✦ Chapter 46 — Clubs (3) ✦
「Translator — Creator」
᠃ ⚘᠂ ⚘ ˚ ⚘ ᠂ ⚘ ᠃
When Lucas heard there were 40 minutes remaining, he immediately darted into the forest; the other students simply stared at him, baffled, as he sprinted off.
“Forty minutes left? What’s that supposed to mean?
“I don’t know! But we need to head to the forest right now!”
Though none of the other students had a clear grasp of the situation like Lucas did, Idras’s earlier statement, coupled with Lucas’s decisive dash, spurred them into action. One by one, they began running toward the forest.
Lucas ran far faster than the others.
‘Loki must have found quite a few by now.’
Twenty minutes.
Twenty minutes had passed.
Loki had twenty uninterrupted minutes to search without interference from other students.
‘He must have found all the orbs on the outskirts. I need to go deeper.’
With this thought in mind, Lucas dashed into the dense woods. Then, he abruptly came to a halt.
“Ha… ha… ha…”
A hollow laugh escaped him, filling the wide expanse of the verdant forest.
“This is… truly maddening.”
It is said that when a person is faced with overwhelming shock, their body freezes. In this moment, even Lucas’s mind stalled, despite the lessons that had hammered in the importance of never letting one’s thoughts stop. But this? This was enough to paralyze anyone’s mind, even briefly.
“How much time do we even have left…”
“Why did you stop…?”
The students following close behind Lucas reached the forest, only to freeze in place as well.
“What… what the hell is this?”
“This has to be some kind of illusion, right?”
“Just how many are there?”
The scene before them was indescribable.
Blue orbs, too numerous to count, lay scattered throughout the forest.
The orbs completely covered the ground, hiding the soil and weeds beneath, and even the trees were blanketed from trunk to leaves in blue spheres.
The forest, which should have been verdant, now shimmered in ethereal blue from the countless orbs coating every surface.
Professor Idra hadn’t specified exactly how many orbs were hidden in the forest.
The students, their eyes ablaze with greed and desire, lunged toward the nearest orbs.
“All of these… they’re mine!!”
But as soon as their hands touched the glowing orbs, the orbs vanished, like a mirage dissolving into thin air.
“Huh?”
As the students stood in confusion, one of them shouted:
“They’re all fake! That bastard made every single one of these!”
Only then did the students remember Loki’s absence and his ability.
“You mean he tricked us and went in first?”
“So everything here must be fake.”
Realizing they’d been deceived, the students tried to push deeper into the forest.
“Ah, damn it!”
One student, frustrated at being fooled, kicked at one of the blue orbs rolling on the ground.
*Thunk—*
“Huh?”
The orb, which should have vanished if it were fake, instead rolled away after being struck by the student’s foot.
The student rushed to retrieve the rolling orb, grasping it in their hands.
“This one… it’s real?”
He lifted the orb with bewildered eyes, his voice tinged with disbelief.
The surrounding students fixed their gazes upon the scene, their attention unwavering.
“Did you say real?”
“It’s not one of Loki’s illusions?”
“If it were his, it would’ve disappeared the moment you touched it.”
The students, who had been preparing to plunge deeper into the forest, now stood rooted to the spot, their plans momentarily abandoned.
“Then among all these scattered spheres… real ones lie hidden?”
“………..”
Their eyes, once again burning with desire and avarice, swept across the forest floor where countless azure orbs lay strewn like fallen stars.
‘Among them lie the genuine ones.’
The blue orbs still remained in overwhelming numbers, carpeting the forest floor; though most would prove illusory, genuine treasures might lurk among them.
*Thud—, Thud—, Thud—, Thud—*
The students descended upon the sea of blue orbs like a crashing wave.
*Swish—, Swish—, Thump—, Thump*
They swung swords and kicked out, dispelling the false orbs in their frenzied search. With dozens of students moving as one, the ground-strewn spheres began to vanish rapidly.
“Hah…. hah..”
“…..hah…ha..”
Exhaustion began to take its toll. Driven by their desire to claim an orb before anyone else, the students had pushed themselves to their limits, moving as quickly and aggressively as they could. The clearing was now littered with gasping bodies, their movements slowing, their breaths ragged.
‘Surely not all of these orbs are false?’
‘There must be more real ones hidden among them.’
Their gazes shifted to the trees, their branches heavy with azure orbs.
The eyes that had moments ago blazed with greed and desire now held a different emotion — a creeping anxiety that seemed to spread like shadow through the ethereal blue forest.
.
.
.
While most students scoured the forest for real orbs that might not even exist, Lucas sprinted alone through the woodland depths. His speed was such that fallen leaves stirred in his wake, dancing upward on the winds of his passage.
‘Loki wouldn’t leave many genuine orbs there, not in plain sight.’
When other students halted at the sight of a real orb, Lucas alone continued moving, his pace unbroken.
The others must know, deep down, that there were barely any genuine orbs to be found.
And yet, why did they stay behind, scouring the ground?
The answer was simple.
Because someone else might find one.
They lingered there searching, driven by the fear that others might claim an easy prize.
‘And Loki must be counting on exactly that.’
Professor Elysia often told Loki:
That he excelled at psychological warfare.
Lucas had asked his father once.
What made someone skilled at psychological warfare?
His father had been surprised by the question but had answered nonetheless.
It’s simple. Read people’s hearts, and you’ll understand their moves.
At first, the words held little meaning.
But watching Loki’s duel with Lophrey brought clarity.
