I Became the One Who Takes. 258

## Chapter 258 - (9)

"Begin!"

"Huuuuh!"

Shwuk!

As soon as the signal was given, the man swiftly created a flame spear and hurled it.

I managed to dodge by twisting my body to the side, but the speed of the attack drew gasps of admiration from the audience.

"Did you see that?"
"Seriously! Was he always that good?"
"Maybe he awakened from the pain of heartbreak?"
"What, did he break up with someone?"

"Ugh..."

As if he heard the audience's voices, the man's expression turned complicated.

I could feel the mana that had been moving busily falter for a moment.

Does emotion affect mana?

I wanted to investigate that further.

A wicked thought suddenly popped into my head, and I chuckled, causing the man's face to twist.

"...What's so funny?"
"Oh, nothing..."

After a moment of consideration, I decided to exploit his personal woes.

"I was just wondering if you'd gone through a breakup."
"...! You, you little...!"

The man's face turned as red as a tomato.

All from a single question about a breakup.

Breakups are sad, but in his case, I figured the fault lay with him.

"Serves you right. Not trusting your girlfriend."

I said it with deliberate sarcasm.

I even dangled my leg, trying to sound as mocking as possible. The man's rage seemed to swell even further; I could practically see the veins popping out on his neck.

Despite that, he couldn't say anything in response.

It was just the way I said it.

There was nothing factually wrong with what I said.

"...What do you know about my girlfriend to be spouting off like that!"

So, that's how he's going to play it.

"Ooooh!"
"He's right! A boyfriend who can't trust his girlfriend is the one in the wrong!"
"...But is that really grounds for a breakup?"
"Absolutely!"

Opinions were divided among the audience, but it seemed like they were leaning more towards my side.

The man was getting booed.

"Of course, I don't know much about your ex-girlfriend."
"..."
"I'll get to know her slowly, so don't worry."
"Wh-whaaat...? Gu-gurk!"

I could see his mana going berserk.

So, anger can push you this far.

Seeing this, I could tell that inner energy and mana were somewhat similar.

The way his mana was twisting and flailing erratically made him look like someone who had fallen into demonic cultivation.

"...Hmm."

I imitated the flow of mana that the man had shown earlier.

The shape was a simple spear.

The mana flowed slowly and linearly, like pulling out a thread.

Then, slowly, ice began to form in my hand, taking on a long shape.

The pure white spear emitted a chill as if it were constantly exhaling.

I couldn't copy him to the point of launching it like he did, but it didn't really matter.

"Your body's going to have to suffer a little."

I gripped the ice spear tightly in my hand.

I could feel the weapon skill being applied to the ice weapon.

I slowly leaned my body back.

The man noticed that I was about to do something and raised his hand, but—

Pshwook.

"Kuh-ooooh!"

With a sound like air escaping, mana scattered into the atmosphere.

The intense emotions had made it impossible for him to control his mana.

I never expected it to be this effective.

I gave him a wicked grin and twisted my body.

Hooook—!

In one swift motion, I lowered my body and swung my arm like I was throwing a baseball.

The ice spear left my hand and flew straight as a laser—.

Shweeeeeek!

It tore through the air.

The speed was completely different from the flame spears the opponent had been firing.

There was no way a man with ordinary physical abilities could dodge it.

"Yo, you crazy!"

Clang!

The ice spear and the shield collided and canceled each other out, causing the shield to shatter.

Even after breaking through the shield, the remaining impact sent the man flying into the air.

Far enough to fly out of the arena.

All the way to where the audience was.

Thud!

"...Ugh..."

The people are so cold.

No one even tried to catch the man who flew over their heads.

It was a far cry from Kai's gentlemanly act of catching the fallen girl.

You really can't judge a book by its cover.

Except for mohawk furries.

I knew they were weird from the start.

"...Rebecca Class wins."

The professor from the Fire Class coldly declared my victory.

"Next."
"I, I... I forfeit."

The next contestant forfeited.

I didn't quite understand.

Apparently, the man I had defeated in one blow was the ace of the Fire Class.

He probably thought he had no chance of winning.

Come to think of it, even when he fought Kai, he fought pretty well despite being so agitated.

When he fought me, he completely lost his composure with just a few words and couldn't even mount a proper counterattack.

Thanks to that, I gained some unsavory nicknames.

Dirty Talker, Mental Breaker, Bad Word Generator, Trash, and so on.

