By Zephyria 
Flesh and Bone Blessing.
It is similar to Full Body Armament, a type of basic Power magic, and is a Magic that creates and wears ‘armor that protects the body’.
The components of this armor are basically the bones of something imbued with Mana, and according to the description in the magic book, the higher the user’s achievement, the higher the grade of the being whose bones are summoned and reconstructed.
To be precise, it summons and reconstructs the darkness containing the Mana of the dead in the bones, but anyway, it is a Magic that is rarely used by Necromancers who do not use force well, but it was an interesting Magic for me, whose purpose is to broaden the scope of application.
‘I need to see how long I can last wearing this armor.’
When I used darkness to create a blunt spear and held it in my hand, the broadcasting booth that was watching became noisy again.
《It’s Flesh and Bone Blessing after all! That’s a completely unexpected choice! Is he going to fight directly? Or is it just for intimidation?》
《Do magic students in their first year also learn weapon skills?》
《No! They will only learn martial arts for now.》
When I turned the spear once, I heard the sound of tearing through the air. I took a step, holding the spear comfortably.
Then, Derek, who was watching me approach, suddenly turned pale and turned around.
“I forfeit! I forfeit!”
Derek ran out of the line in a hurry before I could do anything.
‘Ah.’
My brow furrowed involuntarily. He ran away before I even started properly. I wanted to stop him from crossing the line, but Derek was already outside the line at that time.
In the end, the victory was decided in my favor.
Cheers and applause filled the Colosseum.
It was a waste of the Flesh and Bone Blessing that I had bothered to use, but I had no choice but to release it. The dozens of skeletons that had been summoned to the ground were also returned to the world of the dead.
《Haha. Forfeit, I understand. It can happen.》
《That’s right. Honestly, I would have been scared too.》
While the broadcasters were laughing, I smacked my lips, feeling uncomfortable.
‘I hope a more decent human being comes out in the next match.’
The second match had to proceed, so I left the field. It was a shame, but I had to wait for the next opportunity. So, when I entered the passage to return to the waiting room.
Suddenly, a figure leaning against the middle of the hallway caught my eye.
“……?”
The face was somewhat familiar, so I looked closely and saw Sigras.
‘Why is she in a place like this?’
I stopped walking. Then, she glanced back at me with an indifferent gaze. As if she had been waiting.
Then, Sigras, who had been leaning against the wall, took her back off the wall and turned to face me, crossing her arms.
“You really use Black Mana.”
And the first thing she said was about Black Mana.
I kept my mouth shut to gauge her intentions. She was also staring at me with a face that I couldn’t tell what she was thinking.
In the midst of the silence, it was Sigras who broke the silence first.
“If you ever need me in the future… no. If you ever have business with the ‘Elves’, come find me anytime. I’ll help you.”
Elves.
I didn’t show it much on the outside, but I was quite embarrassed. I had a hunch, but it turned out to be true.
But what was more suspicious was the subsequent remark.
If she came all the way here to tell me such a story, there must be a corner of her that is convinced that something will happen, but this is my first time meeting an Elf. I have no contact with them at all, so there is no way I would have any business with them.
So I asked.
“Why are you telling me this?”
Sigras smiled faintly.
“You’ll have to figure that out for yourself.”
She left just like that. It seems that leaving that one thing was her original purpose.
I couldn’t understand her intentions until the end, but if there comes a time when I have a relationship with them to the point where I really have business with them… well. Someday I’ll understand even if I don’t want to. That’s what I thought.
After that, I went up to the semi-finals and finals Ranking Battle, and I easily defeated everyone and took first place.
Newit was the only one who was a little difficult to deal with, but that was a welcome thing for me.
Thanks to him showing his competitive spirit without giving up in the middle like Derek, I was able to fully use the newly learned Magic.
After the ranking announcement and awards ceremony were over, I went straight back to the dormitory. By that time, it was already late in the evening.
As I was washing up and reading a book, Herman, who was sitting on the end of the bed and getting closer to my bed, opened his mouth.
“Ray. You know.”
“Hmm.”
“We have time to enjoy the festival from tomorrow to the day after tomorrow…. I don’t have anything else to do, so would you like to hang out with me?”
Hang out together. Didn’t we do that today too?
It was a strange question.
“Didn’t we always do that?”
“No. I mean… just the two of us.”
