The first thing I did after Ars came home was, of course, research.
　The information I got from Jean was filled with the worst fears, but it is a matter of immediate priority. I have a lot of plans already.
　We need to make the most of the little time we have until the new school year.
　Mainly during the daytime, I trained with the three of them in a practical style. After that, I'll be doing research at my desk until the end of the night.
　It was also nearing the end of August, when I was frequently contacted by Budna to travel back and forth to the Fallen.
　Three hours of sleep would be enough. It's a good thing that you can feel that your thinking is getting dull, even for Ars, as expected.
　It's a good thing that you're in a good mood, of course, because the first day we took Loki to the Fallen in the early hours of the day to walk around and put him in a good mood.
　It's a useful time for Ars, but I can't help but think that it's a tough thing to get close to him as a partner. He changed his mind that the mages who are paired up in the world are also having a hard time.

　Such a busy day, and in the blink of an eye, it's intertwined into September.
　That's right, the selection matches are held over two days from the start of the semester, and two days is expected to be a very fast pace. This is because more than 200 first year students, nearly 100 second year students and about 70 third year students are expected to participate in the tournament. To be exact, the first year students are scheduled to finish on the first day. After the second day, the schedule is mainly for second and third year students, because the more advanced students, the longer the games will be.
　The selection process is a little different because the selection process must take a lot of time since there are 400 students in total, so the selection process is a little different.

'If you're going to come all the way out here to watch, you should be training.
'That's not how it works. A, Al's game is a learning experience, too.

　For some reason, Loki was stubborn in his insistence as he reiterated it in the eyes of others.
　He didn't think he could study with the other students, but even as Ars, he couldn't apologize only to Loki. If he shifted his gaze away from the position, the two people he knew were sitting in the upper floor auditorium as if it was normal.
　Well, it's normal to know who will be chosen to represent us in the first year.
　So I can't strongly reject them against Loki either, but I am a little taken aback.

'Al, go ahead,'

　Is this what you're trying to say?　He has a big smile on his face and seems to be a little proud of himself. It makes Loki look more grown up than ever before.
　The groans of those around me who have seen such a Loki - presumably the men - well up. You could say it's rapture, though.

　Five compartments assigned to first-year students. The inside of the training ground was bustling, but as the start neared, the silence descended to a tense atmosphere.
　Ars raises his hand languidly to Loki and heads to one compartment. Inside, nine students were already waiting for him to be ready for battle.
　The format was one battle at a time, ten at a time, and the last one standing could advance the next piece.
　The doorway was closed as Ars entered, all ten of them at a certain distance, with their AWRs at the ready. None of these men possessed their own AWR.
　The buzzer for the start of the battle sounds immediately as the ten people are accommodated.
　Ars looks around to price each of them out one by one.

(No good.)

　It's not the kind of body movement that mages are used to practicing. It's not the same as aiming at a motionless target," he blurts inwardly.
　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're aiming for.
　The reason why Ars is bothering to do this is because Felinella has asked me to see if there are any students who could fight, if possible.
　If we come up against Ars, defeat would be inevitable. It's necessary because he understands that it's a pity if that's the reason why the talented students can't be sifted out, and he understands that it's a pity.
　If there are students who are a little better, they will be closer to winning the championship. This is probably the amount of work that is necessary.

　The fact that this selective match is mixed gender is a result of the format of the tournament. There is no difference in strength between men and women in a wizard's battle. Of course there is a difference in muscle strength, but such a thing doesn't mean much against a demon. That's why there is basically no such thing as a handicap. Nevertheless, there is a tendency for chicks who have just become magicians to rely on their arm strength to fight. A woman is required to have magical skills and a fighting style that surpasses them.
　However, considering that the top three of the first year students are actually women, and the highest ranking in the grade is also a woman, it was hard to think that there was a difference between men and women from the split. Of course, I don't think a handicap is necessary either.

　Naturally, since there wasn't a dark curtain descending as usual, Ars would give up and move slowly; since he didn't have AWR, he couldn't use his magic with a flourish.
　So Ars leaps into the center of the magic flying around. If the students are stupid enough to unleash magic on the spot, they don't have to put their hands down directly.

