When I walk into the student council office, Raelle's face lights up like a Christmas tree. "You're finally here, V~ I was wondering when you'd arrive."
I sigh, feeling the weight of my responsibilities. "You guys paid me, so of course, I'll come. Where are the others? Have they already headed to the gate?"
Raelle makes sure the door is closed before she speaks. "They're already gone, but there's something I need to tell you before we join them." 'Damn it, I should warn him about the groups hired by Kuza, but I can't. What if he decides not to go? I'm sorry V... I promise I'll make it up to you later.'
Raelle sits at her desk, tapping away at her tablet. "I've sent you a list of people you should watch out for and avoid during the competition."
She rises, and we both make our way to the warp gate, her heels clicking in a way that makes her sound far more confident than she actually is. "Here's the game. The ruin is scattered with sigils. You can find them in hard-to-reach places, on monsters, or you can take them from other contestants. There will be twenty teams of six people each. To win, you have to collect at least 25 sigils. And be careful; some of these contestants are geniuses from other kingdoms. Having Isabella is great but be careful, their talent isn't any worse than that of class A."
We finally arrive at the academy's warp gate. A mage on standby nods, activating the intricate runes etched into the doorway. A vivid landscape bursts into view—verdant fields and a multitude of people milling about.
I whistle appreciatively. "Damn, this place is crowded. How many spectators came just to watch?" The grandiosity of the event dawns on me. Although this is just a school competition; it's an event that could last for days. Hmmm, these people are guild members, archeologists, and recruiters for various organizations.
I rub my head. Ah, I better forget it; there's no reason to care about the spectators. My attention refocuses as Raelle and I walk up to a tent that's been set up as a sort of makeshift command center. Pulling aside the fabric flap, I step inside.
Inside, I find Isabella, Rai, Arin, Luna, and Lysandra—all prepped and ready for battle, though each seemingly lost in their own world... sleeping already.
Raelle claps her hands, her smile radiant. "Since you all know the rules, there's something else I need to mention, something that you all must understand." She pauses for dramatic effect. "The one in charge of making decisions will be V. Second in command is Isabella. Now, please wear these bracelets."
Raelle hands out the bracelets. "Make sure to wear them at all times. You will all be in there for three days. These bracelets monitor your health. If they activate, it means your life is in danger; you'll be teleported out and disqualified."
I scan the room, absorbing the reactions of my teammates. Hmm. Isabella is obviously annoyed right now—probably pissed that she's second-in-command. Luna is staying as far away from Rai as she can manage. Arin is playing peacekeeper, ensuring Rai doesn't do anything too... Rai-like. And Lysandra? Half-asleep, as usual. Yup, just what I expected.
"Hey, where's Elith? Shouldn't he be here? I thought he was always around you," I finally ask, breaking the tense silence.
"Right now, he's busy dealing with a few issues regarding a different task. Don't worry about it," Raelle replies. 'Dammit. Sera was supposed to meet us earlier today, but she's gone MIA. Elith is out looking for her, but still no sign.'
Raelle's face transitions from concern to a warm smile. "Are you all ready? The competition will start soon. Someone will visit this tent shortly and teleport you all. I would love to stay, but I have important matters to attend to."
Raelle waves and exits, her heels clicking briskly against the ground as she leaves. The tent falls into silence, each team member pondering the gravity of the quest ahead.
I turn to Lysandra, snapping my fingers in front of her face. "Hey, wake up already."
Lysandra yawns, opening her eyes slowly as if surfacing from deep underwater. "Huh? Oh, right, this stupid trip, fuck I want to eat something, feeeeeed me V."
I rub my forehead and turn to Lysandra. "Here," I say, handing her a coconut. "I came prepared with enough food for all of us... including you."
Lysandra's eyes light up, but only slightly. "A coconut? You think this will keep me satiated? Tsk, this is nothing... But I'll take it."
Turning my attention away from our team's resident sleepyhead, I catch Isabella's icy gaze.
"I'm in charge, understood?" she says, voice as sharp as a razor.
I shrug. "If you want. I didn't want to lead to begin with, so be my guest."
She should have been in control, to begin with, so that's not an issue. I'm only here cause of you, you damn bastard. Why can't you just be a bit more respectful?
Next up are Rai and Arin, who are standing together in a corner, Rai looking over at Luna every so often.
"Yo, Rai, listen up," I begin, leaning in to whisper. "I get that you like her, but dude, seriously, you can't just approach her like that. You gotta try to build up a friendship first."
Arin nods in agreement, clearly relieved that someone else has taken up the mantle of life coach for Rai.
'This guy seriously needs a course in Human Interaction 101,' I think, half-amused, half-exasperated.
Rai rubs his chin and nods. "Ah, so that's how it is. Okay, I think I get it."
Moving on, I walk over to where Luna is sitting alone, inspecting her bow and arrows. "Ah, this must be our first time meeting, right? Since we already know each other's names, there's no need for introductions. Listen, about Rai..."
"That fucking weirdo? What about him?" Luna interrupts, not lifting her gaze from her weapons.
I sigh. "You don't have to talk to him; he's a bit...dull. Feel free to punch him if he starts annoying you, but just don't kill him, okay?"
She hates annoying people. But I need her precision. God, I hope she doesn't put an arrow through Rai's head. I find myself hoping.
