Episode 14: Table Duel (1)
Two days after the entrance ceremony—that is, the very next day after Sid enrolled—the first semester began.
And it did so in a manner different from what the boy had imagined.
“What are you staring at! Aren’t you moving?”
Light from a massive stained-glass window filled the classroom.
And amidst the students excited for their first class, a potbellied man walked out.
Thin hair was combed over his balding crown, and his sagging jowls and neck fat merged with his chin into one.
Scanning the hundred-plus students, the man smiled arrogantly.
It was a gaze that regarded the freshmen not as students, but as some kind of commodity.
“Welcome to the Academy, brats. I am Hammond Fredog. You’ve all heard of Hammond the Kingdom’s Combat Mage, haven’t you?”
Before anyone knew it, Hammond had made his way to the center of the classroom and looked the students over.
Since it was their first class and the man had made such an arrogant entrance, the students murmured among themselves.
Sid wanted to ask who that man was, but having no friends, he merely blinked awkwardly.
Just then, a student in front spoke up.
“Who is he? Hammond the Combat Mage? If he’s a Kingdom Combat Mage, isn’t he elite among elites?”
“What’s with that bald pig? Can someone with a body like that even run?”
‘Hmm.’
Sid nodded his head.
For all his boasting, it seemed he wasn’t a famous mage.
Regardless, Hammond placed a hand on a large table and surveyed the surroundings.
A female student with a nervous expression and a male student looking around with arrogant, triumphant eyes.
All of them were taken in by his gaze.
“My word, everyone seems so relaxed just because it’s the first class? Then let’s have a mock battle! If you thought being a mage meant just staring at stupid books and taking boring lessons, you thought wrong!”
The man waved his hand with exaggerated movements.
Perhaps it was his hobby to discipline students who had only recently enrolled.
“What, what’s a mock battle?”
“Ugh, combat from the very first day?”
“Hehe, sounds fun, though?”
The students’ reactions were divided.
Hurrying such students along, Hammond waved his hand.
Following his gesture, several students stepped forward as if they had been waiting.
Soon, swept up by the murmuring crowd, Sid also headed for the center of the classroom.
These boys and girls, far exceeding a hundred, were the Academy’s new students.
“Oh my, I heard you enrolled. Young Master Jii, Lady Iris. I look forward to working with you. Hoho!”
A few students within the crowd exchanged greetings with Hammond.
As if they were familiar faces, the man’s expression was all smiles.
But when he saw a student hesitating as she came down, his expression hardened.
Watching the girl hurriedly descend the high steps, Hammond let out a sigh.
“These sluggish slugs… How long do I have to wait for you to get down here? Can’t you see your friends are waiting? Hah, really. I’m going to die of old age waiting, you brat!”
“Pfft!”
Laughter spread at the appearance of the slow student.
Hammond cut down one student to liven up the mood.
Since her seat was far from the table to begin with, it was an excessive reaction no matter how one looked at it.
‘Hmm.’
Sid craned his neck to check the student in question.
It was the girl named Reiya whom he had met at the library yesterday.
Reiya, who had rushed down, hung her head low.
Her face was flushed red, hiding her freckles.
As if a good idea had just struck him, Hammond snapped his fingers.
“Yes! How about Reiya, who came down last, demonstrates? Reiya repeated a year, so this lesson is familiar to her. Right?”
“Y- yes? N- no, I…”
A malicious feeling wafted from his slyly rising voice.
Reiya was clearly flustered by the sudden situation.
“Yes, yes, I know. You might have taken a year off due to illness. Still, since you’re showing the new students, wouldn’t it be good for someone who repeated a year to demonstrate? I’m asking you, Reiya. Now, everyone applaud!”
“…….”
At the one-sided request, Reiya hung her head.
It was obvious that Hammond was using the pitiful girl as a pretext to force unity.
From his words, it seemed Reiya had enrolled last year but was held back.
Openly blabbing about it left a feeling of displeasure.
“Wow! Amazing! Good luck!”
“Hehe, what’s with her? Is she some sickly kid?”
Already, several students joined in to mock the girl.
Sid frowned.
For a teacher to lead in bullying a student from the very start of the semester…
He didn’t think that was something a teacher should do.
“Hmm, then who should be her opponent? I’m thinking of a Table Duel. Any friend you know? No?”
Hammond scanned the students standing blankly.
Already chosen as the demonstrator, Reiya bit her lip, while the other students didn’t rashly step forward.
They had joined in ganging up on a friend, but seemed unwilling to be picked themselves.
Then, one girl raised her hand.
It was the girl who had been called “Lady Iris” by Hammond.
“Teacher, me! I’ll do it!”
Long, black hair that rippled like silk.
She looked younger than Sid, yet her development was tremendous even at such an early age.
Stepping forth with long, slender legs, Iris walked out with crisp, clicking steps.
“Oh, yes, thank you, Iris! Everyone, see? This is the attitude you should learn! You have to be confident to learn anything!”
Hammond praised her exaggeratedly.
Soon, Iris took his hand and climbed onto the end of the table.
Reiya, selected as the opponent, also climbed onto the table under the crowd’s glare.
A long table approximately 10 meters in length.
The two girls standing at opposite ends wore different expressions.
“Now, now. Some of you may be new to the Table Duel, so let me explain briefly! Take three steps out from the end of the table, then exchange offensive and defensive spells. If you fail to defend three times or get pushed off the table, it’s over. Simple and easy, right? Then, begin—”
“Fireball!”
Kwaaang!
“Kyaaah!”
Before he could even finish speaking, a massive orb of flame burst.
Struck defenseless, Reiya was flung outside the table, and the students gaped at the power of the great fireball.
