Ryuu Kusari no Ori -Kokoro no Uchi no “Kokoro”-

Shortly after waking up, Nozomu was discharged from the hospital without any problems.

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He was able to leave the hospital sooner than expected because no particular physical abnormality was found and there was no problem with the detailed examination through the contract path.

Immediately after being discharged from the hospital, he was very well received by his classmates.
This was because word had spread throughout the school that Nozomu had played an active role in the previous incident.

His classmates congratulate his discharge with smiles.

During break time, he was cheered and jostled by juniors of the first and second years.

The rumors about Nozomu that Ken had spread had been completely disappeared due to his efforts in the combat training with Jihad and his accomplishment in the previous incident.

 

And after being discharged from the hospital, Nozomu was trying to catch up on his academic studies by running and doing basic training to strengthen his dull body and taking remedial classes with Anri.

His busy daily routine began immediately after he was discharged from the hospital.

He woke up early in the morning to train, went to school to attend classes, and took supplementary lessons with Anri after school until late at night.

Anri was so enthusiastic about Nozomu's supplementary lessons that she even came over to the boys' dormitory to help him with his studies.

As a side note, however, some of the boys, who were suspicious of their relationship, became so jealous and resentful that they started a large-scale protest mobilization in front of Nozomu's room.

The boys said, “We are against lewd conduct by students toward teachers!”, “Private lessons should be given to everyone fairly!”, “Anri-sensei! We need a private lesson too!”, and so on.

Naturally, the large-scale protest was suppressed by the dorm manager, and everyone was made to do “seiza” all night in front of the dorm gate, but there was no fox found behind the scenes …

 

Anyway, Nozomu's daily life was undergoing a major change.

Furthermore, Nozomu began to receive invitations from many students to form parties with them.

He had been asked by his juniors, including Eldor, for guidance, and to be honest, Nozomu was in a state of turmoil due to the drastic changes in his environment.

He did not mind forming a party.
However, there were too many students who wanted to join the party that Irisdina suggested that some of them might complain if they couldn't join the party, so they decided to postpone it until the supplementary lessons were over.

However, doing simple guidance would not take too much time, so Nozomu would often meet the students at the edge of the schoolyard during lunchtime to talk about their experiences in the forest and other various topics.
Among them who gathered, some of the juniors and classmates asked for guidance in swordsmanship and other physical technique.

 

Especially those who asked for guidance in hand-to-hand combat with Nozomu were Eldor and the others, the first-year students who had been saved by him before.

They come to Nozomu every day around the end of lunchtime, handed him a wooden sword, and say, “Please!”.

To be honest, Nozomu was perplexed.
He himself didn't think he was very good at teaching.
He had no experience in teaching others.

And while Nozomu's skills with the katana were outstanding, his skills with the spear and bow were not much different from those of other students.
In fact, those were the field he was not good at.

His own movements were completely biased toward Mikagura Style.
So, at first, Nozomu thought of refusing their request gently.

But they were too eager, even Mars and the others said, “Why don't you simply receive their attacks and tell them what you feel?”.
In the end, Nozomu decided to meet with them during his free time during lunch break.

 

“Well then, Nozomu-senpai! Please!”

“Well, it's alright, but …
Eldor-kun, aren't you strangely too enthusiastic?”

“Of course! It's not every day that I get a chance to train with Nozomu-senpai like this!”

“I- I see …”

 

A hand-to-hand combat training with Nozomu now took place during the lunch break.

Eldor was holding a shield in his left hand, a wooden sword in his right hand, and his sparkling eyes were fixed on Nozomu.

His former gentleman-like atmosphere had vanished, and he was now a cheerful young man.

On the other hand, Nozomu just smiled bitterly at Eldor, who was full of enthusiasm.

Although the way the surroundings looked at Nozomu had changed, Eldor's respect for Nozomu had not changed at all.

Nevertheless, there was no gap in Eldor's stance.

