Even a Scoundrel Gets Tired

184 – Education (3)

The North,

Where the snow never melts,

a land of perpetual ice, is located.

As is customary in

just about every webnovel,

the climate is brutally cold

and relentless year-round,

as constant and unchanging

as that unyielding snow,

Some call the lands of the North

“Eternal Glacier.”

Claiming the never-melting

glaciers tint the earth with their own

peculiar hue.

In this land, perpetually more than cool,

where a palpable chill permeates,

no creature could truly survive.

You could fling boiling water onto the northern ground, and it would

instantly crystallize into

ice pellets, scattering with a *toddododok* sound.

How could any living thing

endure in such a place?

Surviving would be a blessing in itself.

Forget verdant flora;

even fauna are rarely seen there.

Well… had it been akin to the Arctic or

Antarctic, perhaps

certain animals and plants could have formed an ecosystem there,

but the North’s biting winds, at least,

forbade such a thing.

And humanity, ever preoccupied,

eventually resolved to abandon the North,

realizing that however diligently they exploited that land,

no profit could be

derived from it.

In a land so barren that neither flora nor fauna

could survive,

even developing it for tourism, thanks to the frigid climate,

would prove infinitely difficult

to yield the returns they hoped for.

However, as human

footsteps grew scarce in the North,

another shadow began to arrive:

monsters started

to establish themselves there.

The North’s climate,

freezing all it touched…

The fiends breached the line with laughable ease,

and soon the frozen reaches of the North fell to their claws.

‘Krahhhaaack!!!’

‘Kuoerrooerrr!!!’

‘Hold the line, do not let them through!!’

And so, in sudden desperation, the people

found themselves facing the invading fiends of the North,

forced to fend off fang and

claw with spear and blade.

Thus, a vast

frontline formed in the northern lands,

and it is said that upon the North’s beautiful, pristine snowfields,

the crimson stain of blood has not

known a day to dry.

*

It did not take the

two facing each other long to assume their stances.

After all, among mages,

stances were hardly a necessity in combat,

merely a gesture signifying, “I will now attack you.”

The Professor, seeing the

two square off, clearly understood,

for he promptly stepped back, reaching

into his robes for a single copper coin,

which he flicked high into the air.

*Ting-*

The coin, slightly green with

age, soared into the heavens,

before the relentless pull of

gravity sent it plummeting back down.

Naturally, I presumed it would

return to the Professor’s grasp,

but it did not.

Or, more precisely, it could not.

The Professor, having cast the

coin skyward, had already

withdrawn a good distance.

Tee-ding-ting-ting—

High into the heavens it soared,

then, like a kite severed from its string,

a single copper coin dove

to earth, bouncing this way and that,

as if it were the very signal,

those two, who moments before had been still,

facing each other in quiet contemplation, now began their duel.

The stances they held so well until then shattered in an instant, and

it was the junior who

first began drawing mana from the surroundings.

Shwoo-ooosh—

With the ambient air,

countless streams of mana

were sucked into the space

between his outstretched hands, and

even that small act alone bloomed

a wide smile across the boy’s face.

To be able to wield

such a quantity of mana,

well, it was understandable that a smile would bloom unbidden,

but misfortune befell him, for

his opponent was not one to be trifled with.

“[The North Sea’s Blossom Wind]”

Undeniably, he was the first to

draw upon the mana, and yet

it was she who completed her incantation first, and

the moment that light

chant escaped her lips,

everyone present, myself included, could do nothing but widen their eyes in shock.

Even Sylvia, the elven princess who had

certainly lived far longer than I, and

Professor Oliver, who had

witnessed artistry far beyond the capabilities of students.

Shh-shh-shh—

A single snowflake, descending from somewhere,

touched the tip of my nose, melting away immediately.

No, perhaps it was a touch of frost.

Truthfully, even as I spoke the thought,

I didn’t find it particularly strange, but…

If it were the training grounds from just moments ago, perhaps…

But given the current temperature here,

it was certainly plausible.

My body, it shivered,

began to tremble on its own accord,

and the empty chairs around me,

each and every one, began to frost over.

From the sky… no, the ceiling, snow began to fall.

