’Splash!’
Simon dove powerfully into the sea, his body cutting through the waves.
"Ooh..." Dick, swimming alongside him, gave him a look of surprise. "A typical mountain boy who’s also a good swimr, huh?"
"...Don’t underestimate ," Simon retorted. "We have rivers in the mountains, you know."
"Hahaha! Right, right!"
Simon shot Dick a mild glare before taking a deep breath and plunging beneath the surface. The world around him transford instantly. It was a silent, tranquil space where the only sound was the gentle rush of water. It felt as comforting as being in his mother’s arms, and a pleasant languor washed over him. But there was no ti to get lost in the sensation.
’I’m in the water, so I’ll start with attack magic.’
He channeled Jet-Black from his palm to draw a magic circle.
’Ah!’
He had been far too confident about drawing a magic circle underwater. The construct began to collapse at the edges before he could even complete the circle. The Jet-Black dissolved like ink, scattering into the surrounding water before vanishing without a trace.
’The base is falling apart before I can even add a binding formula.’
Creating a magic circle underwater was an entirely different challenge, at least ten tis harder than on land. He resolved to keep trying, gathering data with each attempt.
’I’ll have to simplify the magic circle significantly. It’s aningless if I can’t even form the circle, even if it ans sacrificing power and launch speed.’
After a string of failures, he finally succeeded. He knew it would be useless in a real fight, but since he’d managed to create it, he decided to test it anyway. He aid at a nearby octopus, hoping it might beco his lunch.
‘Jet-Black Torpedo!’
The Jet-Black projectile launched from the magic circle, bubbling as it shot through the water. Simon cheered inwardly at its surprising speed.
It missed the octopus, lodging itself in a nearby rock instead. The startled creature quickly scurried into a crevice.
His lungs burning, Simon swam swiftly back to the surface.
"Phew!"
Breaking through the water felt like ti had resud its normal pace. A cloudless sky stretched above him, and from the beach, he could hear the boisterous laughter of the other students.
’One more ti!’
Simon raised his right hand above his head. A magic circle began to form with a speed that was incomparable to his underwater attempts.
’Ugh, why is this simple formula so difficult underwater?’
Finally completing the circle, Simon lowered his palm. "Jet-Black Torpedo!"
The torpedo launched from above the surface and plunged into the sea. It shot forward, trailing a stream of bubbles at an impressive speed. He felt a surge of confidence; at this velocity, he could probably hit another Kizen student.
’It would be great if I could create it underwater with this much power.’
Next up was the breathing magic circle he and irin had spent all day developing. It would take five minutes to complete. After ticulously drawing the circle, Simon activated the runes.
’Whoosh!’
The surrounding air was sucked into the circle.
’It works!’
While Simon was engrossed in his tests, Dick was flailing about nearby, wearing a pair of flippers he had designed.
"Simon! Simon! Look at !" he shouted. "I made these, and they’re freaking aweso!" Mana continuously jetted from Dick’s legs as he zipped across the water. "It’s a huge success! If I sell these to the others before the exam, I’ll definitely be rich... Whoaaaaa!"
Suddenly, a hole must have burst in one of the flippers. The mana exploded like a booster, launching Dick into the air. His body traced a gentle arc, soaring over the water and onto the sandy beach.
He landed headfirst in a sandcastle so small children were building. The kids’ smiles vanished as they watched their creation crumble. After a mont of twitching, Dick pulled his head out of the sand, spread his arms wide, and grinned.
"Ta-da! I’m the princess who lives in the sandcastle!"
The children burst into tears.
’...That guy.’
Simon let out a dry laugh and turned his attention back to the magic circle on his right hand. The hour hand inscribed in the formula had moved from the far left to the far right, indicating it was fully charged. He imdiately pressed the circle to his mouth and dove back into the sea.
’It works!’ He could breathe, thanks to the air leaking from his hand. ’Ugh, but...’