 

Nozomu gripped the hilt of his wooden katana in a relaxed grip as if he were gripping a cotton ball, but his entire body, with its moderate relaxation, radiated a sense of intimidation, like a panther's.

Eldor's shuddered at the gap between them.
While being amazed, his fighting spirit was heightened at once.

Eldor had been facing his senior in front of him without hiding his fighting spirit since a while ago, but the person in question didn't seem to be bothered by it and was taking Eldor's fighting spirit like a sturdy tree.

That was the strength of Nozomu that could only be understood after facing him seriously.

Eldor felt his hairs standing up and his breathing became heavier and faster.

 

“……Here I go!”

 

Eldor gulped his spit, held his breath, and stepped forward toward Nozomu at once.

With his shield raised in front of him, he hid his one-handed sword behind his body and closed the gap with his instantaneous movement.

Nozomu, on the other hand, had been holding his wooden katana in front of his eyes since a moment ago while not moving an inch.

The moment Eldor's amazed expression disappeared and stepped forward, Nozomu was already looking at the approaching shield with clear eyes.

Eldor, while covering Nozomu's field of vision with his shield, swung the wooden sword in his right hand down onto his opponent's shoulder.

The next moment, *Clack!* The sound of wood hitting wood echoed around the area.

Eldor's wooden sword was deflected, and his body moved to Nozomu's side.

Nozomu took advantage of the momentum to deliver a reverse slash towards Elder while turning his body in a single turn.

 

“Kuh~!”

 

Eldor also spun his body and interrupted the path of Nozomu's sword strike with the shield in his left hand.
However, unlike Nozomu, whose movements were more refined, Eldor's were somewhat crude.

Once again, a hitting sound echoed in the air.

Eldor managed to block Nozomu's blow, but he already had a grim expression on his face.

 

“Oh, was it blocked?”

 

Nozomu, on the other hand, felt nothing special about his wooden katana being blocked.

He continued to observe, analyze, and judge Eldor's movements over and over again in less than a second.

Nozomu turned his head slightly.
In that instant, Eldor's wooden sword, which had been bounced up, passed right in front of Nozomu's eyes, leaving a gap of less than a millimeter.

Eldor then turned his wooden sword back and swung it down at Nozomu's head.

Each of Eldor's blows was a good one, with plenty of weight on the blade.

However, the connection to each of the subsequent moves was still poor.

Even so, he was managed to use the shield before Nozomu's blow struck his body, and he was able to regain his stance and launched a counterattack with perfect power, which showed his high level of physical ability.

Nozomu, while deflecting the side of the wooden sword that was swung down with his wooden katana, thought of many ways to settle this battle.

 

“Kuu! Oooo!”

 

One after another, Eldor began to swing his wooden sword toward Nozomu while emitting a fierce fighting spirit.

Nozomu was slowly retreating backward as if pushed by the momentum of the attack.

However, Eldor's wooden sword did not even graze Nozomu.
It was as if he was sliding on ice, and he was easily swept away.

As Eldor moved forward to further intesify his attack, Nozomu made his move.

Nozomu took a step forward as Eldor moved forward and slipped inside the gap between the attacks.

 

“Kuh~!”

 

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Eldor tried to get his shield between Nozomu and himself, as he did earlier.
But Nozomu had taken it into account.

While putting his strength on his waist, and with his foot planted on the ground, he inserted the hilt of his katana into the orbit of Eldor's shield.

With a deafening crash, the movement of both of them stopped for a moment.

 

“Kuh~ !?”

 

Their gazes crossed at a close distance.

They were not in a position to swing their weapons at each other.
Eldor was trying to pull back his shield, and Nozomu resisted with all his strength.

Eldor, in an attempt to break the deadlock, quickly tried to push Nozomu back with a strong shove.

 

“~ !”

 

Eldor strengthened his pressure at once in an attempt to forcibly pull off Nozomu's katana, which was inferior in physical ability.

