It was an afternoon at the military enchantment building. We were sitting at our lab table, not doing any work, because…

「Bart: I can’t believe they actually agreed…」

『Vezlaz: I’m speechless…』

That was rich coming from a dwarf who mostly spoke through telepathy. I wondered when I would be able to do the same without physical contact.

「Klenn: It happened…」

Klenn looked like he just remembered something he had done while drunk. I stood there looking smug.

「Allen: Of course they agreed. Who wouldn’t want to take part in the Great Project?!」

At first, everyone argued it was just a waste of resources, a death trap, a liability.

「Klenn: It was all thanks to my genius, of course.」

「Bart: Isn’t it funny that they almost dismissed it right there when they heard you were part of it?」

Klenn raised his chin, looking offended.

「Allen: Well, I can’t deny Klenn was a great help in putting the details down…」

Klenn nodded, his ego restored.

「Allen: But next time, he should probably keep his mouth shut and let Bart do the talking.」

He scowled again.

I knew that the only reason we got the other enchanters to agree was that everyone secretly dreamed of building something like this. Something absolutely badass and lethal.

The objection was always the same, the inability to make triggers do the task 100% reliably. Building tools that had to follow complex orders and decision-making required the help of very skilled specialists and wasting good chunks of magic potential.

It was not impossible, but it was only considered for the heavy ordnance.

And so, we prepared a little showcase to prove we could provide that reliability.

Klenn wanted to do something flashy. I proposed instead to show off my calculator. But it was Bart that came with the right idea.

He told me that very few people were good at math, so they wouldn’t know why to be impressed by the calculator0. Instead, we ought to show them the “impossible”.

The impossible turned out to be a set of mechanical constructs, all identical, linked to a button.

The button was designed to turn them on and switch behavior.

I thought it was pretty lame, but I trusted in Bart. He had been a military enchanter for a long time and knew how to woo other magical engineers.

Well, he turned out to be right. The other enchanters started showing interest when they saw all the constructs behave identically and in sync with each other. No matter how quickly they pressed the button while trying to throw them off sync.

Once we also showed the constructs’ capability to recover the lost synchronism after being disturbed physically, we knew we had them. It turned out the loss of sync was one of the main problems to solve in the field of magical engineering.

Needless to say, team Allen was no longer the black sheep, and people stopped treating me like I was a glorified glue stick for spellwork.

「Bart: So, we’re really going to build one?」

『Vezlaz: Do you think the upper management will reject the project?』

「Klenn: If they can find the resources for those unwieldy mana cannons, I’m sure they’ll gladly divert something toward my carefully planned combination of lethality and mobility.」

「Allen: Ours, you mean…」

「Klenn: Hmpf, We would have never convinced them with your hamfisted vacuous ideas. And you style yourself an enchanter… ridiculous.」

I really wanted to plant a fist on his face and see what sort of bruises would blossom. But I’m an adult and shit.

「Allen: Perhaps someone should remind Klenn why nobody wants to work with him.」

There, a nice dose of passive-aggressiveness, like a real mature person.

「Klenn: As expected, inferior intellects are bereft of arguments when challenged by a true genius.」

Klenn was starting to sound like a real dick. Stroking his ego too much had been a mistake. He was all erect and ready to ejaculate, metaphorically speaking.

But let’s not say that Allen is ever short of witty comebacks.

「Allen: Is that so? Here’s an argument… I was summoned by Archmage Violet earlier today…」

Klenn shot a hateful glare at me.

「Allen: She was unhappy with the lack of progress here, so I had to report Klenn’s poor behavior as the cause.」

「Klenn: Lies! A filthy peasant like you could never dream to approa—」

「Bart: Come on guys, we’ve been doing gr—」

I didn’t let Bart finish.

「Allen: She said that even I could beat you in a direct confrontation.」

「Klenn: She… What?!!」

He sputtered, face turning red.

What the fuck am I doing? I asked myself, in the process of aggravating a very powerful attack magic specialist.

