11TH GEAR - THE PRESIDENT OF ICE

There is something strange and scary about the blue-haired woman who invited me to the Merry Knights practice match. As a result, I mindlessly followed her even if I do not want to. Besides, she just said that she is not there to recruit me.

“Just watch our practice match. If you get bored, you can go home whenever you like. We will not put it against you.” Ericka Azure said.

We were walking down the hallway when my attention turned to her long wavy blue hair. Somehow, I can see her resemblance with Miss Terror- Comette Azure. They have the same scary gaze, and their body build is almost identical, only that the professor is much taller. I’m pretty sure if this upperclassman of mine cut her hair, she would look like the terror teacher.

“Um, Miss Ericka?” I tried to get her attention.

“Yes?”

“How are you related to Miss Comette Azure?”

“She is my sister. Why?” Ericka slightly tilted her head.

“Nothing,” I said. Then I confirmed inside my mind the reason why they almost look the same.

“I know what you’re thinking. We might look alike but I’m nothing compared to my sister, who is considered a legendary magus. I still have long ways to go to reach her.” Ericka said with a slight smile.

We finally got out of the main academy building and walked through a dusty pathway. It felt like we are venturing into a great desert. After a few minutes of walking and we made it to a somewhat-habitable zone which is a small grassland and some trees around. There, I saw a building that seemed like an abandoned hospital.

“We’re here. This is the Merry Knights Clubroom. Or more specifically, the club building.”

“It’s more like a gang hideout for drug addicts.”

“You saying something?” Ericka smiled but there was a hint of flames in her eyes.

“N-Nothing.” I zipped my mouth.

Ericka continued walking, and I followed her while examining the surroundings. The three-story building has no doors, and all windows are either cracked or broken. The building itself is large enough for more than a hundred members, and it’s ultra-wide too. Too bad it is abandoned as there are cobwebs on the ceiling and even grass growing on the cracked cemented floor.

“Oh! They are here!”

The moment we entered the building, I saw the big fat panda Cruzo. He is now wearing some kind of battlesuit inside his extra large mage robe. When he saw me, he beamed with a smile and gave a thumbs-up!

“So, you are now joining our club, eh!?” Cruzo said.

“Not a chance,” I said.

“I just invited him to watch our club activities. Please refrain from annoying him more than you should, Cruzo.” Ericka said.

“Yes Ma’am!” Cruzo saluted.

“Ah! Is that you, Jonathan!?” Another familiar voice reverbed the club room. When I looked to the left, I saw the pink-haired idiot with a bright smile on her face. “Hey, hey! Are you going to watch us?”

“Apparently, yes. Don’t worry, I’ll be leaving you guys after five minutes.” I said with a grin.

“Please don’t!” Cruzo shrieked.

“Aaaw.” Fluonessia cried.

Ericka clapped her hands to grab the attention of all the club members, which are just two.

“Since our guest here is somewhat in a hurry, we should start our first club activity for the school year. And we will start it with an explosive Speed Battle!”

“Oh yeah!” Cruzo cheered.

“I’m excited!” Fluonessia pumped her fist.

“Listen everyone. Since this is our first club meeting, I will be gauging the strengths and weaknesses of the new members! And I will conduct it personally! So that is why… I am challenging you, Fluonessia Asahime, to a Speed Battle!”

“Woohoo!” Cruzo noisily cheered.

“This is awesome!” Fluonessia also celebrated, but then she realized what was going on and had her eyes open wide in shock. “W-Wait, me!?”

“That is right.” The club president put her hands on her hips. “I heard you defeated Tezza Flaschk of the Cool Escape. I wanted to see how a rookie magus like you was able to beat her!”

“E-Ehhh!?” Fluonessia cried.

“Come on, Fluonessia! You can do it!” Cruzo laughed.

“W-Well… I’ll do my best!” Fluonessia pumped herself up and steeled her resolve.

“Great! Now, let’s go to the Triangle for our Speed Battle!” Ericka said.

<>

“Hey, what is the Triangle?”

