Ch.34Chapter 34: Entrance Exam (11)

Then, a massive whirlwind begins to form from the center of Valt’s enormous body.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call this Valt’s unique magic, imbued with 5th circle-level mana, which he created after realizing he could generate wind with his body.

Riduin’s expression turns to shock upon seeing this.

“What is that!? What the hell is he!?”

She had never seen or heard of anything like this while studying magic.

A 1st circle mage using 5th circle Tornado magic?

And creating wind with his body?

This was beyond Riduin’s comprehension.

Eventually, she decided to ignore how this barbarian created the magic and focus only on the result.

“Hahahahaha!! Blow!!”

Otherwise, watching Valt excitedly generating wind might drive her insane.

‘Ca-calm down! It’s just a Tornado!’

A Tornado made purely of wind was a class below her Icicle Tornado.

Of course, the power varies by circle level, but Riduin firmly believed that this barbarian couldn’t match the power of her 6th circle magic.

The mana she sensed was only around 5th circle level.

Though slightly—no, extremely—surprised, Riduin activated her magic with confidence in her victory.

“I’m surprised, but that’s all! I’ll win! Icicle Tornado!!”

At that moment.

‘I’m counting on you, Gnome!’

As Valt silently called to the gnome, the pile of stones he had prepared earlier began to rise into the air, drawn into the tornado.

The moment they saw this, the magic professors in the audience jumped to their feet.

“Im-impossible!!”

The 5th circle Tornado transformed into a 6th circle Stone Tornado as it absorbed the stones.

It’s common knowledge that stone is harder than ice.

Moreover, Valt’s Stone Tornado contained elemental power.

With Riduin’s incantation, her Icicle Tornado rushed toward Valt with a terrifying sound.

Whooooosh—

CRASH!!

Valt continued spinning, filling his arms with mana, and using the rotational force to throw the Stone Tornado with his enlarged arms.

“Hahahahaha!! This is exciting! Take this! Stone Tornado!”

Lisa and her friends watched silently.

Arias, seeing Valt laugh like this for the first time, asked Lisa.

“Hey, Lisa.”

“Yes?”

“You met Valt before any of us, right?”

“Yes.”

“Have you ever seen Valt laugh like that?”

“No.”

“Hmm… Valt must really love magic.”

Flinch!

Lisa’s expression suddenly hardened as something occurred to her, and she began rambling while clutching her head.

“N-no, that’s not it!! He’s going to die…! Riduin is going to die!! We need to stop him!! You don’t know, but when Valt laughs during a fight, three or four masked men…!!”

Lisa had developed a strange prejudice.

Unaware of his friends’ conversation, Valt was genuinely excited about using proper(?) magic after so long.

‘This is it! This is the thrill of magic!’

Manipulating mana to create extraordinary phenomena.

That’s the so-called “high” of magic!

Though his method was different, the phenomenon Valt created was undeniably magic.

Rumble rumble rumble—

WHOOOOSH!!

The magic professors in the audience were on the verge of fainting.

“He… threw that large-scale magic?”

This was different from throwing stones.

Such large-scale magic requires precise control of mana to set an exact trajectory for casting.

But this brute of a barbarian wrapped it in mana and threw it.

Riduin’s Icicle Tornado was fast, but Valt’s thrown Stone Tornado extended toward her magic at tremendous speed.

Though the two spells appeared similar in scale, Valt’s magic contained greater physical force.

That physical force would again convert into magical power.

Finally, the moment the two spells collided!

BOOM BOOM BOOM!!

CRASH!!

CRACK!

CRACKLE!

BANG!

SPLASH!

Though the barrier prevented damage to the audience, screams of fear could be heard from spectators terrified by the tremendous collision.

“Kyaaaah!”

“Eeeek!! I never thought I’d see such a sight in my lifetime!!”

It was truly spectacular! When would ordinary citizens ever get to see 6th circle large-scale attack magic?

While clashes between swordsmen and martial artists using aura are impressive, ordinary people who don’t understand the subtleties of movement tend to cheer more for such visually stunning magic.

Stone and ice fragments shattered, and magical explosions surged.

Despite being a collision of stone and ice, the mana caused thunderous sounds and shockwaves.

The spectacle created by the two colliding tornadoes was enough to mesmerize everyone in the arena.

The solid stones of the Stone Tornado mercilessly shattered Riduin’s icicles, eventually completely dismantling the Icicle Tornado.

The announcer’s urgent commentary echoed throughout the venue.

[Unbelievable!! Contestant Valt’s Stone Tornado has shattered Contestant Riduin’s Icicle Tornado!! Oh!! Riduin is panicking!! This looks dangerous!!]

Though the Stone Tornado had weakened, it was still intact as it extended toward Riduin.

“Im-impossible!! Ugh! C-Crystal Shield!!”

Having already cast one 6th circle large-scale spell, casting another 6th circle Blink consecutively would risk mana backflow.

With no choice, Riduin activated a 5th circle ice shield spell, but even that wasn’t perfect.

The Stone Tornado pounded against Riduin’s defensive magic and engulfed her.

