Chapter 90

Chapter 90: Interlopers (5)

WAAAAH......!

Amid the audience’s cheers ringing from far away—

“I... lost?”

Elysia stood blankly at the top of the tree and looked down at the band that had fallen off.

Because it did not feel real.

She looked around.

The thick branches growing at the top of the tree had been gouged deeply in a straight line.

Every single one of them had a golden haze rising from it.

‘From that distance, this much Holy Power......’

The mark gouged into the tree had crossed straight over her chest.

Her band must have fallen off after being struck by that attack.

She had thought Damon was preparing something behind Lloyd.

But... the power of the technique had far exceeded what she had imagined.

To the point that she could not properly block it.

‘If I had known the technique, I could have prepared for it sufficiently......’

Whew.

She lowered her head.

Even so, she could not make any excuses.

If this had been an actual battle without the bands, she would not have been able to avoid a fatal wound.

When she lowered her gaze farther, she saw Damon and Lloyd.

‘...It was worth making a vow for.’

The cooperation of Black Magic and Holy Magic.

Damon had shown it proudly.

To Elysia, and to everyone watching this match.

“That is License Grade 3?”

It was not even funny.

Damon’s will, which had supposedly led him to make a vow as an Acquired Holy Power Awakener, was by no means false.

“...I really lost.”

She had lost. 

In more ways than one.

Therefore, as an Elven princess, she needed to give proper treatment to someone who had gone so far as to swear a vow.

Whirl.

Elysia waved her staff and canceled the high-level magic she was casting.

***

Rumble......

The vines and roots that had been pressing Lloyd and me gradually sank into the floor.

Lloyd also lowered the hands he had been using to command the undead, but his gaze remained fixed straight ahead, staring at the giant tree.

More precisely, at the sword scar I had carved long into the tree, engraved with Holy Power.

“Hey, Damon. What Grade did you say you were again?”

“Grade 3. Why ask when you already know?”

“Heh heh... Looking at that, Grade 3? Absurd.”

Lloyd let out a hollow laugh for a moment.

“We really won!”

Karin climbed back onto the arena, her face brightening.

She had failed to withstand Elysia’s attack and even fainted, but thanks to the band blocking the impact, it seemed she had recovered quickly.

“I thought we were going to lose just like that.”

She smiled sheepishly and approached us at a quick pace.

Rrrrrrr......

After sinking every root and vine in the arena into the floor and returning even the last remaining giant tree underground, Elysia walked toward us.

“The match has been decided with this. Do you still have business here?”

“Are you asking because you don’t know?”

Elysia replied irritably.

“You made a bet with me before the match.”

“...You’re really going to make me say that here?”

My head tilted to the side.

This shouldn’t be something she’s this proactive about, though?

“You even swore a vow as an Acquired Holy Power Awakener. If I simply let this pass, would I have any dignity left?”

Elysia looked across the arena stands and continued.

“So... out of respect for your will, it is proper etiquette for me to speak of it here.”

“......”

Well, if we had actually written a contract or something, she would be right.

Elysia, who had no way of knowing that I was feeling awkward inside, placed a hand over her chest.

“I still do not like Black Magic, but at the very least, I will no longer criticize Karin for drawing close to Black Magic. I swear that here, in the name of Elysia.”

“Lady Elysia......”

“I thought you were just a prideful pointy-ear, but you do live up to your position.”

Even Karin and Lloyd were getting pointlessly warm about it.

No, how was I supposed to know a bet between teenagers would swell up this much......

In the end, it did turn out better, so I did not intend to say anything in particular, but I could not help feeling slightly pricked by my conscience.

“And Damon, are you truly Grade 3?”

“Hm?”

“That technique you just showed was not at Grade 3 level. I expect your Grade 2 License review will proceed immediately once today’s matches end.”

At Grade 1 Elysia’s remark, Karin and Lloyd also looked back at me.

“Lady Elysia is right.”

“That woman is correct. Your skills are far too outstanding to be called Grade 3.”

“Well, I suppose that’s how it’ll go.”

I looked down at the dagger fastened at my waist.

With this technique, I would be able to obtain a Grade 2 License easily enough.

Though personally, I was not very satisfied with it.

“...Hm?”

When I raised my head, thinking things had grown strangely quiet, all three of them were looking at me with subtle expressions.

“...What’s with your eyes?”

“...Are you seriously asking that?”

“Did I not clearly say you are at the level where you could rise from Grade 3 to Grade 2?”

“And you won the match too... Aren’t you happy?”

Hmm, did it show that much?

“Of course I am. I’m happy, obviously.”

I waved one hand and answered lightly.

It was something I had never experienced, so I had prepared thoroughly, but considering the power of the Sacred Mark and my battle sense, it was actually a fight I had no reason to lose.

...No, it likely was not only because of that.

Before my regression, I was called the Rabid Dog, but there had certainly been times when I felt rewarded by things like this.

But now... well. It was also true that compared to the battles where I had risked my life before my regression, it did not move me much.

Bitterly enough.

Still.

‘...Can I be a little happy?’

I looked down at the back of my right hand.

Vmmmm......

