Chapter 31

Chapter 31: Seo Dayun (5)

─Entering from the twelve o'clock position, from the Magical Research Department, third-year student Han Daedong!

From a corner of the stands, a commentator grabbed a microphone and bellowed.

The upperclassman section erupted.

Most visible were Han Daedong's friends─the yellow-haired and green-haired third-years from Magical Research.

"If you lose to a first-year, I'll never let you live it down!"

"You'd better win!"

The commentator continued with satisfaction.

─Facing him, from the Combat Magic Department, first-year student Seo Dayun! Entering from the six o'clock position!

This time, the first and second-year section roared.

"Who is she?"

"No clue. Just cheer. If she wins, we get to use the Central Mage Tower."

"Really? Seo Dayun, win─!"

Seo Dayun's head was spinning.

Why were all these people here cheering?

Why did a duel need a commentator?

Can I really win?

Oblivious to her turmoil, the commentator pressed on.

─Here are the rules! Only beginner-level spells allowed! Both sides may pre-cast four spells before the start! Which spells you bring could very well decide the match!

The professor had said: never lose in your heart.

Seo Dayun steeled herself.

She had to beat more than just the third-year standing before her.

The countless stares trained on her.

She had to endure all of it to claim a real victory.

Seo Dayun slapped both cheeks hard and widened her eyes.

The professor said she could win.

Then she could win.

Both sides raised their hands high, signaling OK.

A beat later, the commentator shouted.

─Now then, let the match─er, duel─begin!

***

In a corner of the stands, the man who'd engineered this fight─Jeon Taejin─muttered.

"Tch, that young fool...... he blew this up. What was meant to be a quiet affair has turned into a spectacle."

Jeon Taejin wasn't pleased that the duel had become a major event.

An unwritten rule stayed unwritten because no one talked about it.

With things this big, even if Seo Dayun lost, the issue would linger. Eventually, the Mage Tower professors would step in and dismantle the bad habit themselves.

Not that freshmen accessing the Central Mage Tower concerned Jeon Taejin at all.

But Seo Dayun and Cha Eunwoo, who'd raised their voices to abolish Florian's bad habits, would be remembered as virtuous figures.

That irked him.

"He's got some brains. He saw through the nature of this contest."

On top of that, the escalation meant Han Daedong couldn't settle for a mere win.

To prove upperclassman supremacy, he needed to demonstrate overwhelming dominance.

Four shots at most.

He had to end it with just the four pre-cast spells. Only then would it be Han Daedong's "real" victory.

If he even gave the impression of struggling against a freshman, the fallout would be uncontrollable.

"The strategist was probably Professor Cha. The pressure's on Han Daedong. Whether that brat can capitalize on the opening, I wonder."

The man could read the board, apparently.

But that was all.

He had zero understanding of why Jeon Taejin had created this fight.

Foolishly so. And that made Jeon Taejin's plan easier.

"Heh heh...... just wait. You'll be kicking yourself soon."

"Regret about what?"

"......!"

A man's voice from behind.

Jeon Taejin whipped his head around to find a familiar face.

One of the very few people at Florian whom Jeon Taejin couldn't talk down to─Sword Saint Jo Seongung.

"Professor Jo, what brings you here?"

He acted pleased, but Jeon Taejin was inwardly rattled.

Jo Seongung had spent years without opening a course, living in seclusion─Jeon Taejin hadn't seen him in ages. Reuniting now soured his mood.

"Oh, you know...... saw a crowd on my way and popped in."

"Then why'd you drag me along?"

"Shut it, boy. Adults are talking."

Jeon Taejin quickly surmised why the old man had come out of hiding.

Beside him stood a boy.

"And this student is?"

"This brat? My disciple."

"Hello. I'm Park Seohu."

Park Seohu greeted him politely.

Just as Jeon Taejin had guessed.

The boy was the freshman valedictorian, Park Seohu.

When the rumors had first circulated, Jeon Taejin had dismissed him as another overhyped freshman─but if Jo Seongung had personally taken him in, that changed everything.

S-rank at minimum.

"Well, I've heard a great deal about you. Train hard and become a fine Hero."

"Thank you."

