Even after the battle began, Dante didn't move. Honestly, he hadn't expected a tier-6 summon to appear.
Boyle: "So, how about it? Want to surrender now before you embarrass yourself? I'll even let you skip the kneeling part."
Dante: "Impressive. How did you summon Chaos?"
When Dante made a disgusted face, Boyle's shoulders shrugged.
Dante: "If it were me, I wouldn't even want to get close to that thing. How many years did you live with that monster? Don't tell me you crossed the forbidden line? Heh."
Boyle's eyes widened.
It was common for summoners to live alongside beasts for long periods due to the nature of their craft. In fact, some eccentric mages crossed the forbidden line to complete their empathy stages.
It was a well-known fact among mages, but bringing it up was clearly meant to mock him.
Boyle: "I'll make you kneel before me, no matter what."
Chaos's charge was so fast it was hard to follow with the naked eye. Even Shirone, who had fought Ulk in the nomadic village, didn't want to face Chaos.
'What is Dante planning to do?'
Contrary to expectations, Dante avoided the attack with a textbook teleportation.
But that alone wasn't enough to stop Chaos.
The monster twisted its body sharply and swung its claws at Dante's face.
Everyone thought it was over.
But at that moment, Chaos's movements slowed.
Boyle: "What?"
Chaos, connected to Boyle's mind, scanned the ground. A small magic circle was glowing faintly.
Shirone recognized the type of magic circle just by its effect.
Shirone: "A slow magic circle?"
Dante placed his hand on his head, mocking Boyle.
Dante: "Still not there yet? For a tier-6, you're pretty slow."
Enraged, Chaos flexed its muscles, but brute strength couldn't bend the flow of time.
Kwaaaaang!
Finally breaking free from the magic circle, Chaos roared and charged at Dante.
But once again, it fell victim to another pre-laid slow magic circle, reducing it to a pitiful state.
Dante yawned and pointed downward.
Dante: "Look at the ground, look. Are you stupid?"
Boyle: "You brat! How dare you mock me!"
As Boyle shouted, electricity surged from the hose connected to Chaos's spine. The lightning, escaping the magic circle's range, devastated the area where Dante stood.
Being hit by a tier-6 summon's magic would normally mean the end.
But the spot was already empty.
Boyle realized the reason too late.
Boyle: "An illusion magic circle?"
Only a small magic circle remained in the charred spot. It was a trick Dante had set up from the moment he cast the first slow magic circle.
'Where did he go?'
Dante appeared behind Boyle and slung an arm over his shoulder. Boyle was so shocked he couldn't move a muscle.
Dante's face popped up over Boyle's shoulder.
Dante: "Are you kidding me? I accepted your challenge for fun, so at least take it seriously."
Boyle: "Tch! Ch-Chaos!"
As Chaos rushed back with ferocious speed, Dante teleported away again.
Based on the battle so far, Shirone realized Dante's specialty.
Shirone: "I see. Light magic, specifically information magic used in magic circle combat."
Shirone had learned about photon output during his speed gun test. This was an application of information-based magic derived from that.
Photons had the fastest information transfer speed, making them ideal for magic circles.
Wasn't the essence of an angel's halo also light?
Moreover, the magic circles Dante used were instant, single-use magic circles.
They only lasted about a minute, but the time required to set them up was less than a second.
Currently, dozens of magic circles floated around Dante.
Chaos, which had been charging wildly, stopped for the first time upon noticing the changed surroundings.
Closer, who had been watching the battle, raised the corner of his mouth.
Closer: "Reflection magic circles. He's trapped. Boyle can't escape."
Boyle looked around with a serious expression. Magic circles glittered wherever he looked.
There were 48 in total, and with a summoner's heightened senses, he could tell they were all 57.62 centimeters in diameter, identical in size and shape.
Dante approached with his hands raised like a conductor.
Dante: "Welcome to Dante's playground."
Boyle: "Shut up!"
Dante fired an air strike at the reflection magic circle. As Chaos reached Dante's face, the air strike, bouncing off seven magic circles like cushions, slammed into Chaos's side.
The fact that Dante didn't even try to dodge meant he had complete control over time and space.
Dante directed his magic here and there like a conductor.
The air strike moved in a three-dimensional trajectory, bouncing off magic circles, and even duplicated itself using copy magic circles to attack Chaos.
Kwaaaaaa!
No matter how high Chaos's physical abilities were, enduring repeated hits from air strikes enhanced by magic circles was too much.
Boyle was dumbfounded. No matter where he moved Chaos, the air strikes hit directly. When the third strike landed, Chaos was almost unsummoned.
Boyle: "What's going on? How can the mighty Chaos fall to such attacks?"
Dante's mockery was hard to bear, but the magic circles' duration was running out.
If he could just hold on a little longer, the opportunity would come. As long as he didn't miss that one chance, victory was still possible.
