Chapter 2 Part 4
On the stage stood a lovely girl with silver hair.
With her hair in a ponytail, she seems to be more elegant compared to the other examinees.
But for some reason, the girl also seems to be in a bad mood. With her arms crossed, she is giving me a sharp look.
“Examinee number 99…so it’s you. The genius who managed to hit all ten Mud Dolls with magic”
The girl started talking before I could.
“Well, that’s right. You got a problem with that?”
“Yes, I do. In fact…I was planning to be at the top of this magic academy entrance examination and graduate with me being the valedictorian of the class. But then you showed up and became a potential obstacle to that goal of mine. If that obstacle is right in front of me, wouldn’t I want to complain about a thing or two as well?”
Looks like she has a grudge against me.
While I was dumbfounded, I could hear faint whispers from the surroundings of the stage.
“Hey, isn’t that Marise Sizenosna?”
“Did you know? I heard that she hit a Mud Doll with a single shot of magic, and even manage to deal damage to it”
“The Sizenosna is a distinguished family known for their magic, so I think that it’s only natural for her to achieve such a feat”
“She really lives up to her family name, huh?”
Apparently the girl in front of me is called Marise.
Moreover, she seems to be quite famous.
“You, I heard about you. You have a Defective Magic Power, don’t you?”
Ahh, that conversation again.
Shouldn’t Gold Magic be the supreme magic power? So why is it being referred to as such?
“Are you also going to look down on me for my Defective Magic Power, and not see things for what they really are?”
“Please don’t group me with the others. I wouldn’t stoop down to their level. After all—I have the Inferior Magic Power as well. Determining superiority or inferiority based on the type of magic power alone is foolish”
Hmm.
I have no idea what Inferior Magic Power is, but it seems that this girl has a good head on her shoulders.
The problem lies with her abilities….
Will she be able to entertain me?
“Then allow me to place barrier magic on you”
As the both of us were having our conversation, the examiner deployed a magic barrier on my body.
The barrier is so heavy and yet fragile too. It is so fragile to the point that I just wanted to break it.
But I’ve heard that if the barrier breaks, then it will be my loss.
Patience Kurt, you just need to be patient.
“Then—let the battle exam begin!”
The examiner announces.
“What’s your name?”
“It’s Kurt”
“Kurt. I won’t go easy on you—Gather yourselves together in these hands, O flame. Be a spear—”
As she is chanting, three Fire Spears appear around Marise.
Oh?
Looking back, during the target exam, nobody was able to deploy multiple Fire Spears at the same time.
This girl has quite the spirit.
“Pierce the enemy and burn them!!”
Three Fire Spears were fired simultaneously.
By the looks of it, Inferior Magic Power is apparently Purple Magic.
Purple Magic excels in long distance type magic.
In that case…this should do the trick.
After they were fired at me, I took my time to form a magic formula and created something equally powerful as the incoming Fire Spears.
They then clashed and cancelled each other out.
“Eeehhh……”, Marise was at a loss for words when she saw her Fire Spears got cancelled out.
“How is this possible…are you saying that you can cast magic that is as powerful as my Fire Spear?”
Truth be told, I just made mine equal on purpose.
I could have put an end to this battle in an instant as well, but that would be boring.
“Maybe that rumour about having destroyed all the Mud Dolls isn’t entirely a lie after all. However, this is not over yet!!”
Not a moment later.
“Gather yourselves together in these hands, O flame—”
She is trying to cast Fire Spear again.
However.
“Too slow”
This girl is certainly better than the other examinees, but if she continues to rely on the current chanting method, she won’t be able to reach the top.
Without chanting, I fired off a Fire Spear faster than Marise could.
“KYAAA!!!”
As the Fire Spear landed near Marise’s feet, she let out a squeal and fell on her bottom.
“W-What was that!? Casting magic without chanting…? Is that even possible? Moreover, that speed…isn’t that too fast?”
Seeing my magic, Marise looks confused.
I guess this is her current limit. She’s talented, but it wasn’t enough to keep me entertained.
Still—it looks like her magic barrier has yet to break. Also, Marise didn’t say the magic words “Give Up” yet, either.
Shall I put an end to this?
And so I started to approach her.
“Kuh, I wanted to keep my trump card hidden…but it can’t be helped!”
The color of Marise’s eyes began to change.
A moment later, she stood up, closed her eyes and began to chant her magic.
“O God. Bestow me the power of the sacred sword. A sacred sword that thunder from the heavens and annihilate the enemy. I am Marise. The one who will wield this divine power”
A magic formula is slowly formed.
Ohh, could this girl be planning to use the ‘Holy Sword’?
It was an intermediate level magic in my previous life.
“Oh? You’re doing pretty well, aren’t you?”
I blurted out when I saw the shining sword that appeared above me.
“Are you sure you can afford to be so composed? This will be your loss! Holy Sword!!”
