How to Survive at the Academy - Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Joint Combat Practice (2)
I didn’t know who came up with the term ‘butterfly effect’, but I thought the concept behind it was amazing.
The small fluttering of a butterfly’s wings could cross oceans and cause a hurricane that could devour buildings on the other side of the world.
It was in accordance with the Chaos Theory, which stated that there were too many natural variables in the world for us to actually control the future.
Even the slightest change in a variable could have an exponential effect on the outcome of reality.
To put it simply, it was like a snowball rolling down a mountain. No matter how insignificant it may be at the top, it could eventually have an unexpectedly big result once it reaches the bottom.
Just like the words of the wise said, ‘You shouldn’t try to control everything in the world as you wish.’
I never thought I would realize the weight of those words in this Joint Combat Practice class.
As expected, old sayings were never wrong.
* * *
Nail Hall had traditionally been used for joint combat classes as one of the three buildings in the Student Center.
It was a well-designed colosseum-style arena where all the spectator seats, as well as the floor, were always polished clean and smooth.
Of course, even the training ground for sparring and fighting in an academy for the nobility would be made with such dignity.
I was sitting in one of these spectator seats while I watched the mock combat practice happening in the center of the colosseum.
Usually, there would only be one or two gems in each year, but this year’s batch of freshmen was like a sky full of bright stars. This meant the second years were bound to be focused, watching the whole time.
Among these stars were the three students recognized by the strict Professor Glast: Spear from Nature Ziggs, Golden Daughter Lortel and Lazy Lucy.
Everyone’s attention was completely focused on these three freshmen from the Magic Department.
Bang!
“Thank you for the great experience. I was deeply impressed by your experienced management of magic. I learned something from you today, so thank you for that.”
Down the center was Ziggs, a descendant of the northern nomadic people, who was in the midst of throwing a second year off the stage with his wind magic.
His long curly hair that reached the nape of his neck waved in the aftermath.
“I hope I can learn something from you again next time.”
He politely gave his greetings.
At any rate, this guy wasn’t out of his mind.
The second-year Magic Department student who went up against Zigg… what was his name? Was it Michael?
Anyway, he couldn’t pull himself up together so the staff had to carry him out.
Using non-beginner magic was not allowed. But if it was…
Zigg’s magic skills far exceed the level of beginner magic spells. I was certain he could have shown a much stronger performance had he been allowed to use higher levels of magic.
The second years began to gossip amongst themselves.
– “The first years won again.”
– “At this rate, won’t all the second-years lose?”
– “This year’s freshmen are an odd bunch. How did all these monsters end up together in one batch?”
The Joint Combat Practice was an annual event, but the results this year were terrible. The second-years were mercilessly overshadowed by the first-years. We were already halfway through the matches, and it felt like the second-years were nothing but punching bags for the first-years so they could show off their skills.
It was quite a sad scene.
“The students whose names are called, please proceed to the waiting room after your preparations. Lucy Mayreel. Taylee McLaure.”
The time has finally come. The match the people were most interested in.
The audience began to whisper amongst themselves.
It’s finally here.
I adjusted my posture and shifted my focus completely on the stage.
Everyone would probably be focused solely on Lucy, the extraordinary genius who was touted to rewrite the history of Silvenia Academy.
But this was nothing more than a storytelling technique to bring attention to the real main character through reversing expectations.
The real focus here was Taylee McLaure, the protagonist of this world who was born fated to become a swordsman.
Even though he had never held a sword in his life before, he would be able to cut down Lucy’s lightning-fast magic.
Taylee would use that gap in her carelessness to close the distance. And Lucy, having been caught off guard, would use the intermediate lightning magic Lightning Strike to hit Taylee.
Taylee would be completely overpowered by Lucy’s instinctive magic, but since she had used an intermediate spell, Lucy would get disqualified and Taylee would be honored the win.
“This is to remind first-year student Lucy Mayreel to please finish your preparations and come up to the arena.”
Ah… it was a really great scene.
All his life, Taylee had constantly been treated and told that he wasn’t talented. Even after getting accepted into Silvenia, he was still treated as a failure. From getting bullied by a guy like Ed Rothstaylor to always getting failing scores in his combat class, Taylee’s life truly was full of ordeals.
But Taylee never stopped training. And this match was the moment when he felt like everything he had done until then had finally been rewarded.
The directing of the scene was so dramatic. The close-up shot of him crying while looking at his childhood friend Ayla was truly heartbreaking to witness.
