Genius Wizard Hides His Sword Skills [EN]: Chapter 30

30. What Happened During the Test (5)

Just 1 minute ago.

“Drew!”

Just as I was about to summon a spirit, fiddling with my amulet of protection.

Thwack! Thwack!

With a series of piercing sounds.

“Ugh!”

The swordsman, about to swing his sword, collapsed, vomiting blood.

‘Alois, was it!’

The blue arrow that pierced the swordsman’s body. It was a Magic Arrow that flew from among the children.

“Hah, hah.”

Drew, startled, slumped down on the spot, but my gaze was fixed on the fallen swordsman.

‘Magic Arrow…….’

It wasn’t surprising that Alois killed the swordsman. It wouldn’t be a big deal for a 7-star mage to kill a swordsman who couldn’t even handle Aura [a magical energy that enhances physical abilities].

However, the spot where the Magic Arrow was lodged bothered me.

‘Just how much skill is he hiding?’

[He’s definitely not ordinary.]

The penetrating wounds were all in vital spots. A barrage of arrows that took the swordsman’s life like throwing stars.

‘It’s definitely not a coincidence.’

There was no way he could aim only for vital spots with every single arrow. Skill that made him seem like a professional assassin. It wasn’t just his 7-star skills he was hiding.

‘Alois. What is your true identity…….’

As I blankly stared at the fallen swordsman.

“Hey! Are you guys okay?”

The remaining assistant professors finally rushed over. They quickly cast binding magic on the swordsmen and calmed the children.

Kugugugu……!

At that moment, a deafening roar. The sound came from above. Naturally, my head tilted upwards.

‘Huh!’

The sight that filled my eyes made me gasp involuntarily.

‘Blizzard?’

Ice shards poured down from the sky like a meteor shower. The clear sky was filled with blizzards, and seven giant ice chunks were raining down.

“Everyone! Don’t worry!”

“It’s support from the Magic Tower!”

The assistant professors smiled at the sight.

‘An 8-star mage showed up?’

My eyes were filled with astonishment.

To be able to use Blizzard, he must be at least an 8-star mage. A highly skilled individual who could be counted among the best in the Magic Tower had come to support us.

‘There’s no need to see anymore.’

The 8-star mage alone could annihilate a small city in an instant. No matter if there were eight or twenty 6-star mages. They couldn’t be his match.

Kwaaa!

The giant ice spikes headed straight for where the Circle mages were.

Kugugugung!

They struck the ground with great force. The vibration was enough to shake the entire training ground.

‘Instant kill, at the very least.’

The result was obvious without even looking. There was no way there could be a reversal.

Wuuuung…….

Soon after, a flying object appeared from the direction the Blizzard had come from.

‘Are those guys the reinforcements?’

What newly appeared in the sky was an aerial carriage. A means of transportation that could float with magic power by attaching a huge mana stone to the bottom. Five mages were riding on it.

‘The one who used Blizzard is that person.’

A middle-aged man with the most imposing impression among them. He was tidying up his robe.

‘To use Blizzard like that and still be so calm?’

[He doesn’t seem like a rookie.]

Even among 8-stars, not all are the same. He was clearly one who had achieved high accomplishments.

They looked down at the training ground for a moment.

Wuuuung!

And flew towards where Alois was.

“Haaa…….”

Drew finally let out a sigh of relief.

“Are you okay?”

“I, Ian.”

“Thank you. I was able to win thanks to you.”

If it weren’t for him, I might have been the one who suffered.

“No……. But what did you do with that magic earlier?”

Drew had barely calmed his surprised heart.

“Magic?”

“Yeah. I’m talking about the mana stone that exploded with a bang.”

He was talking about the mana bomb.

‘It would be helpful to let Drew know too.’

I nodded.

“I’ll tell you later. Let’s just grab a few mana stones.”

Thus, the children tried to calm their surprised hearts with different expressions.

* * *

There were a total of 5 mages who came to support from the Magic Tower.

‘One 8-star and four 7-stars…….’

It was an excessive force to be just a countermeasure against a simple attack by thugs. A single 7-star mage could annihilate an entire terrorist group, and even an 8-star mage had appeared.

‘Is the Circle not just a simple terrorist group?’

It was a force that would make even a kingdom tremble, so I couldn’t help but have such doubts.

‘Both this guy and that guy are full of questions.’

Among them, the dignity of the 8-star mage, Stenos, was unmatched.

“The professors who were at the scene, please gather here for a moment.”

Stenos called Alois and the other assistant professors to have a conversation.

‘He must have a headache.’

The fact that the Magic Tower’s freshmen had become the target of the Circle [a mysterious and dangerous organization]. The fact that one of the assistant professors hired by the Magic Tower was a member of a terrorist group.

None of them were matters to be easily dismissed.

‘It must be a terror plot that they’ve been planning for quite some time.’

Now that it had been revealed that the Circle’s influence had already extended to the inside of the Magic Tower. There was no guarantee that there wouldn’t be another spy.

‘He spared one of them, even in the midst of all this.’

Just like I had spared one of the swordsmen. Stenos also seemed to have deliberately not killed one of the Circle’s mages.

[If we take both the swordsman and the mage and interrogate them, we might be able to catch their tail.]

‘I hope that’s the case.’

The conversation between Stenos and the assistant professors was short.

“The test is over. The Magic Tower will discuss the test procedures for the remaining subjects later. Return to the Magic Tower according to the professors’ instructions.”

After shouting that, Stenos cut through the crowd of children and approached me and Drew.