The next moment, however, Nozomu suddenly relaxed all the strength he had put into his arm.

 

“Wha~!”

 

Eldor's balance was collapsed all at once.

At the same time, Nozomu took advantage of Eldor's force to push forward again, spinning around and moving towards Eldor's side.

Nozomu then lowered his hips and placed his arms around Eldor's head and waist, and swung him up at once.

 

“Uwa!”

 

Eldor's body, subjected to a sudden rotational force, turned halfway in mid-air as if doing a forward somersault, and then slammed directly to the ground.

 

“Gah !”

 

Furthermore, Nozomu put his Qi into the wooden katana and thrust it at once toward Eldor, who groaned from the impact.

Nozomu's wooden katana stabbed Eldor's side of the head and pierced the stone floor.

 

“Haa! Haa! Haa …”

“It's over …
isn't it?”

 

Nozomu's victory declaration through the silent courtyard.

The next moment, the spectators who had been watching the match around them began to let out screams of amazement …

 

“So, can you stand up?”

“Y-yes …”

 

Nozomu asked Eldor who was still breathing roughly and brushed the dirt and weeds from his clothes.

 

“Eldor-kun, your sword strikes have enough weight in each blow, but you are still not very good at connecting your attacks.
You should be more aware of your torso movement and the linkage with your footwork.
I think you need to repeat steady practice in that area…
“

“Y, yes …”

 

“You know that shields are a pretty versatile piece of armor, they can be used to intimidate or to attack.
Eldor-kun, you were using your shield to block your opponent's vision earlier, and you were also using it to hide the weapons you were going to use to attack.
I think it would be better if you could do that more efficiently.”

“I-, I understand.”

 

Nozomu gave his honest opinions and views about Eldor.
Although he couldn't give detailed training methods, he could point out to Eldor the means that he could use more effectively.

At that moment, the bell rang to signal the end of the lunch break.

The surrounding students, who had come to watch, began to walk to their respective classrooms at once.

Eldor bowed to Nozomu and returned to his first-year classroom with his friends, while Nozomu also headed to the third-year building with Irisdina and the others.

It's been about 10 days since Nozomu was discharged from the hospital.
This was now Nozomu's daily routine.

 

“By the way, are we going to the forest today ?”

“Ah, about that …”

 

On the way to the classroom, Irisdina said these words out of the blue.

In fact, earlier this morning, Nozomu received a call from Anri-sensei.

It was about the remedial classes he had been doing every day since he was discharged from the hospital.

 

*Today's remedial class has been postponed! We're going to do something a little special – please head to the forest!*

 

The designated place was the ruins of Shino's hut.
They were going to check various things there, including Nozomu's Dragon Slayer power.

Since they couldn't let him use his power inside the school, they were going to do it in the ruins of Shino's hut, which was a secluded place.

 

“Well, I knew I had to go there one day.”

 

Nozomu's ability.
Control training was conducted in parallel with the detailed analysis.

Since Jihad had finished exterminating the spies that had infiltrated Arcazam, he could now focus on training Nozomu in earnest.

Come to think of it, the hut that collapsed in the previous attack by an Undead Dragon was in a state where it had only been cleaned up to the minimum.

Even though it was now in ruins in the middle of the forest, it was probably best to clean it up properly.

Also, he was also concerned that he hadn't had time to talk to Lisa yet.

 

“Iris, how is Lisa doing?”

“……
Honestly, she doesn't look too well, but she doesn't get any harassment from anyone anymore.
After all, I suppose the fact that you didn't accuse her vociferously is stopping any behavior that might be directed at her.”

 

Since he was so busy, Nozomu had absolutely no time for himself from morning to night.
Due to this reason, he didn't have time to talk to Lisa until now.

However, he had heard from Irisdina and the others about how Lisa was doing at the school while he was sleeping.

She had been in the midst of a lot of trouble while Nozomu was sleeping, but now that Nozomu was not blaming Lisa in particular, it seemed that the harassment towards Lisa has stopped.