“I repeat, first-year student Lucy Mayreel. First-year student Lucy Mayreel. Please finish preparing for your battle and come up to the arena.”
……?
“First-year Lucy Mayreel. I repeat, first-year Lucy Mayreel. Please come up to the arena. Lucy Mayreel.”
Uh…
What’s going on?
Where the hell did that girl go???
* * *
It was hard to describe the strange sense of euphoria I felt the moment I saw Taylee in the arena.
Even though it had only been through a screen, I had lived as him several times. From the miserable bad ending to the unforgettable true ending–I had lived through his life and journeys.
I also couldn’t help but think of all the hardships that lie ahead of him.
Although he was born fated to be a swordsman, his life wasn’t always destined for success. Among the many routes in his life he could take, there wasn’t a single path that wasn’t difficult.
So I decided to cheer him on.
I had planned on taking care of my life and living it to the fullest, while he would be the one to step in and take care of all the ordeals that would befall Silvenia.
“I will do my best with all the power that I have!”
A round of applause and encouragement greeted Taylee’s strong declaration on stage.
Yes, you could probably call it encouragement, because everyone in the arena believed he would get destroyed by Lucy Mayreel.
What they didn’t know was that Taylee actually possessed the most overwhelming talent among all the students in the academy.
As someone who already knew how the whole story would go, I expected the public’s opinion to change in the future.
Well, there’s that.
And then there was this.
What was I even doing right now…
“Eughk, Ahhhk!”
I pinched both of Lucy’s Mayreel’s cheeks.
Lucy got bored pretending to listen to the class, so she ended up looking for a place to take a nap. She somehow found her way to the spare podium behind the center stage of the arena.
It wouldn’t have been a good idea to completely leave Nail Hall, so she probably thought that the spare podium was a good enough place to take a nap in.
I found her there, curled up and sleeping.
“Agghk, Eughkk!”
“Hey, wake up. Wake up already. It’s your turn!”
She took a while to wake up, but Lucy finally sat up from underneath the podium.
She had the same blank face as she would normally have after waking up at my camp. Even her tangled hair, one side of it was tied down while the other had come undone. There wasn’t even any room for her hair to stick on her cheeks.
And the words she said the moment she woke up were the same as well.
“…I’m hungry.”
She brushed her hair and stretched some more. Then she looked at me and said her usual greetings.
“Hello.”
And then she asked oh so casually and naturally.
“Do you have any beef jerky?”
I seriously wanted to hit her in the head.
“I do.”
“Give me some.”
“Finish your duel first.”
“First-year student Lucy Mayreel. Please hurry and come on up.”
It was bizarre to see one of the dueling opponents pop out from under the podium. Everyone in the audience, including the assistant professor who was in charge, watched Lucy with a puzzled face.
The important thing was she didn’t ditch class and run outside of Nail Hall. This meant they could still have the duel. For a moment, I was afraid the duel would get canceled and completely change Taylee’s fate.
“Eughhhhhk!”
Lucy stood up and the messy half of her hair completely fell off its hair tie, her neatly tied hair falling apart.
“……”
Lucy gathered the hair that had escaped and picked up the tie. Then she handed it over to me and, in a drowsy voice, said something utterly ridiculous.
“Please tie my hair…”
“No, just leave it untied and go quickly.”
“No way…. If I just leave it like this, the Ophelis Hall maids will scold me. They’re way too scary…”
The maid of Ophelis Hall were the only people whom Lucy, someone who had even tried to compete with Headmaster Obel, feared.
The only reason why Lucy had been able to maintain a neat appearance despite sleeping wherever whenever was thanks to the maids of Ophelis Hall.
They were a group of elite maids trained to serve all kinds of nobles, but even such professionals couldn’t seem to control this unpredictable stray cat. They probably couldn’t help but get angry and scold Lucy for her actions.
But it was a relief they could at least still somehow control her…
I sighed as I grabbed Lucy’s hand and sat her down. I held her hair tie as I gathered up her wayward hair, and then tied it neatly to match the other side.
I was supposed to duel with Princess Penia later, but it was ridiculous how I had to interfere with someone else’s duel.
And everyone in Nail Hall was watching the whole spectacle!
– “What’s with that person? Isn’t that Ed Rothstaylor?”
– “He still attends school? Wow, he’s quite stubborn, huh?”
– “What’s with him? He’s having a grand ol’ time with the first-year top student just like that?”
