The main auditorium was buzzing.
Some students had already settled into their seats with snacks in hand, eager to watch the 3rd-year Magic Department’s monster subjugation battle.
While every department at Whitmore Academy was considered prestigious, the Magic Department held the highest status.
Above all, since the ability to possess and manipulate mana was seen as an innate gift, there was a strong perception that only the “chosen ones” could enter.
In other words, no matter how much one wanted to become a mage, it was impossible without being born with the talent.
In fact, there were several students in the Swordsmanship or General departments who had originally hoped for the Magic Department but failed to manifest their abilities.
Naturally, those students harbored a lingering longing for magic, and even those who didn’t felt a sense of curiosity, envy, and fascination toward the Magic Department students.
Subjugating monsters with magic to determine a winner—this title alone was enough to spark the interest of students living in a world far removed from such powers.
“Are we really going to see what a real monster looks like?”
“Yeah. But they’re grosser than you’d think, so brace yourself.”
“Anyway, I wonder which class will win this time.”
The interior was rowdy even before the start.
“Oh! It looks like it’s starting!”
A student’s shout cut through the air.
Numerous eyes turned simultaneously toward the magic tool screens.
There were three screens significantly larger than the others, each showing the participants from Class 1, 2, and 3.
Instinctively, most eyes were drawn to the screen displaying Class 3.
“That’s Chester, right? The Whitmore celebrity.”
“Yeah, he’s even more handsome in person.”
It wasn’t just Chester.
Colin was equally famous for his looks, and Lucia possessed a sharp yet pretty appearance.
“That silver-haired male student is incredibly pretty, too…”
“I know. How can a guy be that pretty?”
Even before the start, Class 3 received a passionate response—mostly due to their visuals.
Unaware of this situation, Ruite was staring down at the red cloth tied around his right arm, feeling conflicted.
“Um, guys? Am I really doing this? This is a huge responsibility. Shouldn’t we reconsider?”
Ruite raised his hand timidly and asked.
The three people warming up in front of him turned around at once.
“Rui, you have the best combat senses among us. I think you’re the one who can protect it best,” Colin said with a bright smile.
“It’s already decided. There’s no turning back,” Lucia added firmly.
Ruite looked at the remaining member, Chester, with eyes that pleaded, ‘Won’t you at least disagree?’
“Protecting you is the easiest thing. At least for me.”
At those meaningful words, Colin and Lucia stared at him simultaneously.
“Ah… okay.”
Ruite avoided their gaze and gave in.
The burning determination he had to change roles somehow vanished instantly because of that one sentence.
Chester really had a talent for making people quiet with just a few words.
“But guys, don’t trust me too much.”
Ruite tied the cloth even tighter.
The rules of the monster subjugation battle were as follows: Points are accumulated by defeating Grade 4 and 5 monsters released on the mountain.
The class with the highest points wins.
Up to this point, it seemed no different from the mid-term practical test held in the first semester, but there were key differences.
First, the monsters’ strength was at the upper end of the lower grades.
The professors explained that while there were no monsters Grade 3 or higher—since this was a match for entertainment—they had specifically selected certain monsters to maintain tension.
And the biggest difference was the “Elimination System.”
If a team is eliminated during the match, the points they have gathered up to that moment become their final score, making it nearly impossible to win.
In other words, if a class earns only 20 points and gets eliminated, they must compete with those 20 points against the other classes.
There was only one condition for elimination: if the red cloth given to each class falls off the body.
One person in the team is responsible for tying the red cloth to either an arm or a leg.
There were only two ways for the cloth to come off.
One was if it was damaged and untied due to a monster’s attack, and the other was through combat with students from a rival class.
This battle allowed not just Humans vs. Monsters, but also Humans vs. Humans.
To summarize, each class could devise a strategy to ambush others, steal their red cloth, and eliminate them.
If one class unties and takes another class’s cloth, the victim is immediately eliminated, and the successful class is awarded a staggering 50 points.
