Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy Chapter 817

Chapter 817

"...My prediction was wrong."

"No, Senior?! Why are you still there! You're someone who would have abandoned me and escaped no matter what!"

Yi-Han shouted in surprise at Yukbeltire's words.

Seeing this, Caten thought to himself.

'Are they not on good terms?'

He had thought they were close senior and junior since they were from the same tower, did research together, and even did things like this together, but there was no such feeling at all.

"I stopped her."

Direth answered with an embarrassed expression.

No matter what, she couldn't just take the duke and leave while her junior was fighting.

It was Direth who had blocked the way and pushed Yukbeltire's back so she couldn't escape on her own.

"Ah. I thought... It was thanks to Senior Direth."

At her junior's words implying he had expected this, Yukbeltire felt that unidentified emotion from earlier rising again.

Caten was puzzled at this sight. It was rare to see a friend from the same year trembling her hands like that.

"Are you perhaps angry?"

"...Caten of the Jahan family. Trivial emotions like anger..."

"You seem angry..."

"I'm not."

Along with her words, Yukbeltire resumed her attack.

The swords that Caten had jumped over flew in again from behind. The undead monsters Direth had summoned charged in with savage sounds.

'Hmm. It seems about right now.'

Blinking his eyes, Caten thickly enhanced his senses and sharply honed his instincts.

Although it was pitch black darkness all around, with flying swords emitting illusory sound waves to confuse the five senses, and the junior hiding in an invisible state aiming at him...

The trained swordsman's senses instinctively found a path.

Mages might disparage it as ignorant and simple, but the swordsman's path of deeply delving into one's own body alone was absolutely not to be underestimated.

Now to charge at the mages in front and snatch the duke...

Caten instinctively unfolded his sword technique's secret in front. Then telekinesis flying from the front collided with his sword strike.

Caten was surprised at the heavy feeling.

"Noble-blooded Yukbeltire. When did you learn such magic...?"

"I didn't cast it."

"A trick then?"

However, as soon as he finished speaking, telekinesis flew in again in rapid succession.

Caten, who had been concentrating on blocking the invisible attacks flying in fiercely, finally realized the sense of discomfort.

Yukbeltire and Direth, who were controlling artifacts and summons now, didn't have the capacity to launch such attacks.

"It was Junior Wardanaz! I had such a preconception!"

'Tsk.'

At Caten's exclamation, Yi-Han clicked his tongue inwardly.

He had hoped Caten would keep suspecting Yukbeltire, but it seemed he had immediately realized Yi-Han was the culprit.

As a combat mage, it was natural to take the vanguard in this situation, but honestly, he didn't want to.

"Got you!"

-■■■■!-

Meanwhile, an undead monster closed the distance and pounced on Caten with a roar. Direth let out a sigh of relief.

"I'm not sure if this will work, but...!"

At Caten's muttering voice, Yi-Han felt a chill run down his spine.

Pop!

Several of Caten's doppelgangers suddenly appeared and blocked the undead monsters and artifacts charging from behind.

And Caten himself charged fiercely towards Yi-Han. Direth shouted in disbelief.

"How is it possible to create such doppelgangers with swordsmanship?!"

'That's what I'm saying.'

Yi-Han didn't have the leisure to respond. He immediately fired three <Wardanaz's Telekinesis> in succession to the front, then jumped back to widen the distance.

Caten raised one arm not holding a sword like a shield and charged with a battle cry. His arm blazing with aura collided with the telekinesis.

Once, twice, three times!

It was a desperate measure chosen knowing the junior would disappear the moment he stopped charging and swung his sword.

Although he had reinforced it with aura, Caten's arm was tattered and twisted at a strange angle after blocking magic equivalent to 5th Circle three times with one arm.

However, Caten didn't care. He had achieved his desired goal.

'Within range of the opponent's sword!'

Yi-Han activated two magic he had stored just in case, <Lightning Cloak Enchantment> and <Gonadaltes' Boiling Power>, then threw his staff aside and drew his sword.

From here on, the sword was faster than spells.

Clang!!!

When his sword blazing with aura was blocked, Caten laughed joyfully.

"Junior. Excellent! To have such destructive power when you can't even use aura yet!"

Enhancement magic learned from the skull principal, a swordsman's physical enhancement using mana wastefully, and on top of that, the sword Morning Star that absorbed the opponent's mana.

Combining all of these allowed him to block Caten's aura-infused strike head-on.

But unlike the admiring Caten, Yi-Han was shuddering from the impact.

'What kind of brute force is this...!'

Even though he had cast several enhancement magic including <Gonadaltes' Boiling Power>, a heavy wave swept through his entire body as if he had taken an impact magic head-on. It was an unbelievable destructive power.

He felt he could understand anew why swordsmen who could use aura were acknowledged to be in a different league, just as mages were treated as strong enough to enter high-level magic from the moment they implemented a small world.

At that moment, the divination magic he had cast warned of the next attack. Yi-Han gritted his teeth and charged in at the next technique pouring in like a storm from all directions.

He sensed intuitively that if he was pushed back here, it would be even more dangerous.

"Hmm!"

Caten, who was about to unfold a technique with one arm, stepped back one step at his junior's sharp counterattack.

'Is he perhaps using divination magic?'

Caten was quite knowledgeable despite not being able to use magic himself. Unlike his lacking self, it wouldn't be strange for a junior taking all schools to be able to use divination magic.

If so, that counterattack just now made sense. It wasn't easy for a junior who didn't know Caten's swordsmanship well and was at a lower level to react so sensitively.

'Seniors are human too. If I just buy time, it'll become advantageous for me!'