In the near future, he should create an opportunity to talk to her properly.
With that in mind, Nozomu rushed to class.

Two girls were watching his back with complicated expressions on their faces.

 

 

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After school, Nozomu visited his master's hut with his friends.

In front of the collapsed hut were Jihad, Inda, and Anri, and at their feet were tools that they had never seen before, all lined up in a row.

 

“Nozomu-kun~! This way~!”

“Anri, please lower your voice.
Any activity that might be noticed by others is a bit……”

 

As usual, Anri's enthusiastic voice echoed.

Inda, on the other hand, seemed somewhat tense, as if she was worried that someone might be peeping at her.

 

“It's all right~.
No one will come to such a deep place~.
Besides, we'll set up a proper concealment barrier, so you won't have to worry~.”

“That's true, but ……”

“Well, it's alright.
Nozomu and the others have come.
Anri-sensei is right.
If we put up several layers of barriers, there will be no problem.
I've prepared the tools just for that.”

 

Jihad intervened between the two, who were as contrasting as ever.
Inda, who had been worried about the situation, gave a small nod as if satisfied for the time being.

Nozomu, who confirmed the situation, called out to Jihad and the others.

 

“I'm sorry it took so long.”

“No, it doesn't matter.
We had our own preparations to make too.”

 

As he said so, Jihad took a glance at the various tools placed at his feet.

At first glance, Nozomu didn't understand what most of the tools were for.

Jihad turned around and crouched down, and began rummaging through the pile of tools.

 

“Sorry, but we need more time to prepare.
For starters, Nozomu, I want you to go with Inda-sensei.”

“H, haa …
I understand.”

 

With Jihad starting to work on something by their side, Nozomu and his friends walked towards Inda's side.

 

“Are you ready?”

“Nozomu-kun~! Looking forward to working with you~!”

“Yes, I look forward to working with you too.”

 

Unlike when teaching at school, Inda was dressed in adventurer clothes.

At a glance, it seemed to be a rather light and thin robe, but its surface was covered with magic formation for activating magic.
Furthermore, Inda was holding a thick grimoire in her hand.
Perhaps this was her combat outfit.

Anri, next to her, was also dressed in her adventurer outfit and carried her favorite whip on her waist belt.

As usual, her ample breasts bounced softly every time Anri, who was so full of energy acted like a child.

Nozomu averted his gaze in desperation, which seemed to be fixed on Anri's chest.

 

“Well then, let's reconfirm Nozomu-kun's magical abilities for the time being.
Will Irisdina and the others join us?”

“Is that okay?”

“Yes, each of you has different skills, but the basics of activating and maintaining the magic are fundamental.
It is worthwhile to do this as a review.
Of course, you may do other training on your own.”

 

With that words, Nozomu's friends began to practice their own magic.

Young Somia and Mars, who aimed to improve the accuracy of their magic, train together with Nozomu.

Irisdina was forming and maintaining a large number of magic bullets to improve her [Immediate Deployment] ability, Shīna was talking to spirits by releasing magic power, and Tom was reading a book from his bag while examining the plants and soil around the ruins of the hut.

While the others were training, Feo and Mimuru were devoting themselves to being onlookers and were being frowned upon by those around them.

 

“According to what I've heard, you don't have enough magic power to use even beginner magic, but I'll make up for your lack of magic power with this.”

 

Inda pulled out a small stone from her pocket, about the size of the tip of a fingernail.

The stone reflected the sunlight shining through the trees and glowed a dull white color.

 

“Is this a magic stone?”

“Yes, it is not a very expensive magic stone, and it is a scrap stone that cannot be used for experiments, but it has enough magic power to be used for beginner magic.
Nozomu-kun, you can channel your magic power, can't you?”

“Yes.
I could only circulate the magic in my body, but since I couldn't use magic, that's all I can do.”

