I came back but the world is still a fantasy!? – Garesto Academy – Exam Arc: Chapter II – Those Who Take Advantage of the Test – 04-30-A: That Which Defeated Them (3/4)

Impossible.

The female soldier didn’t say it out loud, but the emotions on her face couldn’t be any clearer.

“I came up with it just now, so I gave it a try. Who would’ve thought it would turn out be such an amazing trick, huh,” Aristel wryly smiled at the unexpected result.

As one might expect, the exoskeletons were also powered by photons, and the amount of energy they had decided the output of their various parts.

The performance of an exoskeleton was decided according to how many photons it could meticulously handle while full, as well as, how much output it could endure.

The exoskeletons provided by the school were old by roughly two generations, and while the volunteer army may be using their own products, their exoskeletons were still capable of contending against the military’s own exoskeletons. Compared to that, the exoskeletons of the school were two steps behind.

Hence, unless one’s own raw Strength stat was greater, it was impossible to win in a contest of power against them.

“What!? You came up with it just now!?　So, a rotten great noble is still a great noble in the end, huh. Who would have thought that a Mind rank of AAA would be this overwhelming? Damn it!” The female soldier said.

However, there was an exception.

The energy source – that is, the photon crystal – belonged to one’s terminal.

In other words, the amount of energy that could be extracted also depended on the user’s Mind rank.

Because of that even if one’s exoskeleton and Strength was inferior, by brute forcing it with photon, it’s possible to temporarily(・・・・) increase one’s Strength enough to overturn the gulf in equipment and ability.

Which is to say that Aristel had essentially changed the game from an unwinnable contest of Strength to an unlosable contest of Mind.

The technique she used was actually known to some of the military as a technique that could be used in emergencies.

It was colloquially referred to as Overburst, though it is known that that is merely a translation of the real term.

“But you can’t use that for long, and not all of you can use it either!”

Of course, since it was only meant for emergencies, there must be defects to it that made it unsustainable.

First of which was that it required a powerful Mind just to use, and then it also put a great strain on the user and the exoskeleton.

Of course, it was precisely because more photons were being circulated than the exoskeleton was built for that it’s possible to gain power beyond the specs, but the consequence of that was the increased strain.

Moreover, because the exoskeletons weren’t designed to be used in such a manner, the backlash to both the user and the exoskeleton was also potent.

“That’s true. To be honest, errors have been popping up left and right just with that little movement. Already, 38% of the circuits have been fried, and the armor has even dented.”

But Aristel readily accepted that.

The armor over her whole body had bent as thought it had been melted, and sparks could be seen flashing every now and then. The situation was particularly more pronounced for her two arms.

Although she had been given an exoskeleton fitting for her status as the top student of the Special Class, its specs weren’t high enough to accommodate an AAA rank of Mind.

Yet despite that, she kept her calm and just smiled.

Even though no one was clearer than her when it came to all the abnormalities her exoskeleton was going through right now.

“What’s so funny!? Don’t let this little victory get over your head, little— Get down!”

Perhaps, they thought it was a good opportunity seeing that the leader of the enemy soldiers had fallen, or maybe they were simply trying to save Aristel since it seemed her exoskeleton was broken, but regardless the reason, the students attacked.

In response, the volunteer army used their Skills to keep them back, and one of the soldiers yelled.

“You may have managed to defeat the Assistant Commandant, but losing you will ensure the defeat of your whole class! Even if you do beat us, our comrades are still out there in the fields!” He said.

“…Unfortunately for you, Shinichi-san told us to crush your group. In other words, that’s all we need to do.”

That was the only role they needed to fulfill, upon which this incident would come to a close.

At the very least, Aristel’s words were brimming with confidence that that would indeed be the case.

“What nonsense are you talking about!? You think you’ve won already!?”

The enemy was furious that she was so certain of victory, but Aristel just quietly dispelled her exoskeleton and appeared in her school uniform.

“Hah?”

“What!?”

She gently floated back down to the ground, pinched her skirt, and took a graceful bow.

With the dreary desert as her backdrop, her out-of-place actions were even more pronounced.

The exoskeletons were never a good match for the desert, but it was still much better to have them than not, even when they were already partly broken.

And yet, Aristel actually exposed herself defenseless before them.

“Fu fu.”

What they didn’t know was that it was precisely their confusion and astonishment that she was aiming for.

And then to get them to lower their guard even more, she threw her foster right over their heads, and the soldiers became utterly confused.

At that, Aristel gave a command.

“All weapons release(Full Out)!!”

For a moment, the volunteer army couldn’t process what had happened.

Fosters couldn’t function away from a human body.

That’s why they couldn’t understand her actions.

But it was precisely because of that common sense that this surprise attack could be a surprise.

And in the next moment, all the weapons that Aristel loaded into her foster were forcefully released.

This was the answer that she reached while pondering the question of ‘what they had now’.

“I see, so that’s how you planned to compensate for the lack of numbers. A harmless face that can’t harm a fly, that was surprisingly dirty.” Myuhi said.

‘But of course, that’s quite common among the great nobles.’

Only the girl who realized her intentions and knew of the same sight smiled.

The two girls watched as the weapons poured over the soldiers from right above.

There were blades, lances, axes, hammers, handguns, sniper rifles, bazookas, boomerangs, knuckles, scythes, glaives, shields, knives, great swords…

“Huh?”

It was as though there was an exhibition of Garesto’s weapons taking place.

From real blades to energy blades, all sorts of weapons filled the sky just 3 meters above the soldiers.

So many were those weapons that even the light of the sun was blocked for a moment.

It was a queer sight, indeed, so the soldiers were by no means at fault for making a dumb expression in this tense moment.

But of course, the situation wouldn’t care about such things.

“A-Anti-electricity defense now! Don’t just stand there, get to it!”

Someone said as soon as he realized that this was an attack.

Although no one was wielding any of these weapons, there were so many of them that the enemy soldiers couldn’t see this situation in a positive light.

Unfortunately, that attentive soldier’s call was too late, and some soldiers couldn’t defend in time before the weapon exhibition descended on them.

What came next was exactly what Aristel and Hina expected.

“GyaAAAaa!?!?”

“AGAyaGyaGyaaa!?!?”

“PIGIiii!!!???”

Some soldiers were hit, while others accidentally caught the weapons.

And then some were buried by that great number of weapons, and to these people, there could only be one fate – to scream in pain within a sea of purple electricity.

The only ones who came out unscathed were those who used a defensive skill and deflected the weapons, but even they could only stare at their comrades wrapped in purple light, unable to understand what was happening before them.

As for the ones who only made contact with the weapons for a moment…

They walked in totters from the intense pain and numbness, but then… They stepped on something(・・・・・・).

“What, was, that, just, now— GUGYaAAAaa!!??”

And that irresistible scream of pain resounded within the desert once more.

When the unscathed soldiers noticed what was on the feet of those soldiers, a chill crawled up their backs.

The weapons of that girl that fell had thoroughly blanketed the area.

One touch with those weapons and a high-voltage current that could ignore their exoskeleton would fry them.

Because of that there was not one person who dared take a step away from this place.

They’ve already lost their exoskeleton’s flight function, and the area to cover was too big to jump over.

Before they knew it, the whole place around them had been turned into a no-man’s land filled with mines that couldn’t be consumed with just one use.