Since he was just crudely covering his mouth and nose, water was seeping in along with the air. He couldn’t last long and had to resurface.
’I was so focused on perfecting the formula that I overlooked sothing so basic...’
Still, it seed like a problem he could solve easily enough. He swam back toward the beach.
anwhile, irin and Kamibarez were setting up a large parasol, big enough for all four of them. Beneath it, they arranged folding chairs and a table, on which they spread out their magic circle diagrams. irin was even installing a security magic circle, her thoroughness on full display.
"Need any help?" Simon asked as he approached, fresh from the sea.
Without even looking up, irin snapped, "Hey! Are so of us working while others are playing? What took you so long?"
"Sorry, sorry. I guess I got carried away."
"Well, for starters, that parasol pole keeps wobbling, so go take a look..." irin’s voice trailed off as she turned her head. Her face went beet-red. Beside her, Kamibarez covered her mouth with both hands, her eyes darting nervously.
"What’s wrong?" Simon blinked, completely oblivious. The thin shirt he was wearing was soaked and clinging to his muscular fra. If anything, the wet fabric only accentuated the definition of his chest and abs.
"What are you doing! Hurry up and check the pole!" irin yelled.
"Alright." As Simon rushed over to the pole, irin and Kamibarez exchanged a furtive glance.
"I never really noticed when he was in his uniform," Kamibarez whispered.
"I-I know, right," irin stamred.
They watched his back for a mont. As he grunted and lifted the pole, the balanced muscles of his back flexed under the strain.
"There! All fixed. One of the poles was in backward."
As Simon set the pole down and turned back, the two girls quickly averted their heads.
"Th-Thank you, Simon!" Kamibarez said, forcing a smile. "Would you like sothing to drink?"
"Yeah, please."
She scampered off to get so juice while Simon walked toward the table.
’Oh, my!’ As he drew near, irin blushed furiously and shouted, "Hey! Stop right there!"
"Huh?"
"You just got out of the water! You’ll get the diagrams all wet, so go sit over there!"
Simon did as he was told, sitting in a chair to spread out the magic circle he’d been working on and inspect it with a serious expression.
’...It’s hot.’ irin fanned herself furiously, trying to cool her burning cheeks.
---
The three of them reviewed Simon’s proposed improvents and began to modify the magic circle. Each of them actively contributed ideas, refining it into an efficient design that a first-year could realistically use.
"How’s this?" irin asked, unfolding a Jet-Black Torpedo magic circle with an even stronger binding formula before launching it.
The torpedo flew out, traced a gentle arc, and then dropped to the ground with a thud.
Simon shook his head. "This way, we can cast it underwater, but we’ve sacrificed too much. If the speed and power drop this much, it’s worse than not using it at all."
"Hmm." irin pondered his words, seeming to agree.
"How about we put the Jet-Black Torpedo on hold for now?" Kamibarez suggested timidly. "For offense, rather than creating a new shared spell, I think it would be better to slightly modify our own specialties for underwater use."
Simon agreed. Working on the breathing magic circle together was one thing, but attack magic required too many compromises to be effective in the water. The best approach was to create the magic circle on the surface, then enter the water to use it.
"Still, it wasn’t a waste," Simon mused. "While making the torpedo, we studied formulas for aquatic use. If we apply this to our major-specific magic..."
"I’m back!" Dick announced, dancing into the shade of the parasol.
irin stopped talking and shot him a glare. "What took you so long, you sandcastle princess?"
"The kids were crying, so I built them a new one," Dick said with a shaless grin, then stood next to Simon. "So, what’s the verdict?"
Simon explained that they had decided to focus on their individual specialties for offense, while concentrating on shared breathing and swimming techniques for the sea. Dick readily agreed.
"Alright, my turn to go," irin said, stepping out from under the parasol. "Soone has to stay and watch. Who’s up for it?"
"! I’ll do it!" Dick exclaid, flopping into a chair. "I’m dead tired from playing with those kids."
