Genius Wizard Conceals His Origins

In the days when the word ‘magic’ was naturally followed by ‘-ian’ instead of ‘scholar,’ they had something called combat magic.

Military science was established much earlier than most disciplines. Therefore, those who wielded combat magic must have had their own tactics.

In modern times, many of these tactics have been discontinued, and even those that remain hardly receive attention except from scholars with peculiar research interests.

Perhaps because of this…

The spectacle of a medium-scale duel performed by none other than the Federal University of Magic students seemed somewhat messy compared to its solemnity.

This also meant that it was at least as solemn as the battles between old magicians.

“Hey, hey! The left flank is breaking!”

“Regular soldiers, keep your mouths shut! The formation is falling apart!”

Bang, bang, bang…

The Black Shield faction’s fierce attack was literally relentless.

The initial volley was easily defended.

However, when 20 enemy soldiers charged in unison with their coattails fluttering, it wasn’t so easy to defend.

Every time a dozen or so missed [Shoot] spells hit the hillside, an ineffectual but loud noise erupted.

This further confused the Silver Arrow faction’s soldiers.

“Retreat! Fall back!”

The student in charge of the frontline command shouted.

It wasn’t a very wise order. In a battle between archers, it was like ordering to create distance instead of drawing the bowstring.

Moreover, the battlefield was a hill thick with vines and undergrowth.

“Argh!”

Finally, one of our allies toppled over, and five seconds later, a [Shoot] spell struck his body.

With this, the exchange ratio became 7:3.

Just before the losses became even worse, the Silver Arrow faction’s defensive strategy finally began to take effect.

“Now!”

The cover teams hidden in the undergrowth all stood up at once.

“Fire!”

Fwoosh!

Beams simultaneously sprang out from high ground, behind trees, and between bushes, flooding towards the enemy.

As they had already been reciting the activation phrases, there was no delay.

Given that there’s such a thing as casting speed, it was difficult, if not impossible, to respond to a surprise counterattack.

As such, most of the faction soldiers rolled on the ground instead of deploying [Barrier].

BABABABAM—!

“Ah, shit!”

The bombardment pouring in from all directions was indeed powerful.

As innocent bushes were blown apart, two enemy soldiers spat out curses.

With this, the exchange ratio became 7:5.

It was quite an excellent ambush.

“Retreat—!”

Unable to withstand the bombardment, the enemy frontline finally began to retreat after about 20 seconds.

They were probably trying to regroup.

The fact that the retreat order came out so lightly made Johannes’s expression not very pleasant.

“Damn… Do they think they can gain the upper hand no matter when they attack?”

I, who was nearby, responded.

“7:5 seems like we’ve defended well, though.”

“That’s right. But…”

He bit his lip.

“We came here to defeat and disband those guys, not to be satisfied with a hard fight.”

“…”

“We have to win. By any means necessary.”

Johannes muttered this and then left my side to start regrouping our faction.

A stalemate ensued.

The offensive slowed down, and the defense became more solid.

As the king, my job was very simple. To quietly guard my position and move along when the whole faction moved… and occasionally defend against blind spells from snipers.

I narrowed my eyes.

Even now, a beam was flying in from far away.

As I recited the activation phrase internally, in less than a second, a translucent barrier covered my front.

BABAM!

“Whew!”

The beam that hit it dissipated helplessly.

The principle of [Barrier] was almost identical to [Disc], so it wasn’t difficult to block the snipe.

I was confident in my casting speed from the beginning, too.

Glancing around, I saw four or five allied guard soldiers frozen in place, having hurriedly stretched out their hands to recite the activation phrase.

One of them opened his mouth wide.

“…You really are the top student, huh. That’s incredibly fast.”

The soldier who said that was probably a third-year senior. I didn’t know how to react, so I just slightly bowed in greeting.

Anyway, during the ensuing stalemate, our defensive team fought hard.

However, despite Johannes’s determination, we continued to suffer slightly more losses in subsequent offensives, resulting in the exchange ratio finally becoming 15:7.

This was 30 minutes after the mock duel began.

Even in the midst of the chaotic mock duel, one question kept swirling in my mind.

