Chapter 22: Chapter 22. Preparing for the Rookie Tournament (2)

The biggest difference between throwing and shooting spells lay in the “aiming” formula used to target an enemy precisely.

With a properly configured aiming formula, you could hit even distant enemies.

“All right, here goes.”

“Yes, I’ll watch closely!”

I fired a sphere of flame toward the eastern sea.

Guided by the aiming formula, it flew at precisely the right angle and direction, crossing the water… before striking a piece of floating debris.

Steam rose as the great ball of fire fell into the sea.

“Oh, another direct hit!”

Watching beside me, Senia let out an exclamation.

“It looks like you’ve completely mastered shooting spells too! To hit a target so far away that accurately!”

“Hmm…”

But I folded my arms and tilted my head.

“What’s wrong, Eriol?”

“I’m just starting to wonder how much point there is in refining my shooting spells.”

“What do you mean?”

“The fireball-type spells we use gather energy from fire elements, concentrate it in one place, then launch it. On impact, the flames burst out and damage the surrounding area.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“In other words, they’re ‘area attacks.’ Burning enemies across a wide area all at once matters more than aiming precisely to hit an enemy far away.”

“Oh…”

Professor Inies had actually told us this in class too.

“The Rookie Tournament is about hitting a training golem with magic. The golem won’t be all that far away, and whether we throw or shoot, there probably won’t be much difference to see.”

The objective data recorded by the measurement golem would probably be similar too.

“I’ve already practiced throwing plenty. There’s practically nothing left to practice if I keep going in this direction.”

It had already been a week since I’d started practicing launching spheres of flame every morning.

But continuing along the same lines didn’t seem likely to achieve much.

“I’m sorry I haven’t been much help…”

“No, you’ve been a big help already.”

After years of martial training, Senia was far better than me at things like tracking moving objects with her eyes.

She’d watched carefully from beside me, noting how fast each sphere of flame flew and whether it veered off course along the way.

Her observations had helped me a great deal in mastering both throwing and shooting.

“Not at all. All I did was watch you use magic. Thanks to that, I’ve become quite good at throwing and shooting myself…”

“Then… could you help me a little more?”

“Pardon?”

“It might be a lot to ask.”

Senia blinked at my words.

“Would that be difficult?”

“I-it’s fine! Just tell me what you need!”

She thumped her chest and nodded.

“You’re the whole reason I’ve learned magic faster than the others. I’ll do just about anything you ask!”

“Good. Then let me check one thing.”

I spoke cautiously.

“If I cast magic at you… could you dodge it?”

Senia flinched at my question.

Then she looked me in the face, her expression serious.

“Eriol, do you mean that?”

“Yes. So I’d like a serious answer from you too.”

“…”

She fell silent for a moment, thinking.

“Eriol, I’ll be honest.”

“Go ahead.”

“If we were competing purely in magical skill, you’d win every single time. That’s how gifted you are at magic.”

Her voice was serious.

“But if we fought seriously… I’m confident I could dodge every spell you cast without taking a single hit.”

“I thought so.”

It was just as I’d expected.

A few days of practicing magic didn’t change the fact that Senia was still the better fighter overall.

“I’m sorry. That was presumptuous of me.”

“No, it’s only natural.”

As a member of the Artian family, renowned for its swordsmanship, Senia had trained in martial arts since childhood. From the way she’d subdued those terrorists, I could tell she’d already reached a considerable level of skill.

Of course she could move faster than I could launch a spell.

“So, Eriol, you want to try using magic against me? You want a target that moves and dodges your spells instead of standing still.”

“That’s right.”

“But would that serve any purpose? Won’t the golem just stand still during the Rookie Tournament?”

“That’s true too.”

“Then why…?”

“Because I think practicing that way will be the quickest way to learn what I’m after.”

“…?”

A third method of attack, neither throwing nor shooting.

To master it, I intended to enlist Senia’s help.

---

“Department Head Horizon!”

Having come to the Elemental Department head’s office, Klein raised his voice at Professor Horizon.

“Is it true that the new-student competition is changing this year?”

“Why are you raising your voice, Klein?”

Horizon replied calmly.

“We finalized it today.”

“How could you make such a sudden…?”

“I’m sorry, but this wasn’t a sudden decision. The Elemental and Fabrication Departments discussed it thoroughly.”

“Urgh…”

The new-student competition was organized primarily by the Elemental and Fabrication Departments, with Horizon, the head of the Elemental Department, in overall charge.

“If you were interested, why didn’t you come to the meetings? The dates and locations were all on the noticeboard.”

“B-but still…”

“The new-student competition needed revising anyway. Every year, the leading students score so similarly that it’s difficult to rank them.”

Horizon spoke in an unhurried tone.

“We’ll keep the existing event against the golem… then have the top performers compete in mock battles to determine their final rankings.”

