The Legendary Programming Mage

Step. Step. Step.

Fall!!

"Huh?"

A single cry from a young girl echoed through the stunned crowd before everyone shouted.

"What?!!"

The Apex... he had fallen to the ground.

— "Is it that he never learned Flashstep?"

— "Was he too proud to admit it?"

— "Damn, and he was hot as hell~"

— "Gone too soon... What the fuck?!"

Boom!

A thunderous boom shook the cliff as the striking young man who had fallen suddenly soared into the sky.

"Why the hell did he do that?" the same girl from before asked.

"It's to get the right angle."

Everyone's gaze turned at once to a girl seated on the back of a kneeling man.

The crown princess of the Darksport continent, Cordelia Ravenhearth.

The man beneath her asked, "Uhmm... Your Highness, what do you mean by that?"

Cordelia paused. "As you know, Flashstep is all about the angle you start from, not just the location."

All the second-year students nodded.

"Just like a rocket, if one takes a pivoting stance, flying a long distance with minimal mana is possible."

"Then..." the talkative girl asked. "Why doesn't everyone do it?"

Cordelia grinned, licking her lips. "Because only a complete psycho would leap off a cliff, especially one thousands of feet above the ground."

She tilted her head, her crimson eyes locking onto the young man now soaring. "That's the person you were talking to yesterday, right, Xeno?"

All eyes turned to a peculiar second-year with white hair and pale eyes. "Why do you ask?"

Cordelia turned slightly toward the beautiful young woman. "Because I'm jealous—jealous that someone else might steal you from me."

She turned back to the man. "Especially one so remarkable."

Xeno exhaled. "I was just helping a wounded junior, nothing more."

Cordelia didn't answer for some time. When she finally spoke, her tone was soft. "I hope so."

***

The moment I fell off the cliff, I shifted my posture.

In my past life, our crew's driver had pulled off some insane stunts.

One of his favorites was using a collapsed building or debris to launch into the air at a 60° angle.

It had been reckless back then, but now it felt like the most logical move.

Once my posture was aligned, angled slightly toward the sky, I activated Flashstep.

This was a technique only I could perform.

No one else was crazy enough to even attempt it, and I knew only I had the method to use Flashstep mid-fall.

Normally Flashstep could only be executed from the ground after a jump, but later in the story, a side character had discovered a way to bypass that limitation.

He died at the end of that arc, meaning no one else ever learned it. Which meant it was mine alone.

I channeled mana through my body, recalling that tingling sensation.

At the same time, I funneled mana into my foot, shaping it as though forming a second pair of shoes.

Boom!

A resounding crack echoed as I used the false footing to propel myself skyward.

Flash!

In an instant, I blitzed past a group of students.

Then, I surged past another cluster on the verge of plummeting.

"Waahhh! Someone save me!"

"Help!"

I didn't care in the slightest whether something would stop their fall.

The only thing that mattered was coming out on top.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Using the false footing again, I propelled myself higher.

We had already cleared a quarter of the test area, and more than half the students had failed.

The wind sliced against my skin despite the protective layer I had reinforced.

Other cadets relied on safety gear to prevent injury, but Beatrice had forbidden me from using any.

It burned.

Stung.

Pierced.

Every meter I climbed made the pain worse.

It felt as though my skin was constantly being torn.

But my eyes never wavered.

I wasn't planning on losing to anyone.

Never.

***

"Hohoho."

One of the professors in the judges' area chuckled. "The Apex is truly a prodigy, isn't he?"

He turned to Mirabel with a stifled smirk. "You thought he was mediocre, didn't you? Your contempt for those beneath your standards blinded you again."

This time, the old man didn't bother hiding his wicked grin. "Now, how do you intend to repair your relationship with the one who might lead humanity?"

Mirabel could only stare at the young man as he passed another group of students trying to knock him down.

She had believed nothing could fool her eyes.

That the Dean had placed the boy as Apex merely to suppress the high-rankers' children.

But she was wrong.

Very wrong.

'How did he even learn it?'

It was impossible to master Flashstep in two days.

Even a week wasn't enough.

The other cadets had already learned the basics at the Hunters' camp, but he had never attended.

Hell, he had only awakened two weeks ago.

'How is this even possible?'

History dictated that the faster you awakened, the greater your talent.

And those who awakened late were mediocre.

'I was blind...'

No, she had seen it but refused to admit it.

Not because she couldn't, but because he was the disciple of her worst enemy.

'I won't lie, I was shortsighted and petty. Still...' Mirabel mused. 'He won't win, not against Alex.'

The son of the Ice Guildmaster.

The old man, silent for a while, finally spoke as if reading her thoughts.

"Let's see, Mira. Is your foresight and adherence to tradition correct, or is Beatrice the true rule-follower better? Hohoho."

***

Meanwhile, among the other first-years...

— "Hey, did you see that?"

— "I swear the Apex just jumped midair, was that a spell?"

— "No, if it was, the professors would've stopped it."

The only word they could use to describe him was... insane.

When he had given them that speech before, many hadn't cared.

What was the point of getting worked up if he was weak?

But now, as they stared at the man flying just behind Alex, their perspective shifted.

Someone who had never even heard of Flashstep before mastering it in two days?

If they hadn't seen it themselves, they'd have called it a lie.

Allen Vanderbilt was a monster.

All their eyes turned toward a girl seated on a blue wolf spirit.

The goddess of Year 1, Class 3—Quincy Blake, Allen's childhood friend.

It was because of her that no one in Class 3 dared speak ill of Allen.

And now, she had a gentle smile on her face.

They turned back to the sky, their gazes fixed on the young man whose streak of light had surpassed Alex's, making him first place.

They were more than halfway to the goal, and only six remained.

Who would win, and who would—

Screech!

Whoosh!

A sharp sound split the entire area in an instant.

Everyone heard it.

Their eyes darted around before settling back on the exam site as a beam of light shot from the sky.

Then—

Mechanisms.

A shifting maze of metal killing devices materialized before the flying cadets.

"No way!"

The students turned to the professors, who all wore horrified expressions.

Even the seniors looked the same.

Professor Vantis bellowed, "Who the hell activated that?!"

Someone had triggered the Maze of Eternal Suffering.

And at its maximum stage—something only a few third-years could survive.

Snap!

The maze twisted into the shape of a dragon and swallowed Allen and Alex whole.

A holographic screen appeared, revealing the inside of the labyrinth.

A death trap had been sprung.