– “They look close?”
– “Are you sure that’s close? Isn’t he acting more like her guardian?”
I knew it was quite a sight to see the most disgraceful second-year student and the most honorable top first-year student nagging each other over fixing her hair. It made me feel embarrassed so I finished tying it up quickly.
Then Lucy stood up, still half-asleep, and I also fixed her overcoat for her. Then I tucked the hem of her shirt back inside her skirt and tightened it well, and even straightened her messy collar.
I then fixed up her falling knee socks and re-tied her hair again so she would look somewhat presentable. Her sleeves were a bit long, but she never really cared about the size of her uniform and only wore whatever she received.
“You’re good?”
“Yeah.”
“All right. Hurry up and go out there.”
I shoved Lucy’s back and pushed her up to the stage.
And she stood there, across from Taylee, yawning loudly, as if everything in the world was annoying.
“Then the duel will start…”
Bang!
With a single blow, right in the middle of Taylee’s chest, Lucy hit him with low-level lighting magic.
It all happened in about 0.3 seconds.
* * *

* * *
Taylee McLaure’s life had always been a series of ordeals.
Born as a country bumpkin, he was a failure of a student who had never performed well since entering the academy, a loser who had never been recognized by anyone.
Apart from his childhood friend Ayla, nobody had ever believed in Taylee ever since he was a kid.
No matter what he did, his results were always below-average that even his family had slowly begun to turn their backs on him.
But then a chance to forget everything had come.
For Taylee, his admission into Silvenia Academy was a means to prove himself. It was as if God had finally smiled down on him.
He barely managed to pass the written test after staying up night after night studying.
He even almost failed his practical test because of a despicable upperclassman. But thanks to the mercy of Princess Penia, he was able to pass.
And not only that, he had somehow overcome all the other hardships and challenges that kept on coming his way once the semester started.
He almost lost his life to an accidentally summoned monster-type kobold during the placement test. Then he couldn’t attend the opening ceremony because of some classmates who had kept him out, calling him a failure of a student.
But thanks to the unwavering support of his childhood friend Ayla, along with Aiden, another student who was also in danger of failing classes, Taylee was somehow able to endure it.
And right now, this was the moment to prove it.
Not only to the first-years, but also to the upperclassmen and even the professors, all of whom couldn’t help but be in awe at the extraordinarily rare genius that was Lucy Mayreel.
He was in a brutal situation where everyone expected him to lose.
But even in this moment full of despair, Taylee never lost hope.
Lucy wasn’t someone he could beat with just meager efforts. Despite all the ridicule he received from his classmates, Taylee stayed up all night, training his body, swinging his fists, and constantly training in hand-to-hand combat.
Even until this moment, when everyone believed he would lose, Taylee never stopped putting in the effort to try and win.
And right now.
Before he could even react, a single blow of magic had struck him and left him hanging off the wall of the stadium.
“Keuk… Heughk…Eughkk…”
Nevertheless, Taylee stood up.
Scattered around him were all kinds of weapons, from bows to swords to whips.
They were mock weapons prepared for the students of the Combat Department. Most of them had no blades and were modified to be blunt.
Taylee looked at the knuckles in his hand. They were a weapon that had been with him for a long time. But today, he quietly took them off.
A sense that struck like lightning went through Taylee’s mind.
He saw a shabby wooden sword amongst the scattered weapons. His body jumped out of instinct and picked up the broken sword from the floor. Then he got into position, his body covered in wounds.
It was the first time he had ever picked up a sword in his life.
His opponent was an extremely rare genius magician whom everyone was in awe of.
Nevertheless, Taylee stood up with the support of his two legs.
There were people who believed in him. Taylee had to repay them for that.
Taylee clenched his teeth with that single thought in mind.
* * *
“He picked up a sword…!”
I held my breath the moment I saw Taylee hanging off the wall, but clenched my fist as soon as he grabbed the sword.
That’s right… You could do it…!
“Lucy Mayreel!”
Taylee shouted out Lucy’s name with a fiery voice.
Even I, who was only watching from the audience, felt that something was going to happen.
That’s right. This was the scene right here!
The scene where Taylee, who never gave up despite destiny abandoning him, dealt with all the challenges and trials the world threw at him… this was the scene where he sends a signal of his revival.
This was the cry of a swordsman who didn’t give up on his life, and would always be engraved into the hearts of all the students… It was this moment.
“Hyaaa!”
His movements were not of someone who was holding a sword for the first time.