Trust in Violet.

「Allen: Oh... and she said that with a little smile.」

I cast an illusion to materialize Violet’s faint mysterious smile. Klenn lost it.

He stood up, face glowing red.

『Vezlaz: Oh, he’s done it now…』

The dwarf enchanter and Bart shook their head while looking at each other.

Klenn pointed his finger at me and yelled.

「Klenn: Enough! I challenge you—」

「Allen: Accepted!」

I was already moving mid-sentence. If dealing with bullies taught me anything, it was to strike first and strike hard. Preferably their face.

Neither Bart nor Vezlaz reacted fast enough to stop me. I threw myself against Klenn while spraying anti-magic energy around me. I hoped my body still remembered how to 【Harden】 subconsciously, and swung my fist right to his face.

He didn’t move. He didn’t even put up a defense. Only at the end did I realize that Klenn wasn’t going to budge. That was dangerous, so I had to tone down my power as the fist connected. He flew back and landed on the ground.

I furrowed my brows. No shield? No defensive reaction?

I had bet everything on speed to avoid giving him the time to cast any dangerous spell that could have knocked me down on the spot. But this… I lowered my fists.

It was like hitting a deer frozen in the headlights. I almost felt bad about it.

An uncomfortable silence ensued. Nobody moved.

Had I walked myself into some classic blunder like getting fired over a squabble?

「Allen: Why didn’t you defend yourself? Surely you could’ve slammed me away with your telekinesis, or even put up a shield.」

I clearly remembered the time he shoved me up against the ceiling and kept me there until I apologized for an imaginary affront.

Klenn stood up, now touching his face almost in a daze. I noticed his legs were shaking.

「Allen: I only got two months of military training. Aren’t you a combat magic specialist? Is this a trick to get me fired?」

His eyes grew wider, then he looked away and walked off slamming the door hard behind him.

I didn’t know what to think. I had half expected him to grin and gloat about having me expelled from work.

Violet had been right… but I was still at a loss. Had he been afraid to kill me too quickly?

Silence.

Bart sighed, and I looked at him in askance.

「Bart: So you’re acquainted with that Archmage… Isn’t that funny Vez?」

『Vezlaz: Heh.』

「Bart: So now you know…」

「Allen: What do I know?」

Bart shrugged.

「Bart: That, despite his genius and magical power, Klenn is simply unable to fight. He just freezes over the moment things heat up.」

「Allen: Oh…」

『Vezlaz: Why do you think someone so overqualified ended up here?』

「Allen: Love for enchanting? Showing peasants how it’s done?」

The dwarf snorted.

「Bart: Klenn wanted to fight on the frontlines, weave powerful and flashy magic to make the bodies of his foes explode in a shower of gore… That sort of stuff.」

『Vezlaz: Maybe in a hundred years, when he grows some balls?』

Bart smirked.

「Bart: Imagine how hard he had to choke on his pride when he got here, and the only one talking to him was a useless commoner from the Academy days.」

No doubt Bart was having a lot of fun.

「Bart: So, no. Klenn absolutely despises enchanting spellwork.」

Does he?

「Allen: What is he even doing here then? Anyway, staying away from the frontlines is the objectively correct decision, in my opinion.」

No sweating, no gore, no bad smells. No getting yourself killed.

『Vezlaz: Agreed.』

「Bart: As you can imagine, it has to do with a woman of comparable genius he was unable to match stride with.」

A woman of comparable genius? Ah…

Violet.

「Allen: I see…」

I said, putting all the pieces together. A clearer picture was now painted in my mind.

So Klenn and Violet had both attended the Academy during the same time. They were both very talented individuals. Klenn must have seen Violet as a match to his overblown ego and thus fell for her.

Unfortunately, his inability to engage in face-to-face confrontations had left him unable to keep up, so he spent the pent-up frustration at making instruments of destruction. So he ended up here because he wanted to be part of the bloodbath, even if indirectly.

