Chapter 203
Erlich harnessed the power of the light spirit Ignis.
A bright light enveloped her, weakening the familiar monsters charging with a sinister aura of darkness.
—Krawk!
With some familiars pushed back, a monster broke through the center.
It was a strange familiar, appearing to be a mix of several creatures, attacking with ferocity.
Fortunately, the snake that looked like a tail was knocked out by the earth spirit Oriette’s strike.
Erlich raised a shield made of particles of light to block Kry.
Despite her naturally weaker stamina and power, possessing the title spirit of the duke tripled her strength, allowing her to hold her ground.
‘Much stronger than the other familiars…! What is this monster…!’
With a furrowed brow, Erlich barely managed to bounce Kry back with all her mana.
The other familiars were undoubtedly strong, but that chimera familiar was overwhelming.
She had to deal with it first.
Swang, cha-zhak—!
Erlich created a bow of light and began to shoot in rapid succession.
As beams of light poured down like rain, Kry swiftly dodged to evade.
However, despite the possibility of easily avoiding it, an arrow struck Kry’s one remaining eye and front legs. It was a result of the arrow’s path randomly changing during his evasive maneuvers.
—Grurrr…..
Kry, having suffered hits to his eye and front legs, growled in frustration, realizing he shouldn’t approach the opponent recklessly and took a moment to maintain distance while gauging for openings.
This time was equally beneficial for Erlich.
‘He can’t actively participate in the battle while leaving the familiars to fend for themselves.’
Erlich observed Vargan, standing a distance away and leaning heavily on his staff.
Of course, just the familiars themselves were already sufficiently threatening.
With most of his familiars possessing dark attributes alongside the dark spirit Arcane, the situation was gradually turning favorable for her, now that she was possessed by the light spirit.
If things continued this way, victory would eventually swing in her favor.
‘His inability to take part in the fight means, as expected, that his eyesight is indeed bad. …I feel bad saying this, but if he hadn’t gone blind, I would have definitely lost by now.’
Erlich, with a rich imagination, assessed the situation rather objectively.
Having decided that it was only right to fight with her full strength, she had no intention of holding back.
But even against Erlich’s full power, his familiars were holding their own, if not exceeding expectations.
That spoke volumes about their loyalty and strength towards their master.
It showed just how much he cared for and educated his familiars.
—Hang in there, Erlich!
—You’re doing great! Erlich is awesome!
—Erlich! Erlich!
Sounds of fervent support echoed from the Audience Seats of Rikeion.
As the situation began to unfold favorably, the cheers grew louder.
It grew even larger.
She maintained quite a good reputation within Rikeion. With low self-esteem and constant worries, she was unaware that many people were cheering for Erlich.
“Everyone… for someone like me! Well, I guess it’s not really for me but for Rikeion’s victory, but still, thank you…!”
Erlich felt an overwhelming sense of joy, and her emotions soon influenced the light spirit possessing her.
The intensity of the light surged.
The concentration of mana thickened.
The will embedded in Erlich’s eyes grew stronger.
Filled with light, her eyes sparkled, and at the end of her gaze stood Vargan, blindfolded with a black band.
Tap.
He was simply standing still.
Since the match began, he hadn’t shown much reaction, only occasionally tapping the ground with his staff.
Tap.
From the ground he tapped, faint ripples of mana spread out.
His actions, meant to assess the ever-changing situation, appeared calm and relaxed, but inside, he must have been quite anxious.
After all, he was a proud nobleman who had lost his sight to an unjust accident, so he couldn’t afford to show any signs of weakness in front of others.
“It’s a bit sad… but since I’ve decided to give it my all….”
Erlich summoned her mana.
To show the maximum power she could muster.
It wasn’t a unique spell, but it would be a massive blow that could serve as its foundation.
To protect his pride and think of the students cheering for Rikeion.
Erlich decided to reveal everything she had.
…But then.
“…?”
Erlich narrowed her eyes at the sight of Vargan’s lips moving.
One corner of his mouth lifted slightly, as if he were saying something.
