Magica Academy was a school for awakened ones with strong energy affinity, specializing in magic.

That naturally meant there weren’t many hunter trainees with high physical strength.

If someone had both high energy and high strength, they’d almost certainly choose Crystal instead of Magica—unless they had a special attachment to magic.

That was why, in the Magica scenario, one of the most important things was to recruit a companion who could take the role of a tank.

Beginners, without knowledge of the game, often started with Magica because they were dazzled by powerful magic skills. They tended to neglect tanks.

In early dungeons, it was fine—just spam magic with your party and the monsters melted away.

But once you reached around level 15, monsters started enduring magic.

By level 20, your teammates would begin falling one by one.

And any higher than that, hunting became impossible.

That was when players scrambled to recruit a tank. But by then, with such tight schedules, leveling them up and gearing them properly wasted enormous amounts of time.

Of course, there was a solution.

You could recruit a high-level senior companion—like how I had recruited Seo Yui later on.

But to do that, you needed to clear prerequisite quests. And those quests required hunting monsters or defeating rival trainees.

The problem was obvious. You were trying to recruit a tank because you couldn’t hunt. And yet to recruit one, you had to hunt.

In short: you were screwed.

In the end, your only choices were to recruit another first-year ally—or restart the game.

I remembered thinking a particular playthrough of mine was ruined, and I had stared at the character standing there now: Nia Estel.

A second-year at Magica.

A girl with a large frame. Stamina B, Energy A, Spirit B.

Not exceptional, but certainly not low—overall, respectable stats.

But in the Magica scenario, those numbers weren’t the point.

What mattered was that Nia filled the precious tank role.

Among Magica’s students, she had the highest stamina, and her ability was perfect for a tank.

“Gravity Field.”

An ability that dragged enemies within a certain range toward the user.

Anyone caught in it could still use skills, but movement became impossible.

Just like the Martial God students panicking in the arena now.

But the drawback was that Nia herself couldn’t move while using it.

And when enemies are trapped inside her gravity field…

I glanced at Yun Horim.

His long sideburns stood out as he clutched his staff, casting.

At his feet, blue rippling waves spread.

He’s using his ability, too.

The next instant, Yun Horim flicked his staff.

Scarlet pools of flame spread under the feet of the immobilized Martial God students.

“Ugh!”

“Hot!”

They grimaced in pain.

“What’s that?” Meiling asked, frowning.

“Did HAUT give them a skill like that?”

“That’s probably Corrupted Flame,” I said.

“What nonsense,” Meiling scoffed.

“Corrupted Flame is single-target. Don’t you see the field spreading under them?”

“It’s his ability.”

“What?”

“His ability must convert single-target spells into area effects.”

“That kind of ability exists?”

I nodded.

Yun Horim’s ability was “Spreading Mana.”

As I’d said—it changed single-target spells into AoEs.

The trade-off: reduced damage and higher mana cost.

Corrupted Flame inflicts both poison and burn. With Nia holding enemies in place, laying a field under them was a brutal way to shred HP.

A solid combination.

I had used similar tactics in Latessai myself.

And Rune and Zen must be preparing to unleash something bigger from the back.

I looked—and sure enough, both of them were already casting.

But it won’t go their way. Not with Jin Cheongryong on Martial God’s side.

Just then, Jin Cheongryong’s body glowed.

Antlers sprouted from his head, scales spread across his skin.

He had activated his ability—“Dragon’s Authority.”

With a stomp, he launched himself at Nia.

Some transformation or enhancement abilities grant temporary immunity to status effects.

Iris’s “Blade of the Conqueror” was one of them.

Suspended in the air, Jin Cheongryong kicked toward Nia.

But—crackle!

A golden bolt streaked toward him.

He dropped his attack on Nia, swinging a gauntleted fist instead, deflecting the lightning spear before landing.

Rune had checked him with his thunder spear.

Then Zen unleashed the nine flames he had gathered behind him.