“Alright.
Well then, let's begin.
Please hold this magic stone.”

 

Inda placed a magic stone in the palm of Nozomu's hand.

 

“Once you have drawn out the magic power, start chanting and construct a magic formula while visualizing a ball of light.

 

Following Inda's instructions, Nozomu focused his attention on the magic stone placed in the palm of his hand.

A faintly warm sensation gradually spread from one point on his palm to his entire body.

His friends stopped and watched Nozomu closely.

 

“Keep going, keep going…”

 

Nozomu chanted while feeling the magic power gushing from the magic stone.

As he chanted each of its words while visualizing the image, the heat that had been spreading in his palms soon began to gather in a single point.

Soon, Nozomu's eyes, which had been closed, slowly open.

A white, faintly glowing ball of light floated before his eyes.

 

“For the time being, you can form a magic bullet, but ……”

“It's kind of like a candle fire.
It will go out when the wind blows…”

 

However, the magic bullet formed by Nozomu was too small.
Even though he used a magic stone, albeit a scrap stone, he was able to create a ball of light that was smaller than the tip of a fingernail.
To put it bluntly, the light of a firefly, which was said to be ephemeral, was still more powerful.

 

“It seems that most of the magic power used has dissipated.
Let's see if you can create an ice bullet this time.”

 

Now, he tried to cast ice bullets in the same way.

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As before, he drew out the magic power of the magic stone and construct the technique by chanting.

Slowly, over a period of time, he formed an ice bullet while focusing on chanting.
The result was …….

 

“This time, a shaved ice-like object ……”

 

A shaved ice-like object, which looked more like a dessert than an ice bullet, was crushed on Nozomu's palm.

 

“Oh, by the way, I saw a stall selling sweets like this the other day.
I think they were called “shaved ice,” right? it was sold with squeezed fruit juice poured over it, and since it's been getting hot lately, it tastes delicious~!

“…………”

 

Mimuru's frank opinion pierced Nozomu's heart like an arrow.

Certainly, looking at its appearance alone, it would be delicious if sprinkled with sugar water or honey, but to be honest, it did not make Nozomu happy at all at.

Moreover, next to him, Somia, who was practicing on her own, was easily generating an ice bullet the size of a human head.
It was wonderful magic for a girl of her age.

She was as talented and hardworking as her older sister, so of course, she would be capable of forming a big ice bullet.

However, Nozomu was almost in tears at the thought of his own magic being outdone even by an 11-year-old girl.

 

After that, he tried various beginner magic techniques, but the results were disappointing.

Wind bullets were not able to gather wind and instead it turned into a gentle breeze, while flame bullets were becoming candle flames like light bullets.
He tried to form a stone bullet, but it did not turn into stone, but into sand.

 

“Speaking of the results …….
To be honest, ordinary students of Ecross are better at using magic than you.”

“Gufu~!”

 

Inda's rating about him came down as if to put a stop to such Nozomu.
Due to Inda's frank, though somewhat reserved, impression.
A new arrow pierced Nozomu's heart.

 

“In Nozomu-kun's case, there seems to be a problem with the construction of the technique rather than with the control of magic power.
It seems that Nozomu has no aptitude for chanting and constructing formulas.
Perhaps due to this fact, he hasn't been able to practice magic, or maybe he's simply not suited for it…”

 

Indeed, Nozomu had never been able to practice magic at all.
To be honest, he had passed his magic tests solely on writing tests only.

But that was why he was able to devote all his Qi to training in the art of katana technique.

 

“On the other hand, if you were to use a formation method, you should have no problem to a certain extent.
If you can compensate for the lack of magic power, you can manage to use intermediate-level magic depending on your training, even with the formation method.”

 

It was completely unsuitable for him to use the chanting method.
However, based on Inda's opinion, there would be no problem for him to use the formation method.

This was probably because the formation method relied on magic formations to control the technique.
If that were the case, there was a possibility that Nozomu will be able to use magic normally if he could manage to compensate for the lack of magic power.

