Vol. 1 - Ch. 262 - Rising Dragon Cup (6)

The 2nd day of the Rising Dragon Cup.

«Kukora City Federation: Danjin Eliminated. One Point to the Rosemieur Empire.»

«Kukora City Federation: Baffy Eliminated. Two Points to the Rosemieur Empire.»

«Kukora City Federation: Reiya Eliminated. Three Point to Rosemieur Empire»

The first blood in the royal rumble was drawn by Rosemieur. 

"...They're somewhere at ten o'clock... so we're still quite in distance from them. I had thought Princess Arichi would prefer to secure their base, and stick to it... It seems they're taking a proactive route this time. What do you think, Coach, Dol-kun?"

Purim-senpai remarked. It was his 3rd participation in the Royal Dragon Cup, representing Yuglia's talented mages. 

From what I knew, Arichi-san had bested Yuglia's team in the previous two runs, and had to settle with runner-up position. So both sides were familiar with each other's personality, and tactics. I would reckon a person like him would surely want to take his revenge on this last chance. 

"In that case, shall we confirm it, eh?"

I asked back with a grin. He smiled and shook his head. 

"It's a team battle, not individual. We must score big for Martin-kun's share too."

"So says Senpai, Dol."

"Aye-aye, Senpai. First of all, avoid becoming a bird in a cage. It's not interesting if we keep on the defensive, plus they also have the upper hand in points. Allen's Wind Magic is the perfect ingredient to guerilla warfare. It may be a bit risky, but let's do it. We need to take some points. And our hunting ground will be.... that grassland."

"Alright (Great)!"

◆◆◆

"......!"

Leonera, the leader of Fatora Kingdom's team, swiftly made hand gestures to cue the other as she nimbly hides herself in the shadow of a tree. 

The members had been following her from a safe distance in a defense against any possible AoE magic to avoid concurrent takedown of the team. They cautiously scanned their surroundings, and approached her.

"Did you notice something, Leonera—wait, is he!?"

"It's him... Allen Rovenne from the Yuglia Kingdom."

The team members turned to inquire the meaning behind sudden halt, but they didn't need to hear from Leonera as they realised why when they caught a certain spot.

At the end of their gaze, atop the boulder—it should be at least one meter in diameter—placed in the dead centre of grassland with no hiding place in sight, Allen Rovenne was there in a sitting position, his knees drawn to chest.

Though, instead of the vigilance one would expect, he was holding a flower in his hand, plucking its petals one at a time, like the so-called flower divination. 

He still had his mask up on his face, so they couldn't tell his expression, but if body language was enough to take a guess, he appeared quite forlorn at a glance. 

"......Should we be here? I heard his detection skill is unmatched even among the elites of Yuglia. I fear he may already figure out our location..."

"...We're so far away. Surely, he wouldn't be able to notice us..."

Leonera tilted her hand in contemplation, and trained her gaze back to Allen. 

And right then, Allen suddenly stood up, unwinding the arms in crossed form, and stretched them right beside, while bending his knees. Then, he began to stretch one leg at a time. 

Neither of Leonera's team members could figure out the meaning behind Allen's action.

"...It's a trap. I am sure."

"Definitely. And once we're reeled in, then his two teammates will ambush us."

"I doubt any participant is dumb enough to fall into an obvious trap."

Leonera's team wrote it off as a trap, and turned on their heels. But, before they could, they suddenly heard an unfamiliar booming echo from a distant place, bringing up a rumble in the pit of their stomach.

«Justeria: Gapra Eliminated. One Point to the Yuglia Kingdom.»

"......What was that? Have they split into two teams? ...If it's 3 vs 2, and then there's Allen Rovenne who can't use magic... should we try our luck?"

Just as they re-contemplated their chance, they're shocked yet again. Another sound of explosion echoed, but this time, it came from the completely opposite direction. And affirming their suspicion, the «Kuwol Republic: Inesa Eliminated. Two Points to the Yuglia Kingdom.» announcement promptly followed.

"What?! They have split into three teams?! Wait, does that mean Allen Rovenne is by himself?  ...Ugh, he didn't seem to have any way to protect himself... just what is he trying out?! And what the heck is with those bizarre movements!"

