After the opening remarks and ceremony for today's tournament, the matches had finally begun.
I was waiting in the entrance hallway to the arena, waiting to be called in. I stood there leaning against the wall, my mind uneasy and unable to focus.
As I suspected, my thoughts couldn't settle after what happened earlier. I should be focusing on the match, but it was pointless; I couldn't concentrate. All that is in my head is the face of Putri.
This morning's event had left a deep mark and wouldn't leave my mind. Putri's confession kept replaying in my head. It looped again and again, not allowing room for any other thought. The part that stuck with me the most was seeing Putri's back as she walked away. That alone left a heavy weight on my mind and heart.
Was this really the right thing to do? Was there a different path I should've taken? I didn't know.
"For the first participant, please enter the arena," came the announcer's voice, inviting me in.
Maybe I should just end this match quickly. I didn't think I'd win if this dragged on for too long. It wasn't about stamina, but my thoughts couldn't hold together for too long.
I stepped forward, walking into the arena. I squinted my eyes against the light shining down. Once I adjusted, I could see the rows of spectators cheering one by one. The arena seats weren't full, but the crowd still felt loud and packed.
Climbing the stairs, I stood atop the arena platform, and so did my opponent on the opposite side. We both walked toward the center as instructed in the notification on our phones.
Slowly, my opponent came into full view. He was shorter than the average student here. With black hair and black eyes, and a flashy red wizard coat, he stood out easily. He wore a grin, not the friendly kind, but one that looked down on others.
Oh, great. At this rate, I was going to assume every member of the Magic Community was just arrogant and dismissive.
First Ashgar, now him. I really hoped these guys learned something when they got beaten by people they considered beneath them. And, unintentionally, I was becoming one of those people who crush them.
"From the right side of the arena: a new representative of the student council, though he's just recently transferred to Protea. An Esper representing the council is a finalist every year. He's also the brother of our yearly champion, Alysha. Please welcome Ishimaru Naozumi!"
I gave a modest wave to the crowd.
Cheers erupted after the brief intro by the announcer. Shouts and hope echoed through the arena. The crowd just wanted something exciting to see.
Hearing the announcer hype me up made me feel like things were being blown out of proportion. I didn't have the strength to win without my ability, and unfortunately, I wasn't planning to use it. Sorry to disappoint you all, but I'm fighting without using my power… unless I'm cornered. If there were a way to get rid of my abilities' side effects, maybe I'd use it all the time.
"And from the left side of the arena: a first-year student from Class S and a rare magic user with Multicast. A promising new talent. Here is Ram Rath!"
Ram Rath waved his hand high in the air, soaking in the audience's cheers. His face wore the pride of someone who'd never lost, grinning and sharp-eyed. His short build made him look like a cocky kid with way too much confidence.
After basking in the cheers, Ram Rath turned toward me with a look full of scorn. His confident smirk never faded.
He clearly thought fighting me would be easy or something. I didn't really care what he thought, but I wouldn't mind punching that smug face just once.
The crowd's noise started to settle as the announcer's voice rang out again, this time sharper and more focused.
"Alright then, no need to delay any further. Let the match begin in... Three!… Two!… One!…"
The countdown began. Both Ram and I took our starting positions.
This time, I decided to observe what my opponent would do first. I waited for an opening and tried to see how his Multicast worked. Of course, there was a chance he wouldn't show it right away, but that was fine. If something goes wrong, I will use my power.
"The first match begins."
The match started. I stood still in place, waiting to see what Ram Rath would do.
On his end, Ram began chanting a spell. A magic circle appeared beside him. The circle was clearly visible, not hidden at all.
A mid-level ranged attack spell, just like your typical mage duel.
As expected. Judging from his oversized wizard coat, he didn't look suited for close-range combat. His magic circle wasn't too complex, actually, it was pretty much basic-mid-level magic, with easy to read too. It seemed like he relied more on quantity than quality, thanks to his Multicast ability.
Just as I thought, he didn't start with Multicast. But I still gained the advantage of being able to read his spell circle easily.
It wasn't simple, but this was useful information.
Compared to what I feared, this match was shaping up to be easier than I expected, especially with such a readable magic circle.
