The Graduate Student Wants to Assassinate the Professor - Chapter 31
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 31
Behind me, Shebril seemed to murmur something about “please treat another mage’s familiar with care…,” but I pretended not to hear it.
I surveyed my competition. Each mage’s familiar was an owl, a cat, a wolf, a snake….
“They’re all my natural predators.”
Pongko’s pupils trembled.
Though Pongko usually carried himself with a touch of arrogance, his herbivore instincts were beyond his control—he couldn’t help but shrink back before his predators.
But I stroked his head and spoke with confidence.
“It’s fine! We can win this!”
“But those creatures all share mana with their mages! I can only create one magical circuit on my own….”
“That’s why you don’t need to worry about it, okay? I’ve got a plan.”
I leaned close to Pongko’s long ears and whispered something to him. After hearing my words, his ears perked up, and his expression shifted back to its usual confidence as he licked his lips.
“Let’s kill them all.”
The competition rules were simple: the mage and familiar had to work in sync to steal the flag from their opponent mage. The familiar protected the mage, while the mage had to retrieve the opponent’s flag without using magic.
My first opponent was a mage with an owl as their familiar. We took our positions in the arena, exchanged brief greetings, and immediately began.
The owl took flight the moment the match started. It believed that as long as it stayed airborne, Pongko couldn’t possibly counter it. But that was a miscalculation.
While Pongko stared blankly at the owl, I bolted forward like lightning and drove my fist straight into my opponent’s solar plexus.
“Ugh?!”
My opponent let out a brief groan before collapsing. I casually pulled the flag from their waist.
“The rules say mages can’t use magic, but they don’t say anything about hand-to-hand combat.”
When I made this argument to the bewildered referee, he hesitated for a moment before giving me the signal for victory.
“Yes!”
As expected, I swung my right arm toward the Department of Magic Theory students cheering for me.
“Heh… just as I thought. Weak mages. They don’t even think to use their bodies.”
With a cold expression, I looked over the other competitors waiting in line. They stared back at me with faces drained of color.
Pongko, without lifting a paw, smirked smugly and licked his chops.
“Well then, shall we move on to the next match?”
I faced the wolf and its partner next, and I claimed victory just as easily.
The wolf had tried to protect its mage with a shield spell the moment the match began….
Crack!
My kick, powered by pure physical strength, shattered the protective shield and sent my opponent’s jaw flying.
“?!”
While the referee was still stammering, I casually took the opponent’s flag just as before. Pongko didn’t even bother casting magic—he simply stepped back and watched with amusement.
“Is that even human….”
Someone in the spectator seating muttered that. That shield spell should have been strong enough to withstand a car crash, yet she kicked it apart…. The crowd couldn’t believe what they were seeing, even though they’d witnessed it with their own eyes.
But regardless of what others thought of me, Pongko and I handled the remaining opponents the same way. Before Pongko could even cast magic, I dodged the other familiars’ spells and beat my opponents senseless with my bare hands.
And so, reaching the finals, my last opponent was….
“I forfeit.”
Thanks to my trembling, terrified final opponent, I claimed the championship with ease. I rolled my shoulders to loosen them and accepted the medal with considerable swagger.
“Wow! You’re the best, Leoryna!”
As she returned to the spectator seating, the students patted her back in admiration. Leoryna quieted them for a moment, then spoke in a low voice.
“Ahem, I have one favor to ask.”
“Yes, just tell us!”
“Please don’t tell Professor Khalid the specific details about how I trained you or what I did at today’s Athletic Competition.”
“Why?”
As the students asked in confusion, Leoryna brought her index finger to the center of her lips.
‘Why? Because if Khalid finds out I’m a graduate student with suspiciously excellent physical abilities, he’ll pry into every detail or plant some weird ideas in his head. In front of Khalid, I need to remain nothing more than an ordinary graduate student.’
“Don’t ask why. Just mention to the professor that I’m simply a graduate student who’s good at sports. Since I helped you, I’d appreciate it if you’d keep this secret as a way of returning the favor—just this once. Understood?”
“We understand for now.”
After the students nodded, Leoryna smiled brightly.
“Well then, this is the final event.”
What remained was a six-person relay race. With obstacles added to the mix.
The track was lined with various obstacles, and the simple competition involved passing through all of them—whether by magic or sheer physical force—while multiple athletes exchanged batons on their way to the finish line.
However, the running itself had to be done on foot. Magic was only permitted when passing through obstacles.
Unlike their confident demeanor in the previous race, the students now wore somewhat dejected expressions.
“If it were just us competing against each other, that would be fine, but since it’s a team event… Leoryna will obviously do well, but we’re worried we might drag you down.”
“Ah, don’t worry. Don’t worry at all. Even if you all seem to mess up the race, I’ll make up for it!”
Leoryna patted the students’ shoulders.
“Trust me!”
At Leoryna’s reassuring words, the students regained some hope.
“Come on, let’s go, let’s go! Let’s give it everything until the very end!”
“Give it everything!”
Watching the students echo Leoryna’s chant, Shebril smiled softly and muttered to herself.
“So that’s the right chant, huh…”
Leoryna and the five other team members entered the stadium with high spirits.
Leoryna, who was assigned as the final runner, spoke to her teammates.
“Just give me a chance to run. Understood? That means you can’t fall more than one full lap behind by the time I take the baton. If you can manage that, I’ll handle the rest.”
“Yes, Leoryna!”
Though their athletic skills were lacking, the students’ loud and resonant voices truly satisfied Leoryna.
Leoryna crossed her arms and watched as the first runner took position on the track.
“Ready!”
With a bang, the students began running in unison. And as expected, the Department of Magic Theory athletes started in last place and struggled to catch up.
“Where did all that special training go?! We trained, didn’t we?!”
After telling them to leave everything to her, Leoryna bounced around anxiously as their performance faltered.
“But it’s only been a week.”
“Not dropping out or being disqualified is already tremendous progress.”
The students were actually satisfied just being not far behind fifth place. And then the first obstacle appeared—it was a ball pit.
The athletes used various spells to navigate through it quickly, and they also cleared the second obstacle, a rope climb, using magic.
“You’re doing great! Your magic casting speed is keeping up with the other departments!”
The Department of Magic Theory students cheered with anticipation as the fifth runner came in fifth place and passed the baton to Leoryna. The gap between them and first place was two-thirds of a lap.
“Excellent! Just as the assistant instructor said—I received the baton before the first-place runner crossed the finish line!”
“But the gap is still so large… are you really sure this will work?”
However, the spectators gathered in the stadium were not viewing the Department of Magic Theory’s situation so pessimistically. They were now eager to see what extraordinary feat Leoryna would pull off next.
With the baton in hand, Leoryna took a deep breath and drew out her staff. Then she cast magic toward the first obstacle ahead of her.
“Bitter Fit!”
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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