"H-Hey, Sarah… He's not normal. Let's r-retreat…"
"No."
In front of him, Brandon could hear one of the mages speaking to the sound mage. The mage's voice trembled.
'So her name is Sarah.'
An unfamiliar character.
Another extra.
Truthfully, Sarah was fairly attractive, black hair tied to a ponytail, purple eyes that contoured to a determined gaze. She was tall, taller than any of the girls in his friend group.
She seemed to be the leader, as the mages with her tended to rely on her orders.
But her beauty isn't what caught Brandon's attention.
It was her magic.
The whole time, she had never used any sound magic to attack Brandon.
'Why?'
It was peculiar.
Was she preparing for a surprise attack?
Brandon couldn't tell.
It should've been obvious that they were at a disadvantage, now that Brandon had stopped handicapping himself to only using lightning.
Yet Sarah refused the plea to retreat.
'What is she planning?'
Regardless, Brandon was determined to kill them.
Whatever Sarah was planning for him didn't matter.
'I'll win.'
He smirked.
Crackle…
An ice sword slowly materialized in his hand, gripping it tightly.
He'd already learned all of the advanced swordsmanship from the books he bought. Though, only in theory.
This was his chance to test its application.
The mage who's neck he gripped had already recovered and returned to their position.
Step–
An ice sword in his hand, Brandon stepped forward.
The mages all locked eyes with him, their expressions were serious.
They must've realized he was now in a different league as they focused all their attention on his every move.
It was then when one of the mages lifted his hand, conjuring mana.
However…
[Mana Disruption]
Since [Mana Disruption] didn't have any visible effects, no one would notice Brandon did something.
No one but the victims themselves.
"Wha–"
Spark– Crackle—!
At that, Brandon flashed forward, as trails of blue sparks left his trail.
Brandon instantly blinked in front of the mage. The mage's hand was still lifted up, trying to conjure mana.
But it was futile.
Then…
Swoosh– Splurt–!
His arm was cleanly sliced off.
"Fuuuuck–"
With the ice sword raised up, Brandon tried to swing it and cut his head off..
Vooosh–
Spark–!
A gust of wind tried to blow him away but he immediately blinked back.
But…
Water shaped like a whip had managed to grab hold of his leg.
"Now!"
Sarah screamed, giving out her orders.
Instantly, a barrage of wind and water made their way towards Brandon.
One of the mages, seemingly the ice mage, tried to conjure up her mana.
"Huh?"
Yet nothing happened.
Since [Mana Disruption] could only target one specific spot–object, inanimate or animate, Brandon couldn't do anything about the other magic skills.
He couldn't do it simultaneously, and there was a time lag.
But he was relieved since the ice couldn't mix with the water on his leg.
At the moment, the ice mage was the most dangerous opponent, besides Sarah, who still didn't do anything.
With the water whip grabbing his leg, Brandon protruded lightning sparks from his feet.
Tszzzz–
The sparks slowly crawled up to the water mage.
"Kehhuut..!"
At that, the whip dissipated as the water mage twitched spontaneously.
"Idiot, you've forgotten he can use lightning as well."
Sarah stepped back, reprimanding the water mage.
Tszzzz–
Brandon once again flashed forward, dodging the gust of wind. He then appeared in front of the ice mage.
"S-Sarah, help–"
Spurt!
Her plea was abruptly cut off as Brandon cleanly slit her throat.
Blood splattered everywhere, staining Brandon's clothes, as the ice mage dematerialized into white particles.
Kszzz–
His attention was then redirected on his back. The black fur coat dematerialized as well.
"So she was the owner…"
Step–
They took a step back.
There were only four mages left, while one of them was out of commission, having no arm.
Brandon coldly locked his gaze with them, then to Sarah.
"Why aren't you doing anything?"
Two of them had already died. Yet Sarah had never revealed her cards.
"Yeah! Are you just going to let us die, Sarah?"
One of the mages, seemingly the earth mage screamed. His expressions were one of terror, as he held the spot where his arm once was.
"Shut up, shut up!"
Brandon was taken aback. Sarah seemed to have lost it, disheveling her hair.
