Chapter 119 – Clumsy

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For Porcelain Rank Magician Albio, who was able to accompany him as part of the Ardenfeld Team, Ryan of the 1st unit was like someone from a higher existence.

The fire magician had worked under Gawain Stark, and was currently given a position of great responsibility amongst the elite of the Royal Magicians Order.

‘Hey, Albio. Is your soul burning?’

And while he was sometimes too passionate, he was always friendly, and worthy of great respect.

‘Yes! It is burning!’
‘That is good. You did well today. I look forward to your future growth.’

But more than anything, Albio was happy that someone was actually looking at him properly.

Even though he was an Adamantite-Rank magician, he was interested in the development of someone of the lowest rank.
The Royal Magicians Order may have been one of the better working environments in the kingdom, but there were still few superiors as caring as Ryan.

(While he can be strange, I could not ask for anyone better. Though, I think I may be the only one who understands his merits)

And this superior was the captain for this great event.
The success of the Ardenfeld team was brilliant.

Superior Ryan showed amazing stability. He always fought with such calmness, gaining the advantage and proceeded to the second round.

As for Luke Waldstein, his power was overwhelming, and he never let the enemy get close to him, and he beat them completely.

And then there was the monster newcomer, Noelle Springfield, who won repeatedly with unprecedented techniques, involving headbutting opponents.

(The draw for their next opponents is today. I hope that all three of them, especially Ryan, get easy opponents.)

(This is exactly what I was dreading.)

That night, Ryan Archbullet let out a deep sigh as he was alone in his room.
It was an elf who had trained with magic for thousands of years.

Estelle Blueforest.

In the empire she was second only to the Fairy Queen, and was runner up during the previous tournament.

(She is clearly above me in terms of capability. A single mistake could lead to immediate defeat. So, how should I fight such a person?)
He searched for possibilities, but found no answer.
The more calmly he considered it, the more he understood how hopeless the gap between them was.

The difference of how much time one had used to study magic.
And the elves had their own secret arts. Spirit magic.
And their mana also greatly exceeded that of humans.

In order to overcome all of this, you would need talents and qualities that far exceeded the norm.

‘You should never have been born.’

The curse from his past returned to his mind.
Back when he cried and agonized over not being able to do things that his brothers could.

And so he wanted to become a kind person.
Someone who could have saved his past self, when everyone else rejected him.

(That’s right. I cannot give up now. As their senior, it is my job to support the other two and lead them. And so in a way, it is a good thing that I will be facing this opponent instead of them. I will show them that I will not break. So that they can just think about themselves as they fight.)

He was satisfied with the adjustments made before the battle.

‘I know that you’ve been doing your best! You can do it! It will be fine!’

Said the little Ryan in his heart.

“Heh. You’re always so kind, little Ryan.”

Ryan smiled confidently, as Luke looked at him with annoyance.

“An imaginary friend? That’s weird.”
“Ah, so you heard me, Waldstein. But don’t worry. Little Ryan is just someone who roots for me. He is nothing compared to my soul friend and rival. And you are my only soul friend. So there is no need to be jealous.”
“I’m not jealous. And I’m not your soul friend either.”

Luke was like a cat that wanted to be left alone. But Ryan had a genuinely good opinion of him.
This junior who had never relied on anyone. He even made others fear him sometimes, as he brought overwhelming results and continued to rise.

And Ryan couldn’t help but want to do something to help this creature, who was like a taut string, relax a little.

(Really. I have my hands full with this one.)

Well, Waldstein probably found him troublesome and obnoxious.

But that was fine.
He wasn’t supporting them in order to be liked. Even if they hated him, he wanted to help make their lives better.

That was the true meaning of support.

(I will continue on my path with everything that I got!)

Saying this to himself was part of his routine before a battle.
That’s how much he didn’t want to lose. It was proof that he was serious.

(Everything seems to be going well. Everyone is cheering for me. I have the wind in my sails.)

“Senior Ryan. The key to a good punch is footwork! You unleash it while synchronizing it with the strength in your lower half!”

