Chapter 16: Practical Skills Evaluation (2)  

Originally, the first and last matches receive the most attention as the main events.

Neike and Piel hold the ranks of 1 and 2.

It's natural for them to be the focus as the best geniuses on the continent.

That's why they were assigned to the last match.

Although Jang Woohee and Eshild are top students as well, they fall short compared to the two mentioned above.

However, they were assigned to the first match. The reason is the famous narrative entwined between them.

[Please give them a round of applause~!]

Clap, clap, clap─

The stadium was filled with applause.

Eshild seemed to enjoy the attention of the audience, glancing around, while Jang Woohee showed no interest and only looked at Eshild.

Then, Eshild stared at Jang Woohee and said,

"Your Eastern Empire techniques will end today, Jang Woohee. I've trained every day without fail since that defeat. I'll stake my family's honor and win-"

"···You talk too much."

With an emotionless gaze like Amy's, Jang Woohee cut him off.

"Honor isn't something you throw around lightly."

Then Jang Woohee gripped a practice dagger in each hand.

"Alright, I got it."

Eshild also held two practice daggers in his hands.

Jang Woohee and Eshild. It's a matchup between assassins.

Eshild is a descendant of a family that has had assassination as their trade for generations. Of course, he's so famous now that it's hard to call him an assassin.

He was cautious of Jang Woohee, a black-haired girl from the Eastern Empire, shrouded in mystery except for her origin.

They have similar grades, and they're the only two in the hero department who use daggers as their main weapon, so Eshild naturally feels a sense of rivalry towards Jang Woohee.

The hero department officials couldn't ignore this mouth-watering matchup. In the original work, they were pitted against each other in every match.

[Both students, please start following the referee's instructions when you're ready!]

The referee looked back and forth between Jang Woohee and Eshild.

"Are you both ready?"

"Eshild Orgamin, I'm ready."

"···Me too."

Ziing-

"Wow!" "Win, Eshild! Don't lose to the East!"

Since it was the first match, enthusiastic cheers erupted from various places in the stands.

"Who do you think will win, Theo? I like Eshild." "Jang Woohee will win."

Of course, I know the outcome. Jang Woohee wins this match.

No, Jang Woohee wins in all future matches as well.

That's because their compatibility is terrible.

Eshild's main skill is a chant containing mana and paralyzing magic.

Although his stats are better than Jang Woohee's, Jang Woohee has a rare trait.

[Magic Nullification]

Jang Woohee possesses the same trait as me. Furthermore, her mana is only 4, a very low number for a hero department student.

In that case, she should be able to block any mediocre magic. Due to that one trait, all of Eshild's main skills are blocked.

Also, the outcome of a fight between assassins relies more on individual skills than stats.

Jang Woohee's skills as an assassin are among the top in the entire continent.

It's only natural, as Jang Woohee is the daughter of the head of the Equilibrium Assassination Squad, where Amy belongs.

Even now, she ranks among the top assassins on the continent in terms of skill.

"Haah." The match began, but Jang Woohee and Eshild did not move, only studying each other.

minute, 2 minutes… time passed.

Just as the audience started to yawn one by one, Eshild made the first move.

Swish-

He quickly took out blunt throwing daggers from his pouch and fired them at her. Though they were for training, each contained mana, and getting hit would render one incapable.

However,

Thud-thud-thud-

With just two swings of her dagger, Jang Woohee deflected all the projectiles. Or so it seemed to others.

But I saw it with [Observer's Eye]. Jang Woohee precisely swung her [Magic-nullifying] dagger 6 times.

An incredible speed.

"Trying cheap tricks again, Jang Woohee!"

Eshild immediately cast a paralysis spell on Jang Woohee. In a one-on-one match, this magic held absolute power.

But there was no way it would work on Jang Woohee. Eshild's paralysis magic was not strong enough to break through Jang Woohee's magic-nullifying ability.

However, Jang Woohee remained in place. Pretending to be affected by the paralysis, she lured Eshild into letting his guard down.

"······Ah."

To others, it looked as if she was affected by the magic as intended.

"Great, I knew last time was just a fluke! There's no way my magic wouldn't work!"

Despite his words, Eshild cautiously threw more projectiles from a distance.

Thump, pat-

Jang Woohee deflected the projectiles with sluggish movements, as if resisting paralysis. As the last of Eshild's projectiles fell, Jang Woohee's body was covered in minor wounds.

"Time to finish this!"

With a malicious grin on his face, Eshild rushed towards Jang Woohee.

Ah, that fool.

As Eshild swung his dagger at Jang Woohee, confident in his victory, in that instant.

"Ugh······!"

