Swish. Swish.

Nigel turned the pages of the book he had brought with him in advance.

Although it was quite noisy around him, it wasn’t to the extent that he couldn’t read.

Waaaah!!

A loud cheer from outside signaled that the outcome of the match had been decided.

‘…… It’s my turn now.’

As he was in the middle of reading an interesting part, Nigel slowly closed the book with regret and took out the heart-shaped chocolate he had been keeping in his pocket.

It was what Charlotte had earnestly advised him to eat right before the match.

‘Does chocolate have the effect of relieving tension?’

Nigel smiled and untied the light pink ribbon, putting the chocolate in his mouth. The chocolate, with its harmonious blend of sweet and bitter flavors, quickly melted in his mouth and slid down his throat.

“First-year Nigel Ars, please come to the arena now.”

At the voice of the moderator calling for him from outside, Nigel left the tent.

Outside the tent, he saw Noah Beselion and…… Jayden Galloway.

As soon as he saw Jayden’s face, strength filled Nigel’s hands.

‘If I win just two more matches, I can beat Jayden Galloway……’

Even if his intentions for participating were impure, there was nothing he could do about it.

Whenever he saw Jayden’s strangely looking face and those pale hands that were completely different from Zeronin’s, hot emotions that couldn’t be suppressed rose up from his chest, making him feel like they were gnawing at his bare skin.

Thump, thump.

Nigel, filled with enthusiasm, stepped onto the arena where a short-haired female student was standing. As soon as he entered the arena, his eyes became bloodshot and his vision blurred.

‘…… Wait a minute. Is this really just because of Jayden Galloway?’

It was an excessive reaction to simply consider it as competitiveness and enthusiasm.

His blood vessels throughout his body were hot as if his blood was boiling, and his mana was unstable inside his body like a balloon that was about to burst at any moment.

It was as if his body was struggling and speaking to Nigel. Telling him to somehow, by any means necessary, release the mana from his body right now.

It was a sensation similar to when mana accumulated in the body and caused mana addiction.

Buuuu!

Along with the loud sound of the horn, a roar of cheers erupted.

But Nigel couldn’t hear that sound.

He didn’t even pay attention to the female student holding a wooden sword across from him.

The only concern was how to deal with this rampaging mana, no, how to safely release it.

Even Nigel himself had difficulty controlling the divine power when he was on the verge of mana addiction, so it was hard to easily estimate what power the mana, disguised as divine power thanks to the ring, would have.

If it normally just broke through walls, then this time……

‘…… If someone gets hit by my mana incorrectly right now, wouldn’t it be instant death?’

While he was unsure if he could control the surging mana, his body was burning up and clamoring for him to use the mana right now.

‘Something…… something is strange. Clearly, I released mana in Histon a few weeks ago, so there’s no way I could be mana addicted.’

Rustle.

At that moment, a sound came from Nigel’s pocket.

Ah, could it be……!

Nigel’s gaze turned to the pink ribbon that was sticking out.

“Are you perhaps not even looking at me as an opponent? Because I’m a girl?”

Meanwhile, the opponent misunderstood Nigel, who was standing blankly, as deliberately ignoring her, and charged at him with fire in her eyes.

‘This is bad. If she gets close, it will be even harder to control……!’

It was a situation where he could go crazy and jump up and down.

Nigel barely moved his body at a precarious distance where the opponent’s wooden sword was about to touch him, dodging the girl’s sword.

‘Huh? My body feels much more comfortable……’

Kwaaang!!

A loud boom that seemed to tear his eardrums was heard a moment later behind Nigel’s back. It was a scale of sound that could only be made by something like a meteorite crashing from space.

Just by moving his body a little, his mana had been released unconsciously.

‘Please…… please let nothing happen. Please.’

Nigel quickly recited the names of all the gods he knew, including the Goddess Kirelia, whom he was so sick of, as if in prayer, and turned his head back.

“…… Phew.”

Fortunately, his mana had missed the opponent and struck the arena floor, creating a round space large enough for one person to enter.

‘…… No. Is this really a good thing……?’

Nigel belatedly realized that his common sense had gone beyond the normal range.

“The, the swordsmanship department’s Lena has been rendered unable to fight, so, so the winner is Nigel from the magic department……!”

The moderator declared Nigel’s victory with a trembling voice.

‘Unable to fight?’

If the mana had been released in both directions……!

Nigel tightly closed his eyes and turned his body to the opposite side.

Swish.

