The monster subjugation battle was proceeding smoothly.
In truth, defeating the monsters and racking up points posed no difficulty at all.
That was to be expected, considering Chester’s overwhelming skill and Colin’s substantial combat power as a primary water-attribute user.
More than half of the monsters defeated so far had been taken down by those two alone.
Lucia, too, proved exactly why Professor Harold had recommended her.
Her detection skills were superb.
She didn’t just sense the presence of mana; she could delicately pinpoint where the energy was strongest, allowing her to specify the approximate locations of the monsters.
Ruite was a combat type with fire as his primary attribute, but he hadn’t really found an opportunity to show off his skills in this battle yet.
“Rui! One’s heading your way!”
“Got it.”
Ruite took a stance for the first time in a while and focused strength into his wooden sword.
Just as he was about to channel mana to target the monster bolting toward him, the creature was struck squarely by a bolt of lightning and instantly reduced to ash.
Ruite relaxed his stance and reflexively looked behind him.
Sure enough, Chester was standing there—having appeared out of nowhere—silently closing his mouth after intercepting the kill.
It was a continuous cycle of similar events every time they encountered a monster.
Whenever Ruite tried to attack, Chester would step in and strike first, or if a monster lunged at Ruite, Chester would rush over from a distance to intercept it.
As a result, Ruite had barely consumed any mana since entering the mountain.
He wanted to ask why Chester was doing this when Ruite was perfectly capable of fighting, but given their current awkward relationship, it was difficult to even strike up a conversation.
“We’re tied for the lead with Class 1.”
Ruite, who had been debating whether or not to speak to Chester, looked up at Colin’s words.
The magic tool floating above briefly displayed the scores; as he said, Class 3 and Class 1 were neck-and-neck for the lead, with Class 2 trailing by about 30 points.
Ruite naturally checked the time.
There were only about 10 minutes left until the end of the subjugation battle.
If he were Harrison—and if Harrison were truly provoked enough to want to crush Class 3—now would be the time to strike.
With so little time left, it would be hard to widen the gap just by killing monsters for small points.
Besides, Class 2 had likely witnessed the friction between Class 1 and 3 before the match started, so they probably expected a clash.
They wouldn’t bother making the first move themselves.
Deep in thought, Ruite suddenly raised his wooden sword to defend the side of his face.
Sure enough, a small stone hit the wooden sword with a dull thud and dropped to the ground.
Ruite picked up the stone.
It seemed a small amount of mana had been infused into it to increase its speed and power.
Noticing the sudden situation, the other three naturally gathered around Ruite.
Ruite dusted off his hands as he let the stone fall.
“Guys, I think our location’s been compromised.”
The moment Ruite gave a hollow laugh, Lucia spoke up.
“They’re coming. It’s humans this time.”
No sooner had she finished than presences were felt in the bushes surrounding them.
Four people leapt into the air from four different directions, pouring strength into their wooden swords as they lunged at Ruite’s group.
As expected, they were students from Class 1.
The situation turned into four separate one-on-one duels between the eight students.
Coincidentally, the person clashing swords with Ruite was Harrison.
“You look pretty surprised. Didn’t think we’d ambush you now, did you?”
Harrison spoke with a smirk.
“Well, I expected it. If I were you, I’d think right now was the perfect time.”
Ruite applied pressure to his sword and pushed Harrison back.
Harrison lightly tapped the ground and stepped away.
“But throwing stones to pinpoint our location is a bit petty, don’t you think?”
“Is it? The rules state the only weapon we can bring from the outside is a wooden sword. That means anything we find in here is fair game. So, it doesn’t violate the rules. Within those boundaries, I can do whatever I want, right?”
Harrison’s left arm was wrapped in a red cloth identical to Ruite’s.
“Ruite!”
Chester’s voice rang out from behind.
Looking back, Ruite saw Colin, Lucia, and Chester each engaged with Class 1 students.
Even while blocking a rapid strike from his opponent with one hand, Chester was calling out to Ruite.
‘What is that idiot doing, looking over here? He’s going to get hit…’
Ruite muttered under his breath, shaking his head.
“Switch with me! Harrison is targeting you on purpose!”
Well, of course he was.
If Harrison took Ruite’s cloth, Class 3 would be eliminated and Class 1 would take a perfect victory.
Furthermore, Harrison was a skilled student ranked within the top five of the 3rd-year Magic Department.
Chester was undoubtedly saying that for that reason.
“This is exactly why I asked you not to give me such a heavy responsibility.”