Homing fireballs—Flame Barrage.

Jin Cheongryong batted them aside with his fists.

“Urgh!”

Each struck fireball detonated in bursts of flame. He grimaced, letting out a grunt.

Rune and Zen are both using their abilities. Especially Zen—his ability doubles the damage of Flame Barrage.

Even with Dragon’s Authority strengthening him, Jin Cheongryong couldn’t fully negate it.

So he abandoned defense.

And charged Nia again.

He plans to eliminate her before his status-immunity runs out.

Nia still couldn’t move.

She braced herself as Jin Cheongryong rushed in.

Fresh lightning spears and lingering fireballs closed in on him.

And then—

BOOOOM!!

The explosion and heatwave shook the arena.

“Gasp!”

“O-Ohhh…”

Gasps came from the reporters and investors in the seats.

“Guh…”

Jin Cheongryong dropped to his knees.

After taking both Flame Barrage and thunder spears, he was in terrible shape.

The board showed his HP in red.

Eliminated.

“Agh…”

In front of him lay Nia, sprawled flat.

Her HP was yellow—she had lost nearly half to Jin Cheongryong’s strike.

“Damn it!” Yun Horim cursed.

With Nia’s gravity field gone, Martial God’s remaining three were free.

Ao unleashed “Sword Wind,” the same ability he had shown against Iris, and lunged at Nia.

Meanwhile, Jin Yooyeon and Lee Yeonmun charged Yun Horim.

Both were cloaked in aura.

Jin Yooyeon—“Swift Legs,” boosting speed and kicks.

Lee Yeonmun—“Sturdy Body,” boosting defense and resistance.

Yun Horim frantically swung his staff, casting a speed-reduction debuff.

But Jin Yooyeon closed the distance before the field could even spread—like a lion pouncing its prey.

Thwack!

“Gah!”

His kick slammed into Yun Horim’s torso, sending him rolling across the floor.

On the board, Yun Horim’s HP turned red.

With low stamina affinity, it was only natural that his HP was low.

“Ugh…”

Jin Yooyeon, who had just taken down Yun Horim, collapsed to the floor.

The accumulated damage from burns and poison had finally caught up to him.

His HP, which had been yellow for some time, turned red at last.

At that same moment, Nia was eliminated as well.

The shield she had carried was shredded to tatters by Ao’s Sword Wind.

Now only four remained— the twins, Ao, and Lee Yeonmun.

“Zen! You take the tank role! Just hold out a little longer and victory is ours!”

“Got it!”

Rune hurled a lightning spear at Ao, while Zen fired Flame Barrage at Lee Yeonmun.

Both of Martial God’s survivors were still suffering from burn and poison.

Rune’s logic was sound—if they stalled long enough, Magica would win.

If they could stall.

Ao slipped past Rune’s lightning spear with ease, then slashed with Sword Wind.

“Agh!”

Rune screamed as he was struck, crashing to the ground.

On the board, his HP turned red.

“Rune! No!”

Zen, who had been casting, quickly activated a movement skill.

Whoosh!

The spot where he had stood was cleaved by Sword Wind a heartbeat later.

It’s over now.

I watched Zen’s panicked face with a wry smile.

From the moment Nia fell, Magica’s defeat had been inevitable.

With such low stamina, they simply couldn’t withstand Martial God’s assault.

The only silver lining was that Ao’s ability had just run out.

At least Zen’s elimination would hurt less.

“Uwaagh!”

Zen’s scream rang out as Lee Yeonmun’s fist smashed into his jaw.

And in that same momentum, Lee Yeonmun collapsed forward, still suffering damage from his burns and poison.

“The match is over!” Abel shouted.

“With Magica’s team fully eliminated, Martial God Academy is the victor!”

From the investors’ seats, a light round of applause could be heard.

Hm. That was entertaining enough.

The result was no surprise, but watching it unfold in real combat rather than a game gave it a certain thrill.

