Days flew by since the end of the individual skills assessment.
Now, the first and second years were gearing up for their joint practical.
Every year, depending on who was in charge, it would change a bit, but the overall structure remained the same.
Hearing about the updated rules, I headed to the bulletin board.
There, I ran into Rie.
"You're here," I greeted, lifting my hand slightly.
"It's been a while."
I hadn't seen Rie much lately.
Despite being at the same academy, I had no idea where she spent her time.
She didn't stand out.
We used to bump into each other during magic practice, but since the end of the assessment, those classes were on hold.
"Did the rules come out?" I asked.
Rie simply nodded and pointed to the bulletin board.
The notice read:
[
Battle Royale
-Each student must find two members to form a team of three.
-The team members are not restricted by grade. (However, those who achieved ranks 1-3 in the individual assessment cannot be in the same team as the top three in the same grade.)
-Anyone from the first and second grades can be the captain.
-The location is Mount Malt.
-Teams compete against each other on the mountain, earning points by defeating other team captains.
-Points depend on the number of teams the defeated team has beaten. (If no teams have been beaten, it's counted as one point.)
-The practical lasts for 5 hours. Ranks are determined by total points earned.
(Note: Second-grade top scorer, Astina, due to her student council duties, is excluded from the activity and given a score equal to the first place in this assessment.)
(Note: Evan, a first-year magic department student, is treated the same as ranks 1-3.)
]
The rules were simpler than I expected.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})But one part caught my eye: students ranking 1-3 in the assessment can't be on the same team.
It looked like a response to the unusually high scores of the top-ranking students.
Mulling over this rule, I realized that Rie, Luna, and I couldn't be on the same team.
The rule also mentioned Evan, but that wasn't important.
None of us were planning to team up with him.
But the key phrase here was 'in the same grade'.
That meant top-ranking students from the first and second grades could join forces.
This must've been introduced to avoid reducing the grading variance if top students from the same grade teamed up.
"If only Astina could join..."
Astina was barred from this event, for good reason.
The balance would shatter if she participated, probably taking down everyone single-handedly.
That's why everyone agreed to this special rule, happy to hear that someone would get the same score as Astina.
But even without Astina, I had another potential teammate—Borval, the second place ranker in the second-year assessment.
Teaming up with Borval seemed like a good idea.
Just as I was about to head over, a troubling thought crossed my mind.
How would student safety be ensured during this event?
With each participant having potentially lethal skills, it seemed likely injuries, or even deaths, could happen.
When I voiced this concern to Rie, her response surprised me.
"There are teaching assistants, right?"
"Teaching... assistants?"
In a world without surveillance tools like CCTV, it appeared teaching assistants filled that role.
I could almost hear their distant cries of despair.
Making my way towards Borval, I decided to secure my spot in his team before anyone else could.
"Alright. I can trust you," he quickly agreed to my proposal.
However, there was one issue.
"Borval, I need to operate alone. Please work with the other team members."
He looked confused.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})"Acting alone... Is that confidence? You think you can beat teams by yourself?"
"I have some personal matters to attend to."
"Oh... personal matters."
Borval chuckled, muscles twitching with curiosity.
"So you're saying you have someone to fight personally?"
"Something like that."
His face lit up.
"That's what I like to hear. Well, there's no other opportunity for students to fight like this. Good. Just don't lose."
With Borval's hearty laugh ringing in my ears, I excused myself.
"Then I'll get going. There's a lot to prepare."
"Alright. Prepare well."
As I moved away, my mind was racing.
The joint practical of the first and second years was approaching, and there was something I had to do—stop Evan.
During this joint practical, there was one person Evan should not encounter—Anton Fred, a second-year student.
He was the son of a family working with the dean, Oliver.
If Evan met Anton, there'd be repercussions, a hidden story intertwined with the dean.
And that was something I needed to prevent.
If Anton meets Evan during the joint practical, Anton suffers a great defeat.
