Just the fact that every academy student—aside from the top ten—was forced into the competition under the guise of "better evaluation grades" already proved what kind of farce this was.
Maybe the academy was trying to look considerate, to balance things out for the foreign schools who had co all this way.
But it was obvious, painfully so, that the setup was designed to restrain Lun Academy’s own students.
Their opponents were all the top-ranked elites of their respective academies.
Which ant, in the end, the lower-ranked students from Lun were nothing more than props—stepping stones to make the foreign students shine brighter.
Seo didn’t feel pressured.
She didn’t feel nervous.
She didn’t even particularly care about the setup.
But... she couldn’t deny the weight she carried now.
The eyes of her team.
Their shaky confidence. The way they clung to her sword arm like it was their last hope.
Even she felt a little restrained by it all.
’What would Riley do here...?’
The thought slipped into her mind, uninvited.
She frowned, her sword hand tightening slightly.
Honestly, leading people had never crossed her mind before.
She had always let randomness guide her steps, choosing her actions on a whim, only following what interested her.
Now, for the first ti, others were walking behind her, depending on her to make choices.
She thought about her lover, about how Riley would face this kind of situation.
The image ca up quickly... and then, just as quickly, it turned blank.
Because Riley never led anyone in the conventional sense. He never needed to.
He simply walked forward.
Carved the path open with his overwhelming strength.
And people followed him, not because he asked them to, but because there was no other choice but to follow.
"We’ll take a short break for now..." Seo finally said, her words releasing a sigh of relief from the group.
"Ahhh thank goodness..."
"My legs were about to give out..."
"P-Please don’t scare us like that senior..."
Their laughter was awkward, forced. None of them wanted to admit they couldn’t keep up.
"But," Seo continued calmly, "after a short while, I’m going to head out alone."
"Huh?" one of the boys blurted. "Why, Senior? Are we... are we that much of a burden?" His face twisted in guilt, his voice trembling. "U-uhm, don’t worry, we’ll keep up with you in a short while! We just needed a little rest so—"
"No," she cut him off. "It’s not that."
"Then...?"
Seo lifted her hand and gestured behind her. "Three hundred ters back. People have been following us."
"E-Eh?"
"What?!"
"Impossible... I didn’t sense anyone at all."
The group stiffened instantly, eyes wide, voices faltering in disbelief.
They weren’t the best, sure, but they weren’t weaklings either.
Even with Seo carrying most of the weight, every one of them had been alert, cautious, scanning their surroundings as they moved.
For soone to tail them at that distance without anyone noticing—
It was unthinkable.
"...No way..." muttered Alyza Rae, the most skilled mage among them.
She bit her lip, her long brown hair swaying as she shook her head.
Out of all of them, her detection ability was the strongest.
If she pushed herself, she could scan up to a kiloter away, reading the ebb and flow of mana signatures with pinpoint accuracy.
But even she hadn’t felt a single thing. And Seo had noticed it instantly.
"...That’s not possible,"
The others glanced at her, realizing what that ant.
Their gazes all drifted back to Seo.
She tilted her head slightly.
The group’s wide eyes and glittering stares of admiration left her vaguely uncomfortable.
She had only stated the truth, yet their faces made it look as if she had just perford a miracle.
Seo blinked once, slowly tilting her head. "...What?"
No one answered.
They just kept staring, as if the gap between them and her had suddenly widened even more.
"But won’t it get dangerous to go alone, Senior...?" one of the boys finally spoke, his voice laced with worry. He clenched his fists as if trying to muster courage. "It should be obvious by now, but... I think those eastern martial students seem to be targeting our team in particular..."
The others exchanged uneasy looks, and though none of them said it out loud, they all knew why.
It wasn’t just because of the crystal they carried. It was because of her.
Seo wasn’t just another knight student—she was the hidden blade successor, a na whispered with both reverence and fear, soone who stood out no matter where she went.
What those eastern martial students hoped to gain from provoking soone like her was a mystery, but their focus was undeniable.
"I know we can’t do much compared to you, Senior," another boy spoke up, smiling despite the tremble in his voice, "but against them? We can probably win!"
"Y-Yeah, that’s right!" another girl chid in, forcing her own courage.
"Let us help you, Senior!"
"This is a team battle, after all!"
