[V16C16] ...Hmm⤵︎

The cheers of the Sages echoed through the forest arena, including the voice of Isaac’s master, Monica.

Isaac pulled back the water threads to deflect Hugo’s fire arrows, while desperately holding back the smile forming on his lips.

If only he could tell his past self about this.

——Can you believe it? The beloved witch you admired so much is raising her voice and cheering you on!

Isaac wanted to return a bow to his esteemed master, as well as wave a hand to the girl he loved, but he had to suppress both these urges. He simply didn’t have the time to do that in the middle of the battle.

For a while now, he had been combining the water threads with reconnaissance magic to keep track of everyone’s position, or reinforcing them to trip others and shield himself. In addition, he was constantly on the move.

He needed to keep tabs on everyone and the positions of threads, as well as chant the necessary spells beforehand. There was very little breathing room.

(That training to measure the timing of incantations wasn’t a waste after all.)

Isaac had trained with Hubert and Norman to learn how long the average mage needed to chant before activating a spell. And now, that training helped him predict the attacks of his opponents.

Glenn’s incantation for fireballs was relatively long, making him easy to deal with. Isaac could simply trigger a premature explosion with his water threads, though he had to be careful not to get caught in the blast himself.

Hugo was the only opponent who could use lightning magic, so Isaac made sure to lay extra water threads around him. That way, Hugo was in constant contact with threads. He was unable to use lightning magic without the risk of electrocuting himself.

And as for Clarence…

(…Here he comes.)

Isaac felt a faint tug on one of the threads connected to his fingers. He quickly deactivated the thread reinforcement spell and chanted the underwater reconnaissance spell.

This showed him that a thread to his back left was being eroded by sand.

“I’ve concluded that you should be the primary target.”

The voice came from behind Isaac. Clarence Hall, the Astronomy Mage, revealed himself.

“Was that advice from your beloved prophet?” Isaac asked, deactivating the underwater reconnaissance spell as he raised his rifle.

“No, just a personal hunch.”

Clarence was touching the web of threads with one hand. From that point of contact, sand seeped in to muddy the waters.

What happens if Clarence mixes his sand into Isaac’s water?

The answer is simple. The mage with more mana and higher skill at mana manipulation wins. And Isaac could not beat Clarence in mana or technique.

In which case, the best response was…

(…Cutting off my losses.)

Isaac severed all of the compromised threads from the web, then reinforced the nearby threads.

During the incantation, he pulled out a knife from under his robe. It was a custom-made piece with a small metal ring embedded in the pommel. After threading one of the water threads through the ring, he threw it at a distant tree.

Then, he used the low-hanging threads as a foothold to leap between the trees, propelling himself forward by reeling in the thread he launched.

In other words, it was time for a tactical retreat.

＊　＊　＊

Louis glared at the white screen, pondering the water thread magic used by Isaac.

A mage can only maintain two spells at the same time, so Louis was trying to figure out how exactly Isaac divided his spells.

(He used a knife as the anchor to launch his threads… which means his water threads lack the power to travel that far on mana manipulation alone.)

Isaac’s first spell was for creating a web of water threads. However, he seemed to prioritize quantity over quality. As a result, the threads were fragile and difficult to move.

He probably wanted to maximize the number of threads because the number was directly proportional to the effectiveness of his reconnaissance network. Additional threads also gave more opportunities to trip his opponents.

(His ability to control the threads seems quite limited. He can move the nearby threads to some extent, but not to the point of perfect manipulation. With this kind of magic, the greater the distance from the caster, the less control one has.)

For example, consider how Clarence molded his sand into the shape of a snake. He even split it apart and reshaped it at will. Isaac could not do anything close to that with his water threads.

He did move the threads a bit when blocking Glenn’s fireballs, but that was most likely his limit.

Instead, Isaac added a second spell for alternating between reconnaissance and thread reinforcement. Perhaps he could use that second spell for more complex manipulation as well.

For now, Louis determined that Isaac divided his spells as follows, depending on the situation:

  • Water Threads (with minimal control) + Reconnaissance Magic

  • Water Threads (with minimal control) + Thread Reinforcement (for tripping and shielding)

  • Water Threads (with minimal control) + Complex Thread Manipulation

In other words, Isaac was forced to choose between reconnaissance, reinforcement, or complex manipulation. He could only do one at a time. This was a glaring weakness.

