193 – Event Horizon (1)
Theo carelessly let go of Alice’s hair in his left hand.
Fainted, she was strewn across the arena like her corpse.
A rather terrifying sound echoed across the arena.
She was slim, so even though it didn’t make a lot of noise.
Theo brushed off his right hand, and the blood on his hand stained the arena red.
The presenter, who was looking at the scene, said timidly.
─Eh, Ellinia Academy Festival [Martial Arts Tournament]······ The winner of the final round of 32 is Theo Lin Balderk!
There was no applause from the audience.
Everyone held their breath and just stared at the bloody Alice.
Of course, Theo’s group was different.
‘······As expected, Mr. Theo is different. Such beautiful violence.’
Seria’s eyes sparkled like stars.
Because it was so cool.
‘As expected, Mr. Theo is not a chaff who only pretends to be cruel and calls himself a real man.’
Her mind was imprinted with Theo’s merciless violence, who never cared about what was going on in her hands.
Making blood clots with your fists and making them pass out is an act that most people would never do.
······I don’t know if it’s someone who truly hates it.
As far as I know, there is no point of contact between Theo and Alice.
Unlike Seria, Jang Woo-hee was looking at the current situation analytically.
‘Come to think of it, the movement of the bloodied child was somehow strange.’
Shall we say that the body and arms play separately?
The Alice Jang Woo-hee saw was like that.
‘·······What kind of future did we see?’
Some of his actions were bold, but if you look closely, most of them had a hidden purpose.
He already knows the fact that he gave Neike and other classmates a short while ago the breathing method he taught him. Although, of course, it didn’t matter to him.
‘··························.’
Anyway, the only thing that matters to him is finding his friend Woo Hyo-yeon.
He just trusts him who knew the name of his friend he never told anyone.
* * *
After the match with Alice, I contacted Taylor, the vice-chief of the therapist guild [The Hilte].
After receiving my call, Taylor came straight to the waiting room.
Taylor looked down at Alice, who was lying bloody on the bench.
“Hmm, at first glance, it looks like a serious injury, but there are no broken bones. It’s simply stunned. Anyway, I didn’t expect you to contact me so early, Mr. Theo.”
Taylor looked at Alice and offered to shake my hand.
I took his hand.
“I thought of you as a precious person and contacted you, deputy branch manager. Can you treat it like it was before the game?”
“Thinking a lot is, of course, something you have to do. Anyway, that’s about it… It’s hard to even call it a cure. It’s easy.”
Immediately, Taylor released a white aura from his palm.
Suss, Susss—
A white aura enveloped Alice.
Immediately, Alice’s appearance became as clean as before.
······Awesome.
Judging from the energy I could feel, it wasn’t holy power, it was mana.
Mana is a much less efficient medium than divine power for healing purposes, but that’s about it.
“Thank you, Vice Branch Manager. But why won’t it wake up?”
“Hmm, well. The treatment went normally… But wait a minute.”
Suk suk suk.
Taylor jabbed into Alice’s face, with her eyes still closed, in rapid succession.
She didn’t even move.
Taylor shrugged her shoulders.
“I don’t think he pretended to sleep. Maybe it’s for a psychological reason.”
“I understand.”
I nodded my head calmly.
Taylor looked closely at my right hand and opened her mouth.
“By the way, Theo-kun looks a bit injured too.”
At that, I raised my right hand to confirm.
The skin around the knuckle was peeling.
But no bones were broken. It was simply skin peeling.
From noble mtl dot com
I said lightly.
“Ah, mainly because I hit with my right hand.”
“Wait a minute.”
Taylor radiated white energy from my right hand.
Immediately my right hand returned to its pre-match state.
Looking at Taylor’s magic, I am amazed at the fraudulent nature of divine power.
If it was divine power, it would have been much easier to treat.
Taylor said.
“There doesn’t seem to be any additional people seeking treatment. I’ll be on my way, student Theo.”
“Thank you, Vice Branch Manager. I’d like to visit soon to say thank you and get some advice, is that okay?”
“Oh. Maybe student Theo needs some advice too.”
“Of course, deputy branch manager. I am a young student who always wants ‘advice’ from a great adult.”
Of course, rather than getting “Advice,” It’s more like making a “Suggestion.”