Abel and Jang Jinseong went around tending to the fallen, giving them healing potions, burn salves, and antidotes.

If Martial God had simply prepared a single antidote, they could have won more easily. But pride kept both teams from using items at all.

Among trainees, items seemed to carry the stigma of cowardice.

Most hadn’t used them even in individual duels.

But in the next team battle, items were bound to appear.

After all, it was Crystal versus Ucheon.

And the outcome was already decided.

“Stop! Match over!”

Abel’s voice rang out as he stepped onto the arena.

“With Ucheon Academy fully eliminated, Crystal Academy claims victory!”

Once again, applause rippled through the investors’ seats.

I looked up at the boards.

Ucheon’s side—entirely red.

Crystal’s—no reds at all.

The only yellow HP bar belonged to their tank, Jo Inhoo.

Ucheon’s strategy had been simple: focus everything on Iris.

If she wasn’t taken down, victory was impossible.

That must have been their reasoning.

Maria had activated her ability, “Bomber,” which boosted the power of explosives, and hurled bomb after bomb.

Hayugeun had summoned a Drill Golem, a boss monster I often used in the game.

It could only summon one, but it was fast and delivered heavy damage.

Rio, the tank, shielded Maria from Muimi’s magic, while Bella supported with potions.

But within just three minutes of the battle’s start, all four were defeated by Iris alone.

The sequence went like this:

First, Jo Inhoo absorbed all the bombs and the Drill Golem’s attacks.

Toby stood behind him, healing his HP with his ability.

Then, as soon as Ucheon’s offensive slowed, Iris unleashed the Blade of the Conqueror and charged.

In golden arcs, she cut down the Drill Golem, then Hayugeun, then Rio, Maria, and Bella—one after the other.

“As expected of Crystal. Absolutely overwhelming.”

“Iris’s power is extraordinary. She defeated all four of Ucheon by herself.”

“I’ve observed many HAUT sessions before, but I’ve never seen a trainee like her.”

Voices of investors drifted from the seats.

“But what about Nam Yein? He managed to beat that Iris.”

“Given his affinities, it’s unbelievable. And yet, we saw it with our own eyes.”

“Next match is Gwangcheon’s turn. We’ll see that student’s ability for ourselves once more.”

At that moment, Ucheon and Crystal descended from the stage.

Simultaneously, Abel called out:

“Next up, Dai Academy versus Gwangcheon Academy! Step forward!”

We rose from our seats and followed Abel’s lead.

The Dai team came up behind us.

After listening to Abel’s explanation, we slipped on the rings embedded with chips that allowed the devices to track our HP.

I made sure my teammates had properly slotted the gems we’d chosen beforehand.

We could win without skills, but to make it easy, we’d best play it safe.

Crystal had finished their battle with only Jo Inhoo in yellow while the rest stayed green.

If we wanted the bye in the next round, we had to outdo even that.

Once everyone was ready, we took our marked positions on the stage.

Across from us, Dai Academy’s team stood with fiery determination in their eyes.

“Ugh…”

I turned at the sound to see Lumina trembling, her lips quivering.

Her gaze flicked nervously between the cameras and the investors.

Meiling sighed, lifting her hand again.

But this time she didn’t slap Lumina’s back.

Instead, she took Lumina’s pale hand in her own.

“Lumina.”

“Y-Yeah?”

“Keep their attacks off me.”

Meiling flashed a confident grin.

“Then I’ll take care of everything else.”

It was a bold, Meiling-like declaration.

I saw Lumina’s expression gradually relax.

“Alright, Meiling. I’m counting on you.”

And then—

“Begin the match!” Abel’s voice rang out.

At the signal, two from Dai Academy rushed forward: the melee DPS, George, and their tank, Poff.

“Let’s go, Lumina!”

“Y-Yes!”

Seo Yui and Lumina charged ahead as well.

Then I suppose it’s time for me to start, too.

I reached into my inventory.

(End of Chapter)