Why on earth did the Black Shield faction put Julia forward as their king?

I could somewhat understand her participating in the mock duel.

From my observations, while serving as Julia’s aide, she would generally refuse social events, but if refusing would lead to more trouble, she would reluctantly accept.

The Black Shield faction probably presented some troublesome conditions.

“…”

Although it was highly unpleasant to make someone walk on a mountain when they had only been able to walk for less than two weeks, I’ll let it pass since it’s already happened.

What I couldn’t understand was ‘why.’

With outstanding first-year students in abundance, why Julia specifically?

The answer to this could be heard unexpectedly from our own side.

“Whoa. I almost got caught, almost got caught!”

A scout returned, pushing through the bushes.

He was a soldier who had gone to scout the deepest part of enemy territory, where the king was.

Johannes asked.

“How was it?”

“…It might be a bit difficult. They’ve put most of their forces on the front line, so there are only four guards, but the problem is the king.”

“The king?”

“Yeah. I was hiding in the bushes and secretly fired a [Shoot], you know? But a few seconds later, a [Barrier] covered the entire body. It wasn’t the skill of a first-year. A frontal attack might be tough.”

“As expected of Professor Müller’s daughter… It seems she even has sufficient magical power supply.”

Eavesdropping on their conversation, I thought.

A [Barrier] that covered the entire body.

It must have applied a sphere formula like (cosθsinφ, sinθsinφ, cosφ). *1

“Ah.”

Only then did I guess the situation.

The upper-year students don’t know Julia Müller well.

Professor Müller’s daughter, early admission, top ranks in the entrance exam, theoretical genius, and so on.

From the perspective of upper-year students who didn’t know that Julia couldn’t use magic, she must have seemed like a talented individual who just happened to use a wheelchair.

In short, it’s a misunderstanding.

However, through a month of walking practice, Julia regained her interest in magic.

Furthermore, she became able to stand up and walk.

Suddenly, Julia had transformed from being inept at magic to a theory-specialized magic scholar meeting their expectations.

Simple combat magic like [Shoot] or [Barrier] would especially benefit from theoretical principles, so she would now possess strength truly befitting a king.

“Huh.”

I let out a dry laugh.

It’s not even funny how coincidental this is.

Meanwhile, Johannes’s expression hardened a bit more upon hearing this bad news in an already disadvantageous situation.

“We need to rethink our strategy. Give me three minutes.”

“Alright.”

The soldier who had switched roles from scout to messenger started waiting with his arms folded beside him.

It was during this time.

—Aaargh!

From far away, at the very front of our formation, a scream was heard.

My mind snapped to attention.

It wasn’t a cry of disappointment from being eliminated.

A scream soaked in pain. And the faint ‘thud’ sound heard just before.

It was the kind of scream I knew best.

I quickly raised my head and informed Johannes and the surrounding soldiers.

“It seems someone got hit. Let’s go check.”

“…What?”

Sure enough.

The front line had turned into utter chaos.

It felt even more so than the melee state right after the battle began because what was being exchanged between the two sides now was not magic but accusations.

One of our allies had a face reddened by anger, and students held his arms, trying to calm him down. A Black Shield faction student rolled on the ground nearby, coughing and sputtering.

The situation was clear to see.

Amidst the pandemonium, a Black Shield faction student shouted angrily.

“You vermin, how dare you kick in a sacred mock duel!”

“Bullshit, acting all clean. Who was it that first hurled insults at the eliminated people?”

Magic takes five seconds to cast, but insults mixed with curses pierce the opponent’s ears at a speed of 370 yards per second. (T/N: approx. 1,218 kph or approx. 760 mph)

It didn’t take long for the time-honored tradition of mock duels to be thrown out the window.

One kick and one insult were enough.

“You lowborn scum.”

“You hollow shells, relying only on your background.”

Magic is faster than sound, but fists are more effective than sound.

The mock duel was on the verge of devolving into a mere brawl.

“Stop, stop!”

Finally, the student affairs staff intervened.

“Stop this! If you don’t return to your respective factions immediately, both sides will be forcibly disbanded according to the rules!”

It was an absolute order.

Both factions retreated from the front line without a word.