Noelle said as she demonstrated. Luke said,

“No, normally you don’t use punches in a magic tournament.”
“Huh? Is that so?”

With their cheers at his back, Ryan Archbullet stood on the field.
He changed everything into strength, and faced the monster that exceeded human knowledge.

The blue hair flowed in the wind.
She stood there calmly, with overwhelming mana.

The 1st unit had some of the best in the Ardenfeld Royal Magicians Order. And as the captain of the team, Ryan knew.

The elf woman in front of him was stronger.
In terms of pure strength, he could not match her.

And so Ryan started with a surprise attack.
Without warning, he used his best magic at full power.

‘Fire Spear Area.’

Giant spears of fire, bigger than his body, appeared.
They changed shape freely, and swirled around him like a dragon.

The ground began to grow hot.
The temperature of the air rose and shimmered.

(I cannot fight her on equal grounds. If I am to have a chance, it is as soon as the battle begins. And so I will put everything into the first minute.)

The fire spears shot out.
And like a charging dragon, it evaporated everything and moved in a destructive flash.

As for Estelle, she did nothing.

(She’s not using her magic…!?)

The fire spears burst.
This was unexpected.
But Ryan was quick to react.

He didn’t know why she wasn’t using magic.
But this was a rare opportunity for him.

‘Fire Dragon Rally.’

A chain of attack from giant spears of fire in the shape of dragons.
He would not give her a chance to regain her stance.

In eleven seconds, there were fifty-seven shots.
The chain of attacks contained everything he had worked for.
All the hours of training when people said he was useless.

‘Why can’t I do things well like my older brothers?’

When he used to say that every day.
Even when he trained desperately, he would often lose to kids who weren’t training.

He realized that the world was not fair.
A difference in talent.
As he was clumsy, even if he tried seriously to do what he was told, he couldn’t do it like the others.

However, he tried to think of ways to improve.
How to make up for what talents he lacked.

Within the mountain of things he couldn’t do, he tried hard to find something he was good at.
Maybe he could do it like this. Little by little, he realized things.

Not being able to do something was part of his character.
And being clumsy could be his weapon.

As there were only a few things he did well, he could focus more love and passion into them.

Instead of strengthening his weaknesses, he would extend his strengths to the limit.

It was fine if he couldn’t do something.
If he was bad at it.

It didn’t mean that he lost at everything.

With this magic, he did not want to lose to anyone.

The field smelled of melting ore, and the air was nearly hot enough to burn your skin.

The desperate chain of attacks.
No one was able to say a word as they watched.
It was like time had stopped. It was that quiet.

Eventually, what echoed through the rising dust, was a chilling voice.

“That was some good magic. Beautiful and refined. You must have spent an incredible amount of time and passion in order to achieve that. As a fellow magician, I applaud you from the bottom of my heart.”

Said Estelle Blueforest.

“However, I have put more than a thousand years into my own craft.”

(Impossible…)

Ryan was stunned as she appeared.
Estelle was standing there without a single scratch.

And there were no traces of her having cast any magic barriers.
The attacks should have been hitting her.

And yet she was completely unharmed.
The difference was too big.

“In exchange for putting on a good show, I will end things while also showing my full power.”

He felt a sudden explosive surge of mana.
Breathing became difficult.
He could barely even stand.

Living was not easy.
There were enemies that no amount of effort could overcome.

‘You can do it! You can do it, me!’

Still, he desperately activated the magic.
Unleashed the fire spears.

‘Water Spirit Breath.”

The watery destruction overhead.
The difference between them was clear.
The spectators sighed.

Everyone knew that he was about to be defeated.
However, what happened next was completely unexpected.

(Ah, that attack…)
(He survived it…)

Equilibrium.
The one spell that Ryan had continued to polish.
A magic he had wagered everything on after so much pain and disappointment.

For just a few seconds, it was able to match Esetelle’s thousand years.

“Amazing.”

Estelle said quietly.

“It was beautiful.”

And in the next second, Ryan was swallowed up by the maddening current.
The fiery spears were extinguished.
And the battle ended quietly.

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