeling magic into the brand itself.

‘The setting was that it inflicted a mental attack…… In the original, I fought Milo in a weakened state because of it.’

And now, the same development as the original was unfolding. The only difference was that the target had changed to me.

Then wouldn't the means of cheating to interfere with the examination be exactly the same?

I had predicted as much and was playing along with Milo's tune.

Even though I could finish him at any moment if I put my mind to it.

It meant that I was deliberately not finishing him off and waiting for Hugo to activate the artifact.

I had to do that so Regina could catch the evidence of that cheating herself.

One might wonder.

If the artifact activates, I might really lose, so isn't it better to end it quickly?

However, I had something I believed in.

As I exchanged blows with Milo, matching his pace, a window that appeared before my eyes proved that belief.

[ System: Skill, 『Iron Will[A]』, mitigates the effect of the mental attack! ]

A mental attack, you say.

I was truly grateful.

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