His chanting finished. A ball of wind appeared in front of the circle. It wasn't too big, maybe basketball-sized, but definitely powerful, given it was a mid-tier spell. A compressed sphere of air with rapid rotation, likely built with high pressure, making it a formidable attack.
As I watched the wind ball, it suddenly launched from the circle when Ram pointed his staff forward. Its speed wasn't as fast as Putri's lightning, but not much slower than a typical fireball.
Not too worrisome. I stood still, not moving. Seeing that, my opponent laughed quietly, like he was holding it in. He probably thought I was too scared to move or something. Sorry to disappoint, but no, I wasn't scared. This spell wasn't hard to counter. It might be magic, but the laws of physics still apply.
I pulled out one of my throwing knives and flipped it in the air a few times. It felt lighter than the one I used in my last match. But that didn't matter.
With a sharp flick, I hurled the knife with everything I had—straight into the heart of the airball.
The instant it hit, the sphere erupted in a violent blast, bursting with a shockwave that ripped through the arena like a tidal wave of wind.
The protective barrier kept the crowd safe, but inside the ring, it was a different story entirely. The force howled past me like a storm unleashed, pressure biting into my skin and nearly tearing the ground from under my feet.
I shielded my face from the wind to avoid being knocked back. Ram Rath was crouched down on one knee, covering his face with both hands.
I figured it would explode, but I didn't think it would be that powerful.
Once the gust subsided, we both returned to our starting stances.
"What the hell was that?!" Ram Rath shouted from across the arena, furious and demanding an explanation.
"What? Just basic physics," I replied casually.
He clearly didn't like my answer. His face twisted further in hatred.
"Don't joke with me. That was a mid-level spell, you know!!"
"Huh~ I thought you were smart, but I guess not," I sighed, then threw in a jab. "It's just basic physics. Oh, maybe you don't know that stuff yet, since you're still a first-year. My bad~" I mocked him again.
At first, I didn't plan to insult him, but the way he demanded an explanation just annoyed me. As expected, his hatred toward me only deepened.
"It's simple. That air sphere was controlled with magic, both the internal spin and the outer shell that maintained its shape. I just disrupted the internal airflow, the pressure became unstable, and it exploded. The magic keeping the ball intact wasn't set up to be very strong, so it broke easily."
"Still, a simple knife shouldn't be able to break through that spin," he argued.
It's different from other spells. Fire magic, for example, is made of plasma and doesn't use that spinning structure. A knife would just pass right through. Same goes for maybe lightning magic.
I gave him the explanation, but he still wasn't satisfied. Honestly, what he said made sense; something under that much pressure shouldn't be easy to pierce. That's why I threw the knife with all my strength. If I had thrown it casually, it would've bounced off.
I was actually worried the spell's outer shell would be stronger than I thought. If the knife had ricocheted at high speed, it might've flown straight back at me, and I wasn't about to let that happen.
"Want me to throw one at you?" I challenged him.
I didn't want to keep explaining, so I decided to let him figure it out himself and provoked him instead. Even though our combat gear was strong, I was sure I could draw blood with this knife; they were both made of nanomaterials, after all.
"Screw you!" he yelled, his face red with rage.
So, the switch was flipped. I figured from now on, he'd go all out to prove he was better than me.
His mindset was simple, way too simple. Not that I had the right to judge, considering how messed up I was earlier. But at least try to stay calm in battle.
After his outburst, he began chanting again. I couldn't catch every word, but I saw his mouth move. A childhood game of lip reading with friends came in handy.
His chant sounded weird, like words jumbled together. It wasn't a complete sentence.
Usually, spell chants are poetic or rhythmic, so hearing this messy string of words confused me. At first, I thought I was misreading his lips, but when two distinct magic circles appeared, I realized I wasn't wrong.
Two completely different circles appeared at once. They didn't match each other. Two different spells.
So this was his Multicast.
Is that how you do it? He mashed two spells together into one chant and got a compatible combo. Now I understand why his spell sounded weird.
"I'll make you kneel and beg for forgiveness at my feet."
With that declaration, he launched a massive attack.