Ch.2929. The Saint’s Final Training

A month had passed since Diggers disappeared.

The news of the Student Council Vice President’s disappearance had been a hot topic among academy students for quite some time, but as with any major event that doesn’t directly affect oneself, no one mentioned it anymore.

Considering how the Zivchak Family had come to the academy and caused a commotion, he probably hadn’t returned to his family either. Where could he have gone?

Since there was no scenario in the game where Diggers disappeared by any means other than expulsion, even I had no way of knowing his current whereabouts.

As a result, the vice president position naturally remained vacant.

Alkine had attempted to fill it with someone else, but everyone declined, likely because they were all aware of Diggers’ abilities.

She subtly suggested it to me as well, but I desperately refused.

“Please give that position to Celia later. It would suit her much better.”

After that, the matter was completely abandoned.

No matter how capable he had been, no one had depended on him anyway.

The Student Council was originally formed by gathering exceptional students for Rift missions. It wouldn’t collapse just because one person disappeared.

His absence could easily be covered if Alkine just put a little more effort into support… There was no real need to feel his absence.

At some point, people stopped mentioning not only his name but even the vacant vice president position.

As if it had always been that way.

I shouldn’t end up like that.

That thought crossed my mind.

///

Several more days passed.

Finally, the day came for Lilith to come down from the mountain.

It was partly because Lilith had become strong enough… but also because midterm season was approaching.

She needed to start studying theory soon or she’d be in trouble in various ways.

Of course, I meant Lilith, not myself.

“Seriously, Ludion… how do you ace the tests when you’re always dozing off during lectures?”

Lilith demanded, clearly unable to comprehend. For reference, she had scored 20 points on today’s pop quiz. Out of 100.

Meanwhile, Celia and I both got perfect scores.

Honestly, I had been a bit worried about magical theory, but the questions turned out to be identical to puzzle patterns I’d seen countless times in the game, so I just applied the solutions and got everything right.

Some answers were lucky guesses… but a perfect score is a perfect score.

This is what we call experience-based vibes, Lilith. If you’re upset, try dedicating your life to a single game like I did.

…Wait, is that something to brag about?

Anyway, for these reasons, today was our last training session.

To be honest, at some point I stopped teaching and Celia did all the hard work…

“I only pointed out things that needed correction. It wasn’t particularly difficult for me, so don’t worry about it.”

That’s how she always responded when I mentioned it, avoiding eye contact.

Such a tsundere.

Since today was the last session, I thought it would be a good opportunity and invited Alkine to sit in the spectator seats.

“Wait a minute. Isn’t that the Student Council President?”

“I specially invited her. Since today is our final training session.”

The truth was I invited her to show how strong Celia had become.

I feel a bit bad for using her like this. I should treat her to a meal later.

Well… despite what I’m saying, Lilith’s face would certainly make an impression too.

Her skills had improved dramatically, and compared to a month ago, she had grown so much that she was almost unrecognizable.

To what extent? Recently, I couldn’t avoid her combo attacks without using evasion skills.

Her combat techniques were impressive, but having a wide variety of magic certainly made it difficult to simply dodge.

Of course, much credit goes to the multi-casting magic that Celia had hammered into her… but the fact that she had mastered and was using such difficult techniques was proof of her growth.

She wasn’t quite at the level to join the Student Council yet, but at this rate, she would likely be recruited by her second year.

If that happened, would she accept? She refused in the original story, so I couldn’t help but be curious.

“Don’t be too nervous just because the president is watching. Just do what you normally do.”

“Okay.”

Lilith took a deep breath and then charged at me without hesitation.

It wasn’t just a simple charge. While running, she spread a space of light and filled it with divine power, creating an environment favorable to her.

Since all the divine power in this space belonged to Lilith, I had to assume magic could fly at me from anywhere.

Swish!

No sooner had I become alert than light chains appeared behind me, trying to bind me.

As I twisted my body to avoid them, Holy Arrows rained down from above. They used to come one at a time, but they increased day by day, and now there were five at once.

