The long-awaited day of the magic competition arrived.
Thanks to extensive promotion in Greenhild City, there were many participants.
“Mister~!”
While I was just watching from the back since this wasn’t my event, looking around the preliminary venue to see if there were any promising candidates, I heard a bright voice.
It was Yuria, Canon, and Lena.
“How did it go?”
“Hehe! We passed!”
Yuria made a V-sign with her fingers and smiled brightly.
Canon behind her seemed indifferent, and Lena was still fidgeting as usual.
“What’s your record?”
“I went first and won everything!”
“Really?”
“I-I’m sorry… I c-couldn’t show my skills…”
“No, that’s fine. But are you handling the crowds well?”
“Ugh. Ah. Well. I’m… I’m trying my best.”
Lena clenched her fists and spoke proudly.
I suppose this was her way of showing she was making an effort.
I smiled and nodded at her.
“Wooooah!!”
“Is that Rowin? She’s amazing!”
“Such incredible magical power…”
The surroundings became noisy. Rowin.
The dark horse of this competition and the Blue Hall’s rising star.
Owner of an artifact with consciousness and participant in defeating a Great Demon.
As Rowin, who was even called the next Great Mage, appeared, people turned their attention to her in amazement.
“Shall we go take a look?”
“Y-yes!!”
I took everyone toward where Rowin was.
What we found was a typical noble girl with dark blonde hair in buns.
– Kuuung!!
“That’s Rowin’s Magic Arrow.”
“Th-that is?!”
Lena seemed quite shocked.
Well, that’s understandable. Magic Arrow is typically arrow-shaped.
But Rowin’s Magic Arrow is different. She can shoot Magic Arrows almost as large as ballista bolts, using her overflowing magical power to strengthen them.
“If she can cast multiple of those simultaneously, it won’t be easy to deal with.”
An accurate assessment.
While Yuria was speaking with a serious expression, a mage who couldn’t block Rowin’s Magic Arrow was knocked down. That ended the match.
“As expected of Rowin.”
“Isn’t she amazing…? She’ll probably win this competition too…”
Everyone was buzzing with excitement. Perhaps because of this, Lena’s expression became slightly gloomy.
“Oh?! Mr. Lee Hyun!!”
That’s when Rowin, coming down from the competition arena, spotted me and approached.
Making her way through the crowd to stand before me, she looked as spirited as when I last saw her.
“Ohohoho! Have you been well?!”
“Yes. How about you?”
“Ohohoho! I’m always doing well! By the way, I didn’t expect to see you here! Gasp! Could it be you came to cheer for me?!”
As if.
Smiling at her typical noble mindset, I pushed Lena forward.
“I came to cheer for my disciple.”
“H-heek.”
“Oh? I didn’t know you had taken a disciple! Being your disciple, she must have remarkable skills?”
“That’s right.”
“Ohohohoho! How exciting! When we meet in the competition, let’s both do our best!!”
Seeing her extend her hand for a handshake, Lena seemed intimidated.
Well, Rowin was the type of energetic person Lena found overwhelming.
After timidly shaking hands and stepping back, Lena looked my way.
“By the way, I heard from Master! If I win this competition, you’ll become His Highness the Crown Prince’s subordinate!”
“That’s right.”
“Ohohohoho!! I look forward to working together! Ohohohoho!”
After laughing loudly, Rowin left with her companions.
Watching her leave, Lena let out a heavy sigh, and I smiled while patting her head.
“What? Think you can’t win?”
“Ugh… Well… yes…”
It’s certainly true.
With Lena’s current level, she’d have, at best, a 50-50 chance against Rowin. That’s how formidable an opponent she is.
In that case, it’s time for the teacher to step in.
“Let’s go back. I’ll teach you an interesting technique.”
When we returned to our lodgings, I took Lena to the empty lot.
Perhaps because I brought only her, leaving out Yuria and Canon, Lena seemed even more nervous.
“No need to be so tense. It’s a technique you can definitely master.”
“Wh-what is it?”
“Magic stacking.”
I raised one hand.
What appeared above it was a simple Magic Arrow.
“You cast magic on top of this again.”
“Huh? Is that possible?”
“As long as you have sufficient magical power and a bit of sense, it’s entirely possible. Those who can do it find it easy, but those who can’t won’t manage it even with lifelong practice.”
This is a technique anyone who’s played Ragnarok for a while can do without any bugs or tricks.
Actually, some characters use this.
Simply put, it’s strengthening magic by casting another spell inside an already manifested spell.
After coming to this world and learning magic, I tried it, wondering if it would work, and it did.
Thanks to that, I could easily defeat many enemies with magic.
“For a normal Magic Arrow…”
-Bang!
The Magic Arrow I shot struck the ground.
It created a fist-sized hole; next to it, I shot a stacked Magic Arrow.
-Kwaaang!!
It created a much larger hole than the first Magic Arrow.
