Chapter 97: What Bad Luck!

“Still confident you won’t get blown up?”

Watching the unshielded and overly confident Karol stagger out of the explosion looking utterly disheveled, Jiang Cha curved her lips upward and teased with a wicked grin.

Trait: [Combat Instinct]

Jiang Cha’s stealth inscriptions were flawless—so perfect that Karol hadn’t sensed a trace of danger when the mana cannon first appeared.

Even so, the necro-mecha’s build time had been too short. The moment the chest plating opened, Vladimir instantly detected the cluster of weapon signatures charging within.

No surprise there—
anything Vladimir could sense, Karol could, too. Maybe they used different talents, but the result was the same.

She had been confident she could deal with whatever her student cobbled together, even if it turned out trickier than expected.

But then she realized something disturbing—
for all its crude workmanship, the thing was stuffed with high-grade materials.

A weaker spell wouldn’t even scratch it.

Still, she was Karol—a battle arch-witch specialized in Energetics.
“Not enough firepower?”
Yeah, that’s never been her problem.

“You two little monsters better surprise me again…”

Muttering under her breath, Karol quickly threw up a barrier to block the explosion’s shockwave—then—

An endless volley of [Explosive Flames] burst from around her like meteor fire!

At the same time, she was already gathering mana for the next big cast.

“Fifth-tier spell, [Explosive Flames]—Weapon One retreat, charge complete. Activate Weapon Two.”

Jiang Cha’s commands were cold and precise.

The massive cannon retracted into the necro-mecha’s chest, while both shoulders split open, revealing twin rapid-fire mana turrets—like anti-air cannons on a warship.

“Violet, activate Death Shield.”

“Roger that!”

The little one was fully in battle mode, her death mana flaring wildly.

A black, storm-like shield of swirling energy erupted around the mecha.

“Where the hell are they getting all that mana!?”

Outside, Karol couldn’t help cursing as the twin turrets spat streams of low-tier Energetics spells, intercepting every single [Explosive Flame] she launched with machine-like precision.

“Jiang Cha has the largest mana pool among first-years,”
drawled Vladimir, who clearly had nothing better to do than commentate.
“And Violet’s reserves are the highest in the entire Academy—over one hundred forty thousand units.”

Of course the mentors knew their students’ stats by heart; Karol’s question was more exasperation than ignorance.

Still, those numbers were ridiculous even by elite-witch standards.

“Fine, fine…”

“Violet, brace for impact.”

Before Karol could fire again, Jiang Cha—having already analyzed the mana fluctuations—issued her next command.

The necro-mecha shifted into a defensive stance.

A massive, blazing fire barrier formed first—
then layer after layer of defensive wards:
[Flame Guard], [Shock Barrier], [Iron Bulwark]—
mystic-class defenses stacked atop each other like armor plates.

And still, she wasn’t done.

Drawing on the mecha’s core, Jiang Cha channeled Violet’s ultra-dense necrotic mana—
more precisely, death-infused necrotic mana, a higher, more dangerous state of energy that only true necromancer witches could wield.

Though young, Violet was born a natural necromancer—
her mana inherently carried the concept of death itself.

Then—

Eighth-tier Necromancy Spell: [Bone Inferno]!

A forest of enormous bone spikes erupted from the ground—
larger, denser, sharper, deadlier than before.

But Jiang Cha, through sheer control, suppressed the usual summoning effect,
redirecting all that power into reinforcing the bone spikes themselves—
and launched them straight at Karol!

“Trying to slow my casting with a field spell?”

Dodging aside, Karol frowned. Something wasn’t right.

Jiang Cha was the trickiest student she’d ever taught.
Every “ordinary” spell she cast hid layers of traps—
each one granting a tiny, near-invisible advantage.
And when enough of those little advantages piled up—
they became her win condition.

This [Bone Inferno] reeked of misdirection.
Why use a large-scale terrain spell now, right when your opponent’s charging a forbidden-level cast?

“Weapon Three—Bone Greatsword, fully armed.”

The answer came when countless bone spikes converged, merging into the giant’s right hand—forming a colossal greatsword of ivory.

Karol’s eyes narrowed.

“So that’s it… siphon ambient mana for sustain, use bone spikes to delay my cast, and arm your construct at the same time.”
“Classic Jiang Cha—one move, three effects.”

Vladimir actually smiled, faintly impressed.

“A true prodigy. Few students ever reach that level of tactical creativity.”

“Then allow me to answer in kind!”

Karol raised her hand—
and a massive flaming greatsword materialized from the air itself.

It was enormous—ten meters long and several meters wide,
a weapon worthy of clashing with the necro-giant’s blade head-on.

That was her staff.

[Blazing Greatsword]—

In truth, the weapon’s base form was just a short staff, barely eighty centimeters long.
But when charged with Karol’s mana, it transformed into a gigantic flaming sword—
her most devastating siege weapon.

“Wait—Karol-sensei actually drew her staff!?”

Back in the dueling club, Lina, munching on watermelon while watching the Academy’s broadcast, froze mid-bite.

Something didn’t add up.

It wasn’t that Karol never used her staff—
it was that the necro-mecha’s combat style felt way too familiar.

Taunting, provoking, laying traps…
Misdirection, multi-layered spell usage, hidden casting—!?

When the mecha suddenly and silently released a mid-tier Transmutation spell, [Wings of the Dragon],
Lina spat her watermelon juice all over the floor.

“Holy crap! The pilot’s Tea-bao!?”

The entire dueling club turned to look.

Not because of the mecha’s power—
but because she was pulling all that off against Karol.

“Unlucky kid,”
sighed Kathy, shaking her head—
prompting several upperclass witches nearby to nod in solemn agreement.

But the smirks tugging at their lips told a different story.

“Yeah, suuuper unlucky,” one muttered, barely suppressing a laugh.

To which Lina could only glare and hiss—

“Could you guys at least pretend not to be enjoying this!?”