<453 - Surprise Appearance>
The disciples of the Yellow Magic Tower couldn’t bring themselves to criticize Sis, who had been utterly crushed.
“Bad luck. Who would’ve thought a first year could be stronger than second years?”
“That short height might actually be hiding 30 cm from bending his knees. If we’re talking about the monsters of the Academy, it fits the bill!”
Instead of criticism, they poured out support!
Sis bowed his head like a ripe ear of rice.
“Cough. I’m sorry, everyone. To go out as the vanguard and get humiliated like this. Please take revenge on my behalf.”
Since experiencing the harshness of light magic, they too were no longer complacent.
Thanks to that, the second-year seniors who went out one after the other chose their most confident magic, and a fierce contest ensued, with wins and losses evenly matched.
Seeing that, I became curious.
“Bigstone-senpai, why are the second years so strong?”
The Class 980 isn’t usually this strong!
To be honest, I thought everyone except Titosso and me would struggle, but they’re doing surprisingly well.
“Is that something you should say? It’s all because of you!”
“Me?”
“Because of the juniors catching seniors, the reputation of Class 980 has been dragged through the mud, and the upperclassmen have been grilling the kids so hard that they’re practicing on their days off.”
“Oh.”
“Some kids are training harder than when Class 980 split in half and fought more than a year ago… Ah, let’s leave that out.”
“I won’t mention the time the Class 980 split in half and fought!”
“…Hah. Can I really trust you?”
As we lamented, other seniors finished their challenges, leaving only us two.
“Oh dear? We were losing!”
Students vs. Elders’ Council disciples.
The score was 16 vs. 17.
We were down by one point.
“Do you want to go first, or should I?”
“You go first. If I go out and lose, I might cry out of self-loathing.”
“If I win and make it 17 to 17, won’t I be even more nervous?”
“If I lose, then whether I win or lose, defeat is already certain, so I can take the test with my mind at ease.”
“Ugh, that’s unfair, senpai!”
Bigstone-senpai just chuckled without acknowledging it.
Despite being a second-year, he was quite strong, and it didn’t bother me that I assigned him the last turn.
I stepped forward without burden. Among the five disciples who hadn’t been chosen yet, one stood out as interesting.
This person had a significantly greater amount of mana than others and was clearly much more skilled.
“Hmm?”
At first, I thought I must have seen wrong.
But the more I looked, the more I was reminded of someone I knew.
“Astarot?”
“…Do you know me?”
Among the disciples of the Elders’ Council, he was the one most deeply hidden beneath his robe.
He seemed to be trying to hide himself as much as possible in a corner, not wanting to reveal his presence, but paradoxically that demeanor reminded me of a certain character.
“0-Tier Male! Generation of War! Wow!”
Represented by Ishtar, the Generation of Peace.
A person standing for the generation of war, the exact opposite like the two sides of a coin.
He was Astarot.
After Ishtar’s death and the end of the Generation of Peace, he was to appear as the ‘Candidate Warrior’ to inherit the title of Warrior.
“I wish you would not pay me any more attention.”
“That’s problematic. If the elders force Astarot to fight Bigstone-senpai, it would guarantee a loss. Astarot absolutely has to face me!”
The signs of Astarot’s discomfort became clearly visible.
Could he have correctly perceived the elders’ true intentions? I could feel the tension of the elders too.
It was understandable.
Being a member of the Generation of War meant a secret weapon for each organization.
It indicated that he was a decisive weapon that the Yellow Magic Tower had been secretly cultivating.
The elders’ plan to boost their pride by bringing out that weapon was now drastically thwarted.
“Let me tell you in advance. I am strong. You would only suffer embarrassment if you rashly come at me.”
“I know!”
“…Knowing my name already hinted at something unusual. If that’s the case, you must know better. There’s no need for you to play the losing role.”
As a Candidate Warrior, his confidence was exceptional.
He was convinced he’d win, no matter who he faced.
However, the time and place, everything was against him.
“Still, I’ll challenge you! Astarot can’t possibly win against me with the magic I know!”
I confidently proposed the duel magic without hiding my overflowing confidence.
“Our magical knowledge judgment will use Water Generation Magic!”
“…Did you think that a magician from the Yellow Magic Tower, who handles Earth Magic, would be weak against Water Magic? You think well.”
Unlike Ishtar, Astarot candidly praised his opponent. Yet, his confidence was no less than mine.
“However, I regret it. Let me reveal one good thing.”
“What is it?”
“I can handle all properties of magic. I’ve gathered all the knowledge required for magic activation while staying at the tower for a long time.”