"I’m still not a great swimr... so you two go on ahead!" Kamibarez added.
And so, it was Simon and irin’s turn to head to the shore. They walked to the water’s edge in complete silence.
’I don’t know where to look,’ Simon thought, his eyes fixed firmly ahead. Her swimsuit was far too revealing for his sheltered sensibilities.
’...When is his shirt going to dry?’ irin was just as conscious of the person beside her.
When they finally reached the water, she broke the silence. "You go first, Simon." Her sky-blue hair fluttered as she began preparing her black magic.
Simon nodded and dove in. He swam swiftly through the water, and when he glanced back, irin was drawing magic circles on her feet before leaping into the air.
’Ice Road’
Ice poured from beneath her feet, and she shot across the surface of the water. Simon’s jaw dropped. She was running on the sea, on a path of solid ice.
’That’s amazing!’ Her skill with ice magic was so impressive that he wondered why she hadn’t trained in it sooner. If she hadn’t been so fixated on Serne, who specialized in Jet-Black fla magic, she might have already reached a higher level.
"Achoo!"
Of course, there was the minor issue of her being sensitive to the cold. She cleared her throat, brought the Ice Road to a halt, and dove into the sea. As she activated a spell she had prepared beforehand, Simon watched in admiration as shards of ice shot through the water.
’She must have been upset about her rank dropping in the last BMAT. It looks like she’s determined to be ready for this one.’
He couldn’t afford to fall behind. Simon summoned a skeleton from his Subspace.
He had intended to use Bone Armor, but the skeleton simply bobbed uselessly on the surface. Using Overlord was also out of the question; underwater, he couldn’t perform the left-foot stomp that triggered its activation.
Watching irin effortlessly unleash a torrent of ice, Simon pondered his options. ’What’s the best way for to fight underwater?’
---
A man lying on a sunbed under a parasol let out a long, languid yawn. He had tanned skin and wore a white cap. He rubbed his eyes and smacked his lips.
"Do we really have to co all the way to the sea to train?"
His friend, lying on the opposite sunbed, replied with a smile. "Cut them so slack. If our teammates get expelled from Kizen, it’s our loss in the end."
"That damn group project. Besides, what more practice do we need for fighting in the sea?"
The friend chuckled and shrugged. "You might not get it, being a special admission student and a naval combat specialist, but everyone else flipped out when they heard the third exam’s the was the sea."
The man adjusted his white cap. "Is it really that big of a deal? A fight is a fight, whether it’s on sea or land... Huh?"
He saw a pristine path of ice stretching across the middle of the sea. Sitting up, he grabbed the brim of his cap and tilted it back. The sight of a girl with sky-blue hair in a swimsuit, gliding swiftly on the ice, was breathtakingly beautiful.
"That girl is impressive. Do you know who she is?"
His friend let out a dry laugh. "...You really don’t know anyone in our class besides a few people, do you?"
"I still haven’t even morized all my teammates’ nas." He had a severe case of selective mory, forgetting soone he’d seen just ten minutes prior if they didn’t interest him.
"Hahaha! She’s pretty famous. irin Villenne of the Ivory Tower."
In an instant, the man shot up from his sunbed and grabbed his friend by the collar. "R-Raheim? What’s with the sudden—!"
"Say it again," Raheim hissed, his eyes flashing dangerously. "Say it clearly. Who from the Ivory Tower? What’s her na?"
His friend looked utterly bewildered. They had been hanging out all sester, but this was the first ti Raheim had ever reacted to soone’s na.
"M-irin Villenne!"
"Wasn’t this year’s freshman from the Ivory Tower Serne Aindark?"
"I-I don’t know! They just said she was from the Ivory Tower, too!"
At those words, Raheim released his friend’s collar. The friend coughed, having landed hard on the sand. Raheim’s expression had turned deadly serious.
’To hear that na here.’
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