 

“Compensate for the lack of magic power …”

“The typical method is to use magic stones, as in this case.”

 

Indeed, supplementing insufficient magical power with magic stones was a method that could be seen here and there across the entire continent.

However, magic stones were basically expensive.
It was not that they were completely unaffordable, but the most expensive ones were far beyond what Nozomu's wallet could afford.

 

“What about ritual body techniques?”

 

The first thing that came to Nozomu's mind was the [Rinne Kaiten], a technique of the Mikagura-style.

This is a technique to perform strengthening magic while gathering the magic power of the surrounding area.

Nozomu thought that this might be able to compensate for the lack of magic power.

However, Nozomu's opinion was flatly rejected.

 

“It would be impossible for the current Nozomu-kun to do it.
The control of the technique relies on body movement.
Indeed, even if it is interrupted, the effect of the reinforcement magic remains, but you have to quickly switch your attention to another technique and control it.
To use an analogy, it is like jumping from one carriage to another running at full speed.”

 

Simultaneous use of magic is one of the most advanced techniques.

In particular, he needed to process the techniques in parallel.
And this was an area of expertise that Nozomu wasn't good at.

 

“Nozomu-kun used a ritual body technique to fight “Jaw Drop” in the combat training with Jihad-sensei, but in doing so, he lost control of his magic power and suffered injuries.
He was injured because of the excess magic power that was not used in the technique.
Do you have confidence in your ability to control another technique at the same time?”

“…… No”

 

With his current magic skills, which were not even close to those of an Ecross student, there was no way that Nozomu could simultaneously use magic.

Nozomu's shoulders slumped in disappointment, and he let out a depressed voice.

 

“Well, that will depend on your future training.
For now, you need to get used to controlling the technique.
I think you should concentrate on mastering the magic formation.”

“I-, I understand …”

'Well then, Jihad-sensei seems to be ready, let's get down to the real business …”

“…… Yes”

 

They changed their attention and went towards Jihad, who seemed to be ready.

There was a large device about the size of a person's arm.
A complex magic formation was drawn on the top of the table-like flat top and on top of the magic formation were five brightly colored stones arranged in concentric circles.

There was no doubt that it was a magic tool of some kind.
However, Nozomu had no idea what it was.

 

“Now, you're going to release your Ability Suppression and fight against us.
The three of us, Inda, Anri, and I will be your opponents.
This is to reconfirm your Dragon Slayer power.”

“T-, Three against one !?”

 

Jihad's declaration made Nozomu let out an unintentional gasp of surprise.

Jihad is one of only a dozen or so S-rankers on the continent, and Anri is undoubtedly one of the top A-rankers.

Nozomu did not know much about Inda's abilities, but there was no way that the person who served as Jihad's right-hand man could be weaker than Anri.

To take on all three of them at once would be like jumping in front of a pack of Cyclops unarmed.
It would be impossible, uneasonable, and reckless.

 

“Considering your true identity, it is a natural course of action.
In fact, we may not be strong enough.”

 

Perhaps sensing Nozomu's true feelings, Jihad had a strangely nice smile on his face.

At his words, Nozomu involuntarily muttered, “No, no, that's overkill…….”

 

“Well, let's get started.”

 

Jihad quickly tossed Nozomu's true feelings aside and held his hand over the device at his feet.

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The next moment, a magical light flashed on the magic formation drawn on the device.

At the same time, the five stones on the table, the [Five Scale Stones] that Jihad received from Zonne, began to glow, creating a powerful force field.

 

“It's a magic tool obtained from a certain source that creates a powerful concealment barrier.”

“Furthermore~, we will also put up a barrier for you.”

 

Anri further deployed another barrier to cover the previous barrier deployed by the magic tool.

After the deployment of the barriers was finished, Jihad pulled out the giant sword [Jaw Drop] on his back.

