151. Magic Survival (3)

"Hmm...

Immediately after using the scanning field, I hid in the corner of a ruined building and checked the map.

One participant is marked.

For some reason, despite being detected by the scanning field, they were standing still without moving… It seems they were probably attacked by Berenkal.

[If you go to the bathroom on the 7th floor of the ruined building in the northeastern Sellerdan village, you can obtain the 'Scanning Field' artifact.]

[Use it as quickly as possible towards the southwestern ridge.]

[If the timing is right, you can prevent one victim.]

As expected, it seems the veterans wrote this strategy guide.

They remembered exactly when and where Berenkal commits the first murder and wrote the strategy guide accordingly.

Anyway, the fact that their location is marked on the map means they are still alive.

Afterwards, if other participants approach them and deliberately deplete their life force, they will be automatically eliminated and returned to the outside.

Also, the person who witnessed this incident will realize that someone with suspicious powers exists in this field.

After a while, the marker on the map disappeared and the survivor status changed.

[99/100]

Probably, someone discovered the victim and processed the elimination properly.

For now, I felt a bit relieved.

"Phew…"

Leaning against a pillar of the collapsed building, I was about to put the used scanning field into my survival backpack when my intuition detected a presence.

The location was right outside the building wall. Someone was approaching by climbing the building.

'Well, it would be strange if I wasn't detected.'

In my haste to quickly farm the scanning field, I left clear traces, including footprints.

Moreover, my location was likely exposed to other participants hiding nearby.

Although the distance to the central area is still far, a fight is inevitable now.

I took out the weapon I had just picked up along with the scanning field from my backpack.

[Lv.1 Wooden Club]

It looks unimpressive, but within Magic Survival, it's quite a destructive weapon.

It's a secondary weapon meant to be used when necessary, and few people carry it except for some oddballs.

…It's truly sad that I have to count myself among those oddballs.

Anyway, from now on, I'll have to make quite a ruckus.

As I slowly approached the gaping window, the presence felt even clearer.

The enemy outside the window must have been trained in advanced mana control techniques; despite clinging to the outer wall of the building, the flow of mana was barely detectable.

Suspected to be of the knight class.

Still, there's no problem.

I'm confident in close combat.

[Blink]

"…Huh!"

Using Blink to escape through the window and float in the air, I saw the face of the boy clinging to the wall show confusion.

He seemed to be trying to pull out his wand and prepare magic immediately, but I already knew that his spell casting would be slow since he was clinging to the wall.

[Blink]

After moving again to get closer, I swung the wooden club broadly.

Thwack!!

"Argh!"

It seems he hastily deployed a shield, but unable to withstand the impact, the boy fell to the ground.

If we had fought on flat ground, it would have been a tough battle, but his mistake was trying to ambush me while clinging to the wall.

Thud…!

Running quickly along the wall towards the boy who had fallen to the ground, I finished him off with a swing of the wooden club.

[1 KILL!]

A cheerful killing sound signaling the enemy's elimination echoed in my ears.

"Phew."

I had dealt with the immediate enemy, but this was just the beginning.

I intended to attack every enemy that came into my sight from now on.

'Hopefully, I won't die in vain….'

Praying not to encounter any exceptionally strong opponents, I headed toward the city center.

✧ ✧ ✧

Magic Survival is also the most anticipated match for spectators. It is the stage where the most talented boys and girls gather to determine the last one standing.

Strategy, tactics, magic, luck, terrain, weather—all these factors combine to finally produce the last survivor.

Additionally, the question of "which school is superior" is a daily topic of discussion among wizards over drinks. Therefore, the Magic Survival game, where thirty prestigious schools gather to compete, often extends into a matter of pride.

It has become common for kings to personally attend and occupy the best VIP seats to see how excellent their country's students are, making it nearly impossible to stop the Magic Survival.

"…If we stop it right now, there will be a huge uproar."

That was the opinion of Eltman Eltwin.

"Recent inter-school competitions are not something that can be treated as simple school festivals. You know that, right, Flame?"

"Yes, I know, but…

Flame, who had come to the principal's office of the First Tower, hung her head low and bit her lip. Eltman flipped through a file with a regretful expression.

