[V16C4] Strongest Disciple of the Seven Sages

“Isaac Walker. Join this magical battle and prove your worth as a mage in front of the Seven Sages.”

“W-Wait just a moment!”

Mary’s words were interrupted by a shout from Monica.

While Monica was glad to have Mary stop the fight, it was not reasonable to expect Isaac to participate in a magical battle.

Isaac was still at the apprentice level. He had barely started training in practical magic.

Monica wanted to say something along the lines of, “Ike doesn’t have enough experience for a magical battle!” but that sounded too disrespectful to Isaac.

She knew how hard he had been working, as well as his talent for understanding magic formulas.

Was there any way for her to decline the battle without undermining her disciple’s dignity?

After thinking long and hard, Monica opened her mouth.

“Ike is… my disciple is still in his growth phase!!”

Louis promptly gave her the look of “What is this lunatic saying?” though Mary retained her usual smile.

Meanwhile, Isaac, the fully-grown man said to be in his growth phase, wore a complicated expression, holding back his words.

In this awkward atmosphere, Monica clenched her fist and continued.

“In other words, he’ll improve dramatically from now on! Having a magical battle right now is not a good indicator…”

“I see,” Louis said, giving Isaac a nasty smirk. “His growth phase, you say. All the more reason to give him combat experience then. Does the growing disciple have any objections?”

“I humbly accept your proposal.”

Isaac cleared his throat and replied to Louis’s loaded words. While still kneeling, he turned his head to Mary.

“Thank you for giving me a chance to prove myself, Starseer Witch-dono.”

“You’re very welcome. As for the date… let’s see, how about ten days from now? We can discuss the details later.”

Mary’s response caused Isaac to narrow his eyes for a brief instant. A few seconds later, Monica realized why.

It was because she had planned it around Isaac’s, or rather, Second Prince Felix Arc Ridill’s schedule.

The cunning witch gave a charming, girlish smile, then turned to Louis with a twirl of her robe.

“Come on, let’s go, Louis-chan.”

Louis wasn’t even looking at Isaac anymore. He turned his back and walked away with attitude that practically said, “You are no threat to me”.

Once they disappeared down the corridor, Isaac suddenly erupted into a fit of violent coughing. It sounded like he was wheezing through a crushed throat.

“Ike!?” Monica shouted in surprise.

“He went for my throat first… The correct move against a mage…”

Isaac’s voice now sounded terribly hoarse. It was difficult to make out his words.

Monica saw Louis choking Isaac during the scuffle, but she couldn’t tell how exactly much force he used. Apparently, he had really gone all out.

“Um, Ike…”

“Yeah?”

“Weren’t you talking in your normal voice just a moment ago?”

Indeed, Isaac’s voice seemed perfectly fine during the conversation with Louis and Mary.

Despite still clutching his throat in pain, Isaac responded with a bold grin.

“Yeah… and every time I spoke, the Barrier Mage twitched his cheek.”

In other words, Isaac had been secretly provoking Louis throughout the conversation. Monica shivered in fright. She hadn’t realized it at all.

Isaac looked up to Monica while still kneeling.

“Monica, sorry, but… can you go get Nero for me?”

“Nero?”

“I need to borrow his shoulder. That hit to the ribs really did a number on me.”

Upon closer inspection, Monica noticed beads of sweat glistening on Isaac’s forehead. His breathing was shallow and wheezy.

The reason he remained kneeling the whole time was because standing up was too painful.

＊　＊　＊

“You humans sure come up with crazy ideas.”

Nero spoke a stern tone as he supported the injured Isaac into the waiting room.

“Grilling meat wrapped in meat, huh… Hey, junior. Make that for it. A huge version of it.”

As expected from the great Nero-senpai. He showed no concern at all for the pale and exhausted Isaac.

Isaac leaned back in the chair, catching his breath as he rubbed the spot where Louis punched him.

“Sorry, but you’ll have to wait for that one. I have bigger priorities right now.”

There was going to be a magical battle between the disciples of the Seven Sages. Isaac had to participate and prove his worth as a mage.

However, he only knew novice-level water spells, and there was not nearly enough time to learn advanced spells.

Isaac put on a grim expression and went deep into thought.

