The day of the long-awaited Magic Tournament has arrived.
Thanks to the extensive promotion in Greenhilde City, there were quite a few participants.
“Hey, mister~!”
I wasn’t participating, so I was just watching from the back. While I was looking around the preliminaries to see if there were any good contestants, I heard a bright voice. It was Yuria, Kanon, and Lena.
“How did it go?”
“Hehe! I passed!”
Yuria flashed a big smile and made a victory sign with her fingers. Kanon looked indifferent behind her, while Lena still seemed a bit flustered.
“What were your stats?”
“I went first and won them all!”
“Really?”
“S-sorry… I couldn’t show my skills…”
“Nah. By the way, there are a lot of people here, but you’re holding up well?”
“Ugh. I-I mean, I’m trying hard!”
Lena clenched her fist and spoke confidently. It seemed she was trying to show she was putting in effort too. I smiled and nodded at her.
Then it happened.
“Whoaah!!”
“Is that Rowin? Incredible, right?”
“Such amazing magic power…”
The surroundings started buzzing. Rowin. The dark horse of this tournament and a hopeful from the Blue Order. Owner of a sentient artifact and someone who once participated in defeating the Great Demon.
Upon Rowin’s appearance, the crowd turned their attention, fascinated.
“Shall we go take a look?”
“Y-Yes!!”
We all headed toward where Rowin was. In front of us stood a typical noble girl with deep blonde curly hair.
– Whoosh!!
“That’s Rowin’s Magic Arrow.”
“W-Wait, is that?!”
Lena seemed quite surprised. Well, it was understandable. A Magic Arrow is basically shaped like an arrow.
But Rowin’s Magic Arrow was different. With overflowing magic power, she could enhance her Magic Arrows to a point where they were almost as powerful as a ballista.
“If she uses multiple spells at that, it won’t be easy to deal with her.”
That was a correct assessment. As Yuria spoke seriously, a magician who couldn’t block Rowin’s Magic Arrow fell. That brought the competition to a close.
“Rowin really is something.”
“Isn’t she amazing…? It looks like Rowin will win this tournament…”
Everyone was buzzing with excitement. Maybe that’s why Lena’s expression was slightly downcast.
“Huh?! Lee Hyun!!”
At that moment, Rowin, who had just come down from the arena, spotted me and approached. Pushing through the crowd, she stood before me, her determination radiating just like the last time I saw her.
“Oh ho ho ho! How have you been?!”
“Yeah. You too?”
“Oh ho ho! I’ve been doing just great! By the way, I didn’t expect to see you here! Wait, are you here to cheer for me?!”
Sure, right.
I smiled at her, possessing the typical mindset of an aristocrat, and pushed Lena forward.
“I came to cheer for my student.”
“Hiiik.”
“Oh? I didn’t know you had a student! If they’re your student, they must have extraordinary skills, right?”
“Exactly.”
“Oh ho ho! I’m looking forward to it! If we meet in the tournament, I’ll give it my all!!”
Rowin extended her hand for a handshake, and Lena looked a bit intimidated. Right, Rowin was lively, which Lena found daunting.
As Lena fumbled through the handshake and stepped back, Rowin shifted her gaze back to me.
“By the way, I’ve heard from my master! If I win this tournament, Lee Hyun will become the right-hand man of the Crown Prince!”
“That’s right.”
“Oh ho ho! I’m really looking forward to working together! Oh ho ho!”
After a big laugh, Rowin departed with her companions.
Lena sighed heavily as she watched, so I smiled and patted her head.
“Why? Do you think you can’t win?”
“Ugh, uh… umm…”
Indeed. As things stood, Lena facing Rowin would be like a feather against a storm. Rowin was not someone to be taken lightly.
So now, it was time for the master to step up.
“Let’s go back. I’ll teach you a fun technique.”
Once we returned to the inn, I took Lena to an open area. Maybe because I had only brought her and not Yuria or Kanon, she seemed more tense.
“You don’t need to be so nervous. You can definitely master this technique.”
“W-What is it?”
“Magic Overlap.”
I raised one hand.
What appeared on my hand was a simple Magic Arrow.
“Now we’re going to cast another spell on this.”
“Huh? Can that be done?”
“With sufficient magic power and a bit of sense, it’s totally possible. This is something that’s easy for those who can do it, but those who can’t might struggle for a lifetime.”
Anyone who had played Ragnarok for a while would know this technique.
There were characters who could use this.
Simply put, it’s about enhancing a spell by using another spell on top of an already cast spell.
When I entered this world and learned magic, I thought I would try it, and it worked! Thanks to that, I could easily take down many enemies with magic.
“For a standard Magic Arrow…”
– BAM!
The Magic Arrow I shot lodged itself into the ground. The impact created a fist-sized hole, and beside it, I fired the overlapped Magic Arrow.
– BOOM!!
A much larger hole than the initial Magic Arrow was created. Just by overlapping it once, that’s the level of power it achieved.
