By Zephyria 
‘Hmm. But still, maybe not.’
‘Elves’ are as reclusive as dragons, so they hardly ever show themselves in the world.
‘Newit seemed a little different because he was a mixed-blood.’
Suddenly, I heard Tom’s voice calling me to come quickly, so I raised my head and saw that the surroundings were already crowded with people who had entered the Imaginary Space.
“Raymond?”
“Never mind. Let’s go.”
After clearing my mind, I nodded to Zeon and followed my servants, moving into the Colosseum.
The entrance to the Colosseum was dark. After passing through a short passage, a wide space like a lobby appeared. The lobby was crowded with people who had moved earlier than us.
“If you talk over there, they’ll guide you, I guess.”
Tom, who had looked around, pointed to a place that looked like an entrance management office.
Behind the management office, there was a staircase leading to the second floor, and there was a passage straight ahead. Judging from the movements of the people, it seemed that the seats for the audience were on the second floor.
I parted ways with my group there and was guided through the passage.
I had also applied in advance to participate in the Colosseum Ranking Battle, and there was a waiting room for the participants on the passage side.
“Please wait here for a moment.”
The staff member who had guided me to the front of the waiting room left, and I opened the door. There were many unfamiliar faces in the waiting room, but there were also quite a few familiar ones. It was only natural since Class A had filled all the available slots.
“Oh, here! Why are you so late?”
Melicsa, who found me first, shouted loudly as she waved her hand. Next to her were Newit and the freckled male student.
When a slight commotion arose, the other students frowned and glanced at us, but Melicsa didn’t seem to care.
“I just came on time.”
“You brat. Always arguing!”
When I approached her as she gestured for me to come, Melicsa pulled me to sit next to her.
I frowned at the casual contact, but Melicsa just laughed heartily and continued the conversation.
Not long after that.
Someone knocked on the waiting room door, and the attention of the children in the waiting room turned to it. Soon after, the door opened, and an unfamiliar face peeked inside.
He shuffled through the papers and called out the names.
“Raymond Den Valencia. Derek Dominan.”
“Ah, yes!”
As I was staring blankly, the freckled male student answered loudly. Derek Dominan… He was very nervous, unlike his large build, and glanced at me.
“The two of you are opponents in the first match, and it will start in 10 minutes, so please prepare in advance. I’ll be back in a bit.”
The staff member left without hesitation.
When the freckled… Derek’s face turned blue, Melicsa laughed loudly and slapped him on the back.
“You’re going to get completely crushed from the first match!”
It was like adding fuel to the fire.
“That’s why I said I didn’t want to do it.”
The freckled… Derek muttered with a tearful expression. He was almost on the verge of crying. But I was curious about what kind of battle he would put up, and I had to use the newly learned Magic to my heart’s content, so I wasn’t going to go easy on him.
A little later, the staff member who came in again called Derek and me once more, telling us to come out.
As I got up from my seat first, I heard conversations from behind about whether he could forfeit. But Derek seemed to have given up due to Melicsa’s prodding and soon followed me out.
We passed through the passage and walked out to the field exit. At the same time as the bright light poured in, I heard a noisy roar.
When I headed to the left first, Derek, who had hesitated, headed to the opposite side, distancing himself from me.
‘The field is quite wide.’
When I raised my head and looked around, I saw round objects created by Creation Magic floating in the air, capturing Derek and me. Those objects emitted light like Video Orbs, displaying screens that showed our images in real-time.
‘Were they made with a similar principle to the Video Orb?’
It was quite interesting since it was the first time I had seen such Magic.
《Ah. Hello. I am Martin Mirok, and I will be the host for this Colosseum Ranking Battle.》
At that time, a young man spoke in a voice that echoed throughout the Colosseum using Amplification Magic. His face was somewhat familiar, and it turned out that he was one of the professors I had seen at the entrance ceremony. He must have been the professor in charge of Class B of the Swordsmanship Department.
《Yes, then I will now explain the rules of the Colosseum Ranking Battle. It’s simple! First, if you look at the end of the field, there is a white line drawn. The person who goes out of that line first after the match starts loses.》
STM
I glanced back. As he said, a white line was clearly drawn. Of course, the field was so wide that it seemed unlikely anyone would accidentally cross the line.
