Entering the Game with a Cheat Physique

Episode 31 Elemental Affiliation (2)

Episode 31 Elemental Affiliation (2)

Irina and I take a seat at ‘Golden Apple’.

After ordering some drinks, we sit facing each other, and I can hear people whispering around us.

—Look at that. Another girl.

—Ruby, Penell, Berry… Who is it that guy *hasn’t* seduced?

—He’s a total octopus.

‘What the hell are they talking about.’

When have I ever acted with such ulterior motives?

I’m just about dying of unfairness from these baseless accusations.

“So, what is it you want to say?”

Just listening to the reactions around us is getting on my nerves, so let’s get straight to the point.

I took a sip of coffee and asked directly, and Irina, with some difficulty, opened her mouth.

“What do you think?”

“About what?”

“About the friction between our department and the knights’ department.”

…Ah.

So that’s what it was about.

“Honestly, I’ve thought it was weird ever since I enrolled. Why are the knights’ and magic departments so desperate to tear each other apart? At first, I went along with it, but…”

Once she started talking, a torrent of pent-up feelings spilled out.

Irina, who hadn’t touched her drink, looked like she was truly having a dizzy spell.

That alone was enough to show how she was doing.

‘It’s like in the original.’

In ＜The Song of Sword and Magic＞, the protagonists often mention doubting the general atmosphere of their departments.

The inter-departmental rivalry that has been passed down since Olympia was built is so deeply rooted that it’s impossible to pull out now.

The two new protagonists, who enrolled at the same time, overcome this stale sense of competition—that’s part of the story.

Therefore, Irina’s reaction is quite familiar.

It is, but…

“…It’s seriously so annoying. Every single one of them is like, you’re the top student, you have to win, you can’t be friends with them…. Who do they think they are, my mom?!”

*Gyaooo—* Unable to contain her anger, she yells loudly.

While Irina, her brow deeply furrowed, gulped down her drink, I took some time to sort out my thoughts.

‘It’s a bit serious.’

It’s true that Irina goes through this kind of conflict in the beginning of the original story too.

Even considering that, Irina’s stress seems pretty severe.

“Ugh, it’s so frustrating. Should I just go back to the magic tower? There’s no point in being here, it only makes me mad….”

For example, lines like that.

I understand it’s hard for Irina, but her saying she’ll go back to the magic tower is a problem.

She has to stay at the academy and advance the story.

Maybe it’s just my unnecessary worry, but it also means this is a serious concern of hers.

I should respond with a sincere attitude.

“Which side are you on? Do you also hate the knights’ department to death?”

“No.”

Begrudgingly, I start.

Quickly, I go over what I’ll say in my head, then slowly begin.

“I sympathize with how you feel. I also find this ideology, where they turn the other department into a villain to stir up rivalry, uncomfortable.”

“……! Right?”

Irina’s face brightens significantly at the shared understanding.

But I can’t just blindly side with her here.

“However, you need to understand them too.”

“Understand what?”

“This conflict didn’t just appear overnight. It’s an old grudge that’s been around since Olympia was founded. There are many people with deeper, more sincere hatred than you think.”

And that’s the truth.

It’s excessive to chalk it up to just trying to encourage the students’ growth through rivalry.

Just like how Herak, before the possession, was bullied by the Knight Department.

There are countless cases where someone has been subjected to insidious violence by the other department.

The Stage 2 Boss is a prime example.

So Irina’s comment could be easily interpreted as ignoring their pain.

For some, this isn’t WWE, it’s UFC.

“Don’t just think of it as a silly trend. Look at it with a broader perspective. Why do they fight each other like this, why do they hate each other so much?”

“…….”

Irina’s mouth hangs open slightly.

Did something click in her head after hearing my answer?

She stays quiet for a while, then slowly nods.

“……Yeah. What you’re saying isn’t wrong. But it doesn’t change anything.”

“Hmm.”

“Even if I take all that into consideration, this damn structure isn’t going to change right away.”

She’s not wrong.

To overturn this long-standing conflict structure is impossible in the short term.

But I’m sure that the future is not that far away.

“I know a saying. ‘Even if you criticize the exam system, it only sounds convincing if the top scorer does it.’ Do you get the gist?”

“……You’re saying, stop talking big and prove it with your skills first.”

“That’s right.”

Yeah, you catch on quick.

“If you want to change this system, you prove it. Keep taking the top spot, keep acting to resolve conflicts. If your sincerity is constantly visible, someone will start to empathize.”

“…Right.”

Irina nods her head firmly.

Finally, the internal turmoil is resolved, and she wears that confident smile again.

“Yeah. I was such a fool. Why did I worry when I could just prove it with my skills? Not like me.”

Yeah, that’s Irina alright.

No matter the trials that come, she doesn’t give in, she makes herself get up and move forward.

That’s the main character, the character I admired.

“Thanks. My worries are gone. I’ll be going now.”

“No, where are you going?”

“Huh?”

I grab Irina’s arm as she’s about to leave.

Hey, you still have to hear my side of things.

“You said you were trying to create magic?”

Irina sits back down and slurps her drink.

After listening to my explanation, she quickly comes to a conclusion.

“How are you going to let them know about that?”

“Is it not possible?”

“Not possible.”

She waggles her fingers back and forth.

You’re acting like a senior, saying I’ve still got a long way to go, it made me want to give you a knuckle sandwich.

“The modern school of magic has been sticking to the traditional magic for a long time. No one tries to create new magic.”

“That’s their problem. Someone could choose not to follow, right?”

“No. It’s not that they don’t make magic because they’re lazy.”