Those points were significant enough to completely flip the rankings.
And Ruite was currently carrying the weight of those 50 points on his right arm.
“Guys, it’s about to start.”
At Colin’s words, everyone looked up at the sky.
The familiar magic tool had turned red.
According to the professors, the red would turn green in one minute, marking the official start of the match.
“I think we should focus on hunting monsters in the beginning.”
At Colin’s strategy, Lucia nodded and spoke.
“I agree. Combat with other classes is a double-edged sword in many ways.”
The mountain was thick with the mana of monsters.
It was relatively difficult for a human to detect another’s mana through that density—unless, of course, they had exceptional detection abilities.
Moreover, fighting another class to steal a cloth would inevitably take much more time than simply defeating monsters.
There was also no guarantee they could actually steal it.
“So, if we feel or encounter the mana of another class, we deal with them then. How does that sound?”
That was certainly the standard way to approach the battle. However, Ruite, who was listening quietly, fell into thought.
“But we’ll definitely be targeted. By that Harrison guy or whatever his name is.”
“I agree with Ruite.”
Chester stepped up beside Ruite.
“As you know, Colin, Harrison is impulsive and hot-headed. He provokes others easily but is also easily provoked himself.”
The four of them naturally recalled the friction with Class 1 before entering the mountain.
Although Harrison had picked the fight first, Class 3 hadn’t stayed quiet either—Chester had responded to the provocation.
“That’s true.”
“Let’s follow Colin’s plan while staying extremely cautious of an ambush from Class 1.”
Everyone agreed with Chester.
At that moment, the crystal sphere turned green.
As the start was announced, the cheers of students echoed from the academy grounds.
Inside the mountain where those voices couldn’t reach, Ruite’s group began to move.
The three classes had different starting locations.
“I feel a strong monster mana about 300 meters to the east.”
It was as Lucia said.
Everyone must have felt it, as they all turned in that direction.
As soon as they stepped onto a slightly wide patch of land surrounded by trees of various sizes, the surroundings fell silent.
A gust of wind swept through the trees, pulling the tension tight.
Chester glanced at Ruite, who was alert and sharp, and subtly narrowed the distance between them.
Immediately, the surrounding mana grew even denser, and a monster suddenly sprang out from the bushes.
A black, liquid-like body lunged toward Lucia.
Reflexively, she channeled mana into the wooden sword she had been given for the match and swung it.
“Lucia, wait!”
It was before Ruite could even shout.
The monster’s body rippled where the blade struck, and chunks of flesh began to split and fall off.
In an instant, one monster had multiplied into dozens.
The liquid masses began to crawl toward Ruite’s group, as if closing a perimeter.
“This is a monster with splitting properties. If you don’t kill it completely with the first blow, it multiplies like this.”
“Sorry, I messed up. I’ll apologize by withdrawing.”
“Don’t do that. If even one person withdraws, we’re all eliminated.”
Ruite hurriedly stopped Lucia, who was suggesting an extreme solution.
“Rui is right. And to kill this thing…”
Colin muttered as he cast a small defensive barrier around the four of them.
“We have to kill all the scattered pieces at once. Simultaneously.”
Before Ruite could finish his sentence, Chester adjusted his grip on his wooden sword and drove it into the ground.
A lightning-shaped pattern carved into the soil and spread out, accurately striking and electrocuting the dozens of monsters.
Every single one of them was burned to ashes.
“…Yeah, exactly like that.”
Ruite laughed hollowly as he watched Chester casually withdraw his sword.
Standing beside him, Lucia and Colin gave him a round of applause.
Though it couldn’t be heard on-site, this scene was broadcast to the academy students through the magic tools.
The spectator stands erupted with heated cheers for Chester.
“Let’s move. If another class is nearby, they might have sensed my attack just now.”
The person who had wiped out the monsters at incredible speed remained nonchalant.
The four of them quickly left the area and moved toward another location where they sensed the presence of monsters.
