Mistaken for a Masked Munchkin

Grandia Academy's practical exam.

This year, excitement for it was especially intense.

"Did you all hear? Apparently some first-year caused a huge incident this time?"

"Everyone's been going crazy because of that guy lately."

Valteric Glacia, head professor of the Department of Combat Magic.

Viktor, the top student who had taken the academy by storm in just half a year.

Their intriguing confrontation drew everyone's attention.

The students kept talking about it.

"Please look forward to the practical exam, Professor."

It was a declaration of war with no room for backing down.

After that provocation, the academy's reaction was largely split in two.

Some found it refreshing that he had the nerve to say it. Others were annoyed, saying he was getting ahead of himself.

"I think he's taking the professor way too lightly."

"He'll get what's coming to him this time."

"Still, I like his guts."

The backlash was inevitable, considering how provocative his words had been.

The students savored the fresh topic of conversation.

"Isn't this better, though? It's cooler to charge in than to bow your head for no reason, right?"

"Want to make a bet? I'll bet on the professor, so you bet on the top student from Class E."

"No way. Why would I throw my money away?"

Predictions about the outcome leaned overwhelmingly in one direction.

Most people expected Viktor to lose.

In a way, it was only natural.

To the students, faculty members seemed to have reached a realm beyond their grasp.

They were a gathering of people considered the continent's very best.

No matter how talented he was, the prevailing opinion was that it was too early for him to face veteran professors.

A baby elephant that had only just learned to walk couldn't possibly defeat a predator with decades of hunting experience.

It was only natural for him to fall short in every aspect, from skill to experience.

"Besides, his opponent is Professor Valteric."

Valteric Glacia.

The eldest son of the prestigious Glacia family of mages, and a young man who headed the Department of Magic despite his age.

If not for Javert, he would have been called the strongest of his generation.

Among the students, he was famous for his distinctive coldness.

"Honestly, it's impressive. How could he even think of standing up to Professor Valteric?"

"Isn't the Head Investigator backing him? Maybe that's why he acts like that."

"So what if he has backing? It's not like the Head Investigator can take the practical exam for him..."

"He's picking a fight with a professor and getting beaten in front of the entire school. How could the Head Investigator help with that?"

The students clicked their tongues.

Pity and sympathy lingered in the air.

"I wonder if Viktor can even last five minutes."

"What? Five minutes? Do you think the title professor is some fucking joke? He'll get slammed into the ground with a single gesture."

"Honestly, he's gotten way too full of himself. He beat a few students, and now he must think there's nothing to fear."

"Let him finally see a wall he can't overcome."

"I haven't liked him ever since he started walking around surrounded by girls all the time."

"Aren't you just jealous?"

Students who saw this as their chance to vent their envy spoke up.

Viktor had built up an impressive record over the past half year, so quite a few students at the academy were jealous of him.

The atmosphere seemed ready to boil over.

Still, the opinions weren't all negative.

There were also plenty of students eagerly cheering him on.

"I'm really looking forward to this. What insane scene is that maniac going to show us this time?"

"Matches involving the top student from Class E have always been fun, haven't they? Even during Capture the Flag."

"There's no answer in a straight-up fight, but that's not how practical exams work, right? You just have to complete the assigned task. I think the top student from Class E has a good chance."

The essence of a practical exam.

How well one could complete the assigned task while overcoming the faculty's interference.

"I bet everything on him. I have to pray that he wins."

"You bet on the top student from Class E? What did you bet?"

"All my living expenses for next semester."

"You crazy underdog-betting bastard."

The cadets chatted all around the arena.

Then,

《Match. Start.》

Amid that heated interest, the contest began.

Their attacks collided fiercely from the very start.

One side wielded a pitch-black scythe, while the other fired arrows forged from ice.

A sharp crash rang through the training ground, and a heavy shockwave struck the barrier before the stands.

Kuuuuung-!

The students' vision shook for a moment.

Dizzying cheers erupted from the audience.

The match continued at a relentless pace.

