Chapter 8: Chapter 8: The Practice Battle and the Wizard
Chapter 8: The Practice Battle and the WizardIgni: “Hey teacher, is the next test going to be here?”
“Yu~~~p, that’s righ~~~t”
Igni asked the really short woman in front of him.
Igni: “Why am I the only one in a separate exam room….?”
If he’s the only one here, he can’t get any recognition. Without recognition, how is he supposed to get popular? Fear and anxiety start filling Igni’s mind. It will still take some time before he realizes how far fetched his reasoning has become.
“That’s bec~~~ause you broke the ‘target'... Don’t you remember?”
Igni: “Well, yeah, I know I broke it but…”
But Igni was brought to the practice battle field.
In the Rolmod Wizard Academy, they are a school that teaches spells to student, and thus, they naturally teach spells appropriate for fighting monsters as part of their self-defense training. But this also includes fighting hypothetical human enemies as well.
Before him is a woman of very short stature who is a teacher at this school.
At a glance, she is about 140 cm (4’ 7”).
Even for Igni, he is almost looking down at her from his height.
<<<<>>>>
[Oye, Igni]
Igni: (Grandpa!)
[Short women are, amazing]
Igni: (I get it, Grandpa! I really get it!)
<<<<>>>>
If she had more to offer on her chest, she would have been invincible.
Grandpa may disagree with me here, but I think it’s always better to have something there.
“Hehe, sometimes, only ve~~~ry rarely sometimes, there will be examinees like you every 20 or 30 yea~~~rs…”
………teacher, how old are you?
Igni almost let the words spill out, but he barely held it in.
Secret to Popularity Rule No. 8 --- “Never ask a woman her age.”
“Kids like that don’t have any other tests to take, so they have to face off with a teacher of the schoo~~~l.”
Igni: “Why is that?”
“What do you mean why? You broke a target with THAT many spells casted on it——. Of course, you’ll be considered <EX•TROA•DI•NA•RY>. Giving examinees like you regular tests would be a complete waste of time, dontcha thi~~~nk?”
Igni: “I see.”
“Oh, ye~~~ah. I forgot to tell you my name. I’m Mila. “The Gateway” Mila. I’m one of the few unique [Original] Wizards. I’m responsible for 3rd Years in Class B~~~. Do you have any questions?”
Igni: “......teacher, are you an Elf?”
Mila’s ears are slightly pointier than most people.
That’s why he had to ask the question.
The only answer he could come up with was that.
Mila: “That’s ri~~~ght, I’m 254 years old this year.”
Igni: “What? That’s amazing! I thought you would be around 180 years old!”
Mila: “Oh~~~, thank you, Igni. You’re so good with wo~~~rds.”
Popularity Etiquette No. 8 -- “Never ask a woman her age. If they ask you how old you think they are, always lowball your guess.”
Mila: “Shall we?”
She claps her small hands together and laughs.
Igni: “How do we determine the winner?”
Mila: “Hm~~~, how about if you lay a hand on the other person, you win.”
Igni: “That’s a really simple.”
Mila: “Oh~~~, you’re a confident one, Igni.”
Mila disappears.
No, she didn’t disappear.
Igni: “..........!”
Igni kicks the ground and takes a step back. At that moment, Mila appears in front of him.
Mila: “You have good reflexes~~~”Igni: “Thank you!”
Igni smiles, and behind him creates 3 [FIREBALL]s.
And lets them explode.
DOUUUUUUU!! (sfx explosion)
With the explosion behind him, Igni thrusts forward suddenly.
Mila: “Wh~~~!”
Having Igni suddenly jump towards her, Mila twists her body. Igni’s hand goes through the air above her, and his body is pushed up to the sky.
Mila: “Good move, Igni.”
Igni: “You as well, Ms. Mila. I didn’t think you would be able to react to that.”
Mila: “You’re underestimating your teachers too mu~~~ch”
She gives Igni a polite smile.
