If Croy ever recounted how he'd managed to get out of this situation, he'd definitely lie or at least embellish the story.
Maybe it would come up over drinks with old friends, or perhaps his future children might one day ask him if he'd ever personally known Empress Lyn Cericius.
Then, he'd smile and say:
"Yes, we went to the Academy together. Once, I even had to fight her."
And if anyone dared to ask if he'd won, he'd just smile and remain silent.
Because all he'd actually done was spend thirty seconds running around a container like a lunatic until the princess lost her patience and blew it to bits.
A direct fight against the Imperial Princess, wielding her father's katana, Sun, no less? A spellcaster who'd likely been trained her entire life by the best in the Empire? The golden flame bloodline itself?
'No thanks. Ten laps around the container!'
Since Ben had been taken out, control of the terminal had transferred to Croy, meaning he had to stay within a ten-meter radius to hold it.
So he bolted. The terminal needed only thirty more seconds, but the princess didn't know that. Her only chance was to take down Croy before the timer ran out, just as she had with poor Ben.
Croy had half-hoped that Princess Lyn might choose to go for the terminal directly, only to realize too late that she was wasting her time. But she wasn't about to be fooled like that.
She chased him, her eyes burning with intensity.
But he simply looped around, taking another lap around the container as Princess Lyn pursued him.
'This has to look ridiculous,' he thought.
It definitely did. But it was the best plan he could think of.
Even if he went all out and threw every trick he knew at her, he wasn't confident he could beat the Imperial Princess - especially after watching her duel her sister a few days before.
So he just kept running.
She wasn't any faster than he was, and couldn't quite catch him in this absurd chase.
By the third lap, she abruptly reversed directions to cut him off. But the moment he heard her footsteps change, Croy immediately reversed as well.
On the fifth lap, the entire container suddenly glowed white-hot. Croy dove for cover just as the metal box shattered into a thousand pieces, like a grenade.
Ben, thankfully, had taken cover as well.
A drop of nervous sweat slid down Croy's forehead. He had sensed her mana with pathfinder before, a turquoise hue with a high frequency. How was she able to unleash such power with that type of mana?
Croy couldn't have dreamed of that kind of strength.
Now that his makeshift cover had been, well, obliterated, there was nothing left between him and the furious princess except his own Spellsword.
She looked really mad. Croy just hoped she wouldn't take it personally. After all, she and the rest of her familiy were something of an idol to him.
Princess Lyn raised her katana, its blade glowing brighter with every passing moment. Croy recognized this spell - a well-known video on the Network had shown the Emperor wielding it in the last border war.
These were the unique spells of the Cericius bloodline. Emperor Queltis Cericius had personally crafted three spells for each of his twin katanas, specifically designed for his bloodline and Spellweapons. Few had seen all three spells and lived to tell the tale.
Croy was now seeing the second one.
Zenith.
The katana had become a source of pure light. Though not as blinding as the Twilight spell, it was intimidating. His heart pounded harder with each beat.
The air around the blade seemed to shimmer, as if it were melting the very atmosphere.
'If she hits me with that, I might actually die.'
He managed a lopsided grin. Facing the wrath of the princess was both an honor and a terrible stroke of luck.
But he had no intention of pushing that luck further.
"Apologies, Your Highness."
He raised his smartwatch, and Princess Lyn's eyes widened as a sudden notification confirmed that the terminal was now under his control.
Her furious expression gave way to surprise as she glanced toward the terminal, only a few meters away.
She stared.
And kept staring.
Finally, she slowly turned back to Croy, her expression saying everything she didn't need to voice:
Seriously?
Croy couldn't help but keep smiling. He shrugged. And before Princess Lyn decided to eliminate him just for the sake of thinning out the competition - or simply out of spite - he turned and leapt off the platform, diving into the central cargo shaft between the floors.
With a well-aimed Mana Bullet, he severed the crane cable's anchor point on the ceiling. The hook shot downward as the cable unraveled, though friction slowed its descent.
The crane's hook dropped, and Croy grabbed it midair, using it to rappel down.
He even managed to give a shocked Portis a quick wave as he descended.
Just before he and the hook hit the ground, he released and rolled to soften the landing. The hook clanged against the floor behind him.
Croy took a quick glance around. The two students on the ground floor - the ones who had been fighting each other before Princess Lyn's arrival - lay unconscious after she'd neutralized them in seconds.
He looked up and saw Princess Lyn staring down at him in disbelief, her anger replaced by pure astonishment.