Flabbergasted by the revelation that Allen might just be alone there, the three immediately glanced in Allen's direction. The latter had just unwinded from his 'attention' stance, and next, he spread his legs, and stretched both hands toward the sky. Then he lowered them to touch shoulder before putting them down. At the end, he clicked the two heels together.

"D-Don't be haste, Leonera! It's a trap, I am telling you!"

"Just what kind of trap he could have alone—"

Whether to jump on opportunity or not. A dilemma broke out between them, but before they could completely decide on policy, a fireball shot toward Allen from another direction. 

Allen dodged it by a paper thin margin, and jumped down from the boulder. 

It turned out, they weren't the only one to notice Allen, and whoever that was, they didn’t wait to jump into action.

"Tch! It was a bluff. I knew it! We were too prudent! And, even if we're walking into a trap, it's still 6 vs 2. If we can bring him down, His Majesty would surely shower us with lavish rewards."

Seeing it as a slipping opportunity, everyone beside Leonera jumped into the grassland. And just as they'd begun their sprint—Allen suddenly hunched forward, and placed both his hands on the ground.

"O' Pillar of the Four Great Spirits, Le Genome—"

◆◆◆

30 minutes ago. 

"In that case, I will set up my magic. You already know the cue, so be careful about them, and don't accidentally step onto them if I am eliminated."

After concluding on an outline, Dol explained he would be installing landmines, and told us the sign we should be looking for to avoid them. 

From his perspective, our best bet would be to act covertly, and individually. If he could successfully plant his landmines at the entrance connecting three zones, we might be able to reap points in our favour. 

Since Rosemieur's team under Arichi-san was taking a proactive move, it was clear a defensive play would be against us. 

"......But, are you sure we should be revealing all our research's gain?"

Dol asked again for confirmation. Seriously, what kind of stingy mindset did he have? I couldn't help but take a deep sigh.

"You really like to hang on to the most trivial thing, you know? If anyone else heard you, they would wonder if the reputation of Rudolf Austin, the fabled Ironclad Vice-President is truly warranted. ...You can not keep something a secret forever. 

And beside that, even if others do find the landmine, there’s just no easy way to deal with it. And with the effort it requires to make that magic a possibility, I would be surprised if anyone actually manages to imitate it. Honestly, believe in yourself that you're worth more than that, Dol. Heck, you’re the first, and perhaps last, Grand Archmage this world will ever see. So chin up!"

I asserted myself with conviction. Though Dol’s facial expressions were pulled in a cramp.

"T-the first and the last...?! Hey, I beg you Allen, can you just stop elevating every little thing so big at the drop of hat? All the VIPs are watching over us..."

He objected in low whisper, pointing at the direction Live Broadcast Mana Tool was installed at.

"Oh, for crying out loud! Give yourself a break, it's just a matter of time before your name sells like the cautionary tales, and everyone who hears your name will cower in their piss!"

I cheered him up by patting him on the back, though I was annoyed by his constant humble attitude. I mean, he literally was a master of four elements, a One for All. And let's not begin with his control over mana circulation, which is totally perverse to say the least. He also had mana capacity—well, average from Royal Academy's criteria—tens of times beyond ordinary people.

He was definitely the OP bastard in my playbook. 

"F-Fine, I got it, so just shut your voice for me damnit!"

Following an urgent shout, affirming that I had stopped speaking, Dol then brought his fingers in square shape like those high school girls making a heart sign, and peered through it, surveying the surroundings.

"No problem so far..."

Affirming that there was no one to be sensed in the surrounding, 'I'm leaving' Dol remarked before cautiously disappearing into the forest. 

The gesture earlier was meant to be for «Vista», a light attribute spell. On that note, the fact he was blessed with rare light magic on top of other elements was one of the reasons why I called him OP bastard. 

I had joined him in his light magic circle, and I would conclude my opinion with 'the light magic has incredible potential.'

«Vista» utilised the spots with light to view distant spots. It was the recreation of a basic refractive telescope. It was one of the spells that brought down the realm of possibility. 

It didn't have that much magnifying power yet, barely 8 times that was comparable to a toy, and Dol also remarked 'And I put so much effort into making it possible... We could've just bought a telescope...' .  But I differ.

