152. Magic Survival (4)

Magic Survival (4)

Magic Survival was the highlight of the school competition, but there was an inevitable limit on the number of students who could participate from each school.

Stella Academy has been known to produce a notably large number of participants every year, with at least 5 and sometimes up to 7 students participating.

If the original game had progressed as planned, this year's participants would have been close to ten, but due to some twist in the story, Stella's Magic Survival participants were limited to just 7.

Of course, this number was still significantly higher compared to other schools.

Since the magic society hosting the school competition conducts an internal review of the participants, there were no particular complaints about fairness.

It's Stella, after all.

For such reasons alone, this situation was accepted.

Boom! Rumble... Whoosh...!

Dark clouds gather, and a downpour begins. It was a climate change caused by the virtual reality manipulation of the Stella Dome.

Midway through the game.

The area for the Survival game had gradually shrunk to only half its original size.

2nd year, Class S, Dokcheolgwang.

"Ha ha, that was an interesting duel."

"Ugh... Damn it..."

He looked down at the student from another school who had fallen before him and laughed refreshingly.

With his unusually muscular build, he was a 'Magic Fighter' who fought with magic circles around his fists, and as the strongest one-on-one fighter, he was quite famous, so most enemies tended to avoid him.

Well, if they couldn't avoid him and faced him, they would be eliminated like this.

[KILL! Dokcheolgwang - Merild]

The student named Merild was eliminated and sent out, leaving his last words at the moment of his defeat.

"Damn, those Stella bastards..."

Flash!

And then he disappeared into light, and Dokcheolgwang scratched his head awkwardly.

"Well, I didn't really do anything."

Every year, Stella is notorious for sending strong contenders for the championship, and it was unfortunate for Dokcheolgwang, who was participating for the first time this year.

[57/100]

The game was only at its midpoint, but already a large number of students had been eliminated. In the beginning, there's a high chance of encountering enemies, leading to frequent battles.

However, as the game moves into the middle and later stages, kills become less frequent. The participants who have finished farming artifacts settle down and quietly lie low.

"Tsk, the boring time has come."

It was. Fight, another fight! If it's called a survival tournament, shouldn't it have that kind of flavor?

It was really boring to talk about winning strategies using the terrain and only aiming for the chance to be first by hiding.

For that reason...

Dok Cheol-kwang studied strategy and tactics.

To defeat the enemy?

No, that's not it.

It was a really simple reason.

'To find out where the enemy is hiding.'

In Dok Cheol-kwang's head, he already clearly envisioned where those rat-like guys were hiding and watching from.

"Oh, I see something interesting."

Since he felt the signs of a skirmish in the nearby city, Dok Cheol-kwang did not hesitate and left his spot.

There's nothing as exciting and thrilling as joining a melee!

✧ ✧ ✧

If you really want to win in a battle royale, there's something you must absolutely avoid.

That is, acting out too much on your own.

If one overwhelmingly powerful being stands out too much, they become the target of many restraints. Although the basic rule is to fight alone, if a powerful common enemy appears, the participants form an unspoken alliance and cooperate to eliminate that enemy.

That's also why those with the title of 'strong championship contenders' peculiarly fail to win every year.

Baek Yu-seol.

He was especially one of the strong championship contenders.

The school competition requires participants to be at least seventeen years old.

However, the average age of participants is usually at least eighteen, and often over twenty, because even though you can gain practical experience from the age of seventeen, it takes at least a year to experience real battle.

For that reason, Baek Yu-seol, who participated in the fierce and intense Magic Survival at just seventeen, naturally became the center of attention.

"...Isn't that guy completely crazy?"

Hanabonyu, a cadet of Master Descartes Academy, couldn't hide his absurd expression as he watched Baek Yu-seol fighting fiercely in the distance.

Especially since he was expected to be heavily restrained in the latter half, causing such a commotion in a densely populated city.

"Besides... that's obviously teaming, isn't it?"

Teaming, before being a rule violation, was also the act most hated by the audience.

Because it makes the game boring.

It's often the case that a public enemy is first eliminated by concentrated fire, but such overt cooperation in attacking is absolutely prohibited.

But what's even funnier is...

'Why can't three people catch one?'

Magic related to expanding vision is impossible to use unless you possess special traits or learn magical visions, so it was impossible to grasp the situation there at a glance.

'No matter what, he's not alone, right?'

Thump!!

With a violent explosion, Baek Yu-seol soared high into the sky but was soon spotted using blink to descend to the ground.

"...It's certainly curious."

A magician who controls blink? Even the greatest archmage couldn't do that.

He revealed himself on the rooftop of the building on the left, then suddenly popped out from the collapsing bridge on the opposite side, and flew out from the window frame below, showing mobility as if not one but several people were moving, and Baek Yu-seol was mocking his enemies.

Whoosh...!

While blankly watching the battle, a sudden wind rushed in.

