Ch.248248 – Take This, Senior

# 248 – Let’s See You Catch This, Senior

The rainbow ball was far more sinister than the tri-colored ball that demonstrated the burning heat of a flaming dodgeball, or even the six-colored ball with its spicy trick of flying in repeated intervals.

“She handles advanced control techniques as easily as breathing.”

“Is that truly a first-year’s dodgeball?”

“Incredible proficiency in transformation magic. The quality of the mana formulas is extraordinary. She’s properly harnessing the power of natural mana.”

The professors who had settled in to watch this rare major event were startled as soon as they saw the rainbow ball.

“Of course. Who do you think taught her?”

The professors were surprised for a different reason.

It was because of the presence of the flower-crowned madwoman—no, the Warerd Professor who usually skipped all such events—sitting in a corner on a vine swing, rocking back and forth while watching.

While Professor Layve, who taught “Fundamentals and Understanding of Imperial Magic,” and other imperial professors couldn’t hide their discomfort, professors from the frontier regions asked questions without hesitation.

“You teach mana control techniques to first-years?”

“Isn’t that advancing too quickly?”

“I never specifically taught that.”

“Then why is this your doing? It’s just raw talent.”

“Because one of the spells that child is using was taught by me.”

Vines grew rapidly at Warerd Professor’s feet.

Peculiarly, the vines grew sideways rather than upward.

“Gravity manipulation, I see.”

“You teach such advanced magic to first-years?”

“Until the final exams, I teach magic related to nature’s survival strategies. Camouflage, poison, ambush, and such.”

In the world, there are animals that hang upside down from ceilings to launch surprise attacks, and monsters that eat prey thrown off cliffs by suddenly levitating with gravity magic.

“Hmm. This year’s first-years have many promising students. Both Massgakki and Oknodie.”

A particularly young and cheerful voice rang out among the professors.

It was Pinkberry, the Academy’s shortest professor at 144cm, who insisted on pink twin-tails but was never told to act her age—the perfect example of a legal loli.

“But why do I see disgusting mosquitoes near that child’s magic?”

A clenched-teeth anger began to appear on Professor Pinkberry’s youthful face.

* * *

While the six-colored ball would slow down after being caught by the body a few times despite its interval repetition, the rainbow ball could maintain nearly full power through gravity magic that constantly applied gravitational acceleration.

A ball falling from 3m height can be caught easily, but a ball falling from 30m is frightening to approach for those unfamiliar with it.

Not to mention a ball with gravitational acceleration from 300m or 3000m.

The moment Deadcat first experienced the rainbow-colored all-out attack, he realized the rainbow ball’s trick.

‘The first catch is relatively easy. Once you miss, catching the returning ball becomes much harder.’

As gravitational acceleration continuously added speed, the ball would emerge from close range in repeated intervals, trying to knock him out of bounds.

Naturally, the rainbow ball had various magical formulas embedded to thwart any attempt to catch it.

This was a pure battle of skill.

A contest between the skill of placing formulas to trouble the catcher and the catcher’s practical skill.

But again, Oknodie’s ball had the troublesome powers of <Transformation> and <Amplification> that changed the ball’s characteristics at regular intervals, making customized defense impossible.

Truly a colorful all-out attack worthy of its rainbow name.

‘Got it.’

Deadcat’s skill was not lacking either.

He managed to grab the ball relatively quickly at the cost of two life stacks.

But he couldn’t throw it.

“Wow~! You caught it already. Then here comes the double rainbow all-out attack~~!”

Not only was Oknodie’s attack continuing, but… this ball had precisely engraved formulas that disconnected force and space.

Even if he threw the ball toward Oknodie, gravitational acceleration would make it curve back toward him, and it would begin to infinitely repeat through the disconnected space.

It was like holding a boomerang that returns when thrown, or a guided missile with his own coordinates locked in.

‘She engraved such vicious formulas to ensure it doesn’t end with just catching the ball.’

Deadcat felt powerless.

As long as this dodgeball game continued, there was no way for Deadcat to win inside the court.

“I forfeit.”

Deadcat quickly folded his hand.

There was no point in wasting precious illusion stacks out of stubbornness only to become a laughingstock in front of students and professors.

His illusion stack wasn’t a technique light enough to keep showing repeatedly in public.

“That’s not fair!”

He ignored Oknodie’s whining.

Next time, he would put that arrogant nose in its place with a no-rules confrontation outside the court.