As Marise swung her hand down, the ‘Holy Sword’ followed suit.
“But—you’re still too slow”
“Eh?”
I activate the Dispel Magic.
The sound of broken glass can be heard, and the ‘Holy Sword’ disappeared without a trace as well.
“W-W-W-What just happened? Where did my Holy Sword disappear to…?”
“It’s a Dispel Magic. Since you can use intermediate level magic, so you should know about it, right?”
“T-The highest-ranking magic, Holy Sword, is just an intermediate level magic? Moreover…Dispel Magic? A magic that stops the activation of magic during the formation process, does it even exist!?”
Marise is trembling all over as she saw the scene unfolded in front of her.
Dispel Magic is a magic that analyzes the opponent’s magic and betrays their expectations.
To put it simply, it’s a technique that erases the opponent’s magic.
However, to use it, one will need to fully analyze and understand the opponent’s magic. Therefore, the Dispel Magic can only be used when there’s a significant difference in ability.
“I was able to carry out the analysis because you used that tedious chanting”
“Tedious chanting? What are you suggesting then? Or are you suggesting that I should use chantless magic like you?”
“Yeah. I think it’s easy”
“You are the only one who thinks so!”
As I thought, this world is based on the standards of chanting magic before the magic revolution that I started.
In that case.
“Allow me to show you the true Holy Sword”
“Wha-!”
I activate the magic formula that I had set up in advance.
Needless to say, it’s a chantless magic.
A ‘Holy Sword’ similar to the one before started to appear above Marise’s head.
Well, they’re not entirely the same.
“S-Such an enormous Holy Sword!!”
Marise looks up and retreats fearfully.
“This is the true Holy Sword”
The one she conjured was about the size of an ordinary sword, whereas my Holy Sword is so big that even if about a hundred of them were to be gathered, it still wouldn’t be enough to compare with mine.
The hall is then enveloped in a dazzling light, and the examinees around us seem to be making a stir as well.
“Since you have the magic barrier on you, I’m sure you can handle this much, right? So here I go. Holy Sword!”
As I was about to drop the ‘Holy Sword’ upon Marise—
“W-Wait a minute! The exam is over! It’s over!! There’s no way the barrier magic can withstand that!!”
The examiner looked flustered as he interrupted between us.
Marise seems to be paralyzed with fear at the sight of my magic.
The belligerent mood that she had earlier is completely gone now, and she lost her will to fight.
I wanted to continue using the magic as it is…but it seems like the match has been concluded.
“Well, I guess this is it”
The ‘Holy Sword’ vanished as soon I stopped the invocation of my magic.
Despite having ended the battle with me being the victor, I was left unsatisfied.
While having such a thought.
“You were doing something rather interesting there, weren’t you. Allow me to join you as well”
I thought I heard a voice, and a man gallantly came up onto the stage.
“D-Desmond-sama! That would be problematic! You’re only here to observe, right?”
Seeing that, the examiner who was acting as a referee panicked.
The man called Desmond is an old man who looked to be about 60～70 years old.
He has white hair and a fine beard.
At first glance, he looked like a decrepit old man.
But—I had something else in my mind.
Is he…strong?
I can see it.
Underneath his clothes is a body of steel.
From those sharp eyes staring right at me, he might even be able to avoid any surprise attack from me.
“Why not, it should be fine, right? I’ve been bored for a while now. Let me join in as well”
Desmond snapped his fingers.
“If you defeat me, which seems unlikely, I’ll let you pass, even if you get a zero on the other exams”
“I refuse your offer”
“Huh? Perhaps, are you trying to run away from me out of fear?”
“I will still pass the exams without you giving me any favors”
I was planning to say it with a little provocation, but Desmond ended up smiling broadly.
“Gahaha! You’re one interesting brat, aren’t you!”, and laughed heartily.
“Y-You! Could it be that you are planning to fight against Desmond-sama?”
In response to the examiner’s question.
“Yes”
Hearing my immediate response, the examiner became even more flustered.
“Y-You, do you have any idea who Desmond-sama is? I know you are strong but it’s better if you get out of here now before you get hurt!”
“I’ll be fine”
I brushed past the examiner and got in front of Desmond.
Incidentally, I have no idea who this guy is.
But it is enough to know that he is strong.
“Kukuku. You’re really an interesting brat. I’ll use a wooden sword, and you can use a real sword. Or do you prefer to use magic?”
Desmond assumed a stance with his wooden sword.
“No, I won’t. Because if I use a real sword, I might accidentally kill you”
“Oh? You just said something very interesting, didn’t you”
I gave him that provocation on purpose, after all, I do not plan to go easy on him.
My blood is boiling.
Since this is such a rare opportunity, I want to fight to my heart’s content.
“Well, let’s fight fair and square then? It would be boring to add an unnecessary handicap. Hey, get me another wooden sword! And…get off the stage, young lady. You’re quite strong too, but you’re not strong enough yet”
“……Yes”
Marise hurriedly left the stage, grinding her teeth in frustration.
