Chapter 23: Match End

[Underclassman No. 24, Iole Torus: Incapacitated. Points awarded to Weiss Fancent and Carta Wiore.]

[Underclassman No. 10, Lian Emard: Incapacitated. Points awarded to Weiss Fancent and Carta Wiore.]

[Underclassman No. 08, Mifis Regret: Incapacitated. Points awarded to Weiss Fancent and Carta Wiore.]

Things were going smoothly enough at the start, but leave it to the upperclassmen to actually start trying. Before long, they’d stopped showing their faces altogether.

What really threw me for a loop, though, was how Allen and Shari were absolutely tearing through the seniors—way more than I’d anticipated. In the original game, they were supposed to get swatted down immediately. I knew breaking the scenario would cause some ripples, but seeing it play out like this was actually pretty entertaining.

“Carta, how much time is left?” I asked.

“About twenty minutes. If we’re worried about survival points, we could honestly just call it a day here.”

The system for this Death Match Tag was brutal: you could rack up points all you wanted, but if someone took you out, you’d lose a massive chunk of your total haul. No wonder everyone was playing hide-and-seek now.

“You really think I’m the type to go into hiding?”

“Hehe, I know, I know.”

I could have used my [Dark Eye] to sniff them out, but the mana consumption was a total killer. With the heavy hitters still left on the field, I needed to hoard every drop of MP I had.

“Weiss-kun, I’ll watch from above,” Carta offered.

“...Alright, I’ll leave it to you then.”

With a soft smile, Carta straddled her staff and let her mana swell. Even though it was called Flight Magic, she wasn't flying like a bird using lift; it was more about a constant, high-output release of mana to fight gravity based on her altitude. Even the slightest tilt of the body required an absurd amount of mana manipulation. I could only manage to hover a few meters off the ground at best, but Carta...

“I’m off!”

In the next heartbeat, she soared into the sky. I knew how hard she practiced, but her raw magical talent was still overwhelming. They say he who rules the sky rules the battlefield, and that rule held firm in this world too. Firing magic over long distances killed your accuracy and power, and in a world without heavy artillery, the sky was the ultimate advantage.

Carta circled above, viewing the cowards in hiding. My [Dark Eye] sensed mana by picking up movement, but her eyes were on a completely different level of precision. She could sense a person’s mana even if they were standing perfectly still. She claimed it was a trick she’d picked up growing up in the mountains. Well, I already knew that, of course.

She eventually spotted someone, but after glancing down at me, she simply shook her head. Then, she mouthed a name. I couldn’t hear her from that height, but I read her lips perfectly.

She was telling me to run.

I ignored her and sprinted straight ahead.

Oh, this is going to be good.

After two minutes of high-speed movement, I came face-to-face with the most famous girl in the entire Academy. She wasn't even trying to hide; she was just standing there with a cool, composed expression, playing with a small bird. This forest was a literal war zone right now, yet she looked like she was out for an elegant stroll.

“Oh? You must be the rumored Weiss Fancent-kun. I knew it the moment I felt your mana.”

She had straight silver hair, skin as translucent as milk, and a face so refined she looked like a Western doll. This was the strongest student in the Academy—the one no one could beat in the original game. Every "scripted loss" needs a character that’s fundamentally broken.

That was her.

The True Last Boss. The Official Cheater. The Story-Breaker. The greatest bug in game history. According to the game’s programmers, she was the “Goddess Who Was, As Expected, Made a Bit Too Much.”

Despite being only a middle-classman, she held a commanding lead at the top of the Nobless Academy rankings. She was so ridiculously powerful that the original story actually had to force her to leave the school of her own accord just to get her out of the way.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Eva Avery-senpai.”

“Ufufu. It makes me happy to hear that from someone as famous as you.”

Less than ten minutes remained.

I wasn't holding back. I was going to give her everything I had.

[Barrier], [Dark Eye], [Blessing of Healing and Impulse of Destruction]—

————

——

—

[Match End. Match End.]

It felt like time had skipped. The whole thing felt like it had lasted only a fraction of a second.

Ha. Haha. Hahaha! This is great. This is so great!

“You’re actually quite good,” Eva said. “I didn't think I'd be forced to use magic.”

“...You say that, but we both know you were holding back.”

“Well, it wouldn't be fair, would it? You’d already fought so many people before getting to me.”

“Is that so? Then let’s do it for real next time.”

“Fufu. Once you’ve climbed up to my level, perhaps.”

At that moment, Carta descended from the sky. She approached us timidly, looking at Eva with visible trepidation.

“Weiss-kun... are you okay?”

“Yeah. I am.”

I looked around at our surroundings. Trees had been leveled, and the ground was gouged out as if by a giant's hand. Fires were burning everywhere.

“...You know, I was getting bored of this Academy,” Eva remarked. “I was thinking of quitting. But—I’ve changed my mind. I think I’ll stay a little longer. I’ve taken a liking to you. See you later, Weiss-kun.”

With that, Eva Avery turned and departed as gallantly as she had arrived. Even though I was exhausted, I had given that fight everything I had. And even then, my blade hadn't reached her.

Unbelievable. This is fantastic.

I’d just caused a massive deviation from the plot. She was supposed to leave the school after this exam. But this was fine. This was better. I could still go further. I could still aim higher.

Then, the final announcement came.

[A point shift has occurred in the final seconds. Lilith Scarlet: Incapacitated. Cynthia Violetta: Incapacitated. Shari Elias: Incapacitated. Therefore, all points are awarded to Allen.]

The voice of the magical bird echoed through the forest. I nearly screamed in shock.

Lilith and Cynthia were both exponentially stronger than they were in the original game. Honestly, they were bordering on being too strong. Cynthia, specifically, had enough power to graduate right now if she wanted to. There was no way the current Allen should have been able to win.

And yet, Allen had beaten them both?

“Ha... hahaha... hahahahaha!”

What the hell was this? It was too good. I couldn't stop laughing.

God, I really do love this game. No, I love this world.

I knew it for certain now: I could get even stronger. By following a script that surpassed the original, I was going to conquer this world.

Weiss... you were enjoying that too, weren’t you?

Third-Year Tag Match Results

Weiss Fancent: 24 Kills (8 Upperclassmen, 7 Middle-classmen, 9 Underclassmen). Carta Wiore: Same as above.

Cynthia Violetta: 16 Kills (2 Upperclassmen, 5 Middle-classmen, 9 Underclassmen), no survival points. Lilith Scarlet: Same as above.

Allen: 20 Kills (4 Upperclassmen, 5 Middle-classmen, 11 Underclassmen). Shari Elias: Same as above, no survival points.

Duke Billian: 10 Kills (1 Upperclassman, 3 Middle-classmen, 6 Underclassmen). Cecil Antwerp: Same as above.

Eva Avery: 29 Kills (25 Upperclassmen, 0 Middle-classmen, 4 Underclassmen). No tag partner.

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[An Important Request]

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