A cold, powerful atmosphere was wafting from his massive, fortress-like frame.

Inda and Anri behind Jihad also readied their respective weapons.
Anri picked up her favorite whip, and Inda held up a grimoire in her hand.

Nozomu, too, lowered his stance while putting his hand on the hilt of the katana he carried.

 

“Hmm?”

 

However, at that time, Nozomu had a strange sensation.
It was a strange feeling as if he was being watched.

 

“Nozomu-kun~.
Is something wrong?”

“No, I felt something strange …
and it makes me feel uncomfortable…”

 

Anri called out to Nozomu, who wondered what was that strange feeling.

 

“This time, we've put up a very powerful barrier.
You must be feeling the effects of this.
Are you ready? Let's begin.”

“Ah, Y-, yes!”

 

For the time being, Nozomu pushed the discomfort he was feeling out of the corner of his mind and concentrated on what was in front of him.

 

“Well then, let's  begin.”

 

And the combat training began.

It was Inda, who was behind Jihad, who made the first move.

In an instant, Inda created a mass of flames the size of a person's upper body and shot it at Nozomu.

Nozomu panicked and jumped to the side to get out of the way.

The next moment, the mass of flame landed on the ground.
With a roar, it burned the ground, scattering sparks of fire and shockwaves in all directions.

Nozomu, who was engulfed by the shockwave and rolled to the ground, quickly stood himself up.

But by that time, Inda had already created the next mass of flames.

 

“That's quick!”

 

Once again, Inda's magic was launched, and Nozomu was engulfed by the shock of the impact.

Inda also began to shower Nozomu with intermediate-level magic such as [Icicle Dance], [Sharp Rock Dance], and [Wind Tunnel of the Hungry Beast].

The speed of her deployment speed was comparable to Irisdina's Immediate Deployment.

 

“Doaahh~!”

 

Nozomu's scream echoed through the ruins of Shino's hut as he continued to be engulfed by the magic vortex.

At first glance, it was an unusual sight.
However, until a few months ago, it was a scene that was seen on a daily basis.

Inda released a certain amount of magic, and then stopped her attack for a moment.

Around the area where Nozomu was, there was a cloud of dust and smoke that was caused by Inda's magics.

 

“Ptooey~, ptooey~! Ugh, it went into my mouth….”

 

Nozomu appeared from the middle of the cloud of dust, spitting out the dirt that had gotten into his mouth.

 

“I was quite serious launching those magic at him, but is he still unharmed?”

“I'm not unharmed, you know! Look, I'm full of scratches here and there!”

“A normal student would have fainted after being hit by the second shot.”

“You didn't seem hesitant shooting your magic after the third shot, did you?”

“I know that your skills set you apart from other students.
Rather, this training is part of the training for situations in which you will have to use that power, right?”

“You're right …”

 

Certainly, this training is an exercise in controlling the “dragon power” that Nozomu has taken in, and for that reason, the school has prepared such a place and the best forces.

The preemptive attack earlier was probably to reproduce the situation in which Nozomu was forced to release his Ability Suppression.

 

“Fuh …”

 

Nozomu exhaled slowly and relaxed his entire body.
An invisible chain wrapped around his body came into view.

Nozomu grabbed the chain tightly.

 

“Nozomu! Do it seriously!”

“Since you have this chance! Go out there and fight like you want to blow 'em all away!”

“Inda-sensei's magic emphasizes on its large numbers! If you keep your distance, you will be swallowed up by their momentum!”

“Nozomu-kun~.
Good luck~!”

 

He could hear the cheers of his friends.

Heat welled up from deep within his chest.
Naturally, Nozomu's mouth smiled.

His fighting spirit rose.
Jihad's eyes squinted in response.

 

“Here I go……”

 

With a certain determination and a quiet voice, Nozomu pulled the invisible chain with all his might.

 

The next moment, with a sound like shattering glass, explosive power shot out from Nozomu's entire body in all directions.