Chapter 21: Taming of the shrew (3)

A unique spell.
A special secret technique that only a select few with extraordinary achievements can master.
It was a kind of awakening that allowed them to reach an extreme state in a specific field that ordinary people could not reach.

As such, the awakening of a unique spell has been a very rare case since ancient times.
In my twenty-seven years of life, I have only seen two people with unique spells.

One was the court magician Nathaniel, whom I killed with my own hands.

And the other is the one I am witnessing in real-time right now.

‘Gravity manipulation… and its power even extends beyond the source?’

It wasn’t for nothing that she was teasing the teachers and swaggering around.
To have such a crazy talent at that age, it would be more abnormal for her personality not to be arrogant.

Well, since I’m in charge of her education, I’ll have to correct her attitude to some extent.

“Professor, the students are being negatively affected.”

Antiopea, who had been nudging me, gave me a look.
As befitting a woman who was the current Sword Saint, she only frowned slightly and was not particularly harmed.

But the freshmen who were already starting to complain of dizziness and nausea were a different story.

“Ugh! I think I’m going to throw up!”

“I-I feel like my insides are shaking! Someone get me some motion sickness medicine…!”

Not only the first-year students, but also the experienced teaching assistants were staggering.

‘What a mess.’

Either way, the progress of the Group A test was my responsibility as the supervisor.
I could not allow any injuries to occur.

Snap!

Thinking that, I gathered my mana and snapped my fingers forcefully.
Then, a whitish energy welled up from my feet.

The moment they spread in all directions, separating the dueling stage and the rest of the space like a knife.

“Uh, huh? Suddenly, I’m fine?”

“I was about to throw up just a moment ago…”

The academy students looked around in bewilderment.
Without bothering to explain the situation, I took out another lollipop from my pocket.
And then, crunch, I put it in my mouth as usual and turned my gaze to the fight between the two beasts.

“What did you just do? For the influence of gravity magic to disappear so suddenly?”

Antiopea, who had been checking on the students, asked blankly.
At this, I nonchalantly told her what I had just done.

“I completely cut off the mana flowing from the dueling stage. If you separate the space, the people on this side won’t be affected.”

“Space separation… you say?”

Blink, blink. Antiopea, who was opening and closing her eyelids like an owl in the middle of the night, asked softly.

“Isn’t that an advanced magic that requires considerable preparation from the start? Even for a magician who can use incantation-less magic, it would be impossible to separate two spaces in just one second. Let alone without any auxiliary magic tools.”

“…”

This is an annoying woman.
For a person from the church, which is an enemy of the Magic Tower, she knows too much about the principles of magic.
And her instincts seem to be very developed.

“…I am a warlock from the forests of Kyev. And a very outstanding warlock at that.”

I glanced at the Saintess, holding the lollipop stick like a cigarette as was my habit.
I tried to gloss over the situation with the most plausible excuse.

“In other words, I have spent my entire life studying black magic, which deviates from the right path. It would be troublesome if you were to evaluate my achievements with ordinary standards, you brib… Saintess Antiopea.”

I almost called her the Bribe Saintess by mistake and quickly corrected myself.
Once I’ve chosen a nickname, my mouth keeps getting itchy.

“Hmm, is that so?”

Fortunately, the excuse of being a warlock seemed to have worked, as Antiopea didn’t question me any further.

The opponent was a young power who could manipulate the church at will.
To me, she was just a piece of luggage that I wanted to get rid of along with the next Hero as soon as possible.

‘Whether it’s Topaz, Carnelian, or Jade. Hurry up and take them to your dormitories.’

She wouldn’t suspect me just because my magic was strong, but I absolutely refused to attract unnecessary attention.
It would be unconditionally beneficial for me to avoid getting involved with her as much as possible.

‘Space separation magic? And she did it without any incantation?’

Antiopea fell into deep thought as she watched Professor Anastasia silently supervising the test.

She had heard many stories about the uniqueness of the black magic in the Northeast.
The rumors that the recluses there had achieved all sorts of fantastical feats had been rampant from the beginning.

Black magic is basically a product of taboo, not bound by common sense and ethics.
To put it nicely, it was more experimental than white magic, and thus could significantly shorten the time it took to reach a certain peak.

Even so.
To easily perform a task that even most high-level magicians could not do…

‘Just how powerful is her magic?’

…No, this won’t do.

Glimpse. Antiopea narrowed her eyes as she looked at Anastasia, who was standing there expressionlessly as usual.

‘I can’t let you roam free, Professor Anastasia.’

Unexpectedly, her sound way of thinking and her firm sense of responsibility as an educator.
She had felt a little bit of a good impression watching that, but her profound magic power reminded her of the harsh reality.

A black magician is a precarious being who could be corrupted by evil at any moment.
Although Dean Roakan kept saying it was fine, she couldn’t be reassured. She always had to be prepared for the worst.

In that case, the best way would be to live closely with Professor Anastasia and carefully observe her every move.

‘There’s only one possible option for this.’

Of course, it would require Alber’s consent.

With that thought, Antiopea turned her gaze to the busy next Hero.

The genius magician of Reticulum, Silvia de Garcia.
Towards the pitiful half-dragon trapped in her Heaven and Earth Net.

