Why are there so many Sports Clubs?!?

The gates were only a five minute jog from the academy’s entrance. If I continued running, I could make it even sooner. There was something troubling near the gates though. Oh well, I’ll think about it when I get there.

There were a lot more students than I thought there would be. A few of them were already running ahead while others surrounded me from the sides. With this many students, the likelihood of making it out was high. Finally, I can go home and do nothing!

…I jinxed myself, didn’t I?

FWEET!!!

A whistle rang out, as if confirming my suspicions. Hundreds of club members appeared out of thin air on both sides of the walkway, likely dispelling whatever concealing magic they had on. Each of them held a dodgeball, primed and ready to throw.

Crap!

A tsunami of dodgeballs rained from the sky. There wasn’t any need for them to aim. With this many students, they were sure to hit quite a few.

Students on all sides dropped to the ground as the dodgeballs bounced off every part of their body. I dedicated my all to dodging while moving forward. Stopping would only end with me getting hit.

Off to the side, I noticed two dodgeballs thrown directly at me.

“Sorry about this.” I grabbed the student nearest to me, using him as a shield to block one of the dodgeballs. The other was going to miss, so I didn’t bother doing anything. I blocked the first ball as expected, but I suddenly had a bad feeling about the second one.

“Remove the mana from the incoming dodgeball [Disenchant]!”

I cast disenchant behind me, causing the other dodgeball to fall to the ground. The dodgeball turned around in midair after missing me. It was likely that every dodgeball had some sort of tracking spell attached. I would need to disenchant every single one that locked onto me.

“Remove the mana from the– Crap!” I ducked as a dodgeball passed over my head. There wasn’t enough time to say the full spell.

“Dodgeball [Disenchant]!” Another dodgeball fell out of the sky. That did the trick. However, it was only effective if the dodgeball was right next to me. Well, nothing I can do about that. Still not skilled enough for silent spellcasting.

I continued disenchanting dodgeballs as I ran forward. There were still a good number of students behind me, so the dodgeballs should focus on them.

STOMP! STOMP! STOMP! STOMP! STOMP! STOMP! STOMP! STOMP!

A tremor ran through the ground, seeming to come from behind me. I looked back.

A human tidal wave quickly approached. They knocked students down, running as if they were the only people on a track. Any students lucky enough to make it through unscathed were pelted with dodgeballs.

I immediately veered off to the side to let the runners past. Luckily, they didn’t seem to bother anyone off the walkway.

Wait a second…

“Form water into a ball and shoot forward [Water Ball]!” “Form air into a ball and shoot forward [Wind Ball]!”

Balls of water and wind rained from the sky, aiming at anyone just off the walkway.

“Remove mana from any ball [Disenchant]!”

The water balls plopped into a puddle; the wind balls disappeared into thin air; any incoming dodgeballs dropped to the ground. That was a mistake. I used too much mana. My feet were starting to slip out from under me. I needed to be more careful on what I disenchanted now.

Looking up, I saw students flying around on various vehicles – cars, brooms, golems – aiming for another barrage. There were only a few aiming towards me, so I immediately focused my spell on those people.

“Remove mana from the vehicles I target [Disenchant]!”

The people aiming at me fell from the sky, crashing into some of the dodgeball throwers. They were probably okay, but I wasn’t going to check. This was my freedom at stake, after all. Luckily, with some of the dodgeball throwers taken out, it should be relatively easy to–

WHOOSH!

Something passed by right in front of me, hitting the student directly next to me. It was so fast that I couldn’t even see it. I immediately looked to my right. A girl dressed in a polo shirt and a short skirt held a tennis racket in one hand and a tennis ball in the other. She arched her back, bringing back her tennis racket before throwing the ball into the air. I ducked instinctively.

She hit the ball, and less than a second later, another student fell to the ground.

Yeah, no idea how to deal with that. I won’t even be able to get my spell off in time. The tennis ball flew way too fast. Plus, at that speed, I doubted it would even matter if I disenchanted the tennis ball.

And now, she’s aiming at me. Yep, I’m a goner. There’s no one close enough to take the ball. I’m too tired to make an attempt right now, anyway.

I guess I’m part of the Tennis Club now…

As I prepared myself to take the hit, she changed her target, now aiming at someone far behind me. I didn’t understand what was going on. She should’ve been able to hit me. However, one look forward gave me all the answers I needed.

The gates were right in front of me. My goal was a few steps away. Soon, I would be able to go home.

However, I couldn’t take another step forward.

A small desk, filled to the brim with paper, stood right in front of the gates. A small girl sat behind the desk, pen in hand, holding her head in agony.

“AGGGHH! Why is there so much paperwork?!? I thought I could escape it by guarding the gate, but it seems to follow me wherever I go!!! Curse you Paige!”

She was so full of openings it was almost laughable, but that was what made her dangerous. I had no doubt that if I targeted any one of those places, I would be blown back to the academy’s entrance. After all, there wasn’t a single person in Towa Academy who didn’t know this girl.

Student Council President: Daria Rey.