Chapter 48

As the smoke cleared, the students made no attempt to hide their anxious expressions at seeing me standing there unharmed.

Well, I think it would be strange if they weren't anxious after seeing me stand unscathed after being attacked by thirty of them.

Even the upperclassmen who had greeted me before the start were staring at me in a daze.

Now, since this is troublesome, shall I end it all at once?

What, you want me to prolong the battle and create more dramatic moments?

What's the point of dragging it out?

What if, by some chance, I extended the battle and got hit by a lucky punch or something?

I've seen a lot of drawn-out battle scenes in manga and novels in Japan, but I think real battles are decided in an instant.

What, you say that's because I'm a battle maniac?

I'm not a battle maniac, so I prioritize safety.

If I die, there's no coming back, you know.

Of course, I understand that battles can drag on when the forces are evenly matched, and I don't deny that.

In fact, it's inevitable.

I spread my magic power throughout the barrier set up by the teachers.

The students are still in shock.

The most useful spell for this kind of match is a lightning-based stun.

Stun is an intermediate-level spell, so using it isn't against the rules.

However, the generally known stun spell is a single-target paralysis spell that uses an electric shock, but I had already spread my magic power thinly and extremely thinly around the area, so I can cast a wide-area stun.

"Stun!"

With several small crackling sounds, the students around me let out groans and fell one by one.

When I realized everyone was down, the teachers looked back and forth between me, who was standing alone, and the students who were twitching or unconscious.

A relatively long silence followed.

Though it was only a few dozen seconds.

"Th-the winner is C-1... Clan 'MI Cool's Christophe von Brütsels..."

The sudden end of the battle royale caused confusion among the teachers.

Since I was the only winner and everyone else was down at the same time, they were discussing how to assign points.

"Truly... I've never seen a student instantly defeat over thirty others... I suppose this is to be expected..."

I think they're praising me, but I didn't kill anyone, so it's not an instant kill.

"Christophe von Brütsels gets 500 points for Clan 'MI Cool.' The other teams... all get 0 points."

The male teacher who said this with a wry smile was looking at the other students who had only suffered mild paralysis.

Over twenty students who were unconscious or complaining of feeling unwell were taken to the infirmary, so only about ten had suffered mild paralysis.

Even those ten couldn't stand up yet, but I left the rest to the teachers and headed to support Carla and the others.

I could feel hostile gazes from the still paralyzed students and the audience, but I ignored them.

As I was moving, I saw Lady Krishnas walking towards me.

Since Lady Krishnas is the student council president, her clan has a seed right and doesn't need to participate in the preliminaries, but they help the teachers.

"Christophe, how did the battle royale go?"

"It's already over. I was thinking of going to support everyone."

"...Just to confirm, you won, right?"

"Yes, I got 500 points."

"I see. I thought you would win, Christophe, but I didn't expect it to end so quickly... I was on my way to watch, but I was too late."

"I'm sorry, Lady Krishnas."

"It's fine. I'm sorry for stopping you. Go support your teammates."

Lady Krishnas looked more tired than when she first called out to me.

...I'm sorry, Lady Krishnas.

Now, I parted ways with Lady Krishnas and headed to the arena where the magic circle teams were struggling.

When I appeared alone, the arena buzzed, but the teachers' stern words brought everyone's focus back to creating magic circles.

"Hey, Christophe, come here."

Mr. Bloom, who was supervising, led me to the teachers' area.

Carla was making some gestures.

I think she was worried about the outcome, so I gave her a victory V sign.

"Mr. Jing told me you instantly defeated them."

Mr. Bloom spoke in a low voice so the students couldn't hear.

But it wasn't an instant kill! I didn't kill anyone!

"It's hard to hold back when dealing with each one..."

It's the truth.

Ever since I created a status card at the Grand Temple, I feel like my magic power has increased dramatically.

Even a single-target stun spell can cause electrocution if aimed at an individual.

Even if I reduce the power to the minimum, it's still that level.

I think it's because I saw the hidden stats, but I'm not sure, though I'm pretty confident.

I realized this when I used Fire Lance against Baka-Boon.

The power was much higher than what I had imagined, and it even made his feet disappear.

So, I used the stun spell on a wide area to distribute the power.

That's why the real enemy in this battle royale was myself... I couldn't hold back, you see.

"Having instantly defeated over thirty, you say it's hard to hold back... Do you even need to learn from us teachers?"

"Um... I don't know. What do you think?"

I've thought about this too.

With magic, having a magic book is enough...

What I lack is experience and common sense. I can gain experience by being an adventurer, and I can learn common sense without attending the Royal Magic Academy.

Hmm? I'm aware that I lack common sense.

After all, I've only been in this world for two years, and for a year and a half, I didn't even leave the Brünhild manor.

I'm still in rehab, so please be patient.

"Haha, you're honest..."

Mr. Bloom looked at me with a tired face.

Ah, I'm learning a lot about magic item manufacturing!

I don't learn much about magic circles, but the materials, refining, and creation methods of items are very educational!

While I was thinking about various things in the teachers' waiting area, the time for creating magic circles ended.

Until Carla and the others caught up with me, I continued to receive hostile gazes from the students, but I didn't care.

"Christophe, what did you do?"

"What, I just used a wide-area stun."

" 'Just' used a wide-area stun, you...!"

"You're so typical, Christophe, haha."

Péron, what's with that dry laugh?

"Anyway, how did the magic circle turn out?"

"...We did our best with what we have now."

"Right, no matter the result, that's our current strength."

Carla and Clara seem to have given their all, but Péron and Pritz are silent.

I think they were a bit out of control.

They must have worked hard...

I placed my hands on the shoulders of the reserved male members, Péron and Pritz, and sent them a comforting look.

" 'What's with you guys!' "

The lively... cheerful... energetic female members protested to the reserved male members, but I think the male members are the ones who want to protest.

At 3 PM, the document review for the magic circles was completed, and they were actually activated.

The document review evaluates design, structure, originality, and creativity, with a maximum score of 300 points.

After that, the actual activation is evaluated, with a maximum score of 200 points.

In other words, the total score for creating a magic circle is 500 points.

And our 'MI Cool' team has almost secured a spot in the second round without waiting for the scores.

After all, I'm the only one who scored points in the battle royale, and I got 500 points.

Even if the other clans get the maximum score of 500 points for their magic circles, 'MI Cool' will advance as long as we get at least one point.

I don't think we'll get zero points... I hope.