After Enrico eliminated more participants than necessary, the students who were still standing were immediately qualified for the next stage. To complete the required number of participants, a new competition would be held among those who had been eliminated, allowing the final qualifiers to be chosen before the groups were formed.
In the room reserved for the teachers, Hao was particularly pleased with the result.
"As always, we're the best!"
"Director Hao, I don't think this proves anything..."
"Exactly, Director! Besides, we have the best student in my class!"
Virelle interrupted the other teacher's attempt to argue, supporting Hao's statement with a proud smile.
"Miss Virelle, have you forgotten that he's the..."
The two slowly turned their heads toward the teacher who had begun speaking.
The looks they gave him made it quite clear how much they wanted him to remain silent. Realizing the danger he had gotten himself into, Julio immediately shut his mouth.
Zenaria, who had been following the conversation, took a few steps forward and spoke up.
"Separating our students was a foolish decision, but in front of all the spectators in the stands, we've proven that Astrong Academy is the best."
"Exactly, Professor Zenaria! You know what you're talking about, unlike certain teachers."
"My apologies, Director."
Julio replied with an awkward smile, although she didn't seem particularly regretful.
Meanwhile, in the stands, the spectators were animatedly discussing the results of the first stage.
Everyone was eagerly awaiting the beginning of the qualifying rounds proper, and many had already chosen their favorites among the students who had demonstrated the greatest skill during the confrontations.
"I bet Matteo will take first place in his group!"
"Are you an idiot? The groups haven't even been decided yet! If he ends up facing five strong opponents, he could finish in last place."
"He has a point. Besides, if we're going to bet on someone, we should choose a student from Astrong Academy. Did you see what that fifth-ranked student did?"
"Yeah, he was amazing! But I'm a patriot, so I'm betting on my fellow countrymen."
The conversations spread throughout the stands, with each spectator defending their preferred representatives. However, attention was particularly focused on the five best academies on the continent, each representing one of the great territories.
While the crowd discussed the possible winners, Enrico remained alone in the area reserved for the qualified students. He took advantage of the moment to talk with the System without being interrupted.
'The arc should be starting around this time, right?'
[Yes. Your friends are probably getting into a carriage at this very moment.]
In the original story, Kai and the others were supposed to travel to Vesparello by carriage. During the journey, they would be attacked by thieves who intended to take advantage of the major event to rob travelers.
The group would end up being deceived and left behind, but thanks to Giulio, who had placed a magical mark on one of the thieves, they would discover that he was heading toward Vesparello.
'I'm not worried about them. Their levels are far above what they were in the original story.'
The real problem was something else.
That thief possessed a special potion capable of increasing the reaction speed of whoever consumed it. Enrico really wanted Elian to obtain one of those potions, as it would be extremely useful in helping him survive the dangers he would face in the future.
'As far as I remember, that thief will use the potion during the fight. If I can get one for Elian...'
After deciding what to do, Enrico took out his communication stone to contact his companions.
"Hello, Kai. How are you?"
A few seconds passed, but nobody answered. Enrico tried to establish communication again, but for a moment, he heard a voice different from Kai's, which simply told him to hang up.
'... Don't tell me they stole the communication stone! I told Kai to leave it somewhere safe!'
Enrico held his head with both hands, unable to stop a series of mental insults directed at Kai from emerging in his mind.
[What are you going to do now?]
Enrico sighed before opening a small notebook.
"I'll do it the old-fashioned way."
He tore out a sheet of paper and began writing a message to Kai. In it, he asked him to obtain a potion similar to the thief's and give it to Elian if he got the opportunity. He also provided some information about the leader of the thieves.
To justify how he knew so much about the potion, Enrico added that he was writing the message because the leader of the thieves had stolen one of his potions.
After finishing the message, he called one of the guards working at the entrance to the dome.
"Sir, could you deliver this letter to a guard at the entrance who can make sure it reaches a friend of mine named Kai?"
"I can do that, but you'll have to pay me for the service."
"No problem. Here are fifteen silver coins."
The guard accepted the money and the letter, nodding before quickly leaving. Before walking away, he said a few words to his colleague, asking him to keep an eye on the entrance while he was away.
Judging by how hurriedly he moved, it was obvious that he intended to return to his post as soon as possible. After all, Queen Sofia didn't like employees who abandoned their responsibilities without a good reason.
[Why don't you get that potion for yourself?]
'Because I don't need it. This body has already reached a level of physical potential capable of rivaling Victoria. In the future, I'll be able to improve my reaction speed on my own.'
Enrico wasn't interested in obtaining that potion for himself. His goal was to gather allies capable of accompanying him during the approaching war.
His plan was to become the strongest member of the protagonist's team and prepare traps for the evil gods. However, even with all these preparations, he knew the task wouldn't be simple.
After all, there was an absurd number of beings capable of reaching Circle Ten on the enemy's side.
'I'm certain we'll need to break through the limit imposed on humans. We can't rely on just three people when there are forty-three of them.'
To be honest, Enrico wanted to surpass the human limit before Kai. If he could demonstrate that it was possible to go beyond Circle Ten, he could inspire others to follow the same path and increase everyone's chances of victory.
'If everything goes according to my plans, we might be able to eliminate at least half of the evil gods.'
[That is, if one of the five reincarnated people doesn't interfere and ruin your plans.]
'Why did you have to remind me of that?'
Enrico frowned, clearly dissatisfied with the observation.
[Come on, don't be like that. You must have already come up with some perfect plan to find or eliminate them. Don't say something like that, because you'll end up hurting my feelings.]
That was precisely the problem.
Although the System was right in saying that Enrico had probably already devised some strategies to find the other four reincarnated people, especially after discovering that girl's identity, that didn't mean his plans were infallible.
'I never considered my plans perfect. Whenever I come up with a strategy, I also think about the possibility of it failing and try to find a way to work around every problem.'
Enrico knew that no plan could predict every variable. That was why he always tried to prepare alternatives for the most dangerous situations.
Naturally, he didn't always have time to devise a complete backup plan. On some occasions, he had to improvise and adapt his actions as events unfolded.
'Come to think of it, I think I became this way precisely because I managed to adapt to several difficult situations.'
[And thanks to me, too!]
'Of course, you too.'
[Wait! Are you admitting that I'm useful? I knew it! You're hiding your true feelings from me!]
Enrico rolled his eyes, immediately regretting having said those words.
Unwilling to continue that conversation, he stood up and left the area reserved for the qualified students.
'I don't understand why you're so surprised. You really helped me make the most of this body. So, thank you.'
[...]
This time, the System remained silent.
Enrico stopped for a moment, realizing that his words had provoked an unexpected reaction. Apparently, he had just discovered a fairly effective way to make her stop talking.
All he had to do was praise her. Even so, he didn't intend to abuse that discovery. He still needed to maintain enough authority to reprimand her whenever she made a mistake.
'I'll keep complaining when you screw up, so don't get used to it.'
[...]
'System...?'
Enrico waited for a few seconds but received no response.
'Damn it. It looks like she short-circuited.'