[624] Prajna's Magic (1)
'4 seconds. 3 seconds.'
Shirone slowly rose to his feet.
He couldn't be fully recovered, but his eyes were clear and there was no sign of disarray.
-Entering Survival Endurance Level 9.
When System 2000 announced it, the participants' hearts sank.
'Level 9.'
The number alone was crushing.
"From now on it's a different dimension. Average stats are 8.7 times higher than Tier 3."
The jump was hard to accept as a test parameter, but in reality there was no intermediate stage between Tier 3 and Tier 2.
They had downsized the creatures to fit the Colosseum, but only demonkind of godlike scale were registered as Tier 2.
Fire incarnate phoenixes, Peroton that froze whole lakes with its breath, the deathly Grim Reaper, Thundera that dragged storms—beings that transcended species and embodied elements swept the arena.
"With one leader carrying everyone this far, the whole endurance survival is meaningless. This could lead to mass casualties."
Unlike Shirone, who had climbed the ranks step by step, the other participants had just stood there and walked into disaster.
"We have no choice but to exploit the simulation's weaknesses. Unlike reality, System 2000's higher-tier patterns get simpler."
Most high-tier creatures live outside human habitats, and their intelligence is so exceptional that the simulation lacks data.
"Of course, if you know the pattern you can dodge dozens of blades."
That was the terrifying power of intellect that outclassed brute force.
"But you can't dodge thousands of blades. They seize control in an instant."
"...."
Thousands of blades—that was exactly what the battlefield had become.
Fwoooom!
Each time the three phoenixes vomited fireballs, more than half the Colosseum was engulfed.
Peroton, covered in armored scales, flew like a winged fin and carved linear paths of ice through the air, while Thundera rained lightning down at random coordinates.
On the ground, a five-meter-tall Grim Reaper sat astride a steed, swinging its scythe.
"What are we going to do now? Can we even take the second evaluation?"
Survival Endurance selected fifteen by skill, but now it was simply a matter of luck whether you survived.
'No—I'll die. Even System 2000 would kill me.'
Tier 2 creatures' attacks were strong enough to shatter a mage's mind.
'Absolute Barrier!'
When Eden's shield swept the front, seventeen creatures concentrated their fire on it.
"Ughhh!"
Switching to a wide-area defense made the name Absolute Barrier feel ironic, but being able to protect over twenty participants only increased her worth.
"Our son is going to die like this!"
The Colosseum was being pounded; there was nowhere to stand. Inside Eden's shield was the only safe zone.
"What are you doing? I sent you to school to be a mage and now they're all going to die!"
Parents knew the competition was fierce, but this was beyond comprehension.
"End it here! Move on to the second stage!"
It felt like a contest of luck—if that's the case, petitioning the organizers to advance made sense.
"The situation is serious."
Olivia, hearing the parents' outcry, said.
"But there will be no cancellation. This is the graduation exam."
Even Alpheas, the headmaster, could no longer intervene.
The exam was being run simultaneously in every nation under the Red Line.
"Find a solution! We can't hold out any longer!"
Eden's mental reserves had reached their limit.
The phoenixes' flames spread across the shield like oil; Peroton held itself in the sky and kept exhaling freezing breath without pause.
'If the shield breaks…'
Some students scrambled to raise their mental defenses and think of counters.
"Shirone! It's dangerous!"
Before they could act, Shirone ran into the center of the concentrated demon fire.
"Don't be reckless! You'll die!"
Baikal didn't want Shirone to go like that.
"Wh—!"
But Shirone moved through the ma-shin without taking any damage.
"What is that?"
All the scouts bolted upright to get a better look.
"Huuu!"
Shirone crossed the Colosseum, set up a formation at its far edge; a golden radiance trailed his body and then burst upward—a manifestation of a great golden seraph.
Kieee!
As System 2000 locked onto the most active target, the ma-shin all turned and charged.
"My—my word…!"
Just as everyone braced for disaster, Shirone's temporal ki spun thousands of vortices, warping the landscape.
'Shibulsangpokmae!'
A single shaft of light cut through the chaos of flame, scythes, freezing breath, and lightning.
"Ugh!"
At once analysts from every nation clutched their heads and groaned.
"What happened?"
Elizabeth frowned and called out.
"System 2000's time function is malfunctioning!"
"Time?"
"It isn't registering correctly. The error margin is about plus or minus 1.14 seconds!"
"What does that mean?"
"It means it's running time in reverse!"
Only then did Baikal look closely at Shirone.
There was no obvious anomaly, but accumulated system errors were causing the creatures' movements to stutter.
"Manifestation art…?"
An ability only praṇyas at the highest level could use was unfolding inside the graduation Colosseum.
"Miss Reina, odd question, but…"
Vincent stared at Shirone cutting through the ma-shin and asked, dumbfounded.
"Is that student really my son?"
Reina had never imagined a sight like this.
"I—I'm not sure either."
"He is Shirone, sir."
Rian, placing a hand on Vincent's shoulder, turned to Shirone with a flushed face.
"I can swear on my sword."
"Now! Everyone, attack!"
Having lost the initiative to Shirone again, the participants belatedly leapt into action.
'Nuclear Fusion!'
After lengthy calculations, Iruki unleashed her finishing spell, and an explosion erupted at the Colosseum's center.
"52,437 Kilobusters! Yield exceeds 50 Megabusters!"
Those numbers had never appeared in a graduation exam.
Each competitor's specialty erupted like a blaze to avenge trampled pride; the scouts were swamped with evaluation, analysis, and recording.
'Just hold on a little longer!'
The total data the Colosseum generated threatened the special capacity of System 2000 for the graduation exam, yet they still couldn't annihilate the ma-shin.
-Entering Survival Endurance Level 10.
