Beating a Dead Horse Can Be Addictive (Continued)

"It's actually [Blazing Divine Realm]!"

Ichijo Masaki gritted his teeth. He knew that Kudo Mitsunobu's release of [Lightning Flash] earlier couldn't have been just because of its fast activation speed.

I never expected that he was actually setting up [Blazing Divine Realm].

Normally, the [Blazing Domain] cannot achieve such intense high temperatures. However, in a field where a large number of electrons are already active, Kudo Mitsunobu can create a high-temperature electromagnetic field by simply separating cations once the [Blazing Domain] is triggered.

"We can't defend anymore!"

Despite casting [Information Reinforcement] a second time, Ichijo Masaki was still not very good at defensive magic.

No matter how much he increased the release of the seeds, he couldn't stop the icicles from melting.

Change tactics.

Ichijo Masaki decided to abandon defense, and even stopped the [Screaming Hell] that he had been barely maintaining.

He knew that his [Screaming Hell] could not melt the ice pillars as quickly as Kudo Mitsunobu's [Blazing Divine Realm].

He poured all his thoughts into it and pulled the trigger.

The ice pillar that had stood unbroken since the preliminaries of Kudo Mitsunobu shattered for the first time.

Now it's a race against time; both sides have completely abandoned their ice pillar defenses and are focusing solely on attacking.

"What a pity, Masaki! The change in tactics came a little too late."

Kudo Mitsunobu also increased his output of ideas.

The temperature generated by the electromagnetic energy field is getting higher and higher. The scorching temperature is not only raging in the players' field, but even the spectators sitting in the nearby stands are feeling their throats dry and their skin burning.

The Ichijo Masaki directly above the electromagnetic field was unbearably hot, with large drops of sweat sliding down his forehead.

However, he had no time to pay attention to those things now; he was simply mechanically pulling the trigger, continuously detonating Kudo Mitsunobu's ice pillars.

The sounds of melting water droplets and Baryon Lance icicles mingled in the arena.

"I've been thinking about this for the past couple of days: are all first-graders these days monsters?!"

Feeling a little thirsty, Watanabe Mari took a sip of water and said with a wry smile to Ichihara Suzune, who was watching the game with her.

"Indeed, the [Blazing Domain] used by Kudou today, and the [Ice Mist Domain] used by Shiba yesterday, are both high-level spells that even A-rank mages would find difficult to use."

"It's unbelievable that a high school student could produce something like this."

Ichihara Suzune returned the same expression to Watanabe Mari, but what actually dampened her confidence was Kudo Mitsunobu and Shiba Tatsuya's ability to adjust CAD.

After all, she was a technical engineer, and she didn't care much about combat.

Furthermore, a battle mage's ability to unleash high-level offensive magic is more dependent on their natural talent, while an engineer, although also requiring talent, is more dependent on their accumulated knowledge.

What frustrated her was that, despite being a third-year senior, her CAD skills were worlds apart from those two juniors.

This means that not only is my talent inferior to theirs, but my diligence in studying is also far inferior to theirs.

No, those two cheated! (Author's comment)

The final buzzer sounded.

Only five icicles remained standing alone within Kudo Mitsunobu's territory.

"It seems like it hit him even harder!"

Seeing that Ichijo Masaki somewhat lost and dejected, Kudo Mitsunobu didn't pay him much attention.

Having been defeated by him twice in a row, offering words of comfort at this point would only be perceived as provocation.

Kudo Mitsunobu stepped lightly off the platform. His competition was finally over today. He had been envious of Saegusa Mayumi, who had finished her competition much earlier.

Moreover, he wasn't really keen on participating in the competitions to begin with, but this year he was forced to participate in three events, and in between he had to deal with a No Head Dragon, which had already left him physically and mentally exhausted.

He quickly went back to the players' lounge to change out of the clothes that he found extremely embarrassing.

Pushing open the door to the viewing room, I saw only three people there to watch his match today Saegusa Mayumi, Watanabe Mari, and Ichihara Suzune.

Everyone else went to watch Shiba Miyuki's { Mirage Star } preliminary round. Although he was somewhat familiar with them, he was no match for Shiba Miyuki, with whom he had a deep friendship. When their matches clashed, they would naturally choose Shiba Miyuki.

"Thanks for your hard work!"

Like a wife welcoming her husband home, Saegusa Mayumi skillfully and effortlessly took the denim outfit that Kudo Mitsunobu had draped over his arm.

"It wasn't hard work at all, it's only natural that I won!"

Kudo Mitsunobu said somewhat guiltily.

"Really?"

Saegusa Mayumi looked at Kudo Mitsunobu.

"Of course..."

Kudo Mitsunobu would never admit that he almost messed things up today.

He originally thought that with the remaining power of his thoughts Ichijo Masaki would at most explode five of his ice pillars and then collapse due to the exhaustion of his thoughts.

But who would have thought that, just like in a novel, he managed to forcefully activate [Baryon Lance] despite his mental exhaustion?

If I hadn't used my full strength at that crucial moment, I might have let Ichijo Masaki sneak up on my base first.

"Is that so? Then I won't ask any more questions. As long as we won, that's all that matters!"

P. S.: Thank you everyone for your favorites and votes, please!

Author's Note on Launch

It's going to be available tomorrow! Actually, should I play the victim here, following the normal procedure?

Let's forget about it! After all, I've already mentally prepared myself.

I've already organized my thoughts during this time.

The Irregular at Magic High School Girl the Asterisk War - Strike the Blood

This book will be in this order for now, with A Certain Magical Index at the end.