'Could it be?'
"You."
At Brandon's words, Sarah turned to the left, then to the right.
Then eventually looked back at Brandon, while pointing at herself.
"M-Me?"
"Yes, you. The only thing you can do is create a sound barrier, can't you?"
"..."
She hesitated.
'It all makes sense now.'
She had no magic skills that would aid her in a fight.
In other words…
"Are you the 2,021th ranked student?"
The lowest rank possible.
"..."
Though he didn't show it, Brandon was quite surprised.
Who knew the lowest ranked student had a rare affinity.
Her gaze tore down with an anxious expression.
"...Hold on. Is that true, Sarah?"
The earth mage grumbled, while the other mages stared at Sarah as well.
"Fuck, I shouldn't have paired up with you."
It was then when Sarah continuously stomped her foot on the ground.
"Shut up, shut up, shut up! You were the one who approached me after finding out I was a sound mage. So don't put the blame on me."
Sarah then turned to look at the arm that wasn't there, and continued,
"I may be a fraud. But at least I didn't get my arm cut off!"
Sarah seemed to have enough.
Brandon blankly stared at the group as they continued to argue.
But it was then when the mages formed a circle, surrounding Sarah.
'Hold on.'
They were about to kill her.
Distasteful.
But nonetheless, Brandon let the scene unfold.
To let the others do the dirty work for him.
As the mages conjured up their mana, Sarah's voice reached his ears.
"Fuck… I don't care anymore, I'm dropping out after this."
She'd given up.
A shame.
'Her potential would be a waste.'
Sound magic was rare. Attending the Academy was only the beginning for Sarah to have complete mastery over it.
'She can't drop out now.'
It would've been a waste.
Thus, Brandon decided.
"Hey."
At his call, all the mages reluctantly turned their heads at him.
They trembled.
Just a simple word from Brandon was enough for them to be shaken.
"If you kill her, I'll come find you after the Battle Royale."
They tilted their heads, confused.
But Brandon wasn't done.
He continued, coldly emphasizing his last words.
"And I'll kill you myself."
At his last statement, all three of the mages surrounding Sarah had their eyes wide open. They shakingly lifted their hands down.
Silence.
No one retorted.
The one to have broken the silence was Brandon, as he spoke up once again.
"I'll give you two choices, I'll kill you all right here and now, or…"
He turned to look at the cave's entrance, then continued,
"You can go back inside and let Amy Ashfield kill you."
He spoke in a tone that seemed to tell–there was no room for negotiation.
They stood still, frozen.
Until…
Step–
One of them stepped forward. It was the earth mage.
"Hey! We haven't lost yet, are you really going to agree with his demands?"
The one to have said those words seemed to be the water mage, as she grabbed the man's shoulder, trying to stop him.
"Are you confident you could beat him?"
The earth mage glanced at Brandon, then back to the water mage.
"N-No, but if we all work together then–"
"Ridiculous. There were eight of us at the start. How many of us are left now?"
"..."
The water mage couldn't respond and took a glance at Brandon as well.
"You get it? That man… He's a monster. People like us… We're only stepping stones for him."
"..."
"I first entered this Academy with aspirations, thinking I could become someone special…"
The earth mage looked down with a sorrowful expression. He clenched his hands tightly to the point where blood started dripping.
"...I know it's only a simulation… But when I lost my arm…"
His voice started to crack.
"You know what an arm means to a mage, don't you?"
A mage's lifeline.
Tears started to drip, flowing down his cheek. As his voice continued to crack.
"Monsters like them, Raven Blackheart, Reinhard Van, Claire Victoria, Amy Ashfield, Rachel Asami… I can't compete with them."
Step–
He stepped forward, motioning towards the cave.
"I'm dropping out as well… This Academy… It's too much for me…"
Tears continued to drip down.
"Wait!"
The water mage called out to him, while the other mage stood by her side.
"...Let's all go together."
The earth mage seemed taken aback, but nodded with a smile plastered on his face.
"Okay."
But when he turned to glance at Brandon, he stared right into his cold eyes.
