[239] 4. Battle Simulation (9)
"Ugh! This can't be. How—"
Boil was stunned that he hadn't dented Dante's mental fortitude by even one percent.
He hadn't been facing an archmage. It was just a classmate his age, and Boil himself was a prodigy known for summoning magic.
In the end, it came down to the details.
Dante had absorbed the thousands of tiny variables that cropped up during the fight and turned them to his advantage, producing an overwhelming gap.
"Stop whining and get on with it. You promised, remember?"
Dante shoved his hands into his pockets and waited, smug as ever.
It was a scene: Boil, the official advanced class's top student, forced to kneel and make a show of defeat.
Boil's anger matched the weight of being number one. But a promise was a promise, and he couldn't think of any way to wiggle out of it.
"All right… I lost."
The moment Boil kneeled and admitted defeat, a storm of emotion swept through the students.
Shirone and his group, who'd been rooting for Boil, felt heavy-hearted too.
But it was a loss with no excuses.
Iruki said, "We've got to admit it. Information magic—man, that'd be a real pain to deal with."
Sabina cut in. "No—this is Dante. We've been training under Teacher Olivia since we were ten. Our real-combat experience is on a different level from yours. Dante's official record is 472 fights, 472 wins. And he's never lost in unofficial matches either—he's an undefeated legend. He's not someone a provincial school's top student can realistically challenge."
Four hundred seventy-two official matches. Add the unofficial ones and it totaled roughly a thousand duels.
Any mage who'd fought that many interpersonal battles would develop adaptability.
But what made Dante extraordinary was that he'd never been beaten once during that whole stretch.
When Dante's record came out, the students buzzed. He went from an annoying classmate to the kingdom's star overnight.
No matter how rotten the personality, transcendent skill brings fame. Maybe that's why people got even more excited.
The students swarmed Dante. They didn't show it outright, but you could see them trying to at least speak to him.
Left behind in the wake of the departing students were only Canis and Arin.
They were seeing the Two-Thousand man-to-man combat for the first time, but for those who'd fought until it bored them, it didn't stir much.
"This is interesting. So this is how the Academy trains. Canis, wanna try it?"
"Not really. I don't feel like it."
"Aren't you scared you'll lose to Dante? Heh heh."
Though she teased, Arin felt the same as Canis. She didn't want to do the Two-Thousand exercise either.
"What's the big deal? Shirone's staying out of it, so I don't see why I should get mad."
"Shirone stays out because he hates fighting by nature. He's not like Canis."
"Arin, you've been sticking up for Shirone a lot lately, haven't you?"
Arin stuck out her tongue.
Of course, anyone at odds with Canis was also an enemy to her. If the two clashed, she'd help Canis with everything she had—but still, Canis was someone she couldn't truly hate.
"Anyway, what do you think? Information magic—this could be a new trend. Could we beat that?"
Canis snorted.
He didn't like the Two-Thousand drill, but Dante's skill was definitely real. The interesting thing was that he was a genius who stood in contrast to Shirone.
Iruki was a genius too, but his talent leaned heavily in one direction.
"Hmm, if it came down to an actual battlefield—"
"Came down to a battlefield?"
Canis, who'd been quiet for a while, grew serious.
Sensing his mood shift, Arin jabbed his ribs to hurry him along.
"What? If it came down to a battlefield, what would happen?"
Canis turned his head away as if avoiding her gaze and said in a low voice, "It'd… be a splendid match."
5. Match Point (1)
"Yes! I won. Hey, kneel already."
"Damn it! Fight me again! If I hadn't messed up—!"
Before long, a catchphrase spread through the advanced class: Dante's "kneel" command.
Similar scenes started popping up in Class Seven too. It was meant as a joke, but the mood of obsessing over winning had gotten serious.
If A fights B, who wins? Could that winner beat C?
Everything was turning into a system that ranked the whole student body at the Royal Magic Academy.
"Tch! I don't like this. That weird headmaster shows up and ruins the school."
Mark, sprawled on the grass, grumbled while watching underclassmen do man-to-man fights on the Two-Thousand practice ground.
Right now his match point was top of Class Six's pecking order. He'd crushed every challenger. Back in the day he'd have strutted with his chest out, but after coming to respect Shirone, low-tier class rankings meant little.
Maria, sitting beside him, plucked at the grass and said, "Mark, he's still the headmaster. Why call him weird? What if you get caught saying that?"
"Well what am I supposed to do? I don't like Dante or whatever his name is. Especially Closer—he used a passive skill when he fought me. If we'd gone hand-to-hand, he wouldn't have stood a chance."
Maria remembered vividly when Mark got beaten. Closer had even been young and mocking.
"Shirone-senpai will take care of it. He's in the same class. If it gets too bad I'll tell Teacher Sade. What do you think?"
Mark's pride wouldn't even let him voice an opinion. He wanted revenge on whoever tormented Maria, but their skills were real. Of course, even among Shirone's claimed line there were monstrous seniors—Shirone, Amy, Iruki...