'Flame Burst,' 'Ice Arrow,' and 'Windthrust.'

　Concentrate your fire on such a defenseless Ars.
　If he didn't even have AWR, he would be right in thinking that everyone should be the first to beat him.
　However, that was not the result.

　Ars suppressed the magic power to the extreme and granted it to both hands. It's a film of light so gentle that you can't even tell that it's clothed.
　The incoming fireball, the icy arrows, the slash of wind, the multiple attacks.
　Ars shifted his direction so that he could caress it from the side without going against it.
　Instead of rebelling against the magic given the direction, he changed direction. Each magic draws a curve just before it hits so that it is guided by even more magic, and it is deflected around Ars.

''........!''
'What!　No!

　Such a female student's voice was raised.

　From the side, they were fighting each other, leaving one person behind.
　It could be said that there were only a few people who were able to capture a move that was close to divine. Fortunately, there were only the members of the selection committee here, so the only ones who noticed were Loki and Felinella.
　As expected, Ars also can't reflect like Alice's reflection, but if it's a poor magic, it's easy to deflect it.
　Well, it was because he didn't move fragilely.

　The buzzer of the end sounded, and what was directed at Ars, who came out leisurely by himself, was a sarcastic voice like "what a lucky guy" or something like that.

　Apparently the others were still fighting. Upstairs, Tesfia and Alice are still cracking their eyes and not moving slightly. They seemed to understand that this wasn't just a fight between each other.
　It's unnatural, you know.

''Good job. I could just barely see it, too.''
Oh, thank you.

　Loki holding out a towel, as expected, there was no way he would sweat with that, but he couldn't cripple his generosity and accepted it.
　Loki was able to capture the fact that it was deflected, but he couldn't see the details. He used the palm of his hand as a rail, like a launching pad, to guide him. I could see the first fireball, but it was too fast to capture the seven magic deflections at once after that.

'You'll be able to do Loki in time. I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to manipulate the magic power. It's not just a matter of time before you're ready to go. I'm not going to be able to get it right. If you want to aim at it, you'll have to override the configuration.
Can you do that?

　He smiled bitterly.
　I didn't even know that he was granting me magic power until he told me. It's natural if you ask me. Since touching magic in the flesh is tantamount to being attacked, there should be some kind of magic, magic power.
　To be able to manipulate such a minuscule amount of magic power is daunting.


　The other person who was watching this was as insightful as Loki.
　Sitting in the center of the selection committee seats, Ferrinella sat with her cheekbones.

(I'm assuming you weren't there...) Saying that, she puts a pecker mark on the roster that just held the match.

　The same goes for the time of the match, considering that it was over in about a minute or so of the start of the match, which proves that no student was suitable for Ars's glasses.


　And after nearly an hour, 21 first-year students walked on to the next stage of the game. Ars, meanwhile, was glancing at the other battles to gauge the level of victory.

(Don't tell me you're going to compete in that one.......)

　He raises his gut and Ars overflows "Seriously?" to the victorious boys.

　All the battles are over.
　Five students are randomly assigned to one section and the battle takes place in the same format as the first round. If you survive this, you will get the right to compete.
　Although, due to the fact that there are half a dozen people, there are now six in Ars' place.
　I let out a sigh at the faces that are almost identical to the students of the first battle from Ars' point of view. The concern, of course, is that Alpha will be okay.
　There are some who conduct melee combat with AWR, perhaps as a result of the anti-personnel combat class, but they are only that of amateurs. And moreover, having to stop every single time to exercise magic is still too much.

　It's a good idea to be able to have a good idea of what you're looking for.
　The arrow, which was headed at twice the speed, hits him in the back and sinks him with a grunt.
　His opponent crumpled up, "What?! I froze with a careless look on my face. As a matter of course, countless small fireballs are released from the tip of the sword that is clothed in hapless magic power from right beside it from close range like rain.

　Ars stiffened as his eyes widened.
　Naturally, it's out of dismay that he has too little sense of danger.

