A colossal boom that seemed to rip the clear sky apart.
Frondier, though he had thrown it himself, startled and hunched his shoulders.
“W-what the.......”
Crackle, kzzzt......!
The residue of black lightning still roamed the sky. The spear Frondier had fired must truly have pierced the sky; bursting forth, successive bolts of lightning raced across the heavens.
“It’s not a spear coated in lightning—the spear itself has the lightning attribute.”
Simply put, it wasn’t a spear, but lightning in the shape of a spear.
More than that appalling destructive power, Frondier was interested in the high-speed launch so fast even his own eyes couldn’t catch an afterimage. Indeed—undeniably the speed of lightning.
'At this speed, dodging right after it’s fired would be nearly impossible.'
Frondier happened to possess a throwing skill. A skill that aims precisely if the opponent is stationary.
And at this speed, the opponent might as well be stationary.
“But it still feels like the destructive power is lacking.”
Frondier propped his chin and sank into thought, saying something that would make anyone nearby gape in disbelief.
The “Jeong” I fire is also an attack where a hero’s power and a god’s power act together. But in truth, it’s hard to say those two powers have fully fused.
What actually flies isn’t Excalibur or Mjölnir. Only the sword-energy riding Excalibur.
Besides, Mjölnir’s role is to strike Excalibur’s pommel and serve as a launcher that fires the sword-energy.
Of course, that much means Mjölnir’s power is applied, but that’s closer to propulsion or acceleration. Not Mjölnir’s power itself.
“......I see.”
Frondier accepted it.
“It was arithmetic.”
You tack a strong power onto another and make stronger damage. It certainly grows stronger by the amount you add, but it’s hard to say you’re using each power in its entirety.
'The Spear of Black Lightning I just threw is neither a hero’s power nor a god’s power. Even so, it shows that level of might because the formula crystal that gorged on my mana, Heukcheon, and the Unique-rank Atjie’s Spear fully fused.'
Of course, “fully fused” is a bit of a misnomer. It was closer to something Frondier forced together—using the fixing of Heukcheon and Menosorpo.
'Explosive damage born from perfect fusion....... Obvious, when you think about it. The example was right under my nose.'
Needless to say, that example was the strongest mage, Elodie.
Elodie doesn’t use legendary or divine-rank weapons at all. Even so, her magic unleashes a fearsome power.
With a combination of four elements close at hand, the power then will surely be on a plane higher than now. That’s partly because magic itself holds greater destructive force than the sword, and because she has the trait of being loved by the Five Gods.
'Elodie can properly blend and fuse all sorts of magic formulas and attributes. That’s why she’s strong. Magic is such that each single spell has a single purpose.'
With Excalibur, if he wished, he could prep ingredients, cut animal hide, dispose of monsters—any number of varied tasks.
But the purpose of Elodie’s Gale Age is only one: to sweep an area clean.
If the weapon Frondier is now creating could strip away all those varied uses and function only to kill the opponent—
If he could do with Mjölnir the same kind of thing as the “Spear of Black Lightning” he just fired—
'......It will reach Heracles.'
If arithmetic won’t do, then mathematics.
Elodie’s words came to mind. Frondier let out a faint laugh.
“Yeah. That’s more like me. Now it feels like my brain’s turning.”
Frondier cannot imitate a warrior’s mindset, creed, and strength. He understood that perfectly.
He is a gamer. A gamer should pursue strength as a gamer.
Only, a helplessly self-mocking smile slipped out.
'She says mathematics rather than arithmetic, but—'
Frondier thought,
Having only ever kept doing addition, he was just now starting to do multiplication.
He was still far from mathematics.
“......I should apologize to the students and teachers, too.”
***
Vasileo watched that scene for a long time.
He could roughly imagine what kind of destructive power it would produce if the entire mana concentrated in that formula crystal were used as magic.
But what he actually witnessed far surpassed that estimate.
'For magic that concentrated that much to exist!'
Mages understand destruction magic by the way mana moves, the combination of elements, and the power born thereof.
The formula that creates motion determines how the born magic moves, and you attach an element to aim for additional damage and effects.
Spells named blade, spear, arrow and the like aren’t actually a blade or a spear. They imitate that shape by formula and draw out a similar effect.
But there is a limit to raising destructive power by shaping magic with formulas. Same with elements.
That’s why mages are obsessed with element combinations. Succeed at a two-element or three-element combination and the world takes notice.
'But there truly was a spear! The spear’s properties, its concept, were contained in the magic!'
Vasileo roughly understood the principle of Frondier’s magic.
Frankly, he understood it better than the caster Frondier himself did.
“Okay, everyone back to your seats!”
When the deafening roar faded and the sky fell quiet, the instructor calmed the students again.
Vasileo asked the instructor,
“Um, sir.”
“What is it?”
“What is Mr. Frondier doing right now? Is that a class, too?”
“What? Ah, hmm......”
The instructor scratched his head and looked out the window for a moment to check Frondier’s position.
“That spot is where the Magic–Combat Combined class for electives is held. I heard Mr. Frondier took it on. Looks like he’s trying various things.”
“Magic–Combat Combined......”
Vasileo also knew of the course’s existence.
It covers magic and combat together. The common image of a magic swordsman or magic warrior. But he’d heard it was so unrealistic that almost no students chose it.
“Well, this term is basically over, so we should see it as preparation for next term.”
