Everyone except Elias disappeared.
Elias, left alone at the starting point, looked around and let out a dry laugh.
Four team members warped simultaneously to the victim's coordinates, while the team leader warped to adjacent coordinates, splitting the screen into three.
'…They're warping immediately when the target is a forest?'
Since they don't know the victim's current state, they need to warp cautiously.
Especially in a natural environment like this, which isn't enclosed like a building.
It wouldn't be too late to move after warping one person to adjacent coordinates for reconnaissance.
'Perhaps the team leader intended to play that role.'
It's clear the team members didn't move as previously instructed.
As the team leader's bewildered reprimand came through the shared channel, Elias cut him off and spoke calmly.
[It's fine. Just assign positions.]
[Uh, I just warped to the coordinates where the alarm went off? Wait a sec, guys! Set up a barrier and wait first! Don't go out first, just wait!]
The team leader spoke to Elias again.
[It's the initial stage of Vitriol now, but judging by the movements, it looks like it's about to flee. I'll hold it down right now, so….]
Kwaang—!
[Hey! Guys!]
The team leader shouted, his voice sounding like he was suppressing curses.
The sound of Elias sighing flowed through the team leader's artifact.
'He's holding back.'
Elias is the type of guy who would normally warp immediately and cause a scene by now.
Perhaps knowing that everything visible now would become the team's weakness, he isn't acting emotionally.
Beep—
[Elias, they're driving it north now, calculate the coordinates 300m ahead and warp. You'll be the final processor.]
Judging by the notification sound, the message seemed to have gone through Elias's private channel.
Just then, Elias, who had warped to the location the team leader mentioned, raised an eyebrow as if sensing a strange current.
The team leader's irritated shout came through.
[Don't turn, drive it north!]
"Hey!"
"What are they doing?"
Even though the words weren't directed at Elias, he seemed to have grasped the situation already from over 300m away, his expression contorting.
My expression watching the screen must have been the same.
"Wow…"
Narce sighed from the Team 1 waiting area next to us.
It was understandable.
As soon as the team leader caught up, the Team 8 students immediately changed direction and headed east.
Now I understood why Elias had been acting like that for the past few days.
'They're excluding him.'
The four Class 1 members, excluding the team leader, are blocking Elias from joining in.
Now I know why the team leader used the private channel.
It was obvious the team members would move while excluding Elias, so he must have conveyed the plan only to him, intending for the team leader himself to guide the students north.
But the team members figured out the team leader's plan first, ruining everything.
Elias's urgent voice came through.
[Where are you heading? I need to know to warp!]
[East! No, now…!]
The team leader had already lost his sense of direction.
Elias ran expressionlessly, as if he hadn't expected anything anyway.
At that moment, one broadcast screen flashed white due to Magic Power.
Kwaaaang—!
Following the explosion, the sound of slimy liquid splattering down could be heard.
Unlike Elias's still calm screen, the screen showing the Team 8 guys now cleared up, the focus returning.
The Team 8 students who had dealt with the Vitriol victim looked at each other with satisfied smiles.
It was a stark contrast to the scene on the adjacent screen, where Elias expressionlessly swept his hair back, hand on his hip.
Meanwhile, my eyes met those of my teammates.
"..."
"Wow, fuck…"
Even that Philip shook his head and laughed.
Everyone had expressions that said, 'Is it really okay to act like that?'
Tsheringen alone watched the screen expressionlessly, probably already thinking they had surpassed Team 8.
'This is the worst.'
Is reducing time all that matters?
Six people were deployed, yet they didn't check the residential area, had to be verbally ordered to set up barriers, and didn't even follow instructions.
The team leader's second instruction, 'I'll hold it down,' was the correct judgment.
With no purification specialist on the team right now, there's no way to deal with Vitriol seeping into nature. Catching the victim to prevent escape and finishing the processing on the spot is the most ideal approach.
But the team members disobeyed the instruction to seize the initiative and drove the victim to flee.
With only two out of six thinking properly, this team will remain at the bottom and fail if they continue like this.
[Exam concluded.]
The announcement sounded, and the forest summoned by Mimesis disappeared.
The Vitriol splattered on the students' training uniforms vanished as if washed away.
Completely oblivious to the bewildered onlookers, the Team 8 students, excluding the team leader, laughed and high-fived each other.
Elias simply walked out with an expressionless face. The team leader saw Elias and followed him apologetically.
"Elias…!"
Elias waved his hand dismissively and sat back down in the Team 8 waiting area.
The host from the student council glanced around nervously before speaking.
[…Next, Team 2.]
***
"Four teams have finished training so far. Among them, Team 8 was strongly considered to be in the running for bonus points. Everyone saw their results, right?"
