When I was working as a civil servant, I was found out to be a muscle-brained knight by the princess knight and got sent to the front lines - Episode 153

Episode 153

After three days of preliminaries, the Royal Academy Magic Tournament finally reached the main event.

The intense survival battle among 3,000 students from the Royal Academy had come down to a nail-biting fight among the top 32. 

… Or at least, that’s what was expected. However, this year’s main event turned into Victor Alchemis’ one-man show. It would not be an exaggeration to say that his performance in this tournament would define his future reputation.

During the preliminaries, Victor had amazed everyone by effortlessly using high-difficulty existing spells. Naturally, the audience anticipated that he would showcase Ninth-Tier or even unregistered Tenth-Tier Magic in the main event.

Victor, however, would surprise the audience in a good way. The finals began with the top 32 and would span over two days. On the first day, Victor’s initial display was something entirely unexpected.

As the spectators packed the grand arena and the competitors were introduced, Victor’s third-year opponent made a grand entrance. He waved confidently while standing tall on the field.

Then came Victor.

The student host used amplification magic to introduce Victor, and the crowd erupted in cheers. Clearly, he was the main contender for this year. But despite the hype, Victor did not appear at the entrance for a while.

The host and judges were bewildered. Miriam was already starting to show signs of irritation, while Erin and Jez watched in astonishment. Seraphina, on the other hand, eagerly awaited Victor’s next move.

At the peak of the commotion, a thunderous laughter echoed across the summer sky.

“Hahahahahahaha!!!!!!”

The laughter resonated from directly above the grand arena, and everyone searched for the source of the sound but could not locate it.

Someone pointed to the sky. What was that shadow!?

A bird? A dragon? …No, it was an alchemist!?

Victor Alchemis stood in the sky, his white coat fluttering above his school uniform as he hovered over the grand arena. He was currently walking in mid-air.

The crowd was stunned, staring in disbelief as Victor confidently descended step by step from the air as if walking down a staircase.

Levitation magic or flight magic had been proposed conceptually many times, and some magic users could replicate similar phenomena in limited ways. However, what Victor was demonstrating was something new. He was walking through the air.

In the midst of the astonished crowd, Victor showcased his Prototype Conceptual Armament: Skywalker—The Boots That Can Fly. 

This special pair of boots, combined with magical field generators installed throughout the arena, allowed him to walk in mid-air. He demonstrated this here. This prototype would later evolve over ten years to allow flying without location restrictions. But at this stage, it was limited in use.

The precise magical manipulation and simultaneous activation of four magic systems required meant it was not something everyone could use. Nevertheless, it was a shocking display that even made the front page of the next day’s newspaper.

・　・　・

Victor, having easily advanced past the top 32 with overwhelming scores, continued to impress in the top 16.

This time, he amazed the audience with his entrance by passing through walls to appear on the field.

He used an incredible magical device to partially astralize his body, rendering him partially immune to interference from the physical world.

Prototype Conceptual Armament: Astral Shift—Singing to the Sky.

This prototype was inspired by the long-suggested existence of other realms such as celestial or fairy worlds. Victor created it with the idea of shifting his existence away from this world. 

Little did Victor know that this invention would eventually lead him to recognize multi-dimensional worlds, reach otherworlds, create mysterious devices, and even transform into Vikpo.

As the competition continued into the top 8, the audience was not just stunned but completely unable to comprehend the spectacle. The entire venue was engulfed in an otherworldly atmosphere.

The Academy members frantically recorded every detail with bloodshot eyes, while government officials and soldiers panicked over the potential military applications of these technologies. Meanwhile, Jez and the others pretended not to know Victor.

Prototype Conceptual Armament: Elemental Shift—Treasured Things

This device converts the surrounding mana into personal magical energy, effectively becoming a perpetual motion machine—a truly incredible technology.

Victor, noticing the presence of mana in the air, created this device out of a sense of not wanting to waste anything.

This technology would later serve as the foundation for various conceptual weapons developed for Jez. At this stage, while Victor had succeeded in extracting mana from the air, he had not yet figured out how to store it.

To solve this storage problem, Victor began to focus on Jez’s unique physiology.

And so, on the fourth day of the Magic Tournament, the first day of the main event, it was Victor’s turn to dominate from start to finish.

・　・　・

On the final day of the tournament, with the top 4 determined, Victor revealed something new.

Victor suddenly produced a monocle-like glasses and put them on. Compared to his previous displays, this seemed quite plain.

But in a certain way, it was the most dangerous of all.

Prototype Conceptual Armament: Scouter—The Apparatus for Measuring Magical Power

This magical device quantified an opponent’s magical power and approximate combat ability through the monocle glasses.

It was a precursor to the later pseudo-divine artifacts, and the audience might not fully grasp how dangerous this device was.

As Victor began to explain this device, the members of the 1st and Royal Guard Legion that were already stationed in the arena went on high alert. Even the 0th Legion, disguised among the audience, prepared for combat.

A device that could reveal an opponent’s abilities just by looking through glasses? What kind of dangerous invention had Victor created? Did he even realize the potential impact this could have on the world? …It was certain that he wasn’t concerned at all.

Since the main event began, Victor had showcased four magical devices. Walking in the air, interacting with otherworldly realms, demonstrating the potential for an infinite magical engine, and visualizing magical power. All of these had the potential to fundamentally change the way battles and magic were understood.

Fortunately, according to Victor’s explanations, each of these devices required magical control abilities on par with his own. It made them difficult to create and impractical for mass production.

However, the potential had been demonstrated. It was no longer impossible. As expected, in the ten years following Victor’s participation in the tournament, magical device development would advance rapidly.

And swiftly, the finals arrived. Among the many revolutionary inventions that had been presented, Victor’s final showcase was.

A small compass-like device. Perhaps some kind of instrument? Victor casually activated this magical device.

At first glance, nothing was happening. Is this the first failure we’ve had here? The spectators looked at each other, wondering. When they made eye contact with each other, a number appeared above their head.

Jez also looked at Erin, Seraphina, and Miriam, who were sitting next to him. Some kind of numbers were floating above their heads.

Seraphina: 60

Miriam: 10

Erin: 80

What was this? Jez and the audience were puzzled. Victor, with the most smug expression, began to explain his final device.

Prototype Conceptual Armament: Love2000—Affection Parameter.

Its effect was to express the affection someone had for you when you made eye contact with them within the effect field. It showed a numerical value with 100% as the maximum.

As they listened to the alchemist’s explanation, Jez and Erin exchanged awkward smiles. Jez, unsure of what to do, had a vague smile on his face.

Erin’s face turned bright red, and she even had tears in her eyes.

As soon as Victor finished his explanation, a soundless scream rose from the packed audience. Erin, red-faced, rushed out of the stands and attacked Victor. While Miriam followed suit with a fierce expression, brandishing a rope.