Thump-

A precise and clean strike to a vital point. With a single attack, Jang Woohee brought Eshild down.

[The winner of the first match is student Jang Woohee!]

As I expected, the match ended with Jang Woohee's victory.

After quite a few matches had taken place,

"Wowww! Aisha!"

"Aisha, look at me! I made this huge banner too!"

"Aisha! Aisha! Aisha! Aisha!"

"Ah, Aisha looked at me! Now I can die happy······."

"Me too?!"

It was Aisha's turn.

Many audience members waved banners and chanted Aisha's name.

[The milky-white Aisha]

[Aisha: Written like a goddess, read like a goddess]

[Aisha is our baby, we must protect]

[Aisha······ Your oppas are here!! - All third-year students of the knight department-]

[Genius archer, our beautiful Aisha]

[Our Aisha, do whatever you want]

Numerous colorful banners fluttered.

Unlike the other students' matches, the atmosphere resembled an idol concert.

-Click, click, click, click.

The reporters incessantly took photos.

In reality, Aisha, who not only possessed top-notch skills but also always had a bright and innocent smile on her face, was the most popular student in Elinia Academy, no different from an idol. She was quite adept at playing with the media, and as a result, she had countless fans outside the academy as well. It was highly likely that her articles would be featured on the front page of the newspaper, regardless of the outcome of the match.

Of course, such a persona was just a facade, but hardly anyone knew this.

"Thank you, everyone~!"

Wearing her combat-use quiver on her back and donning long leather boots, Aisha cheerfully entered, waving her hands here and there toward the audience.

In contrast, Aisha's opponent, Max, entered the arena with a somewhat dejected demeanor.

He must have felt like he'd become a villain. If he happened to beat Aisha, he might be threatened with murder by her fanatical fans.

I'd feel dejected too in that situation.

[As expected of the prestigious Waldeurk family, Aisha provides excellent fan service. Woah, everyone, please calm down. Hmm! It seems everyone has calmed down now. Let's quickly begin the match! The highly anticipated 21st match is between Aisha, ranked 6th in the school, and Max, ranked 53rd!]

After undergoing a similar artifact detection check, Aisha and Max climbed onto the stage.

A round barrier was set up around the spectator seats, and the match began.

Aisha and Max. This matchup was a battle between a bow and a shield.

A contest to penetrate or to defend.

Aisha's primary weapon was a bow, and interestingly, Max's primary weapon was a large tower shield.

He had no other armaments.

Max's character was heavily focused on defense in every aspect of his traits and skills.

Despite having a physique as large as an orc, he had a passive and shy nature, making him more suitable as an aide rather than a hero.

Swoosh.

As if to prove his nature, Max immediately raised his tower shield and hid his body behind it, signaling his intent to defend for the entire five-minute time limit.

"Hmm, you want me to pierce through this?"

Reading Max's intentions, Aisha fired mana-infused arrows.

However, they were all blocked by the tower shield, which was coated with mana.

Typically, the attacker would tire out before the defender.

But as an archer, Aisha couldn't engage in close combat either.

"That friend, Max, was it? He's really holding up well. I don't think I could even pierce through that level of defense."

Noctar exclaimed in admiration.

"Aisha won't be able to pierce it either."

This will end in a draw.

In terms of defense alone, Max was the undisputed number one in the Hero Department.

Even the best weapons would have a hard time penetrating Max's defenses.

Unless Aisha could find a bow like "Steal Life" from the Waldeurk family's treasure vault, it would be impossible for her.

Of course, she couldn't penetrate his defenses with a practice bow.

Aisha grew frustrated.

"Ah, come on! Your name is Max, right? Is it fun for you to just hide behind that shield?!"

"...Scary."

Max still showed no signs of leaving the protection of his shield.

The match went as I expected. Aisha used up all her mana, but she couldn't break through Max's staunch defense.

Now, only 20 seconds remained. It would be a draw.

Discontent erupted from the spectators here and there.

"Hey, you! Are you a hero? Are you even a man?! Fight without hiding!"

"In a different sense, this is an all-time worst match. What a waste of time!"

"Don't just defend! Fight back!"

Regardless, Max still didn't let go of his defense.

"Match over!"

The referee declared.

The 5-minute match time had ended.

The gap in skill between Aisha and Max was immense.

From my perspective, Max's strategy was brilliant.

However, from the audience's standpoint, it was the worst match in history.

Mari struggled to continue the proceedings.

[Due to the time limit, this match ends in a draw. Please give a round of applause to the hardworking students, Aisha and Max!]

But there was no such encouraging applause.

Only silence flowed through the spectator stands.