This much power from just one stack.
“With talent and sense, you could aim for triple stacking or more. My limit is triple stacking. Well, you might manage quadruple stacking…”
“Th-then can you stack other magic too?”
“Hmm. It’s not easy, but yes.”
It works up to intermediate magic, but advanced magic is hard to stack.
It worked in the game, but reality seems to be different.
But Lena should be able to do it.
“Ah! I-I did it!”
Such extraordinary talent.
She succeeded after just a few tries.
Lena smiled brightly while looking at her hand.
Above her hand was a Magic Arrow emitting a different light than usual.
“The rest is just practice. Practice whenever you can.”
“Can I win with this?”
I patted Lena’s head.
“That depends on how well you practice it.”
***
Once the main tournament began, Lena’s team quickly won their matches.
Though not as much as Rowin, they were promising talents in their own right.
As expected, Rowin’s and Lena’s teams kept winning, and they finally met in the finals.
“We’ll definitely win!! Heya! Hiya!!”
Yuria went first.
As she climbed onto the arena roaring, her first opponent was a Blue Hall beginner mage.
Though both were beginner mages, unlike Yuria, who could use multiple magic and non-verbal casting, this mage was just a regular beginner.
Perhaps because of this? They quickly retired, unable to withstand Yuria’s ten consecutive Magic Arrows.
“Heya!! Next!”
The next was a proper Blue Hall beginner mage, capable of multiple magic and non-verbal casting.
“Kyaaak!”
To cut to the chase, Yuria lost. But she did her part, draining quite a bit of her opponent’s magical power.
Canon went next.
She also fulfilled her role, defeating her opponent.
“Ohohohoho!! I shall be your proper opponent!!”
When Rowin climbed onto the arena, the cheers grew louder.
Gracefully accepting the cheers like a noble, Rowin immediately created ten ballista-like Magic Arrows.
Wow. She’s going all out from the start.
Rowin can create up to ten Magic Arrows using multiple magic.
Is this like a lion using all its strength, even to catch a rabbit?
Being cautious regardless of the opponent could be called her strength.
“Ugh!”
Finally, Canon couldn’t hold on and collapsed. Now only one person remained on each side.
Lena climbed onto the arena with a grim expression.
***
She felt tense.
Her body felt heavy from the gazes of countless people.
But what frightened her most was what would happen if she lost.
If she lost, her master would have to do something he didn’t want to.
‘I don’t want that…!!’
“Ohohohohohoho!! If I defeat you, Mr. Lee Hyun will join our Crown Prince!! Ohohohoho!”
“If that happens, I…”
“Under His Highness, Mr. Lee Hyun will have to perform many duties! Since you seem talented too, under our Master…”
“Haaaah!!”
The conversation was over.
Lena raised both hands. What began to form were Magic Arrows.
As the exponentially increasing Magic Arrows reached about a hundred, Rowin broke into a cold sweat.
“Wh-what is this?!”
“A-absolutely not!!”
There was no way to dodge the hundred Magic Arrows flying toward her.
Barely withstanding the countless Magic Arrows through defensive magic, Rowin felt her hands trembling.
‘Such amazing talent! But… I cannot lose!’
Rowin created her specialty, enhanced Magic Arrows.
Stronger than usual. Bigger than usual.
The Magic Arrows she created had grown as large as pillars.
“Take this!!”
There was no way to dodge the giant Magic Arrow flying toward her.
With Rowin, it would certainly have homing capabilities added.
There was only one way to counter it.
The stacking Lee Hyun had taught her.
‘I need to concentrate.’
If she failed, her master would have to do something he didn’t want to.
She hated that more than anything.
She couldn’t bear to see Lee Hyun become unhappy because of her.
Lena’s eyes flashed as she raised her hand.
– Woong! Woong! Woong!
Once, twice.
And three times.
Even through the splitting headache, Lena didn’t stop.
A triple stack.
Seeing the Magic Arrow beginning to emit rainbow-colored light, the mages in the arena were stunned.
“G-good heavens!!”
“Even the Ivory Tower’s governors can only manage triple stacking?!”
It was already shocking for a mere beginner magician to use non-verbal casting and multiple magic to create a hundred Magic Arrows.
If she could use double stacking on top of that, she would truly be the genius of the century.
But this was triple stacking.
This situation couldn’t be explained with just the word “genius.”
“Wh-who on earth is she?!”
The triple-stacked Magic Arrow obliterated the pillar-sized Magic Arrow and flew toward Rowin.
Unable to withstand its power, Rowin was knocked down and fainted, and Lena wiped away her nosebleed.
“M-master! I did it!!”
Her face bore a bright smile as she shouted with all her might.
A man was watching her intently.
“To think the Dark Church’s legacy would become this strong… She has sufficient value to become Lord Asura’s vanguard.”
The man who had muttered quietly stood up and turned away.
Looking forward to meeting again someday.