There was a sensation of mana engraved on the low-grade wooden sword in Taylee’s hands. That was a sensation allowed only to those who were fated to be a swordsman.
It was the Energy of Aura.
Even a thick wall of several layered stacks of mana could be cut like paper.
The students in the audience began to become overwhelmed by his vigor.
It was a sign that Taylee had clearly changed.
All the students held their breath. They couldn’t help but anticipate that something extraordinary was about to happen.
But then an unknown wind blew past.
And with a sudden gale that swooped in for no reason, Taylee’s body began to float in the air in an instant.
Bang!
In the ensuing lighting magic, Taylee was struck again and thrown against the wall.
This time, it took about 0.5 seconds.
“Huh?”
* * *
It was a perfect knockdown this time.
A cloud of thick smoke billowed out, and beneath it all was Taylee’s body, completely covered in wounds.
“Heungggg….”
Lucy Mayreel rubbed her eyes while stretching her body lazily.
“Good work…”
Lucy came down off the stage, carefree as can be, as if she had done an annoying trivial task.
The audience was still completely silent. Everyone’s eyes were focused on her.
Lucy bounced her way over to me and ignored it all, as if nothing had happened. Then she grabbed my collar, her face blank, and started bothering me again.
“Can you give me the beef jerky now?”
Meanwhile, I came to a realization.
The wind magic that Lucy used during the duel looked to be beginner wind magic at first glance, but she didn’t use it on her own. I knew what magic it was, magic that could momentarily constrain the opponent’s movement and create a gap by breaking the balance.
It was Storms Blessing. A skill that can only be acquired by signing a contract with the high-ranking wind spirit Merilda.
It hadn’t been a long time since Lucy had started coming to my camp. A few days at most.
She always looked tired and would take naps, yet she was able to sign a contract with a high-ranking wind spirit.
Merilda and Lucy were completely separated in the original storyline. They never got involved with each other because Lucy never had any reason to visit the northern forest.
Does this mean she had been able to make contact with Merilda because she had been staying at my camp? And through that, she was able to use Merilda’s Blessing, inadvertently becoming unnecessarily stronger.
That’s just…
No one could ever imagine signing a contract with a high-ranking wind spirit in just a few days.
“……”
I looked towards where Taylee was. He had dropped his sword and sat there, collapsed with his head down. The life that was normally in his eyes was no longer there.
The overwhelming gap in their talent must’ve felt like violence. The realization that a huge wall existed between the both of them… his heart must have broken in an instant.
This was… I think I may be in big trouble…
I quickly stood up from my seat. I couldn’t just leave him there like that.
I pushed away Lucy who was sticking to me and walked over to Taylee who was coming down from the stage in total despair.
“The next contenders in the combat practice are Ed Rothstaylor and the honorable Princess Penia Elias Kroel.”
Meanwhile, my name was already being called.
I saw Princess Penia in the audience, neatly arranging her clothes and standing up.
I ran into the princess on my way to the arena a while ago. Her eyes became aggressive the minute she saw him, just like usual. The fact that she was hostile towards me was nothing new.
She seemed to have already made up her mind when it came to me. But Princess Penia was not my concern at this moment.
“Ed Rothstaylor… Last time, you….”
I walked past her just as the princess started to say something. Taylee would have completely left if I were to stay still.
The act of ignoring the words of the princess of the nation was an unpardonable sin, but here in the academic district, the virtue of learning precedes one’s status, so I wouldn’t have to face capital punishment, at the very least.
After all, there was something more important than that.
I left behind the princess who completely looked shocked at having been ignored. I saw Taylee just as he was disappearing amongst the crowd and shouted out towards him.
“Hey! Taylee!”
I don’t know if this would make any difference, but it was better than staying still.
“Your efforts will be rewarded! Don’t be discouraged! Hey! Straighten your back! There’s nothing to be ashamed of!”
If Taylee’s heart was broken and he became completely discouraged, there was a high chance that I would likely suffer as a result, I couldn’t just leave him like that.
“Walk with confidence! You did a good job! This was only because your opponent was too good! Don’t be discouraged by something like this!”
Please don’t be disheartened, Taylee!
You were destined to go through all the hardships! There were going to be so many challenges and trials that would arise in this academy in the future! I didn’t want to be the one to do the saving!
I kept shouting words of encouragement and support as Taylee slowly walked away and completely disappeared into the crowd.
It was pure desperation from the bottom of my heart.