Jeon Taejin wondered why Jo Seongung had appeared.

Just to see him?

No way.

The old man was never that casual.

There had to be a reason.

"Taejin, I can hear the gears turning in your head."

He flinched.

Jeon Taejin was anxious but forced a relaxed front.

"Haha, I have no idea what you mean."

"You're not scheming something bad, are you? Like, say...... stealing that girl."

When Jo Seongung flashed a sly grin, Jeon Taejin felt his heart drop.

'How does this old man know?'

Exactly as Jo Seongung said, Jeon Taejin had planned to make Seo Dayun his student.

After she hit an overwhelming wall and lost, if the department's Top Professor offered to take her in─who could refuse?

Of course, Jeon Taejin had no intention of actually nurturing a talentless girl.

The goal was to spite Cha Eunwoo, who'd poached Lee Yeeun and wiped his hands clean.

And to make Seo Dayun do the things he'd planned for Lee Yeeun. With a face that pretty, she was worth using.

Afterward, he'd discard her as miserably as possible.

"......I don't know why you'd say such a thing to me."

That sentence carried multiple meanings.

It could mean "why are you baselessly accusing me," or "you've looked the other way until now, so why interfere?"

Jo Seongung laughed heartily.

"Taejin, does it look like I'm protecting that girl?"

"Aren't you?"

"I'm saying this because I'm worried about you."

"Excuse me?"

Jeon Taejin was baffled and asked again.

Worried about whom?

Not the newly hired brat, but me? Unless the old man had gone senile, those words made no sense.

"I'll take Professor Jo's words to heart. Now if you'll excuse me, I have someone to see."

The man was still an uncomfortable presence.

Jeon Taejin quickly excused himself.

Jo Seongung watched his retreating back, waving, then clicked his tongue.

"He used to have some awareness...... now he can't even read the situation. Pathetic."

"Master, let's go watch the fight."

"What's the point? Let's go back and train."

"Masterrr."

"Don't whine at me! Shut up and follow me!"

"Yes......"

Jo Seongung grabbed Park Seohu by the scruff and walked out.

***

The duel had begun.

The crowd's raucous cheering pierced Seo Dayun's ears.

"Kill that bastard!"

"Show us proper pecking order!"

"If the Research Department losers beat you, I'll never forgive you!"

Seo Dayun recalled the conversation she'd had with the professor.

Between the two of them, the one under pressure was Han Daedong.

If she calmly deflected every attack, he'd be the one growing desperate.

So she'd been told to receive and return.

'Most likely a combination of Wind Cutter and Haste, maybe with Shield...... if not that......'

Han Daedong raised his arm and chanted.

Wind mana gathered above his hand.

"Wind Cutter!"

─Han Daedong opens with a wind spell from his left hand! That's Wind Cutter!

The opening was as expected.

She already knew his only attack option was Wind Cutter.

So now...... huh?

Han Daedong didn't immediately attack.

Why was he holding back?

A possibility flashed through Seo Dayun's mind.

Something the professor had said.

The chance was small, but she had to account for the worst case.

'Dayun, the odds are low, but there's a finishing move you need to know about.'

'A finishing move? If there is one, can't you teach it to me?'

'That depends on you. Have you ever heard of Composite Magic?'

'Nope!'

'......Figured.'

This was exactly that worst case.

Han Daedong raised his other hand, and this time fire mana began to gather.

The commentator simultaneously shouted.

─Wait! Is that Fire Ball? Han Daedong has used two spells at once! That means─

Han Daedong smirked.

That's right. Cheer louder.

Against a mere freshman, he didn't need elaborate moves.

A single blow.

That was all it took.

"Composite!"

Han Daedong activated Composite Magic, merging the two mana spheres on his hands into one.

The two spells intertwined, and a massive firestorm erupted.

Fire─the most destructive of the four elements.

Wind─the fastest of the four elements.

This was arguably the strongest spell that could be created from beginner magic.

The crowd went wild.

"Whoa, what IS that?"

"No way...... Composite Magic?"

"Upperclassmen really are on another level......"

Meanwhile, the magic students had a different take.

"Is Han Daedong using Composite Magic?"

"That's disgustingly hard to learn, but the idiot learned something completely useless in combat."

