“What is the meaning of this?!” one student shouted, his voice echoing with shock and disbelief.
“Is it some error in the system?” another student yelled, equally bewildered.
The Principal, wearing a smirk, stepped forward and addressed the crowd with a calm demeanour, “It’s a contest, of course. You should expect twists and turns… even you might have hidden twists” she said, her eyes gleaming with amusement.
Alaric and the other professors frowned, clearly not informed about this sudden development, “Principal, can I know the reason for this sudden change?” Alaric asked, his voice filled with doubt, echoing the sentiments of the other professors representing their respective empires.
“Y-Yes, I’d like to know why the sudden change?”
“And what’s with those points?”
“Why are our chosen ones ranked lower than the top contenders?”
Everyone demanded answers, except for Delphine, who merely rubbed the bridge of her nose with a sigh and remained silent.
Ever since the Principal announced the contest, these representative professors had been helping their corresponding chosen ones to ensure they could outperform the others and secure the top positions.
They did not anticipate a sudden change that might disrupt their meticulous plans and teaching strategies.
The Principal gave a stern and cold gaze at the questioning professors, making them flinch and step back.
“I know what I am doing, and I don’t need to inform everyone of every detail. These are not children; they are chosen ones and must be ready for anything,” she declared, her voice leaving no room for argument.
The professors could only growl and curse her inwardly, their frustration palpable.
The Principal then turned to the students and said, “Let’s welcome a few more contenders.”
Soon, the top three students entered the contest with their own teams.
“S-Selene?” Kai mumbled in surprise upon seeing his sister in Lia’s team. He had asked her before, but she had claimed she wasn’t interested, so he didn’t expect her to be here.
“Hello, big brother. Let’s play the sweet game,” Selene giggled, but her expression froze when,
“Yeah, let’s play the sweet game,” Leon chimed in with a happy smile, his eyes twinkling with mischief.
“…Yeah,” Selene just nodded and didn’t say anything more.
Kai glanced at Lia, “H-Hello.”
“…” Lia didn’t respond, focusing intently on the Principal, her expression unreadable.
Kai awkwardly smiled, and when his eyes fell on her different red hair tie, he felt a knot form in his stomach, a sense of unease settling over him.
“I’m gonna beat the crap out of these chosen ones and win this contest to prove to everyone that you are just nobodies!” Thalia Crimsonclaw shouted, asserting her presence with authority and confidence.
Everyone frowned and glared at Thalia, but she just scoffed, “I’m just stating the truth!”
“Hello everyone, I hope we have a friendly match,” Ashara Nightfire said with a smile that nearly captivated many of the men present, including Leon and Kai, who were momentarily mesmerized by her enchanting voice.
“That damn succubus!!” Helena muttered under her breath, frowning as she saw Ashara using her powers to enchant the men around her.
Clap
A loud clap snapped everyone back to attention, and they turned to the Principal, who said, “Now that everyone has arrived, I would like to announce a few changes to the match.”
“P-Principal?” Alaric stuttered, his surprise evident as he saw the Principal altering everything without consulting anyone else.
“Do you have a problem, Professor Alaric?” the Principal asked sternly, her gaze sharp.
“N-No, Principal,” Alaric stepped back, which was noticed by Aria, who clicked her tongue in disgust at his meekness.
The Principal continued, “The rules aren’t drastically different, except that it’s not just about the number of flags you collect. It’s also about the flags that have more points,” she explained, snapping her fingers.
A small flag appeared and hovered before each team, each flag’s colour matching the team leader’s hair colour.
“I’ve allotted points based on your worth combined with your team members’ entrance test ranks.
For instance, Raven Noir, who didn’t have any members, starts with 100 points.
Thalia Crimsonclaw, who scored the highest in the entrance test, and her team’s worth, is 1300 points.”
Hearing this, the chosen ones’ faces crumbled. Had they known the points were based on team members, they would have selected high-rankers.
The contest had suddenly become tougher; they not only needed to collect flags but also target higher-point teams.
“And once a team loses their flag or the team leader is eliminated, the entire team fails. That’s all, children. Those are the changes and…” She motioned her hand upwards as if beckoning.
‘Trrrrr’
The ground trembled, and a small podium rose from the ground.
“I will personally take the winner’s team leader as my disciple and team members will be taught by the representative professors of the respective Empires” the Principal announced, her voice carrying an air of authority.
Hearing this, the professors’ and students’ eyes widened in shock. They never expected the Principal, who was a Sovereign, to personally teach anyone and even more being taught by the representative professors… that’s a whole lot of advantage in their life!! Now, there was no way they would lose.
Seeing the fire of determination in the students’ eyes, the Principal nodded and said, “Now, let the game begin!”
Snap
Instantly, a huge magic circle appeared under the students, and then,
‘ssssshhhh’
They disappeared, leaving only the professors and Principal in the stadium.
Delphine immediately moved back out of the stadium and saw Aether standing with a backpack, his eyes filled with excitement.
“Are you ready?” Delphine asked, her voice soft yet firm.
“Yes,” Aether nodded, his face lighting up with eagerness.
“Good…” Delphine nodded and…. she touched his face gently, and said with a worried expression, “You need to be careful, okay? Unlike others, you cannot have that crystal badge. So, if you feel you can’t handle the situation or get hurt, you must use what I gave you, okay?”
Aether smiled warmly, thinking, ‘Look at her, worrying about me so much…’ He was about to pinch her nose affectionately when,
“Enough with the lovey-dovey stuff,” the Principal appeared behind them, her presence commanding.
“!!!” Delphine instantly flinched, putting distance between herself and Aether, a small blush spreading across her cheeks.
The Principal sighed, handed Aether a map, and said, “Since the crystal badge requires your information, you cannot have it.”
Aether nodded in understanding.
“Okay, then let’s see what you can do,” the Principal said as she snapped her fingers, causing Aether to disappear.
The Principal looked at Delphine and asked, “What the hell happened to you? Did you really fall for him?”
“N-no… of course.. Not!” Delphine just shook her head, though a small blush appeared on her cheeks. Seeing her reluctance to tell the truth, the Principal sighed and then walked to the monitoring room, where the other professors were watching the students’ performance.
The Principal sat in the centre chair and looked at the live footage.
‘Let’s see what you can do… Mister who is Favored by Arcane,’ she thought, a hint of anticipation in her eyes.