“Kuh!!”

“Will you endure, or will you surrender, Hero?”

Silvia gradually increased the intensity of the gravity and subtly tested Alber.
It would be the best if she received a declaration of defeat like this, and it would be honestly good even if she fought to the end.

Since she was caught in her net, she could never escape.

‘The Heaven and Earth Net is not just a simple trap, my dear Hero.’

Although she had awakened her unique spell, she was still an inexperienced sprout.
She was good at releasing her power, but she was still immature in controlling it smoothly.

Wasn’t it all because of that that the influence of gravity unintentionally leaked outside?

That’s why Silvia had deliberately developed the clever move of the Heaven and Earth Net.

‘The space within the net is a single extreme point where my magic is at its maximum.’

It was a magical design that could bind the enemy’s feet to prevent them from moving, while at the same time allowing her to pour her unique spell most intensively.

‘So once you’re caught in the net, you can never escape!’

“Now, what will you do? The time is running out, Hero.”

Silvia, confident of her victory, immediately tried to drive the nail in the coffin.

The time limit for one match was only 30 minutes at most.
Moreover, more than 15 minutes had already passed while she was setting up the Heaven and Earth Net trap.
So, if the Hero didn’t surrender, she could just wait leisurely and everything would be fine.

But Silvia was unaware.
The one fact that she was facing, was none other than the next Hero, Alber Cornelian Tarrasque.

What that simple fact exactly meant.

“…Puhuhu!”

“Eh?”

Silvia frowned at the sight of Alber suddenly shrugging her shoulders.

What? Did she just laugh?
In this situation where she’s caught and can’t move?

“As expected, my judgment was not wrong!”

“…!”

The half-dragon, who had suddenly raised her head and was glaring at her from within the Heaven and Earth Net.

The moment she faced that triumphant face, Silvia flinched and took a step back.
It was because the Hero Alber’s condition had changed drastically.

“You were a worthy opponent to satisfy me!”

Her eyes began to burn like green torches.
A pair of fangs that were noticeably sharper than before.
And the golden scales that had sprouted on her forearms, neck, and cheeks.

Silvia gasped at the marvelous sight, as if she had become a half-human, half-dragon.
Her mind began to go blank, not knowing what had just happened.

“Hyaaah-!!”

“Kyaak?!”

Alber’s sudden shout. At the same time, a tremendous fighting spirit surged in all directions.
Surprised, Silvia accidentally lost her posture.

Rip! Rip!

In that brief moment, her pride, the Heaven and Earth Net, was torn to shreds.

“M-my Heaven and Earth Net?”

‘Impossible!’

“Kuhaha, this is fun! This is so much fun!”

Before she could be shocked, the excited Alber swung her halberd and rushed at her.
At this, Silvia bit her lip and hurriedly cast a defensive spell.

KABOOM-!!!

The clash of physical force and magic once again met in mid-air.

But this time, both Alber and Silvia were using their full power.
Thanks to that, the friction of their attacks alone created a tremendous gust of wind that swept the surroundings.
It was powerful enough to blow away not only people but also large rocks.

‘I’m sorry, Pea!’

Alber muttered to herself as she pressed down on the defensive barrier with her halberd.

‘I remember too! I promised not to cause a scene in the test site! But…’

Gleam. Alber shouted, glaring at the terrified Silvia with her dragon’s green eyes.

“Right now, I’m so excited I can’t stand it-!!”

What Alber had just activated was the power of the Gold Dragon sleeping within her.
It was an explosion of the mighty potential flowing through her dragon blood.

The dragon’s nature, which she never revealed, and only awakened when she encountered a worthy opponent.

Entrusting her body to it, Alber pressed Silvia with all her might.

And the next moment.

Crack-!!

“Ugh!”

Silvia let out a pained groan, unable to withstand the Hero’s strength.
At the same time, the defensive barrier she had formed began to crack and shatter.

One was a noble lady raised with care, while the other was a natural-born fighter who had rolled in the wild.
That fundamental difference was gradually determining the outcome of the match.

“Tch!”

But Silvia was also an unparalleled genius who had received the alias of a constellation at a young age.
It was not in her nature to be defeated so easily.

‘I have to cast a counter-spell!’

There were many ways to return the force she had received.
The most representative of them was the method of compressing the energy that came from the outside and exploding it all at once.
If she detonated it while protecting herself with a defensive barrier, she could deal significant damage.

Of course, if she did that, there was a high risk of the Group A test site itself being turned into a mess…

“Hahahat!!”

“Kuhhht!!”

Already engrossed in settling the match, she was not in a rational state to think that far.

‘Just a little more, I just need a little more!’

An energy bomb that could destroy the entire test site.
As she steadily completed it, Silvia gritted her teeth and endured.

‘Just a little more and…!’

It was at that moment.

“Match over.”

“Huh?”

“Kya?”

Two shadow tentacles suddenly burst in from behind.
They restrained both Alber and Silvia at the same time.

And the one who had sent these tentacles.
The silver-haired new professor spoke with a hardened expression.

“By the authority of the judge, today’s final match will be judged as a draw.”