How to Survive at the Academy Chapter 141

End of Semester Assessment (5)

“Heh heh… heh heh…”

Laughter flowed out. It was bizarre.

Khaleid has captured and killed countless subhumans on the battlefield.

Now, the heyday has become a distant past. I will never forget the life on the battlefield, where every day seemed like walking on thin ice.

The enemies I met on the battlefield all have poison in their eyes. Because the option of giving up doesn’t exist.

If you are cornered and admit the difference in skill with your opponent and accept defeat humbly, the next thing that comes to you is a cold death.

“Yes… you are definitely stronger than the halfway active soldiers.”

Kaleid shoved his hands into his pockets and laughed.

I feel like I’ve gone to bed and hangover. Only then did he know the identity of the chill in Ed’s eyes.

that… It is a miasma that can only stand in the eyes of those who have crossed the line of death countless times.

When I was walking on the battlefield, I risked my life fighting dozens of times a day with those eyes.

The feeling of being on that day, now slowly forgotten, makes the back of Kalade’s neck feel cold.

High-ranking wind spirit Merylda.

For a wolf the size of that house, even this large arena is cramped.

In addition, the audience is full, so if you go on a wild rampage, you will harm the students around you.

No matter how much I move only for victory, I will keep that line.

Then, even if it is a high-ranking wind spirit that boasts mighty majesty, there are too many restrictions on using its power. The battlefield itself is a disadvantage to him.

In fact, it was the same with Kaleid.

I had to aim carefully because I was afraid that just using high-level lightning magic would harm the students around me. If it was a wolf of such a huge body, more than that would be more, not less.

– Kwagak!

As Kalade jumped backwards, he gathered mana in his hand.

Ed, who had been lowering his head, jumped up and caught up with him. As expected from Kaleid, Ed had no intention of using Merilda as a means of physical combat.

However, all the spirits and wind magic that Merilda deals with are still difficult.

A wolf standing firmly behind Ed’s back like a mountain. As the beast roared once, vibrations filled with magic resonated throughout the large training arena in the Neil Hall.

― ‘Kyaaaaaaagh!’

― ‘Keugh… ! My ears are ringing… !’

Dozens of wind blades poured from the wolf. The power of each shot is also a problem, but the number of times is also extraordinary.

The amount of wind blades that quite a few wizards focused on and fired one shot at a time attacked Kaleid in such a huge amount that they could not evade them all.

Lieutenant Ice Magic ‘Ice Wall’. A frozen wall rose up to block the blade, but when it was halfway blocked, the wall crumbled away.

―Kagagak!

After that, the remaining wind blades rushed to cut off Kaleid’s body.

He forcibly squeezed out his mana and neutralized all remaining blades with defensive magic that was barely implemented. But he had already given way to Ed.

The dagger held in reverse flies towards Kaleid.

The defense magic was already neutralized by Merilda’s magic.

Kalade lifted his drunken eyes, twisted his body in an instant, and grabbed Ed’s wrist. He did not use magic, but moved his body directly.

Just like that, Ed jerked his gripped wrist and pulled it. Kal Reid’s center of gravity collapsed momentarily, but after striking his one leg on the ground, he gnawed his teeth and withstood Ed’s strength.

“Your strength is… amazing.”

If he had been a magician, he would have been defeated here. Kalade was so sure.

He faces that huge wolf right in front of him and has no emotional agitation. Khaleid is also a person who has gone through all kinds of trials and tribulations. He naturally decided on his next move.

As it was, Khaleid implemented the middle class fire magic ‘one point explosion’.

The one-point explosion specialized in rapid fire is a magic that only shines when you have to chant the magic before the opponent.

However, it was the wrong choice against Ed.

―Paaaaaagh!

A spark rose in Ed’s arms.

It’s still a quick one-point explosion, but when it was expressed in the hands of Kalade, whose mana sensitivity reached its peak, it was a speed at a level that made no sense to really react.

However, Ed had no need to react.

– Hwaaaaaaa.

Ed’s arm burst out of the flames and grabbed Kaleid’s collar. It seemed that the dagger had been put back in.

‘I endured… ? Naked?’

There is a ghost in Ed’s figure as he escapes from the flames.

Even if it was a one-point explosion, which has the weakest firepower among middle-ranking magic, it wouldn’t make sense to endure it bare-bones.

Only then did the possibility of ‘spirit’s protection’ arise in Kaleid’s mind.

The protection of the Hwabok.

Originally, it is a divine protection that is manifested by lower spirits. However, Mug’s protection, which became a middle-ranking spirit due to the phase shift, is now powerful enough to handle even the firepower of intermediate magic.

