35. Inter-School Competition (4)
Ever since my days on Earth, when it came to academy genres, the most anticipated episode was always, without question, the “festival event.”
Sadly, Stella did not really have a proper festival episode.
In other words, there was none of that Japanese-derived stuff like running school cafés, or random maid-costume parties that shattered characters and made them act completely out of character.
For someone like me, who had first entered the academy genre through Aither World Online across comics, novels, and games alike, that was actually fortunate.
I was already dying from how busy I was trying to level up and farm gear so I could enter the high-level PvP zone, so what kind of ridiculous school festival did anyone think I had time for?
Of course, that did not mean there was no festival at all.
The inter-school competition was basically the substitute for a festival event.
The main storyline usually focused on PvP, but for players who were not interested in that, a huge festival went on in the background, so you could go on a date with the male lead you were rooting for, or gain experience through other sub-events.
I was fanatically fond of PvP, so naturally, I participated in the main event.
I did not really remember when I became so immersed in PvP, but fighting someone’s actual living character felt far more exciting and vivid than fighting monsters moved by AI, so maybe that was why.
It really is incredible.
The inter-school competition was being held on a scale so massive that Earth’s university festivals could not even be compared to it.
If I remembered the setting correctly, it had been twelve years since Stella last hosted the inter-school competition.
Maybe because of that, it felt as though they had put even more effort into it.
The airships and drones flying overhead, guarding the land below, reminded everyone once again of Stella’s prestige.
The fireworks bursting again and again across the sky in all kinds of patterns, and the enormous golden crystal flying constructs, symbolized Stella’s wealth.
And the trained wyverns flying through the air vividly displayed Stella’s technological power.
To think they had tamed as many as twenty of those creatures that were notoriously difficult to tame.
That was not something ordinary magic could accomplish.
Perhaps the tamers had practiced wyvern-riding in preparation for this day, because the flight show put on by twenty riders was dazzling enough to make one’s eyes spin.
And then…
the long-awaited “entrance ceremony.”
The transparent grand bridge that descended only on special days, the Great Causeway, was so delicate and beautiful that it seemed to be made of glass, drawing sighs of admiration from everyone who saw it, and the representatives of each school would walk in along it while proudly displaying their own school’s stature.
Kaikaren Private Magic School, where only the wealthy rich could enroll, flaunted its affluence by having both students and faculty enter wearing coats coated in blue manastone.
As for students from that school worth paying attention to… they were said to be the twin siblings Paharen and Paaren.
Each specialized in handling water, and they also had a minor incident in Magic Survival where they secretly cooperated with each other in a prohibited act of teaming, only to be caught by the protagonist.
The elves of Starflower Tree Magic School entered while showing off their beautiful appearances, and perhaps because they were so dazzlingly pretty to begin with that they did not need any special gestures at all, their cheers were by far the loudest.
If there was one student worth watching, it was of course Zeliel.
She was such a suspicious, scheming woman that there was no telling what sort of stunt she might pull.
Zeliel stood proudly at the very front, smiling and waving her hand, and perhaps because of the blessed High Elf beauty that made her stand out even among elves, quite a number of male students were shouting themselves hoarse for her.
Is that High Elf Oranha?
Even in the game, I had almost never met him directly, but because the Jikbakguri Glasses displayed his name so clearly, recognizing him was not difficult.
He was the being who tormented Kkotseorin mercilessly in the original game.
Fortunately, there was at least a route where the player discovered his true nature and saved him, but in any case, I remembered him as a thoroughly slippery sort of person.
And then…
the black carriage of mysterious appearance following behind Oranha.
That object had not existed in the original game either, so I was a little taken aback.
Even when I searched with the glasses, it was only marked as [Lv.9 Magic-Resistance Automatic Carriage], and it did not show who was riding inside.
Unless I had upgraded the glasses to have mana x-ray vision or something, it was impossible for me at present to inspect the inside, so there was no way to discover the identity of that carriage.
A Level 9 barrier, huh.
That meant a 9-Class-grade anti-magic barrier had been put on it, but just how dangerous a person—or object—did they have inside to need a protective screen like that?
The black automatic carriage crossed the causeway quickly enough to make it seem as though it were in a hurry, then vanished, and soon after, the other schools’ processions entered one after another.
The dwarves from Geumgang Magic University entered riding special carriages and astonished everyone by showing off their school’s technology to the world, and when I watched countless prestigious elites—including the Beastfolk Magic School—stream in one after another, the word “impressive” came naturally to mind.