‘What is he saying?’
Perhaps the noise around her was too loud or the distance too great.
Erlich was drawn to his subtle movement as if she couldn’t help it.
She enhanced her vision to focus on his words.
And finally grasping the meaning.
—Look behind you, Erlich.
“…!”
A cold shiver ran down her spine, and she hastily turned around.
However, there was nothing behind her.
She was pressed so close to the wall that just a few more steps back would take her out of the arena.
No, before that, she hadn’t sensed anything at all, and the spirits had remained still, so there couldn’t possibly be anything. …Wait, does that mean…?!
As the chills returned, Erlich pivoted back and unleashed a certain amount of light magic.
Boom—!
‘His actions were a bait to deceive me. His true intention was to close the distance while I looked back!’
Erlich was quite the intelligent woman.
Although occasionally her thoughts strayed into delusions, especially in urgent situations, her mind would become rational.
As the intense light she unleashed gradually receded, the phenomena before her started to clarify.
The light, possessing physical power, was like a laser cannon.
Unintentionally, it severely damaged the familiars that were lined up in a straight line.
‘Vargan… where is he?’
Not seeing him, Erlich quickly tracked his mana.
‘He disappeared without a trace…? No way… that can’t be. Where on earth……!’
—Foolish girl. I told you to look behind.
A slender and beautiful, but seemingly weary hand from a man reached out from behind.
That delicate hand extended from the back, trying to cover Erlich’s eyes.
Her vision gradually darkened as her cells sounded an alarm.
‘I must break free.’
She didn’t know why.
However, Erlich instinctively realized he was trying to cast curse magic and unleashed a light spell containing a cure.
She unleashed it.
Erlich, who had been gathering mana for a decisive blow.
She poured all her mana into comprehension, purification, and physical force, exploding the fierce power around her in all directions.
…Tick tock.
Then, a very brief gap.
Time began to flow slowly, requiring it to be split into tiny pieces to even resemble a second.
The beam of light gradually spread out, and Erlich, already turned away, locked eyes with Vargan standing behind her.
In this world that felt as though it had come to a standstill.
In such a world, Vargan’s mouth moved freely.
“Indeed, the metric of ‘luck’ is utterly troublesome. The ability to elevate impossible probabilities to reality. The power of the Saint is a miracle, but I believe this, rather, aligns more with the name ‘miracle.’”
The nobleman wearing a black eye patch.
His cool yet somehow enchanting voice resonated in Erlich’s ear.
Even in this slowly flowing place, her mind worked properly, and she understood his words.
“Seeing that even with a tremendous difference in total mana, the gap can be bridged this much is truly impressive. I was rather taken aback, to an almost absurd degree.”
His lips curled in a haughty smile.
Though he claimed to be surprised, his essence of looking down on others remained unchanged.
“Erlich. Even if it was by chance, you instinctively invoked comprehension and purification magic. And that was an exceedingly fitting judgment. Yes, even if it was by chance.”
Vargan presented her with the curse magic of the rank of comprehension.
Erlich instinctively initiated a plan to break it.
This was a force that could not be dismissed as mere luck or coincidence.
Unpredictable variables.
Mysteries that elevate extreme probabilities.
“But, Erlich. I want to ask you.”
Tap.
Suddenly, the sound of his staff reached Erlich.
Tap. Tap.
The faint mana that spread out like falling droplets.
It was clearly an act meant to obscure her vision.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Hearing that sound made everything finally click into place.
As a faint quiver of light caught in Erlich’s eyes, Vargan smiled broadly.
Giving someone a problem and observing their reaction upon solving it was quite an enjoyable pastime.
He asked.
“How many curses do you think I have cast?”
She knew the answer.
To be precise, she had come to know it.
But she couldn’t say it.
At this moment, only he was free from the shackles of time.
Her lips simply wouldn’t move.
“That’s the origin of your defeat.”
Erlich’s answer drew a big red X.
Erlich.
If this girl, born with a blessing, had the power to maximize even the slightest probability.
Then, overlapping curses would drag that probability down to the utmost severity.