(But will Glenn actually notice that…?)

Of course not. It took less than a second for Louis to conclude that it was impossible.

The white screen showed Isaac managing to escape. Clarence attempted to pursue, but then he bumped into Glenn, prompting a shootout between them from behind the cover of trees. Meanwhile, Hugo was wandering around by himself. Apparently, he had gotten separated.

(They’ve split up again…)

It seemed like the match was going to drag on for a while.

Suddenly struck with an idea, Louis made a suggestion.

“If this stalemate keeps up, how about we add a new rule to spice things up a bit?”

“Oh? What kind of rule?” Mary asked, putting a hand on her cheek.

Louis explained with complete seriousness.

“We toss Abyss Shaman-dono into the battlefield and have him scatter curses at random. Anyone who gets cursed is eliminated. Simple, right?”

“W-What do you think I am…?!”

Ray, who had been talking to his stomach instead of watching the match, looked up and groaned.

“No way,” Bradford said with a scoff. “That just gives the advantage to whoever can fly and run away the fastest.”

Indeed, speed alone was a powerful weapon.

So why was Glenn still loitering around on the ground and refusing to use flight magic?

As Louis grew more irritated, Isaac suddenly made a move. His speed meant he was headed somewhere with a clear purpose in mind.

Just what was he plotting now? Louis wondered, only to see Isaac arriving at the pillar in the center of the forest—the magical tool used for transmitting their voices.

Isaac stopped in front of the pillar and spoke.

“Silas-niisan, I have a favor to ask you.”

All of the Sages in the spectator room turned to look at Silas.

Silas seemed a bit surprised, but not entirely displeased.

“What is it, Ike? Giving advice would be against the rules, but I guess it’s fine if you want a few words of encouragement…”

“Turn the volume down. I can’t hear Monica cheering.”

Everyone went silent for a few seconds.

Then, Silas roared in anger.

“Oi, you little brat! Show some respect to your bro, dammit! You’ve always been like this…!”

“Ike! Ike! I’ll cheer louder for you, okay?!”

Is this some kind of joke? Louis thought, adjusting his monocle.

Isaac could be seen covering his ears and running away on the white screen. Apparently, he had anticipated Silas’s outburst.

Suddenly, Louis widened his eyes in realization, cheek twitching.

(…He’s gone and done it now!)

“Clever guy,” Bradford muttered to himself from the sofa behind Louis.

A few moments later, Monica also realized Isaac’s goal. Her lips trembled as she looked back and forth between the white screen and the voice transmission tool.

“I-Ike… no way… don’t tell me you…”

Glenn, Hugo, and Clarence all moved at once.

Their destination was the pillar at the center of the forest. They heard Silas’s shout and rushed over, assuming Isaac was still nearby.

In other words, Isaac had just used Silas as bait to gather his opponents in one place.

Finally realizing this, Silas roared again with veins bulging across his face.

“Ike, you bastaaaaard!!”

Glenn, Hugo, and Clarence converged in front of the pillar, and the battle resumed. However, Isaac was nowhere to be seen. He fled the scene immediately after provoking Silas.

The escape route he chose was perfect, avoiding contact with Glenn and the others. Thanks to his reconnaissance magic, no doubt.

(He has them all dancing in the palm of his hand…)

Louis audibly grinded his teeth.

Glenn was in awful form today. Even now, he was getting slowly pushed back, struggling to fend off Clarence and Hugo. At this rate, he might be the first one eliminated.

As one of the masters, Louis was forbidden from giving advice to his disciple. But as long as it wasn’t advice…

“Glenn.”

Louis spoke his name in a low growl, causing Glenn to flinch on the white screen.

“If you continue with this pathetic display, I’m going to strangle you.”

Louis could give no advice, but there was no rule against threats. A twisted bit of logic.

Suddenly, Glenn snapped his eyes open in realization. Since he was close to the pillar, the magical tool picked up his muttering.

“I just realized it… Out of everyone here, I’m the only one…”

At long last, Glenn figured it out. His biggest strengths were mana capacity and flight magic, and he had completely forgotten about the latter.

What a troublesome little brat, Louis sighed to himself, but at least he finally remembered now… or not.

“…I’m the only one who has a scary master!!” Glenn continued.