“If you have talent and sense, you could aim for triple overlaps or more. I myself max out at triple, but you seem like you could pull off quadruple…”
“W-Wait, can I overlap other spells too?”
“Well, it’s not easy, but…”
It works with intermediate magic, but advanced magic is tough to overlap.
In the game, it was possible, but now that it’s reality, it’s quite difficult.
But I believe Lena can do it.
“Ah! I did it!”
Of course, her talent was extraordinary. After just a few tries, she succeeded.
Lena smiled brightly, staring at her hand.
What was on her palm was a Magic Arrow that shone a different light than the typical one.
“The rest is just a matter of practice. Make sure to practice whenever you can.”
“Do you think I can win with this?”
I patted Lena’s head.
“It all depends on how well you do, doesn’t it?”
*
As the finals began, Lena’s party quickly won their matches.
They weren’t as strong as Rowin’s side, but they were still promising contestants.
Just as expected, both Rowin’s and Lena’s sides won their respective matches, eventually leading to their confrontation in the finals.
“I will win for sure!! Yaaah! Yush!!”
Up first was Yuria.
She roared as she stepped onto the arena; her first opponent was a junior magician from the Blue Order.
Although both were junior magicians, unlike the junior mage who could only cast basic spells, Yuria could use multiple spells and the Shadow Spear.
Was it because of that? The junior magician could not withstand Yuria’s barrage of Magic Arrows and quickly retired.
“Yaaah!! Next!!”
Next was a proper junior magician from the Blue Order, one who could use multiple spells and Shadow Spear.
“Screaaah!”
To cut to the chase, Yuria lost. But she managed to drain quite a bit of the opponent’s magic, so she did her best.
Next up was Kanon.
Kanon also did her part, defeating her opponent.
“Oh ho ho! I’ll put up a proper fight!!”
As Rowin stepped onto the arena, cheers erupted.
Receiving the crowd’s cheers in a noble manner, Rowin immediately created ten Magic Arrows that were as powerful as ballista arrows.
Wow. She’s coming out strong right from the start.
Rowin can make up to ten Magic Arrows with multiple spells.
Isn’t it said that even lions put in their all when catching a rabbit?
No matter who the opponent is, not letting her guard down is her greatest strength.
“Yikes!”
In the end, Kanon couldn’t hold on and fell. Leaving just one person left on each side.
Lena stepped onto the arena with a hesitant expression.
*
I’m so nervous.
The weight of countless gazes felt heavy on my body.
But more than that, what scares me is the thought of what happens if I lose.
If I lose, I’ll have to do something my master doesn’t want.
‘I don’t want that…!!’
“Oh ho ho ho ho! If you win, Lee Hyun will become our Crown Prince’s right-hand man!! Oh ho ho ho!”
“If that happens, I…”
“Under the Crown Prince, Lee Hyun will have to perform many duties! You seem talented, so you might end up studying under my master…”
“Haaah!!”
That conversation was over.
Lena raised both hands. At that moment, Magic Arrows began to form.
As the number of Magic Arrows exponentially increased, reaching over a hundred, Rowin broke out in a cold sweat.
“W-Wait, what is this?!”
“N-No way!!”
There was no dodging the barrage of over a hundred Magic Arrows.
Rowin barely withstood the countless arrows with her defense magic, feeling her hands tremble.
‘What incredible talent! But… I can’t lose!’
Rowin created her signature enhanced Magic Arrow.
Stronger and larger than usual.
The magic arrows created now were as massive as pillars.
“Take this!!”
There was no way to dodge the incoming massive Magic Arrow.
Of course, it would have the homing function that Rowin was known for.
The only way to respond was through the overlap I learned from Lee Hyun.
‘I have to focus.’
If I fail, I’ll have to do what my master doesn’t want me to.
That’s the last thing I want.
I don’t want to see Lee Hyun become unhappy because of me.
With determination, Lena raised her hand.
– Hummm! Hummm! Hummm!
Once, twice.
And then three times.
Despite the splitting headache, Lena did not stop.
Triple overlap.
As the Magic Arrows began to radiate a dazzling array of colors, the mages in the arena gasped in awe.
“M-Magic!!”
“The headmasters of the Ivory Tower max out at triple overlaps?!”
For a mere junior magician to perform a multi-spell cast with over a hundred Magic Arrows is already shocking.
Now add the fact that she was using a double overlap; we could indeed call her a genius of the century.
But no, this was a triple overlap.
This situation couldn’t simply be described as a genius level.
“Who on earth is that?!”
The triple-overlapped Magic Arrow obliterated the pillar-sized Magic Arrow and flew towards Rowin.
Unable to withstand the power, Rowin collapsed to the ground, knocked out, while Lena wiped the blood flowing from her nose.
“M-Master! I did it!!”
With all her might, she shouted, her face beaming with a bright smile.
At that moment, a man observed her keenly.
“The legacy of the Dark Church has grown this strong… There’s sufficient value for her to become Asura’s vanguard.”
Muttering softly, the man stood up and turned away.
Hoping to meet again someday.
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