　The three remaining students are Ars, the male student who released the fireball, and the female student who is loitering at a distance.
　However, Ars did recognize the female student - although he couldn't remember her name down to her name.

　As expected, I wondered if he noticed that he had deflected the magic, and Ars glanced at the female student who directed a divine gaze at him, as if to say that he couldn't see the point.
　As expected, he didn't understand it earlier because of multiple magic at the same time, but now there was one Arrow.
　If it deviated widely right before Ars and hit another student, it would be suspicious.

　It may not have been an indication, but the hostility between them was still directed at Ars.
　The male student produced a fireball as big as his head on the tip of his sword, while the female student hit the ground with an AWR like a stick.

''Fire Burst.''
The Mad Hand.

　At the same time, a fireball flies to Ars, and his feet rise to his feet and a giant hand grows.
　The arm of the clod that made the fist is swung down, but Ars is not there.
　Ars runs slowly towards the fireball - for Ars, that is.
　First, he deflects the fireball to the female students, and when there is no obstruction, he fleshes out the male students.
　Easily dodging the sword swung down into a kesa-kiri, and then slamming a palm strike into his pocket, the match should have been over, but...

(Heh~)

　The fireball he was headed for was blocked by a wall of dirt put up by a female student. The scorched wall quickly collapsed, revealing a female student breathing a little too hard.
　He thought the fireball was pretty powerful there for a first year, but it prevented that from happening.

　It could be said that Ars had finally found the object of review here.
　He picked up the man's sword-shaped AWR that crumbled at his feet and took a glance at the magic formula.

(Just the basics of the fire system?)

　That's no surprise if it's also an AWR for the Academy loaner.
　It won't be able to withstand the output of Ars. If so, it's just a matter of granting magic power and using it.
　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what the female students are thinking. What did the female student feel?
　There was a winning spirit in her eyes.

　Slowly but slowly, Ars can see that magic power is gathering in AWR.
　It flowed to the ground where the stick was grounded.

''[Rock Net]

　Around Ars, from the ground, a net of rock-like mesh covers him from both sides. It's just like a jaw.

(A restraint system magic, well done, but this is........)

　And right after the nets on the left and right sides were attached, Ars made three cuts with the sword. Of course, this is a trick to increase the sharpness of the magic power grant. If it was just an AWR, it wouldn't be possible to make a cut in the hard netting.
　The net wouldn't move any further and would quickly degrade to black. Ars blocked the bad flow of magic power where it was not flowing well. As a result, it returned as a mere clod of earth without the magic power going around.

''----!

　He swung his sword a few times to make an exit and escaped from the crumbling net with ease. The female student and I are about five meters apart.

(How's that for proximity?)

　Rush-sama, try swinging your sword roughly. In the meantime, Ars also matched the level of the student. I also properly drop the magic power grant to that level, but this is not easy.
　If you do the magic power granting as usual, you might easily cut the stick-type AWR in half.

　At first, I was defending myself passively, but when I couldn't catch it all, I started to let the power slip away.

(You can assemble it well in battle... natch.)

　In the meantime, the tip of the stick is thrust out with an eye to the abdomen.
　With a bit of effort, the sword is brought back in an instant and the stick is flicked with the butt of the handle.
　A metallic sound sounds, and the female student flinches widely. Her hand must have gone numb from the impact. She drops the AWR from her hand and immediately tries to pick it up, but there's no time for that.

(Yeah, that's not so bad.)

　At the end, he thrust the tip of his sword into that lightly pigmented neck and said, "I'm here," ending with the female student's surrender.
　Applause rang out with much astonishment. Was it Felinella or Loki who was the first to clap his hands?
　Either way, it was a generous one for the winner.
　Ars turns his gaze to Felinella. I guess I don't need to say that. A joyful nod of the head comes back.

　Ars successfully won the right to compete.
　Once out of the training ground, you don't have to be Ars to notice the change in the gazes around you.
　Many of them know Ars. It doesn't sound like it, but he's been spouting off the top three for even a year.
　What kind of training did he get during this break?　The majority of people would probably be praising his abilities, such as

'I knew you were strong, Ars,'

　A voice with a hint of "I'm not sure I'm going to be able to do this" can be heard from right behind me. It was the female student that I had just been playing against.