Because it finally felt as if I had managed to make proper use of this thing called the Sacred Mark.

“Ahem... Team 1 and Team 44 both showed impeccable performance.”

“I did not expect you to give us such a fierce, close match. It is hard to believe you are first-years.”

“On behalf of every professor watching the match, I express our gratitude.”

Along with rare praise from the three dedicated professors of the Magic Department—

“We look forward to your next match, Team 44.”

WAAAAAAH!

The eventful first match of the main tournament ended that way.

***

After the Magic Department Tournament schedule ended.

I was given separate guidance by the professors.

I stared at the evening sunset sinking through a large window proportional to the width of the room I had been guided to, then sat in a chair and looked around.

‘Damn... Did I really do something that big?’

I sat at the center of the room, and the professors seated around the long table surrounding me flipped through the document folders placed before them.

The dedicated professors of the Magic Department, Veroniel, Potrick, and Orwell. 

Led by those three professors, the Saengterminum professors who had watched the match had gathered in the conference room.

‘If I remember correctly... those three dedicated professors in front are all Grade 2, right?’

This was something I had only heard recently too. 

Before my regression, I had not had much interest in other departments, so I had not known.

On top of that, not only Professor Noel, Professor Dave, and Professor McDowell, but even Headmaster Levia was participating in the meeting with her chin propped on her hand.

Anyone seeing this would think I was on trial, but for that to be the case, the professors’ faces all clearly showed excitement.

And for good reason.

Clap.

“All right. We will now begin Student Damon’s Grade 2 qualification review.”

Professor Veroniel smiled and clapped as she spoke, reminding everyone of the purpose of this meeting.

Starting from a Grade 2 License, one had to undergo a rather demanding review, so they had called me, the person concerned, to this place.

How significant was this Grade 2 License?

One could get a sense of it from the fact that even here at Saengterminum, a prestigious academy, the majority of professors remained at License Grade 3.

Well, considering that simply being License Grade 3 was enough to easily take the position of a guildmaster in a medium or large guild outside, Saengterminum was not called prestigious for nothing.

The first one to throw a question at me was Headmaster Levia.

“You must have been the one who thought of using the Artifact Lloyd obtained to make an undead use Holy Light weapons, right?”

“That’s right. Headmaster, you once blocked Demonic Aura with ice armor, didn’t you? I wondered if it might block Holy Power too, and it turned out it did.”

“Ha, that sly little mind of yours......”

Headmaster Levia raised the corners of her mouth with an amused expression.

“Before we begin the review in earnest, I would like to ask the most important question.”

Professor McDowell, who was deeply versed in Holy Power, opened the subject.

“That technique that made Grade 1 Elysia’s band fall... It was clearly activated by rapidly condensing Holy Power, was it not? And during the condensation process, you used the mana stored in the ‘Mana Crystal Dagger’ to make up for the insufficient mana, correct?”

“You’ve got it exactly.”

“By any chance, can you use it without the ‘Mana Crystal Dagger’? This review is essentially being held because of that technique.”

“Even I can’t produce that kind of power without the ‘Mana Crystal Dagger.’ When I used it on Elysia, the mana in the ‘Mana Crystal Dagger’ was completely drained too.”

“Hmm... Is that so?”

“But if I lower the output, it’s not impossible.”

After all, that had been Holy Power condensed by pouring in all the mana from my heart and the Mana Crystal Dagger.

If I compromised on power, I could pull it off without the dagger.

“...Ho ho, so you can do the rapid condensation itself even without it?”

“As long as I have enough mana.”

“Your amount of refinable Holy Power is one thing, but the way you handle mana is extraordinary as well......”

A strange light settled in Professor McDowell’s eyes.

“Did you come up with that method of using condensed Holy Power on your own?”

“What was it again? I once saw Yulia use something like that when she fought the Fallen Cult Leader. I thought it might work, so I tried copying it.”

“Wh-... Wait. You thought it might work?”

Professor Noel asked back.

“Then you imitated it similarly just from seeing it? Without even a formula?”

“Well, that’s how it turned out.”

I could not have done it without the Sacred Mark, though.

While the Holy Magic Department professors stirred, Professor Dave spoke next.

“Were you also the one who gave Lloyd advice regarding how to use the Artifact?”

“That’s right.”

“Lloyd, a direct descendant of the Four Great Houses, could not have obediently accepted your opinion to use Holy Light weapons, could he?”

“He did find it unpleasant at first, but when I said we could beat Franz and Bella this way, he accepted it immediately. No matter what, that guy must have wanted to win too......”

The professors’ numerous questions and answers passed in that fashion, and only the final decision remained.

“His situational judgment, teamwork, weapon arts, and physical ability are all good, and on top of that, he has a wide-area technique, even if it is conditional....... All of them are above standard for Grade 3.”

“The amount of Holy Power he can refine is also considerable. If that had been mana, he would already be Grade 3 on mana capacity alone.”

“Hmm, at this level, he is more than sufficient......”

The three dedicated professors of the Magic Department looked at one another and nodded, then asked the professors attending the discussion once again.

“Does anyone have any objections?”

Not a single professor raised their hand.