A Chicken That Tries to Fly High Will Have Its Wings Broken

“Uwaaa!”

Every time he swung the rifle butt with a desperate cry,

Bang!

A roar that seemed to tear the air shook the earth, and when he seemed to realize it wasn’t working and put down the gun to throw out fists filled with vicious intent,

Whoosh!

Rough streams of water like those seen in the ocean formed around his hands, devastating everything they hit, be it the ground or buildings.

“Uwaaa!”

Wolf used magic incessantly, as if boasting his superior mana quantity, at a level that would make me worry about mana depletion.

Thanks to this, the surroundings were no longer a sight that could be seen as a sacred duel between cadets.

Who would think this was training when the ground looked as if it had been bombed, exposing dark soil, and buildings that had maintained their sturdiness were now shredded into concrete chunks?

Anyone you asked would say this was the scene of a fierce life-or-death struggle.

And it actually was.

“Uwaaaah!”

As Wolf approached with bloodshot eyes, I once again held my breath to maintain a state of extreme tension.

Whoosh!

Then, the moment his attack neared my head, I opened my eyes wide as if light was leaking out, and twisted my body to let his fist pass by my face.

And not stopping there, I used the force gained from rotating in the air as momentum to strongly strike down on Wolf’s abdomen.

“Gurgh!”

He flew far away, rolling on the ground while clutching his side with both hands in pain.

“H-How on earth…”

His face was filled with shock as he regained consciousness and stood up.

“Damn it, this shouldn’t be happening!”

Why was he being thrown back, why was Yena, whom he thought he’d slaughter without even crossing blades a few times, still perfectly alive, no, why were their skills evenly matched in the first place,

“Wh-What kind of trick did you pull?”

“…”

“You should have died. This situation doesn’t make sense when I’m using mana! D-Damn it, what the hell is going on!”

Wolf stared at me with all sorts of emotions in his small pupils. The noble ambition he had resolved at first had changed into fear and confusion at some point.

“Pfft!”

“Y-You’re laughing?”

Finding his dumbfounded appearance so funny, I covered my mouth and burst into laughter at his figure pleading in an awkward posture.

“You’re not the only one who can use mana.”

“Wh-What?”

The reason I wasn’t collapsing despite Wolf’s pressure was simple.

I also didn’t have a mana suppression device. I could withstand impacts that would rupture internal organs if I were bare-handed because I could draw out mana.

I certainly found and dismantled it before entering the ruined city, right?

It was a device I removed in case there might be any inconvenience, but somehow it turned out to be a decision made with foresight.

“Th-That’s not even funny…”

But there was no way Wolf could understand this.

“Don’t spout such nonsense!”

He stood dumbfounded with his jaw dropped, then shook his head and shouted. Judging by his deeply furrowed expression and trembling fingers, he was already not in the state of a normal person.

“D-Damn it. That damn manager must have told you after taking bribes. I shouldn’t have trusted that bastard…”

It was the typical appearance of a madman.

Well, it’s understandable that he’d go crazy.

He’s been unable to take down someone he believed only had 7th grade mana and a weak body no matter how much he struggled, so he’s lost his ability to perceive reality.

“How dare a mere commoner pull tricks behind my back? You dog…”

If he thought about it carefully, he’d know that even the muttering he’s spouting now is nonsense without any logic, but he firmly believes it, so I could roughly gauge how far gone his mind was.

It was an extremely satisfactory situation for me.

Anyway, Wolf is no longer someone to be dealt with within the framework of a duel, but a target to be taken care of.

The more unstable his psychological state becomes, the easier he is to handle. The fact that Wolf is unable to think rationally due to being swayed by emotions means it’s the perfect time to end this persistent and dirty relationship,

“Damn it, die──!”

I twisted the corners of my lips into a smile, picked up the gun thrown on the ground, and stepped forward to confront Wolf as he charged.

This battle will be the final one.

No matter how bad Wolf’s state is, he’s still 4th grade after all. If I’m unlucky and take a direct hit, I’ll lose consciousness without a chance to respond.

There’s nothing good about dragging this out.

Whoosh!

Therefore, there’s even less need to hide my strength.

“Huh, what?”

I closed the distance with him, decorating one hand with an ice formation and the other with flames spewing crimson currents.

“How can you use two attributes simultaneously…!”

He shouted, but there was no time to react.

Swish!

I briefly hesitated, then tilted my body to avoid the rifle butt swung down by him who had weakened considerably, and stepped half a step closer, as if burying my face in his chest.

Then, with the thought that this was the last, I divided the mana writhing throughout my body and concentrated it in both arms,

“This should do it.”

