[622] Scout Reporting (3)
"What is that?"
Baikal asked. Elizabeth answered.
"It's the Ultima System. According to the report—"
"I know what it is. The problem is how there can be multiple focal points of concentration."
Because it was the Ultima System.
It was something to accept as beyond understanding, but for a scout whose job was to analyze everything, it was an awkward situation.
"We altered the system to maximize the shock. That can only be done twenty-seven times."
'I did it. I did it.'
Having annihilated the enemies within the time limit, Shirone sagged to his knees.
'I need to recover my mind.'
Just then, a shocking announcement voice sounded.
-Entering Extreme Survival Stage 6.
"What?"
Everyone, including Shirone and the other complacent participants, widened their eyes and looked around.
"Heh heh, it's not going to be that easy."
Fermi stood where the voice had come from, gripping a werewolf by the throat.
Grrrrr...
If even one survived, it would count as a failure to annihilate, and the next stage would begin immediately.
Kraang!
Fermi's Air Cut sliced the werewolf's neck clean off.
"Fermi…"
Shirone ground his teeth and stood.
Was this what it felt like when you realize the desert oasis was just a mirage?
"Good judgment."
Baikal approved of Fermi's tactics.
"She understands the Extreme Survival system. It's a strategy to weaken Shirone's full power while still exploiting his combat ability."
"A cold disposition."
Baikal's gaze flicked to Elizabeth and back.
"That's what a mage is. If Shirone were an enemy nation's mage, who in the Kingdom of Tormia wouldn't applaud Fermi?"
The moment he finished, a magical spectacle unlike any before unfolded in the colosseum.
"Finally—the dreaded Tier 5."
Stage 6 was the range where, statistically, ninety percent of the final fifteen were chosen.
Rrrmmmm!
Two hundred golems, three meters tall, rose from beneath the earth and completely blocked the view.
A Lamia writhed its serpentine lower half; dragon-knights readied their weapons and brandished chilling skulls.
Kieeeee!
A griffin, eagle-faced and lion-bodied, folded its wings and dove; Maria shoved Mark out of the way.
"Move, Mark!"
The talon on the griffin's single foot grazed and slashed across Mark's back.
Maria's healing magic followed, but Mark's spirit had already hit rock bottom.
'This is… impossible.'
Watching participants fight amid a battlefield crawling with monsters didn't feel real.
'How are they still holding on?'
If Shirone hadn't cleared enemies with repeated berserks, they wouldn't have made it to Stage 6.
"Mark, stop. You'll really die if you keep this up."
Their sync rate was a perfect one thousand. The physical impacts from creatures converted into mental shock; in real combat they'd already be dead.
"It's not over yet. No one's been eliminated!"
He'd come to pass the exam, but even just finishing with confidence would have been a partial success.
'It can't be this different! I worked myself to death to get here!'
If he gave up now he felt he'd be able to do nothing afterward, so Mark poured all his will into concentration.
"Earth Pillar!"
A thick column struck the golems, but the hulking creature—over a ton in weight—merely shattered the pillar and kept advancing.
"Grrr!"
As the golems raised their massive arms to slam down, Mark twisted his waist to shield Maria.
"Ugh!"
At that moment a flash of teleportation landed before them and Shirone unleashed a berserk burst.
The golems trembled, then pulverized into dirt as if fed into a grinder.
"Senpai?"
Maria hurriedly bowed.
"Thank you."
"For what?"
Shirone didn't look at them.
"Don't thank me. I saved you."
If Mark had kept holding on stubbornly, both of them would have died.
"Get out. Stop giving up."
Mark shouted, eyes blazing.
"I can't! At least one more competitor—!"
"Get out!"
Mark's shoulders flickered.
"There are no second chances. If you want to die, fine. But don't drag others down."
"Senpai…"
Mark watched Shirone disappear into the battlefield and then hung his head in gloom.
'I'm sorry.'
It was the feeling of a senior who couldn't bear to see a beloved junior die.
Klang klang klang!
The dragon-knights clashed iron jaws and charged, weapons raised like antique blades.
"Mark."
At Maria's cue, Mark nodded; the two spoke the battlefield-exit keyword at the same time.
"Atra."
The dragon-knights' downward strikes vanished in an instant.
"Contestants 29 and 30 have exited the battlefield."
"That's expected. Lack of experience, and their skills are too raw to be senior-level."
Baikal had never intended to grade them kindly.
"Still, the report needs a final evaluation. Grade them F?"
"Substandard."
Baikal wouldn't budge.
"Write it that way."
"Yes, yes."
Lara sighed and twirled her pen.
With two eliminations, the ten minutes of Stage 6 were almost up.
Even so, more than half the creatures remained alive, and the participants' faces were ashen.
-Entering Extreme Survival Stage 7.
When the 2000 System's voice spoke, everyone's focus wavered.
"Twenty-eight survivors. I've never seen Stage 7 reached with this number."
When most participants chose hostility over alliance, picking the final fifteen went much faster.
But sometimes, when they cooperated to complete the mission, they could reach Stage 7.
"This should be where it ends."
The Tier-4 lineup consisted of creatures called the kings of their species—the continent's apex predators.
Kraaah!
The desert king Basilisk roared; the audience turned pale.
