CHAPTER 46: BORROWED SUPPLIES

"Pattern release - Dream mist"

Purple smoke began to release from my fingertips, and slowly it enveloped Kellan as whole.

Kellan flinched, his body tensing as the mist wrapped around him like a living shroud. His breath hitched, eyes widening—then his pupils dilated, and his entire frame slackened.

He swayed on his feet.

"...What...?" His voice was barely a whisper, filled with confusion.

I watched carefully. The Dream Mist wasn’t just a hallucination-inducing phenomenon—it responded to emotions, fears, and subconscious thoughts. Right now, it was seeping into Kellan’s mind, showing him... something.

His hands twitched, fingers grasping at empty air. A faint tremor ran through his body.

Then, he let out a sharp breath, stumbling backward.

"No... No, that’s not real," Kellan muttered, shaking his head. His expression flickered between panic and denial, his breath growing uneven.

I frowned. It was working faster than I expected.

The mist coiled tighter.

Kellan’s eyes darted around as if searching for something unseen. His chest rose and fell rapidly, sweat beading on his forehead.

And then—

He dropped to his knees.

I stepped forward, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Kellan," I said, voice calm but firm. "Now who’s losing?"

Kellan’s breathing hitched, his muscles trembling under my grip. His eyes were unfocused, flickering between lucidity and whatever nightmare the Dream Mist had conjured.

I leaned in slightly. "You were so confident a second ago." My fingers tightened just a bit. "Still think you’ve won?"

His jaw clenched. His body twitched as if he wanted to respond—but the mist had him locked in place, lost in his own mind.

Perfect.

I wasted no time.

I searched through his clothes and found out the class B’s flag.

"I need to return the favor." I clenched my fist and punched on kellan’s stomach and ribs then lifted my right Index finger. "Small Fire" then a small flame flickered on my fingertip and I burned kellan’s hair away.

The scent of singed hair filled the air as the flame crackled. Kellan let out a strangled groan, his body convulsing slightly. His breath was uneven, but he was still trapped in the Dream Mist’s grip, unable to fully react.

I smirked. "There. Now you look as ridiculous as you act."

With the Class B flag secured in my grip, I straightened up, giving Kellan one last glance. He was still conscious—barely—but his mind was a tangled mess of fear and confusion. He’d recover, but not quickly enough.

I turned on my heel and sprinted back into the forest.

The wind rushed past me as I weaved through the dense trees. My lungs burned, but I pushed forward, every step bringing me closer to my goal.

I needed to regroup with Mira and the others.

Just as that thought crossed my mind, a familiar voice echoed from ahead.

"Professor!"

Mira burst through the foliage, her dark eyes sharp as she spotted me. "You got it?"

I raised the flag. "Of course."

Her lips curled into a grin. "Took you long enough."

Julien and Felix appeared behind her, both panting from exertion.

"You should’ve seen it," I said, barely winded. "Kellan didn’t even put up a fight."

Felix blinked. "Wait, seriously?"

Julien laughed. "Damn, Professor, what did you do to him?"

I shrugged. "Just gave him something to think about."

Mira narrowed her eyes at me, suspicious. "And... why do you smell like burnt hair?"

I smirked but didn’t answer.

"Doesn’t matter," I said, shaking the flag. "Let’s finish this."

Mira rolled her eyes but didn’t argue.

With that, we sprinted toward the finish line.

We barely made it a few steps before a group of figures emerged from the trees, blocking our path.

Class A.

Their uniforms were dirtied from the forest terrain, but their posture remained upright—rigid, disciplined. The guy at the front, a tall blond with sharp blue eyes, crossed his arms and glared at us. His name was Royce, Class A’s so-called ’leader.’

Behind him, his teammates spread out in a loose formation, surrounding us without being obvious about it. A textbook strategy.

I sighed. This was going to be annoying.

Royce’s gaze landed on me, then on the Class B flag in my grip. His expression darkened.

"So it was you," he said coldly.

I raised an eyebrow. "Me... what?"

"Don’t play dumb, Professor Drelmont," he spat. "You were the one who stole our Food supplies yesterday night right."

I blinked.

