Aetheric Chronicles: Reborn As An Extra

Chapter 68: I Pity Him

The fireball streaked through the air, its intense heat causing the surrounding air to shimmer. With quick reflexes, I dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding being caught in the blast radius. As I moved, I flung two daggers with precision, aiming for the mage's left and right sides.

The daggers flew through the air, their gleaming blades cutting through the space with deadly accuracy. The mage, focused on evading Lila's spell, didn't see the daggers until it was too late.

One dagger embedded itself in the ground just inches from the mage's left foot, while the other grazed his arm, drawing a thin line of blood. With his escape route cut off, the mage stumbled backward, his eyes widening in panic as he realized he was trapped between Lila's spell and my daggers.

Before he could react, Lila's fireball was already before him.

"I surrender!" The mage screamed out loud.

Swish!

In an instant, the instructor appeared in front of the mage, casually dispersing the fireball with her bare hands.

"Woah!"

"So fast!"

"Look! She dispelled one star spell like it was nothing!"

"That is the power of a Stellat Magus!"

I could hear students exclaiming in the background.

"The match ends. The winner is team 4." The instructor announced, her voice cutting through the commotion like a blade. "Both teams can step out of the arena and rest."

"W-Wait! Why did we lose already?!" However, there was one person who seemed dissatisfied with the outcome, the top ten swordsman who was fighting with Kairen. "We still have three members standing!"

The instructor raised an eyebrow, her expression unreadable. "Do you, now?"

Confusion flickered across the swordsman's face. "Y-Yes... Three of us are still..."

Before he could finish his sentence, the instructor gestured toward their fallen archer, who was lying on the ground nearby, immobilized by Ardel's ice shards. "Your archer is out."

The swordsman's eyes widened in realization as he turned to see his teammate lying defeated on the ground. "But... how?"

"It seems your attention was too focused on the frontlines," the instructor remarked, her tone neutral. "You failed to notice the threat from the sides."

The swordsman gritted his teeth, clearly frustrated by the oversight. "Damn it..."

However, he couldn't find any other arguments to refute the instructor's decision. With a resigned sigh, he turned to his remaining teammate, the tanky swordsman.

"Looks like we lost," he muttered, his voice tinged with disappointment.

The mage nodded, his expression grim. "Yeah... I underestimated him..."

As their group made their way out of the arena, I couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction at our victory. Despite the initial challenge and sudden turn of events, we managed to outmaneuver and defeat our opponents through teamwork and strategy.

By the way, it was Ardel who took out the archer when everyone was startled, guess he is truly an assassin. I also noticed it right after the instructor stepped in to stop the spell.

"Good job," I muttered as Ardel and I went back to help Kairen.

But to my surprise and anticipation, I saw another figure - Lila standing beside him. She seemed to be talking to him while Kairen was looking at her confused.

"Hmph! You should thank me for saving you."

"Why were you so careless? And weak?"

"If not for me, you couldn't get revenge on that b*stard, you know."

'Now I know why...' I held back my urge to laugh and facepalm as I heard Lila's words.

She is a T.S.U.N.D.R.E.

"W-Why are smiling, Adrian?" Ardel muttered in a low voice.

"Huh? Was I smiling?" I was surprised. It seems my true feelings went out of control.

"Yeah, did you hear something funny?" He asked again.

Right, this world doesn't have the concept of terms like Tsundere or Yandere, right? So, he probably doesn't understand it even if I tell him.

"Yeah. It was funny." I decided to give a short reply.

Ardel raised an eyebrow, clearly confused by my response, but didn't press further. Instead, he turned his attention back to helping Kairen, who was still being nagged by our tsun-I mean mage.

Seeing us already approaching them, Lila stopped speaking and left. Probably doesn't want us to hear her.

Then we assisted Kairen, while doing that I couldn't shake the image of Lila scolding him with a mix of frustration and concern. It was amusing, to say the least, but it also reminded me that there was still much I didn't know about my teammates.

Once Kairen was back on his feet and able to move on his own, we made our way out of the arena and back to the rest area.

Max was already waiting for us there. He must have left the arena as soon as the match was over.

"Urgh..." Kairen groaned as we helped him to sit down.

I can already guess Lila looking at him, her eyes filled with worry.

'Hehe, it will be fun to see how the two will end up.'

'Hmm?'

'...'

"Are you feeling fine? Or should we take you to a healer?" I asked both out of concern and as the leader of the team.

"No. It's not that serious. I have seen worse." Kairen replied, his voice much calmer than before.

"Ok." Since he said it himself, it was probably fine. Moreover, he was a half-dwarf, so his physique should be strong.

'So, please, can you stop looking at me like that?' I muttered inwardly and lifted my head to look at Lila. 'Ok, let me help you then.'

"Lila, can you look after him for a while? I and Ardel will go and fetch a potion."

"H-Huh?" At first, she was startled by my words. Then her eyes lit up though she quickly concealed it. "O-Ok, since you said it. Be sure to return fast."

"..." 'I am afraid you will stare at me again if I ruin your moment with him again.'

Without saying anything I gestured confused Ardel to follow me. As for Max... Well, he seems to have left already and joined other students who are watching the matches. 'Did he also realize it? I can't say anything for sure.'

'But I truly pity Kairen, since he seems to be a bit dense...'

'Wait? He isn't a dense protagonist of a romantic novel, right?'