“Huh?”

With my palms open, I gently pressed against both of his ribs.

The motion was warm and gentle, as if a feather was settling on skin, but the aftermath was beyond imagination.

“Puhk!”

Wolf coughed up blood that wet my cheeks and more, opened his eyes and mouth as wide as possible, and

“Ha-haa, ack…”

Clutched his throat and fell to his knees.

The commotion that filled the forest subsided. No more movement was detected in the surroundings. Only the sound of Wolf crawling on the ground and gasping could be heard.

“Want to try more?”

Swish─

I wiped the blood splattered on my eyelids, and with a clean, innocent smile, picked up the gun he dropped and presented it before him.

“Guh-huh, urgh!”

But Wolf had long since lost his fighting spirit. He didn’t even seem to hear my words, just squirming his limbs like a caterpillar and screaming silently.

“You’ll die soon.”

I crouched down to meet his eye level and opened my mouth while brushing aside his bloodstained bangs.

Just as there are people who get along well with others, and those like Wolf and me who never harmonize no matter what, there are also combinations of attributes that should never be mixed.

The ice magic and flame magic I just used were one of those.

Because ice and flame, that is, water and fire, are opposing attributes, their fusion process caused massive damage to Wolf’s internal mana, increasing the power.

Moreover, since I succeeded in upgrading my mana by one level before the joint training, the damage must have doubled.

The difference between 7th grade and 6th grade is just one number, but the power is several times greater.

By now, not to mention organ rupture, his mana must have backflowed. This was tantamount to a death sentence for an awakened one.

Without treatment, he would never be able to use mana again.

Mana is a power of nature that humans don’t inherently possess. If used well, it could be the driving force to reach heights humans couldn’t dream of… but

If it goes beyond the controllable range, such as backflowing, it instead devastatingly destroys the user’s body, damaging even the core seated in the heart,

“You’ll never be able to use mana again.”

“Ah, aah──!”

In simple terms, Wolf was enveloped in excruciating pain as if every muscle fiber deep inside his body was slowly being torn apart in real-time.

“Shall I save you?”

Nod, nod!

As soon as I uttered the word “save,” he who had been writhing helplessly grabbed my ankle and moved his lips.

“If you really want it…”

I placed my palm on his abdomen as soon as he agreed.

Boom!

As usual, drawing on memories of performing emergency treatment on comrades on past battlefields, I carefully stabilized Wolf’s mana raging in his blood vessels.

It would be troublesome if he died.

It was a question asked with the intention of really saving him, and that’s why I saved him. No matter how much this guy attacked first, the burden of killing a noble was considerable.

I’m a commoner after all, right? Even if the instructors understand, I probably won’t receive good evaluations from senior cadets or classmates.

Then the plan to receive an excellent reputation in the class would go awry. For the sake of the big picture drawn looking towards the future, it’s beneficial to preserve his life.

Of course, measures should be taken to ensure this child never does anything presumptuous again.

“Guh, guhurk! You filthy bitch!”

“Can you wait a moment?”

Ignoring Wolf who was spouting vulgar words again without realizing his own situation once he could catch his breath, I grabbed his leg with hands that were dainty compared to other cadets.

“Wh-What are you doing…”

Then, after briefly checking his face filled with suspicion,

Crack!

I twisted his foot to face the opposite direction.

“Gu-guwaah!”

“You’re noisy.”

It was useless even if he caused a commotion. I tore his shirt and stuffed it deep into his mouth, then for his remaining leg, wrist, and even the mana core latent in the center of his heart,

Crunch, crack!

I treated them with all my care.

Unless he got shot in the head, I wouldn’t just let him go, right? This bastard has caused me so much trouble.

I didn’t like leaving future problems.

However, since I couldn’t kill him, this method was the best. Precisely keeping him alive, but stripping him of his qualifications as an awakened one, making him an inferior being unable to plot conspiracies.

“So I was going to say that dying might be easier, but I didn’t bring it up because I thought you’d refuse.”

“Guh-huh…”

“Don’t foam at the mouth. It would be troublesome for me if you die here. It suits you to live and lead a miserable life.”

While breaking his joints several times, when he tried to die from convulsions, I whispered in his ear as I gave him breath again through treatment.

“Sn-sniff.”

“It was fun after a long time.”

After all the work was done, I gently sat Wolf, who was shedding tears in resignation, up, then stood up.

“Yena Freud, are you safe!”

And whether I should say he was late or came at the right time, I greeted Gartel who was approaching, raising dust behind him.

Crack!

“One arm is broken… but I think I’m fine.”