Croy stashed away the remote for the lights and looked down at the unconscious student, relieved. His assessment had been mostly correct, but just to be sure, he had aimed for a spot that wouldn't cause any serious injuries.
Still, his Mana Bullet had been strong enough to punch through the automatic barrier and then hit the opposing student. When he had struck him earlier with his Spellsword, Croy noticed that the boy's body spell would likely protect him.
He briefly examined his hand. His Mana Bullet had always been the strongest spell in his arsenal. Due to his purple Mana, the explosive power of the spell wasn't particularly high, but Croy compensated for this by manipulating his Mana so skillfully that the tip of the Bullet became sharper and deadlier than anyone with lower frequencies could shape it.
Another spell, like Electric Orb, probably wouldn't have been enough to defeat the opponent.
Fortunately, the student had only passed out from the pain. Either way, he was out.
'Anyway...'
Why had the boy been so angry? He'd kept calling Croy a coward. Croy also understood the thrill of facing someone head-on in battle, but this was a team competition with a mission that didn't require direct combat to succeed.
It would have been selfish toward his teammates to fight every opponent head-on just to test himself, and it would also go against the essence of the mission.
You didn't earn points for taking out opponents. So why hadn't the student just focused on the objective?
Croy had actually been on his way back to the terminal, albeit with a detour, when he noticed the student following him. So he'd stopped and decided to confront him.
After all, Ben and Portis were both at the terminal. The two of them wouldn't lose to the remaining opponent.
The other member of the opposing team, a girl, had been taken out by Ben's rune spell at the start. Thanks to Portis, they'd located the building just five minutes into the competition. Croy had instructed Ben to set a rune spell right at the entrance.
He hadn't expected to eliminate an opponent outright but wouldn't complain about the result. Waiting until another team activated a terminal had paid off. Ben had had enough time to etch a thorough rune spell into the ground, and now only three minutes remained until they claimed this terminal. It didn't look like any other team would try for it in such a short time.
'Portis and Ben should be done, too,' he thought, heading back to join his teammates.
When he reached the terminal room, he found the final opponent unconscious on the floor. Ben and Portis stood next to him, Spellweapons in hand, and looked up as Croy arrived.
Portis raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"You already beat the last one?"
"Yes. He was careless. How did you know?" Croy asked.
Portis pointed to the unconscious student's Smartwatch. It displayed a message stating that his team was out and that Academy staff would come to collect him.
Ben exhaled in relief.
"I thought we'd have to tend to him ourselves."
Croy smiled.
"I hope you didn't treat him too badly."
Ben looked a bit guilty.
"Not too bad, I think. But I feel sorry for the girl at the entrance... I overdid it with the explosion rune."
Portis patted him on the shoulder.
"Don't worry, she'll be fine."
Croy nodded seriously. The students would learn that being a Spellcaster came with risks, especially when fighting other Spellcasters.
The three minutes passed quietly. During that time, an Academy staff member arrived, gave Croy's team a quick nod of acknowledgment, then hoisted the unconscious students onto his shoulder and left the building.
Exactly ten minutes after activating the terminal, a message appeared on all three of their Smartwatches. They had claimed the terminal, earning a point. Eliminating the opposing team didn't yield any points.
For all Professor Tass's talk about the strong and the weak, it seemed pretty irrelevant how strong you actually were compared to your peers, thought Croy.
Now that they had no further business in the building, Croy and his teammates left, satisfied.
"That was a smart tactic," Portis remarked as they walked out.
"Yeah, did you come up with that on the spot?" Ben asked Croy.
Croy shook his head a little sheepishly.
"No, I learned to fight like that from someone better. But the longer this competition goes on, the less likely we'll be able to stay defensive. And even then, with fewer terminals available, more teams will converge on each one."
Holding a terminal was easier. Urban combat was pure suicide, with an enemy potentially lurking around every corner.
Even so, defending against multiple teams at once put you at a disadvantage. The smartest move for an attacker was to let another team wear themselves out defending a terminal, then swoop in as a third party and claim it.
Croy rubbed his forehead.
"We'll keep this strategy as long as we can find free buildings and terminals. Once that's no longer an option, we'll go on the offensive."
Portis and Ben nodded in agreement. They seemed to have no problem with Croy taking the lead, and for that, he was grateful. It made things simpler.
He'd been able to put his teammates' specialties to good use. Ben was skilled at setting rune spells. With enough time, he could even place them on walls and floors, as he had with the explosion rune.
Portis, on the other hand, excelled in sensory spells. Although he couldn't yet call himself a full-fledged sensor, he was well on his way to becoming one. Thanks to him, they had quickly located an Academy building by detecting the Mana from its barrier.
By default, this made Croy their fighter. If there was a strong opponent that Ben and Portis couldn't handle, it was his job to engage or delay them until they could take them down as a team.
Croy had to admit he'd lucked out with Ben and Portis. Together with him, they made a balanced team — but that wouldn't help much if they came across monsters who defied all logic.
Barely had they stepped out of the building when they received multiple messages on their Smartwatches. Two terminals nearby had just been activated.
A few civilians watched them curiously.
"Hey, aren't those Imperial Academy students?"
"Yeah, do you think they're skipping class?"
Croy grinned. Not exactly.
"We'll find another one. There should still be plenty of free terminals," he said with enthusiasm.
He was enjoying this competition.
***
Throughout the morning, they managed to claim three more terminals without losing any team members. Each time, they had used the same strategy, with minor adjustments depending on the building.