When Ed injected magic power into the staff he was holding in his other hand, Mug’s elemental ‘Volksong’ entwined the dueling table once more.

All the flames have the property of burning the world fairly, but this time their influence is not fair.

Ed is temporarily unaffected by fire magic. This gigantic explosion reveals its teeth only to Khaled.

‘this guy… It’s a thing… .’

Kaleid smiled contentedly and decided to use all his strength to draw out the mana of his body.

‘okay… Even being defeated would be a good experience for him.’

―Quaaaaaang!

They are in the midst of exchanging fast attacks that are so fast that it is difficult to react to each other.

Most of the audience has already given up on following the movements of the two. It was hard to even follow with the eyes, moving quickly between the magic that obscured the vision.

After the sparks and dust disappeared… Kaleid was caught in the explosion and was knocked out.

A muffled voice came from the left. Indeed, Ed had beaten the senior professor.

… Ed, however, did not let his guard down. he already knew

Even in that desperate situation… . Kaleid was able to block Ed’s attack. He clearly confirmed that he had gathered an absurd amount of mana in an instant.

It’s not that I couldn’t block Kalade, it was that I didn’t block it. The reason was obvious.

to catch a glimpse

– Whoaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

The wind that emerged from Ed’s core enveloped his body.

It wasn’t the magic that Ed manifested. It is the ‘Blessing of the Storm’ that surrounds his body.

The fact that the protection of the wind and waves that prevented attacks outside of consciousness was manifested means that there were still attacks that Ed could not catch.

Ed narrowed his brows and looked around. Five or six ice spears were about to pierce his back, but were stopped by divine protection.

Then, when I looked forward again, Professor Kalade’s face was thrust in front of me. It’s like a scene from a horror movie.

“On the battlefield… a moment of inattention can cost a life.”

Elemental Sequence ― It was to withstand the riots with minimal magical defense, and all the rest of the magical energy was invested in creating an ice spear.

“You understand that very well. Just one step short.”

The reason why the ice spear was implemented so forcefully was to remove Merilda’s protection in advance.

After seeing the blessing of fire that Mug manifests, he expected in advance that Merilda also wears the divine protection of wind and waves that manifests.

Professor Kaleid puts his hands in his pockets and smiles in Ed’s face.

He had already manifested the next magic while Ed’s mind was focused backwards.

High-level freezing magic ‘permafrost’.

It was a simple magic that freezes everything around it without distinguishing between friends and family.

However, sometimes simplicity is often the most powerful weapon.

The floor of the arena was already frozen. All the magic engineering school supplies that Ed had sprinkled to create variables froze and became a lump of scrap metal, and even Merilda, looking back, became a huge ice statue and couldn’t even move.

The reason Ed was not affected by the magic was that the lieutenant fire spirit Mug, who quickly jumped out, blew away the cold air.

However, no matter how good they were, they could not completely neutralize high-ranking magic in the mid-ranking spirit line.

Ed’s ankles were completely frozen, and he couldn’t get off the floor.

“Let’s finish.”

In his hand, the magic to finish it was manifested. But it was much quicker for Ed to put his hand in his bosom.

―Paaaaaagh!

Shock-enhanced wave ball. It was a basic but powerful magic engineering item.

It was left in the bosom to use it for escaping a crisis after reaching the extreme limit.

Kaleid’s body bounced back from the impact, and Ed drew out his mana and began to melt the ice on his feet.

“Keuugh… What… No matter how hard I try, something keeps popping out…!”

―What a mess! jump!

The ice surrounding Merilda also began to crack little by little. No matter how high-level magic is, the limit is to keep one’s feet on hold against high-level wind spirits for a while.

Kaleid stood up again and glared at Ed.

The ice that binds his feet is still tightly binding Ed’s body. I’m trying to melt it down quickly, but it won’t be that easy.

Merilda will soon be free again, too, but not yet.

He even left out the protection of the storm. Movement is also not free. Even the most demanding high-ranking wind spirits were temporarily subdued.

If you’re going to put an end to it, now is the time. Khaleid quickly began chanting the next spell.

Lieutenant Freezing Magic ‘Ice Spear’. A staggering number of more than a dozen ice spears began to rise behind his back. It was different from the ice spear used by the students in its size.

Ed bent over, gritted his teeth, and poured magic power near his feet. It seems that it continues to manifest fire elemental magic, but the ice created by high-ranking magic does not melt so easily.

The audience was so nervous that they forgot to even breathe. If he was hit directly by that many ice spears, it seemed obvious to anyone that he would be seriously injured.

However, Kaleid, who had already risen to the point of venom, showed no mercy.