“Ike,” Monica muttered apologetically, “I’m so sorry… it’s my fault for not being able to convince them…”

“Don’t worry about it. The Starseer Witch’s proposal is actually quite generous, considering my charges… Either way, the format of a magical battle is advantageous to me.”

Isaac could only use novice-level magic. In which case, a test like, “Show us your most powerful spell” would be impossible for him to clear.

On the other hand, a magical battle tested your ability to adapt and think strategically in addition to magic. This gave Isaac more room to maneuver.

The low power of water magic made it ill-suited for fighting dragons, but it could be very effective against people.

“But Ike… if you use that face, your mana will be limited…”

“Yeah. I’ll have to start at half mana.”

Isaac’s mana capacity was 153, putting him on the level of an advanced mage. However, the issue of his face made matters more complicated.

His face transformed into Felix’s when above half capacity, and back into Isaac’s when dropping below half.

In other words, participating as Isaac Walker would force him to start the magical battle at below half capacity.

Magical battles were decided by mana depletion. Taking damage depletes your mana, and you lose when you fall below a certain threshold. Naturally, casting spells consumes mana as well, so mana capacity becomes very important.

“Master.”

The white lizard Wildianu slithered out from the collar of Isaac’s robe, crawling up to his shoulder and staring into his face.

“How about I supply you with mana during the magical battle, after you are partially depleted?”

“No. That won’t do. This battle only has meaning if I fight on my own strength.”

Isaac gave a firm rejection. In response, Monica looked flustered, and Wildianu wriggled his tail in dissatisfaction.

Meanwhile, Nero had lost interest in their conversation. He sprawled out the sofa and started lounging around in human form. Isaac could not help but think how carefree he was.

“The rules of a magical battle allow all forms of mana-based attacks,” Wildianu said softly. “I believe that assistance from contracted spirits is permitted as well.”

“True,” Isaac replied. “But I won’t be able to convince the Barrier Mage like that.”

Isaac only intended to use Wildianu in case of emergency. For example, the recent incident in the mana-dense Roseberg Forest where he regenerated mana too quickly.

Aside from such emergencies, he would not rely on Wildianu’s power.

“Do not help me in the magical battle. Okay?”

When Isaac pressed him for confirmation, Wildianu curled his tail in a silent expression of discontent.

“…But it’s frustrating,” Monica muttered. “Both your mana and your contract with Wildianu-san are the results of your hard-earned efforts…”

Indeed, contracting with a greater spirit was solid proof of a mage’s talent. This was a feat beyond the average mage.

However, Wildianu was the contracted spirit of Queen Irene. His existence could not be made public.

This was something Monica found hard to accept.

(…Just hearing you say that is already more than enough for me.)

After muttering that internally, Isaac performed an exaggeratedly nonchalant shrug.

“It’s no big deal. I have a plan to get the Barrier Mage’s approval. For now, I’ll use the preparation period to adapt my current spells for combat purposes.”

If he wanted to prove himself in front of the Seven Sages, simply hitting his foes with spells would not be enough. He must put them to strategic use during the magical battle.

With enough training and ingenuity, even novice-level spells were enough to display one’s talents.

(Which means… my first priority is to perfect that spell.)

Isaac was currently practicing a certain spell. A secret technique that left Monica’s backyard soaked due to his repeated failures.

He needed to master it over the next ten days.

“Wil, help me with training.”

“Understood.”

Wildianu’s wriggling tail came to a sudden halt.

Now that he had the support of his partner, Isaac turned to Monica and placed a hand on his chest.

“My esteemed master, Lady Everett the Silent Witch. I swear to fight in a way that brings no shame to your name.”

In response to Isaac’s formal declaration, Monica bit her lip tightly before nodding with a look of resolve.

“Very well… In that case, I’ll do what I can as your master.”

Monica slanted her eyebrows in an expression of determination. This was probably her idea of what a “cool master” should look like.

Isaac stared at his beloved master while murmuring inwardly.

(…The truth is, it will be far harder to earn your recognition than the Barrier Mage’s, my dear master.)

If he performed a pointless formula division during the magical battle, Louis probably wouldn’t care, but Monica would.

Isaac resolved himself. He needed to master this spell without relying on formula division.

The first priority was training his magic. Second, researching his opponents. Third, scouting the battle arena. Isaac Walker was going to do everything within his power to prove himself as a mage.

