Chapter 027
Chapter Title: The Game of Bastera
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The students of Class 5 and Class 1, split into two sides, sat in a circle around their respective supervising professors.
“Are there any students who wish to participate?”
“I'd like to recommend Leo and Chelsea, for starters!”
When Karl raised his hand and spoke, the other students nodded.
Leo was not only the year representative but had also made an impressive showing during the provisional class period, firmly establishing himself as a skilled individual in the minds of the students.
Chelsea, without question, was from a prestigious hero family and had the highest entrance exam score in Class 5.
“Leo Flove, Chelsea Llewellyn. Any objections?”
“None.”
“None from me either.”
“Good. Karl Thomas, you recommended them. You're up too.”
“Huh? I, I think it would be better if some other students went instead of me…”
“You don't have the right to refuse.”
“Yessir!”
Karl was forced to participate against his will.
“Next?”
“I'll go!”
“I'll do it too!”
Iliana and Tiede eagerly raised their hands.
“Iliana Laden, Tiede Marcoa. Four more spots left.”
“I'll do it too.”
“Nella Kavn.”
As Nella expressed her intent to play in a languid voice, the male students scrambled to raise their hands.
Nella, one of the most beautiful girls in the class, had motivated them to participate.
And so, eight participants stepped forward.
“It seems Class 5 has decided its members. Now then!”
Sedjen spread his hands.
*Vwoom—!*
Light rose from the training ground, drawing a rectangular outline.
Along with it, goalposts made of mana lines appeared at each end of the rectangle.
The players from both teams gathered in the center.
“The match will last 20 minutes. Winning is important, but the spirit of fair play is even more so. I'll give you a moment for a strategy meeting.”
After giving them time for their strategy meeting, Professor Sedjen went to the referee's seat.
“Look who decided to show up, shameless as ever.”
“We're going to crush you.”
Celia and Chloe glared at Karl, sinister smiles on their faces.
A frightened Karl hid behind Chelsea.
After exchanging greetings, the players from both sides gathered in the center of their respective zones.
At Chelsea's recommendation, Leo was made captain.
“The top students are one thing, but look at the other kids from Class 1.”
“They're all from prestigious families.”
“They're clearly determined to win at all costs.”
“Wasn't Class 1 the one with the highest class average?”
As everyone else planned their strategy with tense expressions, Leo, putting on a blue vest, asked a question.
“By the way, isn't the Knight Department at an absolute advantage when it comes to physical activities?”
“What are you talking about, Leo? In Bastera, the Knight Department isn't guaranteed an advantage. The performance of the Magic and Summoning Departments is crucial too!”
Tiede replied.
“Why?”
“Why? Because, obviously…”
Tiede trailed off, then asked as if he'd just remembered something.
“Leo, have you ever played Bastera before?”
“No.”
“You're from the Delard Kingdom, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Ah, shoot. The Delard Kingdom is on the frontier, so you probably wouldn't know.”
Tiede covered his face.
“In Bastera, you win by scoring more goals than the opponent within the time limit. However.”
“However?”
“Strategy time is over. Captains from each team, step forward! We will decide who goes first.”
Leo stepped forward as the representative.
The representative for Class 1 was Duran.
Sedjen, holding a coin, asked Leo.
“Heads or tails?”
“Heads.”
Sedjen glanced at Duran, who nodded as if to say he didn't care.
*Ting—!*
The coin flipped into the air and landed on the back of Sedjen's hand.
“Tails. Class 1 has the first move.”
Duran, receiving the transparent ball, gave a vicious smile.
“This time, I'll make sure to crush you.”
Leo shrugged off Duran's provocation.
His face twisting at the sight, Duran returned to his side and passed the ball to Celia.
“Finish the explanation.”
At Leo's words, Tiede shouted with a tense face.
“There's no time to explain! Just experience it firsthand! Here it comes!”
“Huh?”
*Fwoosh—!*
The transparent ball turned red, engulfed in flames.
“Here I go!”
Celia threw the ball with all her might.
*Flash—!*
The ball flew toward Leo at an incredible speed, tracing a straight trajectory.
Leo hastily dodged.
*Thwack—!*
“Guek?”
The male student behind Leo was hit in the side and sent flying with a scream.
*Thud! Tumble, tumble, tumble!*
Celia swept her disheveled hair back and high-fived her teammates.
Watching his twitching classmate who had rolled pathetically on the ground, Leo asked with a serious expression.
“...Is he going to die?”
“Well, the protective gear offers some protection, but… it still hurts like hell.”
Karl replied, his voice pale.
Tiede swallowed dryly.
“This is Bastera! If you hit an opponent with the ball, possession transfers! But if you get hit and can't move, you're out! It's a dangerous sport where a throw from someone really strong could even be fatal!”
Now Leo understood why the students had been so tense.
Scoring a lot of points was one way to win, but you could also achieve victory by incapacitating all the opposing players first.
***
“Magnificent! Powerful! Elegant! A direct descendant of the Jerdinger family, indeed!”
Sedjen clapped his hands, delighted.
“Halind! Your class can never beat mine!”
“The match has just begun, hasn't it?”
“Hahaha! True! But just having student Celia puts us at an absolute advantage! You of all people should know how specialized the Jerdinger family is in Bastera!”
“...”
At Sedjen's words, a student from Class 1 raised their hand and asked.
“Why is the Jerdinger family at an advantage in Bastera?”
“An excellent question! The most effective element in Bastera is the highly destructive fire attribute! And the flames of the Jerdinger family are regarded as the most powerful among humans!”