BOOM BOOM BOOM!!

CLANG CLANG!!

THUD THUD THUD!!

“Ugh, gah! Kyaaaah! I-I surrender!!”

Finally, swept up in the Stone Tornado, she screamed terribly and declared defeat.

At this rate, Riduin could die.

But it was impossible to cancel magic that had already been activated.

Just as the referee was about to rush to Riduin’s aid.

Valt was already running toward her, even faster.

Seeing this, Lisa screamed.

“N-no! A finishing blow!! Valt, don’t!!”

From the moment the Stone Tornado destroyed Riduin’s Icicle Tornado, Valt had already been moving.

Valt leaped like lightning toward Riduin and struck the Stone Tornado with his right hand full of mana.

It looked like he was slapping the tornado.

Magic is inanimate.

Valt could strike it.

The so-called magic slap.

The official name Valt gave it was Anti-magic Slap.

This was Valt’s unique magic that he first used to dispel Riduin’s Fireball.

“Hup!!”

BOOM!!!

As the Stone Tornado dissipated, the unconscious Riduin fell, and Valt caught her while shouting.

“Medic!!”

The medical team, stunned by the tremendous magical clash, quickly rushed forward at Valt’s call.

Though he had cast the magic with excitement, its power was no joke.

If Riduin hadn’t used a shield spell, her fragile body would have been torn apart instantly.

After briefly using healing magic on Riduin, the healer sighed with relief.

“Phew… her life isn’t in danger. She’s just unconscious.”

Hearing those words, a smile formed on Valt’s lips.

“That’s a relief.”

The announcer, finally regaining his composure, shouted.

[A-amazing magical clash!! Valt Geruntu has defeated the Tower Master’s disciple, Riduin Brinche, head-on with magic and claimed victory!!!]

“Woooooooah!!!”

“Kyaaah!! Valt!! Valt did it!! He defeated the Tower Master’s 6th circle disciple!!”

Arias gave Lisa a sidelong glance as she suddenly cheered.

“Didn’t you say he was going to kill her? That we needed to stop him?”

“W-well, isn’t it good that I was wrong?! Woooo!! Valt! Valt! Valt!”

Arias was pleased to confirm that Valt was the kind of person he thought he was.

Far from delivering a finishing blow, Valt had intended to save Riduin from the start.

With a slight smile, Arias joined Lisa and Lati in shouting loudly.

“Amazing!! Prince Valt!!!”

The announcer continued his explanation.

[Thankfully, Contestant Riduin appears safe thanks to Contestant Valt’s quick action!! What a relief!! Contestant Valt prevented potential casualties!! Incredible!!]

The referee could have saved her too, but she would have been injured.

Because Valt rushed in quickly, Riduin was almost unharmed.

“Valt! Valt! Valt!”

Valt’s actions just now had a tremendous impact on the audience, completely changing their perception of barbarians.

[Vaaaalt!! Geruntuu!! This is the true manner of dueling!! Who said barbarians were violent?! Showing both skill and character, he becomes the first to advance to the semifinals!!!]

Even the announcer seems to have become Valt’s fan.

“Geruntu!! Geruntu!! Geruntu!!”

People chanting the Geruntu name wasn’t a bad feeling for Valt either.

Saving Riduin was indeed in line with the “noble barbarian attitude.”

Unless it’s a death match, Geruntu warriors don’t take their opponent’s life carelessly.

The warriors of Geruntu, who consider nature and experience their teachers, spend their days fighting each other.

That’s the Geruntu training method.

If Geruntu killed their opponents in every battle, they would have gone extinct long ago.

Not killing opponents in experience-based battles is an implicit promise among the Geruntu.

This duel was not a life-or-death battle but a match.

Valt’s instinct felt resistance to killing such an opponent.

And Riduin was a 6th circle mage.

She could clearly be of great help to Valt.

Moreover, killing the Tower Master’s disciple might bring unforeseen disadvantages to Valt.

Considering everything, saving her was the obvious choice.

But the result was even better than expected.

He had somewhat removed the prejudice against barbarians from the Emperor, professors, citizens, and students alike.

Though a peace treaty had been signed, the central continent’s borders were still open to only a very small number of barbarians.

However,

This incident created by Valt would become the cornerstone for allowing barbarians free entry into most countries of the central continent.

***

“Ugh! Wh-what happened to me?”

As Riduin woke up in the infirmary, the healer explained the situation.

“You would have been in danger if not for Prince Valt. He may have caused the problem in the first place, but he did save your life, so you should at least thank him.”

Riduin felt dejected.

‘I lost.’

She had thought she was the strongest among her peers in magic, but she had been defeated head-on in a battle of firepower.

Riduin was the Tower Master’s disciple.

The Tower is a place that researches all magic in the world.

Though the activation process was crude, looking at the result, it was undeniably magic.

Riduin, a mage to the bone, felt deep curiosity about this impossible phenomenon.

Valt’s full name escaped the lips of Riduin, who wouldn’t even remember the names of those she wasn’t interested in.

“Valt Geruntu…”