GVRS 8

Chapter : 08

“Russell, even you?!”
Liz looked at me like I was crazy. No, listen—there’s no way our protagonist would just drop out of the Magic Tower.

When I signaled to Flamel, he nodded as well.

“So, what’s the duel format? I’ll play along however you want.”

“Let’s see how long you can keep acting so high and mighty. The match ends when one side is completely unable to fight!”

Tom scowled, clearly annoyed that we seemed more relaxed than expected.

“Are you two the only ones fighting? All three of us will participate.”

“I don’t mind.”

“Neither do I.”

“Then it’ll be three against two—”

At that moment, Liz suddenly raised her hand.

“Three against three!”

“Liz…!”
Eris tried to stop her, but Liz didn’t listen.

“With three-on-three, best of three rounds, the result will be nice and clean. Right?”

“Fine. But using Contract Spirits is forbidden. That’s only fair, isn’t it?”

“Ugh… f-fine! We can beat you guys easily even without Contract Spirits!”

This was getting way bigger than expected. By the time I regretted not just quietly submitting my withdrawal papers, it was already too late.

“The duel will be three-on-three! Victory is decided when one side is unable to fight! I, Eris Hille, will serve as the witness!”

Before I knew it, the match was already underway with an official witness.

Then Flamel muttered quietly,
“That was unnecessary.”

“What’s your problem now?”

“I’m saying we didn’t need your help.”

Flamel didn’t seem pleased that Liz had suddenly joined. Liz flared up in response.

“You think I did this to help you? If Russell hadn’t jumped in at the mention of dropping out—!”

Liz glared at me, fuming.

“Alright then—begin!”

Eris’s clear voice rang out.

The only reason I had confidently joined this fight—despite not even being able to use Contract Spirits—was because of Flamel. Our hidden-overpowered protagonist!

“Hey, Flamel. I’m counting on you—”

Whoosh!

Before I could finish, something brushed past my cheek. When I touched it, there was a sharp sting—and blood.

“W-what was that?”

“Hahaha! Vivaldo was born under the blessing of Sagittarius!”

Tom suddenly appeared from somewhere, shouting loudly.

“And I! I’ve inherited the power of Taurus!”

Tom bent his waist and stomped his foot.

Whoooosh!

A golden magic circle spread beneath him. At the same time, the image of a bull overlaid his body.

The sight of a bull that looked ready to charge sent chills down my spine.

“I-I surrender! I surrender!”

Sensing real danger, I shouted urgently—but the reply was cold.

I’m dropping out anyway, so losing doesn’t matter!

“Didn’t you hear earlier? The match ends when one side can no longer fight.”

Hey, Flamel—you never said surrender wasn’t allowed!

“Hey, Flamel. Like you said, luring Tom here was fine… but what now?”

I wasn’t even asking for Contract Spirits. If he summoned one here, the Magic Tower would be blown to pieces!

But even without that, he must’ve prepared something, right?

“You’re one to talk. That chaos last time wasn’t caused by me, was it?”

“If I could control that at will, do you think I’d be in this situation?”

Of course, the protagonist wouldn’t die—must be nice. Meanwhile, I was genuinely fearing for my life.

“…Then what exactly made you trust my plan enough to join?”

“Huh? Well, you said if Tom pressed the issue under imperial law, it could count as attempted noble murder.”

That was why Flamel had asked for my cooperation in the first place.

“You said if I sided with you, we could brush it off as a student quarrel.”

Take Tom out and eliminate future trouble—it’s a win for both of us.

“I don’t understand how your mind works.”

“What?”

Why’s this guy picking a fight?

Just as I was about to snap back, Tom shouted from the other side.

“Hahaha! Serves you right, Russell! I’ve always hated how you act superior!”

Tom kept stomping his feet. The wind grew fiercer with each passing second.

It sounded like a sports car engine revving up, ready to burst forward.

Vroom, vrrrroom!

This was insane. Meanwhile, Flamel kept staring at me—as if urging me to prove something.

Thud!

Suddenly, a wall of earth rose up between us and Tom.

“What are you doing? I get Russell, but Flamel—you can at least handle basic elemental manipulation, can’t you?”

Our savior—it was Liz!

Right. Compared to hidden-overpowered Flamel, the model student Liz should be stronger right now. I’m counting on you, Liz!

From beyond the wall, Tom shouted:

“Tricks like that will only buy you time!”

At the same time, arrows rained over the wall!

Whoosh! Whoosh!

“…Tch.”

Flamel clicked his tongue and deployed a magic circle.

So this guy could do it all along?!

Hummm!

After a brief resonance, water arrows appeared floating in the air.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

With a gesture from Flamel, the water arrows shot forward, intercepting the incoming arrows and knocking them down.

“Wow.”