Ruite sighed deeply.
However, even as he did, he tightened his grip on his sword and secured the cloth even more firmly.
“Ruite, I said switch—”
“I don’t want to!”
Ruite shouted back.
At the firm refusal, Chester had no choice but to shut his mouth.
“Sorry, but I have a bit of a debt to settle with this guy.”
“Oh, with me? But I don’t even know you.”
With those words, Harrison lunged again.
Ruite quickly read his movements and slammed mana into his wooden sword.
As the two swords collided in mid-air, wind whipped from one side while flames flickered from the other.
Seeing the flames rising from Ruite’s sword, Harrison spoke.
“You didn’t look motivated at all, but you’re quite serious, aren’t you?”
“I’ve been given an important role in the team, so I can’t exactly slack off. And like I said…”
Harrison knit his brows slightly.
The clashing swords shook precariously under the conflict of power until Harrison’s side gradually began to be pushed back.
“I told you, I have a debt to settle.”
Ruite squeezed out more mana, braced his legs, and shoved Harrison back.
Though a bit flustered, Harrison quickly regained his balance, jumped back, and landed stably.
About 8 minutes remained.
The battle between the two classes in the heart of the forest was now being broadcast centrally through the magic tools.
The atmosphere suggested the students were much more enthusiastic about the PvP combat than the monster hunting.
Meanwhile, Ruite was starting to slightly regret volunteering to handle Harrison.
“You look tired.”
“Accurate.”
Ruite had been appropriately dodging and counterattacking whenever Harrison struck, but he wasn’t exactly overwhelming his opponent.
Furthermore, since Harrison inevitably held the upper hand in terms of mana capacity, it was clear that Ruite would be the first to exhaust himself if the fight dragged on.
However, Harrison wasn’t feeling particularly relaxed either.
To be honest, from the moment he saw Ruite at the entrance, he thought the guy was a nobody who was just there to fill a spot.
He had assumed the role of carrying the red cloth would go to Colin or Chester; so when he saw the “nobody” wearing the cloth, he thought the win was in the bag.
But strangely, it wasn’t as easy as he thought.
The more he tried to catch him, the more Ruite kept slipping away—as if he already knew where Harrison would attack or what stance he would take.
Yet Ruite wasn’t just avoiding him; every time he threw a counter-attack that caught Harrison off guard, Harrison felt a chill down his spine.
“I thought you were just here to ride the coattails of the top students, but I guess that’s not the case.”
“No, I really did want to ride their coattails if possible.”
Ruite waved his hand in the air, his gaze shifting slightly to the side.
As soon as he spotted something, he felt a surge of mana energy unlike before coming from the front.
Ruite instinctively turned toward the direction he had just glanced to avoid the incoming attack.
However, the strike Harrison unleashed with his sword was aimed precisely at Ruite.
The attack erupting from the sword carried Harrison’s mana, glowing a deep green.
The crescent-shaped wind slash was sharp.
Ruite raised his sword to block and neutralize the slash, but either the mana he channeled was too weak or the sword’s durability had reached its limit—the wooden sword snapped in two.
As Ruite looked down at his ruined sword with regret, Harrison rushed in.
“Sorry, but the victory goes to Class 1—Argh!”
But before Harrison’s sword could reach Ruite, Ruite infused mana into something he was holding and swung it with all his might, striking Harrison in the ribs just as the latter closed the distance.
With a dull thud, Harrison let out a sharp cry and collapsed onto the ground.
“Urgh… you, what on earth did you…?”
Harrison clutched his side, glaring at the approaching Ruite.
Ruite’s sword was clearly broken.
How could he have landed such a blow?
“A branch.”
To satisfy Harrison’s curiosity, Ruite dropped the object he was holding.
It was a thick wooden stick—sturdy enough to serve as a weapon if swung with intent.
Though, of course, it had completely snapped after that last attack.
“Well, I thought my wooden sword was about to break. And then this perfect thing caught my eye. I didn’t expect it to snap in two immediately, though. Your attack was really strong.”
“Hey! Using another weapon is cheap!”
“The rules state the only weapon we can bring from the outside is a wooden sword. That means anything we find in here is fair game.”
Harrison looked up at Ruite blankly.
Those were the exact words he had uttered before their battle began.
“I didn’t break any rules, right?”
As Ruite shrugged his shoulders, Harrison’s face turned bright red with rage and embarrassment.
In a fit of desperation, he grabbed a wooden sword lying nearby and swung it straight at Ruite.