After four of the eight teams finished training, our team went outside for a strategy meeting. Perhaps gaining confidence after seeing the other teams' results, Philip's friend scoffed.
"Team 8 is nothing special. It's not easy to mess up that badly even with Elias~?"
"I know, right. First time seeing such pathetic bastards."
Philip retorted with a crooked smile.
'Are these guys really ones to talk?'
Perhaps finding it merely amusing, Tsheringen said with a smile.
"Their communication skills certainly seem lacking, but that's just speculation; we can't be sure what strategy they employed."
"Why go that far…"
"Any team with decent skills would have factored this much in. They might have moved like that intentionally to hide their true skills, so let's not lower our guard until the end."
Before Philip and his friend could add useless retorts, Tsheringen continued seriously.
"So far, only one of the three teams considered in the running for bonus points has finished. We're the very next team. You all know that every team will be watching us closely, right?"
"So, should we dial back our skills appropriately now too?"
At the Class 1 Ainsidel's question, Tsheringen nodded.
"Yeah. What kind of field do you think the opposing team will give us?"
"Hmm, I don't think they'll give us an easy field…. They might throw something difficult at us to see how we solve it."
"My bet's on the most basic field."
Ainsidel stated calmly in response to Melvin's words.
Tsheringen smiled and leaned forward.
"Whatever field we get, let's just remember one thing."
"What is it?"
"Don't use your head, use your body."
***
Kwaang—!
Something like pitch-black tree trunks slammed against the barrier. Even though I defended with distance, the vibration transmitted directly to the back of my head.
If I had been a second slower, my cervical spine would have been the target of that attack.
Dodging the Vitriol flying towards my head again, I rolled and kicked off the ground to jump.
We were currently assigned a residential area field.
It was familiar terrain for me, as incidents occurred most frequently here. And Tsheringen had instructed me to act as bait.
'Not much longer now.'
Now, leave this residential area and move to the lowest point.
Vitriol is heavier than air, so dealing with it at a low point can reduce secondary damage.
No matter how much I try not to use my head, I have to take care of basics like this.
When I reached the target point, I turned around.
The black sphere, flickering wildly due to the wind, scattered Vitriol in all directions. Of course, Tsheringen, handling backup, was covering everything.
Kikikik—
The moment the sphere saw my face, it started making bizarre noises.
Seeing the sphere begin to accelerate, I turned and ran at full speed.
And, the moment my eyes met the Class 1 Ainsidel in the distance, I lowered my body.
Saying lowered is putting it mildly; it's more accurate to say I rolled once again.
"Oof…"
I heard Philip's friend making a disgusted sound from far away.
'Sorry for using someone else's body so roughly.'
I got scraped, but any injuries sustained inside here disappear once outside, so it's fine.
Kwaaaang—!
The moment the roar sounded, I lifted my head.
The roar came from the sphere that had been chasing me at full speed.
It must have hit the barrier set up by my teammates.
Just as I was about to get up and provide support, Tsheringen, who came into view, smiled and offered his hand.
"The pain sense should still be there. Just because I said use your body, aren't you overdoing it?"
"Who was the one who told me to be the bait…"
Smiling back, I trailed off mid-sentence.
'Ah, I need to look like I'm struggling to keep up.'
Tsheringen, realizing his slip-up too, suppressed his laughter and scowled fiercely at the camera. Though it was likely already caught on camera anyway.
We shared a light laugh away from the camera's view and got up.
"Guys!"
Philip and Melvin kept attacking, sending looks that urged us to hurry. Both were just mindlessly overwhelming with quantity.
Such inefficient attacks; it was a method they would never normally use.
Tsheringen raised his Wand to finish it off.
[Thou shalt make them turn their back, Thou shalt make ready Thine arrows upon Thy strings against the face of them.] (Psalm 21:12 KJV)
Golden Magic Power swirled aggressively at the tip of the Wand, then, without even a moment to admire it, flew towards the Vitriol sphere.
Kwaaaaang—
The end of the roar was muffled as if swallowed by mud.
The golden attack didn't get absorbed by the sphere's squishy surface but aggressively bored into it. Finding it increasingly difficult to replenish his Magic Power, Tsheringen gritted his teeth.
'Still, not much left.'
Thwack—
The moment I reinforced the barrier for Vitriol processing, I heard the sound of the sphere's core exploding.
Following that, the notification sound chimed.
Beep—
[9 minutes 39 seconds.]
[Exam concluded.]
It was a 10-minute recommended field, so this is acceptable.
Seven out of the nine minutes were spent with me running around, but thanks to that, our team's skills were hidden, so it's not bad.