"Ugh, this is...!"

An ominous current.

Hanabonyu, who confirmed that Baek Yu-seol and three Stella cadets were each hiding in different buildings from a distance, quickly hid himself inside the cave.

Natural disaster.

Namely, 'Ryl Najee's Tsunami'. (?)

It was a peculiar phenomenon where a storm of lightning strikes, one of the natural disasters that occur magically.

In reality, it was a phenomenon that occurred when magical energy and vital energy collided in a special place, so it didn't happen at any time, but in Magic Survival, natural disasters were set to occur at certain times, so it was necessary to evacuate in advance.

Crackle! Crack, crackle!

Shortly after, a tremendous storm of lightning swept through the outside. It wasn't big enough to cover the entire field, but it was enough to cover the city where Baek Yu-seol was fighting.

"When a natural disaster strikes, the standard practice is to hide, so by now, they too must have stopped fighting and..."

[KILL! Baek Yuseol - Kama Len]

"Huh?"

Suddenly, a kill log message pops up.

"What? What's this? Did I unluckily hide in the same building...?"

If it were one-on-one, I wouldn't stand a chance against Baek Yuseol, so it's entirely possible.

But then.

[KILL! Baek Yuseol - Kije Nine]

[KILL! Baek Yuseol - Miron]

Baek Yuseol's kill logs kept appearing. In other words, he had eliminated all the enemies that were attacking him...

'How, how did he do it?'

It was a phenomenon that Hanabonyu could not understand at all with his common sense.

'The tidal wave of Ryl Najee's (?) still raging outside...'

The size was large enough to cover the entire vicinity, so Baek Yuseol also shouldn't have been able to move easily.

But how did he manage to find and kill all the enemies hiding in another building?

Whoosh...

Shortly after the tidal wave of Ryl Najee (?) subsided, Hanabonyu quickly dashed outside.

There might be a battle, but his intense curiosity overcame any desire for victory.

He rushed to the urban area where Baek Yuseol and three enemies had been fiercely fighting, but...

"...Nothing."

All that remained were the traces of battle, nothing else.

Suddenly, it seemed like the cheers from outside the stadium could be heard even here.

The enemies, who had caused the audience's annoyance with all sorts of foul play and teaming up, were wiped out all at once.

To have been eliminated....

Perhaps the spectators are now shouting Baek Yuseol's name until their throats burst.

'Damn it, so Stella is the protagonist again this year...'

I don't like those Stella guys in many ways. After all, the three boys who attacked Baek Yuseol just now were all cadets from Stella Academy.

Why does Stella only choose to do annoying things?

From the beginning, I didn't like the title 'World's Best Magic Academy.'

'...Now that it's come to this, instead of aiming for victory, why not try killing Baek Yuseol?'

No matter how strong Baek Yuseol is, he must be physically exhausted after making more than 10 kills, and his supplies must be depleted.

In contrast, Hanabonyu has conserved his strength and gathered equipment and supplies, so he can fight in the best condition even if a battle breaks out now.

After all, Baek Yuseol's flashy one-man show has made winning meaningless now.

Then, if I kill Baek Yuseol and monopolize all the attention,

'No matter how strong Baek Yuseol is, there will come a time when he's exhausted and shows an opening!'

From that moment, Hanabonyu began to follow Baek Yuseol. It wasn't difficult to pursue him because he left such noisy traces as he moved.

Wherever he went, battles occurred, and Baek Yuseol made kills each time.

He often visited areas with high population density, which were difficult to sneak around in and caused quite a headache.

'Hmm?'

While maintaining a reasonable distance and chasing Baek Yuseol.

...He discovered something very strange.

'What is that?'

Crackle, crackle...

Black flames were burning the field.

But it felt more like it was burning space itself, rather than just burning something material.

Strange.

Since the stage of Magic Survival is implemented like reality, the magic used here also affects the stage similarly to reality.

Fire burns when it catches on wood, is extinguished by water, does not catch well on stone, and conflicts with lightning.

Such interactions should occur just like in reality.

But that dark red flame seemed to burn the very magic that is this virtual space itself.

If you look closely... beyond the stripped space, 'reality' seems to shine through just a little.

'Could it be, did they strip away the Stella Dome with magic?'

As it is a space created by the 9th class magician Eltman El Twin, it wouldn't easily collapse with such flames, but the fact that it burned the virtual space itself brought a strange sense of fear to my heart.

How powerful must a magic be to burn a virtual space?

No, there's only one case where that's possible.

'Could it be, a black magician...?'

The only beings that can exert their power in a virtual space are black magicians, aren't they?

But even so, it doesn't make sense. Would any insane black magician commit an act of terror during a school competition where the eyes of all magicians are focused?

...That's what I thought, but I corrected my thinking. The mental state of black magicians should not be judged by the standards of ordinary people.

