Lunch break is finally over.
The candidates were heading over to their rooms to attend the next session from another master. An offset from the other candidates, differing from their basic standpoint were section C's members. Neither of them is wasting their time goofing off. Instead, they were waiting for William Smith on the backside of the training ground, heading over there to continue their training. An applicable change was bestowed upon their individual versatility. Needless to say, it was quite the view for the others to veer into such a serious determination emitting from their aura that used to enclose their skills.
With the major changes surrounding their new personality, almost all of the candidates were also forced to train by themselves or to go into groups. However, seemingly confident that they will still win the event, the candidates of section A were deeply in feign ignorance of the eager consolidation and hard work of the others. Almost seems like they were actively rehashing their sight because they have skills and intellect.
Upon heading back to the sight of the training grounds, the three groups with five members each began their training with magic activation and body enhancement transpiration. While exploring their limits, they spent the rest of the time trying to develop their minds and trying to limit the conventional use of their mana.
"Ugh, I... I can't take it anymore... The heat is killing me..." A few of their classmates have tried bestowing some ample amount of mana but also a few of them cried for various reasons. Lia gave up on the first half of their session. It was the scorching phase of the sun, increasing the temperature to a higher degree.
"Come on, Lia. You can still do it!" Aine tried to pursue her but her body is already detained with uneasiness and exhaustion.
"Everyone, I think we should take a break first. We shouldn't push ourselves under the heat because it will just affect our training." Noticing everyone is dealing with the same problem, Eunice from the third team decided to stand out to announce to everyone. Answering their prayers, all of them decided to seat down for a bit on top of the grassy field while the others head inside near the shade to get some windy refreshment.
"Man, how many days do we have left?" Riggord asked as they stick together on the field, bloating himself up while generating air using his shirt.
"Three days and a half if we consider it today... I think, we still have that much time." Rishin answered and did the same.
"Hey, Huck. Do you have a plan about how are we getting the flag to them without messing up?" Aldi called out to Huck as he walked towards the group.
"I still haven't had any idea of what to do. The rules are practically simple but the strategy that we are going to use should be more pronounced and well-generated. Those people from the other section piss me off." He replies with a bit of a scowling figure and expression.
"Yeah, I saw of them belittling a small clique. They all act like they are going to be registered as the winners." Eita responded.
"I concur, though, violence and devouring them wouldn't be a practical option for us. We just need to make sure that we win the first bout to gain momentum. I am well aware of the risks that we have to take." Aldi replied.
On the other side of the field is where the girls' team is currently having their meeting. Nikki sat in the center while the others that are enclosed with Eunice worked their way up near the garden.
"I know that the competition is not here yet, but I am already feeling anxious..." Aine started it off with her negative outlook towards herself, making everyone feel a little bit nervous as well.
"Yeah, the feeling is the same here..." Penny replied.
"What should we do? By far, I think our bout is technically the hardest one to cover since we're using both of our mana and physical properties." Emma asked. Everyone seemed to be a little doubtful of what they can do. Nikki noticed this scorned expression.
"Everyone..." Without any hesitation, she grabbed everyone's attention by individually grasping their hands and putting them together. She snuggled up in front of them and lean a little further. Then she smiles, withdrawing and disputing some of the negative thoughts away. It reached out to everyone's heart, maintaining their status and gradually becoming invested in what she is about to say.
"Don't worry, there's nothing to be afraid of. We will try our best, and if we lose or get held back, we just need to start over and get it to the end, right? What's important is that we know that we did what can do and that's enough for us to contribute. I like everyone here. If the others do have faith in their own team, then we should also sum up our faith together. Remember, we are not just the team, there are lots of us. No one will hold us back, and I promise that so... We should have fun!" It is pretty much weird for Nikki to be this cheery and confident despite having trouble with some things of her own.
Nevertheless, her charming occupation and reassuring words put them at ease as all of the girls smiled with her and laughed together.
Their plight seems to go back to normal after a few breaks. The groups were now ready again to do another session of training. However, as they all stood up from their locations, a particular group went missing.
"Hey, have you seen Eunice's group?" Aldi asked. Everyone noticed their disappearance as well.
"Did they go back to our room?"
"I don't think so, they were discussing something earlier."
"I think saw them head on that way..." Eita pointed out to a direction wherein the park is located.
"The venue for the Triathlon?" Penny asked.
"Seems that way to me, but why would they go out there in the middle of the heat? Aren't they just wasting their time?" Riggord responded.
After a brief interval of their case, Eunice and the others went back on the training grounds. The candidates have settled their bewilderment with their disappearance.
"Sorry, guys. We just took a short stroll outside. We should continue our session." Eunice announced as they all went back to training their magic abilities.
Upon starting, Huck left his group and approached Eunice in order to talk to her privately. He glanced at her with a serious expression on his figure.
"Hey, where did you go? It doesn't seem like a stroll to me." He asked. The two decided to walk back onto the shade to have their conversation discreetly.
"I examined the venue of the Triathlon..." She sighed and then replied.
"Hmm? Did you examine it? Why?"
"I've had my suspicions over the course of two days already. The reason why those punks from Section A are pretty much confident and doesn't even train. Apparently, I have caught ten magic traps on our way to the venue."
"What? Traps? That's kinda peculiar..." Huck vents out his suppressed reaction after hearing her answer.
"Not quite, it is common. But now I know why they feel so entitled... It seems like a major problem for all of us, to be honest with you." She replied.
"Then aren't we supposed to report them?"
"We can't... We don't have evidence that they are the ones who did it. There are no traces within the area that it was performed by anyone inside the academy."
