Chapter 11
Joo Soo-hyun was changed to Lee Ji-hyun.
[Mana Silencer: Uses mana to create a silencer. Mana Silencer greatly reduces the volume of Al Capone’s Tommy’s gunfire, as well as the mana waves it generates when fired.]
Not a bad reward for a silencer.
While the sound reduction was nice, it was the phrase “greatly reduces mana waves” that caught my eye.
In this world, the presence of mana waves is practically a requirement for ‘tracking’.
The police alone are required to carry a mana wave detection device to keep the peace, as it’s the default setting in this world. However, if I have the silencer as a reward, it’s a different story.
It’s like being able to use a weapon without being detected.
On top of all that, equipment that reduces mana waves is extremely rare in this world due to the government’s strict control over equipment that concealed mana waves, as they were considered a major threat to public order.
But how did I get this equipment in the first place?
Not only would it allow me to fight with mana even when it’s hidden, but it would also be incredibly useful in organizational matters. It was a fitting reward for overachieving.
It was an ability with endless uses but just as I was about to press the [Get Reward] button when I noticed a few students’ eyes on me, and I shoved my phone into my pocket.
I could feel Lee Ji-hyun’s cold eyes on me but, luckily, once I put my phone back in my pocket, her mood returned to normal.
……She’s sensitive about this stuff, I’ll have to take note.
“Although the first round ended sooner than I thought it would…… there’s no way you guys could have gotten anything out of this, so we’ll move right on to the next round. Everyone stay focused. Now, do any of you want to duel next?”
After Jin-woo and I finished, Lee Ji-hyun, who had cleared the board by moving her hand over it a few times, looked at the other students and asked.
A hand flashes up from the crowd of students.
“Hmm? I hope you didn’t raise your hand to ask another question. Kim Young-jae.”
“I want to be the next duel.”
I could see the determination in his eyes, probably because he had just watched me and Jin-woo duel.
“Hmm. Good. Your unique weapon is……that pen?”
Ji-hyun makes an intrigued face at the appearance of a different weapon this time.
“That’s right.”
“Well, I’m sure you brought it because you thought things through, so I won’t criticize you for it. So, is there anyone else you’d like to nominate, or anyone else who’d like to duel Kim Young-jae?”
Ji-hyun asks, looking around at the eleven students, including me, and someone right next to Kim raises their hand.
“Yes, I want to!”
I look over to where the hand is raised, and I see Kim Se-ah’s face with her eyes narrowed and her hand raised.
“It’s Kim Se-ah, good. Both of you enter the field.”
After listening to the instructor, the two entered the arena.
Recalling the incident on the desert island, Kim Se-ah is a mage who uses spatial magic.
Since her opponent in the duel was Kim Young-jae, who used mostly elemental magic, this would be a great opportunity for her to use spatial magic.
I thought it would be nice to have a spatial mage in my organization, so let’s see what level she is at.
“When the field is activated, you’ll feel a slight increase in air pressure. It’s normal, so don’t be alarmed.”
Ji-hyun walks over to the board outside the field and pulls the largest lever down.
At the same time, they both flinch. It was probably due to the phenomenon Ji-hyun had just described.
“Do you feel it working?”
Ji-hyun asks, and the two people in the field nod.
“Good. Then…… go ahead and run wild.”
The two moved almost simultaneously.
Their unique weapons, a fountain pen and a glove, were raised simultaneously and pointed at their opponents.
It was Kim Young-jae who struck first.
“Appassionato.”
The words that suddenly burst out of his mouth were in Italian as Kim Young-jae unique magic of imbuing words with meaning and magic began to unfold from his mouth and the tip of his fountain pen.
“It’s just like the description I saw in the game.”
As he chanted, his fountain pen turned into a flame as he scribbled in thin air and began to fly toward Kim Se-ah.
His magic, which is a musical term meaning “fervently,” flared up and began to fly toward Kim Se-ah, just as the word implies.
Seeing his magic, Kim Se-ah raises her left arm and snaps her left wrist as if to strike something.
The path of the dancing flame is then diverted, and the flame begins to return to its original owner, Kim Young-jae.
Kim Se-ah, who specializes in spatial magic, had reversed the path of the magic.
“Adagio!”
The word he shouted this time was a word that meant ‘calmly, slowly’.
At the same time, white frost rose from his fingertips in the air, colliding with the sparks flying toward him.
As two polar opposites collide, the result is an explosion of water vapor, drenching the surroundings in white.
We, watching from the outside of the field, are unable to see what’s going on inside. But it wasn’t long before the monitors illuminating the two switched to thermal imaging, illuminating their figures.