But…

After leaving the court, he witnessed a scene that made him glad he had forfeited.

The balls that had been targeting him were now passing through the air with swooshing sounds.

Balls that kept accelerating as they repeatedly passed through disconnected space.

“Wow. Who’s going to retrieve those balls?”

“Look at that speed. Not even telekinesis could get them out.”

“Seems like nobody can retrieve them…?”

Suddenly, all three balls on the court were sealed in the space where Deadcat had been.

“Wow. Deadcat must have had a hard time.”

“That first-year is insane.”

“Being top of the class isn’t for nothing.”

Students approached, pretending to be friendly.

Deadcat, who was about to proudly ignore them with feline dignity, turned his head sharply.

These were all familiar faces.

This one from the advanced class. That one from the advanced class. Every single one from the advanced class.

There were already too many students who shouldn’t be outside the court.

“What got you?”

When Deadcat asked, the second-year advanced class students sheepishly pointed to their respective defeat factors.

“This guy named Giselle threw dirty pepper powder shaped like a ball, and when I grabbed it, it burst. My nose stung and my eyes burned so much I couldn’t see.”

“Dorothy is pure evil too. I got Rockpell out, but she threw a dodgeball with thorns all over it. It hurt so much I dropped it.”

“You know that kid wearing the pirate captain hat? I was having an intense shooting match with magic bullets when suddenly the ball next to me started spewing electricity and I got shocked and hit by a ball.”

“Didn’t someone get ambushed by a kid with a dagger and get carried to the medical wing earlier?”

“Dodgeball is really dangerous. Guns, ambushes—there’s too much to watch out for.”

Second-year advanced class students sharing stories of how they were eliminated by first-year advanced class students through extraordinary methods, as if they were epic tales!

“You guys got off easy.”

“What happened to you?”

One second-year student pointed with a gloomy face at a towering ice pillar.

“Something that might have been a dodgeball or an ice ball kept pouring down from the top of the pillar where I couldn’t even see a face.”

Estimated height: 50m.

Diameter: 5m.

The massive ice pillar was so tall that even looking up, you couldn’t see the top.

Its imposing presence was like a strategic weapon appearing in a children’s game, creating a bewildering tower!

“Wow…”

“That’s too much…”

Northern Archduchess Irene.

Excluding the students counted among the Four Heavenly Kings, she was displaying perhaps the strongest presence as she picked off second-year advanced class students one by one.

* * *

Irene was honestly offended.

Oknodie?

Understandable since she was top of the class.

Ishtar?

She had personally experienced the strength of the new hero.

But the other two were different.

Cassia.

A quiet, seemingly unmotivated girl from Group C whose daily activities were unknown.

Massgakki.

An even more casual person who attended the Academy while playing princess with an attitude that seemed to look down on the Academy.

‘If such people are counted among the Four Heavenly Kings, does that mean I’m worse than them?’

Unacceptable.

She would clearly show those who dared to judge her as inferior to them.

One, two, three.

She threw ice balls indiscriminately, like bombing raids, at both second-year advanced class and regular students.

Some ice balls would stick to hands when caught.

Some would explode nearby, sending ice shards flying.

Some would turn the ground into an ice rink upon impact.

Students fell helplessly to the random-powered barrage of ice balls.

Boom, boom-boom

Occasional explosions could be heard from the base of the pillar, but her expertise in ice magic properly utilized architectural engineering principles to ensure the structure could withstand until rapid repairs and reinforcements could be made.

Thanks to this, those targeting the pillar and those targeting her at the top were equally wasting their efforts.

No one without the skill to destroy the pillar in one strike and bring her down to eye level could threaten her.

‘Most of the advanced class students are already engaged with the first-year advanced class. Those who have the capacity to face me are…’

CRASH!

The ground at her feet shook from an impact of a different caliber.

Turning in surprise, she saw a brilliantly white senior holding a ball.

The white paladin, Roo.

The opponent who had eliminated Massgakki without anyone noticing had now set his sights on her.

‘I didn’t sense anything at all. To take down someone with such ominous dark mana without me even detecting it…’

This was truly no ordinary senior.

A senior counted among the Four Heavenly Kings of the second year.

Yet was even he underestimated?

Crunch.

The ice ball in her hand grew colder.

Such a powerful opponent—the first since the hero Ishtar.

After that day of powerless defeat, how much stronger had she become?

“Let’s see you catch this, Senior.”