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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Yuziro
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“Hiya!”
Lloyd, the mid-class representative, kicked off the ground powerfully.
With each push, his body shot forward like an arrow.
Running had been his forte since childhood, and that talent was now blossoming in the all-out war.
“Woohoo~”
A relaxed sound escaped his lips.
‘I trained so hard for this day!’
He had trained in the training grounds with the gravity increased by 1.5 times.
Now, running in the normal world felt incredibly light.
Refreshing.
Refreshing and so light.
No other students were in sight. His confidence naturally soared.
Seeing no one ahead meant he was in first place.
If he kept running like this, victory was his!
Bang!
He pushed off the ground, almost as if he were stepping on air.
His legs, in peak condition, were overflowing with power.
‘First place!’
The training under 1.5 times gravity hadn’t been in vain.
The hellish training was paying off with heavenly results.
‘I’ll raise the mid-class’s standing!’
The mid-class’s reputation had plummeted after Professor Rachel’s defeat.
Lloyd would reclaim their honor with this victory.
He saw the drinks provided by the academy ahead.
Since students could run at incredible speeds in the Mana Sprint, the race required a long track.
Otherwise, the competition would end too quickly.
Hence, the drinks.
As Lloyd reached out to grab one, it suddenly vanished from mid-air.
“Hmm? Hey, were you about to drink this?”
Lloyd’s head whipped around at the voice beside him.
“……?”
Of course, they weren’t supposed to stop, drink, and then restart.
He was still running, even now.
Had he slowed down?
No, he hadn’t.
He was running faster than ever, giving it his all.
Yet, a girl with flowing pink hair was casually running beside him, sipping her drink.
Just as Lloyd’s face began to pale, Valerie tossed the empty cup into the air.
It splattered against Lloyd’s face.
“Oops~ My bad~”
A vein throbbed on Lloyd’s forehead.
‘Is she picking a fight?’
He knew the rules had changed, allowing various actions during the race.
But this was blatant provocation.
This was why he hated the upper-class students.
They always looked down on everyone else.
Of course, considering how he had disregarded the failing class, he couldn’t say much.
Still, he was furious.
Lloyd curtly spoke.
“Are you trying to start something?”
“What?”
Valerie tilted her head, feigning ignorance.
“You just provoked me.”
“Well, if that’s how you felt~ So, what are you going to do about it?”
Fwoosh! Lloyd exploded his mana, darting ahead of Valerie.
“Of course, it’s a race! I won’t lose to a sneaky girl like you!”
He meant it.
He accelerated, gaining incredible speed.
“I’ll run so fast you can’t even interfere!”
He was still in good condition.
Aside from the momentary lapse in his breathing due to the provocation, his mana flow was perfect.
But then, he heard Valerie’s whisper again.
“You know, those students lagging behind…”
And in the next moment, Valerie, now ahead of him, twisted her body, their eyes meeting.
“…Aren’t you curious about how they fell behind?”
Bang!
“Huh…?”
He felt his upper body lose its center of gravity.
He realized Valerie had manipulated the ground beneath him, causing his upper body to tilt backward while his legs still propelled him forward.
“Crazy…!”
Lloyd flipped uncontrollably in the air, crashing hard onto the ground.
“Gah…!”
What was that?
He hadn’t been careless, expecting Valerie not to attack.
He simply hadn’t seen her casting any attack spells.
He hadn’t anticipated her using other magic at such high speed.
“Ugh…”
Only Valerie’s laughter echoed above the fallen Lloyd.
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Meanwhile, Charlotte was sprinting, drenched in sweat, refusing to give up.
‘I can’t give up. I can’t give up.’
She berated herself for already feeling exhausted.
‘I can do this.’
The obvious truth: skilled students win, and less skilled students don’t.
In this case, Valerie was the skilled one, and Charlotte, likely the less skilled.
She was aware of her limitations.
But the important thing was, Charlotte was no longer bound by such truths.
‘Everyone must be watching.’
The thought terrified her, making it impossible to stop.
After running a bit further, Charlotte frowned.
She saw the fallen students who had been ahead of her.
‘Valerie?’
Valerie had attacked not only her but other students as well.
She needed to be more alert.
Thinking this, she continued running, and other students came into view.
The ones who had been ahead.
‘Did I catch up?’
No, despite her burning determination, Charlotte was self-aware.
She wasn’t running fast enough to catch up.
Which meant…
The students ahead were slowing down.
Why?
As the distance between them closed, Charlotte sensed fear in their expressions.
Why is everyone like this—She wanted to ask, but there was no time.
As if reading her mind, the students pointed ahead with their chins.
“Look at that.”
“Huh?”
At the same time, a sonic boom echoed from ahead.
Bang!
A light green element exploded, and a student crumpled to the ground.
“……!”
The violent scene made Charlotte instinctively flinch.
She understood why the students ahead weren’t running at full speed.
‘Valerie…!’
Valerie was slowly jogging at the front, yet preventing anyone from overtaking her.
She would deliberately slow down, and if anyone tried to pass, she would attack them with magic.
It was a blatant display of power, and boos began to erupt from the audience.
Unfortunately, the competing representatives couldn’t hear them.
And even if Valerie could, she wouldn’t stop.
What should she do?
Her skills were far inferior to Valerie’s.
Even if she tried to push forward, she might fall again.
But her deliberation was short-lived.
“…Ugh!”
Fwoosh!
She ignited the flame element between her feet and the ground.
Charlotte shot forward, her body cutting through the air.
She heard the worried shouts of other representatives behind her.
But Charlotte was no longer driven by logic or common sense.
She had discarded such considerations long ago.
‘I have to prove myself.’
Fwoosh!
Another explosion erupted from the ground.
Each step was faster than the last.
And the next would be even faster.
Soon, she caught up to Valerie.
And at that moment.
Huh?
She couldn’t help but be bewildered.
“Ah… I messed up. Did you see that?”
Valerie’s eyes had shifted into a shape only a reptile could possess, a shape impossible for a human.
Vertically slit pupils.
Pupils that sent chills down her spine just by meeting her gaze.
‘Demon…?’
She had never heard of, nor experienced, magically altering one’s pupils.
There was only one conclusion.
Valerie was a demon.
“Judging by your reaction, you saw it. Oh well.”
Valerie kicked off the ground, closing the distance between them.
“Let’s have some fun, Charlotte.”
Though it won’t be fun for you.
She whispered.
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[I knew it was a lizard person!]