Luna scoffs. "Don't worry about it. I don't plan to kill him anytime soon."
Before I can say another word, a mage walks into the tent, snapping everyone back to reality. "Alright kids, time for the competition to start. Get all your things ready."
I turn and sigh, mentally bracing myself. 'Finally, let's get this shit over with.'
"Each group will be teleported to a random location in the ruin. You will not be teleported back until the three-day period is over unless you gain life-threatening injuries. I wish you the best of luck," the mage says, the arcane symbols on his staff glowing ominously.
And just like that, we're gone.
We materialize inside the ruin, within a stone hallway that looks like it's slowly crumbling away. Darkness engulfs us, yet the silence hints at a lack of immediate threats.
Isabella's fingers flicker, and a small ball of fire comes to life, piercing the darkness.
"Ah, there's no need for that," I say, reaching into my bag. "Since we're going to be stuck here for three days, and it's probably going to be dark throughout the entire ruin, I came prepared just in case."
I pull out six small orbs, enchanted to act as floating light sources. "These are light orbs. Adventurers use them when exploring unknown caves. Just put a slight amount of mana into them, and they'll follow you. They can last a week on a single mana stone." Guess I have to act normal, even though I don't really need these things.
Everyone infuses the orbs with a trickle of mana, and instantly they float up, illuminating the area around us.
"Cool that you brought one for all of us, but I think we only really need one," Arin remarks, squinting at his orb as if expecting it to do a trick.
Luna interjects, "No, this is better. During a fight, we'll likely need to split up."
Speaking of moving, Isabella starts walking without a word, her fireball floating alongside her, dwarfed by the light orb. We all fall in line.
Ah, leading by action, not words. Classic Isabella, Fuck her. Hehe, I can't wait to see her reaction when she loses the bet.
Rai leans closer to me, whispering, "Hey, how do you think I should approach Luna now? Friendliness, right?"
Oh boy, where's an instructional manual when you need one? Fuck, why did I have to make this guy fall in love with Luna? Tsk, I shouldn't have designed him so stupidly. 'Rai falls in love at first sight, she is a beauty, a strong-willed fighter. At that moment Rai felt she was his soulmate' I think that's how I wrote it. Tsk, Now I have to deal with the consequences.
"Just be yourself, but maybe tone down the... enthusiasm a bit. Trust takes time," I reply, pondering whether I've just given him a green or red light.
Arin overhears us and nods approvingly. "Good advice, man. Baby steps, Rai. Baby steps."
At least Arin is the sensible one. If Rai's a firecracker, then Arin's the fire extinguisher. He is the reason Rai is able to stay alive for so long.
Lysandra, meanwhile, cracks open the coconut I gave her and starts slurping its water noisily.
"You know," she mumbles, "this doesn't suck. Got any more?"
'I'm not a walking grocery store, Lysandra,' I think, but I just smile and nod. "If you want some more, you have to earn it."
We continue through the dimly-lit hallways, illuminated by our floating orbs. Isabella suddenly halts, her eyes narrowing as she scans the space ahead. The rest of us freeze too, our senses on high alert.
Something turns in the hallway, and we all look up. It's a Cyclops. Oh, thank God, it's just a Cyclops—a baby one at that. An adult wouldn't be able to stand in here.
Isabella creates half a dozen fire arrows and shoots them at the Cyclops. It falls back, screaming in pain, but soon after, it gets back up. Its wounds slowly start healing. Well, that's to be expected. Although an attack like that could kill other monsters that size, most creatures in this ruin are highly resistant to magic attacks.
Rai grasps his sword, smiling and taking a step forward when Isabella clicks her tongue and says, "Stop." She starts casting a magic circle as the Cyclops rushes toward us. A large fireball forms above the circle, and she begins compressing it while adding more mana until it's the size of a normal arrow. With a cold voice, she says, "Die," and uses some wind magic to blast it at high speed, piercing the Cyclops right in the chest. The second it pierces, it blows up from within, splitting the Cyclops in half.
Fucking shit, Isabella! Why are you using so much magic over a single Cyclops? We could've just killed it without all of that noise. You and your damn ego.
She casts a mana shield, blocking off all the chunks of meat and blood that fly toward us. Arin proceeds to hold his mouth, stopping himself from barfing.
"Damn it, we have to start moving now," I say, annoyed by the unnecessary spectacle.
Isabella turns to me and says, "Check to see if there's any Sigil."
I raise an eyebrow. "There's no damn way I'm going in that."
You want me to check that gunk of meat? Fuck no.
"Why don't you check it?" I retort.
"Do it; you said I'm in charge," Isabella fires back.
I click my tongue in annoyance. Fine, whatever. I'll do it, but only because I'd rather not have her set off another firework show.
I cautiously approach the splattered remains, holding my breath as I sift through. To my surprise, I find a Sigil—a glowing emblem about the size of a coin—nestled within the mess. Got one, but at what cost?
I hold it up. "Happy now?"
Isabella merely nods, not an ounce of regret on her face. Of course not. Why would she feel regret? Damn bitch, I should've interfered while she was making it.
As we start moving again, Rai whispers to me, "That was intense, huh? What do you think Luna thought of that?"
Intense? That's one word for it. And why are you worrying about Luna right now? Dammit! I'm going to bang his head and give him a factory reset.