Chapter 51
“You.”
“Yeah. What is it?”
“…Hmph. Nothing.”
Kane Hover tried to say something to me but stopped.
If it had been someone else besides Kane Hover, I might have asked again, but with him, I didn’t feel the need to bother.
‘Sigh.’
I’ve lost count of how many sighs I’ve let out already.
In the end, I ended up teaming up with Kane Hover to enter the Training Forest.
The team assignments decided by Professor Amilion were exactly as I had expected.
Kane Hover and I were a team, Elaine Sinclair and Agnes Kessler were another team, and Emily Franz and Marie Scylla made up the last team.
Cynthia Surplus, who didn’t have a partner, was assigned to stick with Professor Amilion.
No one seemed particularly invested in this activity, so there were no objections.
Everyone just wanted this activity to end as soon as possible.
“Well, let’s work together.”
Of course, even in this atmosphere, Elaine Sinclair was a little different.
She greeted her teammate, Agnes Kessler, politely and showed an unusual amount of enthusiasm.
Well, it’s a relief that at least Elaine is motivated.
Let’s just find whatever glowing stone they’re talking about and end this ridiculous activity.
“Alright, let’s begin.”
Professor Amilion announced the start in a serious tone.
With her words, everyone awkwardly began moving in different directions.
“This way.”
“Huh? Oh, alright.”
‘What’s up with him? Why’s he so cooperative?’
Honestly, I had expected Kane Hover to sit down and refuse to do anything the moment we started, but surprisingly, he moved energetically.
He even suggested where to go first.
Maybe getting hit a few times finally knocked some sense into him.
Step. Step.
Kane Hover’s pace gradually picked up.
‘Does he actually enjoy treasure hunts?’
At a glance, he looked like a child impatient to find the glowing stone before anyone else could catch up.
It made me wonder if Professor Amilion’s method was unexpectedly effective.
How far had we walked into the forest like this?
It felt like we had come quite deep inside, but so far, we hadn’t found a single glowing stone.
“This should be far enough.”
“What is? Did you find something?”
“Yes, I see it.”
“Oh?”
At his words, I looked around.
I wondered if Kane Hover had spotted something I missed, but there was nothing around us.
“What? There’s nothing here.”
“Hmph. Actually looking for such a pathetic stone… You really are a commoner.”
‘Ah, so that’s why he was being so cooperative.’
At that one remark, I realized my fleeting hope that he had changed was completely unfounded.
Of course.
People don’t change so easily.
“Tsk.”
Kane Hover suddenly drank something, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and grinned slyly.
“Then what do you see? Huh?”
“I see the sight of you lying dead.”
“Well, that’s just absurd.”
His comment was so ridiculous it was almost endearing.
‘The sight of me lying dead?’ Really.
It was so absurd that I couldn’t even figure out how to respond.
Fwoosh—
‘I knew it.’
The moment he finished speaking, flames erupted from Kane Hover’s hand.
The fire was much bigger than what he had summoned the last time.
Doesn’t he feel the heat?
“Today, I’ll definitely kill you.”
“…You think you can?”
Kane Hover’s words were filled with sincerity.
I could feel the murderous intent; he genuinely wanted to kill me.
At first, there hadn’t been any killing intent, but at some point, his emotions had grown this intense.
Whoosh—
Seeing Kane Hover intensify his flames, I began to stir up the wind around me.
He must think he can win by using the same tactic as last time, despite losing miserably.
He doesn’t seem that stupid, yet his choice was foolish.
Fwoosh—!
“Oh.”
At least, it seemed he wasn’t rushing in blindly like he had a few days ago.
At Kane Hover’s gesture, fiery birds began to float around him.
There had been three last time, but now it looked like there were twice as many.
The fiery birds, radiating heat and flickering, flapped their wings behind Kane Hover, staring at me.
‘So, he wasn’t using his full strength back then.’
Kane Hover had summoned a total of eight fiery birds.
Moreover, each one was larger and more intricately formed than the ones he sent flying at me last time.
“Die.”
Fwoosh—
At Kane Hover’s command, the eight fiery birds began soaring toward me from all directions.
‘Oh…’
I had expected maybe three or four at most, but seeing so many come at once was a bit overwhelming.
Could I block all of them with magic alone?
As a novice mage at Crescent Academy, I wanted to counter magic with magic.
Whoosh—
As the fiery birds swiftly closed in, I assessed their trajectory and began preparing my own magic.
I condensed air into blade-like forms, set their direction, and launched them.
Whoosh— Boom! Boom!
The sound of wind slicing through the air was followed by explosive bursts as the wind blades collided with the fiery birds, causing bursts of air to erupt all around.
Boom! Boom!
I managed to take out four of them.
‘Ugh, this is tough.’
But the remaining four fiery birds withstood my wind magic and continued racing toward me.
I thought I had done my best, but I must have miscalculated my mana distribution.
“Raaagh!!”