《You can use any magic or weapon. However, for each other’s sake, please refrain from dangerous actions and weapons that could take the opponent’s life.》
Then, two students who were in charge of the live broadcast introduced themselves in a loud voice using Amplification magic from a specially prepared broadcasting booth. They seemed to be second-year students.
《Ah, the participants in the first Colosseum Ranking Battle are first-year Class A students? Raymond Valentasia and Derek Dominan!》
《Valentasia, that’s… there! The Dukedom of Defnel in the northern principality… the Dukedom that has traditionally specialized in Spiritism centered on Necromancy.》
《That’s right! This is a personal story, but they are people I admire so much… I was so curious when I heard that the youngest member of the Valentasia family was participating in the Ranking Battle this time.》
《Haha. By the way, Necromancy is known to be quite difficult Magic to learn… What is Raymond going to do?》
《I’m looking forward to it! Oh, and Derek is said to have entered a year late? He could have been our classmate if he had done well. He is said to use Transformation magic! He’s tall and has a good build, so Power magic would have been perfect for him, but this part is a bit disappointing.》
《Still, he can always do both if he wants to. Power magic and Transformation magic aren’t completely incompatible. High-class magicians even learn Magic of opposing Affinities.》
Soon, the broadcasters stop their trivial conversation, check the time, and change the subject. The assigned entry time is over….
Ziiiiiiing.
A signal announcing the start of the match rang out long and loud.
Immediately after, a loud cheer erupted from the seating area.
I chuckled softly as I watched them. It was no different from the barbaric acts of ancient humans who relieved stress by watching each other fight to the death. Seeing them so enthusiastic, I realized that humans were still humans.
It was around then.
Derek, who had been cowering and looking around, gave me an awkward smile.
“Well, please take care of me! Raymon….”
Before he could finish speaking, I flicked my hand. A Magic Circle formed beneath my feet, and the Black Mana consumed for it rose ominously and then disappeared. When a huge Magic Circle appeared, almost covering the field, the broadcasters began to chatter non-stop.
《Oh! Black Mana just now!》
《The rumors were true! Wow, this is my first time seeing it!》
《I guess everyone feels the same way?》
Soon, dozens of skeletons crawled up from the Magic Circle. As a chilling air and dark, murky fog spread around them from the depths of the underworld, Derek was jumping up and down.
《That’s… hmm! Was it Knight’s Blight?》
《Correct! It’s one of the applications of Necromancy Magic. It’s a Magic with a similar principle to Netherworld Summoning, but the difference is that it’s more advantageous in group battles. It’s basically a mass summoning spell that ‘simultaneously summons’ 30 or more. And even if the achievement is low, you can summon a large number of skeletons without a medium!》
A very accurate explanation.
《Unlike Netherworld Summoning, which can summon intermediate Netherworld Spirits, it can only summon low-level Netherworld Spirits that are weak in durability and cannot understand advanced commands, but the basic number of summons is enormous, making it an intimidating Magic. Hmm, is that what he’s aiming for?》
They were second-year students.
It seemed that their extra year of study was not in vain.
However, the only mistake was that I didn’t use Knight’s Blight to pressure Derek. My only purpose was to try out the newly learned Magic on a human and see how well it worked.
‘It’s hard to use Magic like this unless it’s a time like this.’
It was naturally awkward to readily use it for research in everyday life, as at least 30 skeletons popped out at the same time and could only understand simple commands. It wasn’t like it consumed little Mana either.
While the broadcasters were speculating about the meaning of my actions, I gave orders to the dozens of skeletons that had been summoned.
“Drive him out of the line.”
The skeletons that had been waiting began to move their bone-only bodies. Derek was horrified to see the skeletons approaching to grab him, and he was blasting powerful flames to break their bones.
‘The durability of Extant Remains is definitely much weaker.’
Their movements are not very sharp either. The number is overwhelming, but it would not have a significant effect on an opponent with equally overwhelming power. They could just be swept away at once.
‘Then… shall I use that this time?’
I held out my hand. A Magic Circle quickly woven together with Black Mana formed over my hand. As the jet-black darkness that poured out from there began to envelop me, the entire Colosseum seating area buzzed and became noisy.
《Darkness?! That looks like an ominous Magic. Is that also a Spiritism-type Magic?》
《It seems so. I think it’s probably….》
Soon, the darkness that surrounded me changed its shape.
The darkness was so black that it gleamed, and it became armor and a helmet that were harder than iron, protecting my body.