"But they could've possibly done it since they are skilled with it... This is troubling, so how are we going to deal with it?"
"I don't know... I have no clue. For now, I've deactivated all of the magic traps that they set around the field. I think I saw lots of it at the beginning of the first bout. Their strategy is to slow your movements at the very beginning." She answered.
"Should we talk to Aran about this? Maybe he can sort this out with Mahrisse since she is also in Section A." Suggested by Huck.
"Do you think she will buy it at all? Sure, Aran may consider our request because he is not a fan of cheating but I don't think Mahrisse will have the length to pursue or sell her section for that. Also, as I said, we don't have evidence of who did it. It must have been on Section B as well, we don't know for sure." She refuted.
"Dead end, huh..." Huck mumbled
"For now, let's just keep it between the two of us. I've also discussed this with my group and told them to be discreet about it. Since we are in the last, we should have the provision to foresee all of the things. We have the upper advantage and we must not waste it." She followed. Eunice left Huck in the shade and continued the session with her other members. Huck felt a slight grievance over the things that may practically harm his section.
The session continued for at least another half an hour. Everyone is still firing up and the sun's heat ventured down, making it easier for them to train without worrying about the temperature.
Within the group, Nikki felt a little strike on her head, stripping her out of the training.
Huh? W-What's happening?
She raised her hand and placed it on her forehead. It was another attempt of the hallowed purring of voices of the undead coming from an unknown location.
The voices of the shadows, speaking in a sentient and deep manner. A lingering whisper that creates a boundary within the realm of the overworld and the realm of the other dimension.
It's happening again!
As time passes, the loudness and audacity of the whispers began to rise, making it uneasy and ominous for Nikki to continue. Her headache made her weak and vulnerable.
"–kki!"
"Nikki..."
"Nikki!"
She snapped back to reality after hearing the calling of her group members. She twitched in her place and gave them a horror expression.
"W-What's wrong, Nikki?" Aine asked.
Another level of audacity submerged within her range, this time it is an over-exaggeration of the voices that tortured her mind, unable to grasp the situation. Soon after that, when she couldn't answer her member, she dropped to her knees with her hands covering her ears, and the delusions began to happen.
Stop! Stop! I don't want this! I don't want this anymore! She whimpered while crying.
Her face was indulged by the horrified outlook of the realm, she had heard all of the voices, pronouncing different kinds of words at once. Everyone noticed her falling and went over to her. Eunice bounced beside her and tried to pat her back but it was never felt for she is under the process of a leeching.
"Nikki! Nikki, what is wrong?" She asked multiple times but the crying of the girl is still going.
"Hey! What happened?" Huck joined in.
"I don't know! She suddenly felt ill, it looks like she has a fever." Eunice responded.
The voices continued, and the whisperings of the undead stripped her from her magic capabilities. Unable to respond, Nikki fell down and lost consciousness. Everyone was abstained from their movement after seeing her fall.
"Quick! Go tell William the situation!" Eunice instructed someone and they all quickly head inside the hall to find him.
She quickly dragged Nikki's body near the open field in order to stay away from the scorching heat and had her place her head on her thigh.
After a few minutes, William finally arrived.
"What happened?!" He shouted.
"Nikki, she passed a little while..." Eunice responded.
"Let me see her..." William leaned it a bit closer and bent his body. He placed his hands on her forehead and examined her temperature.
"She's burning up! She needs to go to the infirmary room, everyone please make some way!" William lifted Nikki's body and carefully rushed over to the hall to head over to the infirmary. The girls from her group also joined in order to see her condition.
After reaching the room, William placed her down to a single bed.
"What happened here?" A nurse of a kind asked. She seems to be a magician but more like a healer.
"She has a fever and passed out, I take it you can cover this?" He asked.
"Yeah, just leave it to me..." She responded.
After that, he closed his door on his way back and everyone was waiting in the hall.
"How did this happen? Did she push herself too far?" William asked them.
"Why? What is her condition?" Aine asked.
"It looks like she was out of mana. Her body became vulnerable for a short time. Luckily for us, it is only a case of overfatigue. Though, I need to know how did this happen..." He responded.
"I don't think she pushed herself that far, her movements seem to be weird enough..." Eunice answered.
"Weird? What do you mean?" William thwarted his attention to face Eunice.
"She's right, Nikki was not even using her magic when we started the session. We even took a break. She is like, covering her ears or something and she is saying something like 'I don't want this!' 'please stop!'." Penny explained.
"...!" His eyes widened when he heard the explanation. "The dark matter..." William replied.
"It is not also a case of overheating either. I think something is bombarding her, like, is she getting possessed or something?" Aldi raised.
"Anyway, Nikki needs to rest. As for all of you, Sessions are now over. Go back to your individual dorms and rest. We don't need to have another case of this to others." William ended the training and everyone followed his instruction as they headed back.
William sighed, left alone in the middle of the hall, trying to comprehend the things that are happening for a while.
As I suspected, something is wrong with this place. Not only that it targets magicians like me, but it also targets those who have a high mana capacity. A boundary that has been registered within the area. Perhaps a curse? He thought.
He walked back to the training grounds and started analyzing the field. From there, he used his perceptiveness and saw a soaking black smoke, thwarting the light energy particles from their place. A streak of lines that seems to be fading away.
I need to find the source of this black smoke...
William continued to walk, but the time is up. The black smoke that he was tailing gradually disappeared from his perceptiveness skill and he was out of luck. From there, he stood in silence and made a smug...
"The call of the mirror dimension, huh..." He mumbled.