Contrary to most predictions, it remained a tight tug-of-war.

Clang! Crack...

Explosive clashes rang out as the scythe struck ice.

The boy leaped through the air, swiftly dodging the arrows rushing toward him.

"He's holding out pretty well, isn't he? He's dodging them incredibly well."

"Doesn't he look faster than when we saw him in Capture the Flag?"

"The professor is truly overwhelming. The arrows have already filled the sky..."

Exclamations rose from every corner.

The students became engrossed in the match.

The boy and the young man glared at each other.

One held a scythe, while the other held bluish ice.

* * *

Swoooosh-!

The air split with a savage shriek.

Then dozens of arrows poured down.

The attack fell like a shower.

Without panicking, I raised my scythe toward the sky.

"Activate. Umbrella."

Kwaaaadadad-!

Blue projectiles bounced off the broadly spread shadow.

The ice arrows ricocheted violently and shattered.

A heavy recoil lingered in my palm.

Before I could even catch my breath, another shower slammed into the umbrella.

"Ghk...!"

Crunch...

Thin blue lines streaked down with brutal force.

As if crushed by gravity, I struggled to look up.

"You're taking this... quite seriously, aren't you?"

Activate. Scythe.

I fiercely swept away the incoming ice.

"Your killing intent is blazing."

When I looked up, I saw Valteric through the swarming rain of arrows.

He floated far away, looking down at me from high in the sky.

"You endure well for a cockroach. I never expected you to run around for ten whole minutes."

The young man frowned as if I irritated him.

I smiled warmly.

"Can I take that as a compliment?"

"No. It means you're as insignificant and filthy as a cockroach. A lousy student who can't even use a shred of magic."

"But I'm the top first-year student, you know?"

"Shut up."

Kudududuk-!

Valteric casually waved his hand.

Following his command, frozen arrows fell like a torrential downpour.

Clang-!

I moved calmly and defended myself.

Then I compressed the pitch-black scythe into a small ball.

"Activate. Ball."

I suddenly threw the ball at the young man floating in the sky.

The sudden strike reached Valteric in an instant.

"Activate. Thorns."

Crack-!

Professor Valteric blocked the attack.

Perhaps because he had let his guard down, one thorn barely grazed his cheek.

He hastily cast a defensive spell, but his timing seemed to have been slightly off.

"Kh...!"

"How was that? Woke you right up, didn't it?"

A shallow cut remained on the young man's cheek.

I casually taunted him.

"You looked like you were dozing off. I fired a warning shot because you could've gotten yourself killed like that."

I spoke in a way that openly got under his skin.

Valteric frowned.

It seemed I had wounded his pride.

"Ha."

A hollow laugh.

His naturally overbearing personality couldn't stand being made to look foolish.

The young man gathered mana, then let his power explode.

Magic howled with a deafening burst.

"You little defective...!"

Kwoooaaa-!!

The cold was sharp enough to sting my skin.

I couldn't help admiring it inwardly.

So this was what set one of the academy's top professors apart.

An ordinary student surely wouldn't have lasted three minutes before being blown away.

"...Ha. Not bad. You've made me this annoyed. I'll at least acknowledge that pathetic nerve of yours."

"Thank you."

"But what are you going to do about it?"

Valteric looked down at me.

The corner of his mouth twisted as a vicious sneer spread across it.

"At this rate, you'll only waste time."

"Hm."

"You're too busy enduring the attacks pouring down on you to have any room to attack me. You can never win that way. You seem to be having trouble even getting close to me."

"Oh, you caught on."

Valteric floated so high that he seemed about to touch the clouds.

The distance was too great.

For someone like me, whose specialty was close combat, this was a difficult situation.

Even if I jumped high, the young man simply teleported away with ease.

Crackle-.

"You can't touch me."

"Hup...!"

He teleported short distances one after another.

Whenever I seemed to close the gap, he immediately fled in the opposite direction.

Even then, ice arrows continued rushing at me from every side.

