After Almon and Ludger were eliminated, the situation turned out to be easier than expected.
"This isn't the time for us to fight amongst ourselves. Since Fernan and Luina took out Almon, they have the upper hand now!"
Under Carlo's lead, the remaining members of Teams 1 and 2 allied and launched a joint attack on Team 3's formation.
But just after they left behind a small number of members, the group from Team 3—who had eliminated Almon and rushed back at top speed—ambushed their formation.
"Fernan? Luina?"
"Why are you here?!"
"Our teammates went to attack your formation just now!"
"We know. That's exactly why we came here."
Taking Team 1's flag, while they were completely off guard, was even easier than expected.
"We're heading back to our own base."
It was a perfect moment.
Dozens of lightning bolts struck down in rapid succession, and under the relentless assault of enraged students, their base was half-destroyed.
A significant number of students had already been eliminated.
"Fernan…!"
Carlo, leading Team 2, gritted his teeth.
"You coward…!"
"You're not exactly one to talk."
"I challenge you to a one-on-one magic duel. If you consider yourself an honorable mage, accept my challenge."
"You seem to be misunderstanding something."
Fernan shrugged.
"I'm not a mage. I'm a merchant. And a proper merchant always seeks efficiency."
Which meant he had absolutely no reason to accept a one-on-one magic duel with you, Carlo Deneb.
"Luina."
—!
Boom! A deafening sound echoed as the protective barrier shielding Carlo shook violently. A bolt of lightning chased its target, but a sudden rise of rock intercepted it.
The battle had begun.
The ideal cooperation between a knight and a mage involves the knight firmly holding the front line while the mage unleashes magic from the rear.
A simple yet incredibly powerful combination.
But precisely because it's simple, if the front collapses, everything falls apart in an instant.
Team 2 had the academy's top mage, but unfortunately, they had no knight capable of stopping Luina.
And Carlo couldn't focus solely on Luina with the ever-annoying Fernan hovering nearby.
Chaos erupted, and in chaotic skirmishes, knights had the advantage over mages. With some of their members still left at the base, Team 2 lacked numbers as well.
In the end, Carlo was forced to retreat—losing four teammates in the process.
"Should we pursue them?"
"Hold on. We need a moment to regroup."
From Team 3 to Team 1, then from Team 1 to Team 4. And now back through Team 1 to Team 3.
They had fought fierce battles everywhere they went. Most of the members were utterly exhausted.
They needed rest—any rest they could get.
"Wouldn't giving them time cause problems?"
"We'll just have to accept that risk."
In any case, even if they kept pursuing, the damage they'd take wouldn't be any less.
Besides, some enemies were still resting comfortably and defending their base.
Fernan dispatched a small scouting party and took a brief 20-minute break before convening with the team.
"What should we do next?"
"Do we really have to go ourselves?"
"Yeah. It's more advantageous to stay and defend. I don't see any reason to take unnecessary risks."
"But what if the other side also doesn't move?"
"Then it becomes a battle of patience."
No one wanted to walk into enemy territory on their own. Fernan agreed.
"Then for now, we'll reinforce our base defenses…"
It was at that moment that words appeared on everyone's personal maps.
[Some rules have been changed.]
First, the field will shrink.
Second, the flag will be assigned to one team member. If that flag-bearer is eliminated, the whole team is out.
The map began shrinking rapidly.
[You have left the field. Return within the time limit.]
[Time remaining: 30:00]
"Looks like we weren't the only ones who had that idea."
"..."
"..."
"First, let's decide on a flag-bearer."
It was just bad luck.
The shrinking field had formed slightly closer to Team 2's base, and the exhausted teammates had no choice but to move further inward without a moment's rest.
That slight distance and a few strokes of misfortune combined to bring disaster upon Fernan.
"I've been waiting for you, Fernan."
Fernan, who had chosen Gert Grotz as the flag-bearer and moved with his team, found himself face-to-face with enemies already arranged in formation when they arrived at the new field.
"Did you know, Fernan? I'm the top student. Not you."
He should have realized sooner that Carlo's incomprehensible talk was just a ploy to stall for time.