He then trembled in fear. He might've thought Brandon would come for him after the Battle Royale session, as he urgently told the two mages to hurry up.
At that, they entered the cave. Their figures gradually coalesced with the dark until Brandon couldn't see them anymore.
The entire time, Sarah stood silent.
She then turned to look at Brandon. Her previously terrified expression had contoured to a blank slate.
"Why did you spare me?"
"Spare you?"
What is she talking about?
Is all Brandon could think of.
"...So you aren't going to spare me?"
"No?... I'll just talk some senses into you."
"...?"
Brandon then strode forward, motioning towards Sarah.
Then paused, just a few inches from her.
"Don't drop out."
"..."
"Your talent."
"...?"
"It would be a waste."
Sarah seemed puzzled, tilting her head.
She then pursed her lips to say,
"Talent? I was useless the whole time, yet you tell me I have talent? Hah."
Truthfully, Brandon didn't know anything about Sarah.
She was a character that had never appeared in the novel.
But…
"Your mana capacity."
"What?"
"It's leaking."
She had a lot of mana. Too much that her body couldn't contain all of it.
Brandon then lifted his ice sword, and continued,
"I'll kill you now. But I'll come find you after all of this is over."
"Wha–"
Swoosh––!
—---------------------------
[Quest Completed!]
[Rewards Obtained:]
[EXP: +50]
[Stat Points: +3]
[System Coins: +50]
—---------------------------
Tak— Tak—!
Walking around the halls of Astrea Academy, Belle's heels clicked against the marbled floor.
"Good morning, President Belle.
"Greetings, President."
Along the way, she'd be greeted by the students. She'd then return their greetings with a nod.
She had heard–that the first year students' Battle Royale was scheduled today.
Particularly, Brandon's Combat Class.
The session was streamed live, and from a distance she could see the students gathering to watch it from a screen.
Battle Royale was a session that every first year student had to take.
She took it as well when she was a first year, placing first.
Belle was quite interested in this year's session, but she refrained from watching.
The reason for this was because she didn't want to see Brandon killed.
Though, it would only be a simulation, just the sight of her own little brother dying before her eyes would be terrifying.
Tak— Tak—!
The hall continued to echo by the clicking of her heels. But the sound was immediately drowned out by the chattering of the students.
It was then when the students' words caught her attention.
"Does anyone know who that student is?"
"No, but he looks familiar."
"Doesn't he kind of look like President Belle?"
"Oh, now that you mention it they do look alike."
"That's President Belle's younger brother, Brandon Locke."
'Brandon…?'
Why were they talking about Brandon?
'Did he lose already?'
She suddenly had a bad feeling.
She had to know why they were talking about him.
Tak— Tak—!
She approached the group of students.
"Ah."
"P-President Belle, good morning."
"Good morning, President.
Belle then nodded at their greetings, but didn't spare them any glances.
Tak— Tak—!
It was then she could finally see the screen.
What caught her attention was the boy displayed on the screen. Pale-white hair, ice blue-eyes, and…
'Lightning..? Ice..? Wind…?'
She was surprised as her eyes shot wide open.
'Is that really Brandon…?
Truthfully, she never knew just how capable Brandon was.
The two siblings were quite close growing up. But when Belle awakened as a Deviant, she moved overseas to pursue her education.
Thus, the two siblings drifted apart.
But at 16-years-old was when the Academy called upon her.
She was given the offer to become the Student Council President in exchange for attending Astrea Academy.
Of course, she accepted the offer and returned to the country, reuniting with her family.
But shortly after, she moved to the city to attend the Academy.
It was only recently when the two siblings reconnected again.
Though for some reason, the Brandon that she knew was quite different to the Brandon currently.
But she didn't mind it, concluding that it must've been because of puberty.
This was the first time Belle had actually seen Brandon use magic.
And to her surprise, he was a Deviant, just like her.
But…
'Three elements…'
He exceeded her expectations.
While Brandon had three, Belle only had two elements.
[Light] and [Wind].
Light magic was extremely rare. In fact it was one of the higher forms of affinities.
This made Belle a prodigy, fitting to her title as the strongest 2nd year student.