“......I see.”
“All right, class is class! Don’t think you get extra break time for the time we wasted!”
While the students booed at the instructor’s words, Vasileo thought,
'......Magic–Combat Combined.......'
Mr. Frondier was teaching Magic–Combat Combined.
Which meant the technique just now was preparatory work for that class.
“......Hold on.”
Which meant, if he took that class later, he could use that technique too?
'As Mr. Frondier’s star pupil, there’s no way I’m missing that!'
Vasileo quietly nodded.
***
The magic Frondier unfolded had tremendous power. And it was far too ostentatious.
Naturally, not only the class Vasileo was in, but nearly all of Atlas saw the absurd lightning Frondier fired.
And among them, of course—
“......What is that.”
—was Ias.
After forfeiting at Makia, Ias watched Pielot and Glaukos fight and was deeply shaken.
He felt as if he had seen a realm he could never reach.
At Atlas he had been, by all accounts, both the most promising and near the top. Overnight, he fell.
Of course, the other students didn’t think that way. Though he’d taken a single blow from Pielot and fainted, he was still strong, and most assumed Pielot had blindsided him.
But not Ias.
He tasted incomparable, abject defeat.
'One is the transfer student, and one is...... a first-year.'
It wasn’t that Ias had never lost.
But every loss of his had been to veterans more experienced than he. He had only lost in bouts against pros or knights; among his peers, he had been invincible.
Until Pielot appeared.
Until Glaukos appeared.
He who should always be on the stage felt himself being pushed gradually behind the scenes.
That nameless, eerie sensation had dominated him these past few days, and today—
“......Damn it......”
—he saw Frondier’s overwhelming firepower.
Already unsettled by Pielot and Glaukos, Frondier had done something that stoked his fighting spirit.
“What kind of magic is that.”
Ias ground his teeth and muttered.
“That’s a spear.”
Clenching his fist, Ias held back his humiliation so others wouldn’t notice.
He did not know—
Unlike Vasileo, who had seen the scene before the cast, Ias only caught the sight right as Frondier was about to fire, and the fact that he immediately recognized it as a “spear” on his own—how remarkable that was.
“Magic–Combat Combined......”
Combining magic and combat.
Ias had long found that repulsive.
As if those lacking talent for combat ran away and ended up there—excuses for losers.
He believed magic warriors, magic swordsmen were such types.
If so—
'Could I dodge that attack? Could I block it?'
There was nothing to answer.
Absolutely impossible.
Through the recent string of humiliations, Ias knew that.
Many, after a defeat, turn their eyes to where they currently stand; Ias could not possibly do that.
Ias, whose pride is so high he clearly perceives when it’s wounded—
He gazed straight at his shabby frailty before his eyes, unable to avert his gaze in the slightest.
Because he did not look away at all and stared head-on, it tormented him that much more.
“......Fine, I’ll swallow anything. Magic or whatever.”
Ias resolved himself.
Resolved to crawl back onto the stage.
“You think I’m going to lose......?”
Ias di Achaia.
Even while tasting utter defeat, he spoke.
“I’m one who is to become a hero......”
They were just words born of Ias’s towering pride.
Had Frondier heard them, he wouldn’t have been able to suppress a chill.
“That’s my destiny......!”
***
And a few days later, on the weekend.
With permission from the faculty room, Frondier rented the class grounds for Magic–Combat Combined.
Of course, he received a stern warning [N O V E L I G H T] not to pull the same stunt as before.
Up to today, he had gone around apologizing to both students and teachers for unintentionally startling everyone during class.
Frondier had thought that incident would breed resentment among the students, but for some reason they listened better than before and worked hard in class.
He didn’t know why, but it didn’t matter.
Students working hard in class is a good thing.
“......However.”
The moment he arrived at the Magic–Combat Combined grounds, Frondier’s lips thinned.
He glanced around briefly and spoke with a cool gaze.
“Why are you here?”
Before Frondier even arrived, Vasileo, Ias, Pielot, and Glaukos were at the grounds.
Pielot said,
“We heard from the faculty room. That you’d be using this place over the weekend.”
“......That’s not what I asked, I think.”
“......? You asked why we’re here.”
So that was an answer?
Seeing everyone accept Pielot’s words as perfectly natural, Frondier wondered if he was the strange one.
“Master!”
Then Vasileo shouted,
“Call me ‘teacher.’ Please.”
“You’re preparing for the Magic–Combat Combined class, right?”
“......What......?”
“The magic you showed during the elective! I was so deeply moved! I’m in a different elective right now so I can’t participate, but if I have any free time please let me help! I want to learn, too!”
“......No, that’s......”
Frondier started to speak, then stopped.
“I borrowed the elective class space to study a personal magic technique”—saying that was out of the question. That would just be abuse of authority.
“......Right. It was class prep.”
“I knew it!”
Vasileo clenched a fist in delight, and the other students nodded as if it were a matter of course.
“We all came to take Magic–Combat Combined!”
“......No, you all have electives.”
“Exactly! So on weekends and holidays! During break!”
They were brimming with zeal.
So brimming with zeal they were stealing all of Frondier’s zeal.
Frondier lowered his head.
“......I see.”
“Yes!”
“You’re saying you’ll come here on weekends and holidays, during break.”
“That’s right!”
......I see.
So that’s how it turned out.
