I Became the One Who Takes. 256

## Chapter 256 - (7)

"What on earth happened in just one day..."

Rebecca, who came in for the afternoon class, having heard our story, raised her hand to her forehead as if she had a headache.

Kai, Camille, and I gave awkward smiles.

We had our grievances, but the incident had indeed blown up.

It must have been quite something for the news to reach even Rebecca.

"We were offered a 3-on-3 winning streak match."

The professor of the Fire Class had proposed it himself.

"That man, he was so excited..."

The Fire Class professor had set up the stage as if urging us to fight aggressively.

True to the Fire Class name, he had a very combative personality.

But 3-on-3, huh.

First of all, Kai and I, being the main parties involved in the incident, would automatically participate.

"Then I will too...!"
"Camille, you can't. ...It's not good for your emotional well-being."

Camille had wanted to join to defend her brother from the unfair misunderstanding, but.

Rebecca refused her.

Due to the nature of blood magic, she would be using magic that manipulates blood.

"Last time, a mage fainted just from seeing the magic."

Apparently, the magic was so shocking that some students even fainted.

Even if it was magic, its foundation was blood, so the color, stickiness, and the faint smell of iron couldn't be hidden.

Those with weak hearts or those unaccustomed to blood might faint.

"...Baran, can you help?"

The name Baran, which Rebecca reluctantly called, belonged to the mohawk-wearing furry.

"Of course."

He readily agreed.

Maybe he's a good person despite his somewhat peculiar tastes.

"It's a good opportunity to introduce beastmen to the mages."
"..."

Scratch that.

Anyway, before we knew it, Baran and the three of us decided to participate in the duel after class.

Rebecca stared intently at me.

"Do you have any magic you can use?"

Her tone didn't seem to hold much expectation.

It had only been a day since I arrived at the Magic Tower.

It wouldn't be strange if I couldn't use magic yet.

But, I had been able to use magic even before coming to the Magic Tower.

When I reached out my hand and created a decent-looking piece of ice, her expression changed.

"Ice magic? It was definitely pink..."

I wasn't planning on hiding it, so I just showed her, but Rebecca was taken aback.

"So you really have two aptitudes... No, that's good for now. How big can you make that ice?"
"Big?"

I hadn't really thought about making it big.

Because I wasn't using ice magic for attack purposes, but rather as an ice water dispenser.

Why would I make it big?

It wouldn't even fit in a cup.

I slowly poured out mana and increased the size of the ice.

Just trying to increase the size made the ice grow downwards in a disorderly manner, like an icicle.

Before I knew it, a long, spike-like piece of ice longer than my arm had been created.

"Do you still have mana to spare?"
"Yes."

Ice magic didn't seem to consume much mana.

Even if I used up all my mana, I felt like I could somehow manage with internal energy.

"Good. Now, use even more mana and create ice. Try to make the coldest ice possible."
"Hmm..."

I didn't really understand what she meant, but I decided to try it anyway.

I deliberately poured out mana and extracted ice.

I felt something being pulled out from inside my body.

It felt a little different from when I used internal energy.

It felt like I was becoming languid.

Then, ice that emitted a pure white vapor, unlike before, began to appear.

The ice wasn't transparent, but truly pure white.

Just looking at it, I could feel its chilling energy.

"...We might be able to win."

So she wanted to win.

Well, she probably wouldn't feel good if a mage she was teaching lost.

But I wondered if this alone would be enough to win.

"Don't you have anything else? Like a way to launch it."
"Huh? Why? I'm a knight, so I'll just hit them with it. It'll be even harder than a well-made wooden sword."
"Ah."

That was a more efficient way to win than learning magic from now on.

Then it was a certain victory.

I swung the ice I had created.

Whoosh!

A heavy and chilling sensation.

It felt like the time to return to Knight Sung-Han was approaching.

...Even though it had only been a day since I entered the Magic Tower.

So just beating them with this counts as a magic duel.

Well, there probably hadn't been cases like me or Ethan, where knights entered the Magic Tower.

"Haa... Then let's go back to class."

Rebecca, seemingly relieved, started the afternoon class with a calm expression again.

Whether it was my imagination or not, the afternoon class mainly covered countermeasures against fire magic and explanations of the rules regarding magic duels.

Rebecca might be more competitive than I thought.

Or maybe it was for our sake.

After class, I subtly asked the other two who had decided to participate.