I had a feeling that even Ed might be able to cope with this somehow.

In any case, now is the place to win.

If not now, as Merylda regains her bodily freedom, the war becomes even more difficult.

An ice spear flies towards Ed, who has been completely subdued.

The moment Ed suddenly raised his head in that direction–

-Kaang!

――A man with knuckles broke into the arena.

* * *

―Kaga gaga river! Papabak!

The numerous ice spears all bounced off. The speed of his fists was almost comparable to bullets.

His short-cropped hair has scratches here and there. The enormously wide and magnificent physique was the highlight. It’s as if a bear is running rampant, not a person.

Ed already knew who he was.

A man who is the chief of the 4th year of Sylvania Academy and the current Student Council’s top executive committee member. It was Dyke Elphelan.

“Professor Kaleid.”

After deflecting all the ice spears, Dyke stood between them and spoke quietly.

“This… seems to have crossed the line too much. Ed Rosteyler is already incapacitated.”

“Brother Ed…!”

The student council president, Tanya Rosteyler, followed suit and came up to the arena.

He ran quickly toward Ed, whose legs were frozen, and pulled him by the arm to check his expression.

“Brother Ed…! Are you okay? He’s seriously injured…?!”

The student council, which was worse than that, eventually broke in.

Students were already feeling a sense of incongruity. It was too full-scale battle to simply dismiss it as a practical evaluation at the end of the semester.

From the middle, Professor Kalade also became excited and failed to keep the line as a test. If this is reported to the bachelor’s side, it is clearly a reason for disciplinary action.

Kaleid also let out a sigh, perhaps realizing that fact. She couldn’t help but admit that she had gone too far because she remembered the time she was lying on the battlefield.

Khaled wiped his chin a few times and looked in Ed’s direction.

It is the same posture as when you were on your knees trying to melt the ice under your feet until the end.

The student council president, Tanya, ran out to Ed with a weepy face, took out a handkerchief and wiped the dirt off his face.

Seeing that, he realized how much he had let go of his reason.

“Ehh…”

“Professor Kaleid.”

“To think that your blood is boiling over something like this after you’ve been treated like you’re older. As expected, my wife is right in saying that boys are all children no matter how old they are.”

So self-deprecating, Kalade scattered all of his mana and got rid of it.

Kalleid, who was standing in front of Ed, bowed his head and bowed.

“Thank you for your understanding.”

“Okay, what do you understand? I’m already excited to write a poem.”

After Dyke greeted him politely, he turned his head to see Ed’s condition.

If the ice spear flew in as it was, it would have been a 100% fatal blow. There must have been a great sense of fear.

The moment I try to say something to reassure Ed… .

– Hwaaak.

Dark red magic rose from Ed’s hand as the center, then dispersed into the air and disappeared.

Seeing this, Dyke widened his eyes. Of course Tanya was the same.

Even Kaleid felt strange and cast his gaze towards it.

“Ed Ross Taylor. You now….”

“Thank you for your help, Senior Dyke.”

Ed greeted them politely, and swept his hands.

Dyke looked at the ice that was still binding Ed’s feet. Not even the slightest bit melted.

I thought I was trying to melt it with fire elemental magic from before, but… That wasn’t it.

――It wasn’t that the ice couldn’t melt, it was that it wasn’t melting.

It is clear that he deliberately knelt down and covered his hands to collect Aspect mana.

Aspect magic is distinctly red in color, unlike normal magic. That’s why, just by looking at the color of that magical power, you can easily infer that the opponent is trying to use Aspect Magic.

So, while pretending to melt the ice, Ed secretly hid his hand to draw out Aspect mana.

In the last moment, that spear of ice flying in… It was meant to attract and stop Kalade through ‘forced gathering’. using his body as a shield.

And in order to finish with the spirit ceremony of the dagger held in the other hand, the other hand held a dagger infused with magical power.

Close your eyes and imagine.

A flying ice spear. Ed suddenly changes his complexion, stands up, and casts Aspect Magic. An ice spear flies right in front of Kaleid’s eyes, and even if he manages to deal with it somehow, Ed is holding a spirit dagger behind him.

The last of the last, the improvisation that tries to take advantage of the situation even in the state of being suppressed.

After seeing it, Kalade realized. If Dyke hadn’t intervened at the end, what would have happened to the win or loss? No one knows at this point.

In terms of magical ability, battlefield experience, and combat ability itself, Khaled is clearly superior.

However, this coping ability to somehow derive the optimal number in a given situation at every moment… Even Kaleid had no choice but to stick out his tongue.

“Ed Roth Taylor.”

Khaleid put both hands in the pockets of his coat and spoke while still glaring at him.

