CHAPTER 263: RANKING MATCHES RESUMES [2]

The mana circle at Alice’s feet shimmered like molten gold, tendrils of energy curling outward like the petals of some dangerous flower.

"[Static Bloom]," she sang sweetly.

The air popped and hissed as dozens—no, hundreds—of tiny sparks exploded around me in a widening radius. It wasn’t an attack meant to kill. It was an attack meant to annoy.

I flicked Lan into a reverse grip, slashing through the air as I stepped between the bursts. Each spark left a faint tingle against my skin when it got too close, like being nipped by a hundred invisible insects.

"You know," I said, weaving through her little lightning garden, "for someone who claims to care about her students, you sure have a weird way of showing it."

"Oh, but I do care," Alice replied, her voice dripping with mock sympathy. "What kind of professor would I be if I didn’t push my students to their absolute limits?"

Another circle flashed to life—this one directly above my head.

"[Thunder Petal: Cascade.]"

A downpour of tiny golden bolts rained from the sky. Not strong enough to drop me instantly, but enough to keep me scrambling.

"Pushed to the limit or turned into a lightning rod—same difference, huh?" I muttered, rolling out of the way and feeling my hair stand on end from the charge.

Alice tilted her head, watching me dodge like a cat batting at a toy mouse. "Oh, don’t pout, Cadet Rin. This is fun. For both of us."

"For you, maybe."

She gave me a sly wink. "Are you sure? You’re smiling."

I blinked. "...No, I’m not."

"Yes, you are."

A thin lance of lightning shot from her wand, grazing the side of my cheek. Not enough to burn—just enough to make me flinch.

I exhaled sharply through my nose. "You’re really enjoying yourself, aren’t you?"

"Immensely," she admitted without a shred of shame. "You’re far more entertaining than the usual cadets. Most of them squeal or run. You? You’re... playful."

"Playful is not the word I’d use," I said, ducking another arc.

"Oh, but it is. You’re just too stubborn to admit it."

With a lazy wave of her wand, she sent another volley my way. I deflected the first, sidestepped the second, and barely ducked the third.

She clapped lightly, as if I were a stage performer. "See? You’re dancing for me already."

"Keep talking, Professor," I said flatly. "Let’s see if you’re still smiling when it’s my turn."

"Oh, darling," she purred, golden magic pooling in her palm, "I live for that moment."

And the next wave hit.

This continues for next few minutes until Alice suddenly stopped in the middle of her attacks.

...And put an strange expression on her face until her widened with small evil smrik.

I, on the other hand allowed myself to relaxed. My breath came in...short, shallow bursts, my arms loosening as I lowered Lan slightly. The storm of sparks and bolts had finally stilled, leaving only the faint smell of ozone in the air.

Then I noticed her.

Alice stood there, head tilted ever so slightly. Her gaze raked over me in silence, the corners of her lips twitching upward—not into a warm smile, but into something sharper. Hungrier.

That wasn’t the expression of a teacher who’d decided the lesson was over.

"...What?" I asked cautiously, straightening a little.

She didn’t answer right away. Her eyes lingered on me like she was flipping through pages of some private book only she could read. Then that small, wicked smirk bloomed.

"Oh... I see," she murmured.

I tightened my grip on Lan. "See what?"

She took a slow, deliberate step forward, her boots clicking softly against the floor. "I have sudden Idea right now, How about I teach you a lesson right now?"

"In the middle of my ranking match?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Alice’s smirk widened just enough to make my instincts itch. "Oh, don’t worry, Cadet Rin. I’ll make it... relevant."

"Relevant," I repeated flatly. "You mean painful."

She didn’t deny it. In fact, she tilted her head as if weighing which method would be most fun. "Think of it as... accelerated learning. You’ve been so eager to survive so far. I want to see what you do when I change the rules."

The hairs on the back of my neck prickled again. This wasn’t the bored cat batting the mouse anymore—this was the cat deciding to see how high the mouse could jump before it broke.

"And if I refuse?" I asked, even though I knew the answer.

Alice chuckled softly, brushing an imaginary speck from her sleeve. "Refuse? Oh, Rin, you’re adorable. You don’t get to refuse."

Golden light flared at her fingertips again, not in the tight, controlled circles from before, but in chaotic arcs that crawled along the ground like living things.

My stance tightened automatically, Lan back in guard position.

I was thinking that she was going to lunch and sudden attack on me.... knowing her personality.

But nothing like that happened.

Instead, golden light at her fingers tips calmed down and she started to creating an arrow in the air.

Is she seriously...?

The thought stalled halfway as the shape solidified—sleek, impossibly precise, a shaft of condensed golden mana that hummed with restrained static.

An arrow.

Not just any arrow, either. I’d seen Alice conjure weapons before, but this one looked like it belonged in some divine armory, the kind of artifact you prayed was aimed with you, not at you.

She raised it with unhurried grace, resting the glowing construct on an equally conjured bowstring of light. The bow itself shimmered into being as though it had always been there, merely invisible until she decided otherwise.

"Now let’s get the lecture start."

"Are you serious professor?"

"Do you think I am not?"

It’s really hard for anyone to tell wheather she’s serious or not.

Because she always smiling and ...that smile of hers was the kind that could mean anything.

It wasn’t wide, it wasn’t manic—it was subtle, almost gentle. But her eyes... her eyes were sharp enough to cut glass.

Well let’s see how this lecture of mine goes.

"This is a basic attack magic called Mana Arrow. As the name suggests, it’s a technique that creates arrows from mana. Now, Cadet Rin, here’s a question—how many spells are needed to construct this magic?"

If this is what she calls basic, then I really don’t want to imagine what advanced looks like.

Still, it seems she actually intends to teach me something this time, rather than just playing around like she has been until now.

I should answer quickly before her patience runs out and she decides to really hit me with that arrow of hers.

"’Condense,’ ’sharpen,’ ’fly,’ and ’direction.’ Four in total," I replied.

That’s what the settings book said, anyway.

"Haha, as expected of an honor student. Your learning attitude is different from the rest. That’s right—excluding ’condense,’ which forms the foundation for most magic, even a basic spell like this still requires the precise calculation of three separate conditions. But most mages don’t go through that process. Do you know why?"

Of course, I do.

----

Author Note:

Thanks for the reading novel.