The first terminal had been easy to capture. A team had dared to challenge them, but Croy had quickly taken down two of them, while the last was defeated by Ben and Portis.
They didn't even have to defend the second terminal, as four other nearby terminals were activated shortly before. This gave them a good chance to rest.
The last terminal they claimed that morning was tougher to hold. The opponents had neutralized all of Ben's traps early on and had fought well as a unit. Croy could've sworn the team knew each other from before.
It had come down to direct combat, but after a hard-fought battle, Croy's team emerged victorious.
By timing their activations, and some luck, so far they only had to face one team at a time, which made things much easier.
This brought their total to four terminals. Croy wondered how his team ranked compared to the others, though there was no way to find out.
"My stomach's growling," Portis said suddenly.
Croy and Ben agreed. They'd spent the entire morning fighting and staying on high alert. A lunch break would do them good, and besides, no other team would attack them on the street, let alone while they were eating somewhere.
"What are you guys in the mood for?" Croy asked.
He didn't know his way around the Imperial capital and had never had the freedom or maybe burden to choose his own meals in the military, so he let the others decide.
"How about pizza?" Ben suggested.
The hopeful note in his voice almost made Croy laugh. It wasn't a question, but an unmistakable glimmer of hope.
Portis seemed to pick up on it too, or he just wanted pizza as well.
"Pizza sounds good. Croy?"
"Works for me. Do you know where we can get a good one?"
"Oh, I know a place!" Ben said.
'Figured as much.'
Ben led them with a smile to a small shop a few streets away. His voice was full of excitement as he introduced his find.
"This is the best pizza on this side of the palace, trust me."
Filled with high expectations, Croy stepped into the shop, immediately engulfed in the delicious aroma of a stone oven.
It smelled amazing. This was sure to be a good pizza…
So why did there have to be a loudmouthed idiot stirring up the shop?
"Yeah, people call me Fredrik the Mighty!"
The other guests in the pizzeria burst into laughter. The chef called out with a chuckle:
"The kid sure can talk, huh?"
"Oh, you bet! Got any more stories from the Academy?" asked a patron.
Fredrik took a bite of his pizza and replied cheerfully, "Well, I've only been there a week, so my heroic deeds are limited. But next week, I'll come back and tell you how I became the hero of my year."
The crowd laughed again at Fredrik's clearly exaggerated tale. Croy was pretty sure they all knew how ridiculous Fredrik's words were, but his delivery was just too good.
Next to Fredrik sat another girl in an Academy uniform, who paid him little attention and was instead hungrily devouring her pizza.
As Croy and his teammates stood by the entrance, Fredrik suddenly recognized his friend. For a moment, he looked surprised, then he pointed with a broad grin and said:
"Look who showed up! Guys, that's the guy I've been telling you about!"
The patrons turned to Croy, letting out an 'ooh.'
Croy almost lunged at his friend.
'What did that idiot say about me?'
One of the patrons stood up and approached Croy. It was a small girl, barely nine years old. She stood in front of him, gazing up at him with sparkling eyes.
"Is it true that you saved a princess?" she asked, almost reverently.
What looked like the girl's mother called out, half amused, half horrified.
"Don't bother the young man like that."
The girl threw her arms in the air.
"But Fredrik the Mighty said he's a brave hero!"
'Cute,' thought Croy, smiling.
He patted the girl gently on the head. She turned around, beaming at him.
"I'm no hero, little one. Fredrik just has a funny imagination," he said softly.
The girl seemed to ponder his words, then suddenly looked crestfallen. With a gaze that could melt even the strongest heart, she asked Croy sadly:
"So you didn't save a princess?"
Croy's heart sank. Now he felt bad for ruining her imagination.
"Uh, actually… I did. Twice, as she said herself."
She lit up again.
"So cool!"
Fredrik called out in agreement.
"See? That's my most loyal subject!"
The little girl smiled, gave Croy a quick hug — barely reaching his waist — then returned, laughing, to her smiling mother. The woman gave Croy an apologetic look before she began listening to her chattering daughter.
But Croy's gaze was fixed on Fredrik. His eyes held an ocean of disappointment.
"Subject?" Ben asked, puzzled.
Croy sighed. As hungry as he was, he had no energy for this ridiculous show. Fredrik waved him over, signaling that he and his teammates should join him at the table.
Since there were no other free seats, Croy did just that. He sat directly across from Fredrik, scrutinizing him like a pile of trash.
Fredrik grinned.
"Oh, come on, Croy. It was just a bit of fun."
"Right."
Fredrik shrugged and waved to the chef.
"Could my friend and his teammates get two pizzas as well?"
"The house special, please!" Ben called eagerly.
"Coming right up!"
Croy noticed that Fredrik and the other girl were sitting alone at the table, though there was another plate with some leftovers. Probably the last team member.
Croy turned to Fredrik's teammate and introduced himself.
"Sorry for barging in like this. And sorry you ended up on a team with Fredrik. I'm Croy; this is Ben, and that's Portis."
Ben and Portis gave a quick hello while the girl looked them over neutrally.
Then she smiled briefly and introduced herself as well.
"I'll survive. Sorry if I haven't been very chatty — I was starving. I'm Ella, nice to meet you."
Croy nearly shed a tear.
Normal people. They were all normal people. Not just Ben and Portis, but also Fredrik's teammate.
Normal, friendly people.
The restroom door in the pizzeria opened.
What had Spider always said? Never tempt the universe.
Out stepped a stunning girl with long silver hair, a sharp, charming face that could only belong to someone of royal descent...
...and a spot of tomato sauce on her imperial cheek.