Chapter 58: 57

“All right, then, today will be another selection round for SKT.”

Due to a practical combat exercise being part of today’s lecture, my presence ended up at the dome-shaped playing field after homeroom. Or better said, because of the selection matches, I have been showing up here virtually on a daily basis lately.

At the command of Rivalz, the students who had been exercising at the edges of the playing field rushed to huddle together. A total of 30 students were in attendance. There were 43 members at the time of Karen and Aldar’s first match, so while there was somewhat of a shift, in terms of numbers alone, the number of students has effectively decreased by 13 since then. Given that the number of participants has been declining by about five or so by this time annually, this would imply that many people were retiring this year. Well, I supposed it was inevitable after being exposed to such a monstrous match between two monsters on the first day of the practical exercise.

Nevertheless, perhaps in part to this, many of the students this year were more outstanding than in previous years. It was what could be termed the “cream of the crop”. Even Instructor Rivalz acknowledged this, remarking with a pleased smile, “This year we have a lot of solid students”.

“Now then, I would like to announce today’s match-ups. The first match will be between Feni Speaks and Luis Albas. The second match will be―”

Lowering his sight to the papers in his hand, Rivalz called out the names torrentially.

Aside from the main competition, on which everyone’s attention was concentrated, the tournament system may lead to a situation in which even the finest students would not make it there, depending on their luck in the lottery.

To prevent such a situation, the school, seeking to select the most promising students and send them to the finals, implemented a league system after assessing the performance of the students.

Notwithstanding, a round-robin elimination of 30 players would consume excessive time, therefore the players were split into three groups of 10, with successive round-robin eliminations taking place after the top five in each group were established. This would ultimately finalize the 10 players who would compete in the main tournament, which is scheduled for two months from now.

It went without question that there were too many match-ups to determine the winners. After all, more than 300 matches would be arranged in the following two months. That would entail a minimum of five matches a day. In all truthfulness, this was far beyond hectic, and I would definitely prefer that a tournament format be adopted.

After the roll call, each student proceeded to their respective positions. The matches would be conducted one at a time, of course, as a mishap might be catastrophic. A combat training instructor, as well as a school nurse, must be present at every match. In Selbeth, only I and Ursula worked as school nurses; Rivalz and other instructors monitored combat training. With Ursula being exceptionally swamped with work, it was decided by process of elimination that I would be the chaperone for all the matches.

“Well then, let’s kick off with the first pair!”

At the command of Rivalz, the first student to set off was, upon closer inspection, Luis, a student in my class.

With his superior athletic ability, the black man was able to quickly close in on his opponents before their magical power could even be activated.

Yet, the selection rounds were approaching the midpoint of the matches. Having employed a similar strategy in the previous rounds, the second-year student had already anticipated his move.

The second-year student pulled out not the usual hybrid-type, but the only-type magical tool. Instead, it was a type that could dramatically boost the power and deployment speed of magic.

That only-type magical tool shone and the magic was invoked before Luis’ weapon, a long spear, could reach him. The magic contained within was the high-powered “Wind Cutter,” an offensive magic.

“Wait…”

The one who nearly let out a squeal was not Luis, but me. In spite of wearing a tactical vest designed for reducing the impact of magic, the force of the blow was so violent that it threatened to rip my abdomen open if I was careless.

But my fears were unsubstantiated. Luis swiftly laid down his spear and leaped up with it, sending Wind Cutter that was headed for him soaring skyward without expending any magical power at all.

At this, Rivalz, observing from the side, blew a whistle.

“What!”

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The tip of the spear was aimed at the throat of the incredulous second-year student. Rivalz shouted that the match was settled.

Contrary to the second-year student, who slumped his shoulders and left, Luis turned on his heel leisurely, to which I called out.

“Luis, congratulations. This is your fourth straight victory. This accomplishment is remarkable for a first-year student, and it makes me really proud of you.”

“Thanks, Teacher. But if anything, I would like you to compliment me for cutting down on your workload. You know, that was a hell of laborious work, right?”

After a moment’s pondering, the realization of his words sank in that he meant that nobody was hurt.

“Oh, so that’s what you mean. You did that on purpose, didn’t you! That’s a huge favor!”

My heart was wholeheartedly brimming with joy. In this selection round, which intensified as the students became more advanced, such hazardous scenes as the one I just witnessed were not infrequent. The SKT played an instrumental role in accumulating this kind of experience, but I hope they will spare a thought for me as I had to treat them in all those matches should anything go awry.

“Besides, the other guys would have no problem winning anyway.”

That is not the case.

Those words were about to escape from my lips but instead, I found myself at a loss for words. Five students from my class, the highest number among the first-year students, participated in this selection round, and all of them were currently victorious in all of their matches.

Karen, who was a semi-first-class magician, goes without saying, and Fina, who has recently been promoted to a second-class magician, has so far been triumphing without a hitch. Luis, a member of “Kaguya,” and Panival Senizel, the sole child of an accomplished swordsman, were both equally competent.

Olga Schmel, the final one in our class and the obvious troublemaker, nevertheless emerged as the dark horse.

He, indeed, descended from a well-established aristocratic family as well. Olga was undeniably a standout student “among the first-year pupils,” and it was apparent that the more prestigious the aristocratic family, the higher the level of education for gifted students.

That he overcame a third-year student who had represented Selbeth Academy in the finals the year before in the first round of this year’s selection round, though, was sensational. The match was the tightest of the first day. The memory was still vivid in my mind that after the victory had been determined, I hastily called Xeth and treated both of the students relatively earnestly.

“―That’s the extent of it! Winner, Rama Rossa! Group A, sixth pair, out!”

When my senses rebounded, five matches had already been concluded. The matches seldom went on for an extended period of time, but today’s was more fluid than ever. I sincerely hoped that there would come a day when all matches would be completed without any injuries.

No, it would be fine for the following match if only the opponent suffered the worst injuries, therefore I hope that she remained unscathed.

Even though I might have a firm bias in her favor, I may be more supportive than the first group of students if things went poorly.

“All right, then, the sixth pair, let’s begin!”

At that moment, she―Eto Vasti―ran across the playing field at a speed unmatched by Luis

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