“No, that could hardly be called a duel.”
Like a masterfully orchestrated stage play.
Lophrey had been in Loki’s palm from beginning to end.
Loki had fought considering his opponent’s origins, background, and very nature.
Watching Loki and Lophrey’s battle, Lucas had wondered countless times:
‘Could I defeat Prince Lophrey in combat?’
If he used his full strength, he thought, he might be able to win.
‘Could I dominate absolutely, without taking a single hit like Loki?’
The answer was a resounding no. It was impossible.
‘And if I were to fight Loki… could I win?’
No matter how much he thought about it, Lucas couldn’t reach a conclusion.
When people talk about strength, they often describe it in terms of raw power, speed, or skill. But Loki’s strength couldn’t be summed up that way. His abilities — his unpredictable movements, his unique magic, his array of enchanted tools — were all wildcards.
Variables.
Everything about Loki was a variable.
*Screech—*
As Lucas raced through the forest, something caught his leg mid-sprint.
Without panicking, he pushed off the ground with all his strength, propelling himself out of harm’s way.
*Crash—!*
A tree toppled with a deafening roar, crushing the spot where Lucas had just stood.
[Ah- ah- can you hear me clearly~?]
Lucas’s eyes snapped toward the source of the voice.
Standing there was a small doll, barely the size of his palm.
“Ha!”
A hollow laugh escaped him. It was absurd.
The doll wore a white mask and a red cape, its eerie appearance simultaneously comical and unsettling.
The voice confirmed it – any observer would recognize Loki’s handiwork.
“Loki, is that you?”
[For your reference, this doll merely conveys messages – it cannot hear them.]
Lucas furrowed his brow.
How does someone even create something like this?
[I assume I’m speaking to Lucas?]
Could it really not hear anything, or was that another lie?
[If it’s not Lucas, then whoever triggered the trap is probably no longer in a position to hear this message.]
The doll’s conditions seemed tied to the triggering of traps.
[For deceiving others and getting a head start this way, I’m sorry… actually, no, I’m not! It’s simply another facet of my abilities.]
“…………”
[I’ll give you this doll as a special gift.]
The doll paused briefly, as though muttering something to itself, before continuing.
[I do hope someone’s actually hearing this – it would be terribly embarrassing otherwise.]
Lucas picked up the doll and tucked it into his pocket.
“Yerika would love this.”
His words drifted like leaves through the forest’s silence.
“To have come this far without seeing a single one… Loki must have already claimed them all……”
Even so, this wasn’t fun. Not in the slightest.
Not. At. All.
*Crunch—*
His fists clenched tightly, knuckles turning white with frustration.
The frustration burned.
A deep, gnawing anger churned inside him.
He had been dancing in Loki’s palm all along, and he hated it.
“Haaaah…..”
He glanced around, confirming his solitude.
Closing his eyes, he concentrated.
A golden aura began to envelop his body, glowing faintly in the dim light of the forest.
A single leaf, detached from a nearby tree, drifted down and brushed against Lucas’s head; the moment it touched him, it disintegrated into a thousand pieces.
‘I don’t possess Loki’s talent for psychological warfare.’
He had no No Unique Magic, no mastery over various magic artifacts.
“I tried to avoid using this as much as possible….”
*Whoosh—*
A spear infused with golden aura pierced the void.
*CRASH!!!!!!!!*
Every tree in the spear’s path was perforated, forming a perfect line of destruction.
Lucas stood still, gazing at the aftermath with a calmness that suggested it was no more surprising than the rising of the sun.
“From now on, I’ll give it everything I’ve got.”
Today might end in defeat, but tomorrow would write a different story.
.
.
.
“First place goes to student Loki!! Everyone, please join me in congratulating him!”
*Clap—, Clap—, Clap—, Clap—*
Lucas stood alone in his applause.
Yet as his hands moved in celebration, other students began to follow suit, their own applause rising hesitantly like scattered raindrops becoming a shower.
*Clap—, Clap—, Clap—, Clap—*
“Wow~! It’s so heartwarming to feel everyone’s support,” I said with a wide grin, basking in their reluctant applause as I made my way to Professor Idra.
“Here! The promised elixir, as agreed.”
I accepted the elixir from Professor Idra’s outstretched hands.
With this, I’d finally have a chance to use the emperor’s elixir, too.
“Loki, do you have any thoughts you’d like to share about your victory?”
At Professor Idra’s invitation, I turned to face my fellow students, letting my gaze sweep across their faces.
“I dedicate this glorious moment to all of you. Ah! Though naturally, I’ll be keeping the elixir for myself.”
*Zapppp—*
Every student’s eyes pierced through me like daggers of ice; their stares were scorching, practically brimming with resentment.
Ah, how sweet, how deliciously sweet.
.
.
.
.
“So, what’s the name of your club?”
After the class ended, I was in Professor Idra’s research office, discussing my next steps.
Since I had achieved first place in her test, the professor had agreed to act as the advisor for the club I was forming.
“Since you’re our advisor, I’ll let you in on a special secret. It’s the Jesters’ Alliance Club!”
I had originally planned to keep the name under wraps until the club’s formal launch, but I decided to share it with Professor Idra first.
“Wha—! Can I cancel my involvement?”
Professor Idra’s face twisted into an expression I had never seen before. Shock? Horror? Perhaps a mix of both.
What’s wrong with the Clown Alliance Club?? It’s a fantastic name!
END of CHAPTER
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