Never Die Villain

Whoosh——!

The blizzard propelled Ilya high into the air, carrying him above the Titanframe before it could close the distance.

He had learned to reinforce his ears and regulate the pressure around his head beforehand, so as long as he prepared properly, launching himself with Niflheim no longer carried quite as much risk of rupturing his eardrums.

The Titanframe immediately followed his movement.

One of its front legs dug into the ground before its entire body launched upward with enough force to crack the earth.

For something so large and heavily armored, it was surprisingly fast, and Ilya watched the enormous spider rise after him while the blizzard continued carrying him higher.

"Huh."

He twisted his body in midair and brought his hands together, fingers moving through another sequence of signs as he adjusted his position within the blizzard.

To the Titanframe, Ilya had simply been thrown upward by some invisible force, but from his perspective, the Whiteout was everywhere, giving him far more freedom to move than the beast could possibly understand.

The Titanframe had already committed itself to the jump.

Ilya looked down as the creature came after him, its front legs reaching upward while its massive body tilted back. In trying to reach an opponent directly above itself, the Titanframe had exposed one of the few parts of its body that its steel-like carapace didn’t completely protect.

Its underside.

The overlapping plates along its abdomen were thinner and spaced farther apart, leaving several sections of softer flesh exposed between them.

"Found you."

Ilya completed the last of his hand signs.

Flames surged around him like an inferno, gathering rapidly above his outstretched hand until the heat distorted the air.

It was only a First Circle spell, one of the simplest offensive spells a wizard could learn, but with the Imperial Family’s mana circulation technique behind it, even something so basic could produce results far beyond what was normally expected of a First Circle spell.

"Ignis Sphaera."

Fireball.

The sphere of compressed flame shot downward just as the Titanframe reached the highest point of its jump. Its front legs were still reaching toward Ilya, leaving its underside completely exposed, and with nothing beneath its feet to push against, there was no way for the creature to change course.

Boom——!

Flames crashed into its abdomen.

The force of the explosion stopped the Titanframe’s ascent immediately and sent its enormous body crashing back toward the ground.

Ilya watched it fall as the Whiteout held him aloft, catching a glimpse of blackened flesh through the fire before the creature slammed into the earth with enough force to shake the surrounding trees.

"...."

Ilya waited.

The Titanframe’s legs twitched once, then again, before slowly curling inward around its body. A few seconds later, the identification seal tucked inside Ilya’s clothes reacted.

[+25 Points]

[Total Points: 28]

"Oh."

Ilya looked down at the dead Titanframe.

"So you really were worth twenty-five."

Whoosh——!

Ilya swiped his hand through the air, and the blizzard propelled his body forward. He wasn’t flying in the traditional sense, nor was he actually suspending himself through a flight spell, but rather allowing the blizzard to push and carry him wherever he directed it.

It was a crude method of movement, especially compared to actual flight magic, and changing direction too abruptly still put considerable strain on his body.

Even so, after practicing with Niflheim repeatedly, Ilya had gotten much better at controlling how much force he used and where that force carried him.

* * *

"Holy shit, did anyone see that?"

"How is he flying? Is that telekinesis?"

"Is there even a first-year who can use telekinesis well enough to fly?"

"If it’s him, then probably..."

Several students had stopped what they were doing and were now looking toward the figure moving above the trees in the distance. They were too far away to make out his face or even much of what he was wearing, but someone suddenly flying across the hunting field was difficult to ignore.

"You mean Tristan?"

"Who else?"

For several of them, the name alone was enough.

Tristan Amaury de Bellacourt, the heir of the Southern Grand Duchy.

Most of the first-years had never personally spoken to Tristan, but there were very few students in their year who hadn’t heard his name by now.

Being the heir to one of the Empire’s grand duchies already guaranteed that much attention, and Tristan had more than enough talent to justify the reputation that followed his family name.

"Telekinesis still seems insane, though."

"Didn’t you see him take down a Titanframe in one shot?"

"Right! It has to be Tristan! Who else in our year could do something like that?"

That was the main reason none of them questioned the assumption.

Within the Magic Department, Tristan had been placed on a pedestal long before most of them had even entered Holy Trinity Academy.

Before Crown Prince Siegfried’s death, there had never been much debate over who stood at the top of the younger generation, and if there was anyone whose name could be mentioned alongside his, it was usually Tristan Amaury de Bellacourt.

Siegfried was still above him, of course. But with the Crown Prince gone, Tristan had little competition left.

The distant figure disappeared behind the trees before any of them could get a proper look at his face.

By then, however, nobody among them felt much need to confirm it.

* * *

"Ah, you killed it. Idiot. Throw him out of the party!"

Meanwhile, Solenne sat comfortably on a boulder nearby, watching the students she had gathered surround another magical beast.

Unfortunately, one of them had gotten slightly too enthusiastic and dealt the killing blow himself, causing his identification seal to light up instead of hers.

"W-Wait, Lady Solenne! It was an accident!"

"Out, out!" Solenne waved him away without the slightest sympathy. "I’m not paying you!"

"You can’t be serious!"

"I specifically told you not to kill anything. You had one job."

The unfortunate student looked toward the others for support, but not a single person came to his defense. They immediately stepped away from him, unwilling to risk Solenne deciding she wouldn’t pay them either.

Solenne had come up with the arrangement after learning how the points worked.

There was nothing in the rules preventing students from working together, and there was certainly nothing preventing her from offering money to the other students taking the test.

Since only the person who dealt the killing blow received the points, Solenne simply found several first-years willing to let her take their kills in exchange for gold.

It was wonderfully efficient.

Most of the students she approached were commoners, since money tended to be more persuasive when someone didn’t already receive an allowance measured in gold coins.

They were still taking the same test as everyone else and could easily refuse her offer, but Solenne only needed to name a high enough price before several of them decided that sacrificing their score for one practical exercise wasn’t such a terrible deal after all.

Of course, she wasn’t stupid enough to pay them beforehand.

"Next one!" Solenne called, hopping down from the boulder. "And remember, I want it alive. Barely alive, preferably, but alive!"

"...You could help us weaken it, you know."

"You dare order me to get my hands dirty?" Solenne pointed at him indignantly. "I’m giving you money so that I don’t have to in the first place!"

"...You haven’t given us anything yet."

"And you’ll get it after the test, provided you actually do what I’m paying you for."

The student grumbled something before following the others deeper into the forest.

None of them were particularly happy about doing most of the work while Solenne collected the points, but apparently, the money she had promised was enough to keep them from walking away.

A few minutes later, they returned with another magical beast.

Solenne finally moved from her comfortable position, raised one hand, and finished it with a spell before checking her seal as the points were added to her total.

"Much better."

She returned to her boulder while the others went looking for their next target. At this rate, Solenne saw no reason she couldn’t place near the top without exhausting herself like everyone else seemed determined to do.

Her thoughts eventually wandered toward someone else taking the test.

Solenne looked toward the distant trees.

"I wonder how Ilya is doing."

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