"Th-That's—!!!"
Seeing the magic Mayumi unleashed, Mari's shocked cry echoed across the spectator stands.
As Mayumi's closest friend, one could say she had an extraordinary understanding of the Magic Bullet Shooter.
However, the magic Mayumi was currently using...
Rather than calling it the Magic Bullet Shooter, it would be more accurate to say...
It was an entirely new advanced form of magic!
The originally fired dry ice bullets had increased from one to two.
Then four.
Eight...
Twelve!
As the number of clay pigeons launched continued to increase—doubling!
And they were being fired from every angle, leaving no blind spots!
Within just a few seconds, the thirty-meter-wide shooting range was filled with dry ice bullets. Though these bullets seemed to fly chaotically, each one precisely avoided the opponents' targets, swiftly and accurately shattering their marks.
Not only was the accuracy astonishing, but the speed was also—
"So fast," Ichihara Suzune murmured under her breath.
Compared to Mari, her expression was much calmer, but inwardly, her shock ran even deeper.
No wonder the Student Council President had looked so solemn when she took the stage.
Not only was the magic activation speed incredibly fast, but controlling this many "Dry Blizzards" while accurately hitting the targets would require even Mayumi's full concentration to pull off.
As for the competitor who had originally been vying for the championship against Mayumi—
She was now frozen in place, utterly stunned.
Magic of this level had completely surpassed the scope of a high school student. There was simply no room left for competition.
This match had, from start to finish, become Mayumi's solo performance.
Her speed even shattered the all-time record for "Precision Speed Shooting," and without a single miss, she claimed the championship flawlessly!
The moment it ended, the stands erupted with thunderous cheers—
Far more fervent than before!
Mayumi's title as the "Elven Sniper" was firmly etched into everyone's hearts.
"Brother, is this how Saegusa-senpai's 'Magic Bullet Shooter' is supposed to be used?"
Miyuki, who had also been watching the match, voiced the question on everyone's mind.
The gazes of Erika, Mizuki, Shizuku, and Honoka, seated in the front row, all turned toward Tatsuya, hoping for an answer.
But Tatsuya shook his head and denied it.
"No, that's not the original application of 'Magic Bullet Shooter.' Mahiro must have modified the activation sequence, trimming the redundant parts, speeding up the spell cycle, and even adding an entirely new spell formula..."
However, even he didn't know what that spell formula was.
Because he had never seen it before.
It was likely a brand-new magic.
He had transformed the original "Magic Bullet Shooter," a dual-cast spell, into a triple-cast magic activated simultaneously.
And in terms of processing speed, it was even more streamlined than the flight magic he had invented some time ago!
Even though Tatsuya didn't fully understand it, his explanation alone was enough to leave them all dumbfounded.
"That guy's tuning skills are actually this insane?!"
Erika was the one who spoke, but Mizuki beside her nodded in agreement, as if she had been wondering the same thing.
Miyuki answered proudly on Mahiro's behalf.
"That's right. This is the true extent of Mahiro-nii's abilities."
Hearing Miyuki's response, the group felt their understanding being overturned once again.
But among them, the calmest was still Shizuku.
Seated in the front row as a rookie competitor in this year's "Precision Speed Shooting" tournament, she gazed at the Student Council President, now bathed in the crowd's cheers, with deep envy in her eyes.
...
Just as the audience was discussing the highlights of the finals, Mayumi had already left the arena.
"Mahiro-kun! That was absolutely amazing!!!"
The moment she stepped into the passageway, Mayumi was so excited that she immediately threw herself at Mahiro, wrapping her arms around his neck like a koala clinging to a tree, giving him a big hug.
"Calm down, senpai. It's really nothing special," Mahiro patted her back, signaling for her to get down.
"Mmm... Mahiro-kun, your reaction is way too calm!" Mayumi complained with a pout.
Though somewhat reluctant, she realized her behavior was indeed overly enthusiastic—she'd never expected to make such a bold move.
So she reluctantly detached herself from Mahiro's embrace.
But honestly, her reaction was understandable.
Just by adding a single spell formula, the entire structure of the "Magic Bullet Shooter" had been completely rewritten.
