CH 310

Harriet found herself face to face with Olivia Lanze, who wore a faint smile on her face. In contrast to Harriet's hardened expression, her opponent's face was brimming with composure.

Harriet didn't like her arrogant demeanor.

'Was I like that once?'

There was a time when everything in the world seemed petty and laughable compared to herself.

From birth, everything was determined, and she couldn't understand why others struggled so desperately.

She had a period where she simply scoffed at others without trying to understand them. She couldn't say she had completely abandoned her past self, but she was aware that she needed to change.

Her opponent was arrogant.

Of course, as the nickname "Saint of Eredian" implied, Olivia was known as a selfless person. However, for some reason, she acted as if she were a terrible person when it came to matters involving Reinhardt.

She openly provoked Ellen.

And intentionally ignored herself.

That expression she made every time.

With a subtle smile, she hid her true feelings and only tried to provoke others.

Harriet knew her chances of winning were slim. She had seen that monster fight.

But that mask.

The horribly thick and repulsive mask that became more sinister.

Whether it was out of anger, resentment, or frustration.

She would reveal that mask at least once.

She wouldn't let her keep ignoring her with that kind of expression forever.

Now, the last match of Group C of the Round 8 begins!

Olivia Lanze stared at Harriet silently.

"I don't like dragging things out. I'll end this quickly."

Olivia's body was covered in blue mana.

The dense mana enveloped her.

She didn't like dragging things out.

Harriet couldn't believe what Olivia had said.

"Isn't that a strange thing to say for someone who clings to Reinhardt so persistently?"

"Ah, that?"

With a smile, Olivia didn't rush towards her but instead walked slowly.

"I cling to him because I like him enough to do something I truly dislike."

"..."

"Can't you say the same?"

With a dazzling smile, Olivia continued to approach Harriet.

A person who is honest with their feelings.

A person who can be honest.

A person who is willing to push forward even if their feelings hurt others.

Someone who accepts that gaining something means losing something else, and is willing to hurt both herself and Ellen to have Reinhardt.

Harriet was suddenly struck by a sense of envy towards Olivia.

However, it subsided as quickly as it had arisen. Her opponent was simply provoking her.

At the very moment that Harriet tried to stop thinking about her opponent's words in order to maintain her composure,

Olivia lightly stomped on the ground.

-Tat!

The sound was soft.

-Swish!

But her rushing speed was anything but light.

-Ching!

As the protection activated in front of Harriet's eyes, Olivia's fist tore through the blue barrier.

-Crash!

"!"

As the protection collapsed in an instant, Olivia's fist rushed toward Harriet's face.

Thud!

Just before the attack was about to land, Harriet used Blink to create distance in the nick of time. Olivia turned around and smiled at Harriet, who was breaking out in a cold sweat.

"You're fast."

Casting Blink the moment the protection shattered was impressive.

However, unlike the leisurely Olivia, Harriet didn't have the luxury of playing games with her.

Zap!

A bolt of lightning struck Olivia's body.

It was the strategy Harriet had used in the first match. Creating distance with Blink and then casting multiple offensive spells to strip away the opponent's Magic Body Strengthening.

Many opponents had been caught off-guard by this simple strategy in the preliminary matches.

If she feared close combat, she just had to avoid it.

Once the lightning spell was cast, the impact was almost instantaneous. Evading it was nearly impossible. Of course, an ordinary person would be knocked unconscious or killed by the lightning, but an opponent with Magic Body Strengthening was different.

Using a powerful fireball to incapacitate the opponent would be ideal.

So far, it had worked without fail.

However, as if the lightning bolt was nothing, Olivia relentlessly charged at Harriet again. She didn't even flinch.

Naturally, Harriet had anticipated this to some extent.

Boom!

As Harriet swung her hand, the ground surged, and a stone wall formed.

The protection was easily penetrated.

So, she created a physical barrier instead.

Without a strategy, her opponent relied on her overwhelming physical prowess.

"Do you think you can stop me with this?"

Crash!

Breaking through the stone wall with her bare hands, Olivia charged toward Harriet.

'I'm not trying to stop you.'

Harriet had already cast another spell during that brief moment.

She knew she couldn't stop Olivia with a wall.

Her opponent's strength was overwhelming.

If she couldn't win with force, she'd find another way.

The purpose of the wall was to disappear from Olivia's line of sight.

The spell she used was Hallucination, causing illusions to make her presence undetectable.

Magic was limitless.

She'd confuse her opponent's perception and make her lose by stepping out of bounds.

Right now, her opponent shouldn't be able to perceive her. She had vanished after Olivia broke through the wall.

But then...

As Harriet cast the spell, she felt it.

'Resistance...?'

The spell aimed at Olivia was deflected.

How?

It was a mid-to-high-level mental spell.

It shouldn't have been so easily resisted.

Harriet had no choice but to watch Olivia's fist flying towards her.

------

Olivia won the first set after a brief battle.

