Chapter 22: Incorrect Magical Theory

“Wow, what’s this…?”

As I entered the dome-shaped training ground, I noticed a large number of people gathered in the second and third-floor spectator seats. They all seemed to be students from the Magic Academy, and they were gazing with interest at the central venue where I currently stood.

Why are so many people gathered here?

I pondered this question when Professor Rezan, passing by the judge’s seat, explained it to me.

“I was surprised at first too, but it’s only natural to hold a mock battle when it comes to someone like Kaien Sifonard. He’s an exceptionally talented individual among this year’s freshmen, so many students want to see his abilities.”

I see.

Looking at the spectator seats, it seemed that there were many students wearing uniforms with a blue accent. As fellow first-year students, it’s likely that they wanted to catch a glimpse of Kaien, who was at the top of the class.

So, all the attention from the crowd is focused on the red-haired male student standing in front of me. In contrast, I’m completely unnoticed. Well, I could even say I’m the center of attention.

It’s quite reckless for a commoner like me to engage in a mock battle against the scion of a prestigious magical family in this academy, especially considering how rare commoners are in this school.

“Hey, you took your sweet time. I thought you got scared and ran away,” Kaien said with a smirk.

“You must be joking. What aspect of you would make me scared?” I replied, mocking him.

As we exchanged glances, invisible sparks seemed to ignite. Just then, Professor Rezan, from the judge’s seat, spoke in a resolute voice.

“Now then, let the mock battle begin! I assume both of you are familiar with the rules.”

Kaien and I nodded in silent agreement.

He drew his staff from his waist and held its tip towards me, preparing himself. Since I had nothing to hold, I simply stood there without assuming any stance.

A temporary silence filled the training ground.

Even the spectators in the stands, who should have been filled with many students, fell silent, creating an atmosphere of tension.

During that brief moment, I contemplated.

As Mil had mentioned, I couldn’t use my specialty instant-death magic in this mock battle. With a magic power value of 1, I couldn’t even use regular magic, let alone have any defense against magic.

On the other hand, my opponent was skilled in fighting against mages, a master of interpersonal combat.

At first glance, it seemed like I had no chance of winning, but I still had a few other spells in my repertoire besides instant-death magic. And in the context of battling a mage, those spells could have a tremendous impact.

And as soon as I saw Professor Rezan deeming us ready…

“It’s time to start!”

With a powerful voice, he signaled the beginning.

Without wasting a moment, I opened my right hand and recited the incantation, holding it up to myself.

“[The Arrival of Peace――Celestial Guardian――Protect the Defenseless Masses].”

I made the first move.

“[Momentary Peace――Aegis Friede].”

For an instant, my body was enveloped in a silver light.

However, it ended just like that, leaving Kaien, who was watching it directly, with a puzzled expression.

“Hey, what kind of magic is that? Nothing happened. Is that some kind of commoner’s repentance?”

His words caused the students in the spectator seats to chuckle.

Judging by their reactions, it seemed that none of the students were familiar with this magic.

Well, that’s understandable.

Unlike commonly taught magic, this is a probability-based magic that varies in effectiveness depending on luck. It’s a worthless magic if used by an ordinary magician, and it’s probably not taught at the Magic Academy either.

After all, it’s a magic of such low value.

However, if used by me, with a luck value of 999, the perspective on its value completely flips.

That’s why Kaien absolutely had to stop me the moment I started chanting.

Because with this…

My victory was almost assured.

“An ordinary commoner who doesn’t even know basic magic, let me show you what real magic is.”

Kaien, wearing a confident smile, pointed his staff towards me and chanted.

“[Cycle of Seasons――Crimson Petals――Dance and Scatter on the Wind]――[Cremation of the Ash Blizzard――Petra Climeshion]”

In an instant, numerous crimson petals appeared around him.

Carried by the wind, they flew towards me, covering my field of vision with petals.

Red petals, crackling with tiny sparks, filled the air.

I thought there was some kind of mechanism to it, and in the next moment, a petal that fell in front of me burst with intense light and explosive force.

As if triggering a chain reaction, the other petals exploded one after another, with a continuous burst of light and blasts assaulting me.

It was a powerful fire-based magic.

Perhaps due to his high magic power value, or maybe because his affinity for magic elements was fire with the red gem attached to his staff.

Magicians are known to prefer magic catalysts such as staves and ornaments decorated with gemstones, as they slightly enhance the power of magic when used. I don’t have one since they’re expensive.

Perhaps due to that, Kaien’s “bursting petals” transformed into a magic spell with considerable power.

But well…

“What…? No damage?”