Twelve meters long and forty tons in weight, its thick tail could wipe out a human unit in a single blow.
Uoooo!
The forest king Ogre swelled to four meters and roared, while a massive wyvern spread leathery wings and scorched the colosseum with flame.
"This is… hell."
Eighty-seven Tier-4 beasts combined with the hundreds that survived Stage 6 made a sight impossible in the living world.
"Tch! That Shirone bastard—what's he thinking?"
As the wyvern's flames swept the ground, Canis raised a Shadow Wall in defense.
"Kukuku! Humans have made something interesting."
Muttering, a Harvester ripped a skull from a dragon-knight and sent its voice through a mental channel.
-What will you do? If you want to shine, now's your chance.
-Not sure yet. Watch Shirone for a bit.
-Dark magic specializes in defense; holding out isn't a bad idea. They'll probably narrow it down to fifteen here anyway.
"Canis! Are you okay?"
The golems blocking Canis collapsed in thudding heaps.
When Canis lowered his Shadow Wall, three towering ogres stood before him.
"Arin?"
Arin ran out from between an ogre's legs.
"I took the simple-minded ones. That should buy about three minutes."
Her judgment was defensive as well.
"Oh? Mind control?"
Baikal's eyes lit up.
"Their mental activity levels are off the human chart. Controlling three Tier-4 ogres is impressive."
The three ogres guarding Arin smashed through the enemies like madmen.
"Mental flexibility is enormous."
"Personally, I think the kingdom should recruit her. I don't want another nation to take such a talent."
"A."
If everyone were as clear-cut as Arin, there'd be no conflicts among the scouts.
'By contrast…'
Baikal's gaze trailed to Shirone.
He was still fighting with high numbers, but the violent acceleration of mana wasn't there like before.
"Is that all the picture you wanted?"
Shirone's face had drained of color; his eyes were losing focus.
'I need rest…'
With his concentration slipping, he couldn't fell many creatures, and his power faded with time.
'If I could just… rest a little…'
The Photon Cannon still lashed out wildly, but the enemies' encirclement only tightened.
"Iruki, Shirone looks exhausted."
Nade flew to Iruki and said, "He looks really worn out."
"…And?"
"Let's help him. We should let him rest a bit."
They were a team, but Iruki disagreed.
"It's Shirone's choice. Until he asks for help, we don't step in."
"But he'll really be eliminated like that!"
"Even so, we can't. If you have time to worry about others, take care of yourself first."
Nade ground her teeth as Iruki teleported away.
'Damn it! Both of you…!'
Friends who'd laughed until yesterday felt colder than anyone during the graduation exam.
"Haa, haa."
The Photon Cannon that had blurred Shirone's vision suddenly cut off like a faucet that ran dry.
Unable to respond as the Basilisk pressed through while he pushed golems back, Nade flew in.
"Shirone! Rest a little! I'll watch you!"
Shirone's brow twitched.
"Nade, step back…."
"We can't let you be eliminated! You pushed too hard from the start. Recover here and—"
"Step back!"
Nade froze, startled.
"Nade, I'm going to be a mage. No one can stop my dream. So step back."
'This is bad. He's not in his right mind.'
There was no life in Shirone's eyes.
After nearly an hour of supreme concentration, that was only natural.
"If you don't step back… I'll have to fight you. If you want to crush me and be the best, come at me."
For a moment Nade's face crumpled.
"…Do your best, Shirone."
Only after Nade teleported away did Shirone continue speaking.
"After this… let's eat."
Baikal analyzed the situation.
"That contestant number 21 is a mess."
"West Nade. Her skill doesn't seem diminished, but her behavior is odd. She holds back at certainties, then makes good calls only when things get truly dangerous."
"That's a mess. F. Number 27 is the same. They've hit their limit."
"The mana level holds steady but doesn't rise. Efficiency has plummeted; the Photon Cannon's power is less than half what it was at the start."
"Disappointing. I had some hope when Flue recommended him so strongly."
Shirone cast the Photon Cannon again toward the curtain of monsters.
'Now it starts!'
Through time-slicing, he drew a massive halo and information about Ataraxia began to coalesce.
"It's out. The Archangel's mana amplification array."
"Hmm. Rather than accelerating, he's redirecting spare mental energy elsewhere."
Elizabeth chimed in at the rare praise.
"It's improvisation when there's no recovery time. That explains the Photon Cannon's drop in efficiency."
"That still doesn't change anything. If he passes Stage 7, there's Stage 8. We're not even considering the secondary exam."
"Ataraxia! Evade!"
Participants who noticed Shirone's magic array predicted the flash's trajectory and moved aside.
"Tch, so he is doing it in the end?"
From advanced to graduating classes, they knew Ataraxia's power.
"Is it his last desperate act?"
Fermi, already at a distance, watched Shirone's end with a mirthful smile.
'Well done, Shirone.'
Her plan—using him to raise the stage so others could shine at higher tiers—had worked.
"I will never stop."
Eyes fixed on Ataraxia's multicolored brilliance, Shirone kicked off and charged.
"What the—?"
Everyone, scouts included, watched in bewilderment, while only the hooded woman clenched her fist.
"Go, Shirone."
The shockwave to follow was so dangerous that even the archangel Ikael hadn't attempted it.
It was Ataraxia's corporeal assault.