Since this was a place where each school showed off its own individuality while entering, the CG had evidently received a lot of effort, and even back when I played the game, it was a scene that drew a great deal of praise from players.
…I skipped it, so I don’t remember it very well.
But so what?
Now I was able to see it again as a real scene rather than mere CG.
There are a lot of famous people here…
Aither World Online was called the holy land of fandom for a reason.
So many people became deeply obsessed with the characters of that world.
That was possible because an incredible variety of characters each had their own profound backstories and histories, and sometimes even certain characters who barely counted as side characters would explode in popularity beyond even the leads.
And every one of them was my rival.
If Flame or Ma Yuseong had been here, I would have felt reassured, but with Stella’s participants having thinned out this badly, first place seemed like a stretch no matter how I looked at it.
Well, what could I do?
I’d just have to work hard too…
The order of the inter-school competition began with the 1vs1 duels.
After that came the greatest sport in the magical world, League of Spirit.
And the long-awaited event I would be participating in, Magic Survival, came last.
All participants had to choose one of those three and take part in it, so while other matches were going on, they were free to rest.
Each event tended to have its own “main-character-class” participants.
Among the 1vs1 duelists, the notable figures were Hae Wonryang and Jeremy.
There were also participants from other schools, and among them were a few supporting male leads whose routes would open later for the player…
but I did not think I needed to care about them.
“Waaaaaaah!!”
As Hae Wonryang strategically mixed three different elemental magics and completely toyed with a third-year senior from another school, thunderous cheers exploded around the stadium.
The upperclassman he defeated was, unbelievably, a genius among geniuses who could handle a little of 5-Class magic,
and on top of that, he was even one of the supporting male leads who could later end up on Flame’s route.
And yet Hae Wonryang had crushed him effortlessly.
The talent to grind down differences in class through experience and strategy.
That was Hae Wonryang’s true value.
Jeremy was a sort of all-purpose character.
Strategy, tactical command, destructive power, defensive power.
He was a hexagonal character with no area in which he fell behind, so among players as well, “Character Jeremy” was an extremely overpowered and popular character.
Until the route that unlocked “Character Ma Yuseong” was opened later on, he had reigned as the very top broken character.
Claang…!
Every time clusters of golden light burst in the air, golden spears rained down, golden walls were generated, the ground rippled, and giant golden hands rose up to seize ankles and fling opponents aside.
He wielded “Gold Magic,” one of the top branches of earth-element magic, with complete freedom.
Even within the Scarlven imperial family, there was probably no one else who could wield Gold Magic with such freedom—and even with that degree of artistic sense layered on top of it.
I’m describing it pretty roughly, but…
to be honest, Jeremy was an opponent I hated facing even more than Ma Yuseong.
From the viewpoint of someone fighting him, the Golden Wall that rose automatically the instant it detected an incoming attack, and the Golden Spearpoint that automatically locked onto and thrust toward the enemy, were practically hell itself.
It really was a blessing from heaven that I had not participated in 1vs1.
Next came League of Spirit.
This was a sport I was actually looking forward to quite a lot, so I had prepared popcorn, chicken, and cola in advance.
A beer would have been perfect with this, but I was still underage, so it was deeply regrettable.
Just as I had fully worked myself up with anticipation and was about to open the tub of popcorn, someone deliberately came over and sat down in the seat next to mine.
I did not particularly pay attention, but from the soft swaying of the hair beside me came a subtle floral scent.
[Trait “A Memory for the Blossoms” has activated.]
[You have smelled the fragrance of the “West-Fragrant Flower.”]
[You begin to long for the west wind.]
…What is this?
Only then did I belatedly remember some of the Traits that had appeared after I made a contract with Iphanel.
Was it that if I smelled the scent of a flower, I gained a Trait corresponding to its flower meaning?
Looking at it like this, it really was useless…
Anyway, I became curious who in the world was carrying flowers on them, so I turned my head.
“Hello.”
Well, would you look at that.
Zeliel, the daughter of Melian, chairman of the Starcloud Merchant Company, was sitting in the seat beside me.
“…Ah, yes.”
There were still quite a few empty seats around us, so it was hard to call this coincidence.
I knew she had some intention in mind, but honestly, Zeliel’s schemes were difficult for my dull brain to grasp, which made me a little uncomfortable.
“Stella’s students really are impressive. I never imagined that two first-year newcomers would tie for first place.”
The 1vs1 duels did not use a tournament format in which winners advanced and losers were eliminated, but rather a point system in which contestants fought multiple opponents to earn points, so a tie for first did happen every now and then.