With that punch and taunts, I had run his pride to the ground. That could lead to bad consequences.

I had to apologize.

「Allen: Alright, I understand. So this is where I go apologize in order to show my humility and establish a newfound bond of brotherhood, thanks to which we’ll finally be able to get things done without Klenn-derived interruptions.」

Bart stared at me for a moment, making a worried face.

「Bart: Oh no, he’s just as delusional as Klenn…」

Bart told Vezlaz, who shrugged in response.

「Allen: It’s okay, this is classic tropes and office politics. I’ll bring him back.」

* BOOOM *

Something exploded in the distance.

「Bart: Uhmm… shouldn’t you let him cool off first?」

Vezalaz grunted. I ignored the two enchanters. My work experience taught me these things had to be done ASAP.

『Vezlaz: I’ll engrave your coffin.』

I walked out of the building and tracked down Klenn. A task easily accomplished by following the explosions coming from the practice targets’ direction.

I remained behind the safety of the protective barriers and waited for him to notice me.

「Klenn: Come to gloat, have you?」

I remained silent.

「Klenn: If not for this weakness, I would have risen to the top… I could have been an Archmage myself!」

* BOOOM *

「Klenn: No one would ever dare deride me!」

* BOOOM *

The atomized remains of the practice targets floated down in a cloud of dust.

Someone was compensating for something.

Nice explosions, but I had long lost the ability to be afraid.

「Allen: I apologize for punching your face.」

I said with my serious corporate face. Here, me being a respectable adult.

「Klenn: Do you think an apology will be eno—」

「Allen: Enough with the bullshit.」

I cut him off, to which he gritted his teeth and started building a huge fireball. But this is where I had to hold my ground.

「Allen: Archmage Violet will have my hide if I don’t produce results.」

He kept silent, fireball growing bigger and bigger.

「Allen: There’s only one reason for a scrub like me to ever be allowed here, and it’s not because I can stick spells together.」

I held his gaze. Klenn narrowed his eyes. He looked angry, but he wasn’t stupid. He must have been suspecting there was more to me once he saw my never-seen-before magical constructs.

「Klenn: You spoke ill of me against my back! What lies did you tell her?!」

The projected heat seemed to increase worryingly, as did the brightness of the fireball.

「Allen: Would I be alive if I lied to an archmage?」

I stated as a matter of fact.

The oversized fireball stopped growing. Can the barrier hold against that? I started feeling faint doubts about coming here.

「Allen: What can I say except “Klenn? He’s talented, but he’s not a team player”. I never denied your genius, but if you want me to speak well of you, you have to give me a reason. Violet sent me here for a single purpose, giving us an edge against the demons.」

We stared at each other, unblinking.

I had imagined this moment several times before falling asleep. That’s why I had the right words to say at the ready. I had long been waiting for the chance to punch his face with impunity. Thank you, Violet.

The silence stretched out, but the molten ball of fire started shrinking.

I wondered what Step was Klenn at. With my First Step, I could sense the power being emanated from him, but I still couldn’t gauge it. I just felt he had a lot more than me.

The fireball dissipated, and I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. I was vaguely aware of people peeking at us from afar. Ready to spread gossip, no doubt.

「Allen: So… are you feeling a renewed bond of camaraderie?」

I said, putting on a smile.

「Klenn: Shut up.」

He said curtly, breaking eye contact.

Oof.

Klenn started walking back but stopped.

「Klenn: I will show you all.」

He said, with his back turned against me before he resumed walking. Very dramatic.

I shrugged and followed him back inside. I guess it’s good that he felt motivated. And didn’t give me third-degree burns.

「Allen: The Great Project awaits.」

I said cheerily. Klenn grumbled something intelligible but didn’t kill me, which I saw as a positive sign.

I could but congratulate myself for having handled the situation so smoothly.

I smiled. What a great day. I had succeeded in punching Klenn in the face.

Quest completed (Punch Klenn in the face) +1 EXP

Wha- Only 1 EXP?

Stingy ring.