Dispersion Bullet

However, that brief moment was more than enough for Kudo Mitsunobu to cast his defensive magic, Solid Stone—although it was only a C-rank defensive spell, the lowest in the Kudo Style.

But since neither of them had reinforced their bodies with magic and were relying solely on physical techniques, this spell was more than enough to withstand Shiba Tatsuya's kick.

Shiba Tatsuya reacted at once. The moment his kick failed, he used the recoil to flip backward several times and put some distance between himself and Kudo Mitsunobu.

Neither of them chose to attack again. Instead, they stared at each other.

Everyone present was already dumbfounded by the intense fight. They had thought it would be over in an instant.

Who could have imagined that the two would end up in such a deadlock? After all, Kudo Mitsunobu was a Course 1 Student and the heir to the Kudo Family.

His opponent was merely a Course 2 Student with no family backing him. Of course, this wasn't to say they were disappointed in Kudo Mitsunobu's fighting ability.

After all, thanks to Jumonji Katsuto's explanation, the single technique Flash Time was already enough to prove how formidable Kudo Mitsunobu was.

Without any magical reinforcement, he had used nothing but muscle power and a forceful stomp against the ground to achieve something like the effect of a triple acceleration spell.

That alone made it clear what kind of training Kudo Mitsunobu had undergone at such a young age.

But the one who truly shocked them was the Course 2 Student, Shiba Tatsuya.

Although it seemed as if Kudo Mitsunobu had been on the offensive the whole time, while Shiba Tatsuya had done nothing but dodge passively—

Whether it was his acceleration and physical techniques, which had matched Kudo Mitsunobu's at the start, or his perfect response to what should have been a fatal attack from Kudo Mitsunobu—

They were certain that if they had been in Shiba Tatsuya's place, they wouldn't have lasted even a moment. The instant they moved, they would have been unable to react in time to the two closing in on them, and would have lost.

The disdainful look Hattori Hanzo had worn until then shifted as though he had just lived through a violent earthquake.

His expression went from disdain to shock, then settled into silence. After seeing Shiba Tatsuya's performance, he could no longer dismiss him.

Shiba Tatsuya had proved his outstanding combat ability in this fight—so outstanding that Hattori Hanzo couldn't bring himself to admit he was inferior.

The two remained silent for only a short while. About half of the three-minute observation period had passed. Kudo Mitsunobu had tested Shiba Tatsuya's physical techniques and found them decent enough.

But his physical abilities alone weren't enough to let Kudo Mitsunobu see the whole picture.

"Tatsuya, although you can't cast any particularly powerful magic, how about we end this fight after you take my final move?"

Shiba Tatsuya nodded. The fight had already achieved what he wanted. There was no need to continue; doing so would only reveal more about him.

There was no point in that.

Shiba Tatsuya raised Night. A greenish glow gathered at the muzzle, and the Psion Bullet grew denser with every passing moment. A magic circle quietly unfolded in front of it.

No matter how I revised it, the fight scene still didn't turn out very well. I hope I can improve in the future.

As always, thank you all for your support.

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Chapter 17: Dispersion Bullet

"That's not a registered Magic Formula. The activation sequence is programmed with dispersion and acceleration magic, and there are too many components."

The instant Kudo Mitsunobu began activating his magic, Shiba Tatsuya opened Elemental Sight, searching for a way to counter it.

But once he did, only one thought came to mind: This spell can't be allowed to fire.

Shiba Tatsuya's gaze grew serious. He pulled the trigger of Silver Cluster, and at the same time, the magic circle in front of Kudo Mitsunobu's muzzle shattered.

"Cast Jamming. I didn't expect you to know that kind of magic, Tatsuya."

Kudo Mitsunobu immediately recognized the technique Shiba Tatsuya had just used, but he had no intention of continuing.

None of the techniques Shiba Tatsuya had used today had anything to do with the Ten Master Clans. Given all the restrictions, it seemed there was nothing more to learn about him.

Besides, they had already said that would be the final move. There was no need to continue.

Seeing this, Shiba Tatsuya quietly breathed a sigh of relief. Today's fight had been a little beyond what he'd expected. He'd originally planned to rely solely on his physical techniques to last the three minutes.

But Kudo Mitsunobu's final move had made it clear that he couldn't dodge it. So, choosing between Restoration and Cast Jamming, he'd used Cast Jamming to counter it.

The people who had been standing in the corner came over. Shiba Tatsuya's performance today had truly opened their eyes.

"Shiba, why was someone with your exceptional combat ability assigned to Course 2?"

Jumonji Katsuto asked as he watched Shiba Tatsuya being pestered by Nakajo Azusa. Azusa wasn't interested in fighting or magic, but she was very interested in the CAD in Shiba Tatsuya's hands.

She had spotted Silver Cluster as soon as Shiba Tatsuya took it out. The only reason she hadn't rushed over on impulse was that Saegusa Mayumi had stopped her.

Shiba Tatsuya ignored Nakajo Azusa's request to take a closer look at Silver Cluster and calmly put the weapon back in its briefcase.

"I'm good at processing speed, calculation scale, and interference strength."

"But the social grading system and school tests only assess the speed at which magic is activated, the scale of the Magic Formula, and the strength of the interference used to rewrite the target's information."

"That explains it." Jumonji Katsuto asked no more. In the end, the problem was simply that the system was inadequate.

Hattori Hanzo, who had been standing behind the others, finally put aside his inner conflict. Although what happened today had shaken his convictions, he wasn't an unreasonable person.

He had looked down on Course 2 Students because, in the past, they truly hadn't amounted to much.

Now that someone like Shiba Tatsuya had appeared among them, Hattori Hanzo couldn't control what other people said, but at least from that day on, he wouldn't look at Course 2 Students with prejudice.

"Shiba, I'm sorry."

Hattori Hanzo walked up to Shiba Miyuki, bowed to apologize, then left the room without lingering.

"But, Tatsuya, I can't believe you chose Cast Jamming so decisively back then!"

"I thought you'd still try to dodge with physical techniques!"

Kudo Mitsunobu spoke to Shiba Tatsuya with a hint of curiosity. After all, he had deliberately used a magic spell of his own invention to guard against Shiba Tatsuya's eyes.

"If I'd tried to dodge with physical techniques, I'd have been hit by your dense barrage of Split Bullets, wouldn't I?"

"You knew I was going to use Split Bullets?"

"Yes. The first thousand characters of your activation sequence were the same as those of most dispersion spells, and the rest also contained a large number of formulas used in acceleration magic."

"Based on that, I concluded that you were going to fire Split Bullets with an extremely wide area of effect."

"Under the circumstances, there was no way I could avoid them with physical techniques or by casting acceleration magic, so I had no choice but to use Cast Jamming."