"I never claimed to be the top student."
"Yeah, you were always like that. Always standing in the back, watching everything with that detached, all-knowing gaze of yours."
Carlo's eyes glinted.
"But I wonder if you'll still act so relaxed this time."
He raised his staff.
"This time, I've won. You walked into your own grave."
He wasn't alone—twenty mages stood with him.
"A grave? Don't talk nonsense—"
Fernan let out a short laugh at the overwhelming flow of mana converging around Carlo.
No mage, not even Carlo or any of Team 2's members, could control that much mana alone. That could only mean one thing.
"You don't mean… joint magic?"
Using a magic circle to link mages together, amplifying their spells with greater size and power.
The more mages involved, the more mana channeled—the more destructive the spell. But it wasn't without drawbacks.
Since it involved synchronizing multiple casters, it required complex calculations, ritual procedures, and a detailed magic circle. Naturally, the aftereffects—severe exhaustion—tended to last quite a while.
"Yeah, sometimes you just have to finish it all."
Normally, joint magic was considered ill-suited for competitive trials involving multiple teams.
Unless, of course, the other two teams had already been completely wiped out.
"But too bad. Looks like you've been found out."
Another drawback of joint magic—it took a long time to prepare.
Meaning, the spell wasn't ready to fire just yet.
"Luina! Stop them!"
"Not so fast!"
—!
Luina's sword, which shot toward Carlo, was blocked by Alia.
"Charge!"
"Kill them all!"
"Joint magic? Get that bullshit outta here!"
The students charged in. They clashed with Team 2, who had been holding the front line. At first the battle seemed evenly matched, but it quickly turned one-sided.
Naturally—Team 2's mages had withdrawn from combat to prepare the joint spell.
But then something happened that Fernan hadn't anticipated.
"Everyone, fall back!"
The joint spell had finished far earlier than expected.
"…How?"
"You're not the only one with access to mana stones."
"Scatter!"
Fernan slammed his staff into the ground. A pulse of mana spread through the earth.
Rrrrummmble—!
The field quaked as if an earthquake had struck. Massive stone walls rose one after another.
Quickly chugging a mana potion, Fernan slammed his staff down again to raise even more barriers. Meanwhile, enormous thunderclouds had formed in the sky overhead.
Crackle—
A foreboding sound echoed.
"It's over, Fernan."
"Wait! A spell of this magnitude could kill people!"
"Luina Berchev. That's not my problem. That's what the instructors and professors are here to prevent."
It wasn't an incorrect statement.
In that instant—
"I'll be the top mage of this semester, just like always."
─────!
A blinding flash of lightning, more like divine judgment than a thunderbolt, engulfed the world.
Kuuuuuuurrrumble—!
The ground collapsed.
"..."
Fernan sat up.
"Carlo, you bastard."
Team 2's joint spell had blown through five layers of stone walls like they were nothing.
The protective spell circle was obliterated, and the defensive artifacts covering Fernan's body had all burned out after fulfilling their function.
"…One of them's completely totaled. Do you know how expensive this was…"
Still, thanks to them, the map was intact. And so was Luina.
However, the aftermath had shattered the ground, and Fernan had fallen into the depths along with Luina.
Other students had been swept away too, but there was no time or energy to worry about them.
"Luina, are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
But her face was much paler than her words suggested.
"What about the others…?"
"I don't know. I didn't expect a place like this to exist."
The underground was vast. Piles of dirt and rubble lay everywhere, the results of the collapsed surface.
"Our first priority is to get out of here."
"Yes."
As she forced her aching body to move and checked her condition, Luina suddenly froze.
"What is it?"
"There's something where I was lying."
"Something?"
Fernan followed Luina's gaze.
There was something. Between the mounds of soil, something was faintly glittering.
Fernan carefully dug it out.
It was a door—a metallic hatch embedded in the ground, leading further underground.
"…What is this?"
It wasn't very large, but the surface was engraved with an eagle-like emblem.
No—not an eagle.
"Armean…?"