"I never let my opponents close the distance. For someone like you who relies on close combat, I'm the worst possible matchup."

The worst possible matchup.

Those words sent a chill down my spine.

"And... isn't it about time you stopped getting distracted? Your task isn't to defeat me, is it? Surely you haven't forgotten the essence of the exam?"

The task assigned to me for this exam.

Words floated over the crystal ball.

[26th Exam, Viktor.]

- Task: Protect civilians

- Details: During the time limit, protect at least 200 civilians (dummies) from faculty members. The exam ends when the time limit expires or all dummies are destroyed.

[Initial number of civilians given: 500]

[Current number of civilians remaining: 425]

Mannequins stood throughout the training ground.

My task was to protect these dummies.

Yet their numbers were falling rapidly.

Valteric's wide-area attacks were far beyond what I could deflect on my own.

Kwaaaadaduduk-!

[Current number of civilians remaining: 383]

[Current number of civilians remaining: 332]

[Current number of civilians remaining: 301]

[Current number of civilians remaining: 289]

The dummies were swept away like fallen leaves in an autumn wind.

Valteric's sneer deepened.

"There's no way for you to win."

"Phew."

"Unless you overcome this absolute difference in distance, you'll ultimately lose while only swinging your scythe through empty air."

"Hup...!"

Crackle-.

I kicked off the ground once more.

My body shot toward the sky, but the young man had already moved elsewhere.

Swoooosh-!

Only my futile strike cut through the air.

In the meantime, the dummies continued to be attacked.

"This is the end."

[Current number of civilians remaining: 271]

[Current number of civilians remaining: 256]

[Current number of civilians remaining: 227]

The numbers dropped quickly.

The task was about to fail, and the exam was about to end.

With a hollow laugh, I had no choice but to stop.

Cold sweat ran down my forehead.

Then I spoke to Valteric as if answering him.

"I admit it. You're floating high in the sky, and you're teleporting around without restraint... I can't catch you at all."

"It's good that you admit it so cleanly. That is the fate of a defective. You'll never reach the real thing for the rest of your life."

"Well, I can't do much when my scythe can't reach you."

"So, are you forfeiting?"

"Who knows?"

Valteric laughed at me.

I looked meaningfully up at the young man.

"If the problem is that I can't reach you, then I just have to force you to come within my reach."

"What?"

I crossed my fingers toward Valteric.

This was what I had prepared for moments like this.

Since my combat style leaned so heavily toward close combat, I had to overcome its smaller flaws.

'A measure I'd prepared to make up for those weaknesses.'

If my opponent refused to let me close the distance, I would drag them into my territory instead.

I readied a skill.

A blue screen appeared before my eyes.

The skill I had obtained after killing the Black Knight during the Lunar Eclipse event.

Ding-!

[Omen of the Apocalypse]

- Classification: Active Skill

- Rank: A

- Attributes: Isolation, Domain

- Description: A skill known to be used by the Red Knight and the Black Knight among the Four Knights of the Apocalypse. When activated, it deploys a barrier spanning up to 1 km around the caster. Targets struck by the skill are trapped inside the barrier along with the caster. The greater the caster's mana, the stronger and more durable the barrier becomes, and the wider its range.

Omen of the Apocalypse.

I had steadily raised my Mana Sensitivity for this skill.

[Basic Stats]

Stamina: B-

Strength: B

Agility: B

Mana Sensitivity: A-

Mana Sensitivity was the highest of all my stats.

In other words, it was more than enough to isolate the one opponent before me.

A smile I couldn't hold back escaped me.

"Let's go."

The corners of my mask twisted into a grotesque grin.

Without hesitation, I spoke.

"Domain Expansion."

Swaaah-!

Immediately after, a pitch-black domain swallowed Valteric and me.

Amid the writhing shadows, I saw Valteric's startled expression.

[Current number of civilians remaining: 200]

The number stopped at exactly the threshold.

I smirked right back at him.

You fucking bastard, I waited so long just to toy with you.

"Now then, there's nowhere left for you to run."

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