NOVEL WEB Chapter 192
<192 - Shining Personality>
Before the team battle, the morale of both sides was starkly different.
“Say you’re dead. I’ll make sure you can’t even shout forfeit.”
“Just try me. I’ll make you wet your pants.”
The students from the Empire side shot fierce words like a poisonous pufferfish ready to strike. Thanks to that, even though the band of border students had decided to treat it like skipping a lecture, deep down they secretly hoped to take advantage of the mysterious injuries suffered by the Empire students from incidents of terror.
“What should we do, Oknodie? Their spirit isn’t breaking at all.”
“Hmph. It’s fine. I want to vent my frustrations just as much.”
Winner-takes-all.
In this competition, the winning team holds their position until all their players are defeated, while the losing team keeps sending in more players until they finally win. Depending on the situation, a small group could take down a much larger one.
━━━
[Event: Winner-Takes-All]
Finally, the class battle has begun!
As you reveal your presence under the harsh rules of continuously defeating the opponent, you will be rewarded handsomely.
You could step up as the vanguard and take down a ton of enemies!
You could boldly head out to repel the enemy’s ace!
You could be the last bastion of the team in a crisis!
Or you might get wiped out and quickly retire!
What kind of a display will you put on?
━━━
You know what the best reward is.
[Last Bastion].
Participating as the last player for the winner-takes-all!
“Dorothy. Go out as the vanguard.”
“Wha!? Me!?”
“I’ll give you a lot of points.”
Excited, Dorothy quickly joined the fray. Even if I don’t get it, delicious rewards should go to my friend!
Bee. Bee. Bee.
Pwooo━!
The lamp in Professor Weird’s hand changed its light from green and yellow to red, signaling the start of the battle. The loud notification sound was accompanied by Professor Raeb’s voice.
“Commence.”
The first to attack was an Empire student.
“Let’s make you all humiliated from the start! Magic Missile, triple shot!”
“Is that all?”
Dorothy deftly sidestepped the attacks like a master of agility, successfully dodging them all. Before the flustered Empire student could continue casting spells, Dorothy’s magic ensnared his feet.
“Vine Bind!”
Element – Nature Magic
Activation – Creating Vines
Specialization – Binding
A second-circle binding spell. While its growth speed and vine durability may have been lacking, it was more than enough to momentarily hinder the enemy’s movements, putting them in a difficult position.
Having missed his timing to cast a spell, right next to the Empire student, a [Vine Spike] grew long in Dorothy’s hand.
“Ugh!”
“Want to get pricked or forfeit?”
“I—I’ll forfeit…”
“Winner, Dorothy.”
“Wowaaah!”
“How’d you do that?”
“Wow! I didn’t believe it! How did you just do that!?”
Treating the time spent as wasted with no training and only worrying about my tail, Dorothy felt no joy amidst the flowing praise. Instead, discomfort surged within her. She wasn’t seeking your compliments.
“It’s just one win.”
“33 more to go, until you reach 32 wins.”
With the Sandkooker’s annoying voice, and Rosgini’s perception that this wouldn’t get her too excited, the faces of her comrades, who had trained together, were like a vine plant wrapping around each other in support.
Just like how the malicious notes represented by Professor Weird’s “Is that everything?” could be made manageable through division of labor, they believed they could overcome an unbearable exam by combining their strengths.
‘This is right, right? Professor Weird. Oknodie.’
With a nonchalant face devoid of any expressions, Professor Weird let out a short “Oh.”
Oknodie smiled brightly, giving a thumbs-up as if to say she was doing well.
“Winner, Dorothy.”
“Winner, Dorothy.”
“Winner, Dorothy.”
Dorothy continued to score win after win in repeated battles. She dodged the enemy’s spells while landing her own perfectly.
After establishing her basics, she dodged all the demonstration spells that were just “I learned magic like this!”
[Score Status]
[Dorothy, 10 consecutive wins]
[Remaining People]
100 vs 90
-Dorothy in the vanguard with 10 wins in a row!
-Dorothy has become the ace, with additional bonuses available upon defeating her!
“Do something quick. If she forfeits like that, we’ll be the ones who suffer.”
“If you think you’re so good, why don’t you try to stop her? It’s insane trying to catch a girl doing backflips!”
“Tch. Can’t believe how pathetic you are. This is why commoners…”
Among the Empire students, a single student with pristine white hair and an arrogant expression stepped forward, holding a short staff. An exotic colored hair.
Oknodie thought, “How interesting.”
Dorothy realized from that reaction.
A strong enemy had appeared.
This trial was a critical turning point.
“Hugo Mayonnaise. The baron family of the Holy Central Empire, the Mayonnaise family has served in the Mage Command Center for generations, bringing the unique magical traits to light.”
As the duel began, Dorothy moved sideways, attempting to draw closer while the opposing students hastily fired off magic. In contrast, Hugo took his time with the incantation.
“Guh…!”
He caught her.
For Dorothy, who didn’t know how to wield high-circle magic and barely had enough mana for minimum spells, facing the opponent’s high-powered magic was a shortcut to defeat.
It seemed like the enemy read those very thoughts, leisurely entering the incantation.
‘No matter, I can just cancel it!’
The stone she threw barely grazed Hugo’s side as he effortlessly sidestepped.
Was that luck?
Of course, it was.
Attempting to reassure herself, Dorothy threw three more stones without a moment’s hesitation.
She had to admit it to herself.
This guy could actually dodge!
“That’s not fair. Is it really okay to have that mastery of magic and high mobility too?!”
“Mayo Sphere.”
A cream-colored sphere with a high points value of Mayonnaise rose into the air at once.
“Ugh, this feels disgusting.”