Judging it too late to simply dodge, I used evasion to escape.

Then Lilith, who had finally reached me, swung her fist filled with divine power.

Her combo was disgustingly clean. If this were a game, she’d receive the highest praise: “playing like a total bastard.”

An ordinary person would have been caught instantly.

Unfortunately for her, I wasn’t an ordinary person. I had game eyes… no, game vision that allowed me to see all the magic she was casting.

Of course, I couldn’t see attacks coming from behind, but somehow this body was well-tuned enough to sense things flying from behind. That’s how I avoided the chains earlier.

Anyway, just as I was about to dodge Lilith’s fist, she suddenly concentrated all the divine power in the space into her hand… and then detonated it.

KABOOM!

“Wow… she’s really going all out for the final session.”

Her determination to land at least one hit was evident.

If I hadn’t used evasion immediately, it would have been dangerous.

Despite being in tatters from the explosion’s aftermath, she charged at me again without concern.

Seeing this, I drew my sword, which I had never used in my sparring sessions with Lilith.

I was planning to use it today anyway since it was our last session, but I didn’t expect her to come at me this seriously.

I felt a bit sorry for underestimating her resolve.

Of course, I still couldn’t use swordsmanship properly.

I had gone to Frang’s room a few times during breaks to practice swinging, but I still didn’t really get it.

I could somewhat mimic the motions I’d seen in the game… but that was about it.

So for me, the sword was still just a tool for parrying.

But… wasn’t that enough?

At this point where my growth had stalled, weapon techniques didn’t suit me anyway.

Clang!

I avoided all the incoming magic and parried what I could.

I hadn’t allowed a single hit even without parrying until now. I wasn’t about to start taking hits now.

At this rate, the final training session would end smoothly.

…However, if that was all I wanted, I wouldn’t have invited Alkine.

“Miss Lilith. Let me help you.”

“Huh?”

Celia joined Lilith, who was struggling.

Lilith might not know, but Celia and I had a prior agreement.

When I drew my sword, that would be Celia’s cue to join the sparring.

I had also told her not to hold back since this was meant to show Alkine, so she should fight with all her might.

Two mages… it might be a bit tough, but if I push myself hard now, Celia won’t feel dejected about not being able to join the Rift missions.

Honestly, I was also curious about Celia’s current skill level.

“Then, here I come, Ludion. I’m really not going to hold back, so be careful.”

“…Wait a minute. Does it even make sense for me to fight if she joins in?”

“Miss Lilith. This is about spirit. Approach it with the mindset of doing everything you can.”

“You’re starting to sound exactly like Ludion.”

And so the 2-on-1 sparring began with Celia joining… To be honest, I nearly died a few times when I slipped up.

Celia… she was beyond my imagination. When five spells came flying simultaneously, each with enough power to blow up the cafeteria ceiling like last time, I was genuinely terrified.

Why is she so strong? Even accounting for the difficulty change, her growth makes no sense.

At this rate, she’s not just securing the top spot in second year; she’s ready to graduate.

And Lilith’s combos were honestly dangerous too. They didn’t have as much power as Celia’s, but they were sharp in exploiting openings.

I never thought I’d have to use parry cancels because of Lilith, something I hadn’t needed until now.

When it was all over, the training ground was completely wrecked.

Celia’s magic had been so devastating that even the spectator seats were affected… but surprisingly, the area where Alkine was sitting remained intact.

She had the composure to pay attention to that detail too. It’s getting a bit scary now.

Anyway, this should have proven Celia’s abilities.

From the next Rift mission, Celia would be summoned as well.

As for Lilith…

“I suddenly feel really insignificant.”

I’m sorry. I didn’t know Celia would be that strong either.

But you did really well too. I think you’re now among the top tier of the first-year advanced class.

It’s just that Celia is an extreme outlier, but Lilith’s growth in just a month was impressive in its own right.

Of course, she didn’t seem to think so herself… but she’d realize it naturally during the midterm practical exams.

Don’t be too discouraged, Lilith! What matters is having an unbreakable spirit!