Yi-Han made a quick judgment inwardly.

Caten was human too.

Not only was he injured just now, but he must have consumed quite a bit of mana implementing spatial movement and doppelgangers.

If he endured and bought time, support from Yukbeltire and Direth would come.

"Hmm."

However, Yi-Han realized his judgment had been naive.

This senior who had only swung his sword in the punishment room while other seniors were researching magic was a monster who could target Yi-Han sufficiently even when injured and out of mana.

Bang, bang, bang-!

'The sword's trajectory... is twisting?!'

He was clearly taking the initiative and launching powerful strikes that could destroy walls.

However, every time his sword clashed with Caten's, who was defending while being pushed back, the sword started to gradually escape his control.

When the fourth powerful strike didn't come out with the power he wanted, Yi-Han belatedly realized.

'He's deflecting my sword!'

It was hard to believe.

Of course, it would have been possible in normal circumstances. Just as Yi-Han could deflect Gainando's attacks with his eyes closed when he tried to snatch snacks, Caten, who was several levels above Yi-Han in swordsmanship, could deflect them as much as he wanted even if he lacked strength.

However, this was a situation where he was receiving various magical attacks from all directions.

Moreover, Yi-Han wasn't just attacking normally, but launching powerful strikes borrowing the power of all kinds of enhancement magic...

...To calmly deflect such attacks and lead Yi-Han into an unfavorable situation.

It was chilling swordsmanship. Yi-Han saw Caten's eyes for a moment. The vertically slit pupils unique to cat mixed-bloods were looking for a chance to counterattack.

Even in an injured and tired, unfavorable situation, he felt a sharpness that would absolutely not let go of his prey.

'This won't do!'

Yi-Han instinctively threw his trump card. At that moment, the pocket watch exerted mana and accelerated Yi-Han's time.

Caten was startled when his junior's speed became incomparably faster than ordinary enhancement magic.

'I'm really envious. To have such magical ability!'

Even while surprised and envious, Caten's body moved habitually.

His aura-infused sword blocked in front of the opponent's attack trajectory.

Yi-Han didn't know, but the acrobatics Caten was unfolding now was the secret technique of the swordsmanship he had learned, Yang Liu Sword's Defeated Willow Remnant Transformation.

The essence of illusion that deflects the opponent's attacks and leads them to an unfavorable position!

No matter how injured and tired Caten was, it wasn't easy for his junior to break through this with force.

Quickly adjusting his posture, three sword strikes flew in. Caten deflected them.

Two more sword strikes flew in again. Caten deflected them again.

"...?"

For the first time today, Caten felt a sense of discomfort from the sword.

His junior hadn't moved to where he wanted.

'What's this?'

Just then, his junior's invisibility magic wore off. Caten was surprised when he saw Yi-Han's eyes for the first time.

He wasn't overwhelmed by the senior's sword, but was still looking for an opening.

'It's surprising that he escaped the guidance, but with that attack he can't break through this defense...'

Crackle!

A sound that could only be heard by those sensitive to mana, when mana was abnormally condensed, was heard.

Caten was shocked.

Aura was forming on his junior's sword.

Crisis.

Enhancement.

Divination.

Acceleration.

A plasma form that couldn't be shown with ordinary mana condensation, created by powerful concentration brought about by the situation intertwined with solid will.

Aura flashed and merged with the Azure Rock Style Yi-Han had learned. That single strike shattered Caten's Defeated Willow Remnant Transformation and sent his sword flying back.

Bang!!!!!

"!"

Yi-Han was more surprised than Caten whose sword had been sent flying.

He hadn't expected to be able to break through the senior's defense.

"...Excellent, Junior!! To think you could use aura!"

Caten spoke joyfully as if it were his own achievement, regardless of the defeat he had just experienced.

Yi-Han wanted to thank him coolly too, but he couldn't. The rebound from the time magic he had just used, including others, rushed through his entire body.

"Ugh... urgh... kugh... Thank y... But what do you mean by aura...?"

"That attack you just launched. That was aura. Hmm. The invisibility magic wearing off must have been because of that too."

Caten nodded.

Since aura itself was an abnormal condensation phenomenon of mana, he had heard it could affect surrounding magic at times, but to see it like this, magic was truly mysterious.

Enduring the intense pain throughout his body, Yi-Han asked again.

"But there was no change to the sword at all..."

Shouldn't some flaming fire rise from the sword if it was aura?

To that question, Caten answered as if he didn't understand either.

"That's right. It clearly was about to rise but faded inwards... Ah."

"?"

"...Junior. You're holding a sword that absorbs mana."

"...Ah... I'm sorry."

Yi-Han felt embarrassed.

Come to think of it, it was ridiculous to ask 'Why isn't the aura burning?' while holding Morning Star, a sword with a black purplestone blade that absorbed mana.

"Um. By the way, Senior."

"Ask me anything."

"I think you should look behind you first..."

Caten turned his head.

At his vital points including his neck were Yukbeltire's flying swords she had summoned, and above his head was the bloody undead monster Direth had summoned, glaring with its mouth wide open.

"Ah. I've lost. I surrender."

"Can't you let it slide as a fellow classmate?"

"Shouldn't you offer something?"

As Direth and Yukbeltire looked like they would tear Caten apart right away, Yi-Han asked, feeling slightly worried.

Caten answered with a dejected attitude.

"Junior. I have no wealth. I couldn't do missions or research since I was mostly in the punishment room."

"...At least give me your broken arm."

"To even use healing magic, Junior, unlike me, you're really amaz..."

"Please be quiet."

Yi-Han covered Caten's mouth while watching the two seniors' expressions.