“Mayu! Let’s go!”

“Y-Yeah! Got it, Poff!”

Poff and Mayu from Dai Academy rushed to stand in front of Toby, shields raised.

It’s fine. We just need to buy a little time.

Even in crisis, Toby’s thoughts remained calm.

We can still win.

Yein’s team had no defense line. The only ones near him were three Mages.

Meanwhile, his own vanguard consisted of Inhu the Guardian, plus Warriors Iris, Taeil, and Joji.

In this situation, they should be able to break Yein’s shield faster than Yein’s side could take down theirs.

Toby believed it—until something he hadn’t imagined unfolded before his eyes.

“…Damn.”

He cursed under his breath.

Iris had stopped mid-stride, staring back at him with a look of disbelief.

At the midpoint between the two teams stood Yein.

And Jin Cheongryong of Mushin and Lumina of Gwangcheon had slipped away unnoticed, now moving to his side.

At the same time, Yein’s Mages were already targeting Toby’s vanguard, wands raised.

In an instant, the four members of his assault unit were caught in a pincer attack from Yein’s Warriors and Mages.

Thud! Crack!

Blows landed, wood splintered.

Under the fierce assault from the remaining Mushin trio, the shields in front of him splintered rapidly.

Toby activated his movement skill.

The green jewel embedded in his staff flared, and his body blinked out, reappearing fifty meters behind.

“…Haa.”

The sigh that left him wasn’t relief—it was resignation.

He could see Poff and Mayu collapse to the ground.

Farther away, Iris was fighting alone against five.

Inhu, Taeil, and Joji already lay prone.

Five against one could only end in her defeat.

And that left only himself—the King who could neither attack nor defend.

“We’ve lost. I surrender.”

Toby raised both hands.

“Game over! Green Team wins!”

Abel’s voice rang out, and the victorious academies erupted in cheers.

“A toast to our King!”

Rio, the leader of Ucheon, shot up from his seat, raising a can of soda from the dinner set.

“Cheers!”

The students of Ucheon grinned as they clinked cans, and the four from Mushin lifted theirs with easy smiles.

“Alright, dig in!”

Rio dropped back into his seat and instantly seized his chopsticks.

The other Ucheon students followed, shoveling food hungrily into their mouths.

After a day of climbing mountains, mock battles, and surviving only on milk and a packet of crackers, it was understandable.

“Mmff, gulp—haa… I thought I’d die from worry, wondering if we’d lose another meal ticket.”

Maria from Ucheon spoke with a voice so thick with emotion it was almost tearful.

“This is the first time school food’s tasted this good. Isn’t that right, Yugeun?”

She looked at the boy beside her, dark-green hair catching the light.

“…Yeah.”

Ha Yugeun gave a short reply before returning to his food.

“Ahh, I’m stuffed.”

“Bella, is that really enough for you? You skipped lunch, remember?” Rio asked.

Bella’s tray earlier had held barely a third of the usual portion.

“The game kept surprising me the more it went on. You were right—it all played out just as you said.”

Cheongryong, seated beside me, leaned in.

“How did you predict it so exactly?”

“Magicka Academy students generally have high stamina affinity but low physical fitness affinity. So taking Mage roles with wands is more efficient for them than barehanded Warrior roles. That made their role distribution predictable. And with Iris on their side, I guessed they’d build their offense around her.”

“That was brilliant strategy.”

Ao, across the table, spoke with a bright smile.

“From the roles, to the charge, to the timing of the collapse and regrouping—it was flawless. A tactic that struck right at their blind spot. If it were me, I’d have only thought of the textbook approach.”

“Thank you.”

“Do you usually train through games like this at Gwangcheon?”

The question came from a girl at Mushin’s table.

Her hair was tied in twin tails like Meiling’s, but much shorter, and she was taller.

Jin Yuyeon—that’s her name. She was cousins with Jin Cheongryong.

“No. We do normal sparring.”

“Really? Your plan worked so perfectly I thought you might’ve practiced this game before.”

Sharp.

The truth was, after raising dozens of characters in Latesai, I already knew how a Crystal-Magicka-Dai lineup would divide roles and what strategies they’d favor.

Naturally, I also knew what formations and tactics would beat them.

So of course we won.

“Mind if I ask something too?”

This time, it was Lee Yeonmun, the last member of Mushin Academy.

His hair was cut even shorter than Jin Cheongryong’s, giving him the look of a young monk.

“Are you really first-years?”

Suspicion filled his eyes.

“Yeah. That’s been bugging me too,” Rio chimed in from the other table.

His plate, once piled high, was already clean.

“Especially you… uh, what was your name again?”

“M-M-Me?”

Lumina looked stunned, as though it had never crossed her mind she’d be called out.

“Yeah, you.”

“L-Lumina Cueva.”

“Right, Lumina! I saw you fighting alongside Mushin’s kids—you were incredible!” Rio grinned.

“You’re a first-year, but you weren’t a step behind Mushin’s second- and third-years. What level are you, anyway?”

“Ah, um, well…”

“You don’t need to answer.”

That was Cheongryong.

“Today we happened to be on the same team. But one day, we might end up competing.”

He crossed his arms as he spoke.

“Hey, don’t make it sound like I was trying to dig up information. I was just curious, that’s all.”

Rio pouted slightly, then flashed Lumina a playful grin.

“Sorry, Lumina. Forget I asked.”

“Uh… okay.”

Lumina stammered, bowing her head.

“So, are you really first-years?”

Yeonmun pressed again, eyes narrowing.

“Yes. Except for one, we’re all first-years.”

“How can first-years even get into HAUT?”

Maria looked astonished.

“I never imagined there’d be kids like you at Gwangcheon. Honestly, are you sure your academy isn’t just running some huge smokescreen operation?”