After being recalled and then called onto the battlefield, Harriet stared blankly at Olivia's smiling face.

The illusion-type magic that was higher-ranking than Illusion did not have a reduced effect; it had no effect at all.

"I have a pretty good idea of what you were trying to do."

As if she was going to reveal a secret, Olivia placed her hands on her hips and spoke to Harriet.

"Almost all mental magic doesn't work on me. How adorable, junior."

The moment she heard those words, Harriet felt as if her brain had frozen.

It was not well-known that Olivia Lanze had immunity-level resistance to mental magic.

It was only natural that Harriet would be unaware of this.

But as a result of not knowing, all the plans Harriet had prepared had vanished completely.

She had thought that mental magic would be the solution since she couldn't compete physically, but it had no effect on her opponent at all.

It couldn't be a bluff. Harriet had definitely felt the magic she cast had no influence whatsoever.

She had anticipated some resistance, but she never expected it to be completely ineffective.

"Why do you have such an incredulous expression? The world is like that, isn't it? Everyone has something they're born with. This place gathers people who were born with something."

The Temple.

The Royal Class of that place was a gathering spot for such individuals.

"Just like you're an unbelievable person in your own way, I can't help but be an unbelievable person in my own way, right?"

The second set was about to begin.

"If that's all you've prepared, you should just forfeit."

Olivia's smile never faded.

"Before you end up in a more pathetic state."

In an already disadvantageous situation, she had discovered in the first set that her secret weapon was ineffective.

It was desperate.

Magic immunity. She thought only a guy named Scarlett from B-Class possessed such a talent, but there was another person with a similar talent.

Having lost her only hope, Harriet's mind was in chaos.

“Don't! Panic!”

Then, a shout pierced through her chaotic mind.

From one side of the audience seats.

A familiar voice could be heard.

She knew who it was without looking.

There was only one person in the world who would call her that way.

“Don't be scared!”

That person was shouting towards her. It wasn't a word of encouragement to win, nor to cheer up.

It was just a message not to be scared. That in itself wasn't really encouragement at all.

However.

"Tsk."

Seeing Olivia Lanze's expression slightly distorted by the same shout, Harriet could tell.

Reinhardt had said that in times like these, people would naturally root for the weaker side.

He had said it with a bit of sorrow since it was a statement that confirmed her own defeat.

However.

In the end, the world was all about results.

Reinhardt was cheering for her.

Don't be scared and just go for it!

Reinhardt was cheering for Harriet de Saint Owan, not Olivia Lanze.

"Is this what it feels like to feel like a winner even when you lose?"

"…"

Seeing Olivia's hardened expression, Harriet smiled.

The smile vanished from Olivia's face. Gone were the playful taunts and snide remarks.

Although Harriet's confusion was quelled by Reinhardt's shout, the outcome could have been even worse for Harriet.

"This is just sad."

Olivia Lanze was angry now.

At Harriet.

At Reinhardt.

"I'm annoyed. Let's finish this quickly."

The declaration for the start of the second set had already been made.

Olivia charged again.

This time, Harriet didn't cast Protection. An array of blue mana lines formed on her hand, giving off a faint blue light.

"Ha!"

-Crash!

"!"

In an instant, the arena cracked and crumbled.

"Ugh!"

As the off-balance Olivia Lanze stumbled, Harriet spread her hands.

The spell she had just cast was Shockwave.

It had destroyed the terrain.

It was by no means a low-level spell.

And now, another high-level spell unfolded.

One set.

There was no turning back. She would do whatever it took to claim this set.

Harriet reached her hands towards the sky.

A massive flame, incomparable to a Fireball.

"Take this!"

Flame Strike hurtled towards the staggering Olivia Lanze.

-Kaboom!

A massive fiery explosion engulfed Olivia Lanze.

The blue mana lines on Harriet's hand and arm shone brilliantly.

------

The audience had been rendered speechless by the sudden destruction of the arena and the subsequent overpowering Flame Strike.

"This is impossible."

Saviolin Turner, who had been watching the situation, spoke briefly.

"No matter how much of a genius Harriet de Saint-Owan may be, casting destruction spells of that magnitude and that quickly is impossible."

"Are you suggesting she cheated?"

"Well... but it certainly doesn't look like a conventional way of using magic. Just looking at the markings that suddenly appeared on the student's body..."

As Saviolin Turner had pointed out, blue symbols had appeared on Harriet's hand. They were gone now.

She had cast large-scale destruction spells in rapid succession, with virtually no time delay. Ellen, Reinhardt, and even Liana were all taken aback by the spectacle.

"Could it be... Harriet..."

I grabbed Ellen's shoulder and shook it.

"Did she... did she just use some kind of tattoo?"

"…?"

I think Harriet used a tattoo or something!

Well, there's nothing she shouldn't be able to do!

She can do it! She can do it! But still!

"Is that really what's important right now?"

"But, but!"

Liana's scolding made me want to cry. There were definitely people here who knew what was going on.