Stenos scanned the fragments of the exploded mana stone.

‘I hope I’m not giving them an excuse to pick a fight.’

His gaze locked onto me.

“You’re a Delema. I need to speak with you for a moment.”

I had neither the justification nor the power to refuse.

‘Ha, I shouldn’t have been worrying about the Circle.’

A fifteen-year-old, greenhorn freshman using magic that utilizes mana stones would naturally raise suspicion.

I wouldn’t be able to fool a veteran like Stenos.

‘I wish I could just quietly slip by…….’

He called only Alois and me to the corner.

“What happened?”

Stenos glared at Alois.

“During the Circle’s attack, two swordsmen hid among the children.”

For some reason, Alois’s tone was more rigid than usual.

“The results are as you saw. One of them was knocked unconscious by this child, and I killed the other with magic.”

Eventually, what was coming finally came.

“How did you subdue the Circle’s knight?”

Stenos’s gaze settled on me. I blinked, trying to act as ignorant as possible.

“I don’t know the principle, but it seems he detonated the mana contained within the mana stone. I doubt that was accidental?”

He had grasped the situation roughly just by examining the scene.

[Looks like I can’t just brush this off?]

There were too many witnesses to deny that I had done it.

‘Haa. Well, I have no choice then.’

Fortunately, Stenos didn’t seem to know everything about the mana bomb.

“I cannot tell you that.”

This was the only way.

“You cannot tell me?”

Stenos’s eyebrow twitched, but I didn’t back down.

“Yes. It is a secret technique passed down in my family, so I cannot reveal the method.”

A family secret technique. That reason would get me through this situation.

“You’ve already learned a secret technique at your age.”

“I have my reasons. Beyond that, it’s difficult to say as it’s a secret within my family.”

“Hmm…….”

Stenos ended up nodding. Even a mage of the Magic Tower couldn’t interfere with a family’s secret techniques. Especially if that family was Delema.

[You’ve made a clever move.]

The fact that I could subdue a skilled swordsman. The fact that Stenos didn’t know the true nature of the magic I used.

It was a way to explain everything.

‘I need to get out of this somehow.’

[Anyway, your improvisation is good.]

In the end, Stenos had no choice but to dismiss the situation with a displeased expression.

“I understand. For now, both of you, return to the Magic Tower.”

I bowed and walked alongside Alois.

‘Hmm.’

But a sense of unease settled in one corner of my mind. That feeling was very uncomfortable.

[What’s wrong?]

‘Don’t you feel something is off?’

[About what?]

‘Someone with that level of skill would have noticed the traces of Fire Earth that Alois used, right?’

Only then did Oberon nod.

[That’s right. Why didn’t he ask about this guy using 7-star magic?]

Oberon was hovering around Alois.

[Didn’t he notice Fire Earth?]

‘No way.’

I shook my head. There was no way an 8-star like Stenos wouldn’t know.

‘Even if that were the case, it’s still strange.’

Alois’s publicly known achievement was 5-star. Even with the three assistant professors, they wouldn’t have the power to withstand eight Circle mages.

He should have questioned how they had survived until now without a single child dying.

‘Did Stenos already know Alois’s strength?’

That was the only way the situation made sense.

‘Stenos and Alois…….’

The questions about the two of them grew.

‘Could someone from Delema have been assigned to monitor me?’

[Come on. Who would keep you in check from such a young age? It’s not like you’re old enough to be competing for the next family head.]

‘That’s true. But I need to be careful with my actions from now on.’

I glanced at Alois once for no reason and moved on.

* * *

The assistant professors gathered us in the main hall inside the Magic Tower. It was Stenos’s order.

“Haa…….”

“I really thought I was going to die.”

“We’re in the Magic Tower now, so we’re safe!”

Only then did the children come to their senses. Sighs of relief erupted from everywhere.

At that moment, the door to the hall burst open.

“Kids! Are you okay?”

Andrei and the other professors rushed into the main hall in a flurry. Their disheveled hair spoke to their urgency.

‘I’m going to get scolded.’

It couldn’t be said that they were entirely blameless. This incident occurred because they had pushed the troublesome work onto the young professors.

If someone with their level of achievement had been included from the start, this accident wouldn’t have happened.

“I will address your responsibilities separately.”

It was only natural that Stenos’s eyes glared sharply at them.

[What is Stenos’s position?]

Andrei and the professors were flustered. Even though they were full professors, the status of those in charge of freshmen and an 8-star mage in the Magic Tower was bound to be different. Especially since Stenos was quite accomplished even among 8-stars.

‘He’s probably in the top ten in the Magic Tower.’

According to what was known to the public, there were only two 9-star individuals in the Magic Tower. Only the Magic Tower Lord and one other person held the title of Great Mage.

“Yes…….”

As expected, the professors bowed to Stenos. However, only one person wore an aggrieved expression.

“But, we didn’t leave our posts on purpose, it was for the Magic Tower’s research…….”

Old Professor Andrei’s pride seemed stronger than expected.

“If you have unfair circumstances, I will listen. However, you must have a convincing excuse, Professor Andrei.”

Andrei was about to open his mouth again at Stenos’s rebuke. But his words couldn’t continue because the entrance opened once more.

“Professor Andrei. Shouldn’t the priority be to calm the children and resolve the situation?”

Everyone’s attention was drawn to the woman who entered the hall.

‘……The Magic Tower Lord?’

The Great Mage who could only be seen in continental news outlets. She had come here in person.