Fluonessia finally asked when we reached the rooftop of their hideout- I mean club building. This is the tallest establishment in this part of the academy, where we can see vast terrain around the school. Cruzo, I, and Fluonessia are there to check the surroundings while we wait for the club president to change her dress.

“Wait, you joined the club without knowing what a Triangle is?” I asked.

“Triangle is the playing field for Speedmages in a tournament,” Cruzo explained. “See those three glowing towers over there? Those are Checkpoint Towers, and they are 500 meters apart from each other. Those three Checkpoint Towers form a Triangle, that is why it is called such.”

“Oooooh!” Fluonessia uttered in amazement.

“Listen, this Speed Battle is quite different from the Sudden Death battle with Captain Tezza. This is way broader as it covers a lot of distance. You have to touch the Checkpoint Towers in clockwise order.” I said.

“The objective is still the same, right? To score a point, we can either touch the Checkpoint Tower or strike the opponent’s back?” Fluonessia asked with enthusiasm.

“That’s right. You have twelve minutes to score as much as possible. Matches are played one versus one, but navigators can guide the Speedmage by giving them their location or even their enemy’s whereabouts.” I said.

“Navigators? Are you going to be my navigator in this fight, Jonathan?” Fluonessia eagerly asked.

“No way. I’m not a part of the club.” I immediately rejected it.

“O-Oh, I see.” Fluonessia seemed to be down.

“I will be your navigator then!” Cruzo slammed his chest. “Don’t worry, I got you!”

“I-I will be in your care, Sir Cruzo!” Fluonessia energetically bowed.

“Wait, if you’re going to be Fluonessia’s navigator, who’s going to be Miss Ericka’s navigator?” I asked.

“I don’t need one.”

Ericka finally made her appearance, which was alluring and elegant. She is wearing a tight black bodysuit that gives away her sexy body shape, and there is also a white-and-blue Speedmage robe over the said bodysuit. Her Speedmage shoes are a competitive one- the Unicorn 6 model which is mostly white with blue lines. Her outfit makes her look more like a fashion model than a magus athlete.

“I know this Triangle like the back of my hand, so I won’t need any navigator to guide me. Just focus on guiding Fluonessia.” Ericka expounded.

“W-Woooow! Prez! You’re so pretty!” Fluonessia gasped as she stared at the club president’s outfit with amazement.

“You will also need to have your Speedmage suit and shoes later on, Fluonessia.” Ericka smiled.

“Now I’m getting more pumped up!” Fluonessia hopped in joy. "I'm so excited! Kyaaa!"

“Let’s get it on! Are you ready?” Ericka smiled.

“Yes!” Fluonessia answered with a determined gaze. I can see sparks of excitement in her blue eyes.

Both Speedmages went down the building and approached the 1st Checkpoint Tower. It is a rule in this sport that both players’ starting position will be a Checkpoint Tower and wait for the whistle to be blown.

Since I’m just a guest, I’m just here to watch. Cruzo will have a hard time here because he is doubling as a referee and Fluonessia’s navigator.

“Ready?” Cruzo raised his hand.

Fluonessia and Ericka readied their running positions. Their shoes emitted glittery mana, ready to cast any spell they wanted to use.

“Get set… Go!”

Fweeeeet!

As soon as the whistle was blown, Ericka enchanted her shoes with magic!

“Ice Accel!”

With such a short chant, Ericka boosted forward with her shoes enhanced with ice magic! Her contrails leave a sky-blue cryo effect, and it’s even raining snowflakes!

“W-Wind Accel!”

Fluonessia had a late start with her wind magic. This is her first actual Speed Battle after all, so I understand that she’s nervous.

Ericka is leading with a large gap. She is not as fast as Tezza Flaschk, but she is not that slow either. The ice sorceress’ style of running somehow resembles those of a figure skater. She is using ice magic to freeze the ground so that she can skate elegantly, quickly, and with much control.

After a few seconds, Ericka managed to close up on the 2nd Checkpoint Tower!

“First one is mine!” Ericka shouted as she touched the tower and scored a point!

Beep!

Ericka now leads by 1:0!