"Good work."
"It wasn't particularly difficult."
"You look quite disheveled for someone who found it easy."
"I'm not injured at all."
Luina spoke dismissively. Her armor was merely dirty from the dust raised by magic.
"So you saved the potion."
"You have a talent for making even compliments sound unpleasant."
"And you have a talent for taking jokes too seriously."
Gerhard shrugged and handed her some jerky. Luina accepted it without comment and began chewing.
"Finding the next pair right away..."
Luina stopped mid-sentence. Gerhard's gaze followed hers.
They could sense someone not far away. The feeling was completely different from the pairs they had encountered so far.
And soon...
"...Carlo?"
Someone revealed themselves.
It was Carlo Deneb, the top-ranked second-year magic student.
Being ranked first among 100 talented individuals gathered from across the empire and neighboring kingdoms was no easy feat.
The title of top student itself was proof of his abilities and showed how strong he was.
And to encounter him so early...
"Carlo Deneb."
"Gerhard Goldenheim."
Their eyes met.
"What a coincidence. Meeting so quickly."
"I agree."
"Do we need to exhaust each other so early when we've just started?"
"Well..."
From that ambiguous answer, Gerhard instantly knew Carlo wouldn't back down easily.
Why would he do this when it wasn't entirely beneficial to himself?
Competitiveness? Or was it pride over losing Luina?
Perhaps it was simply for the bonus points. After all, Luina was the second-ranked knight student, and it was natural that higher-ranked students would earn more bonus points.
What mattered was that there seemed to be no way to avoid a fight now.
"Can you handle Carlo Deneb for a while? I can defeat Allia."
Luina whispered softly.
"I don't think they'll let us go easily, will they?"
"Do we need to run away? Unless it's Almon, there's no need."
Her eyes were filled with confidence.
Realizing escape was impossible, Gerhard nodded.
"Can't be helped. Go wild."
This was a good opportunity to properly assess Luina Berchef's abilities.
"...You're not just going to watch, are you?"
"I'll support you. We're a pair, so why fight separately?"
That certainly wasn't what the professors intended.
"Good teamwork should earn us higher scores from the teaching assistants, right?"
"...We've never practiced together."
"Trust me."
"Trust what about you?"
"If you can't trust me, trust the elixir I gave you. It should help you endure even if things go wrong two or three times."
"..."
Luina made a disgruntled expression. Something felt off, but she couldn't find a proper counterargument.
"Alri—"
Bang!
At that moment, lightning struck. The bolt seemed to hit Luina directly.
No, a thick stone wall was protecting her.
"Lightning, huh. Brings back unpleasant memories."
Gerhard clicked his tongue.
"...Cowardly to ambush during conversation."
Luina's grip tightened on her sword.
"I think having a conversation in the middle of battle is the bigger problem."
"Are you an ally or an enemy?"
"An ally, of course."
"...Please do a good job with that support you mentioned."
Sighing, Luina muttered quietly and dashed forward without waiting for a response.
Her first target was Carlo, the magician.
"Where do you think you're going!"
Allia quickly intercepted, blocking her sword.
With a clang, sparks flew. Simultaneously, lightning and rocks crossed each other above Luina's head.
Boom!
Fragments of shattered rocks that had served their purpose fell to the ground. Through the rising dust, the swords of the two knights intertwined like snakes.
After exchanging two quick strikes, Luina realized her body felt lighter and stronger than usual. This was Gerhard's buff magic, cast without anyone noticing.
'When did he...?'
His casting speed was faster than she had thought. Though puzzled, she needed to focus on her opponent.
—!
——!
Luina quickly adapted to her changed physique. Using her heavier sword and faster body, she pressed Allia hard.
Shockwaves erupted as swords clashed. Earth fragments scattered in all directions, and wounds carved by the blades appeared in the air.
She consistently pushed Allia back. She was already the better fighter, and with Gerhard's buff magic, she became even more overwhelming.
But Carlo wasn't idle either.
Crackle—
A massive net of lightning decorated the sky. Its range extended beyond Luina to reach Gerhard.