For example, if she changed a regular multiple-choice question with 5 options, where only 1 is correct, into a special one with 4 options being correct.
The probability of guessing the correct answer would be 80%.
Regardless of the problem, she would find the answer with a remarkable 80% probability.
But what if that were not a single question but a test composed of multiple questions?
The chance of getting the second question right drops to 64%.
By the third question, it’s down to 51.2%.
By the fourth question, it falls to 40.096%.
…….
In the end, the converging value is ‘0’.
Vargan was able to repeatedly cast curse magic due to his abundant mana, and the blessed girl ultimately found herself in an environment where she was bound to be cursed.
Though the story might change if she reached the level of finding the answer on her own, the clear difference between the two meant that Erlich was not Vargan’s natural enemy.
If we reach the end, the story might change, but in the current situation where the difference between the two is clear, Erlich is not Vargan’s natural enemy.
Rather, Vargan is, in fact, Erlich’s nemesis.
* * *
“N-no… please, save me…”
Erlich lay in bed in the infirmary, having a nightmare. Her face was pale, and her tightly shut eyes looked tortured.
Next to her, Vargan approached her with an air of annoyance.
Even after the match ended with Vargan’s victory, Erlich struggled to break free from the curse magic, which led the owner of the curse to come and resolve it directly at the request of the medical staff.
Vargan brushed her bangs aside, revealing her forehead.
Watching this, Alicia flinched without realizing it, and Vargan mercilessly slapped her.
Smack—!
As the sharp sound echoed with Mana, surprisingly, Erlich’s complexion began to improve rapidly.
Though her red forehead slowly swelled, Vargan seemed indifferent as he turned to the medical staff.
“Is it done?”
“W-wait a moment, please. Let me see… yes, yes… the traces of the curse are completely gone.”
“Good.”
Vargan promptly turned and exited the infirmary.
Erica and Alicia followed him out.
Click-clack—.
Since Erica had forfeited, she had no scheduled matches, and Alicia had not yet faced the 32nd round, so there was still time to spare.
This afternoon, the 16th round.
Tomorrow morning, the 8th round at 25, and the 4th round in the afternoon. Finally, the last championship match is scheduled for the evening.
With the matches being held in very close intervals, it is important to conserve stamina and Mana or to pass through with minimal damage.
One could understandably think, Isn’t this progressing a bit too fast? But considering the situation, it’s more common not to fight in peak condition during wartime.
This could be seen as deliberate preparation for that.
‘It would be best to check the remaining matches myself.’
Vargan decided to head toward the audience seats.
A moment ago, the announcement for the 32nd round third match had been heard, so there must be a fierce battle raging in the arena now.
The opponent from Academia was Tukum, a Tiger Ethnicity who recently lost to Vargan in the rank match. Although he had been knocked out quickly after getting punched by Vargan, he was a strong competitor who ranked 8th in entrance scores.
It wouldn’t end easily…
—What is happening right now!?
The announcer’s voice resonated through the hallway, and cheers rolled in like waves.
The announcer spoke with an excited tone, as if filled with enthusiasm.
—Academia’s Tukum! He was struck with a lightning-fast blow and fell instantly!
“Oho….”
Vargan pulled out the match sheet from his pocket and handed it to Alicia, finding it interesting.
He expected Tukum to hold out a bit longer, but since it ended so quickly, his interest piqued, he double-checked the opponents.
—He’s not only handsome but strong! Gaba, the Martial Artist from Rikeion! He set a record for the shortest match time ever at just 10 seconds!
“Alicia, name the two participants in the upcoming 32nd round 4th match.”
“Yes, of course. First, about Rikeion…”
The Vice Representative of the first-year students, Martial Artist Gaba.
Having won, he will move up a notch.
So, the next person he will fight according to the match sheet is likely to be…
“From the Academia side, we have Mr. Leon.”
Academia Martial Artist.
A man who lives with passion and a sense of justice.
Ocel Van Teolo Leon.
As fellow Martial Artists, he will face Gaba in the 16th round.
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