No matter how many times I saw it, it felt unreal. This world truly ran on a third kind of physics—magic.

“You… you could even change the form of elements? Then why were you always failing practical exams?!”

“Is that really important right now?”

“Well, what could be more important—!”

Whoosh!

An arrow grazed over Liz’s head.

A chilling sound rang near my ear.

Wait—we were behind a wall. How?!

“The wall’s been pierced!”

What?!

Crack…

As expected, the earth wall began to crack and collapse.

Damn it. Having cover versus none makes all the difference.

Whoosh!

Another arrow sliced through the air, closer this time.

“Tch.”

Flamel raised his hand—then stopped, staring at me.

“What. Why. What is it?”

“….”

Why is he staring at me like that?!

I slowly stepped back—then suddenly felt my collar grabbed.

Before I could react, my body lifted into the air.

“W-w-w-wait?!”

“W-what is that guy doing?!”

My body flew—straight toward Tom and his group!

My shadow fell over Tom’s head, and he looked up in shock.

“You think… I’d dodge that?!”

Haaah!

As he shouted, a golden magic circle formed beneath him again. His entire body hardened like stone.

“Come at me!”

“Move out of the waaay!”

Ignoring my scream, he charged head-on!

“At this rate, we’re all going to die—!”

I shut my eyes tight, bracing for impact.

But… no pain came.

When I cautiously opened my eyes, I was still floating in the air.

“What are you doing, Flamel?!”

Held by a giant hand made of earth.

“You just threw Russell at them—what was your plan?!”

Whoooosh!

The earthen hand carried me back and set me down beside Flamel and Liz.

“I-I’m alive…”

I really thought I was dead.

I wiped my sweat-soaked hands on my clothes.

‘Wait… this isn’t just sweat, is it?’

It was dripping all the way down my arms—and it didn’t even smell.

While I was sniffing my hand, Liz and Flamel’s argument escalated.

“Why did you interfere?”

“You should be taking this seriously! I even risked dropping out to help you!”

“It was a good opportunity to confirm something.”

Confirm what?

Flamel glanced at me and muttered,

“If he’s pushed to the brink of death like last time, then surely…”

Wait—he threw me in danger just to test my ability? This guy’s insane.

‘I thought we’d gotten a bit closer after going through life-and-death situations together… was that just my imagination?!’

As I flipped him off behind his back, he suddenly turned around. I quickly looked away and whistled.

Still… it’s scary to get on the protagonist’s bad side.

“What the hell are you doing?! Stop messing around!”

Tom shouted furiously from the other side.

Hummmm!

In response to his emotions, magic circles appeared in the air. Countless arrows formed, all aimed at us.

Gulp.

Just looking at them made my throat go dry.

“Duck.”

Flamel’s voice came from behind.

Before I could even ask, I instinctively crouched and covered my head.

BOOOOM!

A massive explosion erupted behind me.

When I looked up, the area across from us was nearly destroyed.

“W-what did you do…?”

“I just spread fragments of mermaid scales on the ground beforehand.”

Flamel replied calmly, holding a hose over his shoulder.

“They explode on contact with water.”

Liz’s jaw dropped.

“You prepared that in advance…? No—Flamel, did you plan this from the start?”

“Did you know about this too, Russell?!”

“Not everything, but I had a rough idea.”

I figured he had prepared something.

“I can’t believe this. What was I even doing helping you guys…?”

Liz sighed in disbelief.

Flamel ignored her and stared ahead.

As the smoke cleared, Tom and his group lay unconscious.

“What was that explosion?! That was incredible!”

Eris ran over from afar.

“They’re not dead.”

Flamel checked their breathing and then tossed them aside.

“That settles the score.”

He muttered and turned away.

Typical protagonist, trying to look cool.

Still, we did win thanks to him—can’t argue with that. He must’ve predicted Tom would bring him here and prepared everything in advance.

‘What a terrifying guy!’

Just like in the original story—a cold-blooded monster.

Looking down at the unconscious Tom, I let out a sigh of relief.

Seems like things are finally over…

Whoosh!

Something brushed past my ear.

My gaze shifted.

‘This is…’

A vine?

Before I could process it, Liz grabbed my collar and yanked me aside.

“Spicaaa!”

At the same time, she called out her Contract Spirit and raised another earth wall.

“It’s a Giant Nepenthes!”

Liz shouted.

“A carnivorous plant-type monster that captures prey and dissolves it whole! It usually lives in tropical rainforests, and once fully grown, it can even devour humans!”

She rattled off information like from a textbook.

“Thanks, speed-Liz!”

“It’s angry because we invaded its territory!”

Eris shouted from the other side.

—KIEEEEEK!

The monster revealed itself with a deafening roar. It was at least as tall as a three-story building, thrashing its vines wildly.

“…You’ve got to be kidding me.”

I let out a hollow laugh.