CH 16

“All right, everyone has gathered.”

Instructor Suzunari’s voice resonates throughout the maneuvering ground.

According to what I had heard in advance, the afternoon practical training would be conducted outdoors on the maneuvering ground surrounded on all sides by a wire netting, and it would consist of basic training as well as training in special abilities using divine power.

And when I am immersed in my thought…

“Our original plan for today was to follow the standard training routine, but since a newcomer is also present, a one-on-one duel-style training session will take place.”

The training’s declared content is altogether different.

Instructor Suzunari’s gaze towards me is apparently filled with some kind of intent.

Ah, I get it. So that’s the central subject here. There are many people who have doubts about my ability, so I have to exhibit my capabilities.

Since I still have not fully grasped the situation myself, it would be fitting to address the other candidates who are questioning my ability, as Instructor Suzunari himself is probably harboring doubts as well.

“All right, then, Hono and Whiteice. Both of you step forward.”

“Yes!”

“Eh, ah, yes!”

Huh, you didn’t even show me a demonstration, but just want me to do it out of the blue!?

In a slight panic, I step forward and head for the indicated place, and once I and the girl named Honno—who has clean, waist-length black hair and gives a distinct impression that she is an aristocrat—are at our designated spots, the other candidates leave the wire netting.

The only three people remaining inside the maneuvering ground are me, Hono-san, and Instructor Suzunari.

“There are no limitations other than the fact that I’ll stop you if I determine that it’s too dangerous for you to continue. You may therefore each give it your all.”

Following the voice of Instructor Suzunari, Hono-san bends her body halfway down and holds a double-edged ceremonial sword in her right hand, while her left hand repeatedly clenches and unclenches.

On the other hand, I shut my left eye and hold a sling loaded with ammunition intended to be used for training with my right hand.

“Aren’t you underestimating me by shutting one eye?”

Hono-san is subtly pissed off over my actions, but I have no control over it since I can’t utilize Ys’ power unless I do this.

At any rate, I suppose it is mutually unsafe for both of us to lose our cool, so I should appease her.

“This is my stance, don’t mind it.”

“Is that so… haha, hahahahaha…”

The pace with which Hono-san opens and closes her left hand in reaction to my words becomes noticeably faster, yet she only lowers her head once to exhibit a dangerous face brimming with definite hostility on her barely perceptible lip.

[…If nothing else, it appears that your statements served as fuel for the fire.]

“(…Right.)”

Yeah. Obviously, I made a mistake in handling the situation. Now that I’ve done it, though, it is inevitable.

“It is time for both of you to refrain from speaking. Now, let’s begin the practice match between Hono Oori and Akira Whiteice. Time and weapons are unlimited. When I tell you to stop, you must stop immediately. Let the training begin!”

At the moment when Instructor Suzunari lifts both hands and waves them down as a signal to begin…

“I shall set you ablaze!!”

“The hell!?”

…numerous fireballs are released from Hono-san, and I rush to leap to the side to escape the line of fire. And the fireball that goes by where I was and hits the wire netting bursts.

This is… yeah. I wouldn’t survive a direct strike, would I?

[Don’t worry. Even if you suffer a direct hit, you will be immobilized and lose, but you will not die… probably.]

“(Your last word ‘probably’ is very unsettling!? Hey!?)”

Perhaps reading my anxiety, Ys makes a comment that leaves me in a subtle mood, whether to be reassured or disturbed.

But before the conversation could go any further, the next one comes, drawing my body to the left and right to evade the fireballs, despite being somewhat flustered as I try to improve my dynamic vision.

Even so, I am astounded that so many fireballs can be shot at the same time. The power is also fairly high.

[Indeed, the speed and power of the continuous shots are quite remarkable. It is likely the result of making a contract with multiple fire Gods and then combining the power of that ceremonial sword.]

“(Thanks for the explanation.)”

Ys now provides a clear answer to the question I have been wondering about.

Incidentally, Ys is now blending into me and sharing my senses. Apparently, I might be swept away if I move around so much.

“Stop moving around restlessly… and take me on seriously!”

“I will have to apologize for that… I guess.”

While ignoring Hono-san’s shouts and avoiding her attacks, I mull over how to counterattack.

Using my sling… is impossible as long as there is a swarm of these fireballs. It will be shot down.

On the other hand, using my right eye’s power would probably be overkill. If her entire body froze, she wouldn’t be able to survive.

“(Is there any power that would be adequate to subdue her?)”

[Let’s see…]

Therefore, Ys is my go-to person in times of trouble because she has deeper expertise in fighting and her own power than I do.

[Hmm. With such a barrage of fireballs, you won’t be able to reach the practitioner, so you’ll have to use your right eye.]

“Oops. (Use it? Do flames even freeze?)”

“Damn, you’re one of a kind in the way you maneuver your body! But dodging isn’t a solution!!”

[Don’t worry. You will know what I mean when you try.]

“Well then, just a little…!”

When I bend down to avert the fireballs, I unleash the power of my right eye against the innumerable fireballs that are aimed at me.

“What…”

[[[!?]]]

“As expected…”

[Hmph.]

The second I release the power of my right eye, everyone in the vicinity, including myself, displays our incredulity.

However, this reaction is not out of place.

“M-My flames turned to ice…!?”

Hono-san falls to her knees in a stunned state, voicing her involuntary disbelief.

But that response of hers is likewise inevitable.

After all, the fireball… that was supposed to be shooting at me was not a mere flame, but rather flames infused with divine power which was transformed into a block of ice in the same state, and all the leftovers fell to the ground only to be shattered.

On top of that, a part of the wire netting and the ground of the maneuvering ground turns into ice as well, which further adds to the stunned expressions on the spectators’ faces who witness the phenomenon.

[Even in Graecian, people often misunderstood, but for me freezing the surface of the object I am staring at is only a minor technique. It is a technique that can only be performed by you, Akira, who has incorporated the entirety of my whole body, a God, but my magic eye can turn the target into ice no matter what the target is by nature. That is why, regardless of how much flames are present at that level, I can turn them into ice in an instant.]

“(I see…)”

If Ys’s explanation is authentic, this is a terrific power. In any event, it wouldn’t be overstating things to say that if I glare at someone with my right eye, the person whom I glare at will perish unerringly.

I suppose there may be ways to counter this technique, though, when I reflect back on the master of the “Maze”.

With that, while Ys is explaining to me, I swiftly revert my expression back to its original state, since it’s not right to be amazed at my own power before I rise to my feet and take a slow stride towards Hono-san.

“Do you still want to continue?”

“No, I surrender.”

As I stand in front of her while keeping my right eye fixed on her, I suggest to Hono-san to give up. Despite turning her head away from me in displeasure, she accepts her defeat without hesitation.

The curtain thus closes on my first practice match with me as the victor.

——————

A/N:

Although the magic eye turns even flames into ice, it is almost certainly nullified or reflected by higher-ranked opponents, and has many other drawbacks.