Anton, humiliated by such a loss to a commoner, would seek revenge after the event.
But his own power was not enough.
He'd resort to leveraging his family's influence, leading to an orchestrated accident that Dean Oliver takes advantage of.
If the story goes on normally, Oliver would fall without anyone knowing.
However, if this hidden story unfolds, you would have to fight him, as he tries to manipulate the situation.
That's why I had originally planned to focus my efforts on preventing Evan's involvement in the joint practical—to stop this hidden story from occurring...
The issue, however, was Evan's new technique.
This technique disrupted the existing balance.
It wasn't merely the power to sever intangible magic.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})If applied correctly, this skill could set the mana of anyone it touched into disarray.
An ordinary wizard might manage to some degree, but for someone like me, who must finely manipulate mana, Evan was the worst possible opponent.
Ideally, I would have partnered with Borval to face Evan, but then my grades would be at risk.
Battling Evan would be time-consuming, and to achieve high marks, we would need to take down numerous teams.
Challenging Evan alongside Borval just wasn't a time-efficient strategy.
Therefore, Borval needed to take care of my grades for me.
"I'll need to do a lot of preparation...."
I headed to the library first.
I had promised to study with Luna, and planned to prepare weapons for the practical while reading books.
"Ah, Rudy. You're here?"
Luna sat amidst a mound of books, dark circles highlighting her fatigue.
"Luna, you seem quite worn out."
"Really? I don't feel that tired..."
Luna countered, her hand instinctively reaching up to touch her face, even as fatigue painted her features.
Luna was clearly preparing intensely to get good grades.
The second semester's joint practical for the first and second years held as much weight as midterms or finals.
Students worked themselves to their limits to get a higher score.
"But take some breaks in between. You'll collapse before the practical starts."
"Alright! Thanks for your concern, Rudy," she responded with a warm smile.
Then, as if something had just occurred to her, Luna asked, "By the way, have you figured out your group members yet?"
"For now, I'm teamed up with Borval."
"Borval? You've picked a great team member! Wouldn't a group with you and Borval be nearly guaranteed victory?"
I gave an awkward smile and shook my head, knowing the battle ahead would be far from simple.
While Borval and I might excel at individual assessments, the joint practical was a completely different beast.
Our techniques were good for demonstrating explosive power against a stationary target.
They weren't sustainable in the long run.
The difference between fighting a human opponent versus a straw doll was big.
After all, no one in a real fight would simply stand still and take a hit.
"What about you, Luna? Have you teamed up with Ena and Riku?"
"Yes! I don't have any seniors I know."
Despite Luna's words, the reality was that most seniors would jump at the chance to partner with her.
Luna was well aware of this.
Yet, in keeping with her character, she wouldn't abandon the people she spent every day with, Riku and Ena, for a chance at better grades.
Looking at Luna like that, I opened my mouth with a smile.
"Well, I won't go easy on you when we meet."
"I won't go easy on you either, so be careful~"
Luna retorted, a gleam in her eye.
Our laughter echoed through the library.
In the middle of it all, a thought crossed my mind.
"Ah, Luna."
I began, recalling the second purpose of my visit to the library.
"Don't you have something to tell me?"
Her gaze faltered at my question.
Considering Luna's grouping with Ena and Riku, scoring high might prove a challenge, given that the practical involved second-year students too.
Even for Luna, who was an outstanding first-year, might not succeed.
So, Luna needed a 'weapon'.
"No, nothing," she replied, her voice a mere whisper.
Seeing her evade my question filled me with regret.
Luna had been skittish ever since vacation ended.
Despite my repeated attempts to approach the topic, she remained the same.
Luna needed Levian's magic book now more than ever, for her grades and for others.
Despite my indirect hints, she seemed terrified of something.
With a gentle smile, I said, "Then whenever you have something to tell me, just say it. I'll be waiting."
***