Irina, in explanation mode, looked quite the legitimate magician.

Seeing this side of her, the moniker of rightful heir to the Magic Tower is certainly not unfounded.

“Magic is fundamentally much more advantageous to learn by following ‘what already exists.’ Creating something from scratch, from zero to 100, is too difficult and less likely. It’s inefficient.”

“…Hmm.”

In other words, following and imitating existing magic is much more efficient, which is why they don’t do it.

Tap, tap, tap. I drum my index finger on the table, thinking.

I understand her point, but it doesn’t solve anything.

I still have to create magic, and how to do that is still a mystery.

Did my troubled look bother her?

Irina added a few words.

“If it’s that urgent, why don’t you try recalling the memories you’ve accumulated so far?”

“What memories?”

“There must be something. Magic, or techniques. If you refer to what’s in your memory and create something based on that, wouldn’t it be possible?”

“……Oh.”

A moment of clarity washed over me.

Irina is right.

The magic of this world is unfamiliar to me, and impossible to learn.

But I have ‘other magic’ that exists.

‘I can just recall the magic I saw in my previous life!’

The countless magics and techniques I’ve seen in fictional works.

I can refer to them and transform them into my own magic.

That too is just imitating something that already existed.

“Thanks, Irina.”

“Huh? Well, if it was helpful, I’m glad.”

She probably didn’t expect that her words would lead to some kind of enlightenment.

I glance past Irina’s wide eyes to the back,

Where a message with a changed status window was floating.

────────────────

【Celestial Zodiac Fist】

2. Fist (拳): Element Enchantment (Uncertain State)

Magic that imbues the fist with an element.

Fire, ice, lightning, or anything else is possible.

A single element can be wrapped around the fist to produce the effects of elemental magic.

────────────────

‘I finally understand.’

‘Understanding Elemental Magic,’ the requirement for acquisition, cleared.

Okay, let’s think.

Which element would suit me?

‘Guess there’s no other choice.’

Fire Punch.

*

Olympia’s Temple.

A place to treat students injured in duels or training.

They don’t ask the cause of the injuries, so patients can use it without worry.

Right.

Since they don’t ask about the cause, even the gang members who got suspended can recover in the sickroom.

*

BANG!

The sickroom door bursts open violently.

The bodies of the gang members lying in the beds inside stiffen.

They were on edge, anxiously waiting, and finally, he’s arrived.

Apollon.

Their leader, Apollon, has appeared for the first time since hearing the news of their defeat.

“…….”

Apollon frowns, seeing the gang members avoiding his gaze.

‘Worthless, every last one of them.’

They couldn’t even succeed in what they were ordered to do and they’re not taking responsibility.

But there’s one who’s different.

Sibil.

He’s the only one, the 4th ranked second-year student from the Knight Department, who meets Apollon’s eyes calmly.

“Speak. Sibil.”

Thump, thump.

Apollon heads towards Sibil’s bed.

He stands right beside him, towering over him with a cold glare.

“Why did you lose?”

“…….”

“Speak plainly. If you want to be of any help.”

—You know what happens if you can’t be helpful, right?

Sibyl knows he’s putting it that way indirectly.

“…His physique is abnormal. Even compared to top-ranking members of the Knighting Department, he’s by no means lacking.”

“I know that. I’m not interested in that useless garbage, spit out the core of it.”

“And more than anything… it seemed as if his skin was layered with an armor of magic.”

“What?”

Apollo’s eyebrows twitch.

He gives her the go-ahead to ramble, and Sibyl speaks slowly.

“I’m not certain, but that’s my estimation. He was only left with lacerations even though his skin was grazed by aura. Normally, that’s impossible.”

“So you’re saying that his skin is surrounded by a layer of magic?”

“Yes.”

“……”

Apollo furrows his brow, lost in thought.

‘A layer of magic.’

Knights also layer magic onto their bodies.

But it’s a fact that it’s weaker than the aura they wrap around their swords.

There’s no need to specifically call it an armor of magic.

‘Is his layer of magic stronger than that of a knight?’

*Click.*

The more he thinks about it, the more enraged he becomes.

Just what is that damn b*stard, that he possesses something even he, from the Knighting Department, does not?

“…The same principle must’ve been the cause of our defeat. His fists were also surrounded by magic, making them even more powerful and difficult to block.”

“Good. You’re of some use, at least. Sibyl.”

Finally satisfied, Apollo curls the corner of his lips up in a smirk.

He praised Sibyl as though she were a servant who had fulfilled her role well.

“If you continue to do as such, my family will aid you as well. Put in more effort.”

“…Yes.”

Apollo turned around.

Only one thought occupied his mind as he exited the sickroom.

‘If only that b*stard could truly wield pure magic.’

If he couldn’t use any other magic.

She’d prepare accordingly for that.

And.

“……”

Like that, the storm subsided in the sickroom.

While the other students whispered amongst themselves, Sybil quietly sank into herself.

‘……How shameful.’

Even though she had gone along with Apollo’s coercion, she had revealed another student’s fighting style.

And that student was even someone she was forced to fight due to an order.

It was mortifying that so many went and still lost.

Overwhelmed by shame, Sybil burrowed deeper into the bed.

She needed Apollo’s support to continue attending Olympia.

Or rather, he had subtly manipulated things so it was unavoidable.

Even so…

“Shameful.”

If only Apollo hadn’t been there, she wouldn’t have committed such a wrong.

…What if Herak, that student, were to beat Apollo?

Could she then be free from Apollo?

Sybil clung to a faint hope and closed her eyes.

Hoping for a reversal on the day of the duel.