“We’re going for the win, Wil,” Isaac declared in a voice filled with determination.

“Yes, Master.”

＊　＊　＊

Hugo Galletti, the disciple of the Artillery Mage Bradford Firestone, was an intermediate mage in his early twenties. His curly brown hair was bound tightly behind his head.

One day, he delivered some documents from the Mage Association to his master. Bradford took the envelope while bringing up the subject in a casual tone, as if engaging in small talk.

“Oh right, Hugo. There’s a magical battle coming up.”

“For you, Master?”

“Nah, for you.”

“What!? Why!?”

Hugo had never been very fond of magical battles.

He was not good at aiming spells, so he usually ran around and protected himself with barriers instead. As a result, he only got better at barriers.

Hugo was better at support, such as buying Bradford time for his incantations. He lacked confidence in fighting on his own.

In contrast to Hugo’s panic, Bradford casually flipped through the documents as he explained.

“It’s an idea from Starseer. Seems like she wants to hold a practical training session to strengthen ties between the disciples of the Seven Sages.”

“So… it’s a magical battle between the disciples of the Seven Sages?”

“Yep. It’ll be you, and the disciples of the Starseer Witch, the Barrier Mage, and the Silent Witch. Four in total.”

Hugo processed the meaning of this.

The Starseer Witch’s disciple was an advanced mage named Clarence Hall, who held the alias of “Astronomy Mage”. Though technically on the advanced level, he was more of a researcher than a mage, and his main job was assisting Mary in stargazing. Such researcher types tended to be weak in practical combat.

The Barrier Mage’s disciple was Glenn Dudley, the first man in Ridill’s history to receive the title of Magic Knight. His specialty was high-power fire magic.

In other words, he was rather similar to Hugo’s own master, Bradford. Glenn likely had the same weaknesses as well, namely, being vulnerable while casting.

Finally, the Silent Witch’s disciple was a man named Isaac Walker. According to Bradford, he was an apprentice mage who had only recently started studying magic. He hadn’t even passed the Novice Mage Exam yet.

(Wait a second… doesn’t that mean…?)

Hugo placed a hand over his mouth in realization.

(Am I… actually going to win this…?)

Clarence was a researcher and Isaac was a beginner. As long as he watched out for Glenn’s explosive firepower, he could handle the rest.

Hugo crossed his arms and imagined himself delivering a cool line against the backdrop of a sunset.

—— “The name’s Hugo. Hugo Galletti. They call me the strongest of the Sage disciples…”

The strongest of the Sage disciples. A title with a nice ring to it.

Hugo beat his chest with a grin.

“Oh yeah! Leave it to me, Master!”

“Huh? You seem unusually fired up.”

“Well, Glenn-kun’s still young, right? And this Walker guy’s just an apprentice mage? I’ll show them the way as their senior!”

Hugo hummed a cheerful tune, swinging side to side along with the rhythm as his bangs bounced energetically.

A vivid fantasy played out in his mind. Hugo Galletti, the strongest of the Sage disciples, was being admired by the older Clarence as Glenn gushed, “As amazing as always, Hugo-san! You’re so cool!”

(I haven’t met Isaac yet, but if he’s the Silent Witch’s disciple, then he must be pretty young. He just started learning magic, right?)

In that case, he could go easy on him and show the composure of a mature adult.

In his mind, Isaac Walker-kun (a young boy) looked up at Hugo with sparkling eyes.

“Hugo-san, you’re amazing! I admire you so much! Please let me call you my spiritual mentor!”

With such an adorable little brother figure, Hugo would cross his arms, smile coolly, and reply…

“Fine, I guess I can take care of you too.”

Naturally, the background was a sunset.

In Hugo’s home country of Alpatra, a cool dude always looked best against a sunset.

Q: If Isaac and Louis fought seriously, who would win?

A: Louis wins in a landslide if magic is allowed.

Without magic, it depends on the situation. Isaac would use his longer reach to try to grapple Louis, while Louis would get in close to unleash vicious jabs. Both are tenacious and relentless, so it’s going to devolve into a grueling brawl.

In the end, Louis would be the only one still standing, but Isaac would have successfully protected his face and inflicted long-term damage… or something like that.

If contracted spirits are allowed, then Ryn will blow everyone away (including Louis) and become the sole victor.

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