Its power had grown significantly stronger, and its accuracy had reached new heights!
"Speaking of which, Mahiro-kun, what new spell formula did you add to the CAD?" Once she'd calmed down, Mayumi couldn't suppress her curiosity.
She knew it was somewhat impolite, but she just couldn't help herself.
Seeing her so interested, Mahiro didn't hold back and smiled. "It's nothing much, really. Just an original spell of mine called 'Multi-Shot.'"
"'Multi-Shot'?"
"Yeah, that's right."
Or perhaps "Multi-Casting" would be a more accurate name.
This was a spell he'd developed based on insights gained after mastering "Multi-Scope."
It amplified spellcasting by multiples.
The only drawbacks were the increased psion consumption and the prerequisite of "Multi-Scope" as an auxiliary skill to fix the spatial coordinate system.
However, after hearing his explanation, Mayumi stood frozen in place, staring blankly at his back with wide eyes.
Her cherry lips parted slightly, but no words came out.
In a way, this wasn't just about helping her win the Nine School Competition—it was about aiding the entire Saegusa family...
...
The first day of the Nine School Competition concluded with First High's "Elven Sniper" taking the championship, giving them an early lead.
After the event, not only did the audience develop a keen interest in First High, but the other schools also engaged in heated discussions about the day's matches—especially regarding the new "Magic Bullet Shooter" Mayumi had used in the finals.
For instance, in Third High's conference room at that moment.
All participants and magic engineers had set aside their work and gathered around a circular table.
"George, what do you think about the 'Magic Bullet Shooter' that First High's Saegusa used today?"
In the room filled with twenty people, Ichijou Masaki turned to the red-eyed young man seated beside him.
Kichijouji Shinkurou, also known as "Cardinal George," was a genius magician who had discovered one of the hypothetical "Fundamental Codes" at the age of thirteen—a household name among researchers.
But at this moment, George's brows were slightly furrowed, and he occasionally shook his head with a sigh, his eyes filled with deep solemnity.
After a long pause, he finally spoke slowly, "...I believe that wasn't the original application of 'Magic Bullet Shooter.'"
"The magic engineer must have added an entirely new spell formula while adjusting the CAD."
This conclusion matched exactly what Masaki had been thinking.
Moreover, creating a new spell formula and adding it isn't actually that big of a deal.
The real problem is—this is the Saegusa family's secret technique!
Someone actually managed to update and iterate upon the Saegusa family's secret technique, drastically modifying the magic to enhance its power...
Just who could possibly accomplish something like this?
"Not only that, but the CAD Saegusa used today matches the speed and precision of specialized models while retaining the versatility to handle activation sequences from different magic systems."
"Honestly, the engineer capable of this isn't just at a high school level—they're a monster."
Even George, a genius in his own right, had to acknowledge this.
So it was no surprise that everyone else collectively gasped in shock.
If even Cardinal George felt admiration, just how terrifying must this person be?
"Hmm, seems we're on the same page."
Masaki nodded in agreement before glancing at the others.
"However, I heard this engineer was only temporarily assigned to the role. They're actually a competitor participating in the 'Speed Shooting' rookie division and the 'Ice Pillar Break' main division. So, everyone can relax for now."
Hearing this, though still utterly stunned—they're not even a dedicated magic engineer?!—they at least felt somewhat relieved.
At the very least, they wouldn't have to stay on edge for the next ten days.
"But we still need to brace ourselves."
"We don't know which projects that person might handle next, so regarding magic devices, we should prepare to be two or three generations behind."
What Ichijou Masaki couldn't have imagined was that First High didn't just have one freak like Yotsuba Mahiro—there was also Shiba Tatsuya, who bore the title of [Silver].
His words left most of them silently taking note, though some thought Masaki was overreacting.
"Ichijou, this probably won't happen again, right? Since they're a competitor, they shouldn't be able to work as an engineer tomorrow, the day after, or the following day."
Yet Masaki didn't respond—he simply shook his head.
He had no idea just how far that person could go.
And, truthfully, he was somewhat looking forward to it.
After all, he was also a competitor in the "Ice Pillar Break" main division. He was eager to see what kind of surprises First High's mysterious engineer had in store.
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