“You’re really, quite a bit of a madman, too.”

“…Can I take that as a compliment?”

“Then is it a curse? Ah, it’s a curse.”

Professor Kalade smiled and looked at the crowd. Everyone seemed to have their eyes wide open.

Even so, it was a duel of this level. They fought and fought too earnestly to simply dismiss it as a final exam.

Didn’t he even bring out a high-ranking spirit and exchange numbers with a senior element science professor? At this point, no one will be dissatisfied.

“The elemental science practical test is perfect. Ed Rosteyler.”

Elementology is one of the core subjects with a very large weight among the Ministry of Magic’s examination areas.

“If you only took good notes, getting a top spot in the third year wouldn’t be a dream.”

There was a buzz in the middle of the room. The position of the third-year chief of the Sylvania Academy was a position where the undisputed number one existed no matter what anyone said.

“Well, the elemental sage who is currently taking the top spot in the third year doesn’t seem to be insane… I don’t know if you’ll be able to take the top spot…”

Kalade is also familiar with Yenika Failover, she is the celebrity of this Sylvania bachelor.

Didn’t she pass through as a girl like the main character in a fairy tale? She is a girl who has been gifted with a good sense of sensitivity, received a good education, and walked a rosy road with good grades.

Kaleid thought of that girl and looked at Ed, who had been holding on in the mud for a while.

Each person has a different criterion for judging value. So, Kaleid’s opinion cannot represent the opinion of all undergraduate faculty. It is only his own opinion.

“At least I think you’re more suited to a senior position.”

Saying that, Professor Kalade stumbled down the arena.

I couldn’t stand it in the meantime, so I rolled up the tobacco and smoked it.

“Well, anyway, if you’re having a hard time living as an undergraduate, or if assistant professor Claire acts like a dog, come and tease me.

Because I’m amazingly good at one thing I’m looking for.

“

After waving his hand in greeting, he stumbled out into the hallway, presumably intending to take a break before the next exam.

“At that time, I’ll teach you how to handle high-ranking magic.”

It was truly Kaleid-like words and actions.

* * *

“What, there are people like that…?!”

Tanya stamped her feet and continued to rage.

“Doesn’t he wander around drunk during the bachelor’s schedule, doesn’t he hit high-ranking magic for practical exams…! I really need to protest this to the real bachelor’s office! I’ll take responsibility for this matter…!”

I left the student center with Tanya beside me, who was getting very angry.

The experience of walking between the audience seats while receiving the support of the student council president was not very pleasant. It was the gaze of a famous person who was staring at him with a buzz.

Well, since the president of the student body, who is treated wherever he goes, is personally helping out, it must seem like a fuss. For me, it is a position that I am grateful for but burdened with.

“Student President. I will support you.”

“No, that’s okay… senior Dyke is so big that he’s rather uncomfortable with his older brother.”

The way he clenched his legs and supported me while shaking his legs was like a small animal, so both Dyke and I burst into laughter.

“Thank you earlier. Senior Dyke. To be honest, I was a little nervous.”

“You speak well. I thought you were all prepared to deal with it. Wasn’t it rather that I went up and disturbed you?”

“I just wish I had gotten good grades on practical skills. What would be the point of doing more there?”

After saying that, I went all the way to Obel Hall with Tanya’s support. He couldn’t help it when he made a fuss about being there to provide basic first aid.

“By the way, this is the first time we’ve met face-to-face. Ed Rosteyler. You should have known each other existed. You’re a very flashy guy, and I’ve been the top since freshman year.”

Dyke Elphelan gave me a quick hand.

“As you can see, it seems that you’ve risen to the point where you can see the third-year senior position. Sooner or later, you may appear in place of Jenika at the senior meeting.”

I took Dyke’s hand and shook it.

“Well. As you know, Jenika is not an easy opponent.”

“Well, the end will come before vacation. From what I’ve seen, you’re next in line. Yenika, she’s kind, but… what should I say?”

Dyke put his index finger to my eye and smiled.

“I don’t have that peculiar miasma that I can feel from you.”

“That’s the charm of being a friend.”

“Listen, you said you were very close with Yenika. Oops… Did you make a mistake? Well, I’m not mean to you.”

Dyke shrugged and looked up at the Obel tube. It was the same building as the activity center of student members.

“The so-called juniors are coming up one by one, and I’m starting to feel a sense of danger…”

Dyke smiled broadly like a bear and looked up at the reddened sky.

“Grades will be announced sometime next week, and it’s vacation now… You must be busy preparing for graduation…”

Dyke muttered that and went ahead.

In a way, it was also me around this time next year. I felt somehow special.