Unlike usual, without strategic instructions, it was a result achieved purely by pushing through physically from beginning to end.
'No, actually, doing it this way was the strategy itself.'
Mimesis deactivated, and the scratches on my hands and arms vanished.
"Lucas!"
Tsheringen smiled and offered his hand.
I lightly slapped his hand away.
"You really like this."
"It's perfect for building resolve."
"Why don't you do it with other teammates?"
"Good observation~ One more time?"
The bastard opened his hand and waved it.
He's not answering. Since I know he's trying to get close to me, whether politically or otherwise, it doesn't really matter if I don't get an answer.
"What do you mean, again."
"A pity."
Tsheringen still smiled as if he hadn't a care in the world.
Anyway, we achieved our goal of finishing without issues and left the training ground.
[Good work. Next, Team 3.]
The atmosphere outside was better than expected.
A good atmosphere meant our plan worked well.
Just then, students from other teams whispered amongst themselves.
"He just ran around and finished."
"I was most curious about him."
Even whispered softly, I can hear everything.
Tsheringen's skills are already well-known to them over 10 years, so there's no reason to hide them.
But, I'm different.
Although I've shown glimpses a few times, I don't have as much accumulated data as Yulia, Leo, or Elias, making it difficult for opponents to predict my movements.
Although knowing the opponent's skill isn't crucial for this exam, considering the need to lower their guard, Tsheringen decided to hide my skills today.
As I sat in the Team 6 waiting area, Narce, sitting next to me, leaned over and tapped my shoulder.
—"Leo wants me to ask if you guys are trying to deceive everyone."
"For someone asking on his behalf, that sounds a lot like your phrasing."
—"Haha, so~?"
Obviously….
I answered lightly.
"Watch directly on the exam day and judge for yourself."
***
They probably asked knowing the answer anyway.
Other students might not know, but my friends couldn't possibly be ignorant.
As I was thinking that, Narce used Divine Power to speak.
—"It's human nature to need to hear it directly, even if they know~"
'Right. I suppose so. Elias?'
—"In the classroom."
I just tried it out, but communication works like this?
After the joint training time ended, we moved to the classroom for dismissal.
Students walking ahead started talking about Elias's team.
"Hey, what were they really doing?"
"I think they did it on purpose. Since Elias is the best, maybe they plan to reveal it on exam day…?"
"Didn't seem like that kind of atmosphere, though?"
"Ah, well, it was a bit like that…. No way. Who would benefit from that?"
My thoughts exactly.
I had considered the possibility of them subtly provoking Elias, being from Class 2, outside of training, but I never thought they would outright exclude him from training like this.
'Because grades are on the line.'
Alternatively, I considered if maybe those guys were just really bad, causing Elias hardship.
But that wasn't it. Their skills were just mediocre, passable.
So, in other words, either those guys don't care if they fail, or…
'Are they planning to openly exclude Elias to make him voluntarily withdraw from the team?'
That would explain this crazy situation of five practicing together.
Thinking that far, I shook the thought away.
The second hypothesis is a bit too far-fetched. Elias isn't the type to withdraw voluntarily, is he?
Going into the classroom, I glanced at Elias, already surrounded by students, and sat down.
Judging by the rising voices, it seemed the classmates were getting angry on his behalf.
Elias spotted me, warped to the seat next to mine, and slammed his head into my shoulder just like yesterday.
Thwack—
Sensing something unusual from the sound, a student asked.
"Hey… is your shoulder okay?"
"No."
"Luuuuuuu…"
"Why stop talking mid-sentence."
"I thought about it, and the name Lucas seems like it can be shortened to just two letters. Luca is four letters, so it's too long."
He keeps creating nicknames just because he was too lazy to finish speaking.
It's Elias, so I have to just accept it.
Changing the subject, I brought up the training I saw earlier.
"Elias. Is this why you've been struggling for days?"
Elias didn't answer.
Until dismissal ended, Elias didn't utter a single word about the training.
"Alright, you may leave now. Have lunch and train hard."
After the professor's dismissal, students rushed up from their seats.
Just then, a student outside shouted.
"Hey, what's this?"
The hallway I glimpsed was completely white on the floor.
From far away, piles of white paper were scattered on the floor.
[Lost and Found Items Claim]
[End of the 2nd Floor Hallway, Main Building]
I lifted my head and looked down the hallway.
Dozens of identical papers were stuck on the floor and walls.
Seeing no student council stamp, it's an unauthorized posting.
'This isn't about lost and found, not to this extent.'
Momentarily, my eyes met Leo's, standing near the front door.
Leo also seemed to sense something was off.