Taylor is a person who is outstanding enough to make that elixir into an imitation, and he has an open mind. He doesn’t know the purpose, but he’s kind to me too.
You have to get involved in the plan to hit Maitri.
“······hahahahaha, hahahahaha—!”
Taylor laughed loudly.
“Oh. I’m sorry, Student Theo. This year. No, it was the most interesting thing I’ve heard in the last 3 years. Yes, I will wait with anticipation.”
“I didn’t mean to be funny. Anyway, I’ll see you soon, deputy branch manager.”
“Yes. Ah, it’s unfortunate that we parted like this, so I’ll give you a present.”
Taylor lifted the expensive-looking bag he was carrying. Judging from the exclamation of Theo in me, it seems to be a fairly high-end product.
Taylor took a luxurious box out of her bag. He was smaller than the box that contained the previous Imitation Elixir, but it was a sufficiently antique box.
“It was developed recently. Let’s open it.”
At his words, I carefully opened the box.
Inside the box was a glass vial containing a dark blue liquid.
Of course I know very well what this liquid is.
“Is this… A mana elixir?”
Mana Elixir.
A potion that continuously restores MP by percentage for a certain period of time.
In terms of simply MP recovery, it is an item that is close to the higher compatibility of Elixir.
Of course, if I have 0 mana, taking it will not work. My magic is used by the [Magic Cartridge] Parasitic on my body.
However, the mana elixir is a very precious item.
Like the Elixir, it is an item that is difficult to obtain even for the top-ranking incumbent warriors with both wealth and prestige, as well as renowned nobles on the continent.
Taylor grinned.
“As expected, you can recognize it at a glance. It’s an imitation, just like the elixir I gave you before, so the actual effect is less than 1/10 of the original. Alas, I guarantee the quality. It has passed all clinical trials.”
“Thank you.”
It’s not polite to turn down a favor.
I don’t know what Taylor’s intentions are, but let’s hear and judge that later.
Taylor said.
“Okay, let me go, student Theo. I think you took too much time from a busy person who has to prepare for the next match.”
With that said, Taylor left the room.
“·······.”
I looked down at Alice, whose eyes were still closed.
In this work, various incidents and accidents occur during the Ellinia Academy Festival, but so far, nothing that can be called an incident or accident has occurred.
All incidents and accidents that occurred in this work were led by [Turning White].
But now, Alice, the main character of [Turning White], Has appeared wearing an artifact made by Mytree.
······Unless you’re an idiot, you know what this means.
“Hmm.”
Anyway, the Round of 16 game will start soon, but Alice showed no signs of waking up.
I’ll have to go see you later.
Seuk, seuk, seuk.
I wrote down a piece of her note and put it by her bedside.
Then she used her [Tracking] Magic on her, and she came out.
* * *
Theo’s opponent in the round of 16 is Travis from the College of Bravery.
Like Theo, he is a student at the bottom of the Faculty of Warriors, but he is a character showing outstanding growth, having achieved the feat of advancing to the semifinals during the previous two-to-two tournament of the Knights Faculty.
However, the contents of the game were trivial.
Theo didn’t allow a single effective hit for the entire 5 minutes of the game─
“Keu, keuuk!”
Finished the game with just one effective hit.
As with Jacob, Theo gave Travis some helpful advice.
Travis nodded his head with a look of realization, and he ran straight to the training ground after the match.
Unknowingly, the [Martial Arts Tournament] Reached the quarterfinals.
The host on the stage shouted.
─Ellinia Academy Festival [Martial Arts Tournament]! We have finally reached the quarterfinals. This tournament was a series of surprises. Was there ever a competition where the students of the Faculty of Bravery couldn’t use their strength? Among the 8 finalists, only one was in the College of Bravery. Lowest ever! All other entrants are from the Faculty of Engineering! If so, we will reveal the long-awaited quarterfinal matchup!
With those words, a bracket appeared on the screen in the center.
[First Match of the Quarterfinals: Irene vs Julia]
[Quarterfinal 2nd Match: Tarkan vs Kurok]
[Quarterfinal 3rd Match: Sagran vs Ragmar]
[Quarterfinal 4th Match: Theo vs Abigail]
“·······.”
In the audience, Theo stared at the screen with calm eyes.
His opponent is Abigail, a knight undergraduate student belonging to the [Cult of Light].