In Nigel’s vision, which he barely opened, he saw Lena, who had fainted obediently while holding a wooden sword. Fortunately, not a single small scratch could be found on Lena’s body.

Nigel approached Lena closely and brought his finger under her nose.

‘…… She’s alive. It’s just a simple faint.’

Only after confirming that Lena was breathing did Nigel’s tension ease.

Nigel wrapped his arms around Lena’s shoulders and legs and lifted her up.

“Wh, what…… what are you going to do with Le, Lena……”

“E, even though Lena may look a bit rough, she’s a good kid!”

The two moderators approached Nigel hurriedly with the magic stone lights around their mouths turned off and spoke to him.

“That’s not it, she seems to have fainted, so I’m going to take her to the priest.”

“…… Ah, ah! I thought!”

“Ye, yeah! You, you’re kind!”

Nigel carefully carried Lena and took her to the priest.

“…… Nigel, you must have been born with natural mana.”

The priest stared at Nigel and smiled strangely.

“I was truly amazed after watching the match! To have such vast mana, the Goddess Kirelia must have granted you a great blessing, Nigel!”

“Ah, yes.”

That smile was grating on his nerves, but Nigel didn’t want to get involved with the priest, so he gave a rough answer and moved his feet.

Returning to the tent, Nigel took out the packaging with the pink ribbon from his pocket.

‘Charlotte……’

The sudden abnormality in the flow of mana occurred right after eating the chocolate Charlotte had given him.

He had heard that there were cases where food with the effect of increasing the energy of participating students was secretly given before the Martial Sword Tournament, but he never imagined that it would apply to Nigel himself.

‘Come to think of it, the chocolate was a bit bitter.’

Charlotte, who had been asking all week what would happen if Nigel got hurt in the Martial Sword Tournament, couldn’t have given the chocolate to Nigel to win the betting, but probably because she didn’t want Nigel to get hurt.

Although he almost killed someone, it was all due to his unique constitution. He didn’t feel like getting angry at Charlotte’s concern for him.

‘Well…… she’s the first girl I became close with at the academy.’

Nigel raised the corners of his mouth.

Just as Allen, his first friend, was a precious existence to him, Charlotte was also a precious friend to Nigel.

Especially since he had always only hung out with boys.

The quarterfinals ended quickly without any unexpected events.

Noah and Jayden defeated their opponents with a single wooden sword, and Nigel gained another large hole and the surrender of his classmate, securing victory.

Sitting in the magic department’s spectator seats, Allen only realized that his body had been stiff throughout the match after Noah and Nigel finished the match without any injuries.

‘That’s a relief. Earlier, the mana was unstable, but now it seems to have stabilized a bit.’

Allen thought as he watched Nigel carrying a male student on his shoulders after a female student and leaving the arena.

During the short break given before the semifinals began, the area around Allen was chaotic with people coming and going to place bets.

“…… I think the Wallbreaker will make it to the finals after all.”

“I told you from the beginning. Just bet on the Wallbreaker without a word. I told you until my mouth went dry, but you didn’t believe me?”

“Hmm…… by the way, can the Wallbreaker defeat a third-year?”

“Yeah. Can’t you see how his complexion doesn’t change at all and he wastes mana? His mana is overflowing like a magic beast.”

The term Wallbreaker was constantly mentioned in people’s conversations.

“Excuse me, senior. When you say Wallbreaker……?”

Unable to contain his curiosity, Allen spoke to a group of second-year seniors behind him in a friendly manner.

A sharp-looking female student among the group smiled at Allen.

“What’s up, Allen? Why are you pretending not to know your friend? Is there anyone other than Nigel Ars who broke the wall with strengthening magic in Sienia?”

“Strengthening…… magic?”

A gentle-looking male student next to Allen added an explanation to his round eyes.

“Ah, the new students wouldn’t know. Last year, when Professor Heres designed the restoration magic for the entire academy building, he also designed strengthening magic along with it. He boasted that from now on, there would be no one who would destroy the building……”

“And right after the start of the semester, that person appeared. Nigel Ars, also known as the Wallbreaker. All the upperclassmen know who you’re talking about when you say Wallbreaker.”

“Everyone was skeptical just hearing the rumors, but today, they realized its power. Now, more bets are placed on Nigel than on Senior Jayden from the swordsmanship department, who is a candidate for the championship.”

No wonder the reaction to participating in the Martial Sword Tournament seemed quite excessive. There was this story hidden behind it.

‘This…… is perfect for teasing, isn’t it?’

Allen’s eyes, which had been filled with worry until just now, sparkled.