Desmond requested for another wooden sword, and out of nowhere, an examiner brought over one to me.
“You may come at me anytime now. I can’t use magic, but feel free to use magic yourself”
said Desmond, patting his own shoulder with the wooden sword in a calm and collected manner.
At first glance, the stance appears to be nothing more than an opening.
However, it is obvious that I would severely be hard countered if I carelessly rushed in.
Interesting. Let’s purposely fight him within his effective combat range.
“Well then, be my guest!”
After taking a step forward, I closed the distance between me and Desmond within the blink of an eye.
And, without a moment’s delay, I swung my sword down on Desmond’s head.
“Hmph…you’re still too inexperienced”
For a moment, Desmond grinned.
Desmond flings my wooden sword to the side.
Looks like his aim is to avoid my attack and then counter it.
At this rate, if I receive his attack without deploying any defensive magic, I might break a bone or two.
So I activated Quick Move here.
“Wha-!”
As if in response to my sudden increase in movement speed, Desmond turned his wooden sword to receive my attack.
The two swords clashed with each other.
“What was that? You seemed to be faster all of a sudden”
“Yeah, I used a basic level magic”
“That’s a magic spell? Such a magic spell exist? As I thought, you are not an ordinary person huh?”
“You’re pretty good, too”
After all, I thought it would be settled with a Quick Move attack.
But he managed to defend against it.
As I thought, this guy can provide me with some amusement.
“I’ll tell you my alias (in my previous life)”
I broke away from the sword clash and while still wielding the sword, I revealed my alias.
“Magic Swordsman”
Combining both physical ability and magic in battle was my main area of expertise.
That way, it would’ve been convenient for me to fight alone.
I tried to make friends, but there wasn’t a single person who even came close to my level.
Before I was called a heretic, I was often called by that alias.
Besides Quick Move and Rise Power. I also used another magic, Eyesight, that makes it easier to perceive the opponent’s movements which adds up to three layers of basic body strengthening magic being in play as I engage Desmond.
“I-Incredible…I can’t see his movement”
“What the hell is happening on the stage?”
said the examinees in bewildered voices.
To them, it must have looked like I have the upper hand.
But on the other hand, I was surprised by Desmond’s movement.
“Hahaha! Interesting, interesting!! To think that there’s someone in this country who can fight me one-on-one!”
Desmond continues to receive my series of onslaught with that one sword.
No matter how nonchalant he is about it, to think that this old man can contest me without using any body strengthening magic…what a monster!
“Don’t laugh in the middle of a fight. Old man”
“It seems to me that you’re laughing as well”
Indeed, I, too, might be laughing right now.
If this goes on, I’ll be the one to push through due to the difference in stamina.
But that’s unglamorous for a fight.
In that case.
“I saw an opening, brat!”
Desmond’s eyes became even sharper.
A complete change from defense. Desmond swings his sword.
It was a direct hit to my head.
However—it was to the other me.
“Wha-! What just happened?!”
Desmond, who finished swinging his sword, is astonished to see me disappear in a puff of smoke.
It’s a magic called—Create Avatar.
A magic that uses magic power to create a humanoid mass, thus creating an alter ego.
Since it doesn’t have a solid body, the alter ego cannot attack, but it can be used to deceive the opponent in this way.
“I guess this is the end of it, huh”
While he is still in shock with what just happened, I went behind Desmond and placed my wooden sword against the back of his neck.
“If this were a battlefield, you’d be done in. Do you still want to continue the fight?”
“……It’s my loss”
Desmond slumped his shoulders and released his grip on the sword as well.
At that moment—an explosive cheer erupted in the hall.
“Who the hell is that guy! He defeated Desmond-sama!”
“Desmond-sama is a legendary former S-rank adventurer, right? To have defeated such a person…who is that guy!”
“The demon, Desmond, who is rumored to have slain hundreds of enemy soldiers single handedly when he was sent off to war…!”
“I heard that even though he had retired, he still mostly have his strength!”
Former S-rank adventurer?
“You were an adventurer?”
“That’s right, but I have already retired. Without knowing that, you still fought against me, you’re really making a fool out of me, brat!”
Kakaka, laughed Desmond cheerfully.
“However, there’s a mistake with their statement”
“A mistake?”
“Rumor has it that I killed hundreds of enemy soldiers…that’s wrong. The numbers are actually in the thousands! Gahaha!”
……He seems to be quite a maverick.
No wonder he is a little tough.
Still, I have only used the basics of magic, and I have yet to give it my all in that fight.
“Who on earth are you…?”
Marise asked in a shaky tone as I stepped off the stage.
I still haven’t found anyone stronger than me.
However, the royal capital and the magic academy seems to be a much more interesting place than I have previously thought.
While feeling my heart still throbbing from the fight, I left the exam venue.