Their voices overlapped, weak but full of determination, trying to convince themselves as much as her.
Seo blinked at them, her expression unmoved.
For a fleeting second, though, she wondered—was this what people called team chemistry?
This thing about trust and unity everyone else seed to value so much?
The thought didn’t last long.
She shook her head, her red eyes narrowing ever so slightly. "...No. You guys stay here and protect our crystal. The ones behind us are too strong for any of you."
Her voice was flat, her face as apathetic as always, but the words landed heavily.
The group, who just monts ago had been trying to rally their spirits, fell silent at once.
Their nervous smiles froze, their enthusiasm crumbling into a quiet, uneasy stillness.
It wasn’t arrogance in her tone—it was certainty.
Deciding not to let her group waste ti debating what to do during their short break, Seo quietly turned her back on them and extended her mana sense outward.
At first, she was simply curious.
But the mont she realized that none of her teammates could detect anything, she knew imdiately—the ones following them weren’t ordinary people.
Their presence was faint, hidden, precise.
Each of them moved with the sa rhythm, vanishing into silence and reappearing without a trace. It wasn’t clumsy sneaking—it was a technique.
[Shadow Step]
Her eyes narrowed.
That was a fundantal movent technique of her clan.
Ordinary rcenaries or academy brats could never pull it off.
Only those born within the family, or the very few deed trustworthy enough to be handed the secrets, could wield it.
Which could only an one thing—whoever was tailing them were, at the very least, elites of their households.
For a mont, Seo thought about why such people would bother disguising themselves as eastern academy students.
Testing their skills?
Proving sothing to their masters?
Or perhaps...
Her thoughts slowed, then sharpened.
’Maybe they’re here to test ?’
The idea didn’t feel far-fetched. In fact, the more she considered it, the more it made sense.
The timing was too convenient.
After all, just the night before the competition began, her grandfather—the clan head himself—had personally visited her.
A rare event in itself. His expression then, unreadable and heavy, flickered in her mory now.
She turned back and pulled her team close, drawing them into a tight circle without a word.
No matter what happened, she’d do what she could—protect the crystal, keep them safe, and handle whatever ca at them.
That much she owed them, even if she didn’t show it.
A cold, familiar ripple of mana tickled the edge of her senses.
Her crimson eyes narrowed, catching the faint signature far off in the distance.
Whatever was watching them was still out there, patient and precise.
Her mind flicked to Riley—his grin, his careless calm before the match.
"Rember, Seo... if you see anyone annoying, don’t forget to kick them in the balls before you decide to cut their head off. And if their tongue won’t stop babbling nonsense... make sure it won’t open up like that a second ti."
She suppressed a small smile.
Crude, blunt, ridiculous—but useful.
.....
So, bud got defeated that early huh...
I leaned back against the tree trunk, eyes fixed on the massive announcent screens floating above.
Even I couldn’t help but be a little surprised.
Kagami was still—one of the academy’s top dogs—and now he’s already out? I guess it just goes to show how random and ssy this whole thing has turned out.
In the ga, the Grand Continental Festival wasn’t supposed to play out like this.
It wasn’t so five–day event, nor was was the first day supposed to have this ridiculous, borderline unfair team–up format.
With the principal’s "random" announcents and all these unexpected shifts, my mories and knowledge of the ga were slowly being chipped away, piece by piece.
I had expected things to deviate, sure.
But not to this level.
And that wasn’t even the worst of it.
"Riley, I think there are people up ahead. Should we go and get them first?"
I turned my head.
Beside , Lucas—the one and only protagonist of this world—was staring at with the eager, wagging–tail energy of a golden retriever waiting for its owner’s command.
No, scratch that.
A battle–crazed retriever. His bright, hopeful eyes practically scread, Please let fight sothing.
Please let swing my shiny new sword around.
I sighed inwardly.
I already knew the competition was too random, but traveling with this guy? It made it feel even more unpredictable.
"No," I said flatly. "We’ll stay put for now."
"You sure?" His head tilted, like a dog hearing a new sound.
"Yes."
"O–Oh... I see."
I could see it clearly in his eyes. He wasn’t worried about points, about defense, or about strategy. No.
What he really wanted was to charge ahead, clash blades, and show whatever new sword skills he’d cooked up since the last ti.
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