She grinned as if it were only a joke, so I answered with a laugh of my own.

Too bad for her—aside from us, Gwangcheon was just Gwangcheon.

Behind the dorms, four people sat around a wooden table near the empty flowerbeds.

Jo Inhu and Muimi from Crystal Academy sat side by side, stealing glances at the two across from them.

Their leader, Iris, sat with her chin on her fist, scowling at the distance, while Toby—the King in the earlier match—had his arms folded and eyes closed.

Unopened cartons of milk and packets of crackers, courtesy of Abel, lay untouched in front of them.

“Um…”

Muimi spoke hesitantly.

“Don’t you think maybe you’re both taking this too hard? It was just a game with Level-1 gear. It wasn’t even a real fight.”

“Yeah, I think so too,” Inhu agreed.

“If we’d had proper equipment and used our powers and skills, there’s no way we would’ve lost.”

At that, Iris finally lifted her chin from her hand and looked at them.

“I’m not so sure.”

“H-Huh?” Inhu blinked in confusion.

“The conditions were equal for both sides. The only difference was the strengths of Mushin and Magicka—but that was a trade-off at best.”

She pressed her lips tight, clearly loath to admit it, then sighed shortly.

“Nam Yein used those strengths better than I did.”

Toby unfolded his arms and opened his eyes.

“He read me perfectly, as if he knew my plan in advance. I was too careless.”

“And there’s something else we can’t ignore.” Iris’s gaze sharpened.

“It’s common knowledge that Mushin excels in close combat and Magicka in magic, while Ucheon and Dai are about the same level. My own analysis matched that. But…”

Her jaw tightened.

“…the students from Gwangcheon are at least our equals, maybe better.”

Inhu and Muimi instinctively looked ready to argue, but both fell silent instead.

“You saw it too,” Iris said firmly. “Their movements during the game. Gwangcheon has three first-years and one second-year. We’re all third-years. Yet their movements weren’t inferior to ours at all. If anything, it felt like they were holding back.”

She recalled the last moments of the match.

Her red team’s four-man assault unit had been surrounded by three enemy Mages and two Warriors.

Even then, Iris believed she could break through. If she left Cheongryong and the others to hold off the Mages, she could circle back and strike Nam Yein himself.

But her plan never worked.

Lumina had cut her off.

Lumina had shadowed her movements effortlessly, and Iris had been taken down before she could even reach Yein.

“We still haven’t seen Nam Yein move directly,” Toby added.

“But considering how Gwangcheon won the meal ticket race at lunch, it’s possible his level’s higher than ours.”

“That’s impossible!”

Inhu shot to his feet.

“They’re first-years! And from Gwangcheon, of all places!”

Muimi didn’t voice it, but her expression showed she thought the same.

“Remember that terrorist attack not long ago?” Toby asked.

“You mean when Cosmos attacked the department store?” Muimi replied.

Toby nodded.

“The mayor arrived on time and Cosmos was subdued without casualties—because two Hunter trainees held the terrorists back. Those two were Nam Yein and…”

He paused, eyes narrowing.

“Lumina Cueva,” Iris said flatly.

“Right. Couldn’t remember her name. Anyway, those two didn’t just stall.”

“What do you mean?” Inhu demanded.

“The terrorists’ leader was Margaret—a former pro Hunter at Level 66.”

Inhu and Muimi both stared in shock.

“No way.”

“They actually fought her?”

Toby nodded.

“Witnesses said the only one injured was Margaret herself.”

Inhu and Muimi were stunned into silence.

“Of course, that doesn’t prove they’re Level 60s,” Iris cut in.

“But it does mean they’re likely stronger than us. Which is why we can’t just brush this loss aside.”

“In short,” Toby said, tearing open his packet of crackers, “the biggest threat at HAUT is Gwangcheon.”

And especially Nam Yein… there’s something different about him.

Crunching down on a handful of crackers, he kept that thought to himself.

Meanwhile, far from the dorms, another group sat on the stone steps at the edge of the training grounds, holding their own reflection session.

“…We lost,” muttered a girl with a pale pink bob cut, her face downcast.

“Damn it,” swore a boy, pushing blue bangs back with a headband.

They were Mayu and Poff, the ones who had stood by Toby in the King’s Guard match.

“Taeil. Did you see how those guys moved? That wasn’t first-year level, no way.”

The one speaking was Joji, the boy with long red hair.

“…”

Jang Taeil said nothing, his eyes fixed on the empty grounds.

Just minutes ago, twenty-four academy representatives had clashed there, filling the air with dust. Now only the quiet glow of sunset remained.

“Taeil, are you even listening?”

“…Yeah.” He answered without looking away.

“What if they’re not first-years at all, but Gwangcheon graduates lying about their age and level? It’s the only explanation for them being that strong.”

“They wouldn’t hesitate to pull dirty tricks like that,” Poff muttered darkly.

But Taeil shook his head.

“The HAUT committee isn’t stupid.”

“Still—”

“I felt it in that match. The Gwangcheon kids are stronger than us. Maybe even stronger than Crystal.”

The other three gasped in unison.

“But that doesn’t mean we can let them beat us.”

Taeil clenched his fist tightly.

“If we did, I wouldn’t be able to face Senior Mei again.”

At that name, Poff, Joji, and Mayu’s eyes hardened with shared resentment.

Their gazes burned with clear hatred.

“Today we had to seal our abilities and cooperate with other academies. But if we get the chance to face Gwangcheon one-on-one, we won’t go down like this.”

“Of course,” Poff said grimly.

The other two nodded.

“Let’s head back.”

The four of them gathered up their empty milk cartons and cracker wrappers, then made their way toward the dorms.

(End of Chapter)

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