There was a black magician who blew up an entire building in the middle of downtown just to kill one person, and another who knew he would die but crashed into a tower to tarnish its honor and then committed suicide after causing a disturbance.

Beings completely devoid of human emotion. Those who would flippantly throw away their lives for immediate pleasure and joy.

Those are the black magicians.

'...Stay calm.'

If a black magician really entered Magic Survival, Stella would have noticed.

They may be cheap, annoying, and irritating... but still, they are the world's number one magic institution, aren't they?

'I, I should back off for now.'

I don't know who the user of the dark red flame is, but I felt it wouldn't be good to get close. It was also an instinctive intuition that humans have."

"At that moment.

"Aaaaah!!"

From across the flickering flames, someone's scream could be heard. Without realizing it, I checked the place and saw a girl crawling on the ground, her body ablaze.

And another boy was chasing her. He had a unique hairstyle that seemed to resemble flames, and he was clutching a dark red flame in each hand.

"Hahaha, why are you running away? Does it hurt? You're a magic warrior cadet, aren't you? You should be able to endure this much, right?"

"Ugh, ah, ugh...!"

The girl with the dark red fire on her body seemed to be truly in pain, tears and snot streaming down her face.

'What is that?

It was an unbelievable sight.

To feel pain inside the stage. That shouldn't be possible.

Hanabonyu instinctively checked the name tag of the magician wielding the dark red flames.

'Veronkal.'

An unfamiliar name, an unfamiliar uniform.

And... those alien eyes.

I could tell immediately just from the pressure of the magical power I felt.

'The opponent is a monster.'

Minimum grade, 5-risk.

An enemy that cannot possibly be faced by a student participating in Magic Survival.

To face a 5-risk black magician, several professional magic warriors would need to gather.

'I, I have to help...'

If I don't help, that girl burning in the flames might really die.

But....

"Would anything change if I helped?"

Hanabonyu, who turned nineteen this year and entered Class 4, found it quite difficult to exert his full power in a one-on-one real battle, even though he could use his abilities sparingly.

Charging at that black magician in this state would mean nothing but a dog's death.

While Hanabonyu hesitated and hid behind a rock, Veronkal was walking after the girl trying to escape, shouting at her.

"Hey, is a warrior supposed to be that scared? Huh? Stand up and fight properly. Aren't you a magic warrior? A magic warrior who exists to fight against black magicians. Why are you acting so disgracefully?"

It sounded as if he was speaking to himself, but he couldn't do anything.

"Ugh..."

Not everyone who attends a magic warrior academy is meant to face a black magician.

Most are like Hanabonyu, who just want to graduate from a prestigious elite magic school and then work in a safe and good job to build a career.

He never thought he would encounter a black magician in his life.

'What should I do...'

With trembling hands, he covered his mouth and desperately tried to think of a solution with his pale face.

Swoosh!

He felt something like a rocket whizzing past him.

Then, with a loud bang, a thick fog rose where the black magician had been standing.

After a while, the fog cleared, and the figure that appeared was...

None other than Dokcheolgwang from Class S, Year 2 of Stella Academy.

He had to recognize him immediately because his instructor had emphasized remembering his face as a strong contender for victory.

"Haha, I felt something suspicious and came to check... and there really was a suspicious guy using some suspicious magic, huh?"

Thud! Thud!

As Dokcheolgwang clapped his hands together, Veronkal, who had retreated a good distance away, dusted off the dirt from his body and stood up.

It seemed like a powerful collision had occurred, but there were no major injuries other than a few small scratches.

"Ha, this is really... Before Baek Yuseol gets eliminated by the others, I intended to hunt him first, but a delicacy has come to me instead?"

"Hmm! My body is muscular, so it won't be tasty to chew!"

The opponent is a black magician. And a very strong one at that. Anyone with a brain who sees this situation would realize it.

But... Dokcheolgwang, knowing this fact, still smiled leisurely, showing his teeth.

'It's impossible...

He will be defeated. Dokcheolgwang is one year younger than me, only eighteen, but I heard he's already achieved Class 4, a genius.

There's no doubt he's a remarkable talent, but he can't possibly defeat Veronkal alone.

He knows this fact better than anyone, so how can he act like this?

Dokcheolgwang then looked at the girl behind him and stretched out his fist.

Bang!

A sharp spear shot out from his fist, piercing right through the girl's chest.

"Ah...

Since the girl didn't feel any pain from Dokcheolgwang's magic, she closed her eyes with a peaceful expression and soon vanished into light.

[KILL! Dokcheolgwang - Banyurin]

Now that she's been eliminated, the magicians waiting outside will quickly notice her wounds.

There might be some aftereffects... but she might survive if she receives treatment.

"Ha, what are you doing?"

"What do you mean? I just did what a magic warrior should do. Now that the obstacle is gone, let's enjoy ourselves."

Then, he clapped his fists together with a thud and added,

"For your information... I have never fallen even once since I was born."