Chapter 178
‘He endured it with strength?’
The gravity magic Torua used was a spell that manipulated gravity around the caster, excluding themselves.
It was a high-level magic that affected a wide area.
The spell formula was extremely complex, and just casting it was difficult.
But when successful, it was immensely powerful.
Of course, it had its weaknesses.
Like all magic, it could be nullified by disrupting the spell formula or resisting with high magic resistance.
Torua expected that at least one first-year might manage to resist it.
‘But I didn’t expect them to do it like this.’
“Enduring it by brute force… not very mage-like, is it?”
“I’m all-class, after all.”
At Leo’s reply, Torua crossed her arms.
As a fifth-year from the Magic Department…
And as its top student, Torua had always viewed Leo’s potential with regret.
She had no intention of disregarding his talent as a knight or a summoner.
But she firmly believed that Leo’s greatest strength was his magic.
At first, it was just simple curiosity.
But the more she got to know him, the more convinced she became—no one was more suited to be a mage than Leo.
‘That still hasn’t changed.’
This event organized by Sedgen wasn’t just for the benefit of the first-years.
It was also meant to give the graduating fifth-years a chance to offer guidance and advice before they left.
Of course, graduating didn’t sever their connection to Lumene.
Still, it was natural for graduating students to feel a lingering attachment.
‘This must be Professor Sedgen’s way of giving us one last chance.’
Torua glanced at Sedgen, then looked back at Leo.
She, too, wanted to encourage and mentor the younger students who would lead Lumene in the future.
But…
‘What am I even supposed to say to this kid?’
She had no idea what kind of advice to give Leo.
Tilting her head, she lightly waved her hand.
Boom—!
“Gah!”
“Urgh?”
Leo’s teammates cried out.
The pressure had intensified.
Leo’s knees trembled.
Cold sweat dripped from his body, and his limbs quivered.
The unimaginable gravity crushed his entire body.
But Leo’s knees never buckled.
Torua smiled.
“How long can you endure?”
Fwoosh—!
‘It’s getting stronger.’
Still forcing himself to resist the spell, Leo grinned at Torua.
At that moment—
Fwoosh—!
Chloe and Abad suddenly sprang to their feet.
Torua’s eyes widened.
‘A dispel?’
Until now, no one had ever successfully dispelled her gravity spell.
But Chloe and Abad were the top two students in the first-year Magic Department.
They quickly succeeded in dispelling Torua’s spell.
Fwoosh—!
Leo followed right after, freeing himself from the effects of the gravity magic.
Then Chelsea dispelled the magic as well.
“Yap!”
In a flash, Chelsea closed the distance between herself and Torua.
Fwoosh—!
Torua dodged, leaping away.
The moment she moved, the gravity magic affecting the others was lifted.
“So it really cancels if the caster moves away from the area!”
“You figured it out. Impressive. As expected of the Magic Department’s third place.”
Torua smiled and twitched her finger.
*Splurt—splurt—*
Eight translucent, blue, gelatinous blobs dropped to the ground from magic circles in the air.
The students looked puzzled.
“What are those?”
“Slimes?”
“Did Torua-senpai use summoning magic too?”
Summoning magic.
A fusion of summoning techniques and standard magic.
It was often used by mages when commanding familiars.
These familiars were not summoned beasts or spirits but magically enhanced creatures.
The eight slimes wobbled, then began to take humanoid form.
Chelsea’s eyes widened in alarm.
“Me?”
“Ding ding! Correct.”
Torua grinned.
“These slimes are chimeras I made. They can copy the appearance and abilities of their opponents. Their name is Ditto.”
“They copy appearance and abilities? That kind of chimera sounds way too advanced. I thought you weren’t specialized in magical bioengineering, Torua-senpai?”
Chloe frowned, skeptical.
Torua blinked and casually approached the slime that looked like Chloe, crouching to lift the hem of its skirt.
“What are you doing?!”
Chloe turned beet red and protested.
Seeing a slime that looked just like her being harassed embarrassed her to no end.
Torua stood up and blinked innocently.
“You’re fifteen, so I get that you’re still fresh, but your tastes are a bit too cutesy. Rabbits…?”
“AAAHHHHHHH!”
Chloe screamed, her voice amplified by magic to drown out the rest of Torua’s sentence.
Sensitive to sound, Abad and Chelsea had to plug their ears.
With her usual blank expression, Torua blinked and turned to Leo.
“There goes my plan to seduce—”
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!”
Chloe screamed so loudly the entire training ground echoed.
Everyone covered their ears and looked at her.
Then they all turned to Torua—the cause of the chaos.
“Hey, Torua. Don’t torment the underclassmen too much,” Jamua scolded.
Torua chuckled.
“Sorry. She was just too cute.”