Even Hammond’s mouth fell open at the sudden explosion of fire.
“Oh my? I didn’t cast it that strongly. Is it possible to be disqualified in one hit?”
Iris feigned innocence, clearly having attacked with malice.
Hammond alternated his gaze between Reiya, thrown into a corner of the classroom, and Iris.
His awkward, forced smile revealed his embarrassment.
“Uh… uh? Th- that’s right! When there’s a large gap in skill between two people, this can happen! Everyone see? Since this can happen, stay sharp! A round of applause for the two who worked hard!”
After speaking, Hammond checked the loser’s condition.
Fortunately, the girl who had flown to the end of the classroom scratched her head and got up.
After confirming she wasn’t badly hurt, Hammond let out a breath.
He didn’t seem to be that good of a teacher, but he apparently disliked unnecessary trouble.
‘Haah.’
Sid frowned as he looked at those gathered in the classroom.
The arrogant mages the older brothers at the monastery had spoken of.
It was the moment he witnessed their rotten, yellowed sprouts with his own eyes.
“Now, now. I’m planning to show four or five more teams, so any volunteers? Don’t chicken out. What just happened was because the gap in skill was too large. That Iris over there is the successor to the House of Cloudsinger. Think of her as too strong from the start.”
Hammond waved his hand, trying to revive the frozen atmosphere.
Rather than scolding Iris for flinging a fireball out of nowhere, he was busy criticizing Reiya.
Sid, arms crossed, frowned again.
‘If a fireball flew the moment he said start, that means she was casting during the explanation… What a disgusting bunch.’
The boy let out a breath.
Doubt about the very existence of mages was already budding.
How could they show such a dirty spectacle from the very first class?
In any case, as intense as the first demonstration had been, no second volunteer came forward.
Hammond scratched his sparse hair.
“Huh, no one? Then I’ll choose—”
“Teacher! I’ll try.”
Tap!
Then, a well-groomed boy climbed onto the end of the table.
It was the boy called “Jii” who, like Iris, had exchanged greetings with Hammond.
At Jii’s appearance, Hammond’s expression brightened.
“Yes! So Jii will demonstrate! Who shall be his opponent? Come on, don’t be scared!”
“Teacher? May I choose my opponent? There’s a friend I’m interested in.”
“Oh, really? If someone has caught Jii’s interest, they must be interesting! Who is it? Let’s see their face!”
At the malicious gleam in his eyes, the surroundings fell silent.
The students looked visibly anxious at the thought that they might be called.
Bleached blond hair nearly white.
The boy’s skin was as pale as his hair.
Had his irises been red as well, he would have looked like nothing less than a vampire.
“First, let me introduce myself. I am Jii Firepou. Second son of the fire mage Firepou, and my older brother is a famous combat mage even in the kingdom. I look forward to our time together.”
“Now, now, applause! Applause!”
‘Hmm.’
Sid felt the emotion budding in his chest.
That boy called “Jii” and “Iris” were using this lesson as an excuse to establish their positions.
We’re of a different class, so look up to us…
That was how they were crushing the spirits of their classmates.
Soon, the name of his opponent left Jii’s mouth.
It was an unexpected name.
“You there, the friend called Sid! Come on up?”
“Sid?”
“Who’s that?”
The gazes of the other students, including Hammond, turned.
Fixed upon a boy with darkly tanned skin and wide, blinking eyes.
Reiya, who had been in the corner, also spotted him, and Jii smiled slyly.
“Hurry up and come on. Let’s have a go.”
“Who, me?”
Sid blinked his eyes.
That a classmate he was meeting for the first time today knew his name.
Furthermore, he couldn’t figure out why he had been called.
‘Could it be because I arrived by carriage yesterday?’
Looking around awkwardly, all eyes were fixed on him.
Having no choice, he climbed onto the table, and Hammond clapped.
“Now, now! This friend and Jii will demonstrate! Everyone, focus!”
A crew-cut boy with rolled-up sleeves and a blond boy with an aristocratic air.
It was a fight as anticipated as their contrasting appearances.
Though it was a battle he hadn’t expected, the experience wouldn’t be bad.
Sid carefully headed toward the end of the table.
“Miss. How much mana do I have left?”
[Combining yesterday’s remaining mana and the total interest, you have 3,803 Mana Coins remaining.]
[Details] Balance Inquiry
[Withdrawn Amount]
[Deposited Amount]
[Balance] *3,803 (Eirena Academy)
[13,210]
‘Good. It’s three times mine, right?’
Jii’s mana entered Sid’s eyes.
The boy broke into a cold sweat.
Because it was a table with distance between them, his specialties, “Magic Sword” and “Iron Fist,” were sealed.
That meant he had to use the magic he had learned, but unfortunately, Sid knew no defensive magic.
“Now, now! You must not use magic until I say start! Both of you, to your positions! Jii takes the first move!”
Hammond mediated to prevent a surprise attack like before.
Jii smiled slyly and grasped a magic circle.
The numbers decreasing above his head entered Sid’s eyes.
[13,210]
[12,229]
The evaporation of approximately 974 Mana Coins.
At the evaporation of that familiar number, Sid narrowed his eyes.
Unless it was a special spell, he roughly had a feel for that amount.
‘It’s a Fireball.’
Since he had previously cast a Fireball for “963 coins,” Sid was certain of the spell his opponent was preparing.
The boy swallowed.
It was the first battle unfolding at the Academy.
And the words that followed from his account were enough to bolster his confidence.
[The opponent’s remaining mana is 12,229 Mana Coins. Your remaining mana is 3,803 Mana Coins. It is well worth trying.]
- To be continued in Episode 15 -