"Besides, I was in the process of ferreting out a rat. It's certain that a black magician qualified to access the heart of Stella Dome has infiltrated… but with current technology, it's impossible to find them."

Eltman Eltwin is a 9-class magician and one of the ten great sages in the world.

Flame knows better than anyone how much Eltman's pride is hurt by this. Even in the original novel, Eltman had worked tirelessly, bleeding from his nose, to detect the black magician's power.

He must be feeling very troubled even now.

"…Of course, I don't intend to do nothing. We must take action."

Even if you cast a spell to pull the students out of the isolated space right now, it would take quite a bit of time. By then, there would already be a significant number of casualties.

In that case, wouldn't it be better to secretly help one of the survival participants to exclude the black magician separately?

"But… we don't even know who the black magician is. And even if we decide to help, who should we help…"

"Baek Yuseol. I plan to help that child."

"What…?"

Flame widened her eyes, not expecting that name to come up.

"Well, the cadets from other schools are elites too. They probably have considerable real-world experience. But I trust the students of my school."

There are many participants from Stella's second and third years. But Eltman specifically mentioned first-year Baek Yuseol as the one he trusts the most.

"That child… as you know, is special."

Eltman said, looking at Anella, who was hiding behind Flame and nervously twiddling her fingers.

'An exchange student…'

Her gaze seemed suspicious, but using a mana scan revealed nothing unusual. It only showed that her mana level was lower than that of the average student.

If she were an ordinary student from outside Stella, that might be about the average mana level.

"Did you discover this?"

"Yes? Yes…"

Eltman, speaking in a familiar tone like that of a peer, made Anella feel like she was suffocating.

There probably isn't a single black magician in the world who could remain calm in front of Eltman, the infamous black magician slayer.

"Hmm... How did you find out?"

"That, that is..."

"Ah, I'm not interrogating you. But since it's quite a significant matter, I'd like to know the source of the information. Don't feel pressured."

Anella fidgeted with her fingers and then spoke cautiously.

"...I secretly listened in on a conversation."

"You eavesdropped?"

"Yes... I, with the help of student Baek Yuseol, was able to enter the Stella Dome official area, but I got lost..."

That made quite a fitting story.

It was true that she had received help from Baek Yuseol, and the Stella Dome official area was as complex as a maze.

"Hmm, is that so. I guess I'll have to completely overhaul the structure of the Stella Dome..."

"Ugh."

The thought that the Stella Dome would be overhauled because of her single remark made her worry that she had spoken carelessly. She was about to correct herself, but Eltman quickly moved on.

"So, whose conversation did you overhear?"

Gulp.

Anella's Adam's apple shook greatly.

The moment had come.

Here, if she said she couldn't recognize the face, she might save her kin once.

But the moment she reveals his identity to Eltman...

'I would be... betraying my own kind.'

In the society of dark mages, driven by power and desire, this was one of the strictly forbidden acts.

'Never betray your own kind.'

After all, dark mages had to live hidden in the shadows of the world.

If they fought and tore each other apart, they could never accomplish great deeds, which is why in the recent past, the 'Dark Mage King', 'Dark Mage Cult Leader', and 'Dark Mage Union Chairman' came together to establish one big rule.

It remained as a kind of 'decree', becoming a purpose that all dark mages held in their hearts and lived by...

'...I have decided to give up being a dark mage.'

Anella, by her own will, overcame the decree and was able to utter that name.

"Cabaren. He said it was Cabaren."

✧ ✧ ✧

Before long, the game was rushing toward the middle phase.

"As expected, most of the players have chosen silver pheasants. Indeed, their ability to secure a position, observe the enemy, and keep them in check is remarkable!"

The commentator was trying hard to hype it up, but in truth, this was the most boring part of the game.

The playing area was still quite wide, so there were hardly any encounters between players, and even if they did meet, they would just feint at each other and then go their separate ways.

It wasn't until the latter half of the game, when players really had to kill each other to survive, that things started to get interesting. So, this was a good time to take a bathroom break.

However, this year's game was different. Because of one player, there was not a moment when the tension could be eased.

"Ah, Stella's Baek Yuseol student! Once again, as soon as he spots an enemy, he quickly approaches! His unique blink magic allows for superior mobility! He moves through three-dimensional space with dazzling and artistic control!"