I was imagining a lens with aperture almost as wide as me with my both hands outstretched, or nearly two-meter which would be the height of Dol at adult stage. Could you imagine if the lens of «Vista» had two-meter aperture? 

To put it in another analogy, the primary lens of the famed Hubble Space Telescope had a two-meter aperture. And Dol would be able to utilise such a powerful telescope as big as a beast at his free will anywhere. 

A telescope's magnifying power depended on the diameter of the primary lens after all. By then, he could easily parse even the individual blade of glass hundreds of kilometres away. And then imagine what would happen if he focused the sunlight on the opponent's eye? 

Well, all of that was still in paper, far from turning into reality, and even with his mana control, it might not be feasible to make a lens that big. However, that didn't matter. What mattered most was the infinite possibilities. Who would not be jealous and hope they could do it, too, eh?

A bit melancholic from envy, I was at the top of a boulder, divining Dol's love life using a flower when I caught the presence of three people. The leader was apparently a girl named Leonera, and if my memory serves right, she was the leading candidate from Fatora Kingdom. 

Purim-senpai was hidden in the shadow of a cedar tree with an unobstructive view of this grassland. So, my role was to lure in opponents as I couldn't take any offensive role with lack of magic attack.

Anyway, so I, a bug with zero spell damage capability, was at it for quite a while, but no one's getting baited at all! They're as cautious as a prey stepping into the territory of a predator, and would rather turn on their heel than take risk.

«Coach... There's a three person group from the south closing in. Have you noticed?»

Purim-senpai whispered from the top of a cedar tree. I gestured with a nod.

«C-can you try to appear more careless, like naturally?! Everyone's assessing you as a potential threat... and why are you plucking petals of all things! For the love of god, be serious and appear more careless!»

It appeared the strange situation had Purim-senpai at his wits end. I followed his instruction, and got up on my feet, beginning calisthenic exercise atop the boulder. 

«What in the world are you doing! No, what's even with that movement to begin with!»

Yet again, Purim-senpai's whispers followed. Though I couldn't glance at him, his voice tells me he must be shaking from anger. 

Uh-huh, it appeared I wasn't much of a bait. ...Honestly, I had tried to act more naturally; like, at first, I thought to feign hiding among the grass or something. But I guess my average joe face was just that un-noticable, and the result went contrary to my expectation. No one managed to detect me. 

Now, I couldn't have turned myself into some handsome hunk, so I tried taking conspicuous actions, like sniffing on grass to make visible movements. But it had no result. They thought I was a threat and didn't fall into a trap at all. 

Meanwhile, Senpai continued to demand 'show your weakness naturally.' I had tried so many things to lure in other teams that frankly, I might truly have lost all my caution.

On the other hand, the Rosemieur Empire had already scored 6 points. I could see why Purim-senpai was fretting over. 

«Justeria: Gapra Eliminated. One Point to Yuglia.»

But finally, we found good news—a participant from Justeria had stepped into a landmine. 

The team from Fatora Kingdom was about to leave when the sudden announcement halted them on their spot. 

«Kuwol Republic: Insa Eliminated. Two Points to the Yuglia Kingdom.»

Dol's landmine exploded into succession, bringing another motion onto the display board. 

Hoo, boy. We're finally shining... but the situation sure has taken a bit of an awkward turn, though.  Because of successive explosions of landmines from two opposite ends, Fatora Kingdom's team had begun to think I was alone here. 

Their body language took a U-turn. Their thoughts changed from 'it could be a trap' to 'let's jump at lost lamb.'

My wind magic detected 8 participants from three nations. 

They're a bit too much for Purim-senpai to dispatch in the short term, and between them, I doubt I would be able to protect myself. 

A fire magic shot toward me. I dodged with exaggerated movements, and jumped down from the boulder. 

Then, from the angle where camera could capture my performance perfectly, I wedged my hands into the ground, and started a chant with broad smile

"O' the Pillar of Four Great Spirits, Re Genome. The land that is the axle of life. Abide by the law of wind, and grant me the strength of majestic lands. —Sandstorm!"

Following my chant, pebbles and dust swirl in the air, promoting poor visibility within a few moments.

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