"He's Magical Research. Cut him some slack."

"Still, it's the best you can do with beginner spells. That freshman's done for."

Seo Dayun felt the sticky sensation on her palms.

Sweat was trickling from her hands.

'Stay calm. Just like the professor taught me.'

There was no conventional way to dodge or block this.

Then she'd answer with something just as unconventional!

"Shield!"

Seo Dayun charged forward, deploying Shield.

A transparent barrier materialized before her.

The commentator sounded puzzled.

─Seo Dayun deploys Shield! Not the best response! That Shield will shatter in no time!

The stands echoed the sentiment.

"Shield? Is she insane?"

"That won't hold. It's over."

The moment the Shield met Han Daedong's magic, cracks spider-webbed across it.

It looked like it would end any second.

No. Not yet.

If one Shield couldn't hold, she'd stack another.

"Shield!"

Seo Dayun deployed a second Shield.

Behind the cracking first, a second barrier appeared.

Han Daedong raised an eyebrow.

"Playing it safe? That still won't be enough."

"I can do this!"

Seo Dayun prepared a new spell.

Already the third.

But there shouldn't be any room left to turn this around. A last-ditch effort?

The commentator thought the same.

─Seo Dayun plays her third card! What could it be?

Murmurs from the stands.

"Whatever she does, it's over."

"That can't hold."

In the Mage Tower professors' section, the consensus was the same.

"Han Daedong─not a pushover after all."

"Composite Magic, huh? Didn't see that coming. Professor Cha, did you know?"

"I thought it was possible, but didn't think he'd actually bring it."

Even Cha Eunwoo was taken aback.

Seeing that, the professors instinctively sensed the end.

"It's over."

"Done for."

Professor Park clenched his fists and asked.

"Professor Cha, what spells did she bring?"

"She was confident with Magic Missile, Shield, and Haste. The rest was iffy."

"Elemental magic?"

"She can use it, but not with full confidence."

What would Professor Park have done?

The only viable counter was water-attribute magic.

Water had the advantage over fire and no disadvantage against wind.

But elemental matchups only mattered when the power levels were comparable.

Against overwhelming force, attributes meant nothing.

Matching Composite Magic would require water magic mastered to its absolute limit.

"There's no way forward."

Even Professor Park's pessimism drew sighs from every professor.

But Cha Eunwoo's eyes hadn't given up.

"There is one thing I taught her separately."

"Taught her? What?"

Cha Eunwoo said nothing and simply watched the arena.

Everyone realized in that instant what Seo Dayun was preparing.

"Wait─"

"That's......"

A familiar mana signature.

It was unmistakably the same magic they'd seen moments ago.

Han Daedong's eyes went wide.

"You─? How can you use that......!"

Two prepared Shields.

And the product born from the professor's teaching and Seo Dayun's effort.

No mere beginner could produce this from a few days' work.

But because it was Seo Dayun─wielding the world's greatest talent.

Because it was Cha Eunwoo─possessing the Teachings of Seshet, the talent to comprehend the world.

Because those two had poured every ounce of effort into it─a miracle.

"Composite."

The same magic Han Daedong had used bloomed from Seo Dayun's hands.

In this moment, Seo Dayun was Han Daedong's equal─or greater─as a mage.

─That's─! Composite Magic! The same spell Han Daedong used─from a freshman!

The commentator screamed, and the crowd erupted no less.

"What IS that!"

"Impossible! How can a freshman─!"

Even the professors had never seen anything like this.

A freshman─one who'd only just begun learning magic─casting Composite Magic.

"What on earth......"

"Professor Cha, what kind of sorcery is this?"

Cha Eunwoo didn't answer.

He didn't need to.

Everyone already knew the answer.

"That girl...... is she a genius?"

"Ha...... I feel foolish. How is that possible?"

"Mark my words. Soon, that girl will put us all out to pasture."

Even Professor Park, who'd witnessed more talent than anyone here, had never seen anything like it.

A raw gem, blindingly brilliant.

So covetable it was dazzling.

But the gem shone too brightly─no one dared lay hands on it.

Only the chosen few could cut a gem like that.

That person was standing right before Professor Park.