Because they could hold the line, he could afford to dismiss Dante's group, but that didn't stop the frustration of being unable to resolve it himself.
"This really ticks me off… seriously…"
People of any age liked fighting, so students in Class Four were just as interested in battle rankings.
Only Dante had already settled Class Four's hierarchy, so their sights were set higher.
"Who'd win if Teacher Etella fought Teacher Shiina?"
"Pfft, obviously Teacher Etella. She's respected across the kingdom."
"You don't win by fame. Etella might have a triple title, but Shiina is the authority on freezing. In real combat, the specialist beats the generalist."
"If we compare that way, Teacher Sade. If both are sixth rank, fire usually has the edge over ice."
Even that chatter reached Shirone, and he stepped in.
"You can't say things like that. They're all excellent teachers. Those people wouldn't fight just to prove who's stronger."
The students wore indifferent faces. Since Boil had knelt, the center of gravity in the advanced class had shifted from Shirone to Dante.
At first the students thought Shirone would step up and restore the school's tarnished honor. But that didn't happen; if anything, he seemed to avoid confrontation. Lately rumors even said he was using tricks to dodge fighting Dante.
"Why's it a problem to talk about a safe-place match? Honestly, you're the same—you don't even enter man-to-man fights because you're scared to face Dante."
"I'm not scared. I just don't want to fight meaninglessly. Tactical drills are one thing, but man-to-man fights don't affect grades."
"Tch, grades, grades. In the end you only shine inside school. A true mage should be strong in real combat."
Shirone shrugged, thinking more words wouldn't get through.
The classmates who'd put some hope in him turned away in disappointment when even provocation didn't work.
"Tch, Shirone's no different after all."
"What can he do? In front of the kingdom's star, Shirone's just a provincial star."
Shirone couldn't see the point of establishing pecking orders among students. The kind of strength he pursued was different from overpowering someone through fighting.
But there were students for whom that alone mattered. Pandora, the second-ranked in the advanced class, was a prime example.
After Dante subdued Boil, she actively followed his group and was now almost their follower.
"Hey, Pandora! Hurry up! I'm dying of thirst!"
At Sabina's spoiled shout, Pandora rushed over with a cup.
"Sorry. The line was too long."
"You could've just said it was for me and stepped up. So inflexible."
"Hehe, tired, aren't you? Want me to massage your shoulders a bit?"
"You? Sure. I overdid it with Haste and now I'm all stiff."
Pandora massaged Sabina's shoulders with earnest care. It stung her pride, but she believed her worth would be recognized soon.
If she befriended Dante's group, she'd immediately enter the kingdom's most promising circle—going from second at a provincial school to fourth in the kingdom. Worth the gamble, right?
Closer fanned himself and said, "Hey, Pandora. I'm thirsty too."
"Huh? Okay! I'll get some water."
Pandora sprinted to the makeshift water container. The sun was hot today and many students waited in line.
Cutting in under Dante's authority would be convenient, but it felt unbecoming. Her specialty was annoying the person in front until they choked on their water.
"Hey, act like humans, not elephants. Drink a reasonable amount and move! Think about the people behind you."
"Here, drink mine."
Boil held out his cup. Sabina shot him a displeased look, but thinking of Closer waiting, she accepted.
"Thanks."
As Sabina returned to Closer, Boil called after her.
"Wait a second. You're not bringing that to him, are you?"
"What's it to you? You aren't bitter just because you lost to Dante, are you?"
"I accept my defeat. But why are you acting like this lately? There's nothing wrong with getting close to Dante, but you don't have to grovel."
"Again—what's it to you? You already nervous about being overtaken by me?"
"No! We've been rivals since childhood! It bothers me to see you bowing like this!"
"But that's not how it is anymore. I'm joining Dante's line. I'll be in the journals soon, and when I graduate there'll be a mad scramble to scout me. If you're jealous, say it. You've already lost—those complaints don't carry weight."
Boil fell silent. He had plenty he wanted to say, but none of it would reach Pandora. The fate of the defeated was unavoidable.
"Damn it! Do whatever you want!"
From a distance, Shirone and the others understood Boil's feelings.
All social circles in the advanced class revolved around Dante. No one challenged the absolute first, and the more that was true, the more Shirone wanted to escape the situation.
He believed that even without fighting, if he kept refining what was his, success would come.
What filled his mind at the time was how to execute Ataraxia even a little faster. For someone like him, man-to-man combat didn't catch his eye.
He practiced lifting training day after day and finally managed to hold a target for twenty seconds.
At this point it was almost a trick. Others couldn't sustain that mental state for even a second, yet he held it for twenty.
"Wow, that's Shirone. His Spirit Zone is growing. Incredible talent, no matter how you slice it."
"Still, he's just an Unlocker. He can't even look Dante in the eye."
"Honestly, Dante's way too strong. I get where Shirone's coming from."
"Why assume Shirone ran away? When he gets into competition he's terrifying. And Canis and Iruki are still around."
"Hmph! If you're so confident, why run? If I had that skill I'd be so worked up I'd challenge him right away. Cowardly running is why the girls flock to Dante."