'I think I know why those three are gathered around Ars-kun.

　She turned around and smiled with a smile that didn't show the slightest trace of frustration at losing.
　As for Ars, it was honestly an unstoppable circumstance, and Loki was unwilling to make an exception because he even felt depressed.

It's not true. My practical skills scores are in the lower middle of the pack.
If you say so, I'm somewhere in the middle.
With all that magic in your hand?

　Ars thinks around that, and then thinks. She is, by all accounts, an earth strain. As a characteristic, it's easy to use, but it's an inferior strain compared to other strains, because you have to move the soil and always have directionality, so the amount of magic power consumed is also high. It's the only strain that doesn't have a first-class magic arrows.
　In other words, did they take the test outside the system?
　Inwardly, I agree with him, "I see. That's probably why he participated in the selection match without the recommendation of the selection committee.

''It can't be helped, though. But more importantly, congratulations.

　For a moment I didn't know what he was talking about, but I tried not to be sarcastic as I returned it to him, trying not to be sarcastic about the convention.

'Thanks. But I'm sure you'll get picked, too.
What?
Ciel.

　Tesfia comes running in from a distance.

'Fear!'
It's amazing. I didn't know you could do magic like that.
Hehe, I've been training hard over the holidays.

　Ahem, proudly warping his growing chest.
　Even Alice belatedly praised him with a happy smile, as if he were her own.

'Hmm?　Are you guys acquainted with her?

　I guess the fact that he called her by name means that they are not strangers to each other.

“----!
Are you serious?

　Ars tilts his head, but he has no idea. Then Loki, who was stationed next to him, tugs on Ars's sleeve and taps his ear.

'Ciel Farleno-san is in the same class.

　That being said, it doesn't ring true. Ars looks at Ciel again.

'See, I cut my hair, so maybe you can't tell... I had Fia and Alice watch me study a lot of things...'

　That being said, I can vaguely recall it. There was a rat-like thing that was tinkling around.

That reminds me.
Unbelievable. You should at least remember your classmates' names.
Al says he's not interested, right?

　I'm certainly aware of it, but it's hard to explain being called like that inept kid.
　With that in mind, I hold Ciel in my sights.

　It's not clear how it was done before, but now it's a short chestnut-colored bobbed hair that's round and fluffy, curling inward under the chin. The ends of her hair are a little clumpy, as if she's absorbed sweat.
　As expected, big eyes crispy, big eyes remind me of a small animal. The body which has a soft flesh feeling rather than a slender one. Is it because of the training that there are brand new scars here and there?
　I'm not fat, but I don't have anything on me that could be called muscle.
　I have the impression that she really is a girl. As a mage, though, I'm worried.
　And her growing breasts are ample in volume. If you look at Alice, you'll see that this is about average these days, and if you look at the other side, you'll see a red-haired girl. I'll refrain from giving my thoughts on this one. We'll just be unhappy with each other.
　It's not something that I'm very interested in due to my own upbringing, so I won't talk about it.

'I learned it anyway. Well, we're all contestants.
Mr. Ars, what was the...

　And before Ciel could raise his voice, all the games were over, and before he knew it, Felinella had come down to the training ground.

''Now that's the end of the first year's selection. The contestants will be the four who have won, and the rest will be decided by the selection committee.

　The gaze of a single, hopeful glance turns to Ferinella.

''........Ciel Farleno-san. The above five shall be deemed to have qualified from the selection match.

　All at once, the gaze that had been directed to Felinella turned to Ciel.

''Yeah!　Me!
Congratulations, Ciel.
'Of course!　Ciel was the strongest of them all.

　Alice's unreserved praise, and Tesfia assured her that she was assured.

'Thank you, Fia, Alice,'

　I guess I don't need Ars to see it.
　The gathered gazes are also what Ciel would have done. It's not just a matter of time before you'll be able to get a good look at it.
　This is probably because they know the tireless efforts of a student named Ciel.
　It's a good idea to have a good time with your friends. It's not just a matter of time before you'll be able to get your hands on a new one.