"Are we really going to see it?"
As scouts were moved by an event that would go down in Red Line history, a warning light blinked.
-System 2000 main access allowed. Activating Level 1 security program. Program Dragon: summoning firewyrm Infercus.
The emergency announcement widened the spectators' eyes.
"A dragon?"
Even among Tier 1, Infercus was a top-rank creature far beyond a mid-level lich.
Kieeeeeee!
A tearing shriek split the air, and a firewyrm whose head seemed capable of piercing the ceiling appeared at the Colosseum's center.
"What on earth is that?"
Even those fighting for their lives were cowed by the dragon's ferocity.
Grrrr…
Infercus spat flame through clenched teeth and roared at the sky; a cloud of fire covered the ceiling!
"It speaks in dragon-code."
Dragons perceive the world not as language but as binary, and even dominate it that way.
Even the cutting-edge System 2000 was scrap next to a dragon's brain; the magic born from that mighty computation followed a different path than any human spell.
Kraaang!
The flames hurled at the ground felt like impalements, and the heat alone inflicted mental damage.
"Ugh!"
In the physical world they'd already be burned to cinders.
"Move!"
"Where to move?"
The only safe place was outside the Colosseum—which meant failing the exam.
'We can't win this! What are we supposed to do?'
With no time limit in this final stage, despair spread.
'This is perverted!'
Dodging a breath that turned earth to lava, the participants cursed the exam's creator.
It felt as if the trial itself sneered, "How dare you try to solve what I made?"
"Karinter's a pervert, that's for sure."
Baikal knew who'd designed the endurance evaluation.
"But it's an approved Red Line program. There must be a blind spot."
There were blind spots—but they were vanishingly small.
Kraa! Kraa!
Every time Infercus breathed, the participants were reduced to frantic dodging.
"Damn! Get to the air! Scatter!"
Infercus craned its head and sent a thunderous white-noise roar toward the stands chasing the fleeing contestants.
"Aaagh! What is that!"
Spectators struck by the dragon's breath retreated in panic, but the flames vanished like a curtain just in front of the seating.
"Take it down! If you don't, you'll all fail!"
Believing delay only worsened matters, every participant cast offensive magic, but Infercus followed its set pattern and kept spewing flame as if indifferent to the attacks.
"Analyze parameters. Was Infercus' magic power set at 360 million Magicle?"
Elizabeth opened the percentage readouts.
"Currently 98.7 percent."
After being hit by nearly thirty mages, it had lost only 1.3 percent.
"Now 98.8 percent."
Creatures, like participants, could recover magic.
"Based on current values, estimated clear time: 197 hours 44 minutes 15 seconds."
"It'll be next year before it's done."
"Infercus' magic recovery is set at 14 percent per minute."
Faster than Shirone's instantaneous regeneration.
"If you can't overwhelm its mana pool momentarily with sheer firepower, the designer will win."
"What use is it to beat the students?"
Baikal scowled.
"Examiner! There!"
Lara pointed into the Colosseum.
Shirone was lancing Infercus' body with lasers, chipping away at its health.
The breath still ravaged the space, but it couldn't burn Shirone—he'd used Shibulsangpokmae.
"Now! All of you, attack!"
Participants who knew the laser's function began to unleash their ultimate spells.
"Parameters."
Elizabeth answered instantly.
"It's dropping pretty fast. 88.7 percent. 86.4 percent."
Everyone's single thought was to finish it here.
"67.6 percent. 64.2 percent. Estimated clear time reduced to 24 minutes 43 seconds."
"Impressive. But can they keep this firepower up until then?"
"Unlikely. The laser accounts for forty percent of total damage."
"Kraaaaar!"
Infercus roared in pain for the first time.
"Right, Shirone."
The hooded woman crossed her legs and slung an arm over the adjacent seat; the middle-aged man beside her glanced at her with displeasure.
"Push him over, damn the world."
When Shirone's laser waned, everyone turned.
"Shirone! What are you doing!"
If their firepower dipped even a little, Infercus' mind would recover instantly.
'This won't do!'
Shirone poured out everything he had; he combined Shibulsangpokmae with a four-dimensional Ataraxia.
"52 percent! 53 percent! It's still recovering!"
The crowd that had cheered together let out pained cries, and the middle-aged man fidgeted angrily in his seat.
"Ack! How can you give up now? If you're going to come this far, attack faster!"
Gazing at a motley, radiant orb within a magic circle, the hooded woman murmured.
"Ataraxia."
The middle-aged man frowned and asked, "Did you say that to me?"
Ignoring him, the woman continued.
"A long time ago, angels were like natural disasters to humans. They were so vast and strong that submission was the only option."
'What is this? Is she crazy?'
The man turned away as she muttered, but the tale was oddly compelling.
"Actually, the enemies angels fought were dragons that ruled this planet before humans."
"...."
Despite himself, he was drawn in.
"From then on, human gods split in two. The gods of distant space became religion, and the gods here became the names of kings who ruled mankind."
"What on earth are you talking about—"
He couldn't contain himself, but the hooded woman snapped her head and asked.
"Do you know what humans who watched the gods' wars called angelic magic?"
"I—I don't know…."
Flustered by her intensity, he stammered. She smiled faintly and looked to the battlefield.
"Dragon-slaying magic."
Photon Cannon.
A flash that passed through the four-dimensional Ataraxia dispersed into an immense volley from the Colosseum's outer rim and converged on Infercus.
Kraaaang!
"It's dropping again! 44 percent! 38 percent! 27 percent!"
Watching the incredible speed of those star-like volleys converging, the audience felt a kind of sacredness stamped into their genes since ancient times.
'This is the end!'
Staring at the agonized Infercus, Shirone raised his arm and clenched his fist.
Annihilation magic: Quasar.