Chapter 105.2
We arrived at a corner of the forest, where the trees parted.
With a great tree at her back, Elphimia looked restless, but upon seeing me, she smirked.
Youre late.
Sorry. I was a bit busy.
While getting closer, I scanned the surroundings.
Indeed, shes alone.
What about Rees?
Guarding the base. That kid isnt suited for combat.
You neither. How do you plan to fight a spell sword when attack magic is forbidden?
Arent you worried about yourself? You have more restrictions than I do, dont you?
Interesting.
I dont know what shes up to. But Ill play along.
I stopped and readied my wooden sword.
Our smiles faded.
Distant clashes of swords, even the rustle of leaves, faded from our awareness.
Then, in the moment Elphimias fingertips twitchedI launched myself off the ground.
Closing the distance in one swift motion, I closed in on Elphimia.
In that instant, I felt a tremor beneath my feet.
What!?
I leaped instinctively and saw a towering wall of ice behind me.
As I hastily turned, my vision was blinded by a flash of lighta reprisal from before.
I pressed on, but my feet sank into the ground, and a sudden chill engulfed me.
One after another
Anticipating the approaching threat, I crossed my arms.
Then, an ice wall struck directly, sending me flying into the wall behind me.
As I soared amidst shattered ice, I focused my consciousness.
Upon landing, I countered the advancing ice wall with a wall of earth.
Seriously. How serious are you?
Enduring the intense pain in my arms, I stood up in my original position.
I diverted attention with an initial [Ice Wall], blinded her with [Light], pretended to seize her vision, sealed her movements with prepared mire and [Ice Frost], and finished with another [Ice Wall], all in rapid succession.
Few mages could unleash spells as smoothly as this.
Regardless, this is excessive.
The rule banning attack magic seems utterly pointless.
When did you learn intermediate spells?
Ive been eagerly attending Helena-senseis classes. Didnt you notice?
Elphimia boasted.
Yeah, but still. Its normal to learn in response or on your own, right? And its self-taught.
Wanna compete with Wall-type defenses?
Im up for it.
Once again, Elphimia and I faced each other.
And as if agreed upon, walls of ice and earth collided at our center.
Back and forth, walls were born and shattered.
Impressive. Youre turning earth into stone, arent you?
Im confident in my activation speed. Youre quite abnormal. Was it always this fast?
Amidst the resounding roar, I asked,
Thanks to that skill. I havent mastered it yet, but its improved my activation speed.
I see. As expected. It might be beneficial to combine it with mage training methods.
Stop it. If more people become proficient with it, the world will become even more chaotic.
Thats true. The collapse of balance is the seed of conflict.
As we conversed leisurely, we exchanged [Earth Wall] and [Ice Wall].
Despite her speed and focus, Elphimias prowess lies in her immense magical power. Even if I cant match her, shes far ahead of not just her peers. But even professionals.
Is it the elfs blood or her inherent talent?
Either way, an ordinary person wouldve exhausted their magical power by now.
Elphimia-sama!
Suddenly, a boy rushed in.
Seeing us exchanging blows, he froze.
Whats wrong?
T-The interception team has been breached! Weve been ordered to return to the base immediately by the captain!
You dont get it, do you?
Elphimia sighed at the boys bewildered expression.
We lose if he reaches the base. No matter how much strength we have left. Isnt that right?
Dont seek my agreement.
I deflected, but it was an undeniable fact.
Similarly, if Elphimia were to reach our base, no matter how much Sowal or the guards resist, theyd be blown away with the [Ice Wall].
In the end, victory or defeat would be determined not by [Disturbance] or ambush squads but by whether Elphimia or I reached the enemy base first.
The messenger left with an expression of dissatisfaction.
It seems Lambert and the others, despite their numerical disadvantage and reinforced magic, are approaching our base.
Probably, our base is in danger too.
The exercise is almost over.
Seemingly thinking the same, Elphimia stopped her movements.
Its a draw.
It seems so. Shall we call it a day?
Lets.
I swung my wooden sword, and Elphimia readied herself.
Unlike her, I havent learned any attack spells except [Earth Wall].
It all comes down to swords in the end.
I exhaled softly, measuring my breaths.
Then, I dashed forward.
Instantly, a gust of wind rose from Elphimia.
Mastered wind magicno, this is [Haze]!?
In the blink of an eye, mist engulfed the surroundings.
It significantly obscured my vision.
For what purpose?
I should have Presence Detection.
[Haze] generates magical mist, rendering [Magic Sense] useless.
Its one-sidedly disadvantageous.
What is she thinking?
I attempted to probe using [Magic Energy Manipulation].
However, before the net of magic could spread, it was repelled.
Did she do the same thing!?
Already, Elphimia had woven a net.
Even with the mist, Elphimia is tracking my position.
No matter how you look at it, its a setup.
But, for now, I have no choice but to engage in close combat.
Relying on [Presence Detection], I ran through the mist.
If even [Presence Detection] can be deceived, theres no hopebut.
However, Elphimia was there.
Straight ahead, she looked at me, concentrated.
And she activated [Ice Shield].
Defense now?
Ignoring it, I leaped out of the mist and swung my wooden sword.
At that momentmy posture faltered.
Elphimia arched her upper body, narrowly dodging the wooden sword.
And then, she raised the ice shield.
A familiar stance.
Ugh!!
While collapsing, I activated [Earth Shield] and forcibly swung with my twisted body.
The shields clashed, and I stepped on uneven ground.
As the mist cleared, Elphimia twisted her face in frustration.
You reacted well. I thought I could end it with that.
Not very mage-like of you. When did you start mimicking a vanguard? That was [Shield Bash] just now, right?
I practiced with Jema. Well, just the form. I havent learned the skill.
I thought she occasionally accompanied her. So thats what they were doing.
If she had mastered it, the unenhanced [Earth Shield] wouldnt have withstood it.
Indeed, my shield was blown away, and Elphimias shield remained intact.
Stepping on the ground, I felt a crunchy sensation.
Even the mud pillarwas the mud pit deliberately shown earlier?
However, she was aiming for close combat. I fell for it perfectly.
Still have magic left?
A little.
Shall we continue?
Yes.
We smiled at each other.
Then it happened.
What are you two doing!
Desind stormed in, glaring at us fiercely.
You were told attack magic is prohibited!
Huh? But we havent used any, have we?
No, we havent.
We replied calmly.
Whats he talking about?
But Desinds anger didnt subside.
Dont lie! How else could this situation be so dire!
Looking around, the forest was unrecognizable due to the defensive magic.
There was so much bombardment. We should tidy it up later.
Naturally, under such circumstances, its hard to believe.
Turning back, Desind raised his voice.
Even if you pretend, there are witnesses! You two used attack magic
We didnt
The one who responded was a girl peeking from behind a distant tree.
Apparently, she had been watching for the judgment.
Repeatedly, with a frightened expression, the adjudicator girl said the same words and Desinds face turned dumbfounded.
Youdidnt use?
We didnt. Well prove it too.
Furthermore, Pashou appeared from behind the girl.
At the testimony of a C-rank adventurer, Desinds expression changed to one of astonishment.
Then, looking around, he shook his head in a hurry.
Even so, youre disqualified!
Even though we didnt break any rules? Isnt that unfair?
A little annoyed, the objection slipped out.
But Desind remained unyielding.
Look at this situation! Can you call it a mere injury? Why do you think attack magic was prohibited!
I thought the same. I cant argue against that.
Desind instructed the upperclassmen and left in anger.
Im not entirely satisfied, but if were disqualified, we cant continue.
Elphimia and I sighed and put away our spears.
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