“What kind of color is that?”
“Yuck. It’s jiggling a lot.”
While fellow students were turned off, watching the slowly flying sphere made Dorothy anxious.
There’s no way a spell that took that long to cast could be dodged so easily.
There must be some trick to it.
“Ugh!”
Throwing a stone to hit the sphere, it burst, but instead, it quickly regained its form.
‘Ugh. It’s exactly like a slime, restoring its shape.’
Narrowing the distance, Dorothy attempted to take advantage of the movement, sneaking behind Hugo Mayonnaise.
But multiple spheres were scattered, a total of eight.
Four pursued her while the other four guarded Hugo’s perimeter.
‘Wasting time will only result in being surrounded!’
She had to break through while the numbers were lower.
“Vine Spike!”
Extending the thorns of the vines, Dorothy pierced the sphere, exploding it sideways.
“Gotcha.” “Kyaaah!?”
With a popping sound, the Mayonnaise sphere burst.
The mayonnaise splattered everywhere, staining Dorothy’s school uniform with white spots.
“Ew. What is this? It’s sticky and I can’t see properly!”
“Keheh! This is the special magic created by our ancestor, the Hentai, who was inspired by slimes. Once you get marked by mayo even once, you can’t escape.”
With her movements slowing and vision impaired, covered in sticky mayonnaise, Dorothy couldn’t even properly use her once-light step and fell.
“Winner, Hugo Mayonnaise.”
Dorothy’s consecutive wins had ended.
“Ugh. What a weird smell.”
“Ah no, I really don’t like it. Don’t come near me.”
“What on earth is that weird liquid?”
Despite coming back having made a big contribution, fellow students blatantly avoided Dorothy.
“Good job.”
“Cover your clothes. I can’t help you, but… ”
“…I’m sorry. I couldn’t manage 33 consecutive wins.”
“You fought well enough. It’s just that the opponent was tough.”
“Even Hugo is considered a strong opponent, especially in the lower class. He’s a magical creature that authentic mages from the magic tower hesitate to face, so you shouldn’t feel too down.”
“Do you think Oknodie feels the same way?”
“You’re a good kid. I think you’re worrying for nothing.”
“If you’re feeling uncertain, just go ask directly.”
With encouragement from Rosgini and Sandkooker, Dorothy cautiously approached Oknodie.
“Oknodie. I’m sorry. We finally trained together, but I couldn’t even manage 10 wins.”
“It’s okay! Just because a winning streak was broken doesn’t mean you’re dead. With the vanguard bonus and consecutive win bonuses, you should be able to expect rewards once the midterms are graded!”
“Oknodie. How do you always choose such sweet words? You really are the best kid in the world!”
Despite hearing words that would make them the dirty frauds nearby, the two ignored them.
“Cowardly fools. To weaken us after 10 consecutive losses and then swoop in for the ace defeat bonus.”
“That’s a smart battle. They simply waited for the number of those annoying Mayonnaise spheres to drop.”
After Dorothy’s turn, Sandkooker defeated Hugo, totaling 10 consecutive wins before being eliminated.
The warrior who defeated Sandkooker then defeated Rosgini’s ace after achieving 20 consecutive wins and was eliminated.
Even Rosgini faced unexpected tough opponents, managing to secure 10 consecutive wins before being eliminated.
[Remaining People]
50 vs 70
Although their numbers were dwindling, the students attending Professor Weird’s [Fundamentals and Understanding of Mana Usage] class were elated.
“Haha. Those foolish guys. They spent all their aces to block Dorothy, Sandkooker, and Rosgini! We still have our year’s co-valedictorian, Oknodie!”
“Despair, losers listening to the basics of Imperial Magic Studies! We are the Oknodie class!”
“Huh? I’m supposed to go out last, though?”
“…Huh? For real?”
“Real?”
Oknodie subtly prompted.
“Are you sure? If I go out first, you all might not even get to fight and just lose points for being cowards.”
“Whaaat!? There’s such a penalty!?”
“I, I wanna go next!”
The remaining students, who were now in a panic, stepped forward.
The reason behind pushing them up first was of course to obtain the [Last Bastion] bonus.
After all, if 49 remained after me, they’d take out at least 25, right?
[Remaining People]
1 vs 70
What a waste of hope.
One person wiped out all 49.
The students were a mess all over the place.
“Ugh… Sorry, Oknodie…”
“Skipping lectures made my training meaningless, and now I feel heavy.”
“If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have given up…”
With their heads down in embarrassment, the border students couldn’t raise their faces.
Unlike before, the Empire students were loudly boasting.
“Haha. No matter how good Oknodie is, taking on 70 is ridiculous.”
“To think they have to face 70% of students alone. At this rate, Oknodie will go down first while battling Mana-Gol!”
“Oknodie, better to just forfeit than to tire yourself fighting for these fools, right?”
Cackling mockingly, their laughter echoed.
Yet, Oknodie’s expression remained bright.
“Actually, this is great. I’ll get tons of consecutive win bonuses!”
“Oh my god. She must feel obscurely challenged, yet she’s optimistic, giving us such uplifting words!”
“Oknodie…!”
“Whew! How bright can you shine, Oknodie! I can’t even look at you!”
While the ordinary students were getting emotional, Dorothy, Sandkooker, and Rosgini shouted words of encouragement.
“Go for it, Oknodie!”
“Go smash those arrogant Imperial nobles!”
“…Hang in there. Get revenge for us.”
She merely wanted points.
But up and bubbling with joy, Oknodie cheerfully shouted, “Okay!” and stepped onto the duel arena.
1 vs 70.
The legend of the winner-takes-all battle, which would be talked about for the rest of the first semester, was about to begin.