In the center of the stadium was a giant hologram. Most of the stages were hidden in shadow and not visible, but the players in the areas bathed in the 'artificial sun's light could be seen by the spectators.

And Baek Yuseol tended to fight most of his battles in places where the sunlight shone.

-Boom! Bang bang!

Flames scattered, and pieces of ice fell.

Baek Yuseol tried to find an opening by continuously blinking through the gaps, but the players, sensing his crisis from his frequent kills, had prepared for his blinks in advance.

-Zzzt zzt zzt!

The moment Baek Yuseol arrived, ice spikes burst forth from all around! However, he smoothly slid to the ground and then leaped into the sky, easily escaping the field.

"He fights well," Hong Biyeon casually remarked.

"Right? I told you so."

"Exactly."

"The princess does have an eye for people, doesn't she?"

The followers on either side chimed in with meaningless agreement.

At that level, one might as well have placed a recorder there; it would repeat the same thing. But since she liked that kind of flattery, she didn't stop them.

"Ah, player Baek Yuseol! He has taken another enemy's neck! Or should we say he's crushed their head? That's already his eighth kill!"

Indeed, there seems to be no need to even find a sword to use against children. Baek Yuseol went around knocking down enemies one by one with a low-level artifact wooden club he picked up somewhere.

That's not all.

He used various artifacts that appeared on the stage in very innovative ways, surprising people by using them in directions they had never thought of before.

-Oh, to use the 'Sky Walking' artifact in such a way... Walking through the air as if there was terrain, deceiving the enemy and causing them to fall to their death!

-He combined the 'Throwing Hook' with the 'Target Sphere' to propel his body far forward! What an amazing application. I couldn't have even imagined it!

Many people cheered for Baek Yuseol's splendid performance, even though quietly enduring is the conventional strategy in Magic Survival.

'He doesn't even think of hiding...'

In the past, Baek Yuseol would have fought while going easy on them, but for some reason, he was desperately knocking down enemies one after another.

Considering his mental age, he shouldn't need to try so hard in a school competition against such children, which should seem merely cute and pathetic.

'Hmm?'

Then, she caught sight of a familiar face in the stands on the opposite side.

Full Flame was running somewhere in a hurry with a girl, and the expression on her face seemed serious.

Wondering what had happened, she frowned, and then an incident occurred in the stadium.

-Oh, what's happening! Three players have started attacking Baek Yuseol at the same time!

"What?"

Quickly turning her head towards the stadium, indeed, three boys were closing in on Baek Yuseol from all sides.

-To defeat a strong enemy, it looks like they've temporarily formed an alliance!

The commentator delivered it that way, but Hong Biyeon thought differently.

'What temporary alliance...'

'Those three faces, they look familiar."

The text is in Korean, and here's the English translation:

Quickly turning his head towards the stadium, indeed, three boys were determinedly closing in on Baek Yuseol from all sides.

-"To defeat a strong enemy, it feels like they've temporarily formed an alliance!"

The commentator framed it that way, but Hong Biyeon thought differently.

'What temporary alliance...

Those three faces, they're familiar.

They were all members of Prince Jeremy's faction.

So those three just happened to meet in that place and joined in the attack on Baek Yuseol?

That's nonsense.

They must have deliberately gathered to make Baek Yuseol lose.

'But they won't get the better of him at the students' level.'

Thinking that Baek Yuseol would somehow manage to escape and show off his performance, Hong Biyeon soon lost interest and stood up to look for Full Flame.

-Oh! How unfortunate. Baek Yuseol is showing that he can't overcome the combined attack of the three players. Is this the end of his journey?

The ground flipped, and the magic fired from all directions was too much to handle, Baek Yuseol could do nothing but truly run away.

"Ah, that's too bad."

"That guy was fighting well."

"Is he going to be eliminated here..."

Sighs of regret flowed from everywhere, but Hong Biyeon sneered.

'Eliminated? As if.'

She even thought that Baek Yuseol was being malicious.

Knowing that the reaction would be better if he created an extreme situation and then escaped, he must be doing it on purpose.

...However.

Hong Biyeon would never know.

-Damn it! You crazy guys! Teaming is a reason for suspension! Operator! What are you doing?!

That Baek Yuseol is desperately trying to escape.