The net fell. Although she swung her aura-infused sword, the net was tougher than expected and wouldn't fully break. She had no choice but to throw herself through a gap in the net.
At that moment, the seemingly wide net began to tighten.
"...Ugh?"
"Got you, Luina!"
The net—the lightning—restricted her movements. It constantly shocked her, disrupting her aura flow. Allia didn't miss this opportunity.
The time needed to completely break the net was just a moment, but Allia's attack was faster.
Her sword came slashing down. Luina prepared to sacrifice flesh to protect bone as she broke through the net.
And simultaneously...
—!
Allia's sword split a rock, while Luina's sword sliced through empty air a beat too late.
"...What is this?"
Luina was confused by the suddenly changed surroundings. In front of her, she could see Allia breaking the rock that had been placed where she had just been standing.
"It's an artifact. One that can swap things of equal weight."
"...Using an artifact in a class exercise? That's cowardly."
"Where's the cowardice in battle?"
"That's true, but...!"
Wait a minute.
"Equal weight...?"
Luina's face turned red.
"How did you...?"
"It was written in your personal file."
"You...!"
Her shout was cut short as magic and blades simultaneously flew toward them.
Luina instinctively grabbed Gerhard and leaped away. The lightning shattered the innocent ground.
"Cough...!"
Gerhard, who had rolled on the ground, screamed.
"Pull me more gently! The ride was terrible!"
"I'll definitely burn that personal file you got hold of!"
Luina shouted as she blocked Allia's sword. Gerhard had to roll on the ground again without even dusting himself off as consecutive lightning bolts fell.
Gerhard looked up.
"Ptooey, so that's why he wasn't double casting."
Despite it being your speciality that made you the top student.
Along with the lightning, a massive spell was being prepared in the sky.
A gigantic pillar of light. A collection of dozens of lightning bolts. Its destructive power was far beyond student level.
"Gerhard!"
"Don't worry and do your job. Finish them."
Gerhard ignored her worried cry.
He took something out from his extra-dimensional storage and threw it while chanting a spell.
——!
A pure white beam of light descended toward Gerhard, Luina, and Allia, who was trying to distance herself.
No, it tried to descend.
The three spheres Gerhard had thrown intercepted the magic first.
Although the spheres burned black and fell, the weakened magic scattered as it struck the tall metal spikes that had risen.
And a beat later...
"Kyaa!"
Allia's sword flew through the air.
"...What is this?"
"I did quite a bit of research after being defeated by you. How is it? Effective, right?"
Gerhard smiled as Carlo looked on in bewilderment.
Luina, who had her sword at Allia's throat, pointed to the three blackened spheres.
"...What are those?"
"Storage spheres that absorb mana."
"...You absorbed magic with mana storage spheres?"
"Of course I modified them. They're expensive and difficult to make. But now they're all destroyed after a single use. The top student truly deserves his rank, I guess."
Do you know how much those cost? Gerhard clicked his tongue.
Carlo's eyes widened.
"Using artifacts! This is cheating!"
"If a merchant fighting like a merchant is cheating, then you shouldn't use magic either."
"Such sophistry...!"
"We can discuss this later."
Luina. Gerhard murmured quietly.
"Finish them."
Carlo and Allia's maps burned.
***
Aaargh—
Run!
Boom!
Block it!
"So it has begun."
Rudger scratched his chin at the screams and thunderous sounds coming from all directions.
This future had been foreseeable from the moment they announced that students would be recognized as bonus points for each other.
"What would you like to do, Your Highness?"
"What about you?"
"I will follow Your Highness's wishes."
Almon Donertz, the top-ranked knight student, bowed expressionlessly.
"Can you defeat Luina Berchef?"
"I am the top-ranked student."
"Good. I'm confident I can defeat Gerhard, so there shouldn't be any special problems."
Rudger smiled.
"Let's join that chaos. Grades are somewhat important to me too. There are plenty of people who would criticize a prince for poor academic performance."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Ah, but don't eliminate everyone."
"Is there a reason?"
"Of course there is."
The prince and the top-ranked knight student began their hunt.