Chapter-136 The Competition Begins pt-12
"He has come so far!" (Elder Kudou)
"And I can't even judge his magic at his level, anymore." (Elder Kudou)
***
(Inside Pavilion)
(Tatsuya POV)
Such elegantly destructive power!
If one doesn't include my [Decomposition] ability then...
...I don't think I have ever seen anything so destructive as the spell, Mr. Saltzman just used to destroy the ice-pillars.
He truly has attained a level of mastery where his ability to wield [Convergence-Type] has saturated!
He has somehow managed to compress the energy he absorbs from the sun into a small sphere which in turn would explode with terrifying intensity!
So basically, in theory, he simply further compressed his [Soul-Punisher] into that green orb of destruction.
Very impressive! But it certainly is not as simple as it seems to be....
I don't think anyone in the world is capable of such a feat at such a young age!
---
"H-He destroyed the 12-pillars in a single blow!?" (Isori)
Hearing my classmates' astonished voice, I turned to look towards him.
Isori had a bewildered expression on his face... as in, he simply couldn't believe what he had just witnessed, moments ago!
Well...I don't judge him for his reaction.
Not only him but others were also having trouble understanding the power behind Mr. Saltzman's magic.
---
"I knew that Senior Erik was strong but isn't this a bit ridiculous!?" (Leo)
It looked like Leo was truly impressed by the degree of skills our senior seemed to possess.
Hmm...now that I think about it...
I can't help but wonder, how did he even manage to learn all this at such a young age?
Who taught him?
How did he gain such power?
How many years of hard work did it take for him to reach his level of power?
The more I thought about his magic, the more unbelievable it became!
"I mean... Look! He isn't even using a CAD to cast his spell!" (Leo)
"Even if his high IQ gives him a huge advantage while casting spells, it still must have a limit, right?" (Leo)
Oh?... Leo does have a point!
Casting a high-tier "A-rank" spell without a CAD was simply ridiculous to even think about!
But somehow... Mr. Saltzman was able to do it!
And the astonishing thing about all this was that he didn't even look fazed after using magic to such a high degree.
I mean...I can use such magic due to the Yotsuba Clan's innate magic, [Loop Casting].
But even that had its limitations!
From what I "see" using my [Elemental Sight], I am yet to see any such limitations on him.
So how?
So many questions!
---
"Mayumi-san...has Erik-san always been this strong?" (Suzune)
A good question!
Personally, I think he has always been this strong or... at least since I first met him.
Of course...He seems to be holding back a lot and unfortunately, I can't gauge his true strength but he doesn't seem far from the [Strategic level].
"I-I don't really know, I have only once ever seen him use such magic." (Mayumi)
"He has never used use magic to perform in the [Nine-School Competition] events; before." (Mayumi)
Now I was both surprised and confused by this discovery.
Saegusa-san claims that she had never seen this side of her fiance, before!
From her statement, I can understand the reason behind her confusion.
During the match, Mr. Saltzman hadn't shown an ounce of hesitation when he completely crushed his opponent in the event.
That was something new in itself!
He is known to be a compassionate and forgiving person, who rarely ever loses his calm but at this very moment; in the arena, he looked indifferent.
---
"So, basically we have no idea about how strong, Erik-nii is!?" (Erika)
That is not the correct question, Erika.
I know that you must be finding it pretty ridiculous thinking about Erik's magic capabilities.
But the correct question should be...
Why?
Why would Mr. Saltzman use such magic when he can win by using his signature magic?
Why would he go through the trouble to crush the opponent?
"Naotsugu-nii! You have seen, Erik-nii fight, right?" (Erika)
"Do you know?" (Erika)
Chiba Naotsugu, a very powerful magician in his own right was questioned by his sister about Mr. Saltzman's strength.
Both Mr. Saltzman and Naotsugu-san are good friends.
So I believe that he may be able to provide some answers here.
"Erik has grown even stronger than he used to be..." (Naotsugu)
"And that was a few years ago!" (Naotsugu)
"He rarely uses magic and the only time he does... is during the events." (Naotsugu)
"So I can't really say anything...even that one time when we were attacked...he mostly used [Covergence-Type] to fight."
So even he has no idea about his friend's strength?
---
"Yeah...after watching his performance in the previous competitions."
"He only uses [Soul-Punisher] during [Pillar-Break] and normal [Systematic-Type] during [Monolith-Code]." (Isori)
"But the spell he used today was something entirely else!" (Mikihiko)
"It seemed to be something focused additionally on raw power rather than any techniques." (Mikihiko)
Yes, Mikihiko....nice!
On-point observation!
---
"S-Senior Erik feels irritated and angry!" (Mizuki)
I looked towards Mizuki, the girl with those special eyes.
I need to remain on guard when interacting with her otherwise my secret will be exposed!
Apparently, she was able to feel what Mr. Saltzman was feeling at the moment.
And to say I wasn't surprised would be a lie!
I didn't think that he was capable of producing any intense emotion, considering he always has that calm expression on his face.
---
"Well, that is to be expected!" (Naotsugu)
Hm..? Why?
Naotsugu snorted in anger and he spoke in a cold voice!
"Today one of his close friends nearly suffered from a fatal injury due to some outside influence!" (Naotsugu
"Then the same people tried to sabotage his CAD so that he would perform badly and lose in the event." (Naotsugu)
"There is also a decent chance that the car accident you guys avoided on your way to the hotel was also planned by this outside influence." (Naotsugu)
"So what you are saying is..." (Leo)
"Senior Erik is pissed off and is taking out his anger on his opponent?" (Leo)
"It seems so...?" (Erika)
Hm...I disagree!
From what I have observed up until now, Mr. Saltzman is likely planing something.
I may not know what... but I also don't care.
Making sure that Miyuki is safe is my only priority.
And for that!
The "Outside interference" needs to be eradicated!
And as for the questions, I will ask "sensei" to help me find some answers!
A blue glint flashed through my eyes.
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