“Even if she is, bullying her like this is a bit much—”
“Hyaaah!”
Whoosh—!
With a sharp shout, Celia hurled the Bastera ball straight into Jamua’s forehead.
Boom—!
An explosive sound echoed.
It was a blow infused with Celia’s powerful flame aura—the strongest among the first-years in the Knight Department.
Fire aura, in particular, was a perfect match for Bastera.
Even second- or third-years would be hospitalized if hit head-on.
Thud—ting—ting—ting—
But the ball bounced off and rolled away.
“Hmmm.”
Jamua rubbed his neck, head still tilted from the blow, and grinned.
“That one stung a bit.”
“Tch.”
That was the third attack.
Duran, Chen Xia, and now Celia.
Jamua had taken them all head-on.
Yet he hadn’t moved an inch.
Before the match began, Jamua had made a declaration.
“I’ll give you ten free shots.”
“Huh?”
Celia was confused.
“For the duration of those ten shots, I won’t move a single step. If I move, even once, you win.”
Jamua smiled.
“You can take advantage of this however you like—score a point and run out the clock. Professor Sedgen will give you a good grade if you beat me. I guarantee it.”
Chen Xia tilted her head.
“Why are you giving us so much leeway?”
“Because you’re the ones who’ll lead the Knight Department after us. I like promising juniors.”
Jamua grinned.
“As a fifth-year senior, I’m giving you a chance to earn a good score.”
“Well, thanks for that.”
Crackle—!
Duran snatched the ball from Celia’s hand.
Veins popped on his forehead.
“But I’ll have to decline your generosity.”
*BZZZZZZT—!*
Lightning aura roared around him, wild and destructive.
Everyone was startled.
‘Since when was he that strong?’
Lightning, like fire, was a high-offense attribute.
But since it was also speed-focused, Duran had always prioritized agility over brute force.
As a result, his lightning attacks were seen as weaker than Celia’s flames.
But now, the aura sparking from his hands held power far beyond expectation.
Fwoosh—!
Duran raised the ball.
Flash—!
Golden sparks erupted, lightning crackling as he hurled it.
CRACKLE!
Sparks scattered everywhere.
Thunk—
But the ball rolled helplessly on the ground.
“That’s one.”
Jamua smirked.
Haul retrieved the ball.
And stared at Jamua with disbelief.
‘This is Iron Wall Jamua.’
Rhys, Ulta, Torua, and Jamua—known as the four strongest fifth-years.
Compared to them, Jamua didn’t have as flashy a reputation.
He didn’t wield overwhelming power like Rhys, nor did he use diverse magic like Torua.
He wasn’t as spectacular as Ulta either.
But in close combat, no one was harder to deal with than Jamua.
His greatest weapon was defense.
With inhuman stamina and durability, he had earned the title “Iron Wall.”
In countless crises, he endured to the end, protecting his teammates’ lives.
‘Even if those three are the strongest first-years… can they really make Jamua move in Bastera?’
Bastera was a dangerous sport that mimicked real combat, but it still had rules and limits.
Even teamed up, the others couldn’t figure out how to bring him down.
“Haul.”
“Hm?”
“Pass the ball.”
Haul handed the ball to Celia as she approached.
She gave a gentle smile.
“Thanks.”
Blushing, Haul cleared his throat.
“Xia, Duran—gather up.”
Celia cast a quick glance at Leo, who was playing on the nearby field, and said,
“I have a plan.”
—
“Aren’t my slimes amazing?”
Torua crossed her arms proudly.
“They’re identical in appearance and power!”
“Impressive, indeed.”
Abad raised his hand.
“Wind Storm.”
WHOOOSH—!
A massive vortex raged forward.
“Let’s see if they can withstand this.”
“Hmm. That might be a bit much.”
CRAAACK—!
As Torua spoke, the eight slimes were shredded and scattered.
But they immediately began reforming.
“They can’t counter such attacks, but they’ve got excellent durability. They’ll be back to normal in no time. And…”
Torua casually tossed the Bastera ball toward the opposing goal.
“Don’t forget, this is Bastera. Aren’t you a little too distracted by slimes?”
Though she had moved lightly, the ball accelerated rapidly due to her magic.
Abad rushed to intercept it.
“Fimbulrert.”
CRACKLE—!
A wave of freezing air erupted.
The cold not only halted the ball with a wall of ice but froze the reforming slimes too.
Chloe, staff in hand, exhaled and lowered her arm.
Frost swirled around her.
“Oh? A new original spell?”
Torua’s eyes sparkled.
*Fwoosh—!*
She raised her hand.
Flash—!
A staff appeared in midair.
The first-years all tensed.
When a mage gripped their staff, it only meant one thing:
‘She’s getting serious now!’