Conviction

It was one hour before Shari and I heard the announcement that Allen’s team had been eliminated.

Having finally tracked down Lilith and Duke, Allen and Cynthia quietly let their mana swell. While Allen could have manifested his Glacies ice sword, he’d judged the risk too high for the first day of the exam and was currently holding back. He didn't even have a standard weapon yet.

The duo opted for a high-powered Magic Cannon, launched from outside their opponents’ field of vision.

"—Lilith, move!" Duke’s roar echoed through the clearing.

"!?"

Duke reacted instantly, grabbing Lilith and leaping into the air to evade the blast. However, Allen had already factored in a dodge; he had imbued the spell with Homing Magic. The Mana Cannon banked sharply, screaming upward toward Duke as he ascended into the sky.

"Hah! You’ll need more than that to take me down!"

Duke performed a mid-air stamp, pouring mana into his legs to kick off the very atmosphere, forcibly diverting the spell’s trajectory. Seeing their opening vanish, Allen and Cynthia prepared a follow-up, but Lilith had already circled behind them.

She infused an improvised, sharpened stone with mana, aiming it directly at their vitals. Allen barely managed to twist away, only to find Duke waiting for him right where he moved.

"Sorry, Allen! I didn't spend all that time training just for show!"

"—Kugh!"

Duke drove a heavy blow into Allen with everything he had. Allen managed to throw up his right arm to block, but a sickening, dull crack echoed as a section of his Training Uniform shattered.

In that instant, Allen’s right arm went limp. The combat uniforms were designed to instantly simulate the physiological effects of assumed damage. In a real fight, Allen’s arm would have been reduced to splinters.

"...Duke!"

"Don't take it personally, Allen. But this time, I'm the protagonist."

Beside them, Cynthia faced off against Lilith, her eyes sharp and focused.

"It feels like it’s been ages since we last traded blows," Cynthia remarked.

"It has, Cynthia-san," Lilith replied. "But I’m going to show you that I’ve finally caught up."

◇

[Allen and Cynthia Violetta have been eliminated due to mana depletion. Ownership of their plates has been transferred to Duke Billian. Re-deployment will occur in one hour.]

The moment the Magic Bird’s announcement echoed through the trees, Shari and I looked at each other in grim silence.

"Well... that complicates things," I muttered.

"Yeah. The plates are on the move."

Still, we needed a plan if we wanted to win. The goal was simple: pick off the easier pairs first, then take down Duke and Lilith to claim the plates we actually needed. Or at least, that was the plan until—

"Shari, duck!"

"—!?"

I felt a massive surge of mana from outside the walls. Shari and I hit the dirt just as a blade of pressurized wind shrieked overhead, missing our scalps by a hair. The dilapidated house we’d been using for cover was sliced clean in two, the roof collapsing with a deafening rattle.

I grabbed Shari and scrambled toward a small window to escape the wreckage, but the universe clearly had a grudge against me. An Unnatural—a magically constructed trap wall—had been rigged right outside. It was imbued with a Construction Formula that acted like a spring; the moment we touched it, the recoil sent us soaring helplessly into the sky.

A second strike followed without a moment's hesitation—a jagged blade of wind hurtling toward us in mid-air.

"Shield!" we both yelled in unison.

Our Defense Formulas deployed just in time. We managed to block the hit and plummet back to earth, but the moment my boots touched the soil, the ground turned into a muddy mire, dragging us down. A third strike was already coming, and Shari was completely off-balance.

I threw myself in front of her, gritting my teeth.

"Inviolable Domain!"

The Barrier held, but my mana was taking a hit. Defense spells drain energy based on the force they stop, and that last volley had been heavy. This level of coordination—the relentless chain of attacks combined with a genius-level use of traps—and that unmistakable, overwhelming destructive power...

I couldn't see them yet, but I knew exactly who it was.

Fighting them right now is a terrible idea. They’re only worth one point each, and I don't even have a real weapon. The risk-to-reward ratio is a disaster.

But they weren't giving me a choice.

"Destructive Impulse of the Healing Grace."

I deployed the magic circle. This didn't just strip away an opponent's resistance and convert it into my own power; it had a secondary function. It let me "sense" the life force of anything nearby.

I locked onto two mana signatures hiding behind a cluster of boulders.

One-Hit Kill.

I launched my counter-attack instantly, and Shari followed my lead, imbuing the strike with her Spirit Mana. The combination of pure wind and spirits created a terrifyingly destructive force. It tore through the clearing, shattering the rocks and flushing out our attackers.

As the dust settled, my suspicions were confirmed: Cecil and Tura.

Tura’s right arm was slightly scraped where my attack had grazed her, but she didn't look bothered. What bothered me was the wooden sword in her hand. Meanwhile, I was standing there holding a literal stick I'd picked up off the ground.

She shifted into a high-guard stance, her eyes narrowing.

"Forgive us, Lord Weiss. It seems luck is on our side today."

"You two are certainly more exciting than our first opponents," Cecil added with a sharp smile.

I tightened my grip on my twig. A master doesn't blame his tools, right? Fine. Let's see if that proverb holds up when I'm fighting a sword genius with a piece of kindling.

"Sorry, but I’m a 'master who doesn't choose his brush.' I’ll show you what that looks like in practice."

I wasn't going to hold back. Not against them.

"Is that so?" Tura’s lips curved into a thrill-seeking smile. "I look forward to it!"

She lunged.

I immediately activated Dark Eye, followed by Time Lapse. Usually, this was where I hit my limit—the point where my brain and body could barely keep up with the processed information.

But today felt different. Entirely different.

Tura feinted an overhead strike before snapping into a horizontal sweep. She knew the difference in our weapon quality; if I tried to block that with my stick, her sword would shear right through it, leaving me defenseless for her follow-up.

She was a certified prodigy. Under normal circumstances, just surviving a melee with her was a tall order, especially since she was a magic-combat specialist.

The thing was... I could see it. Not just her movement, but the very intent behind the blade.

"—Wha!?"

"My bad."

I didn't even bother looking at her sword's trajectory. I simply flowed beneath the arc of her swing, my body moving with a precision I’d never felt before. Before she could recover, I drove the end of my stick into her flank with a sickening thud.

Tura gasped, coughing up a spray of blood as she was sent reeling backward.

"Wh-what... what was that movement?" she wheezed, clutching her side as she stared at me in horror. "And Lord Weiss... your eyes..."

"Heh. Sorry, Tura. You just happened to be experiment number one."

I could feel it then. My right eye was glowing with a cold, piercing black light.