Hearing it told, it might seem

some far-fetched tale, demanding proof,

but witnessing the spectacle firsthand,

I could not, try as I might,

conjure any other fitting explanation.

Though not a single hole

punctured the ceiling,

snow was falling,

how else could I

wrap that fact in fancier words and describe it?

Her magic, it took on a form,

and bit by bit,

began to consume the air,

and before long, it had its sway

over everyone present.

“Heh heh… I hadn’t

anticipated quite this much…”

“Without even borrowing

the power of a spirit, she scatters such cold… intriguing.”

Professor Oliver and

Sylvia’s one-line reviews, in turn,

and unlike Sylvia, who genuinely seemed amused,

Professor Oliver wore

a slightly bitter,

yet sorrowful expression.

The reason for that expression became clear quickly enough

if one followed his gaze.

“…”

“…Hey, aren’t you going to cast a spell?”

Having even forgotten that she was gathering

mana in her hands,

she stood there, her large mouth

hanging agape.

My junior stood there, utterly frozen.

His eyes, still bearing witness to the

scene that had just unfolded,

began to tremble, his mouth seeming

unable to believe what he had seen.

His hands, meanwhile, had completely lost their moorings.

“No…no way, how could such a simple incantation…”

“…Simple, yes, though hearing it

from someone else’s mouth doesn’t

exactly fill me with joy…?”

“With…with such a simple and

banal incantation, how such power…!”

…Somehow, this kid is

digging his own grave, but

to be honest, it’s no wonder he’s so shocked.

He was right, after all, her

incantation from earlier was certainly on the simpler side.

Incantations, you see, play a rather

important role as a catalyst

in magic.

The longer the incantation,

the more powerful and

complex the magic becomes.

That was practically gospel

in the academy.

And her incantation just now,

*Northern Sea’s, Flower Wind*.

Those two syllables alone,

to unleash this much power,

well, frankly, it shouldn’t be possible.

Even the basic magic I can use, things like [Fireball] or [Water Shot],

their incantations are short and

simple attack spells, which is why

they are classified as basic.

But hers, with an incantation

of similar length, to be able to

unleash this kind of power,

it was something that not only I, but every

mage that has ever lived has never heard of.

If this fact were to reach the Magic Tower,

“Had I informed them, gratitude and reward would have been my due.”

The mages affiliated with the Magic Tower, most were driven by a ravenous curiosity.

‘…Doesn’t sound so bad, does it? And they pay well—’

“Ah…even if you are my senior,

This difference in skill is just…impossible!”

“Why should it be impossible?”

To his question, a near shriek,

An answer came, astonishingly calm,

And the surrounding chill intensified further.

The ground began to freeze, cracking and splintering,

While the cold leeched away

All moisture from the air.

All of it was more than enough

To break his fighting spirit, and at last,

“I…I yield…”

Success came, the words of surrender

Forced from his lips.

*

Meanwhile, watching this

Overwhelming display,

Someone else was feeling a measure of satisfaction.

‘They’re performing better than I expected.’

It was Professor Oliver himself.

To be frank, after the first duel concluded,

He’d even regretted recommending

These matches to the students.

Of course, the faculty had advised

Forcing the competitive edge, but the first

Match had spiralled into a scene so

Ruthless, it threatened to traumatize the student involved.

“Uu…uuugh…”

‘…When is the infirmary coming?’

It was true, his behaviour had been

Insolent, warranting the response.

The lad ought to consider himself fortunate

That it ended with no more than this.

Nevertheless, it was excessive…

That wasn’t to say such merciless violence

was permissible.

Rather, it only fueled the will

to prevent such things

from happening again, without fail.

And so, the second bout concluded,

and this time, it was rather satisfying.

To impart such a crushing realization

of their difference in skill without

laying a hand on them,

it must have delivered quite the shock.

‘So *that’s* what it’s like to be

defeated without even a chance?’

Vach Mohn, returning to his spot

in a daze, blankly staring into space.

His arrogance, at least,

was bound to subside considerably.

And now, only one remained.

‘..The biggest troublemakers are left, how lovely.’

“Prepare for the third bout!!”