I Am A Table [LitRPG Isekai Progression Fantasy]

Master Sensei? He sounds familiar. That's the name that popped up in that letter! The one who's possibly connected to Master Shifu!

The shadows writhed as the air crackled. The surrounding space seemed unreasonably dangerous, and everyone voluntarily took a step back.

A quest popped up.

[Quest: Spell Detection (1)]

Objective: Identify 3 spells being cast before the battle ends.

Reward: + 240 Proficiency for Skill Appraisal of the Thousand Realms; +3 PER

Prerequisite: None

Failure: None

Accept: Yes/No

I can level up this skill! We've got to get CLOSER, Lena! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness an epic battle of the highest level! These are ARCHMAGES fighting, Lena!

Of course, he started spamming Verbal Nudge.

MOVE! LENA! CLOSER! PROFICIENCY! PER! GET IN THERE! NOW! NOW! NOW! THIS SKILL IS SO USEFUL, HAHAHA!

Lena suddenly burst into laughter. "This skill is so useful, hahaha!"

Everyone stared at her.

"... Do you need medical attention, honey?" Rob asked.

No! That's the thing you picked up?! Come closer. CLOSER! GREAT MAGICAL KNOWLEDGE AWAITS! MOVE! MOVE! MOVE NOW!

Lena, still clutching Blorbo and wincing from her side, felt a sudden, almost violent urge to charge forward. Her eyes, however, darted around. Marin was holding his horse back with a grim face. Griesa stood rooted to the spot beside her donkey, her multiple monocles fixed on the magical duel with wide-eyed apprehension. Even Ducaz, the rogue who supposedly sought chaos, seemed content to simply observe from a distance. No one else was moving forward.

"But... but everyone else is staying back," Lena mumbled.

Blorbo, caring not a whit for her safety, only for the sweet, sweet proficiency, pushed harder. NO TIME FOR COMMON SENSE, LENA! THINK OF THE PROFICIENCY! THINK OF THE PERCEPTION! He spammed Verbal Nudge to his absolute maximum capacity, pushing his perception beyond its limits.

[Perception Strain: Warning]

1 PER penalty until proper rest

[Perception Strain: Warning]

1 PER penalty until proper rest

Just move. Move! I'll get them all back!

From seemingly nowhere, Master Sensei whipped out another wand, a twin to the thin staff in his other hand. He fired yet another spell. This one was a shimmering, razor-thin ribbon of crimson, impossibly fast and aimed directly at Anders's head.

Without a moment to spare, he pulled his non-wand hand back, clenched his fist, and then, with a forceful thrust, conjured a barrier of something Blorbo couldn't catch.

The crimson hard candy ribbon struck Anders's bare-hand barrier with a sharp CRACK! The barrier rippled violently, vibrating with the immense impact, but it held. The ribbon of whatever magic shattered into a thousand glittering, harmless shards that rained down around Anders and the Candy Dragon Queen.

Of course, Blorbo failed to catch both spells.

[Skill Appraisal of the Thousand Realms: Failed to Identify Spell]

[Skill Appraisal of the Thousand Realms: Failed to Identify Spell]

Ugh, why won't she just—!

Lena took a hesitant step forward, then another, drawn by the overwhelming, almost painful mental urge. Her movements were jerky, as if fighting an unseen current. Just as she was about to take a third step, a firm hand clamped around her wrist.

Rob.

"Lena, stay put! Are you trying to get incinerated?"

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

[Verbal Nudge limit reached]

ROB! You interfering fool! My well thought-out plan! Ruined! All that proficiency, gone! Just because you had to inject common sense into the situation! We were so close!

[Spells Detected: 0/3]

Master Sensei, seeing his initial aggressive volley parried with such casual defiance, snarled. The robes Blorbo hadn't seen on Sensei before began to flutter as a storm of power brewed around him. He stopped shooting magic, dissolving both his and Ander's beam. Then, he gripped both his staff and his wand, spinning them with blinding speed. The air around the Gummy Bear King's head throbbed with swirling energy.

"Feel the weight of the master's fury!" Master Sensei bellowed, his voice straining with the sheer magical output. He lifted both arms, the staff and wand pointing skyward, the swirling energy around him coalescing into a volatile sphere that got darker second by second. The very sky seemed to rumble. "The Mage Order is of the stagnant past! The reliance on brute force, on predictable patterns! While I, Master Sensei, embody innovation! The rogue's wit! The ultimate evolution of magical p—"

An unadorned bolt of white magical force shot directly at Master Sensei. The bolt slammed into Master Sensei's chest with a crunch. His eyes bugged out as he was almost blasted clean off the Gummy Bear King's head, sent tumbling backward into thin air. The Gummy Bear King, surprisingly, reacted, twitching its massive, dark gummy ear just in time for Master Sensei to slam into it. He clung precariously, sputtering, his carefully gathered ultimate spell dissipating into harmless wisps of smoke.

"HOW DARE YOU?!" Master Sensei shrieked, scrambling back onto the Gummy Bear King's crown, his face contorted in a mixture of pain and outrage. "YOU SHOT ME WHILE I WAS PREPARING MY SPECIAL SPELL!"

Anders replied, "Fool. Did you really expect me to just sit through you monologuing for a minute? Also, it is called EMRCAR, not the Mage Order. Get it right."

"Have you had enough fun fighting yet or do I need to interfere?" The dragon queen finally spoke.

A belated notification showed up.

[Skill Identified: Arcane Missile - Basic-level Spell - Level ???]

Oh? I identified a skill!

[Spells Detected: 1/3]