In terms of knowledge judgment, there was none to rival Astarot.
That was the man he was.
“Target settings are completed. We will now measure the power of the magic using Water Generation. Please place your hand on the Mana Board. The countdown starts now. 3, 2, 1, 0!”
Titosso’s light magic can swallow weaker lights with a brighter light.
Water magic isn’t different.
Stronger water can engulf weaker water.
If I twist the spell and connect it, the [Water Generation] magic could develop into [Water Bomb] or [Whirlpool]!
Of course, the process of forcibly stretching a 1st-tier magic to turn it into a higher-tier magic is complicated and bothersome.
The amount of knowledge required increases, and the mana and time required to activate high-level magic using compressed formulas and spells are all cumbersome.
[Water Generation]
[Anomaly - Water Bomb]
At the moment Astarot’s Water Generation magic generated a single droplet on the Mana Board, the second-year seniors could not hold back their laughter.
“Just one?”
“If Oknodie wouldn’t have jumped in, we could have.”
“Didn’t that guy just brag quite a bit? Saying he could handle all properties?”
Pffft.
“Such a humiliation…”
While the seniors were laughing hard, unexpectedly, a loud noise erupted as the small water droplet shot forward.
The hole pierced in the target made it easy for anyone to imagine what would happen if it hit a person.
“Gah!”
The disciples of the Elders’ Council were shocked to the point that Titosso, who had been watching from behind the second years, gasped.
As the many water droplets began to gather, not just a single one but dozens, hundreds, the expressions of the seniors darkened dramatically.
“If all those are released, it’s guaranteed victory!”
“What’s Oknodie doing?”
Astarot looked over the solidly bundled robe.
Are you just going to gawk after provoking so much?
Of course, he couldn’t just stand by.
“Hehe. Just because I go first doesn’t guarantee I’ll win.”
[Water Generation]
[Grant - Dark Mana]
[Anomaly - Corruption]
The Water Generation magic I created was ejected through the Mana Board, delivering a ton of black droplets.
The droplets floated lazily toward Astarot’s Mana Board.
“What are those slow-moving droplets?”
“I heard he’s a first-year.”
“Is that the top student? The Gift Academy isn’t anything special. I could do that much.”
“By the way, why is the water’s color like that?”
The elders’ disciples, who were mocking like the second-year seniors, didn’t notice, but the elders who taught them sensed the power contained in the droplets and all stiffened their expressions.
“Compressing it into a wide rotation.”
“There’s a property grant.”
“Reflective shield detected.”
Upon hearing the elders, even the second-year seniors, who had experienced the Great Sports Day, began to realize the identity of the droplets.
“Hey, hey. Is that what we saw during dodgeball?”
“I think so?”
Four-stage dodgeball Dark Death Ball.
The power derived from property overlapping through [Gathering], which increases as you collect when accumulation increases, is naturally stronger compared to when the collection rate was low before.
Each of those droplets that created those Dark Death Balls carried carefully inscribed spells.
[Water Bomb]
As the droplets, flying slowly, struck against Astarot’s Water Bomb, they absorbed the power of the Water Bomb, changing the properties of the droplets.
Dozens, hundreds of droplets absorbed all of Astarot’s Water Bomb.
I seized everything as ‘mine’ and launched it.
In the opposite direction of the path that Astarot’s Water Bomb was supposed to go.
Towards the disciples of the Elders’ Council instead of the second-year seniors.
“Gahhh!”
“P-please save me!”
“Mommy!!”
The water bombs, bent 90 degrees before crashing into the targets, hit the disciples of the Elders’ Council directly.
Astarot’s eyes trembled violently.
“You surpassed the weight of the karma carried in my magic…?”
Karma. Although expressed differently, if interpreted in a player sense, it would go like this.
“My collection rate isn’t trivial either!”
As you progress through the collection, naturally, the function called [Gathering] increases.
The power of gathering wrapped in that is referred to by some as collection, by others as Karma, and others as karma.
Astarot, who had certainly amassed a wealth of magical knowledge, was strong, but he couldn’t win against the overwhelming collection effects.
In other words.
“This is the power of Papa and the Foundation!”
“…Are you saying the achievements of the Wahyhiemhai Foundation surpassed the magical knowledge accrued by the Yellow Magic Tower?”
Astarot’s eyes sparkled with a combative light.
“It was just bad luck for my opponent. Don’t fret, Astarot. It wasn’t the strength of the Yellow Magic Tower that was lacking!”
Despite the elders’ anxious cries, his mind somehow felt detached from the tower and the elders.