So. What does it matter if it’s two or three of us?
I took my eyes off the book and looked back. Herman, who flinched when our eyes met, glanced away. I don’t know why, but he was scratching the back of his neck, warming his cheeks as if he was embarrassed.
“What’s so difficult about it? If you want to, do it.”
And anyway, I was planning to enjoy the human festival for the rest of the time.
It would be difficult if I was secretly wandering around for reasons such as temples, but there was no reason to refuse if it wasn’t like that. Rather, what’s wrong with him following his master’s tail and fulfilling his duty as a servant?
Herman smiled brightly. He looked very happy. I felt a little strange because it was a different reaction than usual, but it was only for a moment. I just let it go.
“Are you going to sleep now? Should I turn off the lights?”
“Yeah.”
It was already time to sleep anyway. Just as I was closing the book and putting it on the bookshelf, the light that had been subtly illuminating the room went out and a deep darkness fell.
The next day. When the morning sunlight tickled my eyelids, I slowly opened my eyes. When I swept my messy hair once and pulled back the curtains of the bed, I saw Herman already up and diligently preparing.
“Oh, you’re awake. Did you sleep well?”
Herman, who turned around at the sound, asked, and I nodded lightly. After that, in order to wake up from sleep, I first washed up and changed my clothes.
While I was changing, the guy who was sitting with his back turned in a direction that didn’t look at me for some reason kept fidgeting and talking to me.
“Hey… Ray. Are you done changing?”
“That’s the third time you’ve asked that question. Don’t rush me.”
It’s not like I’m changing slowly in the first place.
He’s a servant who doesn’t have an ounce of patience.
“Haa.”
It was when Herman was sighing and drooping his shoulders. Suddenly, someone knocked on the dormitory door. The front of the door was noisy for some reason, so I, who had finished changing, opened the door and saw people.
All of those faces were familiar.
It was Zeon, Tom, and Ardian.
“Good morning!”
“Hello.”
“Good morning, Raymond.”
Tom and Ardian greeted me brightly, and Zeon nodded.
Herman, who came to my side late, recognized them and glanced at me, showing a rather embarrassed look.
“Are you guys… going to hang out together today too?”
“Of course!”
“Raymond. Shall we take a look around the Central Hall today?”
Zeon was already suggesting where to go with me, and Tom was complaining as if he was sulking, saying that we weren’t going to hang out with them.
I didn’t care how many people were next to me, so I accepted Zeon’s suggestion, saying, “Let’s go around the school first and then look around to see what’s in the Central Hall.”
Herman sighed once more. So, today too, I ended up wandering around with my servants as always.
“What’s in the Central Hall?”
“I heard they’re doing some exhibitions and setting up booths.”
“Oh, what’s this? A horror experience booth?”
The servants were chattering while looking at a booklet with the festival schedule and explanations. After leaving the dormitory and looking around, there were as many people walking around the school as yesterday. Then, I suddenly discovered a human who felt out of place and fixed my gaze on him.
‘Hmm?’
He was doing a meaningless action of looking at the back of the bushes, and when I looked closely, it wasn’t just that one person who was doing that. Several people around him were rummaging through the bushes, checking behind the benches, and… standing around doing nothing and checking the time, acting somewhat strangely for humans who were enjoying the festival.
What are those guys doing?
It was when I was feeling strange about that.
A wave of Mana that spread widely from somewhere touched my skin. I felt it and raised my head. Most of the humans in the school seemed to have felt it, stopped walking, and the servants also stopped talking, as if they had sensed the change.
In the midst of all this, the humans who had been acting strangely showed happy expressions.
《Aaa.》
Immediately after, someone’s voice echoed throughout the school. People were buzzing and laughing, starting to make a fuss. I was concentrating because I hadn’t fully grasped the situation yet, and then I heard the voice continue.
《Is everyone enjoying the festival!》
It seemed that they were speaking with a Magic that had a similar principle or applied Formula to the Amplification magic that the professors often used. When the people who knew something answered energetically, the voice continued in a satisfied tone.
《Good! I think the second-year students at our academy probably know what’s about to start from now on. Yes, that’s right! Merzel Academy’s long-standing tradition! It’s to find the Eternity Fire Brooch within the time limit, which is said to make you achieve love with the person you want and promise eternal love!》
It seemed that a new event was starting.