Repaying the Debt
Isabel figured the standoff would last at least an hour after the exam began. But her prediction fell flat.
"O-over there! Isabel! Students from Class 3 are already at the forest entrance!"
Class 3 had pushed straight into the forest right from the start. The flustered scouts rushed to report it to their leader, Isabel.
Already?
Isabel narrowed her eyes and scanned the forest.
Zien. What the hell is your strategy?
The Dream Forest was a fortress shrouded in trees, rocks, and all sorts of cover. No matter how skilled Zien was, he couldn't handle over a hundred students from two classes alone.
Fighting head-on would drag into a prolonged battle. That favors Class 1, who hasn't engaged yet. Zien has to know that basic fact.
But no matter how much she pondered, no answers came. Isabel's dilemma stretched on.
Has Zien joined the front lines? Then who's handling the treasure for Class 3...?
As their leader faltered, Leon stepped up to lead the team.
"I'll head to the front. Isabel, you stay here and guard the treasure."
"Got it. But if you spot Zien up there, fall back immediately and link up with me."
"Yes, ma'am."
Twenty team members followed Leon toward the forest outskirts.
Isabel remained at the hideout with the rest of her guards. It was a textbook personnel split. Catching her breath, she asked the assault team.
"Our average ranking is higher. Why are we getting pushed back so hard?"
"Uh... how do I put this? The enemy was just too organized. Like they were all one body..."
At the scouts' baffling report, Isabel fired off another question.
"Was Zien there?"
"No, didn't see him."
"You didn't see him?"
Isabel sank back into thought.
Enemies moving like a single organism. The front lines overwhelmed without Zien even present.
"It has to be Zien's strategy."
To win the exam, Isabel needed to unravel it.
Meanwhile, Zien—the command center for Class 3's assault on Class 2's forest—stayed put at his hideout. It was only natural. As the one directing the operation, he couldn't leave the beacon unguarded.
But even without stepping onto the front lines, Zien had full grasp of the battlefield. Thanks to the tools he'd had Aria prepare.
Fifty monitors.
A sea of information from fifty ear mics and cameras. If the team members were Zien's hands and feet, Zien was the brain binding those fifty into one.
"Lake, don't pursue—reinforcements might come. Link up with Squad C fighting to your left."
Zien's words reached every team member through Aria's mana. A flawless collaboration. Aria looked awestruck by his strategy.
"How'd you even come up with this? And commanding all fifty at once..."
Even leading a five-man party wasn't easy. Yet Zien absorbed info from all fifty without missing a beat.
"This is straight-up cheating! Let's team up for every exam! Aaaah~ Being carried feels amazing! I'm in heaven!"
Zien casually ignored the charging Aria.
"Snatching the treasure from Isabel with our current numbers is impossible. Focus on whittling down their headcount. Squad 12, Lake's almost there—take out those snipers together."
The team responded sharply to their proven leader's orders.
Small-scale skirmishes, but under Zien's command, Class 3 steadily racked up gains.
Lake's urgent shout drew Zien's eyes to the monitor. Leon and his twenty reinforcements approaching in formation. Zien flashed a victorious smile.
Leon and the support squad—all combat-type magic tools. No need to clash and take losses.
Class 2 had already lost eight scouts under Zien's guidance. Leon was their ace to recoup that. But Zien had no intention of engaging.
"Everyone, fall back to the beacon."
Lake and his team retreated without a backward glance at Zien's order. By the time Leon noticed, it was too late. A small but perfect win. Zien set down the mic.
That breaks the balance.
"A total rout."
Isabel slumped in a chair woven from vines, her expression more sullen than usual. She looked thoroughly pissed.
"The moment reinforcements arrived, they all pulled back. Means they had comms or pre-set plans. We danced to Zien's tune."
"So, no counter?"
At the student's question, Isabel propped her chin and replied.
"Keep getting dragged into tactics like that, and we'll never get a shot at retaliation. So instead..."
Finishing her thought, Isabel stood.
Whoosh!
Flames erupted in her hand. When they faded, her magic tool—crimson gauntlets—clad her fists.
"Time to hit 'em hard."
Leon caught her intent instantly.
"Leader going out personally is risky, no?"
"You know it. Zien's stuck defending. The rest can't take me out."
Isabel's plan was simple: Ambush and wipe out Class 3's students hunting their scouts. High risk, but she was Class 2's strongest. Avoiding Zien made it easy. Leon acknowledged that.
A bold move outside their expectations. If it works, it'll hurt Class 3 way more.
Instead of stopping her, Leon opted to escort.
"Then count me in."
"Who's guarding the treasure?"
"They won't expect such a reckless push. Without certainty, ten should suffice."
The utter defeat stung Leon too.
Zien...
He knew Zien was strong and brilliant. But swallowing a loss without even seeing his face? Unacceptable.
Our turn now.
The filthy Alta Prison felt like a sewer.
Rats and bugs crawling around were like friends to Chris now.
"...This is too damn peaceful."
While Chris was bored out of his mind, Amy was burning up inside.
No one's coming for real! My streaming career's in mortal danger!
With zero action, viewers were dropping one by one. The chat was far from friendly.
If forced to pick between viewer fun and exam results, Amy would choose fun in a heartbeat.
But more than her grades was on the line.
...As leader, I can't just go rogue.
As Amy fidgeted, Rita came sprinting up at top speed.
"Right now! Class 3 hit Class 2! Wait, this makes twice—haah, where do I even start?"
Caught off-guard by the sudden developments, Rita was flustered.
"Whoa, calm down first. Wish I had cold water to offer, but no dice. Wanna sip this?"
Chris pointed to a prison corner.
A puddle of ancient rainwater had pooled there.
"You trying to kill me? For real?"
As Rita nocked an arrow with a straight face, Chris backpedaled fast.
"Sorry! Just kidding."
"Too busy earlier to report, but Class 3 attacked Class 2."
Rita's bombshell.
Amy muttered blankly.
"You gotta tell me stuff like that..."
Ever the streamer, Amy mourned the missed content. Rita pressed on.
"And now Class 3's sending about twenty toward Class 2's hideout."
Chris's curt reply:
"Gonna be a brawl."
"That's all you got?"
"Yup."
"...Sigh. What about you?"
Rita's sharpened gaze turned to Amy. But looks aside, Amy was a top-tier pro in combat and theory.
"Party leader's position is key."
"Huh? Why Zien's spot?"
Chris blinked in confusion. Amy sighed.
"Why add annoying rules like treasure and leader? Balance. To check powerhouses like him."
She was spot-on.
Knocking Zien out via fights was too tough. But the rules had the treasure handicap.
"So if... the party leader went straight to Class 2's hideout."
Amy stretched with a crack, feeling refreshed. She grinned.
"Then we snag their treasure too, right?"
Outskirts of Class 2's hideout forest.
Ten Class 3 students wore camouflage cloaks Aria had drawn. Infiltration success. But Lake muttered softly to his team.
"Why's no one around?"
The deeper they went, the eerier the silence. This was Class 2's turf—no scouts in sight.
"Something's off."
"Yeah, no one's here..."
As the team scanned warily, two figures—a man and woman—emerged from their trail.
"Knew you'd come again."
"Time to settle the debt."
Isabel and Leon.
Isabel stalked toward Class 3 like a predator eyeing prey.
"Here to repay what you owe. Personally."
Thud.
She brushed the grass.
Roooar!
Flames exploded outward, encircling Class 3 in a ring to block escape. This was now her domain.
"Better ditch any thoughts of running."
One student shed his cloak at her declaration.
"Don't worry, Isabel. Wasn't planning to."
Only Isabel had prepped a reversal.