The man who'd recognized the gem before anyone else.

The enormous Shields held─against all reason─and weathered the firestorm.

It shouldn't have been possible.

How...... how could a freshman......

"HAAAH!"

Right. Not yet─not yet!

Han Daedong seized his fraying reason.

The crowd was ecstatic as if the match were already over, but the fight had merely reset to square one.

Both had one spell remaining.

Han Daedong's last spell: Shield.

He acknowledged her genius.

In that short span, mastering Composite Magic was awe-inspiring.

She had the talent to surpass him by next year─maybe next month, maybe tomorrow.

But right now─

I'm still above you.

Breaking Shield required Fire Ball.

But Seo Dayun didn't have Fire Ball.

There was no way she'd had time to learn Composite Magic and Fire Ball.

─Seo Dayun charges at Han Daedong! Her fourth spell is─Magic Missile!

Exactly.

Given just one more day─one short day─he might have lost.

But right now, your best option is that Magic Missile.

You, who don't know Fire Ball─!

"I don't need Fire Ball!"

Both chanted their final spells simultaneously.

Blue mana encased Han Daedong.

And from Seo Dayun's outstretched hand─a mass of mana.

Han Daedong was silently certain of victory.

And simultaneously, something felt wrong.

What is this feeling? Something...... something is......

She was too close.

'Come to think of it, she used Shield and charged straight in from the very start.'

Why?

Seo Dayun recalled the professor's final lesson.

'Professor, I can't win after all, can I?'

'Why do you think that?'

'Because even if I exhaust both our spells, I can't land a finishing blow. Then it becomes a casting-speed contest, and the faster caster wins......'

'Do you think it's impossible for Magic Missile to break Shield?'

'Well, obviously...... wait. Professor, are you saying......?'

Yes. There was a way.

A way for Magic Missile to shatter Shield.

But the professor had been reluctant to share it.

Even as he explained, his voice trembled─uncharacteristically for him.

"HAAAH!"

Seo Dayun fired Magic Missile at point-blank range, right in Han Daedong's face.

'Magic is manifested through mana. Its properties differ from the physical world.'

'What does that mean?'

'It means conventional physics can't explain it. For instance, magic can't be described by the laws of energy.'

'Just get to the point.'

'Magic has no friction or acceleration. Mana simply exists as independent mana. And mana gradually dissipates when exposed to the physical world.'

'I said get to the point!'

'......Magic is stronger the shorter its airtime. It's at its peak the instant it's created.'

This─she could do.

The purest mana slammed into the Shield.

"Ggh!"

Han Daedong was aghast.

Magic Missile─from a freshman─this powerful?

Impossible.

The Shield began to crack, and the compressed mana started to scatter.

"Grgh!"

Simultaneously, Seo Dayun let out a groan.

'Then wouldn't it be strongest if a mage fights like a warrior?'

'The recoil is severe. Being exposed to high-purity mana at close range means the caster is essentially hit by their own spell.'

It hurt.

It hurt so much.

Seo Dayun wanted to scream.

She wanted to run away.

She wanted to dispel the magic and be free of the pain.

But─but......

"If it's an endurance battle...... I can win!"

CRACK─!

A sound as clear as shattering glass rang out.

Han Daedong's Shield broke.

"That's...... impossible......"

CRASH─!

A massive explosion engulfed Han Daedong.

The powerful mana that had shattered his Shield struck him dead-on. He lost consciousness instantly.

The commentator made the call.

─Han Daedong has been knocked unconscious! Therefore, the duel goes to Seo Dayun!

A titanic roar erupted from the Colosseum.

Elated underclassmen; upperclassmen and professors who'd been pleasantly surprised by the freshman's talent and resolve.

No one could deny Seo Dayun after a duel like that.

The one on the ground was Han Daedong, but Seo Dayun was in almost equally bad shape.

Her body swayed.

Her legs gave out.

Just as she was about to collapse, someone caught her.

Seo Dayun called out to the person she wished to have by her side.

"Professor......"

"Well done. My proud student. Rest for a while."

"Okay......"

The duel was over.

Every heart united in blessing the path of a newly revealed genius.

A new Hero who would save Korea─who would save humanity.