It only looked like an eagle at first glance. In truth, it was the emblem of House Armean—a symbol often called the Saintbird, a pure-white divine bird with two pairs of wings.
"A proper emblem of Armean… down here in the underground? Why…?"
Luina looked puzzled, but Fernan instantly realized what this meant.
"…You absolute lunatic. Underground maniac."
It was a contingency.
A contingency set by the first emperor.
Why did he put all his secret plans underground? Wasn't he supposed to be a knight? Or was he actually an earth-element mage in disguise?
'No, wait, wasn't one of them on an island? In any case… that damn Aint. Always dragging his feet and not finding everything faster…!'
Either way, there wasn't enough time to investigate this thoroughly now.
"Anyone there?!"
"Is everyone okay?!"
"Somebody help me!"
Voices called out from all directions, snapping Fernan out of his thoughts.
'I can't let anyone else find this. This can't be exposed right now.'
No matter what—it had to be Aint who discovered it.
Fernan drank a mana potion and began drawing a magic circle with a reagent.
"What are you doing?" asked Luina.
"It's a concealment magic circle. I'm making it so that no one can find this place."
"Why…?"
"I'll explain later. For now, we need to rescue our teammates."
"Understood."
Once the magic circle was complete, Fernan and Luina began a search of the surrounding area.
"Are you alright?"
"Th-Thank you, Luina."
"Fernan…!"
"I-I'm alive!"
In total, they found seven surviving students. However, five of their maps had been completely burned.
"We survived thanks to the artifacts you gave us."
"Same here."
The two who had survived intact were the flag-bearer, Gert, and his partner, Neria. Distributing artifacts in advance had been a stroke of genius.
"Those bastards…! Who launches a joint spell like that?!"
"Augh, my leg!"
Some had broken arms or legs, but none were in critical condition or dead.
Apparently, the magic embedded in the maps was far more advanced than Fernan had expected.
"Fernan. Do you have any potions?"
"Potions?"
"We need to treat them, don't we?"
"There's no need to waste potions."
"…Sorry?"
There was movement.
"Where is everyone?!"
"I sense life over here!"
It was Professor Grad and three teaching assistants.
"…Stingy bastard."
"I simply don't tolerate unnecessary expenses. Prepare yourselves."
"Prepare for what?"
"The exam isn't over yet."
Because we are still alive.
"I won…!"
Carlo was elated.
Just a while ago, he never would have imagined feeling this triumphant over defeating someone like Fernan.
Ranked 10th. Certainly impressive—but compared to him, the top student, Fernan was still lacking.
Or so he had thought. But it was wrong. Fernan had been hiding his true power, and had caught up right under his nose.
There could be no carelessness. He couldn't afford to lose the top spot.
Especially with Rudger Schwaben watching Fernan with growing interest—and wariness.
That's why this victory felt so much sweeter.
After losing in practicals… after falling behind in midterms…
"Yes. We won…!"
"Who would've thought we'd actually take first place?!"
"Hey… you think the ones who got knocked out are okay?"
"It's not over yet! Finish off the stragglers!"
"Just find out who Team 3's flag-bearer is!"
The magic students, unable to move due to the aftereffects of joint magic, left the cleanup to the knight students—who now scattered across the field to finish off Team 3's survivors.
Half of them had already been eliminated, their maps burned. But some were still alive.
Not for long—they fell without even putting up a fight.
Carlo was certain of his victory.
Rrrrummble—!
If only the ground hadn't erupted and thrown up stone…
If only a knight and a mage weren't standing atop it.
"Luina!"
"Yes!"
Luina Berchev—second-year in the Knight Department. A knight unmatched except by Almon—she charged toward Carlo in a straight line.
She was fast. So fast that the knights of Team 2, spread across the field, couldn't catch up.
"Son of a—!"
That was the last thing he said.
His map's barrier blocked the first sword strike—but at the same time, his map was incinerated.
"You let your guard down, Carlo Deneb."
The scorn of a mage who never wanted to lose—even in death—mocked Carlo to the end.
"I win."
Fernan sneered.
"I don't really care about being the top student, though."