The festival was a sensory overload.
The scent of roasted meats, spun sugar, and spiced cider filled the air.
Students crowded around the various stalls, laughing and cheering as they played
games enchanted with low-level magic.
Rei and Alice walked slightly ahead of the group. Their shoulders brushed
occasionally, the lingering tension from their interrupted spar in the courtyard
still hanging heavily between them. Rei was trying his hardest to be smooth,
buying her a skewer of grilled meat and attempting to win her a prize at a
ring-toss booth.
He missed all three rings.
Alice laughed, bumping her hip against his. "I thought you were a precision
fighter, Vanguard."
"The rings are rigged," Rei grumbled, his ears turning red. "They have a
repulsion enchantment on the bottles."
Cain walked a few paces behind them, acting as the rearguard. Aera walked on his
left, Liora on his right. The two girls had formed a silent, mutual truce for
the evening. They weren't fighting over him; they were simply enjoying the rare,
peaceful atmosphere, content to share the space.
"Oh, look at that one," Aera said suddenly, stopping and pointing toward a
brightly lit carnival booth.
It was a throwing-knife game. The back wall of the booth was lined with wooden
targets moving on mechanical tracks. The prizes hanging from the ceiling were
massive, high-quality stuffed animals. One of them was a large, round
water-spirit plushie. The other was a sleek, black cat with silver button eyes
that looked suspiciously like Elios.
Liora's eyes lingered on the black cat plushie. "It's well-made."
"Step right up, Academy elites!" the booth operator shouted, a greasy-looking
merchant with a wide grin. "Three silver coins for five throwing knives! Hit
three moving targets, win a grand prize! Test your combat skills!"
Rei stepped up immediately, slamming three silver coins onto the counter. "I've
got this."
The merchant handed him five dull, poorly balanced throwing knives.
Rei took a breath, his eyes narrowing as he tracked the moving wooden targets.
He threw the first knife. It flew straight and true—
And then veered sharply to the left, bouncing harmlessly off the back wall.
Rei frowned. He threw the second. The same thing happened. The third, fourth,
and fifth knives all curved away from the targets at the very last second,
missing completely.
"Tough luck, kid!" the merchant laughed loudly. "Better stick to a sword!"
Rei glared at the booth. "There's a localized wind-current enchantment blowing
across the targets. It alters the trajectory of anything thrown at it. It's a
scam."
"Hey now, no sore losers," the merchant sneered. "If you can't compensate for
the wind, you're just a bad shot."
Liora crossed her arms, her eyes narrowing dangerously. "I will freeze the wind
current. Rei, throw them again."
"No magic allowed!" the merchant pointed to a sign. "Physical throws only! Read
the rules, princess!"
Liora's jaw tightened. Aera looked disappointed, her eyes lingering on the
water-spirit plushie.
Cain stepped forward.
He didn't say a word. He placed three silver coins on the counter.
The merchant smirked, handing him five dull knives. "Good luck, tough guy."
Cain didn't take a stance. He didn't even seem to aim. He just looked at the
moving targets, his dark eyes analyzing the invisible wind currents blowing
across the back of the booth.
Han Jae-Won had spent ten years calculating wind resistance, bullet drop, and
target velocity in active war zones. A localized breeze in a carnival booth was
not a variable. It was a joke.
Cain didn't throw the knives one by one.
He placed three knives between the fingers of his right hand.
He flicked his wrist.
Thwack-thwack-thwack.
The three dull knives blurred through the air, curving perfectly with the wind
enchantment, using the artificial breeze to accelerate their trajectory. They
slammed into the dead center of three separate moving targets simultaneously,
burying themselves so deep into the wood that the mechanical track sparked and
ground to a halt.
The merchant's jaw dropped open.
Rei let out a loud, barking laugh. "Oh, you messed with the wrong guy."
Cain placed the remaining two knives gently on the counter. He looked at the
pale, sweating merchant.
"The wind enchantment is calibrated to push objects three inches to the left per
meter of travel," Cain stated flatly. "You should randomize the current if you
want it to be effective."
Cain pointed to the ceiling. "I will take the water spirit and the cat."
The merchant didn't argue. He hurriedly pulled the two massive plushies down and
shoved them across the counter, terrified that the stoic, terrifying student
might throw a knife at him next.
Cain turned around.
He held the water-spirit plushie out to Aera, and the black cat plushie out to
Liora.
"Tactical morale boosters," Cain said, his expression completely serious. "Hold
onto them."
Aera's face instantly flushed a brilliant shade of red. She took the water
spirit, hugging it tightly against her chest, a massive, uncontrollable smile
breaking across her face. "Thank you, Cain."
Liora took the black cat. She looked at the plushie, then up at Cain. Her noble
composure held for a second, before a soft, genuine laugh escaped her lips. She
held the cat under one arm. "I accept the morale boost. Thank you."
A blue window chimed into existence right between Cain's eyes.
[ Notice: You used the wrong formula, but you got the correct answer. ] [
Romance EXP +500. ] [ Status: I am taking notes. You are a terrifyingly
effective anomaly. ]
Cain dismissed the window, turning back toward the crowd.
"Keep moving," Cain ordered. "We are losing our perimeter."
As he walked ahead, Rei fell into step beside Alice, shaking his head. "I don't
know how he does it. He has the emotional intelligence of a rock, and he still
wins."
Alice smiled, bumping her shoulder against Rei's. "Maybe you should take notes,
Vanguard."