But Brandon…
He had more potential than her.
With three elements, he could have three special affinities.
She had to know more.
She then peeled away from the screen, heading towards the Virtual Simulation room.
The room would usually be off limits for regular students. But since Belle was the Student Council President, she could bypass most of the rules.
Tak. Tak—!
She continued to walk as the halls continued to echo with her heels clicking on the marbled floor.
This proceeded until she arrived at her destination.
Knock– Knock—
As she knocked, a muffled voice from the other room reached her ears.
"Who is it?"
It was Vanessa.
After making herself known, the door slowly creaked open.
Entering the room, what caught her attention was another woman, seated on the circular couch.
Dark-purple hair, and cold-cyan eyes. She instantly knew who it was.
Evelyn Cessna, one of the strongest mages in the world.
She had heard that Evelyn was attending the Academy as a Professor. But she didn't know she'd be Brandon's Combat Class instructor.
Belle was jealous.
Truthfully, she was a huge fan of Evelyn.
Evelyn had a stack record of achievements. From Wraithbound subjugations, to guild contributions, and so many more.
And despite her fame, she was humble.
While other mages would bask in their success, Evelyn would stay away from the public, doing her own thing.
She was a source of inspiration for Belle.
Since this was the first time they'd met, Belle tried to compose herself.
'Don't fangirl, don't fangirl, don't fangirl, don't fangirl.'
She was then snapped out of her thoughts by Evelyn, who was looking at her with a blank expression.
"Hello, I'm a new instructor here, my name is–"
"Evelyn Cessna, right!?"
There was no helping it.
Belle immediately ran towards her, clasping Evelyn's hands.
"...Y-Yes."
Evelyn seemed taken aback, unsure of what to make out of the situation.
"My name is Belle Locke, and I'm a huge fan! Could I have your autograph?"
Belle then let go of one hand and reached out for all the pockets in her outfit.
"Let's see... Where did I put my pen–"
"Ahem."
Vanessa snapped her out of it. Belle then let go of Evelyn's hand.
"Ah, my apologies."
"I'm here too, you know?"
"I'm a fan too, Miss Vanessa."
"Sigh, what brings you here?"
At Vanessa's question, Belle tried to recall why she entered the room in the first place.
"Ah."
"Ah?"
She redirected her attention to the screen, only to find Brandon, lifting an ice sword up.
The girl in front of him seemed to be doing nothing about it as she stood frozen.
It was normal for the students to kill each other during the Battle Royale.
But…
'Those eyes…'
They were cold.
Detached of any warmth.
Was this really the sweet little boy she grew up with?
Just what happened to Brandon in the six years that she was gone?
[I'll kill you now. But I'll come find you after all of this is over.]
Brandon then proceeded to mercilessly thrust his ice blade into the girl's chest.
"Eh…?"
The three women in the room tilted their heads.
They all thought of one thing.
'Did Brandon just flirt with her?'
***
After Brandon killed Sarah, Amy exited the cave and made her way to Brandon's side.
She knitted her brow and pursed her lips to say,
"What the hell did you do to them?"
"Huh?"
What was she talking about?
"Don't 'huh' me. They came to me completely terrified. They didn't even put up a fight."
"...I don't know what you're talking about."
"Haa… Whatever. So what do we do next?"
Brandon pondered for a while, until he realized he had yet to check the map.
Click–
As he opened the map, his eyes shot wide open.
There was three minutes left until the convergence zone would close.
And…
"...Amy."
"I know…"
They were out of the safe zone.
It was quite far too.
Though he was quite reluctant about the idea, there was only one option if they wanted to make it to the safe zone as fast as possible.
Woosh–
"H-Hey!"
Brandon picked her up.
A Princess carry.
"Hold on tight."
"Put me down! What are you planning on d– AHHHH!"
Tszzzzz—!
*
*
*
[AN]
Server is out now!
https://discord.gg/yzbHWQ8sXW
Do check out the current novel I'm working on.
If you're looking for a story similar to The Villain Wants to Live and Academy's Genius Blinker, then you'll probably enjoy reading this one.
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