episode_0067

As I distanced myself from Rachel, Helena and Claire seemed to have been waiting for that moment as they gestured with their hands.

First to step forward was Helena.

“Ice Field.”

Reinforcing the damaged parts caused by Victor’s charge, I strengthened the ice field even further to block me, who was inherently stronger than Victor.

Simultaneously, just like what I did to James and Victor, she shot a huge ice spear towards me.

I dodged it easily, but its impact was more substantial than I had anticipated.

“I can’t afford to take this head-on without any armor.”

I hadn’t reached the level of being able to withstand this yet, and its power was weaker than what I knew, but if I were to directly endure it with armor, I wouldn’t be able to withstand five hits in the same spot.

The proficiency and skill level in using armor were low on my side as well.

I also caught Claire’s enchanted rock thrown at me for testing purposes, and unlike my fragile body, the power imbued in the rock was quite strong.

“She must have buffed her strength to compensate for the lack of power.”

She could buff herself as well, but it seemed like she chose to enhance her physical strength rather than magic power to put up a better fight.

Impressed by the fact that besides burning in flames, the enchanted rock could also explode, something not demonstrated in previous matches.

“But to restrain the opponent, I need to make it more definitive.”

It’s effective to create a simple area around oneself like James or Helena did, making it difficult for enemies to approach for close combat.

However, when facing a formidable opponent, the crucial decision-making comes into play.

“Compared to Iris’s real domain, this is merely a laid-out magical field.”

Calmly evading Helena’s magic, I sheathed my sword and walked slowly towards the ice field.

Claire, curious about my intentions after seeing what happened to Victor, appeared puzzled.

Stopping in front of the ice, I infused a significant amount of mana into my body strengthening spell and struck the ice with reinforced fists, creating a thunderous noise akin to a bombardment.

-Kwa Kwa Kwa Bang!

More than half of the ice shattered, sending fragments and dust flying obscuring the view.

Not missing this moment, I stepped on the shattered part and charged ahead.

Had she pre-cast a surveillance spell? Without hesitation, I informed Claire of my position and cast a spell.

“Which side will you choose, Helena?”

Rather than binding my feet with another ice field, Helena opted to shoot out magic to maintain distance.

The difference now was that instead of ice spears, she was trying to hinder me with multiple ice arrows and small ice crystals in a wide area.

“Not bad.”

Remembering that I could dismantle Helena’s key means of securing the current space with Ice Field magic, I refrained from wasting mana in the same manner.

For the same reason, considering that I could easily dodge Ice Lance attacks, I immediately adjusted my strategy to focus on hitting accurately rather than quantity.

Acknowledging my speed advantage and not laying magical traps, which was commendable.

“However, it’s regrettable. If the quantity isn’t an issue for the opponent, I have no choice but to allow the approach.”

Informing her about this would help us escape dangerous situations when the opportunity arises.

Believing in my magic resistance, I collided with spells physically, pushing through with minimal magical defense.

As I took a hit from the magic, Claire flinched, reminiscent of the injuries sustained in the mock dungeon.

Straightening up immediately to help Helena during the battle, but I’ll have to call her separately later to give her some sharp advice.

“During a battle, one should not have random thoughts.”

If I were to act like that in a real combat situation where I couldn’t intervene, I could easily lose my life in vain.

While Helena was buying time, she enchanted a large number of enchanted stones and threw them towards me using magic.

Unfortunately, if it’s at the explosive level when caught by hand earlier, it wouldn’t cause significant harm to me now.

Instead, there is a high possibility that Helena creating a momentary gap in detecting me.

Enduring all the explosions and moving forward, Claire attempted to block our view using basic light magic.

“Blocking the view is good, but if this also provides a means of detection for the opponent, it’s not a big issue.”

Since I was sensing in real-time with my extrasensory perception, I would have closed my eyes earlier, but I wanted to see how Claire and Helena dealt with it, so even after the light ended, I continued to move forward with my eyes closed.

Thinking that Claire had taken away my sight, she expressed success.

“For now, Claire gets a deduction.”

Without missing the opportunity, Helena laid down magic to prevent me from getting closer and conjured additional spells while I couldn’t approach further.

Even enduring her magical bombardment, she must have judged that if she could gain a brief moment with such magic, it would be fortunate.

“Let’s finish Helena first.”

I don’t know what magic she is casting right now, but considering that Ice Lance didn’t take this long to cast, it would be better to deal with it quickly.

Reactivating Ora with physical enhancement and bursting through Helena’s barrier explosively, I aimed a sword at her neck.

“Now it’s time to surrender-”

Just as I waited for that moment, the spell she had prepared was cast, and upon realizing its nature, I couldn’t hide my astonishment.

“You know, Yukal, you’re too late. I’ve been waiting for quite a while.”

She smiled mischievously at me, and the spell she cast was a blocking spell.

Simultaneously, spreading a dense mist of ice crystals imbued with magic power, it seemed unlikely that professors other than Iris would easily grasp this if it wasn’t for her.

In the end, without intending to continue the match, it was prepared to communicate with me externally and not be transmitted outside.

“I had a feeling the barrier was being pierced too easily.”

Although she must have greatly exerted her unique ability, raising her level enough to cast a barrier that could protect Claire from an intermediate demon.

She easily blocked my previous Ora attack.

“We’ll end it shortly, so don’t worry. Remember when you promised to grant me a favor when you came to visit before?”

“…I did.”

With an even stronger agreement from me, Helena approached me with a brighter smile and asked me to accompany her to her family during this vacation. To the Viscount Clark.

“That’s… ”

I conveyed my answer to Helena, and she, seeming to understand, released the magic and opened her mouth to surrender.

As Claire also surrendered, the group test ended with Victor, James, and me taking first place.

After the exam, we all moved to the infirmary to treat injuries.

Surprisingly, Rachel didn’t seem to be injured, but I couldn’t leave her alone, so as I tried to move her, Claire buffed herself with strength and carried her on her own.

“I didn’t expect Rachel to become close to me so quickly.”

I naturally moved Victor.

James seemed to have a slight headache, but he appeared able to walk on his own.

After the exam, I had intended to give Claire some sharp advice right away, but I couldn’t bring myself to do so when I saw her last.

Before she could surrender, she ran towards me. I thought I would fight until the end before I subdued her, but she asked if I was hurt instead, showing concern for me.

Although there were no major injuries to worry about, she looked at me with slightly moist eyes, saying she didn’t want to hurt me. Feeling awkward, I turned away and told her that she should surrender.

Regarding the weaknesses Claire showed in this battle… I think it would be best to slowly point them out while we’re together during the break.

As Helena moved beside me, our eyes met, and I couldn’t help but recall the earlier situation.

“It seems difficult to give an answer right now. Please wait a bit until the break begins. I have things to take care of during the break as well. I’ll organize my thoughts and pass on the information.”

For now, the answer itself is postponed.

The vacation period is probably the only time when the academy can be left empty for a long time without much trouble, so there are things that must be done now if not at this time.

Helena inviting me to her family is something that never happened in the original work, so it’s not uninteresting, but with arranging tuition fees and taking care of kendo, there’s not enough time for a few other things.

“Still, a promise is a promise, so I’ll try to keep it as much as possible.”

When I return to my room, I should plan my time efficiently and prioritize tasks to avoid wasting time.

Having taken first place in the overall group exam, avoiding detention and worries, with no classes, I am relatively free now.

If I diligently plan and watch Victor’s kendo while training, time will pass quickly.

Avoiding detention, as the group exam ends, I ran towards the end of the first year.