About what kind of magic they used.

"Hehehe, I use magic to create potions..."
"I transform my body."

Kai said he used potion-making magic.

It seemed to suit him, but it also felt a bit troublesome.

Blonde hair, tan – these two keywords combined with drugs.

At this point, it wasn't a misunderstanding, but a reasonable inference.

The mohawk-wearing furry, Baran, said he used magic to transform his body.

The phrase "transform the body" was a bit ambiguous, so I asked for more details.

"I can make horns, tails, or fur appear on my body."
"...Is that so?"

What kind of expression am I making right now?

I might be making a slightly disgusted face.

Is the final stage of a furry becoming a furry himself?

Still, having horns or a tail appear could be helpful in battle.

I don't know about fur.

Does it get warmer?

For now, I left the classroom.

"Ooh..."
"They're out, they're out..."

Then the mages around us raised their voices as they looked at us.

The incident had indeed blown up.

Everyone kept a bit of distance and followed us.

"What is this?"

Baran and Camille, not having expected this spectacle, looked wary.

Kai and I had experienced it once before, so we were a bit more nonchalant.

We boarded the stone slab and headed to a place called the training floor.

Fortunately, the mages didn't follow us onto the stone slab.

The stone slab was big, but not big enough to carry all the onlookers.

The training floor was literally a floor for training.

There was also a space with scarecrows, which could easily be seen in the knight order.

There also seemed to be a space for recovering mana.

There were also spaces where books were lined up like in a library.

And at the innermost part of the floor.

A circular, small arena with a huge magic circle engraved on it could be seen.

"That magic circle is..."
"It's a barrier magic circle."

A barrier is provided for player protection.

It's a very strong barrier, so it can protect against even the most powerful magic up to two times.

The moment this barrier breaks, it's a defeat.

Certainly, I could feel something changing as I stood on the magic circle.

It felt like mana was enveloping my body.

It didn't feel much different from surrounding myself with internal energy.

"You came without running away."

The man who had picked a fight with Kai greeted us with his arms crossed.

There was no woman next to him.

As if reading that gaze, the man cleared his throat.

"...It's all your fault... that Leila and I fought..."

It seemed like they had a fight.

He was blaming Kai, but it was his own fault.

He should have trusted his girlfriend's words.

Instead of suspecting that she had fallen for Kai.

The order of the winning streak match was Baran, Kai, and then me.

Leaving Baran behind, the two of us retreated outside the arena for now.

The opponent was a small woman.

However, she was holding something very ominous in her hand.

"A gun?"

She was holding a small cannon-like gun with a slightly large muzzle in her hand.

The gathered spectators looked at us and began to whisper.

In the midst of that, someone from the audience came up onto the stage.

"Professor!"
"It's the professor!"

Listening closely, it seemed like he was the man in charge of the Fire Class.

That meant that person was also a disciple of Eva.

But he looked like he was in his forties.

"Too young to be Eva's disciple..."
"Huh? Isn't Rebecca-nim about the same?"
"Ah."

I realized after hearing Camille's answer.

Rebecca was an elf.

I had been deceived by her appearance and misunderstood her age.

"Hahaha! Good, everyone, take your positions!"

With a hearty laugh befitting the Fire Class professor, he restored order.

Both Baran and the girl with the gun stood in their positions with nervous expressions.

"Start!"

And immediately, the professor started the match.

Baran was the first to react to the sudden start.

"Ugh...!"

As soon as the match started, he crouched down and his body began to transform.

First, his height and size increased.

Horns grew on his head, his ears became longer, and his sideburns grew long, covering half of his face.

Animal fur also grew on the back of his hands, and a thin tail protruded over his pants.

The horns, fur, and thin tail definitely...

"It's a minotaur!"
"Ah."

Yes, he reminded me of a minotaur.

I wondered where I had seen it before, but thanks to someone telling me, I remembered.

"Wow..."
"He's brought out his true form?"
"It's a fascinating magic."
"If you look closely, doesn't he look more like a beastman than a minotaur?"
"Beastman? I've never seen one that looks like that."

"Haa... Haa..."

The transformed Baran was enjoying the gazes and reactions of the people.

I could see his hand stroking his horns with a proud expression.

Looking at his flamboyant transformation, the girl on the other side said.

"Ew, cow, disgusting..."

Baran's expression hardened at those words.