Kim Young-jae was panicking at his suddenly limited vision, but his opponent was Kim Se-ah, who specialized in spatial magic and judging from the way she was crouching down and holding onto the ground, she was using her magic to detect Kim Young-jae’s location.
I don’t know what kind of power the glove-like ‘unique weapon’ Kim Se-ah is wearing has, but from the way she’s standing up, it looks like she’s succeeded in pinpointing Kim Young-jae’s location.
Slowly turning her body in the direction of Kim Young-jae, Kim Se-ah points her left hand at him and performs a magic spell.
“Fireball!”
A basic spell that any mage can use unfolds in her hand.
Although he can’t pinpoint her location, Kim Young-jae, hearing her, anticipates the offensive magic coming at him and starts running to the right.
“Allegretto!”
A word that means ‘a little faster’.
It was a magic that buffed his body, and he rolled to the side with tremendous speed, narrowly avoiding Kim Se-ah’s attack. And as he picked himself up, he quickly swiped the fountain pen and shouted.
“Tempestoso!”
A word that means “stormy,” which in musical terms means “violently.”
At the same time as Young-jae’s chant, a fierce wind begins to whip up in the field, blowing away the water vapor in the field.
Up until this point, Young-jae had used a total of four types of magic and an ordinary mage wouldn’t even be able to attempt them.
Fire, ice, body strengthening, and now wind. I can’t believe he’s had that kind of skill since first grade…….
Normally, Kim Young-jae in the first grade could use two types of magic at most. Those were the statistics I had gained throughout the game.
But four types of magic from the start?
I realized that there were probably two reasons for that. Either he’s gotten an incredibly lucky break and gotten really strong or he was hiding his skills and something spurred him on to show off his true power.
While I was thinking about it, the water vapor filling the arena began to thin as Kim Young-jae’s magic had pushed all the water vapor out of the area, and the two could now see each other.
Kim Young-jae raised his fountain pen to attack again and opened his mouth to speak but Kim Se-ah, who was extending her left hand, suddenly sighed and raised both hands.
“……I surrender.”
Kim Se-ah had declared her surrender. She had just seen Kim Young-jae use the four types of magic and decided that further resistance was pointless.
She didn’t think she could win with her strength yet.
“……It’s too bad.”
Even if Young-jae could use four types of magic, he wasn’t able to handle every situation.
She could have countered with spatial magic, or gotten into close combat to gain a slight advantage.
Given Lee Ji-hyun’s character, it’s clear that Kim Se-ah’s behavior wasn’t appreciated.
The duel ended, the field gates opened, and the two exhaled heavily as they stepped out onto the field.
Instructor Ji-hyun smiled as she looked at them.
“You both did a great job. If I were to give you two some feedback on your respective duel, first of all…… Kim Young-jae, being able to use that much magic at your age surprised me. I never thought you could manipulate multiple types of magic so easily.”
“Thank you.”
“It would be very helpful if you could develop other applications for the magic you can use. Developing physical abilities would also be a good idea, as a mage who can manipulate multiple attributes like you has the physical ability to sustain combat.”
She was right, there was nothing more annoying than a multi-attribute mage becoming physically capable.
I still shudder to think of the most annoying thing about them in the game: their persistence in countering any attack.
“And Kim Se-ah, I wish you hadn’t given up there and tried a little harder. I’m personally a little disappointed.”
“……I apologize.”
“Still, I’ve seen you use spatial magic to deflect invisible enemies into certain things or magical orbits. Normally, when one thinks of a spatial mage, one thinks of a mage who specializes in detection. But…”
Ji-hyun smiled and stroked Kim Se-ah’s hair, which was now completely tousled.
“This instructor personally likes to use spatial magic as aggressively as you’ve shown. If you develop your abilities a bit more, I’m sure you’ll become a spatial mage that can do the job.”
“Yes……! Thank you!”
I couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride in her advice, perhaps because she was a spatial mage like Kim Se-ah.
But why didn’t I remember seeing someone of her caliber in the game?
Even on the deserted island, what she’s shown so far is impressive enough.
If she was that good in first grade, she’d be a pretty famous hero after graduation. But no matter how much I think about it, I don’t remember hearing the name “Kim Se-ah” in the game.
……Was something going to happen later?
With that thought in mind, I clapped for Se-ah and Young-jae as they approached, just like the other kids.
The two of them walked towards the spectators with satisfied expressions on their faces.
Thanks to the influence of the field, the two of them were completely unharmed after such a fierce battle.
If the two of them were this strong after such an intense battle, what was it about Jin-woo that made him lose his mind?
Thinking of him still lying in the infirmary, I began to feel a little sorry for him.
‘Ugh…’
I suddenly felt a bitter taste in my mouth.