Basically, any modifier that implied I was saying harsh things was added to my nickname.

Was it that bad?

I hadn't bet anything on the duel, but it was time to claim the rights of a rightful victor.

Our demand was set.

"Apologize to Kai."
"..."

As the saying goes, losers have no say. The man slowly nodded and approached Kai.

In truth, the man probably knew it himself.

That he had made a ridiculous misunderstanding.

So, he bowed his head and apologized.

"I'm... sorry... I misunderstood."
"Kekeke!"

Kai laughed wickedly.

Or rather, according to Camille, that's the laugh he makes when he's really happy.

I guess that's what it's like to be siblings; they can tell the difference just from the way he laughs.

Kai accepted the man's apology.

He gently patted the shoulder of the bowing man.

"Hehe, it's okay. Go make up with your girlfriend."
"...Thanks."

A warm atmosphere lingered between the parties involved.

It was a bit much to just go by his tone.

"...So, it was a misunderstanding?"
"Seems like it?"
"Wasn't it cool how he caught her when she fell earlier?"
"Yeah, and it was kind of cool how he put her to sleep with sleeping pills instead of hitting her."

I could see Kai's reputation improving in real time.

Me?

[Quest Completed.]
[Ice Magic skill level has increased.]

As if the time had come, the quest completion window appeared.

The level of the skill I needed most had increased.

It felt like the quest window was comforting me.

That's good enough for me.

"Thank you so much! It's all thanks to you two."
"...I didn't do anything..."
"It's nothing."

Camille thanked us for helping her brother.

Baran was dejected at those words, and I lightly accepted her thanks.

Baran's transformation hadn't worn off yet, and his ears and tail were drooping.

Camille looked at the sight and smiled awkwardly.

"Is there anything you want? Kai and I will do anything we can!"
"...I don't want anything..."
"Hahaha... Then what about you, Rebecca?"
"Me..."

I thought it might be a good idea to prepare for the main quest in advance.

This main quest.

Massaging two or more women.

It wouldn't be bad to secure one person in advance.

"Massage? You mean I'm receiving it, not giving it?"
"Yeah, I need a practice partner."
"I'm fine with it, but... are you going to become a masseuse later?"

Camille asked with a puzzled expression.

A masseuse.

That might not be bad.

"I'm fine with it..."

I got Camille's permission.

All that was left was where to do it.

I wondered if I should remodel the space where I sleep again this time.

After finishing our eventful debut, we all returned to the main floor for now.

***

The next day.

I finished class and immediately set out to gather the supplies I needed for the massage.

Today's class was simple.

It explained the types of mana and the effects of emotions on mana.

It felt like the class was directed at us after what happened yesterday.

"Oh, and... congratulations."

Rebecca said that and left after class.

I guess she was more interested than I thought.

Maybe she even watched yesterday's duel from afar?

"The Development Floor, was it?"
"Yeah, you can buy what you need there."

The mages of the Magic Tower also needed supplies.

No, rather, because they were mages, they had to trade various items.

The floor for that was called the Development Floor.

Originally, it was a space for research and production to create magical tools, scrolls, and potions.

But now, it was a place where transactions were actively taking place.

They even allowed merchants who visited the Magic Tower to use this floor.

Money.

"Sigh... I don't have any money."
"Hehe!"

Kai pounded his chest, telling me to just trust him.

"Kai has a lot of money because he sells medicine."

Of course, he left the business to another student in his class.

Apparently, no one bought it when he sold it himself.

Kai and Camille tilted their heads as if they didn't know why.

I think I know why.

Anyway, Kai's medicine seemed to be a very popular product, so I was able to buy the things I wanted thanks to Kai.

That included things like piles of towels, perfume, and oils to apply to the skin.

"You're getting serious!"

Camille, who was going to receive the massage, said excitedly at the surprisingly elaborate shopping list.

If I was going to do it, I wanted to do a proper massage.

First of all, Camille had been nice to me from the first day, and she had approached me first.

I figured I needed to do a proper massage to get it to count towards the quest.

The preparations were complete.

"I'm going to go ahead and get ready, can you come in an hour?"
"Okay!"

I made an appointment with Camille and returned to my room.

I didn't know much about massages.

I could just do a rough massage and use my inner energy to loosen the muscles or correct the slightly misaligned body.

Come to think of it, the Magic Tower Lord.

Eva had a strange reaction as soon as I used my inner energy to massage her.

"...It'll be fine. Probably."

Nothing will happen.