“I suppose so.”
I answered in a flat voice while crunching away at my popcorn, but Zeliel kept the conversation going.
“So I think I understand now. Why you went to the trouble of ‘infiltrating’ Stella.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Ah, I suppose that word might have made you uncomfortable. Let me correct myself. I think I understand why you ‘enrolled.’ Hehe.”
Zeliel spoke with a playful laugh, but because I knew very well that she was an emotionless sociopath, all it did was come across as fake.
Still, what in the world was the intention behind saying that?
Zeliel did not make slips of the tongue.
When speaking to someone, she picked the most correct option out of countless possibilities, as though she were a player in a dating simulation game.
Infiltrating, huh…
Was she gravely misunderstanding something about me?
There should not have been any reason for that.
I had shown a somewhat remarkable trajectory, sure, but it was not as if I had ever displayed anything that would lead anyone to the conclusion that I had infiltrated the school.
In reality, I really had just enrolled normally.
So,
I did not reply at all.
Thanks to the Blessing of Crimson Spring March, my poker face was perfect.
If anything, the moment I made some sort of verbal slip, she would grab onto it as evidence.
This was exactly the kind of situation the saying “the best thing to do is stay still” was made for.
“Ah, right. You’ll also be participating in Magic Survival with me, won’t you? Hehe, I’m really looking forward to it. To think I’ll get to experience for myself the skill of the Blink mage Baek Yuseol, whom I’ve only heard about in rumors.”
“Yes.”
“But… will you really be all right?”
“What do you mean?”
“Because the King of the Elves has personally graced this place.”
“…The King of the Elves?”
For a moment, I was startled without meaning to be.
Kkotseorin was not supposed to appear in this episode at all.
In every “choice branch,” Kkotseorin never attended the inter-school competition event.
What got completely twisted this time?
Where in the world had things gone wrong now?
I could not even get a sense of it.
“Hehe. I thought you’d be surprised.”
But seeing my surprise, Zeliel seemed to think of something else, and with a subtle smile she leaned closer to me.
The distance between us was close enough for our breaths to mingle.
She placed one hand against my chest and whispered,
“Did you think your true identity… could remain hidden forever?”
“What…?”
No way.
Did she find out my true identity?
…That I was a transmigrator?
N-no way.
Blessing of Crimson Spring March or not, now I could not maintain my poker face.
I could not even hide the shock on my face as I tried to pull back, but Zeliel followed even that movement and snatched the pendant hanging from my neck.
“Do you think that if your true identity were exposed to the world, you would still be able to attend Stella proudly?”
There was no way.
The existence of a transmigrator absolutely must not be discovered.
“Do you really think… you would still be able to preserve your life normally at that point?”
…Even now, the thought of the countless factions that would covet my knowledge made a chill run down my spine.
“But it’s all right. I can keep your secret. In exchange, you… will become my slave. You’ll serve only me for the rest of your life.”
“What, that’s—!”
Before I could even say that I would not agree, Zeliel leaned in with a sly smile.
“Why? Are you going to refuse? Do you really think the world would leave you alone?”
After saying that, she tugged hard on the pendant around my neck.
“Isn’t that right? Baek Yuseol—the ‘Spirit-Slayer’ and ‘Dark Mage’!”
“…Huhk!”
When Zeliel boldly revealed my identity, I sucked in a deep breath on instinct—
Wait, what did she just say?
The instant the thought hit me that I had heard something strange, a brilliant light burst out from the pendant.
Flash!
Right after that—
“…Eh?”
“…Huh?”
Zeliel and I both let out idiotically blank sounds.
“Uh, ah, um…?”
Zeliel held the pendant in the palm of her hand, eyes wide, opening and closing her mouth over and over.
There…
was a white, brilliantly white Soul Orb shining so brightly it was almost blinding.
“I-I think… there may have been some sort of misunderstanding…”
Cold sweat beading down her face, Zeliel tried to gently pull her hand back, but I quickly seized it and spoke.
“Hey. What exactly did you just say?”
A Dark Mage?
A Spirit-Slayer?
“Are you seriously trying to piss me off?”
Even with my rough tone, Zeliel could not answer at all and merely kept sliding her gaze away to the side.
It really was a satisfying sight, watching the poker face of someone who was definitely a sociopath shatter to pieces, but…
“How exactly do you plan to take responsibility for pulling this crap on me?”
Shouldn’t I be filing a claim for mental damages, defamation, and the like?