“But mock battles between students who’ve only been here a month…?”

“They’ll have plenty of mock battles ahead of them anyway. There’s a joint league tournament in the second semester, so wouldn’t this make a suitable rehearsal?”

“But it’s too dangerous for students who can’t even cast defensive magic yet!”

“We can cast the defensive magic for them. That would actually be safer.”

“Well…”

Certainly, the students would be safe if the professors cast defensive spells on them.

They could unleash their full abilities, firing spells at one another.

“Hmm. From the look of things, you were preparing some special additional instruction for the top class ahead of the Rookie Tournament.”

“Urgh…”

That had hit the mark.

“In any case, prepare them well. Inies seems quite fired up about the advanced class too.”

“Was Professor Inies the one who suggested this?”

“That’s not for me to say.”

“…”

“At any rate…”

Horizon turned to look out the window.

“This year’s new-student competition should be interesting.”

---

“It’s been approved, Helios.”

“I see.”

In a corner of the academy.

Inside a training room normally off-limits to first-years, Helios was working out with exercise equipment.

“Thank you for accepting my suggestion.”

“Not at all. It was an excellent idea.”

The person watching Helios and speaking in a cool voice was Inies, the advanced class’s supervising professor.

“Under the existing assessment system, there’s no way to guarantee first place. But if the final rankings are decided through mock battles…”

“Then all I have to do is beat the top-class students, and first place is guaranteed.”

Helios set down the equipment and wiped away his sweat.

“Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. We have Charlotte too.”

“Even so, I want to take first place myself.”

His classmate Charlotte was training separately elsewhere.

Inies considered the two of them more or less equal, but gave them different training because their styles differed.

“Are you confident, Helios?”

“Of course.”

Helios answered calmly.

“In a one-on-one fight, Eriol Valencia won’t stand a chance against me.”

“You make it sound easy.”

“Wasn’t he a young noble living a leisurely life on a country estate before he came to the academy? He’ll be weak in actual combat.”

“That seems likely.”

“Kane Trigger and Senia Artian are more of a threat.”

“You’ve done your research, I see.”

“Learning about your prey beforehand is fundamental to hunting.”

“Just what I’d expect from someone from a ranger family.”

Helios came from a family that had worked as rangers for generations. Since childhood, he’d gained experience venturing into dungeons in all sorts of places.

He already held a full ranger license.

“As I said before, I’m not close to Kaisel, so I can’t introduce you to him directly. But if you take first place in the Rookie Tournament, I’ll speak to a few people and arrange an introduction.”

“Thank you, Professor.”

“Then… let’s get down to learning some more magic.”

Helios wanted to win the Rookie Tournament and catch Professor Kaisel’s eye.

Inies wanted the advanced class to outperform the top class in the Rookie Tournament.

Their interests aligned.

“To beat Eriol Valencia, you’ll need magic beyond a first-year’s level.”

---

“And so… I’m telling you before the official announcement.”

After classes.

Professor Klein had summoned Kane, Senia, and me.

“Now that mock battles will decide the final rankings, there’s a good chance that what you learn in class alone won’t be enough to earn you a high placing.”

Klein spoke seriously as we sat on the sofa in his office.

“I called you here because I believe you three have the best chance of placing near the top.”

“…”

“If you’re willing, I’d like to give you special training for the Rookie Tournament… What do you think?”

We exchanged glances at that.

But Kane soon spoke up first.

“I don’t think that would be right, Professor.”

“What?”

“You’d essentially be giving just the three of us special treatment, wouldn’t you? I don’t think it’s right to get good results that way.”

“But Professor Inies has already been giving the advanced-class students special training…”

“That’s them. This is us.”

Klein’s face stiffened at Kane’s bold reply.

But Senia nodded in agreement.

“I think Kane is right, Professor.”

“Hmm…”

“This is a competition to see how skilled each of the new students is. If professors intervene to raise only certain students’ rankings… I think that’s wrong.”

Klein seemed a little flustered, as though he hadn’t expected this response.

“E-Eriol. Do you feel the same way?”

“I think they both have a point.”

“Ahem…”

“But I agree with you that we need to prepare for the Rookie Tournament, Professor.”

Klein looked surprised at my words.

“In fact, I’d been thinking of asking you for help.”

“What with? Go on, tell me. If it’s private lessons, I’d be more than willing…”

“I don’t need those.”

My reply was firm.

As Kane and Senia had said, I had no intention of accepting special instruction from Klein.

Besides, if I wasn’t careful, I might end up dragged into the Lore Department, just as Kaisel had warned.

“Could you lend me a few books?”

It was difficult to learn combat magic from the books available in the library and similar places.

But as a professor, Klein… was bound to own books on combat magic that first-years couldn’t get their hands on.