It had no effect on me whatsoever.

As the blast subsided, Kaien furrowed his brows in astonishment as he saw me, completely unscathed, with not even a speck of dirt on my uniform.

The students in the spectator seats were also murmuring in confusion. They had thought that this last move would definitely decide the outcome.

But unfortunately for them, his magic couldn’t even soil my uniform.

“Tch, did I hold back too much? I don’t really understand the magic power of commoners, and the durability of their magical garments is ambiguous, so I have to be cautious,” Kaien said with a rather feeble excuse.

Letting out a sigh of exasperation, he swept his red bangs back and chuckled.

“Well then, from here on, I’ll go a bit stronger.”

Once again, he pointed the tip of his staff towards me and began another incantation.

“[The enemy is right here――Crimson Blaze――Gather the magic into a single sphere and pierce through].”

This was a familiar incantation.

It was one of the basic offensive spells, where the destructive power is prominently displayed based on the user’s magic power.

And since it was a fire-based magic, it should be one of Kaien’s specialties as a holder of red magic affinity.

“[Burning Sphere――Flame Sphere]!”

From the tip of his poised staff, a fireball as tall as a person was launched.

Just by looking at it, you could tell that it had considerable destructive power due to the match of magic power value and color.

The students in the spectator seats gasped in admiration at Kaien’s “[Burning Sphere――Flame Sphere].”

But even such a powerful magic…

“It’s futile.”

Right before it could make contact with my body, it was blocked by an invisible barrier.

“W-What?!”

Once again, not a speck of dirt touched my uniform.

Finally, Kaien began to suspect something unusual, casting a sharp gaze in my direction.

“What the hell did you do…”

“Well, what could it be? Maybe you should think for yourself a little,” I replied with a faint smile, mocking him.

There was no obligation for me to kindly explain.

His face contorted in annoyance as he infused his anger into his magic, reciting the same incantation forcefully and pointing his staff towards me.

“[Burning Sphere――Flame Sphere]!”

Once again, a massive fireball was launched.

But like before, it never reached me. Just before impact, it was mysteriously nullified, as if blocked by an invisible wall.

“What… what’s happening…”

Kaien muttered in astonishment, his voice hoarse.

The students in the audience, as well as Professor Lezan in the referee’s seat, were frozen in surprise.

Well, it’s natural for everyone to be surprised since no one would know such a minor spell.

I thought it would be entertaining to watch him continue his futile attempts while laughing, but since there was no time left until the first class, it was time to settle things.

“Doing this any further would be a waste of time… but since you won’t listen, I have no choice but to tell you.”

“Huh?”

“The spell I first used is ‘Protective Magic.’ And not just any protective magic, but a magic that ‘completely nullifies’ magical attacks.”

I explained it as clearly and concisely as possible.

However, it seemed insufficient for those who knew nothing about it, as everyone had a bewildered expression on their faces.

Kaien also furrowed his brow in confusion.

“Nullify magic completely? I’ve never heard of such magic. Are you just making up some random story?”

“It’s not a lie. In fact, none of your magic affects me. That’s the best proof.”

“Then why hasn’t anyone heard of such magic? It’s strange that no one is using a magic that nullifies magic!”

“No one would use it. After all, this magic only succeeds about once in a hundred thousand attempts.”

“…Huh?”

The atmosphere suddenly fell silent.

It didn’t feel like a training ground where many students were gathered.

Everyone was frozen, speechless, as if they couldn’t believe their own ears.

I was the one to break the silence.

“For thirty minutes after activation, there’s a one-in-a-hundred-thousand chance that magic attacks will be completely nullified by a magic called ‘Aegis Freide of Momentary Peace.’ That’s why normal magicians using it won’t achieve anything, and no one would bother using such a worthless magic.”

“Then… why do you…?”

Kaien’s face clearly showed that magic had no effect on him.

If it only succeeded once in a hundred thousand attempts, he didn’t seem to understand why all the magic had been nullified since earlier.

As if waiting for those words, I answered with a slightly smug tone.

“With my luck value of 999, I can perfectly block magic every time. Do you understand now?”

“Luck value… 999…?”

Luck value, an existence that meant nothing to magicians – that was the common understanding and could be considered common sense in this magical academy.

Luck value was useless in every sense. That was the reason why I had been mistreated by my family.

But luck value held such great potential, an important talent for magicians.

Everyone present in this place was seeing the usefulness of luck value with their own eyes, and they were deeply shaken.

“If you surrender gracefully, I won’t do anything further.”

“—!”

As I said that, almost as if advising him, Kaien’s temples bulged, and he raised his voice in anger.