Kane Hover’s determination seemed to grow as four of his fiery birds survived, and he let out a fierce shout.
He looked more like a berserker than a mage.
His desperation was almost pitiful, but, naturally, I had no intention of letting him win.
‘Alright, here we go.’
Whoosh—
Although I failed to destroy the fiery birds with wind blades from a distance, knocking them away up close wasn’t difficult.
Like Kane Hover, I wrapped wind around both of my fists and swung at the fiery birds flying toward me.
Boom! Boom!
One down, then two.
Boom!
The last two were taken out in one go.
Recalling the Golem Hit test, I crushed the remaining four fiery birds with my bare fists.
When the flames got close, they were a bit hot, but since the wind around me kept circulating, the heat didn’t last long.
Thank goodness.
“Phew. Is it over now?”
“…You coward!”
“What…?”
Kane Hover’s face was flushed red as he yelled that I was a coward.
But I had countered his magic with magic in my own way.
After all, the wind surrounding my fists was created using magic.
“Arghhh!”
Fwoosh—
In his frustration, Kane Hover let out another yell, and fiery birds rose before him once again.
‘…What’s with this guy?’
This time, there weren’t eight fiery birds, but nine.
I had thought summoning eight was his limit, but now there were nine.
Fwoosh—
The fiery birds, conjured simultaneously, wasted no time flying toward me.
Although their shapes were less refined, and their trajectories clumsier than before, they somehow felt even more powerful.
Boom! Boom!
This time, I only managed to shoot down two from a distance.
The remaining seven fiery birds rushed at me all at once.
Boom!
As expected, they exploded upon contact with my wind-wrapped fists.
This time, it was a close call.
‘Was he always this skilled?’
I began to see Kane Hover in a new light after his latest attack.
I had thought he was just the type to boast about being a little better than others, but this was far beyond just ‘a little.’
“Hey, you’re pretty good.”
“…”
As the remaining flames around us disappeared, Kane Hover’s figure came into clear view.
He stood still, glaring at me with a deeply furrowed expression.
That last attack must have been his all-out effort.
For a student, his abilities were quite extraordinary.
He was comparable to, if not exceeding, the girl from the Bernstein family whom I met in the Dungeon during the inter-academy competition.
Of course, in terms of sheer heat, his flames couldn’t quite match Bernstein’s.
“Let’s call it a day, shall we? No need to get beat up again and start whining.”
“…”
Kane Hover didn’t respond to my provocation, which had a mix of sincerity in it.
It was unlike him, as he had always reacted sharply to everything I said up until now.
He simply stood there silently.
“Haha.”
‘…Huh?’
Kane Hover, who had been standing still and staring at me, suddenly laughed.
It was a laugh that gave off an ominous feeling.
Never before while dealing with him had I felt this kind of unease.
With goosebumps rising, I kept my eyes fixed on his movements.
Something was definitely off.
Kane Hover thrust his flame-wreathed hand into his coat.
He seemed unconcerned that the blazing fire might set his clothes ablaze.
‘What is he doing…?’
From within the flames, Kane Hover pulled out something.
It was a transparent glass bottle holding a clear liquid, maintaining its shape even amidst the fire.
‘A potion?’
Though the quantity was small, it looked like a potion at first glance.
Without hesitation, Kane Hover uncorked the bottle and poured the potion into his mouth.
The speed was so fast that I had no time—or intention—to stop him.
“Hey, hey. That’s enough, alright?”
“…”
Kane Hover, who had just consumed the mysterious potion, said nothing and continued to stare at me.
The ominous feeling I had from him earlier was growing stronger.
I didn’t know what he drank, but it was clearly unusual.
“Hey?”
“…”
“Oi?”
Kane Hover still didn’t answer and remained motionless.
‘Ugh, what’s wrong with him?’
Fwoosh—
“Uwaaaaah!!”
“Whoa, what the—?!”
Suddenly, Kane Hover screamed.
At the same time, the flames around his hands flared up, reaching higher into the air.
Much higher.
“Uwaaaaaaah!!!”
“Huh…?”
Fwoosh—
Even though there was at least 10 meters between Kane Hover and me, I instinctively closed my eyes as the rising flames radiated intense heat.
At the same time, I crossed my arms in an X-shape to shield my face.
Fwoosh—
The flames roared upward, accompanied by a shockwave that spread through the area.
I quickly regained my senses and looked around, noticing that the grass around me had already been scorched black.
“Uwaaaaaah!!!”
‘This is dangerous.’
Instinctively, I leapt backward to evade.
Kane Hover, now completely engulfed in flames, let out another scream, sending another shockwave rippling outward and incinerating everything in its path.
“What the hell is that…?”
It was even more shocking than the first time I encountered a Ghoul or a Death Knight.
What stood before me was no longer Kane Hover wreathed in flames.
It was simply fire, shaped like a human.
Drip—
Sweat trickled down my forehead, a single bead running down from the intense heat.
—
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