Boyle: "Now!"
As the magic circles disappeared, Chaos charged at full speed.
Slow magic circles were laid out in sections, but Boyle wasn't the type to fall for the same trick twice.
Mocking Boyle's thoughts, Dante placed two slow magic circles on Chaos's shoulder and knee.
With different time flows applied to each body part, Chaos lost balance and toppled over.
Dante: "You're really an idiot. Magic circles are magic too. If you dodge them, I'll just stick them on you directly."
Boyle gritted his teeth. What kind of guy was this, treating a tier-6 summon like a child?
Chaos struggled even to get up.
Even though it was a virtual summon, its characteristics were identical to the real thing. If its stamina dropped, it couldn't fight, regardless of the mage's mental state.
Dante: "You okay? Your darling's in pain."
Boyle: "You bastard!"
Humiliated in front of everyone, Boyle desperately tried to get Chaos back on its feet.
Blue lightning surged from its body, transforming it into an electrical entity.
It was a self-destruct attack that even the real Chaos wouldn't use unless it was a life-or-death situation.
Kwaaaaang!
Dante: "Giving up already? How boring."
Dante pointed his finger at Chaos. Ten magic circles lined up on the ground, then all rose simultaneously.
It was a technique from information magic called Rising Target.
'Those are amplification magic circles…'
Boyle calculated the distance. If the air strike passed through all ten magic circles in a row, its power would increase nearly tenfold.
But with Chaos's speed, it could pass through at least four magic circles before the strike hit. That would reduce Dante's amplification to six times, making it a winnable situation.
'I have the advantage in power. I'll go for a strong offense.'
As Chaos reached the first magic circle, Dante fired an air strike.
But the air strike wasn't aimed at Chaos—it flew off in a random direction.
The air strike bounced off a triangular cushion and entered the Rising Target from the farthest end, moving backward.
'Did he calculate the distance in reverse?'
Since Chaos and the magic were charging in the same direction, the air strike could pass through all ten magic circles before reaching its target.
Boyle clung to hope. Even so, Chaos was faster. The key was to strike Dante before the air strike hit.
Boyle: "I've won!"
As Chaos reached the last magic circle, Boyle shouted without thinking.
But his hope was shattered as Chaos's movements slowed drastically.
By the time he realized the last magic circle was a slow one, it was too late.
Even with a summoner's superhuman observation skills, he couldn't tell what the last magic circle was among ten overlapping ones.
The air strike, having passed through nine magic circles, slammed into Chaos's back, sending it flying diagonally before it vanished.
Boyle could only stand there, defeated.
If he forced himself, he might be able to summon it again. But he didn't want to.
Dante had a genius-level understanding of time and space. His tactics of using information magic to gain the upper hand and gradually cornering his opponent sapped even the will to fight.
Dante shrugged.
Dante: "Don't tell me this is it? I went easy on you, and you still disappoint me."
Boyle: "Don't get cocky. It was a close call. If Chaos had just a bit more stamina, you'd be the one losing!"
Dante: "Sure, comfort yourself with that. But you know what? I could've ended this anytime I wanted."
Boyle: "Nonsense! You were also giving it your all…!"
A magic circle glowed beneath Boyle's feet, and his body sank downward.
He immediately emerged from the underside of a magic circle floating in the air and landed in front of Dante.
Boyle: "Uwaaaaah!"
Crashing into the ground, Boyle arched his back like a bow, unable to bear the pain.
Dante clicked his tongue and shook his head.
Dante: "Didn't you know passive magic triggers a push effect? Magic circles are passive skills too."
Boyle: "Guh! You… When did you place a magic circle under me…?"
Dante: "Hmm, when do you think? Take a guess."
Boyle replayed the battle in his mind. But Dante had been too busy dodging Chaos to approach him.
Wait, there was one time.
Boyle: "Don't tell me… when you put your arm around my shoulder…?"
Dante: "Bingo. I can activate magic circles with a time delay. It's called Time Walk. Summoners usually stay in one place because they handle two selves, right? Plus, flipping a magic circle upside down is a technique called Spin, which is pretty difficult. Anyway, while you were distracted by your darling, I was always ready to take you out. Got it, mama's boy?"
Boyle: "You… you brat…!"
Dante: "But I'm bored now. Let's end this."
As Dante spoke, another magic circle appeared, and Boyle sank downward again.
Boyle: "Uwaaaaaah!"
Boyle was sent through seven spatial teleportation magic circles in a complex pattern, leaving him disoriented.
The reason he couldn't resist was that the actual distance was zero.
It was no different from standing still.
Dante timed it perfectly and fired an air strike. The magic, bouncing six times, slammed into Boyle's back as he fell.
A hit confirmation sounded, and two bracelets lit up.
Boyle's vision of the battlefield vanished, replaced by a floor covered in physical blocks.
The students were too shocked to speak.