"Louis! What's going on here? What did you guys do to our blockhead in the Magic Research Society?"

At my scream, which was close to a shriek, Louis turned around from the front seat.

I never expected this kind of reaction.

"Ah, no... Why are you so upset?"

Louis let out a deep sigh, as if to calm himself down.

"It's an application of scroll magic."

"...What are you talking about?"

Louis explained while looking at Harriet, who was standing on one side of the collapsed arena.

"Harriet is, well, she's writing and using magic scrolls in real time."

This is...

What kind of bizarre thing is this?

------

What on earth did they do to our blockhead at the Magic Research Club?

Not only Reinhardt, but the Duke and Duchess were also in confusion.

So, they couldn't even pay attention to Reinhardt who was cursing their daughter on the side.

"Our child... What is that?"

"Well... I'm not quite sure."

The Duke, who was well-versed in magic, couldn't even understand what kind of bizarre thing his daughter had done to her body.

No one had ever seen or heard of such a sight before. Of course, the Duke wasn't as shocked as Reinhardt.

He was a magician before he was a nobleman. Thus, he lived his life according to the way magicians think.

"It seems our daughter has already caused a surprising incident in the world."

The outcome of this fight is not important.

The Duke of Saint Owan had an intuition that his daughter had developed a new line of magic that had never existed before.

------

Casting.

It is the beginning and the end of magic.

However, casting ultimately takes time, so no matter how fast it becomes, it cannot be reduced to zero. Magic is a great and convenient power, but when used for combat, there is a fatal flaw in the form of casting time.

If given enough time, magic can destroy anything.

Thus, battle mages with extraordinary abilities often die in vain because the preparation time for casting is so pressing.

Casting is a natural process. It is impossible to even think of eliminating it.

It is no different from nonsense that comes up with the answer without the formula.

However, Harriet knew of her senior's example.

Royal class 2-A class, number 1, Redina.

Her talent is no casting.

It's called Supernatural power, but Harriet had seen with her own eyes that it was possible.

Magic that manifests simultaneously with thought.

If that is possible, there is nothing impossible for her.

But there was no way to gain Supernatural power.

Harriet, like many battle mages before her, sought to dramatically reduce casting time.

Of course, she didn't acquire Supernatural powers.

She just found a solution elsewhere.

In the Magic Research Club, Harriet racked her brains with everyone else.

It was Louis, not Harriet, who found the answer. Louis Ancton, who understood magic but couldn't use it himself.

That's why his way of thinking is different from that of ordinary magicians.

"Scroll magic can be activated instantly, right?"

"That's correct."

"Scrolls are essentially magical circles drawn on paper imbued with mana, right?"

"Yep."

"But the human body already contains mana, doesn't it?"

"Yes, so?"

"What if we treat the human body as a scroll, and draw magical circles on it to activate spells?"

"…?"

"Huh?"

Louis Ancton's suggestion was met with incredulous reactions from everyone.

But the idea itself wasn't entirely wrong.

A scroll is fundamentally created by drawing a magical circle on a medium imbued with mana.

Mana-imbued medium - Paper

Magical circle - Formula

If the medium is the human body, and the formula is drawn directly on it, then it's a highly intuitive understanding that the magic would activate. However, this bizarre proposition was something even Harriet, who had a profound understanding of magic, couldn't comprehend.

"Dettomorian said that the warriors of his tribe had warpaint, tattoos drawn by shamans, that granted them extraordinary powers."

"I know that shamanism is the root of magic, but... Are you saying that these warpaints drew magical circles on their bodies to harness power, even though I don't know what they are?"

"Yep, I heard it actually works. If the warpaint uses the mana within a person's body, then ultimately, what I'm talking about isn't much different, is it?"

Louis merely threw out the idea. To reduce casting time, he proposed using the human body as a scroll so that it functions like a scroll itself.

It was such a radical idea. Adelia tilted her head at Louis's words.

"But if we assume that it works, and we can inscribe a Fireball spell and activate it, would that person only be able to use Fireball? To use other spells as well..."

"They'd be covered in tattoos…"

Everyone's expressions turned grim, as it was clear that it wouldn't be a pleasant sight.

Even if it worked, it was a fact that one would have to be covered in tattoos to inscribe numerous spells on their body.

"Besides, we can't even learn scroll magic."

It was Christina who spoke. Magic related to scrolls was top secret, and even the temple couldn't teach it. So, whether it worked or not, it was still a type of magic they couldn't learn at the moment.

"No."

However, Harriet shook her head at that.

"We don't have to inscribe magical circles; we can inscribe 'language.'"

Language.

Everyone was again puzzled by this unexpected suggestion.

"By inscribing language, we can create a magic system that allows for the derivation of countless spells just by combining the necessary character sequences."

As she said this, everyone couldn't help but understand what Harriet was talking about.

An ancient magic system, older than shamanism but not as much, which was the true origin of magic.

"We just need to carve runes."

With runes, it's possible to implement all the magic that exists in the world.