A few stifled laughs could be heard in the spectator room.

The noisiest was Bradford, who didn’t even bother to hide it. He clutched his stomach and roared with laughter.

Mary covered her giggles with an “Oh my,” as Ray and Raul nodded repeatedly in agreement as if to say, “Well, of course.”

Silas and Monica looked extremely awkward, unsure of how to react.

Meanwhile, Glenn, who had been scrambling to dodge a barrage of sand arrows, continued muttering in a lifeless voice.

“Everyone else has their master cheering them on. But me? I get punished if I lose…”

Clarence and Hugo paused their offensive to give Glenn a look of sympathy.

At this point, he had lost the will to fight.

“…I kinda just wanna go home now…”

A string of insults rose to Louis’s mind. In fact, there were so many that he had trouble deciding which to say first.

But before Louis reached his decision, a clatter came from the back of the spectator room. The sound of a chair being knocked over.

“Hey! What is with that spineless attitude, Glenn Dudley?!”

The booming voice made even Louis flinch a bit. It was far louder than Silas’s angry shouts.

＊　＊　＊

Monica let out a breathless gasp.

The recorder with a white beard suddenly stood up, kicking his chair aside, and started shouting furiously.

It was easy to tell even through the wig and fake beard. His blue eyes burning with anger and his sharply raised eyebrows betrayed his identity. He was unmistakably the usual Cyril Ashley.

“In a magical battle, it is only proper to give it your all! Your lack of effort is a dishonorable affront to your opponents! Such behavior is unacceptable for a graduate of Serendia Academy! Your strength is the ability to launch powerful spells from the air! Your skill in flight magic more than makes up for the lack of control over your fireballs, so why aren’t you using it?!”

On the white screen, Glenn was staring at the sky, completely stunned. However, the light slowly returned to his eyes.

Monica could understand exactly how he must be feeling.

When you’re feeling down, a lecture from Cyril hits you just right. Monica and Glenn could both tell the secret message behind his scolding: “I believe in you. Do your best.”

Glenn waved both hands vigorously at the sky.

Rather than taking advantage of the opportunity to attack, Clarence and Hugo watched him with warm eyes. How very kind of them.

“Vice President! Wow, did you come to cheer for me?!”

“I-I am not the Vice President you are thinking of. Just a recorder who happened to be watching.”

“Alright! I’m feeling a little better now!”

Glenn slapped his own cheeks and declared to the sky with a bright smile.

“Vice President! I’m gonna give it my all, so keep cheering for me please!”

“Of course, I will continue cheering. Do your best. But again, I must say, I am not the Vice President, just a recor—…”

Cyril suddenly fell silent. He finally realized that all eyes in the spectator room were on him.

“Isn’t he that Library Lord guy?” Silas muttered to Monica. “What’s he doing dressed like that?”

Monica panicked.

She didn’t know why Cyril came here in a disguise, but knowing him, there had to be a good reason.

He was probably doing a very important job right now. Monica tried to stutter out an excuse.

“I-I think, um, y-you might have the wrong person…!”

“Yeah, there’s no way that can be Cyril! Just look at his huge shoulders!”

With his handsome face covered in sweat, Raul pointed toward the muscular frame of the bearded recorder.

“What?” Silas frowned. “He clearly just stuffed his sleeves with—”

“There are no weasels in there!” Raul interjected.

“Huh? Weasels?”

Monica and Raul started flailing in panic under Silas’s suspicious gaze.

Meanwhile, Ray twisted his face into despair behind them.

“…Those weren’t real muscles… I was deceived… Curse you… Curse you… Curse you…”

＊　＊　＊

Isaac was walking through the forest when he heard the echoing shout of a voice very familiar to him.

The expression vanished from his face, and he looked up at the sky, squinting his turquoise eyes.

“…Hmm?”

Sensing the irritation in his low tone, Wildianu poked his head out from the robe’s collar.

“Um, Master…”

“Wil. It’s about time we finish this.”

Isaac strapped the rifle to his back and resumed walking.

The water threads become much stronger with Wildianu’s support, as he can help Isaac in maintaining, reinforcing, and controlling them.

Wildianu cannot control large volumes of water by himself, as he is relatively weak for a greater spirit. That said, he pairs very well with Isaac’s combat style, as the threads are made very thin to conserve mana, so there is not much water to control.

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