He pointed at Halind with a triumphant expression.
“Your legendary senior from Lumerne Academy! The Empress of Bastera, who was one of my and this friend's first disciples, was also a Jerdinger!”
Sera, who had been listening to the explanation, smiled.
“We have a student who wields the aura of flame on our side, too.”
Halind watched Leo, who was now holding the ball.
The ball in Leo's hands erupted in flames.
***
‘It's filled with non-elemental mana?’
Having grasped the ball's properties, Leo casually rolled the flame-wreathed sphere on his palm.
The students of Class 1 watched Leo with tense expressions.
“Karl.”
“Yeah?”
“Are we allowed to attack or restrain people with our abilities?”
“No. Marking someone to block their path is allowed, but attacks can only be made with the ball.”
‘So the ball is the only means of attack. The side with possession has an absolute advantage.’
“Is that so?”
While Leo was figuring out the rules, Nella approached the male classmate who had been the first to fall and activated her aura.
As the light of her white aura burst forth, the male student's expression eased considerably.
‘Oh? A healing-attribute aura? That's a rare one.’
Auras came in various attributes.
While attributes that enhanced offensive power were common, there were also healing-type attributes like Nella's.
“Leo. If you hold the ball for too long, it's a foul and possession goes to the other team.”
“Got it. I have one more question. Is it okay to kick the ball instead of using my hands?”
“It's fine. But won't that reduce your accuracy?”
“Doesn't matter.”
Leo tossed the ball into the air and then kicked it with all his might.
*BOOM—!*
The aura gathered at the tip of Leo's foot exploded, its repulsive force adding to the ball's momentum.
The combination of the instantaneously explosive aura and his monstrous physical ability sent the ball flying toward Class 1's goal even faster than Celia's throw.
“Block it!”
Celia shouted urgently.
*C-c-crack—!*
Magical power erupted from Chloe's body, creating a thick wall of ice in front of the goal.
*CRASH—! CRACK—!*
The ball embedded itself deep within the thick ice wall.
“As long as I'm here, scoring a goal is impossib—”
“Possible, you mean?”
Leo, who had already dashed into Class 1's territory, gave Chloe a grin and charged toward the goal.
The students of Class 1 were flustered.
“Wh-what the...!”
In that moment, Leo leaped toward the ice wall.
“Ah!”
*CRACK—!*
He delivered a flying kick to the ball embedded in the ice wall.
*CRACK—! SHATTER—!*
The ice wall shattered, and the ball went into Class 1's goal.
*Peeeep—!*
“Class 5… scores the first point.”
Professor Sedjen said in a vexed tone as he blew the whistle.
“That's our year representative!”
“His reflexes are insane!”
Cheers erupted from Class 5.
‘He's not to be underestimated.’
‘Ugh! I let my guard down.’
‘That bastard!’
Celia, Chloe, and Duran scowled as they looked at Leo.
“Nice! That first point is super important!”
Karl gave a thumbs-up.
“Alright! Let's defend against Class 1's attack and take back possession!”
Iliana, the mood-maker, raised her hand and shouted.
“Yeah!”
The morale of Class 5 soared.
“It looked like a reckless attack, but he showed incredible quick-wittedness to score!”
As Sera exclaimed in admiration, Halind shook his head.
“No, that was a strategy.”
“Huh?”
‘According to Ain, he took on a leadership role on the ship during the entrance ceremony, right? Which means he must have already identified Chloe Müller's specialty.’
Chloe's specialty is ice magic, and her high-speed chanting ability is the best among the first-years.
In other words, she's the most specialized player on Class 1's team for defending the goal.
Leo figured that out beforehand and aimed for an opening.
‘He's a brilliant strategist for his age.’
Halind stroked his chin, his eyes gleaming.
Meanwhile, Class 1's counterattack began.
Duran, holding the ball, ran into Class 5's territory.
*Crackle—!*
Golden sparks of aura flickered around his body.
*Fwoosh—!*
As he sprinted, Chelsea instantly closed in on him.
Lightning and wind. Both are attributes specializing in speed.
“Where do you think you're going!”
“Tch!”
As Chelsea persistently stuck to him, Duran clicked his tongue and passed to Celia, who was following behind.
“Ah!”
Chelsea was taken aback.
‘He's a jerk, but his passes are accurate.’
Celia, having received Duran's pass, charged relentlessly toward Class 5's goal.
Students tried to block her path, but Celia easily shook them off.
Then, Leo appeared before her.
“Hello.”
“I knew you'd come.”
Celia smiled brightly.
“But what can you do? As much as I hate to admit it.”
*Crackle—!*
“This guy's speed is pretty impressive, you know?”
“That's rich coming from you, who's nothing but brute destructive power, Celia Jerdinger.”
Duran, who had already shaken off Chelsea, was jumping over Celia's head.
No matter how specialized she was in speed, there was no way Chelsea could beat Duran in a footrace.
Celia and Duran looked at each other and scowled.
The two of them, naturally, had an extremely bad relationship.
But they wouldn't jeopardize victory for the sake of personal feelings.
*Whoosh—!*
Celia passed to Duran.
Leo didn't even attempt to intercept.
‘What's this? Did he give up?’
Seeing no attempt to block the pass, Celia looked at Leo, puzzled.
Then she saw his face and realized something was wrong.
“Duran, wait…”
But by the time her words reached him, Duran was already throwing the ball.
*Crackle!*
“This'll tie the score!”