Mila: “[LONG JUMP - LEAP BULLET]!”
Mila chants her incantation, and suddenly, before Igni’s eyes, <APP•EARS> several metal balls moving towards him at explosive speed.
Igni: “[FLAME ARMOR - IGNITE]!”
Igni <PER•CEI•VES> with his sight, an accurate count of the metal pieces, and creates the same number of [FIREBALL]s around him. He then faces the metal balls and…
Igni: “[LAUNCH - FIRE]!!”
Releases them.
DODODODODODODODODODO!!! (sfx rapid explosion and collisions)
Two spells collide and cause an explosion.
Igni: “Teacher, your magic compatibility type.... What is it?”
Mila: “It’s a secr~~~et. You’re free to guess though.”
Igni: “It’s okay. I’ll end it here.”
Igni creates 5 [FIREBALL]s around him.
Igni: “[FLAME ARMOR - IGNITE]!”Eating up his magic as fuel, the burning [FIREBALL]s change to a bright white color.
Mila: “I won’t letcha~~~“
Igni: “[LAUNCH - FIRE]!”
Mila: “[LONG JUMP - LEAP]”
Mila’s body disappears.
Igni: (…...it’s the same as last time!)
Igni’s white fireballs flies through the air hitting nothing.
Igni very gently reaches out in front of him.
Pon (sfx light touch), Igni’s hand touches Mila’s body.
Mila: “Oh wha~~~t?”
Igni: “.....I figured out your magic.”
Igni immediately releases his hand from her body.
Secret to Popularity Rule No. 4 ---- “Always be a gentleman.”
Very slowly and in a slightly exaggerated motion, Igni takes his hand away.
This was Igni’s best effort of being “gentlemanly”.
Mila: “Let me hear your theo~~~ry”
Igni: “I think your magic…. It utilizes [SPACE], does it not?”
Mila: “Why do you think so?”
Igni: “When you first disappeared, I thought you kicked the ground and moved at an amazing speed, so that’s why I stepped back to dodge.”
Mila: “That’s right.”
Igni: “But then you <SU•DDEN•LY> appeared before my eyes. In the same way, those metal balls also appeared.”
Mila: “Wow, you have good eyes.”
Igni: “Am I right so far?” Mila: “Yu~~~p. You got it~~~”
Mila smiled at Igni as she said that.
Mila: “Well, just remember that I didn’t use all the tricks in my bo~~~ok”
Not wanting to concede completely, Mila left Igni with that warning.
Mila: “But then again, I’m sure you had more tricks up your sleeves too, huh~~~?”
Igni: “....that’s a secret.”
Mila: “Wha~~~t, why you~~~”
Mila seemed a little upset by that and puffed her cheeks out.
Igni: “Well, did I pass?”
Mila: “Of cou~~~rse. Well, actually, you already passed after blowing that target up!”
Igni: “What, is that true?!”
Mila: “Yup, this was just to help us determine your gra~~~de.”
Igni: “You could have told me that at the beginning.”
Mila: “No~~~pe, some kids don’t give it their all if I do~~~”
Mila looked away as if to remember a distant memory.
Mila: “Igni, are you a [FIRE] : [SS] compatibility? Or are you a higher-tier type?”
Igni: “Oh, not at all. I’m a [FIRE] : [F]”
Mila: “[F]~~~?!?!”
Igni: “Yes, you got it.”
Mila: “Wha~~~t... Are you lying to me?”
Igni: “I would never… Ms. Mila, I’m actually a UNIQUE SPECIALIZED SPELL TYPE - [SPELL ONE].”
Igni reveals his biggest secret waiting to see Mila’s reaction.
Igni: (Alright! I did it! How is she going to react?!?!)
As if to resist laughing at his own punchline, Igni anxiously waits for the next moment with the biggest smile.
But…
Mila: “......uhhhhhh. What’s tha~~~t?”
Mila did not get it.