However, the expressions of both allies and enemies alike had become thoroughly hostile.

Johannes, who had retreated to our faction, lined up the remaining 34 allies and opened his mouth.

“You all heard it, right? What those bastards think of us.”

There was no answer. They just glared.

He clenched his fist.

“We’re already far behind in points, but we’re going to win by any means necessary. No. We must win. Can we do it?”

“OOOOOOOH!”

Morale soared.

It was a roar that made it hard to believe this was a mock duel. The lamentable point was that the driving force wasn’t patriotism or camaraderie but hatred.

Meanwhile.

I silently watched their appearance.

“…”

I felt skeptical.

Is this really the look of students?

Everyone had veins popping on their foreheads and furrowed brows.

I don’t have the right to judge whether that’s right or wrong. But what’s certain is that it was far from the image of upper-year students I had expected.

The kind senior who had kindly explained things at the debate was nowhere to be seen in Johannes’s face now.

Research. Study. Diligent effort.

The scenery of university life that I had hoped for and still hope for.

This situation was too far removed from that.

My head was already complicated due to the contract with Julia and issues of direction. My mind was filled with thoughts of wanting to end this mock duel quickly.

Still, I had no intention of losing on purpose.

Not only had Johannes asked for my help, but those Black Shield faction members had likely directly or indirectly participated in Benjamin’s demotion.

Winning seemed like it would be much more comfortable.

I pondered. How could we achieve victory?

A way to overturn the numerical disadvantage.

“…Wait.”

Then, suddenly, I remembered the rules the staff had explained just before the duel.

The subsequent deliberation was brief.

I hesitated slightly but also nonchalantly patted Johannes on the back.

He turned around, his eyes bloodshot from his impassioned speech.

“What?”

“Well, I’ve thought of a strategy.”

“…What is it?”

I answered.

“How about we give up on defense?”

Because the duel had been interrupted once, both factions ultimately had to wait for the staff to blow the whistle again.

Wilhelm, the vanguard of the Black Shield faction, clicked his tongue.

“Tch. Those incompetent, filthy bastards. Now they resort to violence?”

Of course, he had seen it.

A faction student spewing unspeakable insults at an enemy soldier who was trying to leave the battlefield quietly after being eliminated.

It wasn’t a particularly important matter.

Hatred is inherently blind. If one were to criticize someone while considering reason and logic, they wouldn’t have done so in the first place.

As such, only the proposition ‘that lowborn scum kicked our faction comrade’ remained firmly in Wilhelm’s mind.

And he, befitting his role as the vanguard, used this to boost morale.

Wilhelm shouted.

“Revenge on those vermin!”

“OOOOOOOH!”

A force of 30 responded to his call.

When the whistle blows, all forces, including the king, will launch an all-out offensive.

It would be impossible to deal with, no matter how much they had fortified their defenses.

And then.

Tweet—!

The whistle blew.

“Charge—!”

Immediately after, thirty Black Shield faction soldiers began sprinting across the hillside.

Wilhelm noticed.

“Huh?”

The Silver Arrow faction was also advancing more than twenty soldiers in this direction.

This surprised Wilhelm a bit, but he ultimately remembered that the numerical advantage was still on their side.

“C-Counter them!”

“[Barrier]!”

Once again, a melee began.

In the midst of the chaos, Wilhelm recited the activation phrase while lost in thought.

The other side had turned their defense into offense. Why?

At the same time, one word flashed through his mind.

Feint.

Just as he was about to shout this word aloud, a [Shoot] fired by Johannes struck his thigh directly.

“Ugh!”

Those who have been eliminated must not speak.

In the end, Wilhelm quietly left the battlefield.

And then.

“Did it work?”

“Yeah. We weren’t detected.”

The ambush team consisting of three allied soldiers and myself, four in total, successfully infiltrated enemy territory.

T/N

I again used MATLAB to plot the equation. This defines Cartesian coordinates (x,y,z) in terms of spherical coordinates (r, theta, phi). Theta here represents an angle between the xy projection of the radius and the center along the xy-plane, also known as the azimuthal angle. Phi represents the angle measured from the +z-axis to the radius, also known as the polar angle.