Then I blinked again.

"...Huh?"

Even my students looked baffled. Mira tilted her head, Julien snorted, and Felix just muttered, "What?" under his breath.

Royce’s glare sharpened. "Don’t act clueless."

I exhaled through my nose, tilting my head slightly. "I am clueless because that accusation is about as nonsensical as Felix winning a duel."

"Hey!" Felix protested.

Royce ignored him. "Last night, our food supplies were raided. We found footprints leading away from our camp, and guess what? They led in your direction."

I sighed. "And your first thought was that we did it?"

"Who else could it be?"

I gave him a flat look. "Oh, I don’t know... maybe whoever actually did it?"

Royce’s eye twitched. "Don’t play smart with me."

"Not my fault you’re slow."

His glare intensified. "Do you really expect me to believe that you didn’t take our food? You’re telling me that while wandering the forest, you just happened to end up with our footprints leading near your camp?"

I crossed my arms. "And you’re telling me that while you were sleeping, someone raided your supplies, and instead of catching them in the act, you’re now here, wasting time accusing the wrong people?"

Royce hesitated for a fraction of a second. A tiny one. Barely noticeable.

But I caught it.

My smirk widened.

"So," I drawled, taking a step forward. "Tell me, Royce. Who was on watch last night?"

His jaw clenched.

Ah.

He had no idea.

Which meant they were either careless, or—

I glanced at the rest of Class A. Some of them looked unsure, shifting slightly, avoiding eye contact.

—or they knew something he didn’t.

Interesting.

Julien leaned in. "Professor, are we actually debating this, or can I just punch someone?"

I held up a hand, keeping my gaze on Royce. "Not yet."

He exhaled sharply. "This is a waste of time."

"I agree," I said. "So how about this? You let us pass, and you go back and actually figure out who really stole from you."

"And if I don’t?"

I smiled. "Then we settle this with a fight."

Royce scoffed. "You think you can take all of us?"

I cracked my knuckles. "I don’t think. I know."

Mira sighed dramatically. "Ugh, this again?"

Felix whimpered. "I don’t want to die."

Julien grinned. "Oh, this is going to be fun."

He clenched his fists, then exhaled. "Tch. Fine. But if I find out you’re lying—"

"You won’t." I brushed past him. "Because I’m not."

We walked past their formation without resistance.

As we disappeared into the trees, Mira muttered, "They really suspect us after we ’Borrowed their food supplies’ why can’t they just ignore it."

I arched an eyebrow at Mira but didn’t bother correcting her.

Julien snorted. "Technically, ’borrowing’ means we’d give it back."

"Semantics," Mira said with a shrug. "It was just sitting there, unguarded. It’s their fault for not protecting it properly."

Felix groaned. "Oh, we’re so dead if they figure it out."

I smirked but kept moving. "Then let’s make sure they don’t."

Then the blue bird fly through the sky again with an announcement.

Capture the Flag is now finished, please refrain from any fights that’s happening right now and keep the flags that you captured for 5 more days untill the survival camp is over. The next event is scavenger hunt and wait for the next announcement.

I exhaled slowly. Five more days to over this hell.

Julien groaned. "Ugh, so we have to play keep-away now?"

Mira rolled her shoulders. "At least it means we don’t have to fight those Class A guys right now."

Felix, still looking like he’d rather be anywhere else, muttered, "Unless they decide to ignore the announcement."

I smirked. "Then I’ll give them a lesson that they won’t forget in their life."

We kept moving, not slowing down until we were deep into the forest again, far from the prying eyes of the other classes. With the flag secure, we needed a place to regroup and strategize.

"Professor," Mira said suddenly. "Where are we setting up camp?"

I stopped, scanning our surroundings. A clearing wouldn’t work—too exposed. Somewhere near water was ideal, but that also attracted other teams.

"We need a place that’s defensible, hidden, and not too far from a food source," I said, running through possibilities.

Julien grinned. "You mean a place where we can hide all the food we ’borrowed’ without getting caught?"

I shot him a look. "That, too."

The sun was beginning to dip lower in the sky, casting long shadows through the trees. We had time, but not much.