Boyle didn't understand what had shocked them. He had been bouncing around uncontrollably and taken a sudden hit from behind.
But what the students had seen was a spectacle.
Boyle and the air strike had crisscrossed in mid-air, colliding at a precise point, ending the match.
It wasn't a technique you could replicate just by calculating it.
Dante looked around at the silent students and asked Siana, "Teacher, could you turn on the percentage gauge?"
While most would hesitate to reveal their power levels, Dante was confident.
Siana used her master bracelet to display the percentage gauge.
His mental energy hadn't dropped even by a fiftieth.
Shirone realized the message Dante was sending. The reason his mental energy consumption was so low despite creating so many magic circles was that they were basic magic.
Photon output was a simple magic anyone could perform, and using it to construct basic information wasn't difficult.
It was more efficient to set up five magic circles amplifying power by two times than one amplifying it by ten times.
But the combined effects of these magic circles were enough to handle a tier-6 Chaos like a pet.
Throughout the battle, Dante never relinquished control, gradually pressuring his opponent until they drowned in despair.
That was the fighting style of Shining Boy Dante.
Boyle: "Ugh! This is unbelievable. How can this be…?"
Boyle was shocked that he hadn't even managed to chip away 1% of Dante's mental strength.
He wasn't fighting a grand mage. Dante was just a fellow classmate of the same age, and Boyle himself was a genius who stood out with his summoning magic.
In the end, it came down to the difference in detail.
Dante had turned thousands of minor variables that occurred during the battle into his own, creating an extreme gap between them.
Dante: "Stop being so pathetic and hurry up. We had a deal, didn't we?"
Dante shoved his hands into his pockets and waited arrogantly.
Boyle, the official top-ranked student of the advanced class, was now in a situation where he had to kneel down dramatically.
Boyle was furious, carrying the weight of being the top student. But a deal was a deal, and he couldn't think of a way to escape it.
Boyle: "I… admit defeat."
The moment Boyle knelt down and acknowledged his defeat, a storm of emotions poured into the hearts of the students.
Even Shirone and his group, who had been rooting for Boyle, felt the weight of the moment.
But it was an undeniable defeat.
Iruki: "We have no choice but to admit it. Information magic… That's really tricky to deal with."
Sabina: "No, it's only possible because it's Dante. We've been fighting under Teacher Olivia since we were ten. The number of real battles we've experienced is different from yours. Dante's official record is 472 wins out of 472 battles. And even in unofficial matches, he's never lost. He's an undefeated legend. A mere top student from a rural school like you can't possibly measure up to him."
472 official battles. If you include unofficial ones, it's over a thousand battles.
Any mage who has fought that many battles would naturally develop incredible adaptability.
But what makes Dante truly remarkable is that he has never suffered a single defeat throughout all of that.
As Dante's history was revealed, the students began to buzz with excitement. In an instant, he transformed from an annoying classmate to a star of the kingdom.
No matter how terrible his personality is, if his skills are transcendent, fame will follow. Or rather, it might be precisely because of that personality that people are even more狂热 about him.
The students all flocked to Dante. Though they didn't show it openly, their efforts to strike up even a single word with him were evident.
In the spot where the students had receded like the tide, only Canis and Arin remained.
Though it was their first time witnessing a thousand-battle combatant, it didn't particularly impress them, as they had fought so many battles themselves that they were sick of it.
Arin: "This is interesting. So, this is how they train at magic schools. Canis, do you want to try it?"
Canis: "Not really. I'm not interested."
Arin: "Are you scared of losing to Dante? Hehe."
Though she said that, Arin's feelings weren't very different from Canis.' A thousand battles didn't appeal to her.
Canis: "What's the big deal? Shirone's just standing there quietly, so there's no reason for me to get worked up."
Arin: "Shirone's just standing there because he's naturally averse to fighting. It's not that different from Canis."
Canis: "Arin, lately it feels like you've been taking Shirone's side."
Arin stuck out her tongue.
Of course, anyone who's an enemy of Canis is also her enemy. If the two of them clashed, she would do everything in her power to help Canis, but even so, Shirone wasn't someone she could hate.
Arin: "Anyway, what do you think? Information magic… It seems like a new trend. Can you win against it?"
Canis snorted.
Though a thousand battles didn't sit well with him, Dante's skills were undoubtedly real. What's interesting is that he's a genius who stands in stark contrast to Shirone.
Iruki is also a genius, but he's too one-sided.
Canis: "Hmm, if we were to fight properly on the battlefield…"
Arin: "If we were to fight…?"
Canis, who had been silent for a while, gradually grew more serious.
Arin, who had sensed his wavering emotions, poked his side and urged him on.
Arin: "Huh? If we were to fight…? What would happen?"
Canis turned his head as if avoiding Arin's gaze and spoke in a low voice.
Canis: "It… would be an amazing match."