Croy gave her a quick smile.
"Please, be nice to my friend tomorrow!" he called up, then darted out of the building before she could respond.
***
After catching his breath from that intense fight, Croy was back on the street. In one hand, he held a half-empty water bottle, while his other arm was bent, letting him glance at his smartwatch.
He studied the recent message with mixed feelings.
'So, it's the final stretch, huh?'
Apparently, only four terminals remained across the entire district. He'd spent the last hour avoiding any new conquests - he needed the break to recover. But even now, he doubted how much he could achieve alone. With Ben and Portis eliminated, his options were severely limited.
He felt a pang of sadness over losing his teammates. Now, not only would he be working solo for the rest of the afternoon, but he also had hoped they would last longer in the competition. Croy really liked the two friendly guys. It was a shame they were out of the game.
Still, he hoped they were proud of their achievements. Together, they had managed to conquer seven terminals, and with the last one, they'd made it eight before Croy was left as the sole survivor.
Croy sighed. Their performance was impressive, no doubt. They had even managed to take down six other teams, almost a tenth of the total. But it seemed like this was the end of the road.
He had no idea how many teams were left, but with Professor Tass revealing the final terminal locations, everyone would soon converge. Each remaining point would become a chaotic battleground for multiple teams, and Croy's team was now just Croy.
He stretched, feeling the ache in his muscles and sensing that his mana reserves were nearing exhaustion.
'What now?'
The answer was obvious. Either he could spend the last stretch of the competition, maybe an hour or so, wandering around the city, or he could say to hell with it, and dive right into the action.
Of course, he would choose the fight. Ben and Portis's efforts couldn't be in vain.
Time to see what he could accomplish on his own.
He compared his location to the final terminal spots. Two were on the far side of the district, one was only six blocks away, and the last was in the opposite direction, four blocks closer to the Academy.
The warehouse he'd just left was on the path to that last terminal, meaning Princess Lyn would likely target that one.
So, Croy decided to head in the other direction. He wasn't eager to face the angry princess again anytime soon.
Thinking about it, he realized that Princess Lyn and Elis Cericius always seemed expressionless in the media. Even at the Academy, or in his brief encounter with Princess Elis at the pizza shop, the two sisters barely showed emotion.
And yet, he had managed to get under the skin of one of the Empire's icy sisters. She'd even used two of the Imperial Family's unique spells on him, and he'd still walked, or ran, away - technically, with the win.
He'd probably be angry too. At the very least, frustrated. Especially if a nobody like himself had run circles around him. Which he had quite literally done to the Princess.
And to think the very same princess had a date with Fredrik tomorrow. Would she be over it by then? She had to be.
'I'll buy you a drink, Fredrik… Actually, on second thought, maybe I just won't tell you.'
He strolled along leisurely. There was no need to rush since he hadn't received a notification that the terminal was activated yet. Showing up first, alone and without teammates, would be pointless.
While he enjoyed the walk and the quiet, he noticed a group of people standing outside a shop window, watching something intently. A screen behind the window showed a news broadcast.
Croy listened as the reporter announced eagerly:
"Breaking news! Princess Elis Cericius posted on the Network just hours ago, describing a pizza shop in the 24th District as, quote, 'great.'"
Croy nearly laughed out loud.
Maybe both imperial twins were more expressive than he'd thought.
A block later, he found another point of interest - a small, cozy bakery. Even in the late afternoon, it smelled delicious, filling the air with the scent of freshly baked bread.
He made a mental note to visit soon. After all, he wasn't just a student at the Imperial Academy, he was also an aspiring baker, if only secretly.
Maybe Sandman would have to eat his words after all.
He wondered how that scrawny man was doing. Had he found a girlfriend yet?
'He's probably wondering the same about me,' Croy chuckled to himself.
But his quiet stroll ended with a notification. The terminal was now only a block away - and it had just been activated. Oddly, he hadn't seen any teams on his way over.
That could mean two things: most teams were likely at the other sites, or, more likely, only a few powerhouse teams remained.
Croy tilted his head thoughtfully.
'Does that make me one of the monsters too?'
Good question, he thought wryly.
He set a timer on his smartwatch: ten minutes until the current team claimed control of the terminal.
Time to stop dawdling. He cracked his neck, rotated his ankles, and got ready to move.
At least he wanted to achieve one more thing before the day was over. In just a few hours, his first week at the Imperial Academy would end.
He couldn't go into the weekend empty-handed.
The final battle for the ranks had begun.